Georgia Today: Morris Brown College fires president; Georgia students try gene-editing therapy

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here, we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, Atlanta's Morris Brown College fires its president. High school students in Forsyth County try their hand at gene editing therapy, and Delta Air Lines says it expects a significant boost in revenue in the coming year, but remains cautious. 

Ed Bastion: We're reminded of the volatility of the industry this past year, and we want to make certain that we have a bit of caution as we project how we'll do. 

Peter Biello: Today is Tuesday, Jan. 13. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today. 

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Leaders in Southeast Georgia have broken ground on a $146 million project aimed at shoring up the region's water supply for decades. The expansion of a surface water treatment plant just west of Savannah comes as the area welcomes more industries, residents, hotels, and other signs of economic growth. The city of Savannah provides the water for a three-county region. Ron Feldner is the city's water chief. 

Ron Feldner: The importance of safe, adequate supply of potable drinking water for human consumption, fire protection, and industrial use is essential to any local economy, regional economy, and people's health and well-being. 

Peter Biello: State lawmakers approved state funds for the expansion as well as water upgrades in Effingham and Bryan counties as part of a half-billion-dollar appropriation last year. 

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Atlanta's Morris Brown College has fired its president. The historically Black school yesterday thanked president Kevin James for his service and announced a college trustee would serve as interim president. James said he was terminated without cause or explanation and called the action quote, "deeply disturbing." James led Morris Brown to regain its accreditation after nearly 20 years in 2022. He said the college is approaching its accredidation reaffirmation review in a few weeks. Last year, the college reported having 453 students in the 2023-2024 academic year. 

Story 3:

Peter Biello: Gene editing, essentially making customized changes to DNA, holds incredible promise for the future of medicine. And when you think about who a gene editor might be, you may not imagine a high school student. But at one Forsyth County high school, there's a student lab devoted to the gene editing technique called CRISPR. And as GPB's Ellen Eldridge reports, students from Lambert High are using CRISPR and receiving international recognition. 

Ellen Eldridge: The bell rings and a hallway eight students wide fills with comfortably dressed teenagers changing classes. Some are carrying milk cartons and snacks as they move through the school's main thoroughfare. With about 3,700 students, this is the largest public school in Forsyth County and one of the largest in the state. And Lambert High School has the only international genetically engineered machine, or iGEM, lab in Georgia. The students in the Lambert iGEM lab may have found a faster way to detect Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness impacting half a million Americans annually. They did it using the revolutionary gene-editing technique known as CRISPR. Principal Amanda Thrower says the students went further and included a therapeutic component to their project, too. 

Amanda Thrower: It just shows where their hearts are in the work — which, to me, is just everything, because it's a combination of their brilliance and their character, right? 

Ellen Eldridge: Competition to get into the iGEM program is fierce. Kate Scherer has been program advisor for the last three years. 

Kate Scherer: We are lucky, so many students at Lambert are so interested in joining this team that we actually this year had 96 applicants. We only had room for 10 spots on the competition team. 

Ellen Eldridge: She says the students are brilliant, funny, and they work well together. 

Kate Scherer: Part of this experience is not just being smart. You can do science fair and just be super smart. It's collaborating and working together almost the way that a startup would. 

Ellen Eldridge: The final product works like a COVID test. 

Kate Scherer: So a small strip gives you a band, tells you if you've got Lyme disease. 

Ellen Eldridge: This year's work was judged at the Grand Jamboree in Paris alongside projects from around the world. Avani Karthik is one of the team captains. She says they chose Lyme disease because of its prevalence on the East Coast and the lack of diagnostic tools. 

Avani Karthik: And so the main reason for that is because the bacteria, it's transmitted by ticks and so when the tick bites you and the bacteria goes into your bloodstream, it quickly disseminates into your joint or cardiac tissue and that makes it really hard to detect. 

Ellen Eldridge: The current tests rely on antibodies that are created by the body about three weeks after infection. 

Avani Karthik: We are thinking of using it in emergency rooms in different hospitals because they really do need a rapid diagnostic. We hope that we can also expand to national parks and areas like that. 

Ellen Eldridge: Scherer says they've gotten calls from people interested in supporting the work, but they don't have a manufacturing facility and they can't do clinical trials. 

Kate Scherer: We'll be in touch with people that can help us navigate this. I hope that this is something someone would pick up and use. I think it could be helpful. At least what we were able to do in our lab looks like it works. I would love to see it work for real. 

Ellen Eldridge: Karthik says this diagnostic could be applied to any disease that has proteins in the blood. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge. 

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines says it expects 20% growth in earnings in the coming year. In a call with investors this morning, Delta CEO Ed Bastian says the company finished the year with a $5 billion profit, and the current year is starting off strong, too. But he urges caution on reading too much into this month's numbers. 

Ed Bastian: We're reminded of the volatility of the industry this past year, and we want to make certain that we have a bit of caution as we project how we'll do. 

Peter Biello: That volatility was, in large part, due to the government shutdown, which cost the company an estimated $200 million. Bastion also announced $1.3 billion in profit-sharing with employees and plans to buy more aircraft. 

Story 5:

Peter Biello: Microsoft is trying to win over communities concerned about the rise of data centers. The company today released a five-point pledge to communities like those in Georgia skeptical about the energy and water-intensive facilities. The pledge mentioned Atlanta in a section promising that Microsoft's data centers would use and replenish more water than they use. The company also says it's committed to quote, pay our way with electricity so Consumers don't end up with higher rates. The Georgia Public Service Commission last month approved the Georgia Power Plan to add an unprecedented amount, nearly 10 gigawatts, to Georgia Power's ability to make electricity, largely for new data centers. Microsoft began operating a new data center in Atlanta in October. State development filings and news reports suggest more of the facilities are on the way across the state. Many of them face opposition in the towns where they're being planned. 

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Starting today, New York auction house Christie's will be selling pieces from Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter's estate. GPB's Chase McGee has more on the sale. 

Chase McGee Christie's announced the American collector's sale, in honor of the United States' upcoming 250th anniversary, featuring pieces from noted American families, including former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn. The Carter's daughter Amy said of the auction, "I hope these objects paint a fuller picture of them, their lives of service, their devotion to each other, and the joy and curiosity that kept them learning and engaged throughout their lives." Items up for auction include a collection of photographs from President Carter's time submarine school, a love letter on White House stationery to First Lady Rosalynn, and a painting the former president made of a waterfall near his North Georgia cabin. The auction runs through Jan. 27 online. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee.

Caption

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) throws against the Washington Commanders during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Atlanta.

Credit: AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

Story 7:

Peter Biello: The Atlanta Falcons' new president of football says his first priority is leading the team's search for a new coach and general manager. Matt Ryan today spoke to the media for the first time since taking the position, aimed at turning around the Falcons' losing streak. Ryan was the 2016 NFL MVP after he led Atlanta to the Super Bowl in the highlight of his 14 years as the team's starting quarterback. Still, the Falcons have never won a title. He says he now has the chance to help the team change that.

Matt Ryan: My mission since I was drafted has never changed. You know, it is to help this organization do everything it can to be champions and to win championships. And, y'know, there is a sense of unfinished business. 

Peter Biello: The Falcons have interviewed six head coach candidates in Ryan's first three days on the job. 

Story 8:

Peter Biello: One last note before we go, the legislative session opened yesterday and to celebrate the opening, Miss Georgia Audrey Kittilla provided her rendition of our state song, "Georgia on my Mind." And it is too good not to play here. 

MUSIC: Audrey Kittilla - "Georgia On My Mind"

Peter Biello: That's Miss Georgia Audrey Kittilla, who now picks up the song with her violin. 

MUSIC: Audrey Kittilla - "Georgia On My Mind" 

Peter Biello: And that is it for Georgia Today. Come back tomorrow for more of the latest news. I'm Peter Biello. Thank you for listening. 

---

For more on these stories and more, to go GPB.org/news