NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg traveled to Georgia Monday where he met with leaders to discuss strengthening cooperation between the nation and the alliance and a path to eventual membership.
Stoltenberg held meetings with both President Salome Zourabichvili and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze in the capital, Tbilisi. Kobakhidze was elected to his position last month and has, at times, been critical of the West, though he has expressed a desire to join both NATO and the European Union.
At a joint news conference after their talks, Stoltenberg expressed his appreciation for Georgia’s “substantial contributions to NATO,” and said NATO fully supports Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He said South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia, despite Russia’s insistence they are independent. The Russian military seized control of the territories in a brief 2008 war.
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Stoltenberg also called Russia’s efforts to organize elections in parts of Georgia and Ukraine “completely illegal,” and called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent reelection as “clearly neither free, nor fair.”
“Russia persists its pursuit of its imperial ambitions, and in Ukraine the situation on the battlefield remains difficult,” Stoltenberg said. “So, it is vital that we continue to step up our support.”
Stoltenberg also credited Georgia for hosting thousands of Ukrainian refugees and providing crucial humanitarian and financial aid.
In a statement, NATO said it is stepping up its cooperation with Georgia in areas such as crisis management, cyber security, military engineering and secure communications.
The statement said Stoltenberg stressed NATO’S commitment to support Georgia’s path towards stronger democracy and “full Euro-Atlantic integration,” including the decision made during the 2008 Bucharest NATO summit to invite Georgia to eventually become a NATO member.
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Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Open enrollment for health coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace is now underway for more than a million Georgians, but this year comes with added uncertainty.
The tax credits that help make coverage affordable may not be extended, leaving many residents unsure about their health care costs.
64-year-old Gareth Finley currently qualifies for a monthly premium tax credit under the ACA, which helps keep her insurance within reach.
But this week, Finley was stunned to see her monthly premium had doubled. Her $1,200-per-month tax credit may or may not continue, a decision now in the hands of Congress.
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“I think the U.S. has amazing health care, but the financing system for it is just kind of bizarre and broken,” Finley said.
According to Georgians for a Healthy Future, nearly 1.5 million Georgians rely on ACA tax credits. 93% of those enrolled in the marketplace depend on the subsidies to keep coverage affordable.
Finley expressed concern about the broader impact of rising costs on hospitals and rural communities.
“When hospitals can’t afford sustaining emergency rooms, they’ll end up closing — especially in rural areas like where I live,” she said.
The debate over ACA tax credits has become central in the ongoing government shutdown. Democrats stress the urgency of extending the subsidies.
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Senator Jon Ossoff said in a statement, “Today, Senate Republicans again blocked a bill to fund the Federal government and prevent massive increases in health insurance premiums. More than 20 million Americans will see their health insurance premiums double next year without Congressional action, while President Trump continues to refuse to work on a solution.”
Republicans argue the pandemic-era subsidies were intended to be temporary and that continuing them could benefit higher-income households.
However, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has signaled willingness to negotiate with Democrats on a new healthcare plan, posting that she is “absolutely disgusted” that insurance premiums could double if the credits expire.
Finley said the credits are essential.
“I can’t see our country sustaining our health care system and economy without it,” she said.
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Open enrollment runs through Jan. 15. Experts warn that if Congress does not act before the end of the year, thousands of Georgia families could lose coverage or face unaffordable premiums early next year.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – As a U.S. District court awaits response from the executive branch on how they plan to at least partially fund SNAP, the Atlanta Community Food Bank told Atlanta News First they are dealing with “unprecedented” demand.
CEO Kyle Waide said they are currently serving around 250,000 families a month and expect that number to increase.
“Demand was already high before the shutdown,” Waide said. “We have not seen this kind of confluence of really dramatic demand that is part of the economic picture, plus a disruption created by the shutdown, plus a lot of pressure on our resources, all happening at the same time.”
Waide said the shutdown is putting pressure on their inventory. Their partner food pantries are busier than ever.
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“I think it’s admirable that they’re stepping up,” Georgia NAACP President Gerald Griggs said. “I’m glad that non-profit organizations are stepping up, but this is why we pay our taxes.”
Griggs believes the onus is on Gov. Brian Kemp and the General Assembly.
“This is one of those situations where state and local have to act because the federal government has abdicated its responsibility to Georgians,” he said.
Griggs wants Georgia to dip into its $14 billion surplus to temporarily fund SNAP.
The governor said he won’t do that because the state wouldn’t be reimbursed for that money.
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Kemp, who blames Democrats, said the one and only viable solution is to reopen the government.
“We’re hopeful that they’ll find a way to get the government open soon. In the meantime, we’re going to do everything we can to put our arms around the neighbors who need us,” Waide told Atlanta News First.
Waide said the best way you can help the food bank is by replenishing their reserve funding with a financial contribution.
The Yellow Jackets took their first loss of the season tonight when they dropped a 48-36 shootout to NC State. Georgia Tech could not find a way to get a stop, giving up nearly 600 yards of offense in the loss.
After the game, Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key spoke with the media and here is everything that he had to say:
“Congrats to a well -played game by Dave and his team. They lined up and physically kicked our ass in a lot of ways. It is what it is. That’s on me, right? I’ll take responsibility for it, right? We’re going into a bye-week this week, and we’ve got work to do. We have three games remaining, and everything that we have wanted to do is still in front of us. It’s our choice and our decision, right, how we respond to this outcome.”
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“Yeah, I mean, I could say a lot of things right now. But at the end of the day, like I said, we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve got to get corrected. Yeah, I mean, we’ve got to be able to take something away. You know, and, you know, I mean, they had, what, 200, you know, when Duke Scott had a great game, 243, yeah. So we weren’t taking the run away, you know, The noticeable thing, you know, there were a lot of hidden yardage in there that two yards, five yards, four yards that were, you know, missed tackles, you know, getting knocked back. But then, like I said, we’ve got to improve, and we will. I won’t make the excuses.”
“No, look, you know, it’s, first off, I don’t know if we put enough gas in the gas tank. I mean, that was, if you want to talk about that, but no, it’s, uh, there’s no excuses, Chad. There’s not. We have guys, you know, whether if the guys down, someone else has to step up and then they have to make plays. And, uh, well, you got to finish blocks. You got to, uh, you got to get off blocks. You got to run. You got to catch. All in all, uh, you don’t, uh, you don’t, you don’t have to so all in all, you don’t win with one phase of the game. You don’t lose with one phase of the game. When you win and you play complimentary football, same thing here. I mean, all three phases, we’ve got to improve. We’ve got to correct mistakes, and then we’ve got to.”
“Yeah, I mean, they scored. So obviously it was the execution, but it was really flipped. I mean, we weren’t consistent enough in the red zone. We had, you get the ball down to the one -yard line. You got to go to put it in offensively. You know, and those mistakes were self -defeating mistakes. So then on the defensive We, you know, they, they push us around, right? And that’s why I said, we got our butts kicked and that’s what you look at. And they’re able to run it in like that, down in their type, you know, or a, you know, second and seven to third and four to first down, you know, those types of plays, you know, we’ve got to do a lot better job. I’ve got to do a lot better job. All right?”
“Yeah, I mean, obviously, when you come off the field after a loss, I mean, no one’s happy. And he’s dejected as anybody. But I looked at the, you know, statistically what he did. I mean, statistically had a good game. But Haynes King doesn’t care about that. Haynes King, he’s a winner, he wants to win.”
“You know, we’re sitting in there wanting to take the clock down, right? And, you know, we’re getting that long situation. And then we get a sack right there, right? Yeah, it was a sack. Had a sack, got a little of it back, got in the field goal range for a long field goal. Missed field goal left a minute and the clock. Yeah, I mean, you know, middle eight was factors.”
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“Yeah, he got banged up. I don’t know the status I’ll know after the game. Or when we get back in there.”
“Yeah, we’re always looking at what we’re not doing well, what can be better, and looking to be a better version of ourselves the next week. And we didn’t do that this week. We’ve got a bye week to do that to improve. And every area of the program, you know, that’s looked at every Sunday. That’s no different than what we would normally do and that I would normally do”
“yeah it was 8:25 left, yeah it’s 8:25 left that’s you know was, Yeah, you’re in a two score game. You got a, if you go for it, what do we end up on the minus? Yeah, we got like five yards. We got a minus one on the first play, and then I think we got six yard gain, five or six yard gain on it. On the third down play, you know, if you go for it and don’t get it, now you’re really, it’s out of control. Punt it back. You got all three timeouts. You don’t start using the timeouts until you know you’re five minutes and you know if we get a stop there, a chance to get the ball back. But you got it. I would not, I don’t second guess that one bit. Not one bit. You know, and look, there’s a lot of it. When you make those decisions too, or how you’re moving the football, you know, and going in waves with how you’re moving it. And right then we had a couple pressures on the two, on the second, the third down play.”
