Southern Baptists say denomination faces DOJ investigation

By

Holly Meyer and David Crary, Associated Press

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August 12, 2022

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention said Friday that several of the denomination’s major entities are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in the wake of its multiple problems related to clergy sex abuse.

The SBC’s Executive Committee has received a subpoena, but no individuals have been subpoenaed at this point, according to the committee’s lawyers.

“This is an ongoing investigation and we are not commenting on our discussions with DOJ,” they said.

The statement from SBC leaders — including Executive Committee members, seminary presidents and heads of mission organizations — gave few details about the investigation, but indicated it dealt with widespread sexual abuse problems that have rocked the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.

“Individually and collectively each SBC entity is resolved to fully and completely cooperate with the investigation,” the statement said. “While we continue to grieve and lament past mistakes related to sexual abuse, current leaders across the SBC have demonstrated a firm conviction to address those issues of the past and are implementing measures to ensure they are never repeated in the future.”

There was no immediate comment from the Justice Department about the investigation.

Earlier this year, an SBC sex abuse task force released a blistering 288-page report from outside consultant, Guidepost Solutions. The firm’s seven-month independent investigation found disturbing details about how denominational leaders mishandled sex abuse claims and mistreated victims.

The report focused specifically on how the SBC’s Executive Committee responded to abuse cases, revealing that it had secretly maintained a list of clergy and other church workers accused of abuse. The committee later apologized and released the list, which had hundreds of accused workers on it.

A Guidepost spokesperson declined to comment on news of the DOJ probe.

Following the release of the Guidepost report, the SBC voted during its annual meeting in June to created a way to track pastors and other church workers credibly accused of sex abuse and launch a new task force to oversee further reforms. Earlier this week, SBC President Bart Barber, who also signed Friday’s statement, announced the names of the Southern Baptist pastors and church members who will serve on the task force.

Southern Baptist sex abuse survivor Christa Brown, who has long called for the SBC to do more to address sex abuse across its churches, celebrated the news of the DOJ investigation.

“Hallelujah. It’s about time,” Brown said in a Friday post on Twitter. “This is what’s needed.”

Another survivor, Jules Woodson, went public with her abuse story in 2018 and has been pushing for reforms in the SBC ever since. On Friday, she reacted to the investigation news by tweeting, “May justice roll down!!!”

Oklahoma pastor Mike Keahbone, who serves on the Executive Committee and is the vice chair of the new abuse task force, said on Twitter that the investigation “is not something to fear … If there is more work to do, we will do it.”

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Marcelo Encinas

By

Now Habersham

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August 12, 2022

Marcelo Encinas Gutierrez was born in Ancash, Peru, he lived most of his life in Lima, Peru and moved to Braselton, Ga at the age of 99. He was the oldest of 5 siblings, his younger sister Juana Encinas Gutierrez(99) is the only surviving sibling. His brothers were Herminio Encinas and Alfredo Encinas and his sister was Zoila Encinas.

He was preceded in death by his wife Francisca Audelia Igreda De Encinas, they were married for almost 65 years and had 3 children. Perla Encinas, Giovana Encinas, and Jorge Encinas. They had 7 grandchildren, Ruby Nash, Pablo Llanos, Pamela Encinas, Juan Manuel Encinas, Jesus Carrillo, Maria Gracia Llanos, and Jose Antonio Encinas. He is also survived by 2 great-grandchildren, Luke James Nash and Pablo Marcelo Llanos-Morfin.

In his 107 years of life, Marcelo was able to retire twice, once as a police officer and also as an elementary school teacher. Once he was around 70, he and his wife ran a small coffee shop in Lima, Peru, at the civic center and were there until he was about 92 years old. They were very loved by all the people that worked in that building.

All of the time that Marcelo lived in Peru was surrounded by family and friends, the many nieces and nephews that he had would always stop by to see how they were doing and some of them would even bring groceries or special gifts from time to time. His brother, Alfredo, would come by to see him constantly and spend quality time together.

Marcelo was a man of faith for the later half of his life and always reminded us that it is never too late to turn your life to God. The first thing that he would do every single morning was to give thanks to God for another day of life. He loved food altogether and could eat constantly, he enjoyed a cup of coffee every day and a glass of wine on special occasions. Once his wife passed, he missed her every day and still remembered her from time to time. We know that he is so happy to be reunited with her again and will always be remembered by all of us here.

May we see you again Tato.

Memorial services will be held Tuesday, August 16, 2022, at the Ward’s Funeral Home Chapel. You may view a livestream of the service on the Ward’s Funeral Home Facebook page.

Please sign the guestbook or give a condolence to the family at www.wardsfh.com. Ward’s Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Marcelo Encinas.

Ward’s Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Gainesville.

Habersham mail theft reports on rise, sheriff warns

By

Joy Purcell

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August 12, 2022

Habersham County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Technician Kayla Neal and Demorest Police Investigator James Minutello sort through dozens of pieces of stolen mail. Deputies recovered approximately 100 pieces of mail from suspect Dylan Shope when they arrested him on February 3, 2022. Habersham County residents' mail also surfaced in an investigation in Lumpkin County back in 2020. (HCSO)

The Habersham County Sheriff’s Office is warning homeowners to pay special attention to their mail following an increase in mail theft complaints in the county. The thieves are specifically targeting letters containing containing cash and checks, officials say.

Clarkesville Post Office Supervisor Leslie Gailey says theives have been stealing mail on the northern end of the county, primarily in the area of Alec Mountain, Zeb Bryson, Amy’s Creek, and Piedmont Mountain roads. Gailey says the increased reporting does not necessarily indicate an increase in thefts, only that the thefts are more concentrated.

“It happens over different times in certain areas,” he explains. “The increase in complaints is because it’s happening in a specific area. More people are complaining at once.”

Three years ago someone was stealing mail in Alto and Baldwin. Mail thieves generally work in a neighborhood for “two or three days” until they get caught, “and then it happens somewhere else,” Gailey says.

Suspicions and suspects

Two recent incidents, cited in sheriff’s office reports, shed some light on how these mail theives operate.

Clarkesville Post Office Supervisor Leslie Gailey says recent mail thefts have been concentrated in some of the unincorporated areas of Habersham County north of Clarkesville, (nowhabersham.com)

On July 20, a Clarkesville area woman filed a complaint after her husband went to get their mail around 3 o’clock that afternoon. He reported seeing “a white Chevrolet work van going through people’s mailboxes.” The woman told authorities she did not know what was missing from their mailbox but she suspected it had been going on for some time. She said they would sometimes go for days without receiving any mail.

According to another incident report, on August 9, a Demorest homeowner advised he had placed $30 in cash in an envelope to pay a bill. His mail carrier later notified him that “there was an unsealed envelope laying on the ground with the contents missing in front of his mailbox.”

Gailey’s personally picked up mail from ditches in areas now being targeted.

“They’ll get the mail out of two or three mailboxes then go to a road two or three miles away, get what they want, and throw the rest away in a ditch,” he says.

Sometimes, thieves hoard the stolen mail.

In February, local law enforcement officials say they recovered approximately 100 pieces of stolen mail from a man named Dylan Shope. A 911 caller saw Shope standing in the rain and asked authorities to check on him.

Shope has a long list of priors dating back to 2014. He was out of jail when he was seriously injured earlier this month while fleeing a traffic stop on GA 365 in Mt. Airy. At the time, law enforcement had active warrants out on him in Habersham and White counties for first-degree burglary and identity fraud.

Helen Police arrested Kristopher Beasley of Clarkesville for mail theft in 2020. Police arrested him after someone called 911 to report him as a suspicious person. When police took him into custody, officers said they found three 30-gallon trash bags of mail in his car.

In both cases, thieves targeted postal customers in Habersham County. They also stole mail from surrounding Northeast Georgia communities and, in Shope’s case, even as far as Port Richey, Florida.

Guarding your mail

Gailey writes letters to people whose mail he’s recovered, letting them know “we found the mail” and advising them on how to prevent future thefts.

He advises homeowners to, “Check your mail daily to empty your mailbox. Don’t leave mail in the box overnight.”

The sheriff’s office, too, is advising homeowners on how to guard their mail, offering tips in a social media post.

“If you need to submit a payment for a bill through the mail, please consider taking it to the post office and dropping it off rather than placing it in your mailbox,” the post states.

“We just want to encourage citizens to remain diligent in utilizing alternative methods of paying bills,” says HCSO Col. Murray Kogod.

For those unable to get to the post office, Gailey encourages them to “wait as late as possible to put your outgoing mail in the mailbox.” The less time it stays in the box, the harder it will be for thieves to steal it.

People should watch for strange vehicles at mailboxes too. Mail carriers equip their vehicles with flashing lights and signs identifying them as U.S. Postal workers.

Gailey urges, “If you see anything suspicious – if you see somebody unusual prowling around on you’re road – call the sheriffs office to report it.”

Union County school employee arrested for shooting at vehicle in school parking lot

By

Joy Purcell

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August 12, 2022

The GBI says a Union County maintenance worker was taken into custody after shooting at an empty vehicle on the primary school campus in Blairsville. State investigators identified the employee as 64-year-old Dwight Anthony Brown of Blairsville.

According to state investigators, Brown targeted a specific unoccupied vehicle in the parking lot of Union County Primary School. Authorities were dispatched to the school around 2:15 p.m. Thursday, August 11. School was not in session, but teachers were planning for the first day of class which was scheduled for Friday. Brown was taken into custody just before 3 p.m. after an extensive search. He is currently in the Union County Detention Center.

Investigators charged Brown with three counts of aggravated assault in connection with the shooting.

The school system canceled classes Friday as the investigation continues.

“We have requested the GBI to conduct the Union County Primary School shooting incident investigation. There is no threat to the community. The subject is in custody. Since school was not in session, no students were in any immediate danger. The incident occurred outside of the school, and no one was injured,” the statement says.

GBI spokesperson Nelly Miles says it was “an isolated shooting incident” and the investigation is “active and ongoing.” Once the investigation is complete, it will be handed over to the Enotah Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.

Appeals court puts Georgia PSC elections back on ballot

By

Jeff Amy

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August 12, 2022

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday ordered that statewide elections for two Georgia public service commissioners be put back on the November ballot, only a week after a federal judge postponed the elections after finding that electing the five commissioners statewide illegally diluted Black votes.

A three judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the lower court’s order after an appeal by the state, which follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision saying judges shouldn’t order changes close to elections.

The 2-1 split decision came at the state’s deadline for finalizing ballots ahead of the election, so there is enough time to print ballots before the first ballots are mailed to voters living outside the country in late September.

District 3 Commissioner Fitz Johnson and District 2 Commissioner Tim Echols, both Republicans, are seeking reelection to six-year terms. Johnson is being challenged by Democrat Shelia Edwards while Echols faces Democrat Patty Durand and Libertarian Colin McKinney.

Circuit Judges Robert Luck and Adalberto Jordan found that U.S. District Judge Steven Grimberg’s decision came too close to the election, that having Johnson and Echols remain on the commission past the end of their terms is an improper fundamental alteration of the state’s election system, and that not only did Grimberg need to issue his decision before the ballot printing deadline but far enough in advance “to allow for meaningful appellate review.”

Friday’s decision is not the 11th Circuit’s final word on Grimberg’s decision, but only a stay. Luck and Jordan clearly anticipate the plaintiffs will appeal to the nation’s highest court, writing in a short opinion that “if we are mistaken on this point, the Supreme Court can tell us.”

Circuit Judge Robin Rosenbaum dissented, saying the other judges were extending the doctrine barring changes close to an election to a whole new category of cases without “a sufficient explanation.” She said the majority is, in effect, letting the state conduct an election under a system that a judge already determined is illegally discriminatory.

“If we (as I think likely) determine that the current system violates the Voting Rights Act, then Black Georgians in Districts 2 and 3 are stuck — for the next six years, until 2029 — with commissioners whom they didn’t have their full role in selecting,” Rosenbaum wrote.

Grimberg broke new ground in finding that statewide elections violate the Voting Rights Act, although his decision hinged on Georgia’s decision of having candidates live in particular districts and run statewide. He found that illegally handicapped Black-favored candidates, and that such candidates would have a better chance of winning if only voters in a district voted on each candidate, making it possible to draw at least one Black-majority district.

Attorney General Chris Carr appealed, arguing that that Grimberg fundamentally erred in his decision by concluding that race and not Democratic partisanship drove the defeat of the candidates preferred by Black voters. It also says the judge overstepped in concluding that only state law and not the state constitution requires statewide elections. Grimberg considered and rejected both those arguments.

Plaintiffs have said district elections would bring to the forefront concerns of Black voters, including people with lower incomes who pay high utility bills. The lawsuit was brought by leaders of the NAACP, Georgia Conservation Voters and Black Voters Matter.

The commission regulates Georgia Power Co. and other utilities, determining how much companies are allowed to bill millions of ratepayers.

If Grimberg’s ruling stands, state lawmakers would have to draw single-member districts for the commission.

Another federal judge earlier this year allowed Georgia’s congressional elections to go forward in redrawn districts even though he preliminarily found that the redistricting was likely to illegally harm Black voters.

Voting rights advocates have decried decisions that say allowing elections to go forward is most important, saying it allows states to proceed with illegal elections and sparking fears that the U.S. Supreme Court will gut the part of the Voting Rights Act that lets people win lawsuits challenging district lines and other voting provisions.

Georgia to use $240M more in federal cash to build broadband

By

Associated Press

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August 12, 2022

ATLANTA (AP) — Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday said the state will spend another $240 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to construct broadband internet to rural locations that don’t currently have connections.

Combined with $408 million from an earlier round of COVID-19 aid, plus money from the Federal Communications Commission, nearly $1 billion will be given to utilities and others to try to bring high-speed connections to parts of Georgia that lacked them.

Applications for the new round of grants open Monday.

The announcement comes as the Republican Kemp vies for reelection with Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams in one of the nation’s most high-profile governor’s races. Abrams and other Democrats have slammed Kemp for taking credit for handing out federal money even as he voices opposition to federal spending. Abrams on Tuesday pledged to use money from a recent federal infrastructure bill to outdo Kemp in broadband expansion, an issue that has widespread bipartisan support.

In February, when the state awarded the $408 million, officials projected the money would link up 132,000 of the remaining 482,000 homes and businesses that didn’t then have a fast connection.

The 49 electric cooperatives, local governments, cable companies and others who got the earlier round of funding committed to spend $330 million of their own money to match the federal cash.

The FCC earlier awarded $326 million to serve nearly 180,000 locations in parts of Georgia using its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.

Applicants for the new money provide download and upload speeds of 100 megabytes per second. Guidelines call for applicants to consider affordability as part of their plan and says they are “strongly encouraged” to provide a low-cost option. Providers must participate in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity program, which provides a discount of up to $30 a month to qualifying households.

Kemp decided to spend much of Georgia’s $4.8 billion in federal relief on broadband expansion, water and sewer improvements and offsetting the negative economic impact of the pandemic.

FBI seized top secret documents in Trump estate search

By

Michael Balsamo, Zeke Miller and Eric Tucker, Associated Press

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August 12, 2022

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI recovered “top secret” and even more sensitive documents from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to court papers released Friday after a federal judge unsealed the warrant that authorized the sudden, unprecedented search this week.

A property receipt unsealed by the court shows FBI agents took 11 sets of classified records from the estate during a search on Monday.

The seized records include some marked not only top secret but also “sensitive compartmented information,” a special category meant to protect the nation’s most important secrets that if revealed publicly could cause “exceptionally grave” damage to U.S. interests. The court records did not provide specific details about information the documents might contain.

The warrant says federal agents were investigating potential violations of three different federal laws, including one that governs gathering, transmitting or losing defense information under the Espionage Act. The other statutes address the concealment, mutilation or removal of records and the destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations.

The property receipt also shows federal agents collected other potential presidential records, including the order pardoning Trump ally Roger Stone, a “leatherbound box of documents,” and information about the “President of France.” A binder of photos, a handwritten note, “miscellaneous secret documents” and “miscellaneous confidential documents” were also seized in the search.

Trump’s attorney, Christina Bobb, who was present at Mar-a-Lago when the agents conducted the search, signed two property receipts — one that was two pages long and another that is a single page.

In a statement earlier Friday, Trump claimed that the documents seized by agents were “all declassified,” and argued that he would have turned them over if the Justice Department had asked.

While incumbent presidents generally have the power to declassify information, that authority lapses as soon as they leave office and it was not clear if the documents in question have ever been declassified. And even an incumbent’s powers to declassify may be limited regarding secrets dealing with nuclear weapons programs, covert operations and operatives, and some data shared with allies.

Trump kept possession of the documents despite multiple requests from agencies, including the National Archives, to turn over presidential records in accordance with federal law.

The Mar-a-Lago search warrant served Monday was part of an ongoing Justice Department investigation into the discovery of classified White House records recovered from Trump’s home earlier this year. The Archives had asked the department to investigate after saying 15 boxes of records it retrieved from the estate included classified records.

It remains unclear whether the Justice Department moved forward with the warrant simply as a means to retrieve the records or as part of a wider criminal investigation or attempt to prosecute the former president. Multiple federal laws govern the handling of classified information, with both criminal and civil penalties, as well as presidential records.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, the same judge who signed off on the search warrant, unsealed the warrant and property receipt Friday at the request of the Justice Department after Attorney General Merrick Garland declared there was “substantial public interest in this matter,” and Trump said he backed the warrant’s “immediate” release. The Justice Department told the judge Friday afternoon that Trump’s lawyers did not object to the proposal to make it public.

In messages posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “Not only will I not oppose the release of documents … I am going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents.”

The Justice Department’s request was striking because such warrants traditionally remain sealed during a pending investigation. But the department appeared to recognize that its silence since the search had created a vacuum for bitter verbal attacks by Trump and his allies, and felt that the public was entitled to the FBI’s side about what prompted Monday’s action at the former president’s home.

“The public’s clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing,” said a motion filed in federal court in Florida on Thursday.

The information was released as( Trump prepares for another run for the White House. During his 2016 campaign, he pointed frequently to an FBI investigation into his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, over whether she mishandled classified information.

To obtain a search warrant, federal authorities must prove to a judge that probable cause exists to believe that a crime was committed. Garland said he personally approved the warrant, a decision he said the department did not take lightly given that standard practice where possible is to select less intrusive tactics than a search of one’s home.

In this case, according to a person familiar with the matter, there was substantial engagement with Trump and his representatives prior to the search warrant, including a subpoena for records and a visit to Mar-a-Lago a couple of months ago by FBI and Justice Department officials to assess how the documents were stored. The person was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

FBI and Justice Department policy cautions against discussing ongoing investigations, both to protect the integrity of the inquiries and to avoid unfairly maligning someone who is being scrutinized but winds up ultimately not being charged. That’s especially true in the case of search warrants, where supporting court papers are routinely kept secret as the investigation proceeds.

In this case, though, Garland cited the fact that Trump himself had provided the first public confirmation of the FBI search, “as is his right.” The Justice Department, in its new filing, also said that disclosing information about it now would not harm the court’s functions.

The Justice Department under Garland has been leery of public statements about politically charged investigations, or of confirming to what extent it might be investigating Trump as part of a broader probe into the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The department has tried to avoid being seen as injecting itself into presidential politics, as happened in 2016 when then-FBI Director James Comey made an unusual public statement announcing that the FBI would not be recommending criminal charges against Clinton regarding her handling of email — and when he spoke up again just over a week before the election to notify Congress that the probe was being effectively reopened because of the discovery of new emails.

The attorney general also condemned verbal attacks on FBI and Justice Department personnel over the search. Some Republican allies of Trump have called for the FBI to be defunded. Large numbers of Trump supporters have called for the warrant to be released hoping they it will show that Trump was unfairly targeted.

“I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked,” Garland said of federal law enforcement agents, calling them “dedicated, patriotic public servants.”

Earlier Thursday, an armed man wearing body armor tried to breach a security screening area at an FBI field office in Ohio, then fled and was later killed after a standoff with law enforcement. A law enforcement official briefed on the matter identified the man as Ricky Shiffer and said he is believed to have been in Washington in the days leading up to the attack on the Capitol and may have been there on the day it took place.

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Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst and Meg Kinnard contributed to this report.

Congress OKs Dems’ climate, health bill, a Biden triumph

By

Alan Fram, Associated Press

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August 12, 2022

Merrick Garland — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., surrounded by House Democrats, poses after signing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 during a bill enrollment ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Congress gave final approval Friday to Democrats’ flagship climate and health care bill, handing President Joe Biden a back-from-the-dead triumph on coveted priorities that the party hopes will bolster their prospects for keeping their House and Senate majorities in November’s elections.

The House used a party-line 220-207 vote to pass the legislation, prompting hugs among Democrats on the House floor and cheers by White House staff watching on television. “Today, the American people won. Special interests lost,” tweeted the vacationing Biden, who was shown beaming in a White House photo as he watched the vote on TV from Kiawah Island, South Carolina. He said he would sign the legislation next week.

The measure is but a shadow of the larger, more ambitious plan to supercharge environment and social programs that Biden and his party unveiled early last year. Even so, Democrats happily declared victory on top-tier goals like providing Congress’ largest ever investment in curbing carbon emissions, reining in pharmaceutical costs and taxing large companies, hoping to show they can wring accomplishments from a routinely gridlocked Washington that often disillusions voters.

“Today is a day of celebration, a day we take another giant step in our momentous agenda,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who minutes later announced the final vote as she presided over the chamber. She said the measure “meets the moment, ensuring that our families thrive and that our planet survives.”

Republicans solidly opposed the legislation, calling it a cornucopia of wasteful liberal daydreams that would raise taxes and families’ living costs. They did the same Sunday but Senate Democrats banded together and used Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote to power the measure through that 50-50 chamber.

“Democrats, more than any other majority in history, are addicted to spending other people’s money, regardless of what we as a country can afford,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. “I can almost see glee in their eyes.”

Biden’s initial 10-year, $3.5 trillion proposal also envisioned free prekindergarten, paid family and medical leave, expanded Medicare benefits and eased immigration restrictions. That crashed after centrist Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said it was too costly, using the leverage every Democrat has in the evenly-divided Senate.

Still, the final legislation remained substantive. Its pillar is about $375 billion over 10 years to encourage industry and consumers to shift from carbon-emitting to cleaner forms of energy. That includes $4 billion to cope with the West’s catastrophic drought.

Spending, tax credits and loans would bolster technology like solar panels, consumer efforts to improve home energy efficiency, emission-reducing equipment for coal- and gas-powered power plants and air pollution controls for farms, ports and low-income communities.

Another $64 billion would help 13 million people pay premiums over the next three years for privately bought health insurance. Medicare would gain the power to negotiate its costs for pharmaceuticals, initially in 2026 for only 10 drugs. Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket prescription costs would be limited to $2,000 starting in 2025, and beginning next year would pay no more than $35 monthly for insulin, the costly diabetes drug.

The bill would raise around $740 billion in revenue over the decade, over a third from government savings from lower drug prices. More would flow from higher taxes on some $1 billion corporations, levies on companies that repurchase their own stock and stronger IRS tax collections. About $300 billion would remain to defray budget deficits, a sliver of the period’s projected $16 trillion total.

Against the backdrop of GOP attacks on the FBI for its court-empowered search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate for sensitive documents, Republicans repeatedly savaged the bill’s boost to the IRS budget. That’s aimed at collecting an estimated $120 billion in unpaid taxes over the coming decade, and Republicans have misleadingly claimed that the IRS will hire 87,000 agents to target average families.

Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., said Democrats would also “weaponize” the IRS with agents, “many of whom will be trained in the use of deadly force, to go after any American citizen.” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Thursday on “Fox and Friends” if there would be an IRS “strike force that goes in with AK-15s already loaded, ready to shoot some small business person.”

Few IRS personnel are armed, and Democrats say the bill’s $80 billion, 10-year budget increase would be to replace waves of retirees, not just agents, and modernize equipment. They have said typical families and small businesses would not be targeted, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen directing the IRS this week to not “increase the share of small business or households below the $400,000 threshold” that would be audited.

Republicans say the legislation’s new business taxes will increase prices, worsening the nation’s bout with its worst inflation since 1981. Though Democrats have labeled the measure the Inflation Reduction Act, nonpartisan analysts say it will have a barely perceptible impact on prices.

The GOP also says the bill would raise taxes on lower- and middle-income families. An analysis by Congress’ nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, which didn’t include the bill’s tax breaks for health care and energy, estimated that the corporate tax boosts would marginally affect those taxpayers but indirectly, partly due to lower stock prices and wages.

“House Democrats ensured voters will fire them this fall,” said spokeswoman Torunn Sinclair of the House GOP campaign committee. In an email, she listed dozens of Democrats in competitive reelections who will face Republican attacks for raising taxes and empowering the IRS “to target their constituents.”

Democratic-leaning interest groups had their own warnings. “We’ll ensure that every Republican who voted against this bill is held accountable for prioritizing polluters and corporate special interests over the health and well being of their constituents,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, a top official of the League of Conservation Voters.

The bill caps three months in which Congress has approved legislation on veterans’ benefits, the semiconductor industry, gun checks for young buyers and Ukraine’s invasion by Russia and adding Sweden and Finland to NATO. All passed with bipartisan support, suggesting Republicans also want to display their productive side.

It’s unclear whether voters will reward Democrats for the legislation after months of painfully high inflation dominating voters’ attention, Biden’s dangerously low popularity ratings and a steady history of midterm elections that batter the party holding the White House.

Biden called his $3.5 trillion plan Build Back Better. Besides social and environment initiatives, it proposed rolling back Trump-era tax breaks for the rich and corporations and $555 billion for climate efforts, well above the money in Friday’s legislation.

With Manchin opposing those amounts, it was sliced to a roughly $2 trillion measure that Democrats moved through the House in November. He unexpectedly sank that bill too, earning scorn from exasperated fellow Democrats from Capitol Hill and the White House.

Last gasp talks between Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., seemed fruitless until the two unexpectedly announced agreement last month on the new package.

Manchin won concessions for the fossil fuel industries he champions, including procedures for more oil drilling on federal lands. So did Centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., who ended up eliminating planned higher taxes on hedge fund managers and helping win the drought funds.

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Associated Press reporter Seung Min Kim in Kiawah Island and congressional correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

Carol Houston

By

Now Habersham

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August 12, 2022

Carol Houston, age 84, of Alto, passed away on Wednesday, August 10, 2022.

Born on August 4, 1938, in Tiger, she was a daughter of the late Vaugn Nichols and Lillian Vedell Shook. Mrs. Houston retired from Nichols Department store where she was the receiving and shipping manager. After her husband passed away, she worked in various retirement homes. She enjoyed working in her rose garden and loved her husband and sister. Mrs. Houston was a member of Glade Creek Baptist Church.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Eugene Houston; brothers, Randall Lovell, Perry Shook, Robert Lyn Shook and Freddie Shook; and sister, Viola Nichols.

Survivors include brother, Chester W. Shook of Demorest; sisters and brothers-in-law, Ann Webb (Ronnie) and Kathy Archer (Mike) of Clarkesville; numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held at 3 pm on Saturday, August 13, 2022 in the Chapel of McGahee-Griffin and Stewart with Rev. Leon Brown officiating. Interment will follow in Glade Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 2 pm until the service hour on Saturday at the funeral home.

An online guest register is available and may be viewed at www.mcgaheegriffinandstewart.com.

McGahee-Griffin & Stewart Funeral Home of Cornelia, Georgia (706/778-8668) is in charge of arrangements.

Georgia advocates, Democrats hail long-sought climate bill as pivotal

By

Stanley Dunlap

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August 12, 2022

solar panels — The Democrats’ climate, health and tax bill, which includes $370 billion in spending on clean energy programs, is expected to clear the U.S. House of Representatives Friday, Aug. 12, 2022.

(GA Recorder) — The U.S. House of Representatives is set to take up a bill Friday that many environmental groups and Democratic legislators say represents a historic investment in clean energy that will create jobs and make solar panels and electric vehicles more affordable for years to come.

The Democrats’ climate, health and tax bill, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with tax incentives designed to boost solar and wind energy production, speed electric vehicle adoption and help Americans improve their household’s energy efficiency.

The bill’s supporters say it will increase the number of electric vehicles on the road, clean up dirty power plants, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels while also lowering the cost of prescription drugs for seniors and ensuring corporations pay their fair share as a way to raise revenues.

“The (bill) passed by the Senate makes our tax code fairer by ensuring profitable corporations and high-income households pay what they owe, and use the revenue to pay for health care, clean-energy jobs, and programs to reduce pollution and emissions that cause climate change and hurt low-income communities. This is a good deal for Georgians,” said Staci Fox, president and CEO of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.

However, congressional Republicans and other opponents argue that the sweeping climate, health, and tax package that passed through the Senate on Sunday is too generous with tax credits and say the measure will not help curb rising prices at the pump and in the grocery store.

The measure is expected to advance through the House, where Democrats hold a slight advantage over Republicans.

Georgia Democratic Congresswoman Lucy McBath, for one, said she’ll vote in favor of a bill that provides hard-working American families a chance for their children to live in a healthier environment.

“This bill helps them do that – it makes health care more affordable, tackles climate change, creates new, good paying jobs, and brings down the costs of prescriptions and household items for every single American,” she said in a statement.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and a host of other environmental advocates say that the bill will create well-paying jobs in clean energy while also reducing costs for wind, solar, and battery-powered renewable energy.

Additionally, environmentalists say the bill offers rebates and tax credits that will lower household utility bills and further entice Georgians to drive electric trucks and cars while also providing more resources to disadvantaged communities that have been hit hardest by fossil fuel costs.

The bill is projected to include the country’s single largest ever clean energy investment of $370 billion, helping to pave the way for lowering carbon emissions by 40% from 2005 to 2030.

DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry, who is a Democrat, said the legislation is a win-win for governments looking to save money and slow global warming, which could stave off disasters and make communities become more resilient.

In DeKalb, the bill will help further local efforts that have included applying for a portion of the $18 million for elective vehicle infrastructure provided through a Georgia Power program. Meanwhile, other incentives for governments will save millions of dollars in stormwater and other utility costs in DeKalb, Terry said.

A study by the Rhodium Group estimates that the bill and other factors will also save households an average of $1,025 per year by 2030.

“The Inflation Reduction Act is by far the most consequential legislation for climate action that has ever passed,” said Maggie Shober, research director at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “I think it will take some time to be able to process the scale and positive effects this will have on our collective future.

“But the fight is not over, we’ll need to keep up momentum across the country and here in the Southeast. Paired with more federal, state, and local actions, we will be more equipped to face the most existential threat of our time: climate change,” Shober added.

While the bill offers substantial changes in drug price policy and corporate taxes, the provisions for climate change stand out, including a production credit meant to induce manufacturers to make more renewable components like batteries and wind blades.

The measure also includes Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff’s Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act, which extends a 10-year tax credit at 30%. The tax incentive has been credited with helping to stimulate the industry at places like Dalton’s Qcells, which recently announced 470 new jobs as part of a $171 million expansion.

And the bill expands the existing tax credit program for electric vehicles, providing $7,500 in tax credits for new zero-emission vehicles and $4,000 for used ones. The high-end trucks built at the future Rivian electric vehicle plant would likely not be eligible for the $80,000 cap for trucks and SUVs, and new sedans must cost less than $55,000. There is also a cap on income that limits the tax credit to individuals earning less than $150,000 a year and married couples who make less than $300,000.

A few automakers have expressed concern about being able to meet the initial demand while Republican lawmakers have panned the measure’s tax credits as a give-away.

Terry argues that more than money is at stake, although he says DeKalb will save millions of dollars as it moves its fleet to electric vehicles and outfits more government buildings with solar panels and uses floating solar panels to provide electricity at a water treatment plant.

“Climate change is gonna not only affect us in our pocketbooks in terms of the budget, but also in our ability to live in our own county,” Terry said.

But some advocates say Democrats have overstated how much the package would protect future Americans from some of the systemic environmental and health disparities disproportionately affecting minorities and lower-income families.

Only $47.5 billion is dedicated to areas that benefit low-income families and communities of color, according to a preliminary analysis from the Just Solutions Collective, a nonpartisan think tank that advocates for environmental justice and equitable climate policies.

Brionté McCorkle, executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters, said the bill is helping build for the future while tackling some of the systemic problems that have plagued communities of color. The new job opportunities should also bring about much-needed change, she said.

“There’s are a lot of dollars in manufacturing and other things that could create opportunities for new technologies, new companies, new investors,” she said. “If you want to get in the business now, it’s a pretty dominant industry. The industry is changing and with the equity angle, people of color are in a better position now.”

Trump calls for ‘immediate’ release of Mar-a-Lago warrant

By

Eric Tucker and Michael Balsamo, Associated Press

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August 12, 2022

U.S.-Attorney-General-Merrick-Garland-June-25-2021-1 — U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asked the courts to unseal the federal warrant used to search former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida citing the "substantial public interest in this matter." Hours later, Trump said he supported the move. (file photo)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump called late Thursday for the “immediate” release of the federal warrant the FBI used to search his Florida estate, hours after the Justice Department had asked a court to unseal the warrant, with Attorney General Merrick Garland citing the “substantial public interest in this matter.”

In messages posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “Not only will I not oppose the release of documents … I am going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents.” He continued to assail the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago as “unAmerican, unwarranted and unnecessary.”

“Release the documents now!” he wrote.

The Justice Department request earlier Thursday is striking because such documents traditionally remain sealed during a pending investigation. But the department appeared to recognize that its silence since the search had created a vacuum for bitter verbal attacks by Trump and his allies, and that the public was entitled to the FBI’s side about what prompted Monday’s action at the former president’s home.

“The public’s clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing,” said a motion filed in federal court in Florida on Thursday.

Should the warrant be released — the request is now with the judge — it could disclose unflattering information about the former president and about FBI scrutiny of his handling of sensitive government documents right as he prepares for another run for the White House. During his successful 2016 campaign, he pointed frequently to an FBI investigation into his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, over whether she mishandled classified information.

It’s unclear at this point how much information would be included in the documents, if made public, or if they would encompass an FBI affidavit that would presumably lay out a detailed factual basis for the search. The department specifically requested the unsealing of the warrant as well as a property receipt listing the items that were seized, along with two unspecified attachments.

To obtain a search warrant, federal authorities must prove to a judge that probable cause exists to believe that a crime was committed. Garland said he personally approved the warrant, a decision he said the department did not take lightly given that standard practice where possible is to select less intrusive tactics than a search of one’s home.

In this case, according to a person familiar with the matter, there was substantial engagement with Trump and his representatives prior to the search warrant, including a subpoena for records and a visit to Mar-a-Lago a couple of months ago by FBI and Justice Department officials to assess how the documents were stored. The person was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Neither Trump nor the FBI has said anything about what documents the FBI might have recovered, or what precisely agents were looking for. But the former president complained anew Thursday about the search.

Trump, who for years has lambasted the FBI and sought to sow distrust among his supporters in its decisions, said the warrant was served and the search conducted despite his cooperation with the Justice Department over the search.

In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump said that his “attorneys and representatives were cooperating fully” prior to the search, and that government officials “could have had whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, if we had it.”

The Justice Department has until Friday afternoon to alert the judge about whether Trump will object to the release.

FBI and Justice Department policy cautions against discussing ongoing investigations, both to protect the integrity of probes and to avoid unfairly maligning someone who is being scrutinized but winds up ultimately not being charged. That’s especially true in the case of search warrants, where supporting court papers are routinely kept secret as the investigation proceeds.

In this case, though, Garland cited the fact that Trump himself had provided the first public confirmation of the FBI search, “as is his right.” The Justice Department, in its new filing, also said that disclosing information about it now would not harm the court’s functions.
Even so, Garland, in a hastily scheduled public statement delivered from the Justice Department podium, appeared to acknowledge the unusual nature of the department’s request as he declined to take questions or provide any substantive details about the FBI’s investigation.

“Much of our work is by necessity conducted out of the public eye. We do that to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations,” he said. “Federal law, longstanding department rules and our ethical obligations prevent me from providing further details as to the basis of the search at this time.”

The Justice Department under Garland has been leery of public statements about politically charged investigations, or of confirming to what extent it might be investigating Trump as part of a broader probe into the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The department has tried to avoid being seen as injecting itself into presidential politics, as happened in 2016 when then-FBI Director James Comey made an unusual public statement announcing that the FBI would not be recommending criminal charges against Clinton regarding her handling of email — and when he spoke up again just over a week before the election to notify Congress that the probe was being effectively reopened because of the discovery of new emails.

The Mar-a-Lago search warrant served Monday was part of an ongoing Justice Department investigation into the discovery of classified White House records recovered from Trump’s home in Palm Beach, Florida, earlier this year. The National Archives had asked the department to investigate after saying 15 boxes of records it retrieved from the estate included classified records. Multiple federal laws govern the handling of classified information.

The attorney general also condemned verbal attacks on FBI and Justice Department personnel over the search. Some Republican allies of Trump have called for the FBI to be defunded. Large numbers of Trump supporters have called for the warrant to be released hoping they it will show that Trump was unfairly targeted.

“I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked,” Garland said of federal law enforcement agents, calling them “dedicated, patriotic public servants.”

Earlier Thursday, an armed man wearing body armor tried to breach a security screening area at an FBI field office in Ohio, then fled and was later killed after a standoff with law enforcement. A law enforcement official briefed on the matter identified the man as Ricky Shiffer and said he is believed to have been in Washington in the days leading up to the attack on the Capitol and may have been there on the day it took place.
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Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Lindsay Whitehurst and Meg Kinnard contributed to this report.

HCLC announces first Karaoke Night fundraiser for Habersham teens

By

Margie Williamson

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August 11, 2022

Habersham Christian Learning Center announces its first-ever Karaoke Night for Habersham teens at The Station at Level Grove Baptist Church on September 10 at 7 pm. Students will be able to sing Disney Karaoke and compete for a prize.

The event is also a fundraiser.

Throughout the night, guest singers who are teachers, pastors, and coaches from the community, will each perform a song. Each guest singer has chosen a price for which each would be willing to sing. When that particular amount is raised, that guest singer will sing.
So far, eight guest singers have been enlisted. However, more will be added before the final list is announced Monday, August 15.

The Habersham Christian Learning Center is located adjacent to the Habersham Ninth Grade Academy campus in Mt. Airy. (HCLC photo)

The local community can help by getting the word out, donating to the cause, and inviting their teenagers to the event. All monies raised will help fund HCLC’s classroom education.

The Habersham Christian Learning Center was founded to provide biblical teaching to public high school students separate from the public school system. The program operates through grants and local donations. For more information on the history and mission of the program, click here.

For more information or to make a donation, contact Sarah Harrison, HCLC’s director, at (706) 778-5483 or at [email protected].