WABE's Week In Review

We have more on the ramifications of federal cuts to Georgia. We have more on the job layoffs at the Atlanta-based CDC. We also hear from an historic HBCU on the path forward amid the dismantling of the Department of Education. Plus, Atlanta is one of the main spots for relocating refugees, but those agencies are seeing contracts canceled and aid closed off. And we hear from scientists on a new way to spread their message (and coping mechanism): stand-up comedy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia lawmakers made big moves this week pushing forward the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a ban on cell phones for students in K-8,and a pay raise for Governor Brian Kemp. Meanwhile, a state House committee is also hearing a proposal to ban all abortions in Georgia, but that measure has opponents on both sides for different reasons. Plus, we examine another new federal slashing plan that cuts jobs from the Atlanta-based CDC. And we interview the new head of the Southeast's department of the Environmental Protection Agency. And how the dismantling of the Department of Education could eliminate a farmworker program in Georgia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We look at Georgia's General Assembly passing tort reform, the top legislative priority for Governor Brian Kemp. Plus, lawmakers act to move forward protections for IVF, punishments for librarians and support for the state's sliding film industry. Also, Atlanta's City Council is temporarily exempting the Beltline and other infrastructure projects from the city's rules about protecting and removing trees. Plus, firings and funding cuts at the National Weather Service and other agencies have some worried about Georgia’s upcoming hurricane season. And we examine a pilot internship program with Atlanta music legend Jermaine Dupri and Emory University. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We hear more from federal workers fired from local offices of the IRS and HUD as well as ongoing drama at the CDC and the Office of personnel management. Plus, we talk to the consuls general of Canada and Mexico about the trade war with the U.S. And MARTA stands behind its assessment of public funds. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We look at some of the bills that passed or failed on Crossover Day, the time when a bill lives on as it goes to the other chamber or essentially dies for the session. The moves includes the failure of a bill to ban DEI in schools and the passing of a plan to lower the state income tax. Plus, we look at more impact locally from federal decisions in Washington, D.C., including in Atlanta at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health researchers. And City Lights Host Lois Reitzes announced her retirement from WABE this week after 45 years on air. We hear from her on why and what is next. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We dive into the impact decisions in Washington, D.C. are having in Georgia, including the ramifications of dismantling a major regulatory body that stemmed from a crisis that decimated this region. And we head to the legislative session for a breakdown of big-ticket legislation that is headed for crossover day, including IVF treatment access and gambling. We also go inside one of Atlanta's Black churches that was recently given money to preserve its history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We look at the impact in Atlanta of the Trump administration's policy firing federal workers, specifically at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Plus, we dive into some proposed state legislation that would put more pressure on local governments to clear homeless encampments or possibly pay homeowners whose values dropped because of them. Also, education researchers say students in Georgia have still not recovered academically to pre-pandemic achievement levels. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special episode of the Week In Review, we take a look at our multi-part series on maternal health called Missing Moms from WABE Health Reporter Jess Mador. Georgia can be a dangerous place to be pregnant and give birth. The state’s maternal mortality rate is among the worst in the United States. But the risks are not equal. Black Georgians are much more likely than other women to experience complications or die during or after pregnancy. Families want change. Policymakers and advocates are pushing solutions. To understand what is — and is not — working to address Georgia’s maternal health crisis, we’re exploring the complex factors behind it and what’s being done to address it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now modifying the content on its website to "comply with President Trump's Executive Order" to dismantle DEI programs within the government. Also, Waffle House says it will charge extra for eggs as millions of chickens have been culled in response to the bird flu outbreak. Plus, we have more on Fulton County facing a lawsuit over its interpretation over the homestead exemption tax law that has some residents seeing massive tax bills. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have more on President Donald Trump signing the Laken Riley Act into federal law as he was surrounded by the late Georgia nursing student's family this week. Plus, Democrats in the state legislature are making another attempt to extend health coverage to more Georgians under Medicaid, and this time, four Republicans have already signed on. Also, we look at the impact on Georgia homeowners as half of the state's 180 school districts have started the legal process to opt out of the Homestead Exemption law, according to a survey from the Georgia School Superintendents Association. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We look at another case of bird flu at a commercial facility in north Georgia, and how it has forced the killing of millions of birds and seen prices increases. Plus, dozens of people who live in Georgia were among those who received pardons from President Trump for their participation in the January 6th insurrection. And cars abandoned along the roadways, thousands without power, water mains busted, we'll look at the impact of the most recent winter storm to hit Georgia. Also, Jan. 20 might feel like a long time ago now, but it was a big day this week. We'll have local reactions to the presidential inauguration, MLK Day celebrations and the college football championship here in Atlanta. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take a deep dive into state politics as Governor Brian Kemp charts a course for tort reform, his biggest issue this session. It could have a big impact on the civil litigation, the business community and those who were done wrong and seeking damages. Plus, we look at the republican infighting at the Capitol that saw one GOP lawmaker arrested and another, one of the powerful politicos there, facing criticism from his own party. And a water main break in Dekalb County impacted thousands of residents, forcing a boil advisory for days, and now some lawmakers are using the incident to highlight the need for increasing water and sewer rates. Also, a ruling on right whales could hurt the survival of species that give birth off Georgia's coast. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia's legislative session is set to start next week and Speaker Jon Burns is promising support for legislation to protect in-vitro fertilization. Also, the number of people who are homeless in Georgia stayed mostly flat over the past year, but it still totals more than 12,000 people statewide. Plus, we look at he ceremonies honoring the only U.S. president from Georgia, Jimmy Carter, who died last month at 100 years old. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special Week In review episode, we look at the impact of former President Jimmy Carter, who died Dec. 29 at his home in Plains,Ga. Carter was 100 years old. We dive into his impact on environmental policy as well as his humanitarian work with Habitat for Humanity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We'll have more on an uptick in state funding for higher education has brought down the cost of attending Georgia’s public colleges and universities in recent years. Plus, Atlanta officials are spending millions to build two grocery stores in so-called food desert locations in the city. And a Virginia-based homebuilder says it is set to build hundreds of houses in Gwinnett County. Also, Atlanta's famed New Year's Eve Peach Drop is back on this year after a hiatus in 2023. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special episode of the Week in Review, we showcase our series "Six Million and Lonely" by All Things Considered host Jim Burress and producer Christopher Alston. It looks at the growing problem of loneliness, especially in the metro Atlanta area, where a U.S. Census Bureau quarterly survey found people here were the second most isolated in the country. The series highlights the problems and finds some solutions to combat social isolation and loneliness. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Georgia appeals court ruled this week that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office should be removed from the election interference case involving President-Elect Donald Trump and 14 others. the judges said Willis' her personal relationship with a special prosecutor created an “appearance of impropriety.” And we'll also look at why thousands of Amazon drivers picketed this week at multiple facilities across the country, including in Atlanta. Plus, we take a tour of Atlanta's controversial Public Safety Training Center. The facility dubbed "Cop City" by its opponents is now built after years of clashes and protests. We look at how police aim to provide security there while building a community and repairing relationships. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia governor Brian Kemp signs on with some two dozen other republican governors across the country in expressing support for President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Plus, we examine where tens of millions of dollars in opioid settlement money is going in Georgia. Also the spotted lanternfly, a tree-sucking, rapidly multiplying insect that’s already invaded other U.S. states, is now in Georgia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three Georgia politicians, who didn't win their last election bids, are set to join the new Trump administration. We'll look more at what former Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler as well as former Congressman Doug Collins are slated for. Plus, the man found guilty last month of murdering Laken Riley on the campus of University of Georgia is asking for a new trial. The case became a political flashpoint during an election year as Jose Ibarra was in the country illegally. Also we explain the milestone hit by Georgia's school voucher program. And we go to the coast, where the first critically endangered right whale calf of the season has been spotted. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jose Ibarra, who was in the country illegally, was found guilty of killing nursing student Laken Riley in case that became a political football this election year. Plus, a Georgia State Election Board member wants the state to provide voters’ personal information to the makers of EagleAI, a controversial tool for challenging voter eligibility. Also, we look at how the incoming Trump administration may impact environmental and immigration issues Georgia. And TSA officials predict this Thanksgiving travel season will break records with score of passengers set to travel through Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.