Georgia
JEA, Georgia Power ready to respond to Tuesday’s severe weather
Georgia Power and JEA teams are in place and ready to respond to outages as conditions clear after severe thunderstorms that are expected to bring high wind and heavy rain.
JEA said its headquarters will remain open Tuesday to serve customers and that the primary focus for its teams during severe weather events is the safety of its crews and community members.
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JEA offered some tips for customers to keep in mind Tuesday:
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Outages: Some customers may experience power outages during the storm. JEA encourages all residential and commercial customers to visit jea.com/outage or call 904-665-6000 to report and track outages. Customers also can text “OUT” to MyJEA (69532) to report their outage.
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Restoration: In the event of outages, getting power back on for everyone will be JEA’s number one priority. The utility said it will work as quickly as safety permits to restore power. The number and extent of the outages will determine how long that takes, so JEA asks for patience.
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Downed Lines: The storms also may cause downed power lines. We urge residents to keep clear of any downed wires and to report any instances by calling 904-665-6000.
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Outdoor Furniture: With the forecast of severe winds, please secure or bring inside any outdoor furniture or other loose items.
In Georgia, as the storm conditions subside making it safe and efficient to work, Georgia Power crews will enter and remain in the field around the clock working until every service for every impacted customer is restored, the utility said.
Georgia Power reminds customers to keep safety first during severe winter weather and offers the following tips and tools.
Safety After The Storm (Find More Tips Here)
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Never touch any downed or low-hanging line. Always assume power lines are energized. Report the location of any downed or low-hanging line to Georgia Power. You can also contact local authorities or 911.
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Never try to make your own electrical repairs to Georgia Power equipment.
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Never pull tree limbs off power lines as they could be energized.
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Never go into areas with debris or downed trees. Dangerous power lines may be buried in the wreckage.
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Avoid stepping in puddles and standing water after a storm as they may be touching hidden, downed power lines and be electrified.
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Never walk into areas where crews are at work. If you’re driving near work crews, obey road signs and proceed cautiously.
Tools You Can Use to Stay Connected & Informed
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Outage Alerts – Customers subscribed to our free Georgia Power Outage Alert service will receive personalized notifications and updates via text message. Check that your contact number is up to date to receive the latest information.
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Outage & Storm Center – Available at www.georgiapower.com/storm, customers can visit this site to check their contact information is updated to receive Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can also report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938.
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Outage Map – Housed within the Outage & Storm Center, Georgia Power’s interactive Outage Map provides near real-time information, allowing users to see where outages are occurring across the state and track estimated restoration times.
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Georgia Power Mobile App – Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go.
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@GeorgiaPower on X (Twitter) – Follow @GeorgiaPower on X for storm tips, outage updates, customer service and more.
What to do
If you didn’t prepare to lose power, but you have, here are some tips from Consumer Reports to help keep you and your family safe.
If you have a generator, never turn it on inside — not even in your garage. The carbon monoxide it emits can kill you.
Unplug electrical equipment like your computer and TV. They can be damaged by a surge when the power comes back on. Leave a light switch turned on so you know when the power is back.
If you keep the doors closed, a refrigerator will maintain a safe temperature below 40°F for about four hours. A full freezer will stay cold for 48 hours — 24 (hours) if it’s half full.
Use your grill to cook any raw food before it goes bad. Make sure to do this outside — not in your garage or any other closed space. You’ll still need to chill the food or you can share it with the neighbors — but at least it’s not in the trash.
To conserve your phone’s battery power, close any apps running in the background and turn on low power mode. Depending on your device, this will do anything from disabling your voice assistant to dimming the display.
Before your phone dies, write important information down on paper like emergency numbers.
Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
Georgia
Federal defunding of public media raises concerns for Georgia stations from viewers, educators
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — More than $1 billion in federal funding is being pulled from public media nationwide, money that supports more than 1,500 television and radio stations across the country.
For nearly six decades, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) helped deliver children’s programming, public affairs reporting and emergency information to homes across the state. Shows like “Sesame Street” introduced generations of children to letters, numbers and social-emotional learning.
“I loved learning, and having educational programming right there made a big difference,” said Bailey Matthews.
In Georgia, the cuts are raising concerns about jobs, children’s educational programming, and access to news and emergency alerts, particularly in rural communities.
Educators and child development experts say programs featuring puppets as characters can be especially effective for young learners.
“Kids see a puppet as a living character, and that makes learning easier,” said Beth Schiavo, executive director for the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts.
Congress voted last year to defund CPB through the Rescissions Act of 2025, clawing back $1.1 billion that had already been approved. This week, CPB’s board voted to dissolve the organization entirely.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Corporation for Public Broadcasting votes itself out of existence
Some Georgia Republicans who supported the move say the decision comes down to federal spending priorities and concerns about political bias in public media.
“The news that these entities produced is either resented or increasingly tuned out and turned off by most of the hardworking Americans who are forced to pay for it,” said former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.
The loss of federal funding has immediate financial implications for Georgia stations. Georgia Public Broadcasting says CPB funding made up about 10% of its budget, or roughly $4.2 million this year.
At Atlanta’s WABE, the city’s PBS affiliate and main NPR affiliate, they must replace $1.9 million — about 13% of their annual budget.
Both GPB and WABE say they are not shutting down but acknowledge the loss of federal support means relying more heavily on donations and community backing moving forward.
“Public radio, to continue to be funded, allows for us to meet the needs of people who live in news deserts,” said NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher.
Former Georgia Teacher of the Year Tracey Nance said the impact extends beyond broadcasting. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute estimates more than 77,000 Georgia teachers have accessed GPB educational content more than four million times.
“It is absolutely providing essential services — not a luxury, but essential services that provide a foundation that all kids deserve,” said Nance.
Nance is calling on state lawmakers to use the state surplus to intervene.
Copyright 2026 WANF. All rights reserved.
Georgia
Georgia Deports Citizens of 6 Countries, Including Azerbaijan
Employees of the Migration Department of Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, as part of recent special operations, have deported 13 citizens from Turkmenistan, Iran, Cuba, Türkiye, Thailand, and Azerbaijan.
According to the information released by the ministry, the Migration Department carried out comprehensive immigration control measures in close coordination with the relevant departments, The Caspian Post reports, citing local media.
It is noted that, under current legislation, deported persons are prohibited from re-entering the country.
According to official statistics, the total number of foreign citizens deported from Georgia last year was 1,311.
Georgia
Georgia attains highest AP Top 25 ranking since 2003, with Florida on deck
No. 18 Bulldogs bring 13-1 record into Tuesday night game against defending national champion Gators in Gainesville.
Georgia coach Mike White (right) talks with guard Jeremiah Wilkinson during the Bulldogs’ win against Cincinnati in a Holiday Hoopsgiving game Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Georgia won 84-65. (Jason Getz/AJC)
ATHENS — Georgia basketball is back on the map, ranked in the AP Top 25 for a third consecutive week for the first time in nearly 23 years.
The Bulldogs (13-1, 1-0 SEC) are ranked No. 18 in the AP Top 25, up five spots from last week’s ranking, on the strength of a 104-100 overtime win over Auburn on Saturday.
It’s the highest Georgia has been ranked in the AP Top 25 poll since Jim Harrick coached the program and came in at No. 17 on Feb. 3, 2003 — the most recent season UGA has been ranked in the poll three or more consecutive weeks.
Unbeaten teams Arizona (14-0), Michigan (13-0) and Iowa State (14-0) hold the top three spots in this week’s AP Top 25, with UConn (14-1) and Purdue (13-1) rounding out the top five.
Vanderbilt (14-0, 1-0) is the SEC’s highest-ranked AP Top 25 team, coming in at No. 11, while Alabama (11-3, 1-0) is at No. 13, Arkansas (11-3, 1-0) is No. 15 and then No. 18 Georgia is the league’s fourth-highest-ranked team entering into this week’s games.
“Our guys have been so eager, probably like most teams in our league and throughout other leagues, at the highest level of college basketball,” UGA fourth-year coach Mike White said about the start of SEC play.
“We were playing a bunch of midmajors through the holidays, and you can’t let the moment be too big.”
Georgia’s schedule strength jumped from 298th to 231st with the win over Auburn, and it figures to get another boost when the Bulldogs play at Florida (9-5, 0-1) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
“Our confidence comes from within, we know what we have in our locker room,” said Georgia guard Jeremiah Wilkinson, a transfer from Cal who scored 31 in the win over Auburn and leads the Bulldogs with 18.3 points per game this season.
“We knew what we were capable of before coming into the (Auburn) game, and we told each other before the game: Let’s act like we’re supposed to win the game. Let’s act like we’re supposed to be here.”
Georgia leads the nation in scoring offense (99.4 points per game), fast-break points (27.0 per game) and blocked shots (8.0 per game).
The Gators, featuring preseason All-SEC players Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Boogie Fland, were the media’s preseason pick to win the league.
Georgia — which didn’t have a player picked on the first, second or third team — was picked to finish 14th in the SEC.
White, who coached Florida from 2015-2022, leading the Gators to four NCAA tournaments and an Elite Eight appearance in 2017, said Georgia is looking forward to the opportunity to play the defending national champion.
“We’ll fly around, we’ll play hard, we’ll be prepared,” White said. “This team has a pretty healthy level of intrinsic confidence, and you’ll need that to be competitive down there against a team that’s coming off a national championship.”
Georgia split with Florida last season, losing 89-59 in Gainesville, Florida, on Jan. 25 and then handing the Gators their last loss of the season, 88-83, on Feb. 25 in Athens.
“It’s nothing different than what we’ve just seen tonight (against Auburn),” said UGA guard Marcus “Smurf” Millender, who leads Georgia with 54 assists and a 40% 3-point shooting clip.
“They put their jerseys on like we put our jerseys on. We’re going to give them our best game and hope they bring it too.”
Florida fell out of the AP Top 25 poll this week after losing its SEC-opening game at Missouri 76-74 on Saturday and is among other teams still receiving votes.
Georgia has lost six consecutive games in Gainesville dating back to a 61-55 win on March 2, 2019, in Tom Crean’s first year leading the Bulldogs.
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