Georgia
Despite confession, Georgia man acquitted in ex-beauty queen’s murder
A Georgia man who confessed to murdering a former magnificence pageant queen was discovered not responsible for her slaying Friday, based on native experiences.
Although Ryan Duke advised native police inside 90 seconds of coming into the station in 2017 that he killed highschool trainer Tara Grinstead again in 2005, an Irwin County jury acquitted him on Friday, based on the Atlanta Journal-Structure.
As an alternative, he was discovered responsible of concealing her demise and sentenced to 10 years Monday, the newspaper reported.
Duke mentioned on the stand he faked the confession as a result of he was underneath the affect of medicine and was afraid of his good friend Bo Dukes (no relation), who he alleged was Grinstead’s actual killer, the AJC reported.
Duke was arrested for involvement within the case shortly after Dukes was taken into custody in 2017.
Duke, throughout his 2017 confession, mentioned he broke into Grinstead’s dwelling for drug cash and when she caught him, he hit her. Authorities additionally mentioned he knew particulars of the crime not beforehand launched.
“I don’t really feel like I need to be free to breathe,” Duke wrote in his 2017 confession, displayed by the web site Regulation and Crime. “I can’t start to grasp the ache I’ve prompted to her household and family members.”
When on the stand, Duke claimed Dukes advised him that he killed Grinstead in October 2005. Dukes admitted to serving to burn the physique, the AJC reported.
As a result of her physique was badly burned, solely bone and enamel fragments have been situated however not sufficient to gather DNA, the AJC reported.
“Tara misplaced her life,” mentioned Connie Grinstead, Grinstead’s stepmother, based on the AJC. “And that left a gap in our life that may by no means be crammed. We’ll really feel the ache of this loss for so long as we stay.”
Duke, who has already served 5 years in jail, might obtain as much as 10 years in reference to the lady’s demise.
Anita Gattis, Grinstead’s sister, mentioned ten years in jail isn’t sufficient for Duke.
“16 years. 6 months, and 27 days,” Gattis advised the court docket that’s how lengthy Grinstead has been gone, based on TV station WMAZ. “The utmost he can serve for concealing the demise of one other is 10 years. That’s solely seven years lower than the sentence I and the remainder of Tara’s household and mates have skilled resulting from his revolting and villainous motion.”
Georgia
Jimmy Carter Christmas ornament now available at Georgia stores
ATLANTA – The White House is honoring former President Jimmy Carter this Christmas with his own ornament, and Georgians can get their own for their tree.
The ornament is in the shape of an anchor, a symbol of hope that also represents Carter’s service in the U.S. Navy.
It also features historic moments from Carter’s life and presidency and comes with a keepsake box and illustrated booklet on Carter’s presidency.
“It is a great honor to offer the Official 2024 White House Christmas Ornament at Home Depot stores for the first time in Georgia,” said Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association. “This year we pay tribute to President Jimmy Carter’s remarkable life and enduring legacy as he continues to be a fixture in our country’s ongoing history.”
Shoppers can find the ornament at around 60 Home Depot stores across Georgia and in the Washington, D.C. area.
You can also buy the ornament on The Home Depot’s website.
Georgia
Georgia Senate study panel considers restrictions on trans women’s college sports participation • Georgia Recorder
A Georgia Senate study committee that bills itself as tasked with protecting women’s sports met Thursday for the last time before it is set to release recommendations before next year’s legislative session, and transgender Georgians are bracing themselves.
At Thursday’s hearing, transgender women and allies argued that vanishingly few transgender women participate in school sports, and those who do are largely not at the top of the competitive heap. Many said the national focus is making life difficult.
“It’s so hard to face this kind of opposition,” said Aaron Baker, a transgender woman and activist. “It’s so hard to be at a hearing like this and hear the language. It’s so hard for you to hear people describe me as a biological man because it’s not
true. I am hormonally female, I’m phenotypically female, I’m psychologically female, and that is a gross oversimplification of who I am and my identity, and it hurts.”
Committee Chair Greg Dolezal, a Cumming Republican, told members he would spend the next week or so reviewing testimony from the committee’s three hearings and plans to announce the date for presenting recommendations shortly after. Study committee recommendations could take the form of proposed legislation in time for the 2025 General Assembly, which is set to begin Jan. 13.
Dolezal indicated he is interested in considering regulations for college sports. A previous hearing featured testimony from cisgender women college swimmers who said they were placed at an unfair disadvantage when they had to compete against a transgender woman at a competition at Georgia Tech.
“A few years ago, I believe it was three years ago, the General Assembly passed a bill essentially prescribing the control to make decisions around transgender participation in sports to the Georgia High School Association, they passed a resolution that stated that participation in sports, high school sports, in the state of Georgia was based on the sex prescribed on a birth certificate. The law is currently silent on the collegiate competition level. So right now, we just have a law as it relates to high school associations,” he said.
Other Republicans on the committee suggested they would like to see legislation in K-12 schools, especially surrounding restrooms and locker rooms.
“As a father of two young daughters, we’ve got to protect women,” said Gwinnett Republican Sen. Clint Dixon. “We’ve got to protect their sports, we’ve got to protect them in changing rooms from what we heard from many of those athletes who testified, four or five of them who testified in the first committee hearing, having to change, which took 20, 30 minutes at a time, in front of a transgender female, but still had the genitalia of a male, which was horrific for them to witness that, some of them ended up changing in a storage closet, some of them waited until that athlete left the room, having to miss some of their competition, and that’s just at the college level, we’re not even talking about minors in K-12.”
Some activists indicated that they would oppose any kind of restriction on transgender participation, while speakers like Lambda Legal attorney Sasha Buchert urged the lawmakers to take a nuanced approach over a blanket ban, which could mean a committee including medical experts to consider safety or competitive concerns on a case-by-case basis. Others said such decisions should be left to athletic associations and leagues rather than politicians or political appointees.
“Sports are already managed by expert organizations like the NCAA, the International Olympics Committee, and professional leagues,” said Delfina Booth, a former Georgia Tech student and high school athlete who said she has lost transgender friends to police violence and suicide.
“These governing bodies have developed policies over decades that analyze fairness based on unique needs of each sport,” she added. “Contact sports have different rules than non-contact sports, children’s sports focus more on teamwork and development than adult sports, et cetera. These nuances cannot be addressed through broad government legislation. Additionally, decisions about athletic ability involve multiple complex factors, including the signs of physical development and the specific demands of each sport. These aren’t matters that lend themselves directly or easily to blanket rules.”
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Georgia
NC State football vs Georgia Tech score: Live updates, highlights from ACC game
The N.C. State Wolfpack and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets play in primetime on Thursday (7:30 p.m., ESPN) at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Week 13 of the college football season.
Coming off an idle week, the Wolfpack (5-5, 2-4 ACC) needs to win one of its final two games to become bowl eligible for the fifth straight season. But it won’t be an easy task taking on the Yellow Jackets (6-4, 4-3) in Atlanta, where N.C. State has lost 11 of 15 games in the series.
The Wolfpack hasn’t won at Georgia Tech since 2010.
NC State vs GT preview, prediction
Keep this page refreshed and bookmarked for live updates for N.C. State vs. Georgia Tech.
NC State vs Georgia Tech score
Live scoreboard:
What channel is NC State vs Georgia Tech today?
TV Channel: ESPN
Livestream: Fubo (free trial), ESPN+
Watch NCSU vs. GT on Fubo
N.C. State vs. Georgia Tech will be broadcast nationally on ESPN in Week 13 of the 2024 college football season. Matt Barrie and Dan Mullen will call the game from the booth at Bobby Dodd Stadium, with Harry Lyles Jr. reporting from the sidelines. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers. Matt Chazanow, Johnny Evans and Tony Haynes will have the radio call on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
NC State vs Georgia Tech start time
Date: Thursday, Nov. 21
Start time: 7:30 p.m.
Buy NCSU vs GT tickets here
The N.C. State vs. Georgia Tech game starts at 7:30 p.m. from Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
NC State vs Georgia Tech history
Series record: Georgia Tech 20-11
NC State’s last win: 2020 (23-13)
Georgia Tech’s last win: 2019 (28-26)
NC State vs Georgia Tech prediction
Georgia Tech 30, N.C. State 23: The Yellow Jackets will remain undefeated at home behind a big effort from quarterback Haynes King. The Wolfpack will head to Chapel Hill for the regular-season finale, needing a win to play in the postseason.
NC State vs Georgia Tech spread, betting odds
Game lines and odds from BetMGM will be posted as they become available.
Spread: Georgia Tech is an 8.5-point favorite
Over/under: 52.5 points
Moneyline: N.C. State (+270), Georgia Tech (-350)
NC State vs Georgia Tech weather
Temperatures for kickoff will be around 44 degrees under clear skies in Atlanta, Georgia. Winds will be between 8-16 mph, with gusts up to 38 mph.
NC State vs Georgia Tech injury updates
This section will updated in the pregame.
NC State schedule 2024
- Aug. 29: Western Carolina (W, 38-21)
- Sept. 7: Tennessee (L, 51-10)
- Sept. 14: Louisiana Tech (W, 30-20)
- Sept. 21: at Clemson (L, 59-35)
- Sept. 28: Northern Illinois (W, 24-17)
- Oct. 5: Wake Forest (L, 34-30)
- Oct. 12: Syracuse (L, 24-17)
- Oct. 19: at Cal (W, 24-23)
- Oct. 26: OPEN
- Nov. 2: Stanford (W, 59-28)
- Nov. 9: Duke (L, 29-19)
- Nov. 16: OPEN
- Nov. 21: at Georgia Tech (Thursday)
- Nov. 30: at UNC
Georgia Tech schedule 2024
- Aug. 24: Florida State (W, 24-21)
- Aug. 31: Georgia State (W, 35-12)
- Sept. 7: at Syracuse (L, 31-28)
- Sept. 14: VMI (W, 59-7)
- Sept. 21: at Louisville (L, 31-19)
- Sept. 28: OFF
- Oct. 5: Duke (W, 24-14)
- Oct. 12: at UNC (W, 41-34)
- Oct. 19: Notre Dame (L, 31-13)
- Oct. 26: at Virginia Tech (L, 21-6)
- Nov. 2: OFF
- Nov. 9: Miami (W, 28-23)
- Nov. 16: OFF
- Nov. 21: NC State (Thursday)
- Nov. 29: at Georgia
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
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