Georgia

Georgia enacts controversial ‘foreign agent’ law despite large-scale protests

Published

2 years ago

June 3, 2024

Georgia enacts controversial ‘foreign agent’ law despite large-scale protests

Georgia enacted a controversial “foreign agent” bill on Monday despite large-scale demonstrations against the law and international opposition.

Georgian parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili signed the law On Transparency of Foreign Influence, also known as the law on foreign agents” or the “Russian law,” which was subsequently published on the country’s Legislative Bulletin website. According to Article 46 of the Constitution of Georgia, if the president refuses to sign a law passed by parliament, the law must be signed and published by the chairman of the parliament within five days.

The draft law was first announced on February 14, 2023. It proposed the creation of an open register of foreign agents in the country, which would include media and non-profit organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad, with possible repercussions for non-compliance. However, the government was initially unable to continue consideration of this bill due to large-scale protests. On March 9, 2023, the Georgian parliament rejected the bill at its second reading.

However, the bill was revived in 2024, which resulted in mass protests in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi. On May 2, Georgia’s parliament had to cancel a plenary session due to the demonstrations. While the parliament approved the law on May 14, four days later, President Salome Zurabishvili vetoed it because of its similarity to a controversial Russian “foreign agents” law and alleged unconstitutionality. However, on May 28, the parliament passed the law, overriding the presidential veto.

Some non-governmental organizations said on May 29 that they would not comply with the law on “foreign agents.” International human rights organizations, civil society groups and election observers have called on European leaders to halt Georgia’s EU integration because the law “threatens to provide the government with tools to suppress civil society and independent media.” The United States also condemned the Georgian parliament for overriding the presidential veto of the law.

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Georgia

High Fire Danger conditions continue through Thursday in Georgia

Published

11 hours ago

April 9, 2026

Press Room

High Fire Danger conditions continue through Thursday in Georgia

Dry air and gusty winds are expected to create high fire danger conditions Thursday afternoon into the evening across parts of north and central Georgia.

GEORGIA FIRE WEATHER ALERTS

Relative humidities of 25 percent or less are expected for four or more hours Thursday afternoon into the evening. Winds are forecast to be from the northeast to southeast at 7 to 12 mph, with gusts up to 20 mph. With dry fuels in place, the weather service said high fire danger conditions can be expected.

Everyone is urged to check with local burn permitting authorities about whether outdoor burning is allowed. If burning is permitted, use extreme caution.

MIDDLE GEORGIA FIRE WEATHER ALERTS

The statement covers a wide area of Georgia including the following Middle Georgia counties: Butts, Jasper, Putnam, Hancock, Upson, Lamar, Monroe, Jones, and Baldwin.

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Georgia

Georgia football knew it couldn’t make same mistake twice with Khalil Barnes

Published

23 hours ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

Georgia football knew it couldn’t make same mistake twice with Khalil Barnes

Georgia Bulldogs

The Bulldogs initially missed out on the defensive back, but the Clemson transfer is expected to make an immediate impact.

Clemson transfer Khalil Barnes — pictured taking part in the second day of spring practice in Athens in March — has spent most of the spring starting at the STAR position despite Rasean Dinkins playing there late last season after Joenel Aguero was injured. Aguero transferred this offseason. (DawgNation staff)

ATHENS — Landing prospects out of the transfer portal is often a dart throw.

And after bringing in three defensive back transfers for the 2025 season and another four this offseason, Georgia finally seems to have hit the mark with former Clemson standout Khalil Barnes.

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Elijah Griffin takes part in the second day of spring practice in Athens, Georgia, on Thursday, March 19, 2026. (DawgNation staff photo)

Connor Riley has been covering the University of Georgia since 2014 before moving to DawgNation full-time before the 2018 season. He helps in all areas of the site such as team coverage, recruiting, video production, social media and podcasting. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016.

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Georgia

Republicans win Georgia race — but Democrats post largest swing yet in special House elections

Published

1 day ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

Republicans win Georgia race — but Democrats post largest swing yet in special House elections

Republicans padded their slim House majority with a special election win in Georgia on Tuesday night. But the race also marked the biggest swing against the GOP compared with the 2024 presidential results out of seven House special elections in President Donald Trump’s second term.

It’s the latest sign of an encouraging political environment for Democrats, though the results in lower-turnout special elections never translate exactly to November. Democrats hope to mobilize voter frustration with Trump and his party to break the Republicans’ unified control of Washington this year.

Republican attorney Clay Fuller, Trump’s pick to fill the seat vacated by GOP former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation this year, is projected to defeat Democrat Shawn Harris and hold Georgia’s 14th Congressional District for Republicans. But the results Tuesday look nothing like in 2024, when Trump won the district by almost 37 points and Greene won by about 29 points.

Fuller led Harris by 55.9% to 44.1% with 99% of the expected vote in, according to NBC News’ Decision Desk. That’s a 12-point margin — and a 25-point swing from Trump’s margin.

The previous biggest swing in a House special election during Trump’s second term came about a year ago, in Florida’s 1st District. There, Democrat Gay Valimont lost by about 15 points, a 23-point improvement on Trump’s 37-point victory margin, even as Republican Jimmy Patronis won the seat. In another special House election the same day, in the state’s 6th District, Democrats improved on Harris’ 2024 margin by 16 points.

And in a December special House election in Tennessee, the Democratic candidate lost by 9 points about a year after Trump won the district by 22 points.

The trend across those House special elections has also extended to other special elections, helping Democrats flip 11 state legislative seats in special elections since the start of last year. And there are signs the party isn’t doing that just by turning out more Democrats while Republicans stay home: An NBC News Decision Desk analysis found that Democrats’ most recent state legislative wins in Florida came despite the fact that more registered Republicans voted in those races than registered Democrats.

Harris’ overperformance in Georgia stands out from the other Democratic congressional candidates in Republican-held seats because he spent the least amount of campaign funds on ads, according to the tracking firm AdImpact.

Harris spent $1.1 million on ads in the race, including $298,000 since the first round of voting March 10. Fuller and Republican outside groups spent a combined $4 million, including $1.1 million since March 10.

Harris’ most recent campaign finance report, which detailed spending through March 18, showed that his campaign spent heavily on digital fundraising and building his donor list and on running a field program.

In both Florida special elections, the Democratic candidates, Josh Weil and Gay Valimont, outspent Republican groups and their respective GOP opponents, Randy Fine and Jimmy Patronis, on the airwaves. In Tennessee, Democrat Aftyn Behn spent $3.5 million on the airwaves. Republican Matt Van Epps and his GOP allies ultimately spent $7.5 million, thanks to a late spending push from Republican groups.

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