Korean firm plans $2.5B in new solar panel plants in Georgia
ATLANTA — (AP) — A South Korean solar panel maker said Wednesday that it will invest more than $2.5 billion to build factories in Georgia in what it says is the largest solar investment in American history. Qcells, a unit of Hanwha Solutions, projects it will supply about 30% of total U.S. solar panel demand by 2027, including making solar panel components usually manufactured outside the United States. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both Democrats, allowing companies to claim tax credits for making solar panel parts. The Cartersville plant will make silicon ingots and wafers and solar cells — key ingredients in a solar panel. “That’s enough to enable about 5 million homes to switch to clean solar energy each year,” Zaidi said.
wftv.comKorean firm plans $2.5B in new solar panel plants in Georgia
The company also announced a third phase of its Dalton plant, already the largest maker of solar panels in the Western Hemisphere. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both Democrats, allowing companies making the components used in solar panels to claim tax credits. The Cartersville plant will assemble solar panels, silicon ingots and wafers as well as solar cells. “By 2027, the Qcells expansion is projected to supply about 30% of total U.S. demand for solar panels," Biden clean energy adviser John Podesta told reporters. “That’s enough to enable about 5 million homes to switch to clean solar energy each year,” Zaidi said.
wftv.comPrisons chief: Official who beat inmates deserves 2nd chance
The director of the federal Bureau of Prisons is defending her decision to rally behind a high-ranking agency official who climbed the ranks after beating Black inmates, saying Tuesday that she feels he’s shown contrition and deserves a second chance.
‘Utterly powerless:’ Formerly incarcerated women testify about sexual abuse by BOP staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new Senate report is shining a spotlight on the sexual abuse of female prisoners at the hands of Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees. WATCH: Chairman @ossoff's opening statement as he unveils PSI's 8-month bipartisan investigation into sexual abuse of women in Federal prisons. pic.twitter.com/AofUHZ1FvW — Ossoff's Office (@SenOssoff) December 13, 2022Carolyn Richardson was sent to a federal prison in New York City in 2016 for federal drug charges. According to the report, “BOP has failed to successfully implement the Prison Rape Elimination Act.” It also uncovered a backlog of 8,000 BOP Office of Internal Affairs’ cases, which includes hundreds of sexual abuse cases. pic.twitter.com/xEsMsc3bl0 — Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) December 13, 2022Linda De La Rosa was formerly incarcerated at a Kentucky federal prison where she says she was sexually abused by a corrections officer.
wftv.comWalker, Kemp campaign in Ga. together for the 1st time
Fresh off his commanding re-election victory, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Saturday is playing the role of dutiful Republican soldier campaigning for the first time alongside Senate hopeful Herschel Walker after spending months steering clear of his ticket-mate.
Senate: Migrants subject to unnecessary medical procedures
SANTA FE, N.M. — (AP) — U.S. immigration authorities didn't do enough to adequately vet or monitor a gynecologist in rural Georgia who performed unnecessary medical procedures on detained migrant women without their consent, according to results of a Senate investigation released Tuesday. A Senate panel highlighted results of the 18-month investigation of off-site health care for migrants previously held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the privately owned and operated Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia. The probe found that two hysterectomies performed by Amin appeared to be medically necessary, but that detainees appeared to have been subject to excessive, invasive and often unnecessary gynecological procedures by the physician. Amin declined to testify at Tuesday's hearing in Washington or answer to the investigation by asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. “I can’t think of much of anything worse than this — unnecessary surgeries performed on prisoners,” U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia said.
wftv.comMichigan women fight to preserve abortion, 1 chat at a time
UTICA, Mich. — (AP) — At a wine bar in suburban Detroit, about a dozen women strategized about how to preserve the right to abortion in their state. That has mobilized people in Michigan, as it has done in previous elections this cycle, including in Kansas and New York. Red, Wine & Blue, the organization that held the wine bar gathering, is among the members of the RFFA coalition in Michigan. “Especially on an issue like abortion, we can't just have activists” knocking on doors, Carnes said. That’s what we’ve always done.”___Associated Press reporters Aaron Kessler in Washington and Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, contributed to this report.
wftv.comSenators push new oversight to combat federal prison crises
WASHINGTON — (AP) — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced legislation Wednesday to overhaul oversight and bring greater transparency to the crisis-plagued federal Bureau of Prisons following reporting from The Associated Press that exposed systemic corruption in the federal prison system and increased congressional scrutiny. The bill, called the Federal Prison Oversight Act, would require the Justice Department to create a prisons ombudsman to field complaints about prison conditions, and would compel the department’s inspector general to evaluate risks and abuses at all 122 federal prison facilities. Under the Federal Prison Oversight Act, the Justice Department’s inspector general would be required to conduct risk-based inspections of all federal prison facilities, provide recommendations to address deficiencies and assign each facility a risk score. “Families with incarcerated loved ones for years have been calling for greater transparency, safety and accountable from our federal prisons,” FAMM President Kevin Ring said. “My 10-month bipartisan investigation of corruption, abuse, and misconduct in the Federal prison system revealed an urgent need to overhaul federal prison oversight.
wftv.comSenate probe finds nearly 1,000 unaccounted prison deaths in 2021
During the hearing of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Sen. Jon Ossoff said a report showed that at least 990 individuals died in custody in 2021, and that the Department of Justice failed to investigate those deaths as they are required to by law.
news.yahoo.comAbrams' strategy to boost turnout: Early voting commitments
Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is launching an intensive effort to get out the vote by urging potential supporters to cast in-person ballots the first week of early voting as she tries to navigate the state’s new election laws.
Prisons chief deflects blame for failures, angering senators
Erika Ramirez, the Atlanta prison’s former chief psychologist, said she was transferred to a different federal prison out of retaliation after raising concerns about poor conditions and a rash of inmate suicides. Ramirez said she alerted the prison’s warden, other higher ups and the agency's headquarters, to no avail. “Is the Bureau of Prisons able to keep female detainees safe from sexual abuse by staff?" Afterward, Ossoff took issue with Carvajal's claims that the Bureau of Prisons can keep female inmates — or any inmates — safe. “It is demonstrably false that female detainees in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons are safe,” Ossoff told the AP.
wftv.comPrisons chief deflects blame for failures, angering senators
With just days left in his tenure, the embattled director of the federal prison system faced a bipartisan onslaught Tuesday as he refused to accept responsibility for a culture of corruption and misconduct that has plagued his agency for years.
Senate panel subpoenas federal prisons director to testify
Federal Prisons FILE - In this July 6, 2020, photo, a sign for the Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons is displayed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York. The Justice Department announced last week it was replacing Carvajal with Colette Peters, the director of Oregon's prison system. Carvajal, a Trump administration holdover, has been at the center of myriad crises within the federal prison system. The committee's investigation has included examination of abuse, misconduct and corruption both at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta — Osoff's home state — and more broadly in the federal prison system. The Bureau of Prisons is one of the largest Justice Department agencies, budgeted for around 37,500 employees and over 150,000 federal prisoners.
wftv.comAgency ruling delivers big setback to Okefenokee mining plan
According to a government memo, Friday, June 3, 2022, a federal agency has delivered a big setback to a company's controversial plan to mine at the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp's vast wildlife refuge. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, File) (Stephen B. Morton)SAVANNAH, Ga. — (AP) — A federal agency has delivered a big setback to a company's controversial plan to mine near the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge. The Twin Pines project in Georgia will require consultation with the Muscogee Creek Nation before it can move forward, the memo said. “I am pleased to announce the restoration of protection for this wildlife refuge and its surrounding wetlands,” Ossoff said in a statement late Friday. Twin Pines wants permits to mine a small fraction of the acreage DuPont pursued.
wftv.comAgency ruling delivers big setback to Okefenokee mining plan
SAVANNAH, Ga. — (AP) — A federal agency delivered a big setback Friday to a company's controversial plan to mine near the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge. He said the prior decisions allowing them to bypass federal regulators “are not valid” because tribal governments with ancestral ties to the proposed mining sites had not been consulted. The Twin Pines project in Georgia will require consultation with the Muscogee Creek Nation before it can move forward, the memo said. Two decades ago, chemical giant DuPont retreated from plans to mine outside the Okefenokee after meeting fierce resistance. Twin Pines wants permits to mine a small fraction of the acreage DuPont pursued.
wftv.comBill pushes feds to notify families of sick, dying inmates
Federal Prisons FILE - Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. — is the latest step by members of Congress to further oversight of the beleaguered federal prison system, which has lurched from crisis to crisis in recent years. The Bureau of Prisons’ policy required officials at the prison to “promptly” notify the family of inmates who have serious illnesses. “We will never have that chance.”Similar instances were also reported in local jails and state prisons in Georgia, Ossoff’s office said. Read more of AP's reporting on federal prisons at apnews.com and send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/Copyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.comBill pushes feds to notify families of sick, dying inmates
New legislation in the Senate requires the Justice Department to establish guidelines for the federal Bureau of Prisons and state correctional systems to notify the families of inmates if their loved one has a serious illness, a life-threatening injury or if they die behind bars.
Senate confirms key ambassador slots, including Kennedy
WASHINGTON — (AP) — The Senate has voted to confirm Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, to serve as U.S. ambassador to Australia, and Philip Goldberg to serve as ambassador to South Korea. Kennedy served as U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2013-17 during Barack Obama's presidency. The Senate approved the nominations Thursday as President Joe Biden's administration looks to fill out its diplomatic team with key allies in Asia. South Korea is one of our most important security partners," Ossoff said. “We need a U.S. ambassador to lead our mission in South Korea."
wftv.comSenate panel finds 'grave' health risks in military housing
Two service members recounted their harrowing experiences with military housing at a hearing Tuesday. “Our military families should not be forced to live in fear of their own homes," Fe Torres said. He said those emails came in after the 2013-2019 period in which Balfour Beatty had pleaded guilty to defrauding the government. The committee also heard from military housing advocates critical of Balfour Beatty. The report concluded with a call for federal agencies to “conduct more robust oversight" of Balfour Beatty to ensure military families get the housing services they deserve.
wftv.comSenate launches group to examine embattled US prison system
Federal Prisons FILE - Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., takes a question from a reporter during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 28, 2021. The working group is led by Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat from Georgia and Sen. Mike Braun, an Indiana Republican. The group plans to examine the conditions of incarceration inside America’s 122 federal prisons, protect human rights and promote transparency. The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., also will be part of the group. In early January, the embattled federal prisons director, Michael Carvajal, announced he was resigning amid growing criticism over his leadership of the bureau.
wftv.comPressure mounts on Congress to curb lawmaker stock trading
Congress Stock Trading FILE - Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., walks on Capitol Hill, on Oct. 7, 2021, in Washington. Public anger over congressional stock trading has mounted since the first tremors of the pandemic. The Georgia Democrat beat Republican Sen. David Perdue last year in a race that turned largely on Perdue’s pandemic-era stock trading. She has also called for extending stock trading disclosure requirements to members of the judiciary, while stiffening penalties for members of Congress who flout the rules. “It really did reduce stock trading activity by members of Congress by two-thirds,” Holman said.
wftv.comReport: Hate crime laws lack uniformity across the US
A national coalition of civil rights groups will release on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, a comprehensive, state-by-state review of hate crime laws in the United States. The report, first shared with The Associated Press ahead of its Wednesday release, is a comprehensive national review of hate crime laws that shows gaps and variances in the laws. The majority of all U.S. hate crimes are committed by white people, according to available data, and the majority of all hate crimes are motivated by racial or ethnic bias. Etcubañez added that a lack of accurate hate crime statistics is what inspired passage of the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act, as part of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. The report on hate crime laws also highlights a growing politicization of such legislation.
wftv.comReport: Hate crime laws lack uniformity across the US
A national coalition of civil rights groups will release on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, a comprehensive, state-by-state review of hate crime laws in the United States. The report, first shared with The Associated Press ahead of its Wednesday release, is a comprehensive national review of hate crime laws that shows gaps and variances in the laws. The majority of all U.S. hate crimes are committed by white people, according to available data, and the majority of all hate crimes are motivated by racial or ethnic bias. Etcubañez added that a lack of accurate hate crime statistics is what inspired passage of the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act, as part of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. The report on hate crime laws also highlights a growing politicization of such legislation.
wftv.comButtigieg urges travelers to respect mask mandates on planes
Biden Infrastructure Buttigieg U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg hosts a press conference following a tour of East Point, Ga., Friday, May 21, 2021. Buttigieg said the federal mask mandate, which remains in effect on planes, buses and trains until Sept. 13, continues to be driven by public health considerations. He stressed that travelers should abide by it as both a matter of safety and respect to transportation workers. The FAA says reports of unruly passenger behavior has been on the rise this year as more travelers return to the skies. Buttigieg spoke on ABC's “This Week” and CNN's “State of the Union.”Copyright 2021 The Associated Press.
wftv.comRepublicans block proposal to let voters standing in line receive water at the polls
Republicans in the Senate Rules Committee rejected an amendment to the For The People Act that would ban states from restricting volunteers from handing out food or water to people standing in line to vote. The amendment was proposed by Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia – where Republicans have recently passed a law that criminalises giving out food and water to voters at the polls – as part of his Voter Access to Water Act. Republicans have claimed that allowing people to hand out food and water would encourage electioneering at the polls, which is already illegal.
news.yahoo.comRepublican David Perdue of Georgia decides against running for the Senate in 2022
Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., who is running for reelection, speaks during a campaign event at Peachtree Dekalb Airport in Atlanta, Ga., on Monday, November 2, 2020. Georgia Republican David Perdue said Tuesday he will not mount a new bid for the Senate in 2022, abruptly ending speculation he had stoked just one week earlier. The seat is held by Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who defeated Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in one of two Georgia runoffs on Jan. 5. The victories by Ossoff and Warnock delivered effective control of the Senate to Democrats by the narrowest or margins. Perdue's potential challenge in 2022 was expected to be against Warnock, who is serving out the term of Republican ex-Sen. Johnny Isakson.
cnbc.comDemocrats take majority in the Senate after Biden's inauguration
With Ossoff, Padilla and Warnock seated, Democrats hold the narrowest possible majority in the Senate. New Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor on Wednesday that lawmakers would get to work on implementing the "lengthy agenda" set by President Biden, such as addressing the coronavirus pandemic. Schumer said that the Senate would work differently under a Democratic majority, implicitly drawing a contrast with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who as majority leader blocked several bills passed in the House from moving forward in the Senate. However, in his first speech as minority leader, McConnell indicated that he did not believe Democrats had a mandate, given their narrow majority in the Senate. Democrats will have such a narrow majority in the Senate that it could be difficult for Congress to pass some of Mr. Biden's legislative priorities.
cbsnews.comDemocrats take Senate majority, sealing control of the White House and Congress
Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Alex Padilla of California took office, bringing the Senate party split to 50-50. Democrats took control of the Senate on Wednesday when three new members of the party were sworn in, giving a boost to President Joe Biden 's ambitions in the White House. Though Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democrats will decide what the Senate pursues, they face a challenge in finding Republican support to pass most legislation. This will be an exceptionally busy and consequential period for the United States Senate," Schumer said in his first speech as majority leader. Some Democrats have called to get rid of the tool to allow bills to pass with a simple majority vote.
cnbc.comHere's how wealthy families will save on estate taxes in the Biden presidency
That will help President-elect Joe Biden push his legislative agenda, and higher taxes are expected to be a major part of his plans The estate tax could be a prime target for Democrats. Households will file about 4,100 federal estate tax returns for people who died in 2020 — only approximately 1,900 of them will be taxable, according to estimates from the Tax Policy Center. Alvina Lo chief wealth strategist for Wilmington TrustThose returns could generate roughly $16 billion in estate tax liability for 2020, the center estimated. "Even with a Democratic president, House and Senate, the estate tax may not be at the top of their agenda," she said. In other words, the window to use the huge exemption to avoid estate taxes may remain open for another year.
cnbc.comDemocrats' historic Georgia Senate wins were years in the making thanks to local grassroots
Just two months later, Georgia voters made history again in two competitive runoff elections by sending Democrats to the Senate for the first time in two decades. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, will be the first Black senator from Georgia. Strong turnout from Black voters and other voters of color fueled Warnock and Ossoff's historic wins in Georgia – the culmination of on-the-ground organizing and voter mobilization efforts years in the making. More than 4.4 million ballots have already been counted in the runoffs, shattering turnout records for such elections in Georgia. Roughly 30% of the registered voters in Georgia are Black and 92% of Black voters supported the Democratic Senate candidates, according to NBC exit polls.
cnbc.comThe voters who turned out for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in Georgia
Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock's projected historic wins come on the heels of President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Georgia in November. While these numbers are impressive for a runoff, they did not match the even larger rates in more Democratic counties. While it was a small chunk of the electorate, accounting for 4% of the early vote, every vote is critical in tight races. Six in 10 of these new early voters were under 40, and four in 10 were Black — groups that were favorable to Ossoff and Warnock. An analysis by Charles Stewart of MIT showed Warnock over-performed Ossoff by relatively more in Democratic precincts and in precincts with more White voters, suggesting that straight-ticket Democratic voting was less common among White voters than among Black voters.
cbsnews.comHistoric wins tip control of U.S. Senate to Democrats
Historic wins tip control of U.S. Senate to Democrats Democrat Jon Ossoff beats incumbent Georgia Senator David Perdue while Democrat Raphael Warnock is the projected winner in the state's other runoff against incumbent Kelly Loeffler. Neither Perdue nor Loeffler have conceded. Mark Strassmann reports.
cbsnews.comDemocrats Warnock and Ossoff pick up Georgia Senate seats: Exit poll analysis
Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff picked up two Senate seats in Georgia, and those victories won control of the U.S. Senate for their party. Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock received over 90% of their support, which was even higher than the 88% who voted for Joe Biden in November. Ossoff and Warnock each got the support of two-thirds of voters under 30, compared to Biden's 56% in November. Just like November, seven in 10 White voters voted Republicans, including majorities of both White men and White women, and White voters of all age groups and education levels, and overwhelmingly by White evangelicals, who made up more than a third of all voters. The survey included in-person interviews with Election Day voters, those at early voting locations and phone interviews that measured the views of absentee/by mail voters and early voters.
cbsnews.comDemocrats secure Senate control as Warnock, Ossoff clinch Georgia runoffs
Democrats secure Senate control as Warnock, Ossoff clinch Georgia runoffs Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff won the Georgia runoffs, handing control of the Senate to Democrats. Mark Strassmann reports from Atlanta, including analysis from CBS News political correspondent Ed O'Keefe and CBS News' chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett.
cbsnews.comControl of Senate allows Democrats to act on Biden's climate change agenda
Without a GOP-controlled Senate, Biden has greater leeway to pass climate change legislation. The goals of Biden's climate plan are in line with targets set by other major economies including China and the European Union. But experts are optimistic for some broader bipartisan-backed climate legislation to pass in upcoming years. Additionally, one of Biden's earliest expected executive orders would require that every government agency and department tackle climate change. "President-elect Biden and the administration he is building understand this and are ready to act," Deatrick said.
cnbc.comJon Ossoff becomes the youngest Democrat elected to the Senate since Joe Biden in 1973
Jon Ossoff will win his Georgia Senate runoff race, CBS News projects, beating incumbent Republican Senator David Perdue. Ossoff, 33, will be the youngest Democrat to serve in the U.S. Senate since President-elect Joe Biden, who assumed office in 1973 at the age of 30. When he was sworn in, Mr. Biden became the sixth youngest senator ever at 30 years, 1 month, and 14 days. Former Oklahoma Senator Don Nickels, a Republican, was the youngest senator since Biden when he was sworn in at 32 years old in 1981. He is the youngest Republican ever elected to the Senate.
cbsnews.comDemocrats gain control of Senate with 2 victories in Georgia runoffs
Ossoff and Warnock are the first Democrats Georgia has sent to the Senate since 2005, another signal that Georgia may be turning blue after President-elect Joe Biden won the state in November. This dynamic will make it easier for Mr. Biden to begin implementing his agenda upon entering office. It all but guarantees that Mr. Biden's Cabinet nominees will be confirmed quickly, without a Republican majority to delay the process. The Republican majority in the Senate had previously blocked dozens of President Obama's nominations in the waning years of his term. With Democrats in control of the Senate, Mr. Biden will see his judicial nominees confirmed for the next two years at least.
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