Month: July 2025

AP: “A prominent Georgia Republican was running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded 300 investors of at least $140 million, federal officials alleged in a complaint filed Thursday. The civil lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said First Liberty Building and Loan, controlled by Brant Frost IV, lied to investors about its business of making high-interest loans…

NPR: “Environmental groups in Georgia are celebrating a big win after years of fighting a proposed mine next to one of the largest protected swamps in the U.S. Marisa Mecke from member station WABE reports on the fight over the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. …Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals owned the ridge right next to the…

Political Wire: “Abby Livingston: “The 2021 map was drawn for incumbent protection in a wave year, which could also be the case next year if historical trends hold up. To pick up new seats, Republican voters will need to be pulled from safe Republican seats to redden currently Democratic districts.” The math: “If Republicans go…

Charlotte Observer: “Page, the conservative challenger looking to unseat North Carolina’s most powerful politician, is staking his campaign on being the anti-Berger. And to a large extent, it’s working. Early polls show him with a substantial lead in the presumptive matchup. But there’s a danger in running as a pure foil. If Page starts looking…

AL Political Reporter: “Two weeks ago, on June 30, a nonprofit organization named First Principles Action Inc. plopped down the largest ever political contribution in an Alabama statewide race, giving $1 million to Katherine Robertson, who is running to be the state’s next attorney general.  First Principles Action Inc. was founded sometime after December 2024,…

CNN: “As monstrous floodwaters surged across central Texas late last week, officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency leapt into action, preparing to deploy critical search and rescue teams and life-saving resources, like they have in countless past disasters. But almost instantly, FEMA ran into bureaucratic obstacles, four officials inside the agency told CNN. As CNN…

Vanity Fair: “Texas senator Ted Cruz, whose superpower is always doing the wrong thing, appears to have gone sightseeing in Athens the day after a devastating natural disaster hit his home state, killing more than 100 people, including more than two dozen girls and staff members from a summer camp. In addition to being in deeply poor taste, the revelation suggests that the…

CNN: “A new Tennessee law aims to combat bullying by targeting teenagers where it may hurt the most: revoking their ability to drive. The legislation, which took effect Tuesday, allows courts to suspend for up to a year the driver’s licenses of minors found guilty of bullying or cyberbullying. “Bullying can cause long-term harm that…

NY Times: “A Tennessee man pardoned by President Trump for taking part in the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been sentenced to life in prison for hatching a separate plot to assassinate the law enforcement officers who investigated his role in the riot. The life term imposed on the man, Edward…

Political Wire: ““Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer is mounting a GOP primary challenge to Sen. Lindsey Graham, arguing the incumbent isn’t conservative enough to represent the state,” the AP reports. Said Bauer: “Once every 6 years, he gets conservative. The rest of the time he votes with the Democrats.”