Georgia Archives

Jimmy Carter will be honored in Washington, a city where he remained an outsider

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jimmy Carter’s state funeral moves to Washington after observances in his native Georgia. The 39th president’s remains will leave the Carter Presidential Center on Tuesday morning and fly to Washington aboard Special Air Mission 39. The Carter family and former president will arrive at Joint Base Andrews, with a motorcade following to the U.S. Navy Memorial. Carter’s flag-draped casket will be transferred to a horse-drawn caisson for his final journey to the Capitol. Carter is the only U.S. Naval Academy graduate to become president. Members of Congress will honor Carter in the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday afternoon. The ceremonies carry some irony for the one-term president who campaigned as an outsider in 1976 and never mastered the city.… Continue Reading

Jimmy Carter is being mourned in his tiny hometown and around the world

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Tributes to former President Jimmy Carter are pouring in from his small hometown of Plains, Georgia, and around the world. In Plains, black ribbons are hung alongside U.S. flags, as residents mourn the 39th president who died Sunday at the age of 100. They are remembering Carter as “Mr. Jimmy,” the approachable neighbor who was friendly and approachable. But in Washington, at the United Nations and abroad, Carter’s status as a global figure is on display. President Joe Biden has set Jan. 9 as a day of mourning. Federal offices will be closed for Carter’s state funeral. And the U.N. Security Council praised Carter for his diplomatic and international peace efforts as president and after his one White House term.… Continue Reading

Man convicted of murder in killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A Venezuelan man has been convicted of murder in the killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. Jose Ibarra was charged with murder and other crimes in Riley’s February death, and the guilty verdict was reached Wednesday by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard. Ibarra had waived his right to a jury trial, meaning that Haggard alone heard and decided the case. The killing added fuel to the national debate over immigration when federal authorities said Ibarra illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 and was allowed to stay in the country while he pursued his immigration case.… Continue Reading

Prosecution rests in trial over death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Prosecutors have rested their case in the trial against the man accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. Jose Ibarra is charged with murder and other crimes in Riley’s death in February. He waived his right to a jury trial, meaning the case will decided by a judge alone. Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, testified Tuesday about how she texted and called her daughter with increasing concern after Riley didn’t call her back. Phillips cried while watching surveillance footage showing Riley running on the morning of her death. Defense attorneys have asked questions of witnesses that seem designed to create doubt by suggesting that Ibarra’s brother could not be excluded as a suspect.… Continue Reading

Testimony resumes in the trial of the man accused of killing Georgia student Laken Riley

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Testimony is resuming in the trial of the man accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. Jose Ibarra, who entered the U.S. illegally two years ago, is charged with murder and other crimes in Riley’s February killing. The case became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration during this…… Continue Reading

Trial begins for the man accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A prosecutor says the man on trial in the killing of nursing student Laken Riley “went hunting for females” on the University of Georgia campus that February day. Prosecutor Sheila Ross told the judge Tuesday at the outset of Jose Ibarra’s trial that the Venezuelan man encountered Riley while she was out for a run and killed her when “she refused to be his rape victim.” Her body was found on the campus. Ibarra’s attorney, Dustin Kirby, called the evidence in the case graphic and disturbing, but he said none of it proves that Ibarra killed Riley. Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally two years ago, and the case helped fan the immigration debate during this year’s presidential race.… Continue Reading

Georgia officials agree to spend $100 million on Hurricane Helene aid for farms and forestry

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s state government is diverting $100 million to spend on loans to farmers and cleanup after Hurricane Helene. The Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission voted unanimously Friday to spend the money. It had been set aside for construction projects or paying off existing debt. Of the money, $75 million will be used to provide disaster relief loans to farmers and associated businesses in the agricultural industry. The other $25 million will be spent to clean up timber losses and other debris. A state agency that lends money to farmers will begin working on a plan to spend the $100 million on Monday.… Continue Reading

Georgia prosecutor who brought election case against Trump faces rare Republican challenger

ATLANTA (AP) — The Democratic Georgia prosecutor who brought charges against former President Donald Trump over efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election faces a rare Republican challenger in her bid for reelection. Republican Courtney Kramer is challenging Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Kramer says she wants to bring transparency and accountability to the office. Willis said she’s made great progress in her first term and is confident she’ll win. Fulton County, home to about 11% of the state’s electorate, is a Democratic stronghold where no Republican has even run for district attorney since 2000.… Continue Reading

Eyewitness video captures frantic efforts to save lives after deadly collapse of dock walkway

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Eyewitness video from the scene of a deadly gangway collapse at a dock in Georgia shows bystanders jumping into action after 20 people plunged into the water off Sapelo Island. Icy White of Atlanta was visiting isolated Sapelo Island with her family yesterday for a fall festival attended by hundreds. White says her family was waiting to board a ferry boat back to the mainland when a gangway snapped with dozes on people on it. Authorities say seven people died on what was supposed to be a day of celebration of the island’s tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants.… Continue Reading

Harris urges Black churchgoers in Georgia to head out to vote and gets an assist from Stevie Wonder

JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) — Kamala Harris has visited two Atlanta-area church where she summoned Black members of the congregations to turn out at the polls. She got a big assist Sunday from music legend Stevie Wonder, who rallied worshippers in Jonesboro, Georgia, with a rendition of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.” Harris’ stops at the churches were part of a nationwide push known as “souls to the polls.” It’s a mobilization effort to encourage early voting in political battleground states. After services, buses took congregants directly to early polling places. Wonder led the crowd in Jonesboro in singing his version of “Happy Birthday” to the vice president. She turned 60 on Sunday.… Continue Reading