WABE's Week In Review

As the Trump administration continues cutting tens of thousands of jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, staff and vets who rely on Atlanta's VA braces for changes. We also profile a program that helps those previously incarcerated find housing that is now struggling to stay intact after federal funds are drying up. And as a variety of industries in Georgia--from construction to tech--report they're struggling to find skilled workers, we look at a new trade school aiming to help bridge the gap between education and labor. Plus, we have a remembrance of philanthropist and developer Tom Cousins, who died this week.  

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Georgia’s abortion law took effect three years ago this week. It limits allowing the procedure to roughly the first six weeks of pregnancy, and some Atlanta abortion rights advocates, doctors and patients say it continues to interfere with reproductive healthcare. Advocates and lawyers for a Spanish-language journalist fighting deportation from Georgia say they believe his plight is retaliation for his work. A new report from the University of Georgia says the state needs better coordination to prepare for worsening disasters like hurricanes and heat waves. Last month, a meteorite made a bit of a scene in metro Atlanta, streaking across the sky before shooting through the roof of a house in Henry County. We examine the space rock. 
 

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MARTA's Board of Directors says CEO Collie Greenwood, who is Canadian, is taking early retirement after he stepped down abruptly this week over immigration issues. A prominent Georgia Republican is apologizing for an alleged Ponzi scheme that cost investors millions in the now defunct First Liberty Building and Loan. Georgia’s physician shortage could grow worse because of changes to medical student-loan programs under President Donald Trump's spending and tax bill that passed earlier this month. Georgia leaders and education advocates are calling on Governor Brian Kemp to push for the release of federal funds for after-school and summer programs after the Trump administration announced it would withhold $200 million in previously approved education funding for the state.

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We review plans from Fulton officials that would see property owners in the county face a 12.5% tax rate increase. Plus, members of Georgia’s Africa legislative caucus are calling on U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to stop the Trump Administration's plan to ban visitors from African and Caribbean countries. And we look at the big numbers being touted by candidates for Georgia's governor and where that money is coming from. (Here's a hint: Loans.) 

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President Trump's spending plan could have big impact on Georgia. We look look at the thousands of solar jobs at stake as well as how it could affect Georgia's state budget. Plus, a local journalist who was arrested while covering a protest on Chamblee Tucker Road is now out on bond from an immigration detention center. Atlanta after-school and summer program providers are sounding the alarm after the Trump administration abruptly paused their federal funding. And as many folks "shoot the Hooch" over the holiday weekend, we look at how clean (or not) the Chattahoochee River actually is. 

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We look at the confirmation hearing for the proposed new head of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta as well as more funding and program cuts. Plus, a Salvadoran journalist is now fighting deportation after he was arrested in Georgia while covering a protest as he faces new criminal charges in Gwinnett County. And the future is uncertain for federal programs that help elderly and low income Georgians pay energy bills but there may be alternatives. 

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A Georgia woman declared brain dead but kept on life support because she was pregnant was removed from her ventilator this week, days after her baby was delivered by emergency C-section. Plus, a local journalist is awaiting a bond hearing from the Folkston ICE Processing Center in southeast Georgia after he was arrested while livestreaming police conduct at an Atlanta area  protest. We also have more on Georgia politicians being rattled by the recent assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker at her home.

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We have more on possible domestic terrorist charges for demonstrators deemed by authorities to have caused violence during anti-Trump administration protests. Plus, the fight is still over Head Start, the federally funded, free childcare and learning program for kids in low-income families. Also, the primary for voters to weigh in on utility regulars with the Public Service Commission starts next week and we preview the issues and the candidates. 

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We have a deeper dive on the complex and controversial case at Emory Healthcare where a pregnant woman declared ‘brain dead’ is being kept on life support. Hospital officials say that’s because Georgia’s abortion law, but there’s disagreement among many, including conservatives. Plus, we take several looks at the economy: From what the Federal Reserve of Atlanta says about jobs to how to balance demands of data centers with their communities to high schoolers showing their personal finance skills. 

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On this episode of WABE's Week In Review, we dive into several areas of possible or likely cuts in federal funding from the Trump administration. We dive into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, where more than 1.4 million Georgians could see changes to the help they get from the nation's largest food-aid program. Plus, advocates for historic preservation initiatives in Georgia are raising concerns about delayed federal funding and possible cuts that they say the cuts threaten development and revitalization programs around the state. And we look at how cities are planning to deal with a loss in federal money. 

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