Georgia
Georgia election official Raffensperger to speak with Jan. 6 investigators
June 27 (Reuters) – Georgia’s top election official, Brad Raffensperger, is scheduled on Wednesday to answer questions from federal investigators examining former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, a spokesperson for Raffensperger’s office said.
Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, will likely be asked about a phone call he received from Trump in January 2021, in which Trump was recorded asking Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to reverse President Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
The wide-ranging investigation includes the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, when a mob of Trump supporters breached the building to try to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s victory.
Trump, front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential race, has denied any wrongdoing and asserts falsely that the election was rigged.
The investigation is one of two overseen by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed last year by Attorney General Merrick Garland to insulate the department from accusations of political influence.
Smith filed criminal charges this month in the second investigation, accusing Trump of mishandling national security documents after leaving office and lying to officials who tried to recover them.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and called the investigation a hoax. He is the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges.
The Atlanta district attorney is also conducting an investigation into whether Trump and his allies unlawfully sought to interfere with the 2020 election. She is expected to announce any possible charges by Sept. 1.
Trump faces state charges in Manhattan that he falsified business records to conceal a hush-money payment to a porn star who claimed to have had a sexual encounter with him. He has pleaded not guilty and denies the encounter.
Raffensperger’s spokesman did not offer any additional details on the scheduled interview. The news was first reported by the Washington Post.
Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Howard Goller
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Georgia
Wynk THC seltzer coming to stores across Georgia. Here’s what we know
What is delta 8? What to know about ‘diet weed’ and it’s safety.
Delta-8 THC products are exploding in popularity across the country. Here’s why they are available in states where marijuana is illegal.
This Thanksgiving, want something a little different to wash down your meal? If so, there’s a new beverage you might like to try.
On Wednesday, Wynk announced the statewide debut of its THC-infused seltzers. According to the company’s news release, Wynk delivers a refreshing social experience with a balanced 1:1 ratio of THC and CBD using high-quality manufacturing standards.
The drink comes in a variety of flavors including “Black Cherry Fizz,” “Lime Twist,” “Juicy Mango,” and “Tangerine.” They come in 7.5 oz cans with 2.5mg of THC and CBD and 12 oz cans with 5mg of each. The prices are as follows:
- 6-Pack: 2.5mg $24.99; 5mg $35.99
- 12-Pack: 2.5mg $44.99; 5mg $67.99
- 24-Pack: 2.5mg $89.99; 5mg $129.99
Products like these may be legally sold due to Congress legalizing hemp production in the 2018 Farm Bill, according to a press release on Georgia’s Hemp Farming Act. Hemp is a cannabis plant that naturally contains small amounts of the psychoactive cannabinoid delta-9 THC, along with other natural cannabinoids that may be used for medicinal purposes. Under Georgia’s new legislation, products that contain these kinds of ingredients are restricted those 21 and older.
Wynk is being sold in a variety of stores across Georgia like Chevron, Circle K, and BP. To find your nearest store that sells it, go to drinkwynk.com/find-in-stores.
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.”
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
-
Business1 week ago
Column: OpenAI just scored a huge victory in a copyright case … or did it?
-
Health1 week ago
Bird flu leaves teen in critical condition after country's first reported case
-
Business6 days ago
Column: Molly White's message for journalists going freelance — be ready for the pitfalls
-
World1 week ago
Sarah Palin, NY Times Have Explored Settlement, as Judge Sets Defamation Retrial
-
Science3 days ago
Trump nominates Dr. Oz to head Medicare and Medicaid and help take on 'illness industrial complex'
-
Politics5 days ago
Trump taps FCC member Brendan Carr to lead agency: 'Warrior for Free Speech'
-
Technology4 days ago
Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI
-
Lifestyle5 days ago
Some in the U.S. farm industry are alarmed by Trump's embrace of RFK Jr. and tariffs