Good morning and happy Cinco de Mayo, which, if you’re unaware (and an astounding number of Americans are), celebrates Mexico’s victory over France at the battle of Puebla in the Second French Intervention in Mexico. Essentially it boils down to France lying to Spain and Great Britain about its motives for attacking Mexico under the guise of debt repayment. Really, France wanted to capture the country and fold it into the French Empire, but it didn’t go as planned. So, as you eat tacos or nachos tonight, know that you’re doing so in honor of thwarting the French as much as you are celebrating a Mexican military victory.
Let’s get on to the news because there’s a lot of it.
Pat Conroy
- A new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll has found that a slim majority of Georgians still favor President Joe Biden and his policies. (Alternate link.)
- Former University System of Georgia Regent Dean Alford has finally been indicted for racketeering and forgery for trying to scam $1.7 million from the system while still a regent.
- A lawsuit has been filed against the creation of the new Columbia County judicial circuit, suggesting the decision was based on race.
- Notably, the new District Attorney appointed by Governor Brian Kemp is Bobby Christine.
- A sizable majority of Governors Nathan Deal and Brian Kemp’s judicial appointees have been white over the past ten years, a new study by Law.Com has found.
- The Georgia Bar Association is pushing back against Lin Wood’s attempt to undergo a mental health examination.
- The Army Corps of Engineers are in the second round of testing for injecting more oxygen into the water in the Savannah Harbor for fish to breathe.
- Plant Vogtle’s new reactors are facing new delays.
- National Geographic and RootsofProgress both have articles to explain why these reactors have been so costly and are so behind schedule.
- Eric Welsh will challenge U.S. Representative Lucy McBath in 2022. (Alternate link.)
- State Representative Bee Nguyen is running for secretary of state.
- Bloomberg takes a look at the internal war in the Georgia GOP.
- Also, today’s Jolt column explores the GOP’s new anti-corporate messaging. (Alternate link.)
- Relatedly, Cobb County business owners courted three GOP congressman at a lunch on Tuesday to discuss their loss of revenue from the All-Star Game.
- The Georgia High School Association has rejected Valdosta High School’s final appeal against the sanctions its football program faces.
- It’s nesting season on the coast for loggerhead turtles.
Alice Walker
- The U.S. birthrate has fallen to its lowest rate in over a century.
- The Labor Department has withdrawn the Trump-era rule that made it harder for gig and contract workers to get minimum wage. (Alternate link.)
- The U.S. House GOP is looking to remove Representative Liz Cheney from her leadership position within the next few days. The likely replacement is Representative Elise Stefanik.
- The Facebook Oversight Board has upheld its ban of former President Donald Trump. (Alternate link.)
- The Wall Street Journal is reporting that only three percent of Americans who pay capital gains tax will be effected by President Biden’s proposed tax increase on capital gains from stocks, bonds, and other assets. (Alternate link.)
- A U.S. District Court Judge has ordered the release of then-Attorney General Bill Barr’s “Trump obstruction memo.”
- Peloton has announced a voluntary recall of all of its Tread and Tread+ treadmill machines after the death of a child.
- The New Delhi High Court has ordered the Indian government to present an oxygen plan after the devastating accidental shutoff that killed multiple COVID patients.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has missed the deadline to form a government.
Flannery O’Connor
- A missing Utah woman has been found alive in a canyon after months of surviving on grass and moss.