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No Counterfeit Ballots Found By Georgia Election Investigators

No Counterfeit Ballots Found By Georgia Election Investigators

Georgia election investigators were unable to find any counterfeit ballots among batches identified by Republican vote-counters, according to a court brief Tuesday, dealing a blow to a lawsuit seeking to inspect absentee ballots cast in last year’s presidential election. The court document filed on behalf of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said investigators reviewed 1,000 absentee ballots from batches in Fulton County that allegedly contained “pristine” ballots with perfectly filled-in ovals and no fold lines. All ballots in those batches appeared to be legitimate. “The secretar...

In Georgia, Trump Says Stacey Abrams 'Would Be Better' Than Gov. Kemp

In Georgia, Trump Says Stacey Abrams 'Would Be Better' Than Gov. Kemp

PERRY, Georgia. — Thousands packed the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry as former President Donald Trump held a rally for a slate of pro-Trump candidates running for office in Georgia in 2022. Trump has remained fixated on Georgia and Gov. Brian Kemp since Kemp refused to intervene in the state's election results, which President Joe Biden won by about 11,000 votes. The rally was as much anti-Kemp as it was pro-Trump. At one point, Trump said Stacey Abrams would be a better governor than Kemp. With the exception of Herschel Walker, the GOP speakers took the stage one-by-one, with the same them...

Georgia Republicans Move To Control Elections In State's Biggest Democratic County

Georgia Republicans Move To Control Elections In State's Biggest Democratic County

ATLANTA — Georgia Republican lawmakers took a key step Friday in a long and untested process that could trigger an extraordinary takeover of the elections system of one of the state’s biggest Democratic strongholds. State Rep. Jan Jones and four other House Republican legislators sent a letter Friday demanding a review of Fulton County’s election management, a critical step in Georgia’s new voting law that must take place before the State Election Board can overhaul a county’s election board. It’s a monthslong process full of legal questions and procedural challenges, but state Republicans hav...

Attorney General Opens Battle Over Georgia Voter Suppression In Courts And Campaigns

Attorney General Opens Battle Over Georgia Voter Suppression In Courts And Campaigns

With a major lawsuit seeking to strike down Georgia's new elections law, the U.S. Justice Department started a long and difficult voting rights fight that will reverberate in political campaigns while winding its way through the courts. The lawsuit will face a treacherous path after the failure of a sweeping election bill backed by Democrats in the U.S. Senate and the passage of voting bills in Republican-held state legislatures across the country. The case was filed Friday, the eighth anniversary of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that scaled back the Voting Rights Act, the landmark civil right...

National Enquirer Publisher Fined For Helping Trump Campaign Hide Ex-Mistress

National Enquirer Publisher Fined For Helping Trump Campaign Hide Ex-Mistress

The publisher of the National Enquirer has been fined $187,500 by the Federal Election Commission for payments the tabloid made to hide a story about former President Donald Trump's ex-mistress. The payments were made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, to buy and then not publish her story, in a “catch and kill" process built to benefit the Trump campaign. The New York Post, reported: “The fine was handed down on May 17, 2021, according to Common Cause, a public advocacy group that sought information on the penalties, which released information on the deal between the FEC and A360 Media on Tue...

Thuggish Georgia Teen Looked For Trouble On Jan. 6 -- And Found It

Thuggish Georgia Teen Looked For Trouble On Jan. 6 -- And Found It

ATLANTA — Long before he stormed the U.S. Capitol, Bruno Joseph Cua flashed warning signs he was headed for serious trouble in his hometown of Milton, Georgia. Perched behind the wheel of his Toyota pickup with a Trump 2020 flag streaming from the truck bed, the 18-year-old harassed drivers whose vehicles showed support for Joe Biden or liberal causes. He joined social media sites favored by the extreme right and filled up his feeds with screeds that became more strident following Trump's Novemver 3 loss. He wrote of acquiring an assault-style weapon illegally. And when Trump called supporters to ...

Delta, Coke Facing Boycott Campaigns Over Georgia Election Law

Delta, Coke Facing Boycott Campaigns Over Georgia Election Law

Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola, two of Atlanta's biggest brands, are facing consumer boycott threats after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed new voting restrictions into law last week. Social media posts carrying the hashtags #BoycottDelta, #BoycottDeltaAirlines and #BoycottCocaCola proliferated on Twitter as critics of the Republican-backed legislation accused the two Atlanta-based companies of not having done enough to stop its passage. While voting rights advocates called for companies to condemn the Republican initiative in recent weeks, Delta issued carefully worded statements on the importan...

Sweeping Election Law Changes Signed By Georgia Gov. Kemp

Sweeping Election Law Changes Signed By Georgia Gov. Kemp

ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp quickly signed a vast rewrite of Georgia’s election rules into law Thursday, imposing voter ID requirements, limiting drop boxes and allowing state takeovers of local elections after last year’s close presidential race. Kemp finalized the bill just over an hour after it cleared the General Assembly, leaving no doubt about its fate amid public pressure against voting restrictions. Republican lawmakers pushed the legislation through both the House and Senate over the objections of Democratic lawmakers. The legislation passed along party lines in both chambers, with vote...

Police Officer Among Ten Killed In Shooting At Colorado Supermarket

Police Officer Among Ten Killed In Shooting At Colorado Supermarket

A police officer was among ten people killed during a mass shooting at a grocery store Monday in Boulder, Colorado, according to reports. Two other officers were injured, although there was no word on the extent of their injuries. Boulder Police Chief Maris Herald confirmed the death toll had risen by four after 8 p.m. local time Monday, saying there were “ten fatalities at the scene," reports said. The Boulder police officer killed was named Eric Talley, who was the first to respond to the scene, according to authorities. A suspect has been arrested, although his identity has not yet been revea...

Poll: Most Americans Favor Prosecuting Capitol Rioters With Tough Penalties

Poll: Most Americans Favor Prosecuting Capitol Rioters With Tough Penalties

A nationwide poll shows broad support for prosecuting rioters involved in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, but almost half of respondents said they expected penalties would be too lax. According to the poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 69 percent said it was “very important" for federal authorities to arrest and prosecute those responsible for the insurrection. Support for prosecuting the rioters was strongest among Democrats, 86 percent of whom said it was very important. Even so, a total of 79 percent of Republicans supported prosecution as either very important or somewhat important. However, a n...

Police: Georgia Shooting Suspect Says He Targeted Spas Because Of Sexual Addiction

Police: Georgia Shooting Suspect Says He Targeted Spas Because Of Sexual Addiction

ATLANTA — The 21-year-old man accused of killing eight people at three metro Atlanta spas said it was a sexual addiction — and not the race of victims — that led him to the alleged crime spree, police said Wednesday. Robert Aaron Long, accused in three shootings about an hour apart Tuesday in Cherokee County and northeast Atlanta, told investigators he frequented the types of businesses he allegedly targeted: massage parlors. And though six of those killed were Asian, investigators said it’s too early to call the shootings hate crimes. ”During his interview, he gave no indicators that this was...

Georgia Republicans Vote To Eliminate No-Excuse Absentee Voting

Georgia Republicans Vote To Eliminate No-Excuse Absentee Voting

ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate passed a bill Monday to roll back no-excuse absentee voting and require more voter ID, which would create new obstacles for voters after Republicans lost elections for president and the U.S. Senate. The legislation would reduce the availability of absentee voting, restricting it to those who are at least 65 years old, have a physical disability or are out of town. In addition, Georgians would need to provide a driver’s license number, state ID number or other identification. The Senate approved the bill on a party-line 29-20 vote, a one-vote majority of the chamber...

Georgia DA’s Investigation Of Trump Sent To Grand Jury

Georgia DA’s Investigation Of Trump Sent To Grand Jury

ATLANTA — Fulton County prosecutors are expected to appear before a grand jury this week seeking subpoenas for documents and witnesses related to their investigation of former President Donald Trump and some of his top associates for possible election fraud, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned. Legal experts are split as to whether there's a strong case to be made, but most agree Trump's efforts to overturn Georgia's election results merit greater scrutiny. Fani Willis, Fulton's new district attorney, has said she's prepared to follow the evidence wherever it leads. Some believe the r...

New Gallup Poll: More Americans Identify As LGBTQ Than Ever Before

New Gallup Poll: More Americans Identify As LGBTQ Than Ever Before

More Americans than ever are identifying themselves as members of the LGBTQ community, according to a new Gallup poll. Gallup's latest update on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer identification finds 5.6 percent of U.S. adults identifying as LGBTQ. The current estimate is up from 4.5 percent in Gallup's previous update based on 2017 data. Currently, 86.7 percent of Americans say they are heterosexual or straight, and 7.6 percent did not answer the question about their sexual orientation. Gallup's 2012-2017 data had roughly five percent “no opinion" responses. The latest results are based on more than 15,000 interviews c...

'Zip-Tie Guy' And His Mother Charged In Capitol Insurrection Held Without Bond

'Zip-Tie Guy' And His Mother Charged In Capitol Insurrection Held Without Bond

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled Wednesday that a Georgia woman and her adult son, known online as the "zip-tie guy," be held without bond as they await trial for their alleged role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Lisa Marie Eisenhart, 56, of Woodstock and Eric Gavelek Munchel, 30, of Nashville are among more than 200 people so far charged in the insurrection attempt. Munchel, who grew up in Blue Ridge, is accused of being the man caught in photos dressed in black tactical gear, carrying handfuls of plastic handcuffs through the Senate gallery. In a 17-page opinion, Judge R...