Georgia

Georgia leads push to ban datatcenters used to power America’s AI boom

Published

2 weeks ago

January 26, 2026

Georgia leads push to ban datatcenters used to power America’s AI boom

Lawmakers in several states are exploring passing laws that would put statewide bans in place on building new datacenters as the issue of the power-hungry facilities has moved to the center of economic and environmental concerns in the US.

In Georgia a state lawmaker has introduced a bill proposing what could become the first statewide moratorium on new datacenters in America. The bill is one of at least three statewide moratoriums on datacenters introduced in state legislatures in the last week as Maryland and Oklahoma lawmakers are also considering similar measures.

But it is Georgia that is quickly becoming ground zero in the fight against untrammelled growth of datacenters – which are notorious for using huge amounts of energy and water – as they power the emerging industry of artificial intelligence.

The Georgia bill seeks to halt all such projects until March of next year “to allow state, county and municipal-level officials time to set necessary policies for regulating datacenters … which permanently alter the landscape of our state”, said bill sponsor state Democratic legislator Ruwa Romman.

It comes at a time when Georgia’s public service commission – the agency that oversees utility company Georgia Power – just last month approved a plan to provide 10 additional gigawatts of energy in the coming years. It was the largest amount of electricity sought for a multi-year plan in the commission’s history, was driven by datacenters and will mostly be supplied by fossil fuels.

The 10-gigawatt plan – enough to power about 8.3m homes – in turn comes as the Atlanta metro area led the nation in datacenter construction in 2024.

This accelerated growth has already led at least 10 Georgia municipalities to pass their own moratoriums on datacenter construction, with Atlanta suburb Roswell becoming the most recent earlier this month. Municipalities in at least 14 states have done the same, according to Tech Policy Press.

Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent democratic socialist senator, proposed a national moratorium last month.

“What we’re seeing is, as communities are learning more about this aggressive industry’s presence … [they] want to have time to thoroughly investigate all potential harms,” said Seth Gladstone, spokesperson for Food and Water Watch.

The rampant development of datacenters to power AI raises several concerns for residents and activists alike. One is their impact on the cost of electricity. “In the public’s mind, datacenters and utility bills are inextricably linked,” said Charles Hua, founder and executive director of PowerLines, an organization that works on lowering utility bills and involving communities in decisions about energy.

Hua noted that the relationship between the two varies, depending on each state’s market and regulatory system. In Georgia, he said, the Georgia Power utility company makes profit off new capital investments – so it has incentive to keep building new power plants. This approach has led Georgia’s rates to go up by a third in the last several years alone. Meanwhile, he said, the power company doesn’t have incentive to make the electrical grid more efficient – which “could actually lower prices”, Hua said.

But datacenter concerns in Georgia also include water use and lost tax revenue. Republicans in the state legislature have introduced bills this year to protect consumers from increases in their utility bills and to end tax breaks for the centers. A Democrat has proposed that datacenters make public how much energy and water they use each year.

Romman, the first Palestinian American elected to statewide office in Georgia, is also running for governor, hoping to break the near quarter-century hold Republicans have on the office.

Her bill, HB 1012, has a Republican co-sponsor in state congressman Jordan Ridley, who said he signed o nto the measure because he wanted to give local governments time to develop zoning regulations on datacenters, since “it seems like they’re being built across the state”.

“Every local government has zoning codes and … they need public input. That takes time,” Ridley said. At the same time, Ridley added, “datacenters … provide tax revenue and high-paying jobs. I’m not against datacenters.”

Romman’s bill is not just a policy proposal; it’s also a political one. In a statement, she wrote that the moratorium “would provide time for Georgians to vote on the majority of the Public Service Commission seats who make final decisions on energy-related projects”.

Georgia is one of 10 states that elect their utility regulators. Voters in the state elected progressive Democrats Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard to the five-member commission in November, leading the agency to lose its all-Republican makeup for the first time in nearly two decades. Another seat is up for a vote this November.

The calculus: if the commission becomes majority-Democratic, it will no longer give a rubber stamp to electricity demands from Georgia Power driven by tech companies seeking to build datacenters.

Hubbard, now in his new position, recently wrote an editorial asserting that Georgia voters “see data centers receiving tax breaks as their power bills go up. They see local communities struggle with competition for water supplies and high voltage transmission lines that reduce property values. And they see how the PSC approved every request placed before it by the monopoly electric utility.

“This is why opposition to data centers is growing in Georgia; because Georgians oppose being treated as collateral damage by the unregulated growth of data centers that will push their power bills even higher.”

There’s another political implication to Romman’s bill. Paul Glaze, spokesperson for Georgia Conservation Voters, said if the bill crosses from the House to the Senate, “it may be a preview of the potential general election” later this year.

“The question is, in communities where datacenters are coming, who are voters going to trust to have their back?” Glaze said. “Anyone serious about statewide office should have a clear position on this.”

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Georgia

2 inmates charged with murder escape from Georgia jail

Published

6 hours ago

February 10, 2026

Press Room

2 inmates charged with murder escape from Georgia jail

Authorities in Georgia asked for the public’s assistance on Monday, Feb. 9, after two inmates facing violent crime charges escaped from jail over the weekend.

Two inmates escaped custody from the Sumter County Jail at around 9:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, Feb. 8, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The Sumter County Jail is located in Americus, Georgia, a small city about 139 miles south of Atlanta.

The inmates, identified as Ricky Martin, 20, and Kentravious Holmes, 21, were being held on multiple charges, including murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery, according to the sheriff’s office. The escape prompted a widespread search involving multiple law enforcement agencies, and authorities released a be on the lookout, or BOLO, alert for the inmates on the morning of Monday, Feb. 9.

Authorities did not immediately release details on how the inmates escaped, but Sheriff Eric Bryant told local television station WALB that investigators were “still following up on different things that we’re finding inside the building.”

The sheriff added that it appears that there was “some type of mechanical failure with the locking system” at the facility, according to WALB.

During a news conference on Monday, Feb. 9, Albany Police Chief Michael Persley said the inmates were spotted in a stolen vehicle by license plate cameras, WALB reported. One of the inmates has family and other potential contacts in Albany, Georgia, a city about 38 miles south of Americus, Persley said.

It was unclear if escaped inmates were still in the area. Authorities have asked anyone with information on the inmates and their whereabouts to call 911 or contact the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and the Albany Police Department did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s requests for comment on Monday, Feb. 9.

Escaped inmates were arrested in connection with separate shootings

The sheriff’s office described Martin as 5 feet, 4 inches in height and weighing about 120 pounds, with “un-twisted dreads.”

Holmes was described as about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing about 155 pounds, “with un-twisted dreads, and multiple tattoos on his face and neck, including a ‘$’ sign, a broken heart, and ‘Baby Kay’ over his right eye,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Martin was booked into the Sumter County Jail in February 2025 after he was arrested and charged with murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He was arrested in connection with a shooting in Americus that left two dead and another injured.

At the time, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said local police responded to a shooting on Feb. 8, 2025, and discovered multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Peyton Brielle Roberts, 5, died after being transported to the hospital, while a 19-year-old, later identified as Jotavis Roshon Leverette, died from his injuries at a hospital.

Holmes was arrested in May 2025 and transported to the Sumter County Jail, according to the Americus Police Department. He was accused of fatally shooting 21-year-old Amon Kevone Harvey in April 2025, WALB reported at the time.

Recent jailbreaks across the United States

The escape in Georgia comes after three inmates fled from a county jail east of Atlanta in December. The three inmates, including one charged with murder, were captured about a day after their escape.

Earlier that month, another Georgia inmate escaped from custody at a hospital and used ride-hailing services, including an Uber ride, to evade sheriff’s deputies. The inmate, identified as Timothy Shane, 52, was captured after about three days in Covington, Georgia, a small city outside Atlanta, authorities said.

On Dec. 19, authorities arrested the last of three inmates who escaped from a Louisiana jail in early December by removing mortar and concrete blocks from a degraded part of a wall.

In June 2025, a former Arkansas police chief, convicted murderer and rapist Grant Hardin, was recaptured after a 12-day manhunt. Hardin had escaped from prison disguised as a guard and made it only a mile from the facility before he was found.

Earlier in the year, 10 inmates brazenly escaped from a New Orleans jail. Authorities said the inmates fled through a hole in a cell wall after ripping away a toilet and sink unit on the morning of May 16, 2025.

Most of the escapees were caught in the weeks after, and since then, multiple people have been charged with helping the inmates escape or stay on the run. The final inmate was recaptured Oct. 8 in Atlanta, nearly five months after the escape.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci and N’dea Yancey-Bragg

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Georgia

Georgia Tech Sets 2026 Family Weekend, Homecoming Dates

Published

18 hours ago

February 9, 2026

Press Room

Georgia Tech Sets 2026 Family Weekend, Homecoming Dates

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech has set two of its most highly anticipated dates of the year, as Tech football will host Mercer on Saturday, Sept. 19 as part of the Institute’s annual family weekend while Boston College will be the Yellow Jackets’ homecoming opponent on Saturday, Oct. 24.

2026 GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL FAMILY WEEKEND AND HOMECOMING GAMES
Family Weekend: Saturday, Sept 19 vs. Mercer
Homecoming: Saturday, Oct. 24 vs. Boston College

Additional specialty dates for the Jackets’ home football schedule in 2026, including Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame Weekend and the Military Appreciation Game, will be announced at a later date.

Georgia Tech’s highly anticipated 2026 home schedule features all seven home games being played at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field, beginning with premium non-conference showdowns versus Colorado (Sept. 5) and Tennessee (Sept. 12), and also including Atlantic Coast Conference battles against defending ACC champion Duke (Oct. 10) and 2025 bowl winners Louisville (Nov. 7) and Wake Forest (Nov. 21).

To renew season tickets for 2026 (renewal deadline: Monday, Feb. 16), click HERE.

To become a new season ticket member in 2026, click HERE.

One limited-edition Buzz/Ramblin’ Reck bobblehead will be gifted to each season ticket account.

Georgia Tech posted a 9-4 record (tied for the 10^th-most victories in Tech’s 133-season football history) and No. 24 final national ranking in 2025. The Jackets rose to as high as No. 7 in the national rankings in ‘25 and were ranked in the final 14 national polls of the season, which is their longest streak since Tech was ranked in all 16 polls in 1999.

Georgia Tech also went 6-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play in ‘25, which was good for a tie for second place in the 17-team conference. The Yellow Jackets are the only ACC team that has finished in the top four of the conference standings each of the last three seasons.

The Jackets’ 2026 roster features five returning all-ACC performers from last year’s 9-4 squad (PK Aidan Birr, OL Malachi Carney, LB Kyle Efford, RB Malachi Hosley and OL Ethan Mackenny) and 19 highly touted incoming transfers, headlined by RB Justice Haynes and QB Alberto Mendoza.

The first opportunity for fans to see the 2026 Yellow Jackets in action comes on Saturday, April 18 when Georgia Tech holds its 2026 White & Gold Game at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. The Jackets’ annual spring game kicks off at 1 p.m. and admission is FREE.

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram and at www.ramblinwreck.com.

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Georgia

Trial to begin in Georgia for the father of the Apalachee High School shooting suspect

Published

1 day ago

February 9, 2026

Press Room

Trial to begin in Georgia for the father of the Apalachee High School shooting suspect

ATLANTA — Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the trial of a man whose teenage son is accused of killing two students and two teachers at a Georgia high school in September 2024.

Colin Gray faces 29 counts, including two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter and numerous counts of second-degree cruelty to children related to the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder. He is one of a handful of parents around the country charged with crimes after their children are accused of committing acts of violence.

An indictment says Gray committed cruelty to children by giving his son, Colt, access to a gun and ammunition “after receiving sufficient warning that Colt Gray would harm and endanger the bodily safety of another.” Second-degree murder, an unusual charge under Georgia law, is defined as causing the death of a child by committing the crime of cruelty to children.

Killed in the shooting were teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. Another teacher and eight other students were wounded.

The shooting

Investigators have said Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time, carefully planned the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at the school northeast of Atlanta that is attended by 1,900 students.

He wrote step-by-step plans for the assault in a notebook, including diagrams and potential body counts, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified at a hearing the month after the shooting.

With a semiautomatic, assault-style rifle in his book bag, the barrel sticking out and wrapped in poster board, he boarded the school bus, investigators said. He left his second-period class and emerged from a bathroom with the gun and then shot people in a classroom and hallways, investigators said.

Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray, sits in the courtroom at the Barrow County courthouse, on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in Winder,Ga. Credit: AP/Brynn Anderson

Accusations against the father

Colin Gray had given his son the gun as a gift the Christmas before the shooting and later, at his son’s request, bought a larger magazine so the weapon could hold more rounds, an investigator testified during a pretrial hearing.

Colin Gray knew his son was obsessed with school shooters, even having a shrine in his bedroom to Nikolas Cruz, the shooter in the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, prosecutors have said. A GBI agent testified that the teen’s parents had discussed their son’s fascination with school shooters but decided that it was in a joking context and not a serious issue.

Colin Gray was also aware his son’s mental health had deteriorated, investigators testified. Seeking help from a counseling service weeks before the shooting, he wrote about his son: “We have had a very difficult past couple of years and he needs help. Anger, anxiety, quick to be volatile. I don’t know what to do.”

The trial

The trial will be held in Winder, in Barrow County, where Apalachee High School is located. But jury selection will take place in Gainesville, in Hall County, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away.

Colin Gray’s lawyer had sought a change of venue, arguing publicity may have tainted the opinion of potential Barrow County jurors. Prosecutors agreed, noting the impact the shooting had on the community.

The defense was unhappy with the judge’s selection of Hall County for the jury pool, acknowledging the convenience for jurors but arguing it was too close, remaining “within the geographic epicenter of this tragedy.”

The judge in the case set bond for Gray at $500,000, but he has remained in custody since he was arrested the day after shooting.

It’s unknown how long jury selection will take after it begins Monday or how long the trial will last once testimony gets underway. The judge has blocked off three weeks for jury selection and the trial.

Other cases against parents

There have been a number of cases around the country where prosecutors have chosen to charge parents when they believe there is evidence a parent contributed to violence attributed to a child.

Jennifer and James Crumbley were the first parents in the U.S. to be held criminally responsible for a mass shooting at a school by a child. They were convicted months before the shooting at Apalachee High School and are serving 10-year prison terms for involuntary manslaughter.

Their son, Ethan Crumbley, killed four students and wounded others at Michigan’s Oxford High School in 2021. Prosecutors faulted the Crumbleys for not securing a firearm at home and acting indifferently to signs of their son’s deteriorating mental health. They said Ethan’s actions were foreseeable and the parents had failed to prevent the violence.

Jeffrey Rupnow is charged with intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a person under 18 causing death. His daughter, Natalie Rupnow, 15, killed a student and a teacher at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, and killed herself in December 2024.

Robert Crimo Jr. pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and was sentenced for endorsing his son’s Illinois gun permit in 2019 despite knowing Robert Crimo III had expressed suicidal thoughts. Crimo III killed seven people in 2022 at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, a northern suburb of Chicago.

The case against Colt Gray

Colt Gray was indicted on a total of 55 counts, including murder in the deaths of four people and 25 counts of aggravated assault. He has pleaded not guilty, but a lawyer for the teen said during a hearing in May that his client would likely be ready to plead guilty after a psychologist’s report was prepared.

New lawyers have started representing him since then. At a brief hearing in December, the judge said a status hearing in the case would be held in mid-March.

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