3+ week, 4+ day ago (413+ words) November 5, 2025 / 7:34 AM EST / CBS Atlanta Georgia's reputation as a political battleground isn't slowing down after Tuesday's election." Across the state, a new wave of high-stakes local elections for mayor, the Public Service Commission, city councils, and the General Assembly could reshape who holds power in metro Atlanta and beyond. Here's how the elections played out: The seat became open after Democratic state Rep. Shelly Hutchinson"announced her retirement"in August. Hutchinson said that she had to step back from some legislative duties due to a "serious health crisis" in her family, and was called to be more present as a caretaker and daughter. Voters in South Fulton chose not to give the city's second-ever mayor another four years in office, but who will lead the city remains uncertain. Councilmember Carmalitha L. Gumbs, who finished with 39.3% of the vote, will face District…...

1+ week, 2+ hour ago (406+ words) November 23, 2025 / 1:11 PM EST / CBS Atlanta Republican U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter is advocating for increased federal law enforcement presence in metro Atlanta, describing the situation as "alarming" and urging the Department of Homeland Security to intervene. Carter told CBS Atlanta on Friday that Atlanta needs additional federal agents because of crime and what he claims is a growing number of undocumented immigrants living in Georgia. "We found out that there are over half a million illegal immigrants in the state of Georgia, the sixth most in any state in the country," Carter said. "That's alarming, and this is something that should be addressed now." Carter's office referenced a 2023 report from the Migration Policy Institute estimating that about 479,000 people without legal status live in Georgia. While Carter's district covers southeast Georgia " not Atlanta " he said the city remains a focal point for his…...

6+ day, 7+ hour ago (397+ words) November 24, 2025 / 8:14 AM EST / CBS Atlanta Sen. Raphael Warnock on Sunday intensified his calls for Health and Human Services Secretary'Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be removed, accusing him of spreading vaccine misinformation as measles resurges in parts of the country. In a post on X, Warnock said: "Secretary Kennedy has spent his time in office spreading doubt about vaccines. Now measles is back. He is a threat to our health and must be fired immediately." "We haven't seen deaths from children from measles in two decades," Warnock told Kennedy at the September hearing. "We're seeing that under your watch." Kennedy insisted the CDC changes were necessary and denied pressuring the former director to preapprove vaccine recommendations. He accused her of lying about the circumstances surrounding her firing. Since taking office, Kennedy has ordered internal reviews of vaccine ingredients, and an upcoming meeting…...

6+ day, 6+ hour ago (620+ words) November 24, 2025 / 10:04 AM EST / CBS Atlanta A disturbing video showing a Clark Atlanta University student being strangled by a Morehouse College student outside an off-campus apartment complex has sparked outrage across Atlanta's HBCU community and prompted statements from both institutions. According to The Maroon Tiger, Morehouse's student-run newspaper, the incident occurred outside The Legacy at Centennial Apartments and quickly spread online after witnesses recorded the altercation. The video, reshared by a CAU junior identified as Kayla Bryant, has drawn hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok and sparked a wave of anger from students, alumni, and parents. Bryant posted the footage along with a video describing the attack, appearing visibly shaken as she recounted what happened. She says she was riding the apartment shuttle when a couple boarded and began showing public affection. Wanting space, she moved to a different seat…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (878+ words) Updated on: November 12, 2025 / 9:01 PM EST / CBS Atlanta The House voted 222 to 209 to approve a funding package and end the longest'government shutdown'in U.S. history on Wednesday, sending the bill to President Trump's desk for his signature. The House debated a bill to reopen the government that the Senate approved on Monday night. The vote took place around 7 p.m., passing the Republican-led chamber. "We think this is going to happen, and we're sorry it took this long," Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Wednesday. Johnson sent House lawmakers on a break for almost two months amid a lengthy Senate impasse over the shutdown. He called them back after a small group of Democrats broke with their colleagues and voted with Republicans to end it because a vote on extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies would take place in December. Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago (732+ words) November 17, 2025 / 7:00 AM EST / CBS Atlanta The last remaining criminal case against President Donald Trump survived what could have been a knockout blow, but it's coming out of the corner looking very different. On the same day Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee officially dropped three charges in Georgia's 2020 election interference case, a new prosecutor stepped in, inheriting a sprawling indictment, a politically radioactive file, and some hard choices about what comes next." Legal experts say the future of the racketeering indictment against former President Donald Trump and his allies is more uncertain than ever. Dr. Anthony Michael Kreis, a constitutional law professor at Georgia State University, told CBS Atlanta the biggest questions ahead are "political and practical, rather than legal." But the case stalled after the Georgia Court of Appeals disqualified District Attorney Fani Willis from continuing to prosecute…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago (995+ words) November 16, 2025 / 4:17 PM EST / AP When President Donald Trump addressed Congress earlier this year, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was there holding an American flag and wearing a red baseball cap that said "Trump was right about everything." After the speech, he gave her a kiss and she beamed. Trump was back in power and Greene was positioned to be one of his most ardent political foot soldiers with Republicans controlling all levers of power in Washington. Their alliance didn't last the year. Now it has fractured in an explosive feud that could foreshadow more rifts within Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement before next year's midterm elections. In recent weeks, Greene has escalated her criticism of Trump's focus on foreign policy over what she has said should be an agenda that concentrates on Americans, as well as his reluctance to release…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (595+ words) November 11, 2025 / 6:53 PM EST / CBS Atlanta The DeKalb County School District is one of several school systems nationwide suing major social media companies over what it calls an "unprecedented mental health crisis" among students - a crisis it argues was fueled by platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. Filed as part of a sweeping multidistrict litigation in federal court in California, the complaint accuses the companies of "deliberately designing addictive features to capture and exploit children's attention," a design decision that local districts say has drained school resources, disrupted classrooms, and worsened student anxiety and depression. The DeKalb County School District says it has spent over $4.3 million trying to remedy the harm, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 325-page master complaint alleges that Meta, Snap, TikTok, and Google used the same behavioral manipulation tactics found in gambling and nicotine products to…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (271+ words) November 4, 2025 / 8:15 PM EST / CBS Atlanta Dickens won the office outright with more than 50% of the vote, preventing a runoff. The mayor defeated three challengers: Former police officer Kalema Jackson, progressive Eddie Meredith, and Republican Helmut "Love" Domagalski. While Dickens was an underdog in his 2021 election, he had a much more favorable position this year. Atlanta has a long history of awarding mayors a second term if they seek reelection. Former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was an exception, but she didn't seek a second term. Dickens, who was elected in a runoff election in 2021 by defeating former City Council President Felicia Moore, touted the city's advancements in public safety and increased affordable housing as well as infrastructure improvements in his reelection campaign. The mayor was the only candidate to spend money on television ads on the week before election day. According…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago (563+ words) November 20, 2025 / 11:14 AM EST / CBS Atlanta The recently-fired city manager of College Park claims that her termination was in retaliation by officials over her refusal to go along with a plan to violate the city's code of ordinances. In a sudden vote on Monday night, the College Park City Council voted to remove Lindell Y. Miller from her position. Miller had been unanimously appointed to the position in September after serving as interim city manager for months. "Your leadership, vision, and commitment to our community make this an exciting transition. We look forward to the continued progress under your leadership," city officials'wrote on Facebook at that time. The sudden vote occured during Monday's City Council meeting, just after Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Jamelle E. McKenzie's promotion of the city's upcoming Winter Market. "I am making the motion to terminate the contract for Lindell…...