The waters off the Georgia coast are a vital calving ground for the North Atlantic Right Whale. This calving season, which winds down in April, has been a rare bright spot for the critically endangered whales, with scientists counting more babies than in the last three seasons combined. But experts say the gains may not be enough to save the species. On this episode of Georgia Today, we hear the latest on efforts to protect the right whale.  

Both Republican and Democratic elections officials in Colorado routinely praise its election system as a “gold standard” for voting across the country, and its turnout rate of 76.4% was second-best among states in 2020, according to the U.S. Elections Project. That’s significantly higher than Georgia’s turnout rate of 67.7%

When the dust settled from this year’s General Assembly session, environmental advocates were looking at some success but mostly disappointments.

As controversy swirls over the comprehensive new voting law that drastically alters Georgia’s election system, another battle with equally profound implications looms on the horizon: redistricting.

House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) said after the session ended Wednesday night that the recent mass shootings, including one in metro Atlanta, played a factor in his not calling up House Bill 218 for a vote.

With a flurry of tossed papers and bleary-eyed cheers of "Sine Die!," the Georgia General Assembly ended its 2021 session early Thursday morning, capping off a busy stretch of campaigning, coronavirus and controversial decisions. After three months and 40 legislative days, Georgia lawmakers have passed a number of high-profile bills — and left many on the cutting room floor until next year.

As the 2021 legislative session ended, Georgia lawmakers wound up not passing a bill to allow visits by a “legal representative’’ to patients in hospitals and nursing homes during a health emergency.

After weeks of pressure from protesters, major Georgia businesses including Delta Air Lines are taking a stronger stance against the sweeping voting bill signed by Gov. Brian Kemp that opponents say will make it more difficult to cast a ballot, especially for minority voters.

A bill requiring Georgia colleges and universities to report hazing incidents that happen in school clubs like fraternities and sororities passed in the General Assembly Wednesday.

The legislature sent to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk for his signature two bills related to criminal justice that would let some Georgia offenders gain early release from probation and improve the processing and tracking of sexual-assault kits.

A debate in the Georgia House and Senate over whether Georgia should observe standard or daylight saving time all year continues to rage entering the last day of this year’s legislative session.

State lawmakers are trying to scale back a law that they passed just last year in hopes of cracking down on the sludge that was being passed off in some areas as a soil aid.

Tuesday on Political Rewind: Fallout from the arrest of Georgia state Rep. Park Cannon continues. The representative from Atlanta returned to the state Capitol yesterday. Also, after winning approval from the state Senate, an overhaul of Georgia’s citizen’s arrest law is one step closer to final approval.

Legislation to crack down on illegal street racing in Georgia by criminalizing promotions on social media and confiscating cars from repeat offenders passed out of the General Assembly Monday.

A bill expanding gun right protections in Georgia is heading back to the House after it passed the state Senate Monday with an amendment further limiting the powers of the governor during states of emergency.