Free Republic

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Cartersville man said ICE agents wrongly detained him at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The American citizen told Channel 2’s Ashlyn Webb that he’s still shaken by what happened. John Phillips had made it through TSA, had his ID checked and went through facial recognition before agents stopped him as he was boarding, he said. “I’ll never approach a door of an aircraft without wondering if there’s guys standing back there,” he said. It was supposed to be a routine work trip to Las Vegas, but a Delta agent told him the airline was working to...

Newly obtained surveillance video is providing a clearer picture of the moments before and after gunfire erupted outside the southwest Atlanta home of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's communications director. [Robert Sinners] The video, obtained by Channel 2's Michael Seiden, appears to show three people walking toward Robert Sinners' home just before gunshots ring out. A second surveillance camera captures people running from the area immediately after the shooting. 30 shots fired at Georgia elections official's home; neighbor helped police spot suspects | 2:40 WSB-TV | 380K subscribers | 13,519 views | August 7, 2026

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff picked up a high-profile endorsement Tuesday from former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican whose clashes with President Donald Trump prompted him to back other prominent Democrats. Flake said he still disagrees with Ossoff on key policy issues. But in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he said character outweighed those partisan differences. “I’m still a conservative Republican. But character matters. And I want someone in that seat who takes the institution seriously and will protect the institution,” Flake said.

A federal case in Atlanta is raising questions about a privacy-focused mobile operating system, with prosecutors arguing that its features were used to erase evidence. The US Department of Justice is attempting to prosecute Atlanta resident Sam Tunick under a federal statute that makes it a crime to destroy property in an effort to prevent it from being seized. The case centers on Tunick's use of GrapheneOS, an open-source operating system that works on Google Pixel phones and lets users enter a passcode to wipe a device clean. Experts said the legal approach is unusual and may be the first...

Toast on Lenox is a popular Atlanta brunch spot that's beloved for its good food and the warm and friendly service you typically receive from the moment you walk in the door. It opened in the city's Buckhead neighborhood in 2021, with a second location opening up in Midtown in 2023. It's sort of an upscale-casual place that serves updated takes on Southern dishes. Advertisement Many in Atlanta also celebrate its popularity because it's a successful black-owned business, co-owned by Tamara Young and Chef Virgil Harper. And that's fine; it's a free country, and people are welcome to celebrate what...

THOMASVILLE, Ga. — As Earl Williams drove through a historic Black neighborhood, Dewey City, in his hometown, he hardly recognized what he saw. Homes that once belonged to friends, family, and neighbors had siding covered in mold. Some were boarded up. Others had holes in their roofs. Black churches once used Oquina Creek, which runs along the neighborhood’s border, to baptize congregants. Today, fecal bacteria and other contaminants have made the water unsafe due to an aging wastewater system. “Sometimes you get the feeling like you’re in a Third World country,” Williams said. After three decades in Washington, D.C., he...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was accused of putting on an accent during a Memphis rally last week, with critics on social media comparing her to former Vice President Kamala Harris. Ocasio-Cortez was speaking at a campaign rally in Memphis on Friday for progressive U.S. House candidate Justin Pearson, who currently serves as a Tennessee state representative. "We cannot afford to leave Tennessee behind," she said. "We cannot afford to leave Kentucky behind, Alabama behind, Mississippi behind, Georgia behind, South Carolina behind. There is no country where we are split apart." "About a month or two ago, we were in Montgomery,...

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Saturday slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s post commemorating two U.S. service members killed in Jordan as a result of Iranian strikes. “Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve,” Hegseth wrote on social platform X. Greene said it was inappropriate to deem their deaths a “sacrifice.” “Sacrifice?? What the f— are you talking about?? They did not willingly sacrifice themselves. They were killed because of the war you, Trump, and the admin, are waging on behalf of a FOREIGN COUNTRY, Israel,” Greene wrote in a response on X. “You mean their deaths fuel...

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — An attorney is accused of smuggling drugs into jail. He and three other suspects are facing charges. Investigators say the drugs were soaked into papers the attorney delivered to his client. On Instagram, attorney Joseph Anfield-El markets himself as a champion and friend to his clients, but investigators say he wasn’t just representing his clients at the jail. “He didn’t respect this facility, and in my mind he didn’t service the clients. Yeah, he serviced them, but not the way he should’ve been servicing them with legal services,” said Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens.

Bottoms 51, Jackson 44

HINESVILE, Ga. — A former Georgia housing authority executive director and a Savannah man have been indicted on federal fraud charges stemming from what prosecutors say is a yearslong scheme that allegedly cost a public housing agency more than $2.5 million. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, Melanie S. Thompson, 55, of Savannah, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 19 counts of wire fraud, and two counts of making false, fictitious, or fraudulent claims. Toriono L. Byrd, 52, of Savannah, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Federal prosecutors say the...

Atlanta News First Investigates obtained surveillance video and police records that tell a different story than the one the public heard.

A group of seven Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), is again demanding unprecedented details and justifications for Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s personnel and chain of command decisions, including promotion lists. The senators are pressing for the specific legal authorities, criteria, and processes used, along with any reasons beyond standard military performance, qualifications, or conduct. They also requested demographic breakdowns of promotions and removals to flag and general officer ranks.

Federal agents crushed the California arm of a vicious transnational organized crime syndicate in series of stunning raids Tuesday that saw the arrest of at least 11 accused criminals in the Golden State — and over a dozen more in the US, Canada and Europe. Los Angeles federal agents led the global takedown of the India-based Bishnoi Gang, a fearsome global mob blamed for extortion, drug dealing and the assassination of political figures, industrialists, actors and musicians in North America and India.

Michelle Mickens was placed on indefinite leave for claiming the world was 'safer' after the TPUSA founder was killed Former Georgia teacher Michelle Mickens settled her lawsuit with the Oglethorpe County School District on Wednesday after claiming she was unfairly punished over quotes related to Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk after his assassination.In October, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mickens after she was placed on indefinite leave and reportedly encouraged to resign for making controversial comments about Kirk's assassination on her private Facebook page in September."I think it's worth it. I think...

Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff narrowly won his Senate seat in a January 2021 runoff, defeating Republican David Perdue by just over a percentage point. New Fox News polling suggests a different dynamic this time, as Ossoff holds a double-digit lead over GOP challenger Mike Collins in the 2026 Georgia Senate race.

ATLANTA — A fiery crash between a CSX train and a semi-truck shut down MARTA and part of a busy area of Atlanta’s westside. The truck scattered what looked to be Amazon packages up and down the street. Emergency crews said it appears no one was injured in the crash, but the driver of the semi-truck is nowhere to be found. Why it took hours to track down the driver LIVE on Channel 2 at 4:00 p.m.

The U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC) announced that an Army sergeant who opened fire on his own unit and his male fiancé at Fort Stewart in Georgia last summer has been sentenced to six consecutive life sentences with the possibility of parole. Sgt. Quornelius S. Radford, 29, was convicted by a military judge of attempting to murder five soldiers and his fiancé during an Aug. 6 shooting rampage. In addition to his life sentences, Radford will forfeit all pay and allowances, be reduced in rank to E-1, and receive a dishonorable discharge from the Army, according to...

Georgia’s Republican legislative leaders on Wednesday rejected Gov. Brian Kemp’s call to redraw congressional and legislative districts during a special session, citing concerns about moving too quickly after a US Supreme Court decision weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters. House Speaker Jon Burns sent Kemp a letter hours before a special session was set to begin Wednesday, and he announced the decision as demonstrators filled the Georgia Capitol with chants of “Black voters matter!” The decision marked a setback for both Kemp and President Donald Trump, who has urged Republican-led states to redraw congressional districts to their...

President Trump early on Sunday endorsed Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) over former college football coach Derek Dooley in Tuesday’s Georgia GOP Senate runoff. “Mike is strongly supported by the most Highly Respected MAGA Patriots in Georgia and beyond, and many Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate — He is a WARRIOR and WINNER!” Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social, earlier referring to Collins as “‘MAGA’ Mike Collins.”