Georgia requires risk-limiting audits for all state and federal elections, which take place after an election and verifies results have been correctly certified. A video circulating online incorrectly identified an election official discussing these audits and conflates them with vote-counting procedures.
In an Instagram post captioned, “GA election official Gabriel Sterling says audits will take place after Election Day because it’s ‘nerve racking’ to count ballots in front of poll watchers,” a man in a video clip tells a CNN reporter how Georgia conducts audits.
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)
The person in the video is not Gabriel Sterling, chief operating officer at Georgia’s secretary of state’s office. In both the Instagram video and the video’s full CNN transcript, the man is identified as Joseph Kirk, an elections supervisor in Bartow County, Georgia.
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
Kirk’s comments in the video were a response to the reporter asking him about a new Georgia rule passed Sept. 20 that would require a hand count of ballots alongside the machine counts already in place. A Georgia judge blocked the hand-count election rule Oct.15, saying it added “uncertainty and disorder” to the process weeks before Election Day.
In the clip aired Oct. 12, Kirk says:
“I want to be clear, I don’t have a problem at hand-counting ballots. There’s different times to do that, there’s different reasons to do that in the process we know we go through is called an audit. But we do it after the election, in a controlled environment where it’s easier to observe, easier to monitor the process and my folks have a chance to rest first. We’re just giving folks a chance to make a mistake. We’re just having very, very tired, in many cases, senior citizens try to hand count stuff in front of people, which can be nerve racking.”
Counting votes is a separate process from an audit. Georgia is one of five states that have statutes mandating risk-limiting audits. Votes are counted to determine an election’s outcome; risk-limiting audits check a sample of ballots after an election to verify that the results have been correctly certified.
Mike Hassinger, a Georgia secretary of state spokesperson, told PolitiFact in an email that risk-limiting audits have been conducted after election results were certified in every election since 2020 and are “open to observation by the public.”
Hassinger sent PolitiFact a calendar showing the risk-limiting audit for Georgia’s 2024 general election will take place Nov. 14 to Nov. 15. He said the audit typically takes two to three days.
We rate the claim that Georgia election official Sterling says audits will take place after election day because it’s “nerve racking” to count ballots in front of poll watchers False.
Georgia Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock (above, right) prepares to cast his vote at a DeKalb County polling station. Photo by Julia Beverly/The Atlanta Voice
The polling places located across the state of Georgia were busy during the first week of the early voting period. Ranging from Oct. 15 to Nov. 1, the early voting period in Georgia saw a record number of participants during the first day in 2020 (136,000 votes cast), but that record was broken and more than doubled in 2024 with more than 300,000 votes cast on the first day. As of Sunday, Oct. 20, more than 1.3 million Georgians voted early.
Knowing where your local polling place is and what you need to properly vote early or on Election Day, November 5, is important to the process of a fair election. Fulton County, Georgia’s largest county, has the majority of the state’s 2,300-plus polling places.
A polling station in Savannah. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
The importance of easily accessible polling places has had an immediate impact on the current presidential election and local down ballot elections. As of Sunday, 160,676 ballots were cast in Fulton County, according to data provided by the Secretary of State’s online election data hub. The often-used phrase “know before you go” is going to be important in Georgia heading into the second week of the early voting period.
In Dekalb County, the fourth largest county in Georgia, 98,006 voters cast ballots during the first week of the early voting period. Georgia Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock cast his vote at a polling place on the campus of a local church where the nearest polling station was once inside the Gallery at South DeKalb mall before closing. The once popular polling place inside the metro Atlanta shopping mall recently closed, and thus the need for a new local polling place inside the auditorium at New Life Church. In a county Like Dekalb County where there are 509,896 registered voters, knowing where the polling places are is crucial.
A polling station in Decatur, Georgia. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
DeKalb County polling places:
Berean Christian Church 2201 Young Road Stone Mountain, GA 30088
Bessie Branham Recreation Center 2051 Delano Drive, NE Atlanta, GA 30317
Beulah Missionary Baptist Church 2340 Clifton Springs Road Decatur, GA 30034
Briarwood Recreation Center* 2235 Briarwood Way, NE Brookhaven, GA 30319
Clarkston Library 951 N. Indian Creek Drive Clarkston, GA 30021
County Line-Ellenwood Library 4331 River Road Ellenwood, GA 30294
DeKalb Voter Registration & Elections Office 4380 Memorial Drive Decatur, GA 30032
Dunwoody Library* 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road Dunwoody, GA 30338
Emory University 1599 Clifton Road Atlanta, GA 30322
Greater Piney Grove Church 1879 Glenwood Avenue, SE Atlanta, GA 30316
Hairston Crossing Library 4911 Redan Road Stone Mountain, GA 30088
Lynwood Recreation Center 3360 Osborne Road, NE Atlanta, GA 30319
Neighborhood Church 1561 McLendon Avenue, NE Atlanta, GA 30307
New Bethel AMEC 8350 Rockbridge Road, SW Lithonia, GA 30058
New Life Community Alliance* 3592 Flat Shoals Road Decatur, GA 30034
North DeKalb Senior Center 3393 Malone Drive Chamblee, GA 30341
Salem-Panola Library 5137 Salem Road Lithonia, GA 30038
Stonecrest (former Sam’s Club) * 2994 Turner Hill Road Lithonia, GA 30038
Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library* 5234 Lavista Road Tucker, GA 30084
Wesley Chapel-William C. Brown Library 2861 Wesley Chapel Road Decatur, GA 30034
Fulton Countypollingplaces:
Adams Park Library 2231 Campbellton Road SW Atlanta, GA 30311
Alpharetta Library* 10 Park Plaza Alpharetta, GA 30009
Buckhead Library* 269 Buckhead Avenue NE Atlanta, GA 30305
C.T. Martin Recreation Center* 3201 M.L.K. Jr Drive SW Atlanta, GA 30311
Chastain Park Recreation Center 140 Chastain Park Avenue NW Atlanta, GA 30342
East Point First Mallalieu United Methodist Church 2651 N Church Street East Point, GA 30344
East Roswell Library* 2301 Holcomb Bridge Road Roswell, GA 30076
Elections Hub** 5600 Campbellton Fairburn Road Union City, GA 30213
Etris-Darnell Community Recreation Center 5285 Lakeside Drive Union City, GA 30291
Evelyn G. Lowery Library at Cascade 3665 Cascade Road South Fulton, GA 30331
Fairburn Annex 40 Washington Street Fairburn, GA 30213
Flipper Temple AME Church 580 Atlanta Student Movement Blvd SW Atlanta, GA 30314
Fulton County Customer Service Center at Maxwell Road 11575 Maxwell Road Roswell, GA 30009
Fulton County Government Center** 130 Peachtree Street SW Suite 2186 Atlanta, GA 30303
Gladys S. Dennard Library at South Fulton 4055 Flat Shoals Road South Fulton, GA 30291
Grant Park Recreation Center 537 Park Avenue SE Atlanta, GA 30312
Heritage Hall at Sandy Springs 6110 Blue Stone Road Sandy Springs, GA 30328
High Museum of Arts 1280 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, GA 30309
Hugh C. Conley Recreation Center 3636 College Street College Park, GA 30337
Joan P. Garner Library at Ponce De Leon 980 Ponce De Leon Avenue NE Atlanta, GA 30306
Johns Creek Environmental Campus 8100 Holcomb Bridge Road Roswell, GA 30022
Louise Watley Library at Southeast Atlanta 1463 Pryor Road SW Atlanta, GA 30315
Metropolitan Library 1332 Metropolitan Parkway SW Atlanta, GA 30310
Milton Community Center 1785 Dinsmore Road Milton, GA 30004
Milton Library 855 Mayfield Road Milton, GA 30009
North Fulton Service Center** 7741 Roswell Road Sandy Springs, GA 30350
Northeast Spruill Oaks Library 9560 Spruill Road Johns Creek, GA 30022
Northside Library 3295 Northside Parkway NW Atlanta, GA 30327
Northwest Library at Scotts Crossing 2489 Perry Boulevard NW Atlanta, GA 30318
Palmetto Library 9111 Cascade Palmetto Highway Palmetto, GA 30268
Robert F. Fulton Ocee Library 5090 Abbotts Bridge Road Johns Creek, GA 30005
Roswell Library 115 Norcross Street Roswell, GA 30075
Sandy Springs Library* 395 Mount Vernon Highway Sandy Springs, GA 30328
South Fulton Service Center** 5600 Stonewall Tell Road South Fulton, GA 30349
Southwest Arts Center 915 New Hope Road SW South Fulton, GA 30331
Welcome All Recreation Center 4255 Will Lee Road South Fulton, GA 30349
Wolf Creek Library* 3100 Enon Road South Fulton, GA 30331
Fulton County has designated days for students, teachers and staff at Atlanta Metropolitan State College, Georgia State University, and Georgia Tech to cast their ballots.
Atlanta Metropolitan State College October 15 & October 16 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Edwin Thompson Student Center 1630 Metropolitan Parkway SW, Atlanta, GA 30310
Georgia authorities said Sunday they are investigating the “catastrophic failure” of dock gangway that collapsed and killed seven on Sapelo Island, where crowds had gathered for a fall celebration by the island’s tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants.“It is a structural failure. There should be very, very little maintenance to an aluminum gangway like that, but we’ll see what the investigation unfolds,” Georgia Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Walter Rabon said at a news conference.The gangway was installed in 2021, authorities said.Rabon said three people remained hospitalized in critical condition from Saturday’s collapse.Rabon said “upwards of 40 people” were on the gangway when the “catastrophic failure” occurred, and at least 20 people fell into the water. The gangway connected an outer dock where people board the ferry to another dock onshore.None of the seven people killed were residents of the island, Rabon said. Eight people were taken to hospitals, at least six of them were initially reported Saturday to have critical injuries.The ferry dock was rebuilt after Georgia officials in October 2020 settled a federal lawsuit by residents of the tiny community of Hogg Hummock, who complained the state-operated ferry boats and docks they rely upon to travel between Sapelo Island the mainland failed to meet federal accessibility standards for people with disabilities.The state agreed to demolish and replace outdated docks while upgrading ferry boats to accommodate people in wheelchairs and those with impaired hearing. The state also paid a cash settlement of $750,000.Crews from the U.S. Coast Guard, the McIntosh County Fire Department, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and others searched the water, according to Natural Resources spokesperson Tyler Jones. The agency operates the dock and ferry boats that transport people between the island and the mainland.A team of engineers and construction specialists were on site early Sunday to begin investigating why the walkway failed, Jones said.“There was no collision” with a boat or anything else, Jones said. “The thing just collapsed. We don’t know why.”Helicopters and boats with side-scanning sonar were used in the search, according to a Department of Natural Resources statement.Among the dead was a chaplain for the state agency, Jones said.President Joe Biden said federal officials were ready to provide any assistance needed.Sapelo Island is about 60 miles south of Savannah, reachable from the mainland by boat.The deadly collapse happened as island residents, family members and tourists gathered for Cultural Day, an annual fall event spotlighting Hogg Hummock, home to a few dozen Black residents. The community of dirt roads and modest homes was founded after the Civil War by former slaves from the cotton plantation of Thomas Spalding.Hogg Hummock’s slave descendants are extremely close, having been “bonded by family, bonded by history and bonded by struggle,” said Roger Lotson, the only Black member of the McIntosh County Board of Commissioners. His district includes Sapelo Island.“Everyone is family, and everyone knows each other,” Lotson said. “In any tragedy, especially like this, they are all one. They’re all united. They all feel the same pain and the same hurt.”Small communities descended from enslaved island populations in the South — known as Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia — are scattered along the coast from North Carolina to Florida. Scholars say their separation from the mainland caused residents to retain much of their African heritage, from their unique dialect to skills and crafts such as cast-net fishing and basket-weaving.In 1996, Hogg Hummock, also known as Hog Hammock, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the United States’ treasured historic sites.But the community’s population has been shrinking for decades, and some families have sold their land to outsiders who built vacation homes.Tax increases and zoning changes by the local government in McIntosh County have been met by protests and lawsuits by Hogg Hummock residents and landowners. They have been battling for the past year to undo zoning changes approved by county commissioners in September 2023 that doubled the size of homes allowed in Hogg Hummock.Residents say they fear larger homes will lead to tax increases that could force them to sell land that their families have held for generations.____Emily Wagster Pettus reported from Jackson, Mississippi.
SAVANNAH, Ga. —
Georgia authorities said Sunday they are investigating the “catastrophic failure” of dock gangway that collapsed and killed seven on Sapelo Island, where crowds had gathered for a fall celebration by the island’s tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants.
“It is a structural failure. There should be very, very little maintenance to an aluminum gangway like that, but we’ll see what the investigation unfolds,” Georgia Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Walter Rabon said at a news conference.
The gangway was installed in 2021, authorities said.
Rabon said three people remained hospitalized in critical condition from Saturday’s collapse.
Rabon said “upwards of 40 people” were on the gangway when the “catastrophic failure” occurred, and at least 20 people fell into the water. The gangway connected an outer dock where people board the ferry to another dock onshore.
None of the seven people killed were residents of the island, Rabon said. Eight people were taken to hospitals, at least six of them were initially reported Saturday to have critical injuries.
The ferry dock was rebuilt after Georgia officials in October 2020 settled a federal lawsuit by residents of the tiny community of Hogg Hummock, who complained the state-operated ferry boats and docks they rely upon to travel between Sapelo Island the mainland failed to meet federal accessibility standards for people with disabilities.
The state agreed to demolish and replace outdated docks while upgrading ferry boats to accommodate people in wheelchairs and those with impaired hearing. The state also paid a cash settlement of $750,000.
Crews from the U.S. Coast Guard, the McIntosh County Fire Department, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and others searched the water, according to Natural Resources spokesperson Tyler Jones. The agency operates the dock and ferry boats that transport people between the island and the mainland.
A team of engineers and construction specialists were on site early Sunday to begin investigating why the walkway failed, Jones said.
“There was no collision” with a boat or anything else, Jones said. “The thing just collapsed. We don’t know why.”
Helicopters and boats with side-scanning sonar were used in the search, according to a Department of Natural Resources statement.
Among the dead was a chaplain for the state agency, Jones said.
President Joe Biden said federal officials were ready to provide any assistance needed.
Sapelo Island is about 60 miles south of Savannah, reachable from the mainland by boat.
The deadly collapse happened as island residents, family members and tourists gathered for Cultural Day, an annual fall event spotlighting Hogg Hummock, home to a few dozen Black residents. The community of dirt roads and modest homes was founded after the Civil War by former slaves from the cotton plantation of Thomas Spalding.
Hogg Hummock’s slave descendants are extremely close, having been “bonded by family, bonded by history and bonded by struggle,” said Roger Lotson, the only Black member of the McIntosh County Board of Commissioners. His district includes Sapelo Island.
“Everyone is family, and everyone knows each other,” Lotson said. “In any tragedy, especially like this, they are all one. They’re all united. They all feel the same pain and the same hurt.”
Small communities descended from enslaved island populations in the South — known as Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia — are scattered along the coast from North Carolina to Florida. Scholars say their separation from the mainland caused residents to retain much of their African heritage, from their unique dialect to skills and crafts such as cast-net fishing and basket-weaving.
In 1996, Hogg Hummock, also known as Hog Hammock, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the United States’ treasured historic sites.
But the community’s population has been shrinking for decades, and some families have sold their land to outsiders who built vacation homes.
Tax increases and zoning changes by the local government in McIntosh County have been met by protests and lawsuits by Hogg Hummock residents and landowners. They have been battling for the past year to undo zoning changes approved by county commissioners in September 2023 that doubled the size of homes allowed in Hogg Hummock.
Residents say they fear larger homes will lead to tax increases that could force them to sell land that their families have held for generations.
____
Emily Wagster Pettus reported from Jackson, Mississippi.
Vice President Kamala Harris turned to star power Saturday on the campaign trail, as she held events with musicians Lizzo and Usher in Michigan and Georgia, while former President Donald Trump rallied in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania.
At a rally in Atlanta, Harris said that Trump was “cruel” for how he talked about the grieving family of a Georgia mother who died after waiting 20 hours for a hospital to treat her complications from an abortion pill, as she put combating restrictions on reproductive care at the center of her pitch to voters.
Harris blamed Amber Thurman’s death on Georgia’s abortion restrictions that took effect after the Supreme Court in 2022, with three Trump-appointed justices, overturned Roe v. Wade. It comes as Harris is looking to the issue to propel support to Democrats, who have pledged to restore a national right to abortion if they win the White House and enough seats in Congress.
“Donald Trump still refuses to take accountability, to take any accountability, for the pain and the suffering he has caused,” Harris said.
Thurman’s story features at the center of one of Harris’ closing campaign ads, and her family attended her Atlanta rally, with her mother holding a photo of her daughter from the audience. Harris showed a clip of Trump saying during a recent Fox News Channel town hall, when he was asked about the Thurman family joining a separate media call, “We’ll get better ratings, I promise.”
Early voting is also underway in Georgia. More than 1.2 million ballots have been cast, either in person or by mail. Democrats hope an expansive organizing effort will boost Harris against Trump in the campaign’s final weeks. Harris referenced that former President Jimmy Carter recently voted by mail days after his 100th birthday.
“If Jimmy Carter can vote early, you can too,” Harris said.
Harris was joined at the rally by hometown music icon Usher, drawing again on star power as she looks to excite voters to the polls. Earlier Saturday she appeared with Lizzo in the singer’s hometown of Detroit, marking the beginning of in-person voting and lavishing the city with praise after Trump recently disparaged it.
“All the best things were made in Detroit. Coney Dogs, Faygo and Lizzo,” the singer joked to a rally crowd, pointing to herself after listing off the hot dogs and soda that the city is famous for.
Heaps of praise for the Motor City came after Trump insulted it during a recent campaign stop. And Harris continued the theme, saying of her campaign, “Like the people of Detroit, we have grit, we have excellence, we have history.”
More than 1 million Michigan residents have already voted by mail in the Nov. 5 election, and Harris predicted that Detroit turnout for early voting would be strong.
She slammed Trump as unstable: “Somebody just needs to watch his rallies, if you’re not really sure how to vote.”
“We’re not going to get these 17 days back. On Election Day, we don’t want to have any regrets,” the vice president said.
Lizzo also told the crowd, “Mrs. Commander-in-Chief has a nice ring to it.”
“This is the swing state of all swing states, so every last vote here counts,” the singer said. Then, referencing her song of the same title, Lizzo added, “If you ask me if America is ready for its first woman president, I only have one thing to say: “It’s about damn time!”
Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign had suggested he would begin previewing his closing argument Saturday night with Election Day barely two weeks away. But the former president kicked off his rally with a detailed story about Arnold Palmer, at one point even praising the late, legendary golfer’s genitalia.
Trump was campaigning in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where Palmer was born in 1929 and learned to golf from his father, who suffered from polio and was head pro and greenskeeper at the local country club.
Politicians saluting Palmer in his hometown is nothing new. But Trump spent 12 full minutes doing so at the top of his speech and even suggested how much more fun the night would be if Palmer, who died in 2016, could join him on stage.
“Arnold Palmer was all man, and I say that in all due respect to women,” Trump said. “This is a guy that was all man.”
Then he went even further.
“When he took the showers with other pros, they came out of there. They said, ‘Oh my God. That’s unbelievable,’” Trump said with a laugh. “I had to say. We have women that are highly sophisticated here, but they used to look at Arnold as a man.”
Trump senior adviser Jason Miller told reporters before the speech that Trump planned to preview his closing argument against Harris and “start to get into that framing.”
Trump eventually hit many of his favorite campaign themes but didn’t offer much in the way of new framing of the race or why he should win it. He instead boasted of creating strong tax policies and a strong military during his first term in office.
He slammed Harris as “crazy” and added a profanity.
“You have to tell Kamala Harris that you’ve had enough, that you just can’t take it anymore, we can’t stand you anymore, you’re a s— vice president,” Trump said to roars of the crowd. “The worst. You’re the worst vice president. Kamala, you’re fired. Get the hell out of here.”
He also criticized Harris for suggesting during her unsuccessful run for president in 2020 that she’d support a ban on hydraulic fracking, which is important to Pennsylvania’s economy and a position Harris’ campaign says she no longer supports.
Trump invited on stage members of a local steelworkers union that endorsed him. He donned a construction hat with his name on it.
“He said, ‘It’s incredible what’s happened,’” Trump said of the Netanyahu call before moving to a criticism of President Joe Biden, saying that the Israeli prime minister “wouldn’t listen to Biden.”
At least seven people were killed and several more injured Saturday afternoon after part of a ferry dock collapsed on Georgia’s Sapelo Island, authorities said.
At least 20 people went into the water when the gangway collapsed at about 4:30 p.m. local time on the Marsh Landing Dock, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which operates the dock, said in a statement provided to CBS News.
At least seven people were believed to have been killed and “an unknown number” were hurt, the agency said.
Georgia DNR and several emergency agencies had helicopters and boats deployed with sonar to conduct search and rescue efforts, it said.
The incident happened as crowds gathered on the island for a celebration of its tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants.
Georgia DNR spokesperson Tyler Jones told the Associated Press he did not know what caused the gangway to collapse. The gangway connected an outer dock where people board the ferry to another dock onshore. The gangway has since been secured.
Among the dead was a chaplain for the Georgia DNR, Jones said.
Sapelo Island is about 60 miles south of Savannah and is reachable from the mainland by boat.
In a post to social media, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp wrote that he and his family were “heartbroken by today’s tragedy on Sapelo Island. As state and local first responders continue to work this active scene, we ask that all Georgians join us in praying for those lost, for those still in harm’s way, and for their families.”
Rep. Buddy Carter of Georgia also wrote in a social media post that Kemp had “sent state resources to aid in search, rescue, & recovery.”
Cultural Day is an annual fall event spotlighting the island’s tiny community of Hogg Hummock, which is home to a few dozen Black residents. The community of dirt roads and modest homes was founded by former slaves from the cotton plantation of Thomas Spalding.
Small communities descended from enslaved island populations in the South — known as Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia — are scattered along the coast from North Carolina to Florida. Scholars say their separation from the mainland caused residents to retain much of their African heritage, from their unique dialect to skills and crafts such as cast-net fishing and weaving baskets.
Seven people are believed dead after a gangway that’s part of a ferry dock collapsed on Sapelo Island, Georgia, on Saturday.
Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources said at least 20 people went into the water when the structure gave way before 4:30 p.m., prompting a response from the U.S. Coast Guard and state and local agencies.
The number of injured and the extent of their injuries was unknown, the agency said.
“Georgia DNR and multiple other emergency agencies deployed boats, equipped with side-scan sonar, and helicopters for search and rescue missions,” it said. “The gangway has been secured on Sapelo Island and the incident is currently under investigation.”
The Coast Guard was still part of an active search for survivors Saturday night, Petty Officer 3rd Class Jamie Emery said.
“This is not in a recovery phase at this time,” he said.
Two Coast Guard air crews, including one attached to a MH-65 helicopter, were deployed, he said.
A reunification center set up at Elm Grove Baptist Church in nearby Meridian, the McIntosh County Office of the Sheriff said on Facebook.
The Sepalo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society organized its annual Cultural Day celebration on the island Saturday, calling it “our most celebrated event.” It’s not clear if celebrants were on the gangway.
Tyler Jones, a spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources, said a celebration of Gullah Geechee culture was underway on the island when the collapse took place, the Associated Press reported.
The centuries-old culture has been maintained by descendants of West and Central African slaves along the coast of the Southeastern United States who were able to retain many of their indigenous African traditions.
President Joe Biden said in a statement Saturday night that he would make federal resources available to affected parties, including the Gullah Geechee.
“We are heartbroken to learn about the ferry dock walkway collapse on Georgia’s Sapelo Island,” Biden said, speaking on behalf of himself and the first lady. “What should have been a joyous celebration of Gullah-Geechee culture and history instead turned into tragedy and devastation.”
In a statement, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he, his wife and daughters are “heartbroken by today’s tragedy on Sapelo Island.”
“As state and local first responders continue to work this active scene, we ask that all Georgians join us in praying for those lost, for those still in harm’s way, and for their families,” he said.
According to the Department of Natural Resources’ background on the gangway, the associated dock is used by public ferry vessels, the University of Georgia’s research trawler, and some small boats.
Sapelo Island, on the Atlantic Coast, is about 72 miles south of Savannah.
Alex Lo contributed.
This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here:
Many state laws prohibit people from wearing campaign T-shirts, hats or buttons inside voting sites to prevent voter intimidation. But what about political expression of a permanent nature — tattoos?
A viral video of former President Donald Trump supporters at a Georgia polling site appeared to test the rules.
The video on X showed rapper Forgiato Blow and Instagram model Claudia Rose — both in MAGA hats — speaking with a poll worker outside of a polling site in Atlanta, in Fulton County.
Blow asked the poll worker what would happen if someone entered the poll wearing something with the name of Vice President Kamala Harris or President Joe Biden.
The election worker responds “they would have to cover it up or leave” as he explains the ban of campaign materials around polling sites.
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
Georgia law says that no person shall “distribute or display any campaign material” within 150 feet of the outer edge of a building with a polling place. The ban extends to inside the polls and within 25 feet of voters standing in line.
The man pulled up his shorts and asked what would happen if he went inside while displaying his upper thigh tattoo of Trump’s face and “Made in America” script..
“Well, you’d have it covered,” the worker responds.
Jessica Corbitt, a Fulton County spokesperson, said the poll worker was explaining the law Oct. 16 at the Ponce de Leon Library. Poll workers are trained to monitor campaign activity at polling places and address violations.
In accordance with the state law, “any display of campaign materials, including signage, clothing, pins, or body art, must be removed or covered in a polling place,” Corbitt said.
Rose then asked, “So, if I go get a MAGA tattoo on my face right now and I come in here I’m just not allowed to vote?”
The worker said, “We would have to find some way of covering that.”
The video then shows the woman appearing to get a black “MAGA” tattoo beneath her eye. “Got that MAGA face tatt baby, now let’s f—— go!”
Back at the polls, the worker told her to take off her MAGA hat and she walked inside. (The county has no record of people with those names on the voting rolls and said that they didn’t vote.)
Mike Hassinger, a Georgia secretary of state spokesperson, said our message was the first tattoo inquiry he has received.
“Is a tattoo campaign material? Depends on the tattoo, I guess,” Hassinger said. “But just as a MAGA hat or a Harris/Walz t-shirt would be prohibited in a polling place (items also not mentioned explicitly in the code) visible tattoos that can be considered ‘campaign material’ would have to be covered up.”
Every state has restrictions on political activities near polling places when voting is underway, such as limiting the display of signs, handing out campaign literature or soliciting votes within a certain distance of a polling place, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some states also address what clothes voters can wear inside precincts.
Polling places are heavily regulated to preserve what the Supreme Court has called an “island of calm” for voters.
“The ballot box is one of the most powerful ways we can express our personal views and make our voices heard in this democracy,” said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel at the nonprofit Free Press and on the board of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation. “Near polling locations, the presence of political support for one party or candidate — which could be inferred by signs, campaign flyers, auditory announcements, and the clothes people wear — risks influencing those about to cast their ballot, thus being subject to limitation.”
PolitiFact is fact-checking former President Donald Trump’s Fox News town hall, airing today at 11 a.m. ET.
The town hall on “The Faulkner Focus” with Harrison Faulkner, was recorded Oct. 15 in Cumming, Georgia, outside Altanta. (Faulkner also co-moderated Trump’s July appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists panel in Chicago.)
The town hall, as billed, is to focus on women’s issues; Trump has called himself the “father of IVF” and has said abortion should be left to the states. In a press statement previewing the program, Faulkner said, “Women constitute the largest group of registered and active voters in the United States, so it is paramount that female voters understand where the presidential candidates stand on the issues that matter to them most.”
A record number of early votes were cast in Georgia on Tuesday as residents headed to the polls in a critical battleground state that is grappling with the fallout from Hurricane Helene and controversial election administration changes that have spurred a flurry of lawsuits.More than 300,000 ballots were cast Tuesday, Gabe Sterling of the Georgia Secretary of State’s office said on X. “Spectacular turnout. We are running out of adjectives for this.”The previous first-day record was 136,000 in 2020, Sterling said.Related video above: Could AAPI voters help candidates win Georgia?The swing state is one of the most closely watched this election, with former President Donald Trump trying to reclaim it after losing there to President Joe Biden by a small margin four years ago, leading Trump and his allies to unsuccessfully push to overturn his defeat.Those efforts have loomed large this year as new changes to how the state conducts elections have been approved by Republican members of the State Election Board, leading Democrats and others to mount legal challenges, many of which have yet to be resolved even as Election Day nears.Despite the massive turnout on Tuesday, the process appeared to go smoother this year for some Atlanta-area voters who spoke with CNN.“Last time I voted, I voted in the city and the lines were out the door. They only had like, maybe like three people working,” said Corine Canada. “So people honestly just started leaving because it was like that. Yeah, like, ‘This is too long. I can’t sit here (and) wait, I have to go back to work.’ But here, no, it was easy.”Parts of the state are continuing to recover from Hurricane Helene, which hit the U.S. last month and wreaked havoc on several other states in the Southeast. Georgia election officials say absentee ballots went out by the U.S. Postal Service as scheduled and were not impacted by the storm.“So far, we have seen just over 250,000 voters request absentee ballots. Perhaps in the next week or so, we’ll see that rise up to 300,000 – and that we think will probably look like around 5-6% of all voters will be voting absentee this cycle,” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said on Tuesday.Experts say that some new state laws that tightened rules for absentee ballots and cracked down on the availability of drop boxes may make the option less appealing than early in-person voting.While many drop boxes were available 24/7 in 2020, this year there will be fewer of them, and they will be in election offices or early vote locations with hours that tend to mimic normal business hours.It’s also possible that the state could continue to see high numbers of early votes given that Georgia law now mandates two Saturdays of early voting and allows for two Sundays of early voting if a county desires.Raffensperger said Tuesday that safeguards are in place for a safe election and that in addition to every race being audited, officials will also randomly audit voting equipment.“Pulling out a piece of equipment, a random audit on Election Day, bring it to headquarters and then verify that it is recording the votes accurately, that it has not been hacked by any bad actors out there,” Raffensperger told reporters.Raffensperger, who was in Trump’s crosshairs following the 2020 election, re-certified the results after a statewide machine recount in December 2020 that confirmed that Biden beat Trump by just 11,779 votes out of nearly 5 million ballots cast in the Peach State.Legal fights continueMeanwhile, state judges are scrutinizing a number of new rules passed by the Trump-backed Republican majority on the State Election Board that Democrats warn could inject post-election “chaos” into Georgia.During a marathon court hearing Tuesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney suggested that a rule requiring ballots cast on Election Day be hand-counted by poll workers might have been passed too “late in the game” to remain in effect for this cycle. That rule will be under another state judge’s microscope Wednesday as part of cases brought against it by state and national Democrats and civil rights groups.McBurney is also still considering a separate rule passed by the board in August that requires local election officials to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” into election results before certifying them – a mandate that Democrats say could give county election officials broad authority to delay or decline altogether their certification of the results “in a hunt for purported election irregularities.”But McBurney sought to clear up any uncertainty around certification in a ruling this week in which he said that local election officials have “a mandatory fixed obligation to certify election results” in the days following the election – dealing a blow to a GOP election official who had asked him to rule that her duties around certification are “discretionary.”What voters are sayingIn line at an Atlanta-area precinct, two voters who identified as Democrats said they were casting ballots for Harris in an effort to avoid the kind of “chaos” they said surrounds Trump.“It is essential that we vote today simply because we want to prevent as much chaos as possible because Donald Trump has proved to be the most vicious, uneducated, racist individual that we have encountered,” said Fay Ainsworth.“Well, we’ve got a crazy person running to be president and a very competent young woman opposing him,” said Joseph Henry King Jr., 77.Kareem Rosshandler, 32, who identifies as an independent, said he was voting for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein to send a message to Democrats over their support for Israel in its war with Hamas.“We’ve been calling for an arms embargo for the last year and they haven’t been responding, and all the protests and the placards won’t matter if we don’t deliver that message where it really counts, which is at the ballots.”“I mean, the Green Party wants to get rid of the Electoral College,” Rosshandler added. “And that I think is fantastic because right now we have a two-party system, and the only thing worse than that is a one-party system and we’re not that far from that.”
A record number of early votes were cast in Georgia on Tuesday as residents headed to the polls in a critical battleground state that is grappling with the fallout from Hurricane Helene and controversial election administration changes that have spurred a flurry of lawsuits.
More than 300,000 ballots were cast Tuesday, Gabe Sterling of the Georgia Secretary of State’s office said on X. “Spectacular turnout. We are running out of adjectives for this.”
The previous first-day record was 136,000 in 2020, Sterling said.
Related video above: Could AAPI voters help candidates win Georgia?
The swing state is one of the most closely watched this election, with former President Donald Trump trying to reclaim it after losing there to President Joe Biden by a small margin four years ago, leading Trump and his allies to unsuccessfully push to overturn his defeat.
Those efforts have loomed large this year as new changes to how the state conducts elections have been approved by Republican members of the State Election Board, leading Democrats and others to mount legal challenges, many of which have yet to be resolved even as Election Day nears.
Despite the massive turnout on Tuesday, the process appeared to go smoother this year for some Atlanta-area voters who spoke with CNN.
“Last time I voted, I voted in the city and the lines were out the door. They only had like, maybe like three people working,” said Corine Canada. “So people honestly just started leaving because it was like that. Yeah, like, ‘This is too long. I can’t sit here (and) wait, I have to go back to work.’ But here, no, it was easy.”
Parts of the state are continuing to recover from Hurricane Helene, which hit the U.S. last month and wreaked havoc on several other states in the Southeast. Georgia election officials say absentee ballots went out by the U.S. Postal Service as scheduled and were not impacted by the storm.
“So far, we have seen just over 250,000 voters request absentee ballots. Perhaps in the next week or so, we’ll see that rise up to 300,000 – and that we think will probably look like around 5-6% of all voters will be voting absentee this cycle,” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said on Tuesday.
Experts say that some new state laws that tightened rules for absentee ballots and cracked down on the availability of drop boxes may make the option less appealing than early in-person voting.
While many drop boxes were available 24/7 in 2020, this year there will be fewer of them, and they will be in election offices or early vote locations with hours that tend to mimic normal business hours.
It’s also possible that the state could continue to see high numbers of early votes given that Georgia law now mandates two Saturdays of early voting and allows for two Sundays of early voting if a county desires.
Raffensperger said Tuesday that safeguards are in place for a safe election and that in addition to every race being audited, officials will also randomly audit voting equipment.
“Pulling out a piece of equipment, a random audit on Election Day, bring it to headquarters and then verify that it is recording the votes accurately, that it has not been hacked by any bad actors out there,” Raffensperger told reporters.
Raffensperger, who was in Trump’s crosshairs following the 2020 election, re-certified the results after a statewide machine recount in December 2020 that confirmed that Biden beat Trump by just 11,779 votes out of nearly 5 million ballots cast in the Peach State.
Legal fights continue
Meanwhile, state judges are scrutinizing a number of new rules passed by the Trump-backed Republican majority on the State Election Board that Democrats warn could inject post-election “chaos” into Georgia.
During a marathon court hearing Tuesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney suggested that a rule requiring ballots cast on Election Day be hand-counted by poll workers might have been passed too “late in the game” to remain in effect for this cycle. That rule will be under another state judge’s microscope Wednesday as part of cases brought against it by state and national Democrats and civil rights groups.
McBurney is also still considering a separate rule passed by the board in August that requires local election officials to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” into election results before certifying them – a mandate that Democrats say could give county election officials broad authority to delay or decline altogether their certification of the results “in a hunt for purported election irregularities.”
But McBurney sought to clear up any uncertainty around certification in a ruling this week in which he said that local election officials have “a mandatory fixed obligation to certify election results” in the days following the election – dealing a blow to a GOP election official who had asked him to rule that her duties around certification are “discretionary.”
What voters are saying
In line at an Atlanta-area precinct, two voters who identified as Democrats said they were casting ballots for Harris in an effort to avoid the kind of “chaos” they said surrounds Trump.
“It is essential that we vote today simply because we want to prevent as much chaos as possible because Donald Trump has proved to be the most vicious, uneducated, racist individual that we have encountered,” said Fay Ainsworth.
“Well, we’ve got a crazy person running to be president and a very competent young woman opposing him,” said Joseph Henry King Jr., 77.
Kareem Rosshandler, 32, who identifies as an independent, said he was voting for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein to send a message to Democrats over their support for Israel in its war with Hamas.
“We’ve been calling for an arms embargo for the last year and they haven’t been responding, and all the protests and the placards won’t matter if we don’t deliver that message where it really counts, which is at the ballots.”
“I mean, the Green Party wants to get rid of the Electoral College,” Rosshandler added. “And that I think is fantastic because right now we have a two-party system, and the only thing worse than that is a one-party system and we’re not that far from that.”
After Georgia voters began heading to the polls Tuesday for the first day of early voting in the state, a judge enjoined election officials from moving forward with a controversial new rule that would require the hand counting of ballots when polls close on Nov. 5.
Judge Robert McBurney called the rule “too much, too late.”
The judge expressed concern that the “11th-and-one-half hour implementation of the hand count rule” would lessen public confidence in the election results. Thousands of poll workers would be handling and counting ballots “in a manner unknown and untested in the era of ballot scanning devices,” without time for uniform training, McBurney wrote.
“This election season is fraught; memories of January 6 have not faded away, regardless of one’s view of that date’s fame or infamy. Anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process disserves the public,” McBurney wrote.
The judge wrote that there was “a substantial threat of irreparable harm,” if the hand count rule were to be implemented for the upcoming election.
Lee County poll workers Debbie Jack (L) and Donna Mathis (R) practice counting ballots as part of new election hand count rules instituted by the Georgia State Election Board, in Leesburg, Georgia, on Oct. 2, 2024.
BECCA MILFELD/AFP via Getty Images
The hand count rule and others were passed in September by the five-person State Election Board on a 3-2 vote, pushed through by a trio of supporters of former President Donald Trump. The rule would require precinct poll managers and poll officers to unseal ballot boxes and count the ballots by hand individually to ensure the tallies match the machine-counted ballot totals.
Multiple lawsuits were filed by local and national officials, and the new rules drew criticisms from members of both parties, including Georgia’s Republican attorney general and secretary of state.
The election board in Cobb County asked a judge to strike down the new rules, which also include other new requirements for the ballot counting process.
McBurney wrote that with Election Day around the corner, “there are no guidelines or training tools for the implementation” of the rule.
The Cobb County board argued in its complaint that the new rules would “substantially alter Georgia’s election procedures on the eve of” the election. During a hearing on Tuesday, an attorney for the board asked for a temporary restraining order, saying it was too late to adequately adjust staffing and training. He added that such rules are usually implemented in years without major elections.
Lawyers arguing for the Cobb County board pointed to a Sept. 19 memorandum in which Georgia’s attorney general concluded that changing rules so close to an election could “result in voter confusion and consequent incentive to remain away from the polls.”
An attorney arguing for the state board told McBurney that and other concerns amounted to a “hypothetical, on top of conjectures, on top of speculation.”
The state board argued on Tuesday that it would not be difficult to train election workers for the new rules.
Democrats quickly lauded the decision Tuesday.
“From the beginning, this rule was an effort to delay election results to sow doubt in the outcome, and our democracy is stronger thanks to this decision to block it. We will continue fighting to ensure that voters can cast their ballot knowing it will count,” said Vice President Kamala Harris’ Principal Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks, Democratic National Committee co-executive director Monica Guardiola and Rep. Nikema Williams, who is chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, in a joint statement.
It’s a busy week of election cases for McBurney, who on Monday issued a ruling concluding that election officials are required under Georgia law to certify election results even if they have concerns about fraud. He wrote that if such concerns arise, their job is to forward those concerns to law enforcement.
McBurney, who presided over the Georgia special purpose grand jury that in 2023 voted to recommend Trump be indicted for seeking to overturn the state’s 2020 results, is also overseeing a similar case brought by the national and state Democratic parties challenging the rules.
A hearing in that case is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com
After Georgia voters began heading to the polls Tuesday for the first day of early voting in the state, a judge enjoined election officials from moving forward with a controversial new rule that would require the hand counting of ballots after polls close on Nov. 5.
The hand count rule and others were passed in September by the five-person State Election Board on a 3-2 vote, pushed through by a trio of supporters of former President Donald Trump. The rule would require precinct poll managers and poll officers to unseal ballot boxes and count the ballots by hand individually to ensure the tallies match the machine-counted ballot totals.
Multiple lawsuits were filed by local and national officials, and the new rules drew criticisms from members of both parties, including Georgia’s Republican attorney general and secretary of state.
The election board in Cobb County asked a judge to strike down the new rules, which also include other new requirements for the ballot counting process.
Judge Robert McBurney wrote Tuesday that “the hand count rule is too much, too late.” McBurney wrote that with Election Day around the corner, “there are no guidelines or training tools for the implementation” of the rule.
The Cobb County board argued in its complaint that the new rules would “substantially alter Georgia’s election procedures on the eve of” the election. During a hearing on Tuesday, an attorney for the board asked for a temporary restraining order, saying it was too late to adequately adjust staffing and training. He added that such rules are usually implemented in years without major elections.
Lee County poll workers Debbie Jack (L) and Donna Mathis (R) practice counting ballots as part of new election hand count rules instituted by the Georgia State Election Board, in Leesburg, Georgia, on Oct. 2, 2024.
BECCA MILFELD/AFP via Getty Images
Lawyers arguing for the Cobb County board pointed to a Sept. 19 memorandum in which Georgia’s attorney general concluded that changing rules so close to an election could “result in voter confusion and consequent incentive to remain away from the polls.”
An attorney arguing for the state board told McBurney that and other concerns amounted to a “hypothetical, on top of conjectures, on top of speculation.”
The state board argued on Tuesday that it would not be difficult to train election workers for the new rules.
Democrats quickly lauded the decision Tuesday.
“From the beginning, this rule was an effort to delay election results to sow doubt in the outcome, and our democracy is stronger thanks to this decision to block it. We will continue fighting to ensure that voters can cast their ballot knowing it will count,” said Vice President Kamala Harris’ Principal Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks, Democratic National Committee co-executive director Monica Guardiola and Rep. Nikema Williams, who is chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, in a joint statement.
It’s a busy week of election cases for McBurney, who on Monday issued a ruling concluding that election officials are required under Georgia law to certify election results even if they have concerns about fraud. He wrote that if such concerns arise, their job is to forward those concerns to law enforcement.
McBurney, who presided over the Georgia special purpose grand jury that in 2023 voted to recommend Trump be indicted for seeking to overturn the state’s 2020 results, is also overseeing a similar case brought by the national and state Democratic parties challenging the rules.
A hearing in that case is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com
BOULDER — The Travis Hunter Heisman Train could soon be getting back on track.
Hunter, the Buffs’ two-way star, “should play, for certain” at Arizona on Saturday, coach Deion Sanders said during a news conference Tuesday.
The junior cornerback/wide receiver left CU’s home loss to Kansas State last weekend after taking a hit to his upper body with 8:08 left in the second quarter.
ATLANTA (AP) — A judge has blocked a new rule that requires Georgia Election Day ballots to be counted by hand after the close of voting. The ruling came a day after the same judge ruled that county election officials must certify election results by the deadline set in law.
The rulings are victories for Democrats, liberal voting rights groups and some legal experts who have raised concerns that Donald Trump’s allies could refuse to certify the results if the former president loses to Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in next month’s presidential election. They have also argued that new rules enacted by the Trump-endorsed majority on the State Election Board could be used to stop or delay certification and to undermine public confidence in the results.
The State Election Board last month passed the rule requiring that three poll workers each count the paper ballots — not votes — by hand after the polls close. The county election board in Cobb County, in Atlanta’s suburbs, had filed a lawsuit seeking to have a judge declare that rule and five others recently passed by the state board invalid, saying they exceed the state board’s authority, weren’t adopted in compliance with the law and are unreasonable.
In a ruling late Tuesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote, that the hand count rule “is too much, too late” and blocked its enforcement while he considers the merits of the case.
McBurney on Monday had ruled in a separate case that “no election superintendent (or member of a board of elections and registration) may refuse to certify or abstain from certifying election results under any circumstance.” While they are entitled to inspect the conduct of an election and to review related documents, he wrote, “any delay in receiving such information is not a basis for refusing to certify the election results or abstaining from doing so.”
Georgia law says county election superintendents — generally multimember boards — “shall” certify election results by 5 p.m. on the Monday after an election, or the Tuesday if Monday is a holiday as it is this year.
The two rulings came as early in-person voting began Tuesday in Georgia.
In blocking the hand count rule, McBurney noted that there are no guidelines or training tools for its implementation and that the secretary of state had said the rule was passed too late for his office to provide meaningful training or support. The judge also wrote that no allowances have been made in county election budgets to provide for additional personnel or expenses associated with the rule.
“The administrative chaos that will — not may — ensue is entirely inconsistent with the obligations of our boards of elections (and the SEB) to ensure that our elections are fair legal, and orderly,” he wrote.
The state board may be right that the rule is smart policy, McBurney wrote, but the timing of its passage makes implementing it now “quite wrong.” He invoked the memory of the riot at the U.S. Capitol by people seeking to stop the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential victory on Jan. 6, 2021, writing, “Anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process disserves the public.”
During a hearing earlier Tuesday, Robert Thomas, a lawyer for the State Election Board, argued that the process isn’t complicated and that estimates show that it would take extra minutes, not hours, to complete. He also said memory cards from the scanners, which are used to tally the votes, could be sent to the tabulation center while the hand count is happening so reporting of results wouldn’t be delayed.
What to know about the 2024 Election
State and national Democratic groups that had joined the suit on the side of the Cobb election board, along with the Harris campaign, celebrated McBurney’s ruling in a joint statement: “From the beginning, this rule was an effort to delay election results to sow doubt in the outcome, and our democracy is stronger thanks to this decision to block it.”
The certification ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Julie Adams, a Republican member of the election board in Fulton County, which includes most of the city of Atlanta and is a Democratic stronghold. Adams sought a declaration that her duties as an election board member were discretionary and that she is entitled to “full access” to “election materials.”
Long an administrative task that attracted little attention, certification of election results has become politicized since Trump tried to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 general election. Republicans in several swing states, including Adams, refused to certify results earlier this year and some have sued to keep from being forced to sign off on election results.
Adams’ suit, backed by the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute, argued county election board members have the discretion to reject certification. In court earlier this month, her lawyers also argued county election officials could certify results without including certain ballots if they suspect problems.
Judge McBurney wrote that nothing in Georgia law gives county election officials the authority to determine that fraud has occurred or what should be done about it. Instead, he wrote, state law says a county election official’s “concerns about fraud or systemic error are to be noted and shared with the appropriate authorities but they are not a basis for a superintendent to decline to certify.”
The Democratic National Committee and Democratic Party of Georgia had joined the lawsuit as defendants with the support of Harris’ campaign. The campaign called the ruling a “major legal win.”
Adams said in a statement that McBurney’s ruling has made it clear that she and other county election officials “cannot be barred from access to elections in their counties.”
A flurry of election rules passed by the State Election Board since August has generated a crush of lawsuits. McBurney earlier this month heard a challenge to two rules having to do with certification brought by the state and national Democratic parties. Another Fulton County judge is set to hear arguments in two challenges to rules tomorrow — one brought by the Democratic groups and another filed by a group headed by a former Republican lawmaker. And separate challenges are also pending in at least two other counties.
Home of the world’s largest zip line, Historic Banning Mills is a gem hidden just outside Atlanta, GA. We stayed for a weekend and have all the details on this location ideal for adventurers.
Thank you to Historic Banning Mills for hosting us!
Banning Mill is only an hour outside of Atlanta but feels a world away. And once you get there, you don’t need to leave for anything. You can have all your meals at the lodge. You can spend your entire time going from adventure to adventure or just relaxing.
It’s so close to that elusive all-inclusive experience that makes time away a true getaway because you don’t need to worry about going anywhere else or meals or entertainment – it can all be booked together ahead of time. And Banning Mills is just that: a true getaway. You get to experience nature in very unique and exciting ways and have that chance to reconnect with your partner or family.
Banning Mills is also well within easy driving distance from Greenville at just over three hours (could be a bit longer depending on Atlanta traffic).
History of Banning Mills
Banning Mills was a originally part of the Creek Indian tribe land, led by Chief William McIntosh, who was half Creek Indian. When the white settlers came in the early 1800s, Chief McIntosh fought alongside Andrew Jackson, dined with President Thomas Jefferson, and eventually became a wealthy businessman who owned a plantation very close to Banning Mills. In 1825, he signed the Treaty of Indian Springs, which infuriated the Upper Creek Native Americans, who came to his home and killed him. He is buried where he died at McIntosh Reserve, now a county park.
In the mid-1800s, a textile mill was developed along the hidden Snake Creek gorge, which operated through the Civil War. It fell into disrepair until 1878 when Arthur Hutchinson bought it and made it into a paper mill, creating the birthplace of the modern paper industry. It thrived and a town was built to accommodate all the families who worked at the mill. By 1895, Banning Mill had ten mills, including two pulp mills, a sawmill, and a grist mill – all of which were within a mile of each other. The town was also the first to produce electricity in Georgia. Historical documents state that people from Atlanta would ride down in their buggies just to see lights turn on and off!
On several trails throughout Banning Mills, you can see the ruins of the old mills and the crumbling chimney of one of the original homes of a family who worked at the mill. Many of the trails you walk on were old roads, now covered in years of dirt, leaves, dust, and roots, that connected the mills and the town. One of the trails, the Creekside Trail, was the trail used by the Creek Indian tribe to traverse Snake Creek. I learned that after my kids and I had walked on the trail and it was just a moment of reflection to think what that must have been like for the tribe. I get to see the same things they saw and I just felt connected to that history and those people, just for a moment.
Conservation Efforts
When Mark and Donna Holder bought the property in 1998, they were focused on conservation and didn’t really know about the history of the place. There are several unique ecosystems within the property plus wildflowers, mushrooms, and wildlife. When they started designing and building the zip lines, they were extremely conscious of working with nature rather than against it. This is entirely obvious when you walk the hiking trails and spot the zip line platforms – they are nearly invisible, which is exactly how they were meant to be when built.
Mark’s extensive military and flight career turned out to be an excellent background for designing and building zip lines and adventure courses. Both Mark and Donna run a high adventure consulting business where they help other adventure companies design and build their zip lines. They’ve helped design adventure parks all around the world with an eye on preserving nature and surrounding ecosystems.
The Birds of Prey exhibit and nature talks are also part of their conservation and education efforts as they seek to help people understand more about these birds and their habitats. In the spring, Banning Mills offers guided hikes to explore the wildflowers and other flora and fauna native to the area.
As the business grew, Mark and Donna’s four kids got involved in running and operating it, making Banning Mills a family-run business, which is actually a nonprofit so they can focus exclusively on conservation and adventure. Banning Mills is 300 acres but it’s right in the middle of more than 1,000 protected acres of wilderness, which I think is part of the allure of the place. As a guest, I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere, completely apart from the world and in my own little slice of paradise.
Adventures
There are endless adventures to be had at Historic Banning Mills. You could probably spend a week here and not get to all of them. All pricing is listed on the website. And the guides will take photos of you during your adventures so you don’t need to worry about documenting all the awesomeness. They are emailed/messaged to you for free afterwards.
Crazy Squirrel Course
There are two Crazy Squirrel rope and zip line courses: tier one can be done by someone as young as four years old and tier two is a lot more advanced and kids must be nine years old for that one. These are great for both kids and adults and are a fantastic introduction to the world of aerial adventure.
Tier 1 consisted of several bridges and obstacles and a few zip lines. After gearing up and going over safety precautions, my kids and I hit the course. Our guide, Jack, was super funny and very chill. He showed us a great time on this course as we navigated the shaky bridges and giant swinging balls. It was a lot of fun and took us about 45 minutes or so to go through the whole thing.
The safety features they have are a continuous belay system which means you are never disconnected from the cable at all. It took a bit to learn how to work them and get into our gear but once we figured it out, it was easy. I was definitely proud of my kids for learning how to do it on their own and saw it as a great confidence builder for them.
Tier 2 of the Crazy Squirrel did indeed look crazy. Jack said you are pretty much guaranteed a good three hours to go through all the obstacles on that course. We saw multiple platforms on the same trees as the level 1 course and many, many more obstacles. It looked like it would be really fun.
Eco Tour Spider ATVs
I knew my kids and I were riding spider ATVs before we went but I really had no idea what we were in for. So these spider ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) were created by a paraplegic engineer. He wanted a way to experience nature and the trails so he created the Swincar – aka spider ATV – which is controlled by your hands and where each wheel is on its own suspension system. This means one wheel could be in a ditch and other on level ground but the driver remains level. Plus, these things are powerful and can go over roots, rocks, dirt, gravel, you name it. The cars are all electric as well.
I drove one car with my youngest daughter in the seat behind me and our guide took my other daughter. After he explained how the cars worked and got us our helmets and made sure our seat belts were properly secured, it was off to the test track to make sure I could safely operate this thing. The test track was a short loop, off-road trail where I could get a feel for the car.
I was awful at driving this thing, which my daughter eagerly pointed out at every turn. Because it’s electric and controlled by just my fingers by pushing a small lever, even a little pressure makes the car go fast, which meant a lot of stopping and starting and jerking. I loved it.
Once I was comfortable driving the car, which took all of five minutes and more backseat driving from my kid, we were off to the woods. Not only did we traverse most of the 300 acres of Banning Mills but we did most of it on the trails, some of which my kids and I had hiked earlier in the day. I haven’t had that much fun in a while! And we got to go over bridges in the woods, see the three lakes that reflected the gorgeous leaves changing colors, and even rode over the 760-foot-long suspension bridge on the cars – twice. I only got stuck once and figured out how reverse worked so I think it was a win overall.
The whole tour lasted about 90 minutes, which included our guide stopping at historical points along the trail to show up the old ruins of the paper mill and town plus check out where the birds of prey are located at the property. Guided tandem spider ATV tours are $199 and single ones are $139.
Some of the spider ATVs are wheelchair accessible and are a wonderful option for those with lesser mobility. You must have a valid drivers license to operate the spider ATV and be at least 16 years old for the single car and 18 years old for the tandem car.
Hiking Trails
Historic Banning Mills is known for its amazing bridges and whoa, we can confirm that these bridges are amazing. The longest one on the property – 760 feet long – spans the Snake River where the original dam at the mill was placed. It’s a swinging bridge and quite the adventure crossing it. It definitely sways and is really high but we never felt unsafe. We really enjoyed the bridges plus they make for amazing photos. There are more than 100 of them on the property although most are on the zip line courses. But the longest ones you can cross without any equipment. On the long swinging bridge closest to the Main Lodge, you can see the Flight of the Falcon zip line, which is the longest zip line. We could see where it started on the big tower way above the gorge but we couldn’t see where it ended!
There are 15 miles of hiking trails and three ponds to visit at Historic Banning Mills. You can hike all over the property as a guest and while the trails are open to the public, it is $7/person to hike them.
We especially enjoyed the Creekside Trail as it was directly next to Snake Creek. We saw some people zip-lining above and had great views of some of the bridges.
World’s Longest Zip Line & World’s Highest Climbing Wall
Banning Mills is home to the world’s longest zip line at nearly 3,400 feet long (that’s about three-quarters of a mile!). It’s called Flight of the Falcon and you are in a horizontal position and can reach speeds up to 55 mph. I so wanted to do this but my youngest was too small so now we have to go back when she grows a bit. It looks so amazing. The zip line was so long when Banning Mills was installing it that they had to use a helicopter.
One of the other zip lines is about a half mile long and is called the Screaming Eagle. Guests go crazy fast on this one, about 75 mph. Again, on my list!
Banning Mills is also home to another record-setter: the world’s highest climbing wall. It’s 140 feet high with nine climbing lanes and two rappel walls. It’s part of the Adventure Wall and where guests will start their Screaming Eagle zip as well. My fearless 8-year-old was really hoping to do this one but she didn’t make the weight requirement (60 pounds). It costs $35/hour to climb this monster.
There are four levels of zip line adventures you can do at Banning Mills and if you decide you want to add on more things, you can do that as well. Each level increases in speed and height so you may not want to the fun to end. There are multiple packages and add-ons for zipline tours, which you can read through on their website. Be sure to take note of the height, age, and weight restrictions before you go so you know what to expect. Given this kind of high adventure experience, safety is the first priority, and the staff and guides are expertly trained. All of the policies are for the safety of the guests and guides.
Other Activities at Banning Mills
Horseback Riding
Banning Mills has stables on their property where they offer horseback riding through their trails. Kids have to be at least 10 years old to do this activity.
Birds of Prey
Banning Mills hosts Birds of Prey talks throughout the year where they have a Master Falconer come and give a talk and demonstration about the falcons, eagles, and owls they have right there on site hidden amongst the trees. I was so hoping we would have been able to see this since I have a fascination with all of those animals. You can see the owls and the bald eagle, whose name is Liberty when they aren’t doing shows. Shows are $7/person and kids 4 and under are free.
Kayaking
Banning Mills is very close to the Chattahoochee River and runs kayak trips over the summer. The trips are great for beginners since they only have Class I and II rapids (smaller rapids).
Night Zip Lining
These tours are only available a few nights a year and they look amazing. The lodge had one of these happening on one of the nights we stayed and it was so cool to see the guides with glow sticks on their helmets and hear the people whooping on the zip lines in the dark. All we could see were lights moving and zip line towers lit up with lights. I definitely want to do this also!
Accommodations
Stay in a Tree House
There are several tree houses at Banning Mills all over the property. Ours was a two-story tree house with a tub, king-size bed, and bathroom on the lower floor and up the spiral staircase was a room with a bunk bed. There was a microwave, a small table, and a balcony as well. It was just beautiful and really, who doesn’t want to stay in a tree house and fulfill that childhood dream?
We loved the gas fire stove and balcony especially. The leaves were putting on quite the show so we felt like we were, well, in the trees, as close as possible to the leaves and glory of nature. It was super cool and relaxing. Our tree house also had an awesome rope bridge as an entrance. My kids thought this was the neatest thing ever. I mean, I did too.
The entire place was well-thought out to provide for that getaway and relaxation that we seek when we go on vacation plus very comfortable to provide for ample rest so you have all the energy you need for your adventures. The tree houses also have a jetted tub, which would probably feel really great after a long day of adventuring.
Banning Mills has brand new tree houses as well that are a bit more spacious than the one we stayed in but just as relaxing and comfortable. There are truly plenty of options for you to enjoy a unique experience at this place.
Cabins & The Lodge
Other accommodations at Banning Mills are lodge rooms, which are more like typical hotel rooms and are usually booked when groups come in for retreats.
There are also pine log cabins and larger family cabins available for rent. Just remember these are not luxury accommodations. It’s not the Ritz. These are modern cabins and tree houses in the woods.
Dining at Banning Mills
All rooms except the family cabins, which can fit up to nine guests, include breakfast in the morning. The breakfasts we had were awesome – bacon, eggs, biscuits, fruit, coffee, oatmeal, waffles, sausage, and orange juice. There is a beautiful terrace room at the Main Lodge that overlooks the creek with some zip lines overhead so the view is perfect. Since we went in late October, the colors of the leaves were incredible. I could have stared out those windows all day.
For lunch and dinner, guests can reserve meals at the lodge but they must do so when they check-in or before.
There is a sit-down gourmet meal served nightly by reservation, which my kids and I did one of the nights we stayed at Banning Mills. We had to make our meal choices when we got there, which included an appetizer, salad, entrée, and dessert. They prepare these to be shared by two people but the kitchen can do single dishes. Kids’ meals of chicken fingers, pizza, spaghetti, and other items are also available.
If you’d rather enjoy a meal in your tree house or other accommodations at Banning Mills, you can order a souvenir backpack that you get to keep, two large sandwiches, chefs’ choice salad, cookies, crackers, and bottled water.
If you’d rather eat out, Banning Mills lists several location restaurants in their guidebook in your room that you can choose from that are 15-20 minutes away by car.
Packages
I did say in the beginning of this story that Banning Mills is so close to that elusive all-inclusive experience. And it is. You just have to be sure to add on everything you want when you book or when you arrive for your trip. Once you arrive, you don’t need to leave the property for the entirety of your trip if you choose to book all your meals and adventures there (I recommend you do because they are all amazing).
There are several adventure packages to choose from depending on what you want to do. There are a couple of getaways, adventure, and room packages which include meals, zip lining, eco-tour spider ATV tours, and lots more. Most are for two people but just call Banning Mills and they will help you to put together a package for your family or to fit your needs and desires. They are very accommodating and just a wonderful group of people who want guests to have an amazing stay
Best Ages to Experience Banning Mills
This is always something to consider when planning family getaways, right? You want something that is fantastic for everyone. My kids are 8 and 11 and my youngest could do limited activities because of her age and weight. She wanted to do the Flight of the Falcon but we’ll have to wait a few years. That said, we were able to do the Crazy Squirrel Tier 1, hiking trails, and the Eco Spider ATV Tours, which kept us quite busy. If we had gone in the summer, we would have been able to enjoy the swimming pool as well. So there were definitely enough activities to keep us active but also provide that downtime to just relax.
I think if you have teenagers and are looking for adventure, book this place. If you and your partner are always on the lookout for the next thrill, book this place. I’m already thinking of coming back when my kids are a bit older because wow, the options are endless for the super cool and unique experiences you can have together.
And the memories you could make here with your kids would just be so priceless. This is the opportunity to really connect with your kids/partner, to get away from technology for a bit, and to just be together while doing something super fun.
My Honest Mom Review
For myself, relaxation involves hiking or kayaking, or something outdoors. This was a relaxing weekend for me because I captured that elusive feeling of really getting away from my normal, everyday work, from deadlines I have coming up, and whatever else had been on my mind the previous week. Staying in a tree house, wandering around the hiking trails, learning the history of the property, and enjoying those amazing views from the swinging bridges was very special.
Connecting with my daughters, even while one was telling me how awful of a driver I was for an hour, was fantastic. Our time is short with our kids and intentionally making the most of the time we have together is of utmost importance. This is a truly amazing place to make that happen.
I also want to give a shoutout to the staff at Banning Mills. Everyone was so kind, considerate, and accommodating. I know working in hospitality can be hard but everyone we met was wonderful and friendly.
Are you looking for a beautiful place to enjoy the outdoors with your family? Consider a trip to Anna Ruby Falls. It is so worth the drive from nearby Helen, GA to enjoy this beautiful double waterfall. We love the paved trail that keeps this gorgeous spot accessible for so many. We have all the details to help you plan your visit to Anna Ruby Falls, Georgia.
About Anna Ruby Falls
Located adjacent to Unicoi State Park Anna Ruby Falls is actually a spectacular twin waterfall, as two waterfalls combine to form Smith Creek. The taller waterfall cascades down 153 feet and its twin drops about 50 feet. There are many gorgeous waterfalls in North Georgia, but this one is unique. Not just because it’s a double waterfall, but because the trail is paved making this a really family-friendly spot to enjoy nature.
The Anna Ruby Falls Trail
The paved hiking trail begins at the Anna Ruby Falls Visitor Center where you will find restrooms and a gift shop, plus several scenic picnic areas along the creek at the Anna Ruby Falls Recreation Area.
It’s just under a mile hike along the paved trail to get to the falls.
The paved down-and-back trail to the falls has a moderate to steep incline at times, as it follows the boulder-lined banks of Smith Creek to the falls. While there are a few steep sections, the trail is well-maintained and the pavement makes the trip much easier.
It’s a very pretty trail, and though short, it’s worth a trip in and of itself. There are multiple overlooks and observation decks to enjoy the falls for a while before returning back down the trail.
Lion’s Eye Trail
Near the parking lot, you’ll also find the very short Lion’s Eye Trail. Its a 0.1 mile paved trail with braille interpretive signage.
Near Anna Ruby Falls
You’ll find Anna Ruby Falls just a short drive from Helen, GA and right next to Unicoi State Park.
How far is Anna Ruby Falls from Helen, GA?
It’s about a 15-minute drive from Helen, Georgia to get to Anna Ruby Falls. It’s a beautiful area. So whether you start your day in Helen and head to the falls, or begin with a hike and end with a trip to Helen, make sure to do both. The alpine town is quite unique. Check it out in our piece on Helen, GA.
More Hiking at Unicoi State Park
You’ll drive through a portion of Unicoi State Park on your way to the gate to Anna Ruby Falls. If you’re looking for more hiking, the hike around the lake at Unicoi State Park is pretty and family-friendly.
The Cutest Coffee Shop
Our family always stops at Sweetwater Coffeehouse when we are in the area. The staff is so friendly and it’s just a super cute mountain town coffee shop. We found it by accident as we drove through the area on our first visit and now we make a point to stop whenever we are in the area.
They are open 8 am to 6 pm daily, and it’s about a 20-minute drive from the falls parking area to Sweetwater Coffee.
Anna Ruby Falls Recreation Area, National Forest 3455 Anna Ruby Falls Road, Georgia Fee is $5 per person aged 16 and up. Free for kids 15 and under. Open 9 am to 5 pm daily- last admission is 4 pm. Closed the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.
WASHINGTON (AP) — If you have stained or chipped teeth, you might be considering veneers, customized teeth coverings that can restore a photogenic smile without more extensive dental work.
But dentists warn that these pricey cosmetic enhancements are at the center of a worrisome online trend: unlicensed practitioners without proper training or supervision offering low-cost veneers.
These self-described “veneer techs” often promote themselves on Instagram and TikTok, promising a full set of veneers for less than half of what dentists typically charge. Some also market their own training courses and certifications for people looking to get into the business.
It’s misleading, health professionals warn — and illegal. All states require dental work, including veneers, to be performed under the supervision of a licensed dentist.
On Thursday, Georgia law enforcement officials arrested Brandon Diller, who promoted himself to 158,000 Instagram followers as “Atlanta’s top veneer specialist and trainer.” Diller practiced dentistry without a license and sold “training and certificates, which were worthless” and “provided no legitimate or legal credentials,” according to an arrest warrant from Fulton County’s District Attorney’s office.
Here’s what to know about veneers and how to avoid bogus providers and services:
What are dental veneers?
Veneers are thin, custom-made dental coverings used to hide minor imperfections or to fill in gaps between teeth. Unlike crowns or more invasive dental implants, veneers are almost always considered cosmetic dentistry and generally aren’t covered by insurance.
This article is part of AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health. Read more Be Well.
Dentists usually charge between $1,000 and $2,000 per tooth for veneers, with higher prices for those made from porcelain compared with lower-grade materials.
Placing veneers involves stripping some of the natural enamel from the tooth and bonding the new covering into place. Because of that process, getting veneers is considered an irreversible procedure, according to the American Dental Association. They are not permanent, and can be expected to last between 5 to 15 years before they degrade and need to be replaced.
In recent months the ADA has been stepping up warnings about the risks of veneer procedures done by unlicensed individuals.
“Quality control is lost without the involvement of a licensed dentist,” said Dr. Ada Cooper, a New York-based dentist and ADA spokesperson. “We undergo years of education and training and need to be licensed by various regulatory bodies before we can practice.”
What are the risks of getting veneers from someone who isn’t licensed?
Improper veneer procedures can cause a range of health problems, including severe pain, nerve damage and tooth loss.
Patients need to be anesthetized before the enamel is removed from their teeth.
“It could be incredibly painful if they’re not anesthetized correctly,” said Dr. Zach Truman, who runs an orthodontics practice in Las Vegas. “You can also go too deep into the tooth and penetrate what’s called the pulp chamber, which contains blood vessels and nerves.”
One of the biggest problems Truman sees with unregulated veneer work is that customers aren’t getting screened for existing dental problems, such as gum disease and cavities.
“If you put a veneer on a tooth that has an active cavity, you’re just going to seal it in there and eventually it’s going to progress to tooth loss,” Truman said.
Dental veneers aren’t the only option for improving the appearance of teeth. Over-the-counter whitening kits can help with minor stains and discoloration. And dentists can sometimes use composite materials to reshape chipped or uneven teeth. But Truman says those fillings are prone to crack and won’t last as long as veneers.
How can I spot bogus veneer providers online?
One clue: Many individuals performing unlicensed dental work promote themselves on social media as “veneer technicians.”
Instead of working out of a dental office they often perform treatments at beauty salons, hotel rooms or private homes. Some advertise multi-city tours and encourage clients to message them to book an appointment in advance.
Much of the appeal of the services is in their pricing, with some offering a full set of veneers for a flat fee of $4,000 or $5,000. That’s less than half of what patients can generally expect to pay at a dental office.
Performing dental work without an appropriate license is illegal, the ADA notes.
Dentists and hygienists are licensed by state governments, who also define the work dental assistants can perform. But in all cases, veneers and other dental procedures must be supervised by a licensed dentist.
Earlier this year, Illinois law enforcement officials arrested a woman running a business called the Veneer Experts after she posted videos of herself fitting braces, veneers and other dental products without a license. She was previously arrested in Nevada on similar allegations of practicing dentistry without a license.
What are the best ways to find legitimate dental providers?
The ADA maintains a website detailing the training and licensing requirements for dentists across the U.S. Most states also maintain websites where you can lookup and verify licensure information and find any past disciplinary actions for dentists and other health professionals.
“It’s really critical to understand that dentistry is a regulated health care profession that requires formal educations and licensure,” Cooper said.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
VILAS, N.C. (AP) — Brad Farrington pulls over to grab a case of water bottles being passed out in Vilas, a small rural community tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He’s on his way to help a friend who lost much of what he owned when Hurricane Helene blew through last weekend.
His friend, like countless others across western North Carolina, is starting over, which explains why Farrington isn’t thinking too much about politics or the White House race between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris right now.
“I don’t believe people’s hope is in either people that are being elected,” he said.
Farrington pauses, then gestures toward a dozen volunteers loading water and other necessities into cars and trucks.
“I believe we’re finding a lot more hope within folks like this,” he said.
In the election’s final weeks, people in North Carolina and Georgia, influential swing states, are dealing with more immediate concerns: widespread storm damage. If that weren’t enough, voters in Watauga County, a ticket-splitting Appalachian county that has become more Democratic in recent years, must contend with politicians laying blame while offering support as they campaign in a race that could be decided by any small shift.
Large uprooted trees litter the sides of roads, sometimes blocking driveways. Some homes in Vilas are inaccessible after bridges collapsed and roads crumbled. More populous areas like Boone, home of Appalachian State University, saw major flooding.
After Trump went to Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday, 20-year-old Fermin Herrera said the former president clinched his vote with his display of caring, not out of any frustration with how President Joe Biden and Harris, the vice president, are handling the federal disaster response. Herrera already leaned toward voting for Trump.
“I feel like everybody’s kind doing what they can,” he said. “All the locals are appreciating the help that’s coming.”
“I’m not thinking about voters right now,” Trump insisted after a meeting with Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Ga., on Friday. “I’m thinking about lives.”
Biden pushed back hard, saying he is “committed to being president for all of America” and has not ordered aid to be distributed based on party lines. The White House cited statements from the Republican governors of Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee expressing satisfaction with the federal government’s response.
FEMA’s head, Deanne Criswell, told ABC’s “This Week” that this “truly dangerous narrative” of falsehoods is “demoralizing” to first responders and creating “fear in our own employees.”
What to know about the 2024 Election
Criticism of aid efforts so soon after a natural disaster is “inappropriate,” especially when factoring in the daunting logistical problems in western North Carolina, said Gavin Smith, a North Carolina State University professor who specializes in disaster recovery. He said the perilous terrain from compromised roads and bridges and the widespread lack of power and cellphone service make disaster response in the region particularly challenging.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has made several stops in western North Carolina, including Watauga County and surrounding areas, and Biden viewed the extensive damage via an aerial tour.
A focus on recovering and rebuilding
In Watauga County, Jessica Dixon was scraping muck and broken furniture off the ground with a shovel, then dumping it in the bucket of a humming excavator. The 29-year-old stood in a home she bought two years ago. It’s now gutted after a rush of water forced Dixon, her boyfriend and their two dogs to flee to safety.
Without flood insurance, Dixon is not sure what will happen over the next month. She said she filled out a FEMA application but hasn’t checked her email since. She had given the presidential election some thought before Helene, but now she’s preoccupied with cleaning her home.
“It wouldn’t change my views on anything,” said Dixon, who was planning to vote for Harris.
The presidential election isn’t top of mind for 47-year-old Bobby Cordell, either. He’s trying to get help to neighbors in western Watauga County, which has become inaccessible in some parts.
His home near Beech Mountain is one of those places, he said, after a bridge washed away. Cordell rescued his aunt from a mudslide, then traveled to Boone and has been staying in Appalachian State’s Holmes Convocation Center, which now serves as a Red Cross emergency shelter.
He’s trying to send disaster relief back where he lives by contacting officials, including from FEMA. That conversation, he said, “went very well.”
Accepting help isn’t easy for people in the mountains, he said, because they’re used to taking care of themselves.
Now, though, the people who are trapped “need everything they can get.”
Helping neighbors becomes more important in Helene’s aftermath
Over the past week of volunteering at Skateworld, where Farrington stopped for water, it’s become harder for Nancy Crawford to smile. She’s helped serve more than 1,000 people, she said, but the emotional toll has started to settle in for “a lot of us that normally are tough.”
That burden added to the weight she was already feeling about the election, which she said was “scary to begin with.” Crawford, a registered Republican, said she plans to vote for Harris. As a Latina of Mexican descent, she thinks Trump’s immigration policies would have harmful effects on her community.
The storm, she said, likely won’t change her vote but has made one thing evident.
“It doesn’t matter what party you are, we all need help,” she said.
Jan Wellborn had a similar thought as she made her way around the Watauga High School gym collecting supplies to bring to coworkers in need. A 69-year-old bus driver for the school district, she said the outpouring of support she’s seen from the community has been a “godsend.”
She takes solace from the county’s ability to pull together. The election matters, she said, but helping people make their way through a harrowing time matters more.
“The election, it should be important,” Wellborn said. “But right now we need to focus on getting everybody in the county taken care of.”
——
Associated Press writer Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.
Month-old twin boys are believed to be the youngest known victims of Hurricane Helene. The boys died alongside their mother last week when a large tree fell through the roof of their home in Thomson, Georgia.
Obie Williams, grandfather of the twins, said he could hear babies crying and branches battering the windows when he spoke with his daughter, Kobe Williams, 27, on the phone last week as the storm tore through Georgia.
The single mother had been sitting in bed holding sons Khyzier and Khazmir and chatting on the phone with various family members while the storm raged outside.
This undated photo combo shows from left, Kobe Williams, and her twin sons Khazmir Williams and Khyzier Williams who were killed in their home in Thomson, Ga., by a falling tree during Hurricane Helene on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (Obie Lee Williams via AP)
AP
Kobe’s mother, Mary Jones, was staying with her daughter, helping her take care of the babies. She was on the other side of the trailer home when she heard a loud crash as a tree fell through the roof of her daughter’s bedroom.
“Kobe, Kobe, answer me, please,” Jones cried out in desperation, but she received no response.
Kobe and the twins were found dead.
“I’d seen pictures when they were born and pictures every day since, but I hadn’t made it out there yet to meet them,” Obie Williams told The Associated Press days after the storm ravaged eastern Georgia. “Now I’ll never get to meet my grandsons. It’s devastating.”
The babies, born Aug. 20, are the youngest known victims of a storm that had claimed at least 229 lives across Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and the Carolinas. Among the other young victims are a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy from about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south in Washington County, Georgia.
“She was so excited to be a mother of those beautiful twin boys,” said Chiquita Jones-Hampton, Kobe’ Jones’ niece. “She was doing such a good job and was so proud to be their mom.”
Jones-Hampton, who considered Kobe a sister, said the family is in shock and heartbroken.
In Obie Williams’ home city of Augusta, 30 miles east of his daughter’s home in Thomson, power lines stretched along the sidewalks, tree branches blocked the roads and utility poles lay cracked and broken. The debris left him trapped in his neighborhood near the South Carolina border for a little over a day after the storm barreled through.
He said one of his sons dodged fallen trees and downed power lines to check on Kobe, and he could barely bear to tell his father what he found.
Many of his 14 other children are still without power in their homes across Georgia. Some have sought refuge in Atlanta, and others have traveled to Augusta to see their father and mourn together, he said.
He described his daughter as a lovable, social and strong woman. She always had a smile and loved to make people laugh, he said.
And she loved to dance, Jones-Hampton said.
“That was my baby,” Williams said. “And everybody loved her.”
As Trump and Harris remain in a close race, voters in Georgia discuss key issues like the economy and rising prices in CBS Mornings’ “Three Meals” series.
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will visit hurricane-ravaged areas in the Southeast Wednesday to assess the damage and coordinate relief efforts and funding.Biden will travel to North and South Carolina, while Harris will head to Georgia.On Tuesday, Biden directed “every available resource” to rescue and recovery efforts and has committed to helping devastated communities, saying he is prepared to ask Congress for more emergency relief funding.”We have to jump-start this recovery process. People are scared to death. People wonder whether they’re going to make it. We still haven’t heard from a whole lot of people,” Biden said. “This is urgent. People have to know how to get the information they need. So, we’ll be there until this work is done.”Biden says he has been in constant contact with state and local officials and is urging people to apply for federal assistance, including basics like food and water and for funds to help with repairing homes.More than 4,500 federal workers, including 1,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, are deployed across the Southeast. Many are working to distribute millions of meals and water, thousands of tarps, and over a hundred generators, while rescue teams hope to help those who remain trapped.Biden and Harris emphasized the timing of their trips, saying they must ensure they do not detract from ongoing rescue and recovery.The White House suggested an earlier visit, like former President Donald Trump’s trip to Georgia on Monday, could take away from resources needed for hurricane victims.During that trip, Trump falsely accused Biden of “sleeping” at his beach house, ignoring the disaster and purposely neglecting Republican states and storm victims. He also falsely stated Biden did not respond to calls for help from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.Kemp and Biden had already spoken a day earlier. Kemp and other Republican leaders also said their states were getting everything they need.Wednesday’s trip to Georgia may also present a political opportunity for Harris — a chance to show empathy in the midst of a humanitarian crisis as she campaigns for president.Harris says she also plans to visit North Carolina in the coming days.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will visit hurricane-ravaged areas in the Southeast Wednesday to assess the damage and coordinate relief efforts and funding.
Biden will travel to North and South Carolina, while Harris will head to Georgia.
On Tuesday, Biden directed “every available resource” to rescue and recovery efforts and has committed to helping devastated communities, saying he is prepared to ask Congress for more emergency relief funding.
“We have to jump-start this recovery process. People are scared to death. People wonder whether they’re going to make it. We still haven’t heard from a whole lot of people,” Biden said. “This is urgent. People have to know how to get the information they need. So, we’ll be there until this work is done.”
Biden says he has been in constant contact with state and local officials and is urging people to apply for federal assistance, including basics like food and water and for funds to help with repairing homes.
More than 4,500 federal workers, including 1,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, are deployed across the Southeast. Many are working to distribute millions of meals and water, thousands of tarps, and over a hundred generators, while rescue teams hope to help those who remain trapped.
Biden and Harris emphasized the timing of their trips, saying they must ensure they do not detract from ongoing rescue and recovery.
The White House suggested an earlier visit, like former President Donald Trump’s trip to Georgia on Monday, could take away from resources needed for hurricane victims.
During that trip, Trump falsely accused Biden of “sleeping” at his beach house, ignoring the disaster and purposely neglecting Republican states and storm victims. He also falsely stated Biden did not respond to calls for help from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
Kemp and Biden had already spoken a day earlier. Kemp and other Republican leaders also said their states were getting everything they need.
Wednesday’s trip to Georgia may also present a political opportunity for Harris — a chance to show empathy in the midst of a humanitarian crisis as she campaigns for president.
Harris says she also plans to visit North Carolina in the coming days.
