Georgia Today: 'Death of democracy' protest; Ga. Power freezes rates; Ossoff takes on housing crisis

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, hundreds gather in Atlanta to protest what they call the death of democracy. Georgia Power freezes rates for three years, and Sen. Jon Ossoff targets corporate landlords who some tenants say treat them unfairly.

Shana Brooks-Warhite: We're not humans to them, we're dollar signs. I felt so desperate that I withheld my rent in hopes that someone from the property management team would finally reach out to me.

Peter Biello: Today is Monday, May 19th. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Does the state's abortion law require doctors at Atlanta's Emory Healthcare to keep a brain-dead woman alive because she is pregnant? Doctors at Emory, according to the woman's mother, say yes, but Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr disagrees. In a statement, Carr says that removing life support is quote, "not an action with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy," unquote, and therefore keeping her on life support is not required. 30-year-old Adriana Smith was about two months pregnant on Feb. 19 when she was declared brain dead. The law restricts abortion once cardiac activity is detected, which is about six weeks, and gives personhood rights to a fetus. It was one of several measures enacted in conservative states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Northeast Georgia congressman Andrew Clyde changed his vote from "no" to "present" on President Trump's all-encompassing mega-bill in a rare Sunday vote in the House Budget Committee. The Republican was among a handful of conservatives who blocked the bill on Friday. Clyde said he changed his vote to advance Trump's agenda, including on Medicaid and clean energy subsidies. And though the bill advances, stark divisions remain. Conservatives are pushing for quicker cuts on Medicaid and green energy programs to to fray costs. White House Press Secretary Karoline Levitt said it's absolutely essential that Republicans unite and pass the bill. The fighting points to a difficult week ahead for Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who is determined to push the package forward in a House vote ahead of his Memorial Day deadline.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: More than a hundred protesters gathered at an Atlanta park yesterday to speak out against what they're calling the quote, "death of democracy." GPB's Sarah Kallis reports.

Sarah Kallis: Demonstrators in Piedmont Park laid on the ground with homemade headstones for what they called a "die-in." Bree Boyd is the vice chair of 50501 Georgia and helped to organize the event.

Bree Boyd: We are literally watching democracy crumbling before our eyes. So this is to bring attention to that and show everything that's at risk. And it's not — you know, obviously democracy is massive, but like we're talking, you know, civil rights. We're talking basic, basic equal rights.

Sarah Kallis: The demonstration was organized by 50501 Georgia, a movement that coordinates protests in all 50 states against actions taken by the administration of President Donald Trump. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Atlanta.

Credit: Georgia Department of Community Affairs

Story 4:

Peter Biello: If you've been having trouble getting your corporate landlord to respond to problems in your home, a new investigation may turn up the pressure for them to take action. Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff has launched a probe into corporate landlords. You heard from renters today, including Shana Brooks-Warhite, who says two gas leaks in her home identified in December didn't get fixed until January.

Shana Brooks-Warhite: We're not humans to them. We're dollar signs. I felt so desperate that I withheld my rent, not to be defiant, but in hopes that someone from the property management team would finally reach out to me and repair the gas leak.

Peter Biello: The Government Accountability Office says large companies now own a quarter of every single-family rental home in Atlanta. Ossoff's investigation is looking into how four major companies in Georgia manage their properties and how many fees they charge.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: A research initiative at the University of Georgia aims to study a disease impacting people by researching how it impacts our canine counterparts. GPB's Chase McGee has more.

Chase McGee: Cushing's disease impacts around 100,000 dogs in the U.S. each year, but in rare cases humans can develop the condition, causing weight gain, high blood pressure, and fatigue. Dr. Jon Mochel is the director of the Precision One Health Initiative, the university's effort to study how disease works across species.

Dr. Jon Mochel: One Health is all about trying to understand how the interactions between humans, the environment and animals could facilitate the distribution of disease such as infectious diseases, such as influenza for instance.

Chase McGee: Researchers use organoids, three-dimensional mini-organs grown from canine tumors in order to test potential treatments for the condition. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Georgia Power will not seek to raise base rates for the next three years. The utility and its regulator, the state Public Service Commission, announced a deal today aimed at curbing rising costs, GPB's Grant Blankenship reports.

Grant Blankenship: Georgia Power's rates and your power bill saw increases every year since 2022. And the PSC expected Georgia Power to pitch new rates in public hearings in July. But if approved, the agreement will skip the July rate case and instead freeze power rates at current levels for at least three years. So no, your power will won't go up, for now. Whether that lasts depends on two debates, which would have been a part of the rate case this summer, but which under the new agreement will wait till next year: how to pay for fixing what Hurricane Helene broke, and how to manage the cost to serve power-ravenous data centers. Depending on how those debates go next year, your bill could still go up. The Public Service Commission will hold public hearings on the agreement before a final vote. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.

Caption

Elmo!

Story 7:

Peter Biello: Netflix is throwing Sesame Street a safety net with a new streaming deal. An agreement announced today offers the popular children's staple a broad reach while keeping it on its longstanding home, PBS, at the same time. Starting later this year, new episodes will run on Netflix, PBS and the PBS Kids app on the same day. The announcement came as hundreds of officials from PBS and local PBS affiliates from around the country kicked off their three-day annual meeting in Atlanta.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: Graduation season continued this past weekend with notable commencement speakers at Atlanta's three largest historically Black schools. Educator and activist Cornell West spoke at Morehouse College. Bishop T.D. Jakes spoke at Morse Brown College. And at Spelman College, actress and mental health advocate Taraji Henson urged graduates to be fearless.

Taraji Henson: You've watched my journey both on screen and off. It hasn't been pretty or easy. I've had to fight for equity and a seat at the table until I discovered that I am the table.

Peter Biello: The Golden Globe Award winner has talked and written about her experiences overcoming domestic abuse, salary gaps, and other obstacles. In 2018, she created a nonprofit foundation named after her late father, Boris Lawrence, focused on mental health issues in minority communities.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: In sports and baseball, the Atlanta Braves have taken pitcher Spencer Strider off the injured list. Strider led the majors in strikeouts in 2023, but missed most of last season because of an elbow injury. After one start last month, he went back on the injured list with a right hamstring injury that occurred during a warmup session. He made his first start in April, a 3-1 loss at Toronto before hurting his hamstring. He pitched a simulated game last week, after which he said he felt ready to return. The Braves were off today and next play tomorrow against the Nationals in Washington. Also baseball's All-Star Week is just around the corner and it's more than just the All-Star game on July 15th at Truist Park. Braves Hall of Famer Chipper Jones and Marquise Grissom will be managers for the All-Star Futures game on July 12 at Truist Park. Jones will head the NL team and Grissom the AL team. Players for the game are drawn from affiliates of the 30 MLB clubs. Jones was an eight-time All-Star third baseman who spent his entire career with Atlanta. He won a World Series title in 1995 and earned election to the Hall of Fame on his first ballot appearance in 2018. Grissom was a two-time All-Star outfielder, playing for several teams, including the Braves.

And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. Thank you so much for tuning in. We hope you'll come back tomorrow, so make sure you subscribe to this podcast and check GPB.org/news for updates on any of the stories that you heard today. If you've got feedback or a story we should be covering, let us know. The email address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. We know you have a lot of choices out there. Thanks for choosing us. I'm Peter Biello. We'll see you again tomorrow.

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