The Brief from WABE

A MARTA board member throws the agency under a rapid transit bus; Secretary Governor Senator Chancellor Sonny Perdue has questions before he'll make a judgement call on whether forgiving $10,000 in student loans is a positive or a negative--like what kind of car you drove or what brand of clothes you wore in college; And now that we've got that out of the way, we should play a game. Yeah? You're o...

Cases of COVID-19 dip a smidge as a new, targeted booster vaccine nears; Georgia's governor and a South Carolina Senator still don't want to talk to a Fulton County special grand jury; and for our "Pretty Penny" series, a look at travel cost trends. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two Atlanta police officers charged in the 2020 killing of Rayshard Brooks will see those charges dropped as a special prosecutor finds they broke no law; Atlanta's average mortgage payment doubled in the past two years--housing prices are the focus in the latest installment of our series, Pretty Penny;" and because COVID-19 and monkeypox just aren't quite enough to completely consume our worrying...

Midtown on lockdown; new rules for absentee ballots are in effect as the window to request one opens; and be it a new car or a used one, it'll cost ya a pretty penny. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here's what happened today in the 'Things you can't do in Georgia according to court rulings today' category: 1. Tell the Governor his version of Medicaid expansion is not gonna fly. As such, if you're someone who will benefit from that limited expansion, it might behoove you to remember the sage words of the Atlanta native known as RuPaul: "You better work!" Or, if you're feeling frisky, Brittney...

Atlanta officials move quickly to remove a hate symbol from the city's LGBTQ core; Delta's CEO says the carrier is almost to its optimum staffing level and that hiring will likely taper off soon; and Awnaw! A member of Nappy Roots becomes the latest shooting victim in the city after he was jumped, kidnapped and shot in the leg trying to escape an attempted robbery. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Rudy comes to Atlanta, but he isn't happy about it; Gov. Kemp lives in Atlanta, but still isn't happy about his appearance before a special grand jury; and how rising temperatures affect your kid's classroom time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Profits for Atlanta-based The Home Depot were drippin' from their display fauCets in Q2; UGA is the defending national champion in college football. Apparently, that's not enough to get the most love from college coaches; and WABE legal analyst Page Pate breaks down what former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani might or might not say when he appears tomorrow before a special purpose grand jury. See omnys...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) really doesn't want to come to Atlanta; Rudy Giuliani really doesn't want to come to Atlanta; and in related news, two high-profile Trump cronies are set to come to Atlanta. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Want a monkeypox vaccine? In Atlanta? You better be quick (and your WiFi better be, too). Actually, since we're on the subject, you'd better just sit there, not blink, and anticipate the appoint times going live. Because if you hesitate a millisecond, you ain't gettin' that shot. Matter of fact, there are 240 appointments for *how* many millions of folks?; On again. Off again. On again. Off... now...

Trump done got him a real life Southern defense lawyer. Two, in fact; Gov. Kemp wants to get re-elected really bad. [OK-your turn, and all together: 'How Bad Does He?'--Good! That was good. Y'all have done this before, haven't ya?] He wants to get re-elected SO bad, he's willing to give back another $2-billion of your cash to do it.; Moving on now. And, yes. Sure. He said really homophobic things,...

A day after unveiling her economic plan, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams tests positive for COVID-19; a major project to bring a terminal hotel to Atlanta's airport quietly goes away; and after being offline for two weeks, Atlanta's National Weather Service radar is back online.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rudy Giuliani couldn't possibly make it to Atlanta today to chat with that special Fulton County Grand Jury because his heart condition prevented him from getting on a plane. So, a Fulton County judge, not wanting Giuliani to suffer a broken heart for missing that conversation, postponed his appearance 'til next week. And in a total, "Bless your heart!" momemnt, the judge said if he still can't ge...

The men who killed Ahmaud Arberry get life in prison sentences. Again; the U.S. Senate's reconciliation bill includes provisions from Georgia (and excludes some, too); and if you think it's hot, just think about if your office was outside.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia's system of electing members to the Public Service Commission gets sent back to the drawing board; an Atlanta physician discusses what monkeypox looks like from her practice; and why even the worst seat at Truist Park isn't so awful. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monkeypox is spreading; Loggerheads are breeding; and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is fighting. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Overheard at Plant Vogtle today (maybe--but don't quote me on it): "Fire 'em up!"   Don't you love the smell of new nuclear in the summer?   Okay, Sure. Construction took a smidge more than twice the cash originally forecast to build the two new nuclear reactors--but, hey, what's an extra $16-billion? Am I right?! And sure, this was all supposed to happen like, what, six years ago? Detai...

A U.S. Senator fights a bit more to keep from testifying before a special grand jury investigating Donald Trump's post-election behavior; Third party candidates who find it too hard to get onto Georgia's ballot hope to convince the U.S. Supreme Court of their plight; and Sprite fans, don't worry--it'll still taste the same once those green bottles are no more. See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

For Music Midtown, this is the day the music died; the Atlanta City Council approves a six-figure donation to a non-profit abortion fund; and why an embryo/fetus could save its parents $3,000 on this year's state taxes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monkeypox cases are increasing exponentially. Monkeypox vaccines are not.; a federal indictment accuses the Atlanta-based 'Black Hammer Party' of being aligned with 'Hammer and Sickle'; and Georgia teachers get a separate check to buy classroom materials, which hopefully means they won't be spending so much of their own money to outfit their classrooms.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...

With violent crime up in the city, Atlanta's mayor says he and APD are doing "everything possible" to combat it; Not there yet, but at least a smidge closer--the Chattahoochee River gets some bipartisan love from federal lawmakers; and Camden County *REALLY* wants a spaceport. And by Camden County, we mean officials, not residents. Cause they don’t want it *REALLY* bad.   See omnystudio.com/l...

The CEO of a Georgia gunmaker testified in front of Congress on Wednesday. Sen. Raphael Warnock is touting the passage in the Senate of a bill that invests $50 billion in domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing. A look at candidate Stacey Abrams' plan to address Georgia's housing problems; and a conversation about how women of color in Georgia will be affected by the state's new abortion law. Se...

With federal courts proving unfavorable, a group of abortion rights advocates turn to state court to challenge Georgia's more restrictive abortion law; The best line from today's Congressional hearing on conditions at the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta was easily, "It is never a good idea to leave prison doors open." Uhhhh. No arguments; and Atlanta in general is a hot city [Now don't you dare gi...

Calling the optics "horrific," a Fulton Co. judge first scolds, then removes, D.A. Fani Willis from prosecuting GOP Lt. Gov. nominee Burt Jones for his alleged involvement in attempts to thwart Joe Biden from becoming President; Next time you flush your toilet, there's a chance Fulton County will scoop it up to track for Monkeypox; and anyone who has been around these parts for more than a mi...

An Atlanta attorney convicted of murdering his wife only to be de-convicted could be re-convicted; Ten-million bucks and ten years later, even after getting FAA approval, Camden County's proposed spaceport just entered a big NIMBY black hole; and Georgia forfeits $1.8 billion to attract a manufacturing facility valued at $5.5 billion. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.