The Brief from WABE

DEA busts narcotic money laundering ring in Norcross tied to Mexican cartel; Ga Chamber tells businesses to stock up; and how animals heal themselves. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson says tariffs, uncertainty threaten local businesses; Atlanta's airport maintains designation as 'World's Busiest' as it celebrates its 100th anniversary; and why Georgia's ports, also busy, don't necessarily mirror a robust economy.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dems  and GOP butt heads over voter ID. Again.; Georgia ready to spend part of its opioid settlement cash; and the SPLC soon to release Confederate monument count. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eighty years after FDR's death at Warm Springs, Georgia; Student visas of four Emory University students revoked; and Delta Air Lines' investment in the South Side of Atlanta. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UGA confirms a 'small' number of international students have had their visas revoked; Fulton County Jail faces another wrongful death lawsuit; and Grady expands south.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Delta Air Lines' 2025 profit outlook stalls even as its stock soars; state GOP leaders keep their faith in Trump tariffs; and a visit to Augusta for The Master's Tournament. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BioLab gets small fine for big breach; state health department says vax up!; and Delta flight attendants attempt to unionize. Again. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia health officials say they've lost more than 300-million federal dollars that would have gone to public health efforts statewide; The recent actions of the Trump administration are continuing to spark protests including in Atlanta; A nonprofit is offering incarcerated mothers in Georgia and their kids an opportunity to reconnect.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

State lawmakers have wrapped up work on the proposed $37.8 billion 2026 state budget; Public health experts are warning of the impacts of Trump administration cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and legalizing online sports betting has failed once again to pass the Georgia Legislature. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Atlanta-based Hooters files for bankruptcy; a name from the state's GOP surfaces for AG, and science gets funny.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suspect and father in Apalachee High School shooting trial request new venue; Fulton DA's request to revoke Young Thug's probation fails; and with a day left in the legislative session, the political gloves come off. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Congresswoman Nikema Williams has resigned as chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia; As Georgia's legislative session winds down, lawmakers are considering a bipartisan bill to make HIV prevention easier to get; Recently, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp requested U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement train roughly 1100 Department of Public Safety officers through the controversial 287-g program. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Atlanta-based CDC to lose some 2,400 more employees under Trump/Musk/Kennedy plan; A Georgia House member introduces a bill to criminalize all abortions; and could Gov. Kemp tie with New York's governor to be the highest-paid in the US?  Maybe.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia Power makes its case for more, more, MORE power before state regulators; a bill geared toward those who miss too much school ironically prohibits schools from expelling them; and the nation's crumbling infrastructure isn't nearly as bad as it once was.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time to put the phones down, little angles!; Now the only state in the U.S. without a cockfighting law, Georgia is poised to pass one; and the heads of NPR and PBS are ready to answer congressional questions about their company's futures. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Months after announcing his resignation, today was Louis DeJoy's final day as USPS Postmaster; President Trump names his nominee for head of the Atlanta-based CDC (again); and Crime Stoppers of Greater Atlanta has 5,000 reasons for you to leave a tip if you know something that could lead to solving a crime. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A sweeping overhaul of Georgia's civil litigation rules is now headed to the governor’s desk; President Donald Trump announced former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler will take over student loans in her role as head of the Small Business Association; and the 43rd annual Atlanta International Auto Show is underway at the Georgia World Congress Center downtown. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Atlanta man, Delta Air Lines employee, held hostage released by the Taliban; Governor Kemp inches closer to seeing tort reform pass; and showing Atlanta's trees some love, even if the ordinance protecting them finds little favor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SCOGA considers changes passed, but then halted, to Georgia election laws; state lawmakers consider requiring the actual, full minimum wage be paid to disabled workers; and the potential for a negative political environment to carry over and manifest in negative health outcomes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mayor Dickens tells naysayers to 'pipe down,' water improvements are just around the corner; More Georgians would be medically eligible to pick up the pipe, so to speak, if an expansion of medical marijuana makes it through this year's general session; And a significant pipeline for Georgia's construction sector is cut off because of new immigration policies.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fulton DA Fani Willis willfully and in bad faith withheld documents in 2023 Trump election interference case, judge finds; Atlanta property values dip for the ninth consecutive month; and So So Def...inately cool is a now official music internship program at Emory University. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trump nominee to head CDC pulls out hours before confirmation hearing to begin; Four years after the Atlanta Spa Shootings, Atlanta's Asian-American community calls out the dangers of hate; and Atlanta's newest professional sport? Table tennis.  Look for the Atlanta Blazers to ... take to the court? the table? this fall.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ag Secretary defends Trump policies, tariffs, during Atlanta visit; Sen. Raphael Warnock responds to (some) constituent questions; and "Drag Down Memory Lane" is Emory Alzheimer's effort to reach out to LGBTQ Atlantans. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The DOGE trickle down leaves Emory pumping the brakes; ...about those expected Delta quarterly profits; and 'it's complicated' as lawmakers struggle with how to regulate THC in drinks, which is becoming a more lucrative option in Georgia.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spa Shooter's words can and will be used against him after judge's ruling in motions hearing; Georgia's House of Representatives set to vote on the 2026 budget, but with a cloud overhead; and the story of a John's Creek IRS auditor who got a pink slip as part of the Trump administration's early federal cuts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia House lawmakers look to scare up more dollars for Hurricane Helene relief and to fund the state's prisons for the remainder of the current fiscal year; One of three Democrats on Cobb County's Board of Commissioners is ousted after the Georgia Court of Appeals refused to hear her redistricting challenge; and after being under indictment for years related to an alleged cover-up in the investigation into Ahmaud Arbery's 2020 murder, former prosecutor Jackie Johnson sees her last remaining charge thrown out.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia looks to expand Medicaid without expanding Medicaid; Corporate landlords will have to be more transparent if a proposal under the Gold Dome moves forward; and the most endangered buildings in the region find themselves on the 2025 "Places in Peril" list. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look back at Crossover Day and what bills likely met their deaths under the Gold Dome; Atlanta's about to get science-ee; and Dry Georgia, Dry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crossover Day at the Gold Dome is 'do or die' time for potential new laws; Georgia looks to lower its state income tax rate by a smidge; and say it ain't so--Lois Reitzes announces her retirement from WABE after 45 years on the air.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga) files initial paperwork to run for governor; Some 180 fired CDC workers asked to return to work; and state GOP lawmaker says massive corporate buy-up of Georgia's housing stock crossed a line.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laid off CDC employees join in protest of DOGE cuts; bill under consideration calls for legal penalties for librarians who provide "harmful" materials to children; and the push to separate legal culpability from an artist's lyrics.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two groups of Georgia church denominations sue the federal government over immigration enforcement; the state looks to further restrict DEI in schools; and politics reporter Rahul Bali looks at a few legislative nuggets as the General Assembly nears the half-way mark.                                     //See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

GOP expands its investigative reach to include Stacy Abrams; What the CFPB means locally; and an Atlanta City Council member resigns to accept head job at local private school.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As he tells it, Atlanta's mayor is doing a pretty good job; Cargo ships can't get enough of Savannah's wide, deep ports; and Georgia Power and its state regulators are hot and bothered over a huge influx  of data centers in Georgia.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insurers would have to give 60 days notice to consumers before dropping them; lawmakers consider prohibiting smart phones in the classroom; and Atlanta's about to see some seriously wet weather.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia's Supreme Court Chief Justice announces he'll step down; Atlanta's BeltLine celebrates a milestone for affordable housing in 2024; and is it too late to stop Atlanta's public safety training center, AKA "Cop City"? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia's GOP looks to bid ERIC farewell; State government throws money at Georgia hurricane clean-up; and the danger of skipping a vaccine meeting when you're the CDC. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Governor Brian Kemp is one step closer to overhauling Georgia’s civil litigation rules, commonly known as “tort reform"; The Fulton County Board of Education has voted to close two under-attended elementary schools following months of pushback; and federal employees in Georgia are reacting to President Donald Trump's decision to dismantle large swaths of the federal government.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DeKalb County Police, on the verge of seeing a massive influx of new and better paid officers, will soon be under new leadership; The DOGEy policy influence federal actions are having on state regulations; and the 76 passengers of Delta flight 4819 are to get a $30,000 check. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former GOP Senator from Georgia confirmed to lead federal Small Business Administration; Parents look more likely to receive a state tax break as proposal gains momentum under Gold Dome; and why the panda could make a valiant return to Atlanta's Zoo. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CDC employees protest federal layoffs; The future of school zone traffic cameras is in question; and ideas to memorialize the mostly Black men who were imprisoned in Fulton County's 'Chain Gangs,' -- forced to labor in penal camps with no pay.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Delta Air Lines CRJ-900 jet comes to rest upside down after landing in Toronto; The City of Atlanta's first and only Inspector General steps down; and overall, Georgia's students struggle to rebound academically to pre-pandemic levels. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A federal judge has again ruled against a man on Georgia's death row who wants to be executed by firing squad instead of by lethal injection; The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is losing about 10 percent of its staff; Georgia lawmakers are beginning to dig into the details of a sweeping school safety bill drafted in the aftermath of the deadly mass shooting at Apalachee High School.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The chief judge of the largest federal trial court in Georgia is retiring, creating a vacancy for President Donald Trump to potentially fill; Former staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are urging Governor Brian Kemp to protect the Okefenokee Swamp ahead of federal rollbacks; Georgia state lawmakers have started digging into Governor Brian Kemp’s signature policy push of tort reform.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia's Senate passes tax free period for guns, ammo, and gun safes; The head of Atlanta's City Council will not seek re-election; and the role non-Jews must play in reducing the spread of anti-Semitism.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trans-care in Georgia GOP's crosshairs; Georgia's DC Democratic delegation push back on Trump's CDC cuts; and Coke outlines ways to sidestep Trump tariffs on aluminum. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia lawmakers are looking to expand how DNA is collected from migrants in the U.S. without legal status who have been charged with a crime; A bipartisan group of lawmakers have filed legislation at the State Capitol to protect artists from their work being used in criminal proceedings against them; and the voice of Ash Ketchum from the English-dubbed Pokémon series makes an appearance at Atlanta Collect-A-Con.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia's Senate passes trans sports bill that aligns with Pres. Trump's executive order forbidding trans women from competing on women's sports teams; the state fines the City of Atlanta for a sewage release on the 'Hooch; and why local law enforcement might struggle to be a part of enforcing the Lakin Riley Act.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

State looks to refund, lower income taxes; Communities protest ICE immigraiton detention efforts; and why GALEO says they're unsdure if they'll support Georgia's Democratic U.S. Senators fir reelection after the pair's support of the Laken Riley Act.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Gwinnett County Board of Education voted today 3-2 to terminate Superintendent Calvin Watts' contract; Governor Brian Kemp has rolled out a sweeping package to curb civil lawsuits in Georgia; and we speak to AJC education reporter Martha Dalton about the upcoming implementation of Georgia's school voucher program.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.