Georgia
Northeast Georgia mostly spared by Sunday’s powerful storm
The powerful storm system that swept across the Southeast on Sunday claimed at least nine lives, one in metro Atlanta. Eight other people died in Kentucky as creeks swelled from heavy rain and water-covered roads, AP reports.
The storm system brought heavy rains, high winds, tornado warnings, and widespread power outages to Georgia. Still, the northeastern part of the state escaped relatively unscathed.
Habersham County Assistant Director of E-911 Melanie Bellinger said there were no storm damage reports in the county. Rabun County EMA Director Brian Panell said there were no reports of any major storm damage Sunday, just a few fallen trees.
Outages
Statewide, the storm knocked out power to more than 217,000 homes and businesses. Utility crews spent much of Sunday restoring electrical service.
According to FindEnergy.com, as of 11:30 p.m. Sunday, only a handful of Georgia Power customers in Northeast Georgia remained without power. Blue Ridge EMC reported 137 members without electrical service in Union and Towns counties.
Linemen battled high winds as they worked to restore electricity. Powerful wind gusts continued throughout the day Sunday, making the cooling temps feel even colder. Temperatures are expected to plummet overnight, with lows expected to fall to around 27 degrees.
Sunday morning storm
According to Now Habersham weather forecaster Tyler Penland, the storm on Feb. 16 arrived in Northeast Georgia slightly ahead of schedule. He says a brief tornado warning was issued for parts of Franklin and Elbert counties, and there “may have been a brief spin up east of Toccoa.”
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for parts of Stephens County shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday.
Maximum wind gusts at the Habersham County Airport reached around 44 mph, according to Penland, while wind speeds came in right around 10 mph in the Clarkesville area. Most of the higher gusts blew through the southern parts of the county.
The highest gusts in the region were reported in Gainesville at around 52 mph, he said.
Lawmakers have hundreds of leftover bills from last session. Here are some that could see traction in 2026.
State representatives toss papers in the air at the House of Representatives at the Capitol in Atlanta on Sine Die, Friday, April 4, 2025, the final day of the legislative session. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
As Georgia lawmakers soon head back to the state Capitol, they already have a pile of bills awaiting them from last year.
The Georgia General Assembly operates on a two-year cycle, meaning any legislation filed last year is still in play for the 2026 session.
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Michelle Baruchman covers the Georgia House of Representatives and statewide issues. She is a politics news and enterprise reporter covering statewide political stories.
Maya T. Prabhu covers the Georgia Senate and statewide issues as a government reporter for The AJC. Born in Queens, New York, and raised in northern Virginia, Maya attended Spelman College and then the University of Maryland for a master’s degree. She writes about social issues, the criminal justice system and legislative politics.
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.
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.
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