Atlanta, GA
Vice President Harris attends voting rights roundtable in Atlanta
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ATLANTA — Vice President Kamala Harris visited Atlanta on Tuesday for an event focused on voting rights across the United States.
She held the roundtable discussion alongside voting and civil rights advocates and Congress members.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Harris said during the event. “The attacks are clear. There is, I believe, a full-on intent to attack fundamental freedoms and rights.”
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The vice president’s visit to battleground Georgia comes after a federal judge ruled that mass challenges to voters’ eligibility did not violate federal law.
A judge also ruled to uphold GOP-drawn political maps that preserved Republican majorities in both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly.
“What is happening in the country… anti-voter laws, laws that limited drop boxes, have made it illegal to even provide food and water to people standing in line often for hours,” Harris said.
However, in August 2023, a federal judge ruled that providing water and food to those waiting in line was, in fact, allowed.
In a statement, the Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party wrote, in part:
“Hopefully Vice President Harris will use her time in Atlanta to acknowledge that the dangerous and inflammatory rhetoric used by the Biden administration about common sense voter integrity reforms were mistaken.”
TRENDING STORIES:
7th Congressional District Rep. Lucy McBath said, “Make sure that as we go forward that people do have the ability to exercise what’s important to them and that’s the ballot box when they vote.”
Harris said, “When we look at the state of Georgia, it is ground zero on this issue.”
In a statement, the secretary of state accused the Biden administration of pushing election misinformation.
The vice president said she would return to Washington D.C. and compel Congress to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
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The Georgia Department of Transportation announced that a major weekend construction project, set to fully shut down two miles of I-285, has been postponed due to inclement weather. Atlantans are relieved, with many looking forward to more freedom to travel this Mothers’ Day weekend. Kim Leoffler has the story.
ATLANTA – An Atlanta flight attendant and mother of eight is among 17,000 Spirit Airlines workers struggling to find a new “destination” after the carrier suddenly shut down.
Spirit Airlines Atlanta impact
What we know:
Spirit Airlines ended all operations on Saturday, grounding its entire fleet and ending employment for its 17,000-person workforce. Flight attendants and customers were stranded across the country, often forced to pay for their own travel home after the discount carrier ceased operations.
Kamille Carter, an Atlanta-based flight attendant of five years, said she received the termination email from the CEO at 3 a.m., despite earlier assurances from union representatives that the company was stable. The company immediately cut healthcare benefits and stopped payments for sick leave and vacation time for all staff members.
Unpaid wages and benefits
What we don’t know:
It is unclear if Carter and her fellow employees will ever receive their final paychecks or if there is any legal recourse for the lost benefits. The company has not specified if any transition assistance will be provided to workers, some of whom had been with the airline since it launched in 1994.
Employee reaction in Georgia
What they’re saying:
“This is a death because you have to mourn, you have to grieve, it’s a process,” Carter said of the sudden job loss. Despite the financial strain of supporting eight children, Carter is looking toward her passion for cooking as a potential new career. She noted that while being uncomfortable is difficult, it can “push you to your destiny.”
Finding help in Atlanta
What you can do:
Community members looking to support Carter and other local workers affected by the shutdown can find more information on the FOX 5 Atlanta website. The station is collecting resources for those navigating the sudden loss of income and healthcare.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from an interview conducted by FOX 5 reporter Eric Perry, who spoke directly with former flight attendant Kamille Carter in Atlanta. Previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting was also used.
The search for missing 16-year-old Benjamin Braithwaite is over. Atlanta police announced just before midnight Thursday that he had been located, more than a week after he vanished from his Regency Trace home.
The department shared the update on social media but did not release additional details about where he was found or the circumstances surrounding his recovery.
Braithwaite had been missing since the night of April 27, when he was last seen around 9 p.m. at his home in Atlanta. His family said they had no contact with him during the entire time he was gone.
The disappearance of the KIPP Atlanta Collegiate High School sophomore and basketball team member had galvanized the Atlanta community. His family, teammates, Atlanta police officers and neighbors gathered at the school last week to raise awareness about his disappearance. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where his mother works, joined the search effort — asking the public to watch for him at MARTA stops and fast food restaurants.
A $10,000 reward had been offered for credible information leading to his safe return.
“Even small details matter. Your awareness could make the difference,” the airport wrote in an Instagram post earlier this week.
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