WABE's Week In Review

DeKalb County's school board has suspended Superintendent Devon  Horton with pay following a federal indictment in the Northern District of Illinois. He's accused of taking tens of thousands of dollars in kickbacks on a school construction project while a superintendent in suburban Chicago and faces 17 federal charges of embezzlement, wire and tax fraud. Also, thousands of Georgia moms and young kids are at risk of losing federal food assistance, depending on how long the current government shutdown lasts. Plus, some Atlanta’s senior residents will get help staying in their homes through a program that’ll cover their property taxes. And school book bans in Georgia are coming largely from Cobb County as the trend grows nationwide.

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We take a local look at the impact here from the federal shutdown from the airport to natural disaster response to the healthcare implications. Plus, Coastal Georgia residents will get to vote on a controversial zoning change for an historic Gullah-Geechee community on Sapelo Island. And Atlanta Public Schools has launched a new text message hotline to help students work through mental and emotional challenges they may be experiencing. Also, international students in Georgia could see limits to the amount of time they can stay in the U.S. with F-1 visas.

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The State Senate in Georgia is looking at ways to possibly incorporate a plan from several Republican state lawmakers and candidates who are pushing to eliminate the state income tax. Plus, it has been a year since Hurricane Helene ravaged parts of Georgia. We look at how some residents are rebuilding in ways that has them more prepared for the next storm. And Georgia will now have to do more to track food insecurity in the state following cuts to a federal program by the Trump administration. We also examine the local impact on the new fee for H-1B visa applicants. 

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Federal officials ordered CDC workers back to in-person work this week about a month after a gunman shot hundreds of rounds at the buildings and killed a police officer. Plus, the Trump administration is pausing the reasonable accommodation for CDC workers with disabilities that allowed them to work remotely. Plus, the crowded race for Georgia governor gets more crowded. And we look at the electric vehicle sector post Hyundai immigration raid and just as Rivian broke (ceremonial) ground on its factory outside of Atlanta. 

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Hundreds of South Koreans who were working on building an electric vehicle battery plant near Savannah are now back in South Korea, following last week's ICE raid. We look at what happened and the business and political implications of the raid. Plus, the latest in the case against people who were protesting Atlanta's public safety training center, an update on MARTA and new information about the state of DeKalb County's tree canopy. 

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Two top officials who resigned last week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are warning of grave threats to public health under the Trump Administration, as Georgia's two U.S. Senators call for U.S. Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign. And we mark the one-year anniversary of the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School. Plus, a visit to a bookstore in Marietta that makes sure LGBTQ folks are the main characters of their stories, and we explain why state scientists are studying rusty fish hooks left behind in rivers and streams.

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Dozens of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention former and current employees demonstrated this week in support of the agency's top leadership, several of whom resigned following the firing of CDC director Susan Monarez. Plus, we have more from Georgia lawmakers about the mobilization of the National Guard in an effort  to assist at Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in the state. And the Atlanta City Council is caught in the middle of a fight over what to do about the deterioration of the Fulton County Jail, where  some people held there are again sleeping on the floor. We'll also look at how those who fled Hurricane Katrina 20 years ago have made an impact in Atlanta.   

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Fulton County commissioners gave the green light to a new $1.1 billion jail project in na effort to replace the beleaguered current facility. Meantime, some of them could face jail or fines for refusing to appoint controversial Republicans to the election board. Plus, hundreds of workers at Atlanta's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received permanent termination notices this week, according to the American Federation of Government Employees. And we look at why food banks here say they are seeing such an increase in need.

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A week after the shooting at the headquarters of the CDC in Atlanta we look at how anti-vaccine rhetoric and unfounded claims against health professionals has led to violence and threats toward them and their institutions. Plus, insurance on the ACA marketplace could spike if Congress fails to act. And  what does the future look like for Georgia parks that rely on federal funding. Also, we track how well sea turtles are adapting to climate change. 

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Delta Air Lines officials say they will not use personal data in AI pricing after facing criticism from U.S. Senators. Plus we explore how federal cuts under the Trump administration could impact organizations helping refugees settled in Atlanta, aiding low income residents in need of healthcare and maintaining the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. And we look at Georgia's impact in the Voting Rights Act which was passed 60 years ago this week. 

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