Free Republic

Renovations to Ocean Terminal at the Port of Savannah are now more than 60% complete, with the project on track to make Savannah one of the most capable container ports on the East Coast, the Georgia Ports Authority announced Tuesday at its board of directors meeting. The $1.6 billion project is expanding Ocean Terminal’s annual container capacity from its current 200,000 TEU to 1.75 million twenty-foot equivalent units — a nearly ninefold increase designed to handle the growing volume of cargo moving through the Georgia coast. “Ocean Terminal is a major part of our strategy to prepare Savannah for future...

A birthday celebration erupted into chaos early Sunday when gunfire broke out between two groups at Carolyn Crayton Park, leaving 12 teenagers wounded. A 17-year-old male and an 18-year-old were in critical condition at Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center, Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said in an afternoon press conference attended by the mayor and the school superintendent. Nine others — five 18-year-olds and four 17-year-olds — are listed in stable condition. A 19-year-old victim arrived at the hospital Sunday afternoon. Three of the victims were identified as Northeast High School football players. “I can’t remember we’ve had this...

A dozen teens were shot after gunfire broke out at a chaotic birthday party gone awry inside a Georgia park Saturday night, according to local authorities and reports. The shots broke out around midnight at Carolyn Crayton Park in Macon, where a “large gathering” had congregated following a birthday party at a nearby Airbnb, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said. Two of the victims –- a 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old boy — were left in critical condition, while the other 10 were listed in stable condition. The group, which included high schoolers, had been asked to leave that Airbnb...

OXFORD, Miss. (NewsNation) — The University of Mississippi on Thursday identified the two students who died Monday as freshman Aidan Hamilton and junior Robert Strang. The university said the families gave permission to release the names and asked for privacy as they grieve. Hamilton is from Englewood, Colo., while Strang is from Atlanta, according to the records. “We have been in touch with the families to offer our deepest sympathies and share university support and resources,” Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Shawnboda Mead said in a message to the campus community. The causes of both deaths remain under investigation. One...

A Georgia city’s youngest-ever mayor lashed out at officials as he broke his silence after being ousted from his role in light of the sexting and spending scandals that had recently engulfed him. Jayden Williams – who served as mayor of Stockbridge for 10 months before being impeached — was removed from office earlier this month after being found to have sent suggestive messages to an 18-year-old male high school student on his mentoring scheme as well as spending $4,000 on a city credit card. Some of the expenses Williams, 23, racked up included a $200 purchase at an Academy...

The federal government just told noncitizens who cast ballots in American elections that prosecutors are coming for them. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday it had charged 16 people in seven states with illegally voting, registering to vote through false citizenship claims, and related fraud, according to a press release from the department’s Office of Public Affairs. Many of the accused are noncitizens alleged to have voted in federal contests. The department paired the filings with a blunt message on social media. “Let this be a warning to ANYONE trying to cheat and undermine our elections,” the DOJ wrote....

At least three Georgia counties were listed on an internal memo of jurisdictions across the country that offer election materials in languages other than English, according to internal records from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Gwinnett, Cobb and DeKalb counties were all listed in the report, which was emailed to a number of top officials at the department in December, though the memo noted there could be other jurisdictions in the state that translate election materials. The email said the list was “outlining requirements for prosecution of voter related charges,” and was signed by the department’s acting director of...

ATLANTA — A member of the Georgia House of Representatives is facing federal charges after prosecutors accused him of fraudulently collecting thousands of dollars in COVID-19 unemployment benefits while continuing to work and earn income. Federal prosecutors announced that Dexter L. Sharper, 54, of Valdosta, was charged with making false statements to obtain unemployment assistance funds administered by the U.S. Department of Labor. According to the criminal information, Sharper allegedly applied for pandemic unemployment benefits between April 2020 and May 2021 while serving as the state representative for House District 177, which includes portions of Lowndes County. Prosecutors say Sharper...

Vibrio vulnificus, also known as “flesh-eating” bacteria, has now killed four people in Florida this year, according to the state’s Department of Health. The potentially deadly bacterium is frequently linked to eating raw or undercooked shellfish, especially oysters. Swimming in warm, brackish saltwater with open wounds is another way people can contract the infection. While it remains unclear how the latest victim contracted the infection, the most recent death was a resident of Broward County who was between the ages of 75 and 79, according to the most recent Florida Department of Health data. 21 Vibrio vulnificus infections have been...

Georgia's youngest elected mayor was removed from office just 10 months after taking the job following allegations that he misused city funds and exchanged sexually suggestive messages and images with an 18-year-old high school student. Jayden Williams, who recently turned 23, was impeached by the Stockbridge City Council in the city south of Atlanta after taking office in January. "The City of Stockbridge confirms that the City Council has taken formal action concerning the Office of Mayor," the city said in a statement on Sunday. "The Mayor has been removed from office." Williams was accused of using his city purchasing...

When a political player starts drawing personal insults from President Trump and his people, it is a pretty good sign that his star is on the rise. For Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia, that moment arrived this summer. In July, Mr. Trump dubbed the fresh-faced lawmaker “Pee-wee Herman.” The next month, upset over Mr. Ossoff’s criticism of the president, one aide called Mr. Ossoff a “feminine theater kid” and a “lightweight loser,” and another derided him as “a miserable person” and “the biggest cuck loser in politics,” while deploying a sexually explicit moniker unfit for a family-friendly publication. Mr. Ossoff...

Women in Georgia have had to navigate the state’s six week abortion ban for the past few years, but lawyers and advocates say a lawsuit coming out of another Southern state could further restrict access. On Sept. 9 oral arguments began for Louisiana v. the U.S Food and Drug Administration, a suit over telehealth and mail delivery access to the abortion pill mifepristone. In 2020, the FDA began allowing mifepristone to be prescribed through telehealth and delivered to patients in the mail. Previously, the medication was only allowed to be dispensed in-person in a medical facility. In 2023 the agency...

In this video, Ed Barnhart explores the rise of Etowah, its six earthen pyramids, large plaza, homes, palisade walls, and the natural resources that helped support a thriving ancient city. He also looks at the remarkable artwork and trade networks found atEtowah, including copper and ceremonial objects connected to the wider Mississippian world. From its origins and periods of growth to its decline, conflicts, and eventual encounters with Spanish explorers, Ed examines the story of one of the most fascinating ancient cities of North America. Pyramids of Georgia | 15:48 Archaeologist Ed Barnhart | 41.7K subscribers 25,598 views | September...

PORT ORANGE, Florida (WESH) -- Video released by the Port Orange Police Department shows officers firing more than a dozen times at a 71-year-old woman who showed up armed with a gun. Surveillance video shows the woman, Linda Jean Croteau, walking into the lobby of the station holding the gun and firing it one time. She then exited the front lobby and was confronted by officers who were responding to the scene. She is told to drop the weapon but does not comply. An officer fires three times, and Croteau falls to the ground. She sits up, appears to reach...

The Atlantic hurricane season reaches its climatological peak this week, and AccuWeather meteorologist are monitoring just one area for potential development. VIDEO AT LINK.......... As the climatological peak of the Atlantic hurricane season arrives this week, tropical activity remains largely suppressed due to an unusually strong El Niño. The one exception is off the southeastern coast of the United States, where AccuWeather hurricane experts have highlighted an area with a low chance of tropical development into the middle of the month. "A slow-moving front will drift into the southeastern United States, leading to enhanced thunderstorm coverage. An area of tropical...

When Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins announced his candidacy for Senate last year, his official “war room” account on X posted a short campaign video that ended with the on-screen slogan: “Georiga, Let’s Ride.” From that widely mocked spelling mistake on day one to a House ethics probe to revelations that his son-in-law made white nationalist posts on social media, Collins has suffered a series of setbacks that have hobbled his campaign. Meanwhile, incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff has developed a national profile by blasting President Trump and surged in state polls. The latest polls show Ossoff, 39 years old,...

Atlanta - Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger highlighted the findings of an independent audit of Georgia’s voter registration and list-maintenance systems, which prove that Georgia is the best state in the nation for secure, accurate, and accessible elections. Georgia’s voter rolls achieved 99.9% accuracy. According to the report, auditors estimated no more than 0.1% of the voter registration records would have allowed an individual to vote despite an unverified identity, invalid residential addresses, or unverified eligibility. The Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, following a request from the Georgia Senate Appropriations Committee, found that voter-roll processes administered by the Secretary...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke about the wave of violence hitting Iraq from Islamic militants, asserting that the United States does not have a responsibility to assist the country with military action. “I don’t think this is our responsibility, but I do think we were irresponsible for going into Iraq for a variety of other reasons,” she told reporters on Capitol Hill on Thursday. Pelosi called the violence “troubling” but asserted that there was no American appetite for further military action in the country

James McMaster, 94 years old, lost about $1.3 million in the collapse of First Liberty Building & Loan, the Georgia investment firm built by a family of Republican power brokers. He recently got a call to contribute to a GOP campaign. “I said, ‘OK, let me tell you. Here’s where I’m at,’” McMaster said. “‘When you get all the politicians that have received funds from them and get them to return them, then maybe we can talk.’” The saga of First Liberty and the Frost family that ran it—and were long among the Georgia GOP’s most influential names—haunts the midterms....

A voluntary recall of frozen organic blueberries has been elevated to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s most serious risk category after evidence linked the products to a potentially life-threatening bacterial contamination. According to a report from the Daily Mail, the FDA has reclassified the recall of GreenWise Organic frozen blueberries as Class I. That designation applies when there is a “reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.” The original recall was initiated last month by Chile-based Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur SA after testing detected a...