The Brief from WABE

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The governor touts record tax revenues in his State of the State, and pledges to give a big chunk of the surplus to teachers; Democrats respond with, "Hey--Remember that Medicaid expansion thing you swore was too expensive?"; and why the head of GSU's Economic Forecasting Center says he's stocking up now on things he'll need a few months out.

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Tax refund, everyone? Gov. Kemp brings the bacon to the annual Eggs and Issues breakfast; If the Omicron strain is less severe than other COVID-19 variants, you wouldn't know it by looking at area hospitals; and the father convicted in 2016 of purposefully leaving his child in a hot car to die will argue before the Supreme Court of Georgia that the original trial court made lots of mistakes.

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The reason COVID data was nonexistent this week? IT at DPH is so Y2K, apparently; The President and Vice President pick Atlanta's AUC to push for federal voting rights protections; and it's easy for UGA fans to overlook that 40+ year championshipless stretch when ya Dawgs end the season at the top. Crimson who?

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The President and VP head to Atlanta tomorrow to push for federal voting rights legislation, but some voting rights groups say they should stay in DC; Georgia's COVID-19 numbers reported in one day top the six figure mark; and not that UGA fans are worked up about it, but the Bulldogs are vying for the national football championship tonight. Go Dawgs.

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Life in prison. That's the sentence for three men convicted of murdering Ahmad Arbery; Georgia's tax revenue picture is so good... [How good is it?!] It's SO good, the governor wants to give every state employee a $5k annual pay bump; and what the head of Atlanta Public Schools (which holds WABE's broadcast license) has to say to parents who were upset this week at a last-minute shift to virtual learning.

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The person who decides what ideas get consideration under the Gold Dome says 2022 will not be the year when distracting topics like abortion get a reading. No sir, no ma'am. Instead, the GOP will stick to things like expanding access to guns and how race is taught in public schools; We can't tell you how many COVID infections the state saw today because for the second time this week, officials say a data issue got in the way; Former Senator Johnny Isakson, who stepped down in 2019 due to a battle with Parkinson's, was remembered today as one of the last great middle ground seekers in the Senate; and a year after insurrection threatened democracy, U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D- Ga 5) recounts the moment and the causes behind it.

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Governor Kemp gets fired up about folks being able to carry guns without a permit; A prominent name in the state's GOP says the party will get it all wrong if it focuses on guns and abortion and other incendiary topics during the upcoming legislative session; and it's not felt like winter across the state. But is it about to?

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Thousands across Georgia remain without power after storms, heavy wind and even snow in some parts brought down power lines; Atlanta has a new mayor as Andre Dickens is sworn in; and if 2021 was an 'off' political year in Georgia, someone forgot to pass along that memo. Hear those stories and lots more in the first episode of The Brief from WABE for 2022.

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Infections of the record-breaking Omicron variant are starting to sound like a broken record; hospitals across the metro aren't preparing for a crisis--they say that crisis is here; and just as Gov. Kemp signs into law new, Republican-favoring legislative districts for Georgia, the ACLU sues to stop them on the basis they violate the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

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