Atlanta Journal-Constitution Briefing

As nation marks year since Capitol riot, Biden says lies fueled insurrection; New Georgia COVID rules loosen school quarantine, tracing requirements; Perdue campaign files lawsuit to stop fundraising law that benefits Kemp; Former Paulding DA pleads guilty, gets 12 months of probation

Former Stonecrest mayor pleads guilty to federal fraud charges; President Biden, VP Harris plan visit to Atlanta to talk up voting rights; Cobb GOP cancels ‘homage to treason’ for Jan. 6 insurrection; Mary Norwood, back on City Council, proposes Buckhead safety task force

COVID hospitalizations rise over holiday weekend as omicron surges; Stonecrest mayor to resign amid federal fraud case; Omicron scrambles metro Atlanta employers’ office plans; Roswell woman gets 3 years in prison for $6 million PPP scam

Andre Dickens sworn in as Atlanta’s 61st mayor; Metro Atlanta contractor latest arrested in Jan. 6 probe; Georgia crashes kill 15 over New Year’s weekend; Winter weather compounds air travel problems

Atlanta Public Schools to begin the year with online-only classes; Georgia’s rematch against Alabama has political consequences; Atlanta records 158th homicide of 2021, passing 2020’s total; Former Falcons coach Dan Reeves dies at 77

Georgia redistricting signed into law; Morehouse to start the semester online due to COVID-19 surge; New federal law to stop surprise medical bills takes effect Jan. 1; MARTA seeks federal funding for Clayton County transit line

Kemp taps Guard, contract health workers as COVID-19 rages; All but one voting location might close in rural Georgia county; Doraville back in court over allegedly padding budget with fines, fees; Georgia state employees likely to observe Juneteenth as a paid holiday next year

Georgia to send National Guard to hospitals; Emory University to start spring semester online due to COVID surge; UPS driver kidnapped at gunpoint, packages stolen; Judicial ethics panel refuses to dismiss charges against Christian Coomer

Atlanta Public Schools reports soaring COVID cases before break; Alleged ‘dead’ Georgia voters found alive and well after 2020 election; Driver’s license, tag offices closing statewide before New Year’s; After 15-year legal dispute, James Brown’s estate is finally sold for an estimated $90 million

Fulton County reconsiders mandates due to ‘dire’ omicron projections; Georgia food banks see elevated demand despite economic rebound; Georgia tied as third biggest home for scripted TV production; Police fatally shoot suspect on Christmas Eve at DeKalb Walmart

​​Feds reject work requirement in Kemp’s Medicaid overhaul; Foul play suspected after woman found dead under bridge in downtown Atlanta; Metro Atlanta posts strong job growth amid record low unemployment; Atlanta Beltline hits $300M funding milestone

Testing sites see record traffic as omicron disrupts holiday plans; Roswell quarterback Robbie Roper dies from surgery complications; Police shootings in Georgia surpass 2020 total; Expiring child tax payments could create financial cliff for Georgia families

Atlanta mayor resumes mask mandate due to spikes in COVID-19 omicron infections; Georgia braces for feared surge of COVID-19 cases in stretched hospitals; Metro Atlanta home prices top $350,000 after 24% surge in past year; Even with beds empty, patients can’t get into Georgia state mental hospitals

Atlanta Mayor-elect Andre Dickens tests positive for coronavirus; Atlanta airport, Georgia roads see rising holiday travel amid omicron; FAA approves commercial launch pad off Georgia coast; Devonia Inman freed after 23 years in prison for wrongful conviction

Georgia politician Johnny Isakson dies at 76; Hawks star Young enters health and safety protocols; Georgia hitches electric vehicle dreams to Rivian plant; Varsity under contract to open restaurant in Rome

Rivian confirms EV factory, thousands of jobs for Georgia; Court to hear arguments in lawsuits against Cobb sterilization facility and its landlord; Few jobseekers, strong hiring drive all-time low unemployment; Goodie Mob, Ashanti headline return of the Peach Drop at Underground Atlanta

Raffensperger testimony helps Jan. 6 committee build election influence case; Atlanta health care hub unveils location, holds back other details; DeKalb County School District to keep mask mandate after winter break; I-285 bus rapid transit plan gains steam with $16M study

‘Everybody is going on patrol’: East Point officials take steps to combat crime; Georgia court rejects property owners’ right to boot unauthorized cars; World Series bill rises again: Cobb County spent $456K on security; Mayor-elect Dickens addresses crime during meeting with Buckhead realtors

Large jury pool sought for hate crimes trial over Arbery killing; Georgia GOP senator, running for lt. governor, wants to ban election drop boxes; UGA forecasters: Georgia economy to top pre-pandemic jobs by mid-2022; Concerns raised about crime after 2nd East Point man gunned down in 2 weeks

Perdue’s challenge could trigger new culture war in Georgia; Atlanta mayor names director for city’s new office of violence reduction; Wife grieving after high school sweetheart killed at East Point ATM; Roswell residents help to block massive residential building for seniors

Judge denies attempts to dismiss lawsuits over Georgia voting law; Third omicron case found in Georgia; Atlanta school board chair announces state Senate run; Family of 18-year-old crushed to death by elevator sues apartment complex, prep school

Summary GOP hopefuls in 2022 want to eliminate state income tax; 2 charged with attacking Locust Grove McDonald’s employee over Splenda packet; Evictions up as Georgia lags behind in rental assistance disbursement; 45 years after college student from Georgia vanished, car with remains found in Alabama creek

Atlanta school board gives contract extension to superintendent; Fulton authority turns down incentives for Beltline project; COVID vaccines more popular ahead of holidays; Backlash halts Brookhaven’s long-term blight redevelopment plan

University of Georgia to clean dorms amid student health complaints; Micron chipmaker to open Atlanta center creating 500 jobs; Lawsuits will challenge Georgia’s new maps that favor Republicans; Dedications set for new markers honoring Jackie Robinson and Georgia lynching victim

David Perdue plans to run for governor in 2022; Metro Atlanta resident has first case of omicron detected in Georgia; Gainesville man arrested in January 6th Capitol riot; Georgia teachers weigh in on pandemic’s toll on students

Latest COVID variant raises urgency for young children to be vaccinated; COVID-19′s hidden cost: Georgia taxpayers pay more for public-debt financing; Auditors find high default rate in Georgia student loan program

Stacey Abrams is running for Georgia governor in 2022; Cops: Man accused of shooting 2 DeKalb investigators dies in gunbattle; Dickens wins runoff election, will become Atlanta’s 61st mayor; Georgia elections head sues feds over voting law records

House committee probing Jan. 6 riot interviews Georgia’s top elections official; Man accused of accidentally firing gun at airport turns himself in; Nationally, metro Atlanta ranks in middle of pack in home price increase; Georgia on alert as omicron variant spreads around the globe

Georgia voting rights lawsuit planned to go to trial in February; New proposal for massive ‘city of DeKalb’ surfaces; Delta to continue Atlanta-Johannesburg flights amid restrictions; Attorneys ask federal judge to drop charges against Clayton Sheriff Victor Hill

Atlanta school board opposition to Buckhead City emerges as a top priority; Georgia voting law drives rejections of absentee requests made too late; Delta saw spike in employees withdrawing 401(k) funds during pandemic; Census pointed to 6th District nip and tuck, but GOP maps turned into major surgery

Mother, partner arrested after 8-year-old Gwinnett girl found dead’ Four-county metro Atlanta area in spotlight again with Rivian plant; ‘Sneak attack’: New map pairs Greene’s district with outraged Cobb residents; Cobb County’s bill for World Series? $437K in police overtime

Exclusive AJC poll: Dickens edges ahead of Moore in Atlanta mayoral runoff; Georgia regents: Buildings named for people with ties to slavery won’t change; ‘Double-dip’ La Niña means Georgia is likely in for a warm winter; Suspect in Cobb homicides, officer’s stabbing faces 43 charges in 2 counties

Atlanta airport security in spotlight after gun discharge; Republicans clear path for final vote on new Georgia congressional map; Parents, schools weigh risk of another Thanksgiving during COVID-19; Mayor Bottoms endorses Andre Dickens in Atlanta mayoral runoff

Ahmaud Arbery case: Black pastors flock to courthouse after attorney’s remarks; Georgia Republican senator files bill starting fight for creation of Buckhead City; Georgia sees super job growth in still-churning economy; Milton basketball player loses D1 offer after arrest

‘A life or death situation’: Travis McMichael testifies in his own defense; New Georgia congressional map aims to increase Republican seats; Georgia Reps. Greene, Clyde rack up thousands in mask fines; Cobb County lifts mask mandate, doesn’t renew pandemic order

GOP drops bills to change Gwinnett government until next session; Grand jury indicts six deputies following death of Fulton jail inmate; Prosecution in Arbery murder trial rests its case; Georgia private school settles lawsuit over decades-old sexual abuse

Final vote completes redistricting of Georgia General Assembly; Attorney in Arbery case asks to have Jesse Jackson removed from court; Fulton authority to consider incentives for Ponce City Market expansion; Cops: Ambulance driver charged in fatal crash admitted using drugs, drinking alcohol

8-year-old dies in hospital after shooting at Atlanta apartments; Man found shot in South Fulton residential area dies from injuries; Henry County police officer posthumously saves several people; Cobb schools investigation ends with no accreditation change

After 36 hours, Clarkston 1-year-old found within a mile of home; GOP bills to change Gwinnett government pass senate committee; Atlanta topped nation’s metro areas for inflation in October; MARTA to reduce bus service amid staffing shortage

Police: Suspect in Henry officer’s death kills himself seconds before capture; Stonecrest mayor faces 3 federal charges in pandemic relief fund scandal; Georgia State University completes animal studies of anti-viral drug; Atlanta, Fulton aim to reduce jail population with deal for pre-arrest diversion center

Georgia public health workers tout declining COVID cases, caution on winter; Georgia Senate approves new state maps in first major vote’ Gwinnett judge: School officials can require students to wear masks; Former VA administrator and Georgia senator Max Cleland dies at home

Remington, nation’s oldest gunmaker, to move global HQ to Georgia; Georgia redistricting brings opportunity for political payback; Ahmaud Arbery case: Police officer was seconds away when fatal shooting happened; Mayor Bottoms lifts indoor mask mandate in Atlanta

Georgia’s legal battle with Biden over vaccine mandates grows; Georgia state school superintendent’s race heats up; Demolition of fire-damaged Cheshire Bridge Road overpass in Atlanta to begin; Anthopoulos talks Braves offseason, Freeman, says payroll will increase

Pandemic deaths in Georgia reach 25,000; Kasim Reed concedes defeat after historic bid for third term as Atlanta mayor; 16-year-old dies days after being shot at Gwinnett school bus stop; Kemp reloads campaign account with an eye on Abrams and Perdue

World Series parade to begin Friday in Atlanta, end at Truist Park; Kasim Reed’s prowess appears to come up short with voters in a changed city; Fulton elections head Barron leaves after tumultuous term; 11 white jurors, 1 Black man seated in Arbery murder trial

Election Day in Georgia brings minor glitches and short waits; Jury finally qualified for Ahmaud Arbery murder trial; CDC backs COVID vaccine for younger kids; Georgia House, Senate GOP leaders propose new legislative districts

Enrollment dips at most of Georgia’s public colleges; State medical board director Hughes dies suddenly; Georgia’s ACA health insurance for 2022: Booming market, lower prices; Georgia-based Kaiser Permanente workers vote to authorize strike

Masks to be optional in all Fulton County schools starting Monday; Potential trial date set for Stonecrest recycling plant case; Falcons’ Calvin Ridley out to focus on his mental state; Historic Black school built in segregation era to become Alpharetta office building

World Series sticker shock: $1,000-plus for standing-room-only tickets; Georgia election rule eliminates easy online absentee application; Kemp to spend $110 million to address court backlog brought on by COVID-19; Metro Atlanta’s jobless rate hit record low in September

David Perdue is considering a primary challenge against Brian Kemp; Judge in Arbery death case denies motion limiting protests outside courthouse; Loads of Georgia voting lawsuits still pending after last 2020 cases dismissed; World Series ticket prices surge higher after Braves win