Colin Gray sentenced; GOP senate candidate faces questions; Women's pro baseball

Summary

Georgia Today Podcast — July 30, 2026 Host: Peter Biello | Georgia Public Broadcasting

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Episode Overview

This episode spotlights three major stories impacting Georgia and beyond: the sentencing of Colin Gray for his role in providing the firearm used in a local school shooting, political controversy as GOP Senate candidate Mike Collins faces scrutiny over his son-in-law’s alleged antisemitic posts, and the exciting launch of the Women’s Professional Baseball League, featuring Atlanta's own Ashton Lansdell. The episode also covers other notable Georgia news, including a tragic hot car death in Lawrenceville, the nomination of a new CDC director, and the future of Savannah’s International Paper Mill site.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Colin Gray Sentenced for Role in Apalachee School Shooting

[00:03 – 01:38]

• Story Summary: Colin Gray, father of convicted school shooter Colt Gray, was sentenced to 15 years for providing the rifle used in the 2025 Apalachee school shooting that resulted in four deaths.
• Convictions: Gray was convicted of over two dozen charges, notably second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter (Chase McGee: [00:53]).
• Judge’s Words:

  “This only closes the legal chapter of this horror, the pain, the heartache. They continue. I understand that. I hope all of you know that this community loves you and I ask that God gives you peace.”
  — Judge Nicholas Prim ([01:07])

• Next Steps: Any appeal by Gray goes directly to the Georgia Supreme Court due to the murder conviction.

2. Political Controversy: Mike Collins Faces Questions on Son-in-law’s Posts

[01:38 – 03:20]

• Background: Reports link GOP Senate candidate Mike Collins’ son-in-law, David Scheer, to white supremacist and antisemitic social media posts.
• Political Reactions:
  • Senator Jon Ossoff (Democrat) calls for Collins to be transparent regarding his ties to Scheer ([01:53]).
  • Collins pivots from the subject during a healthcare press conference and declines to clarify if Scheer has been paid by his campaign or office:

    “You know we fully addressed that, but Jon Ossoff refuses to disavow these Democrat socialist movements in our country.”
    — Mike Collins ([02:39])

  • Past criticisms noted against Collins for his own inflammatory social media activity.
• Key Moment: Collins leaves the press conference after multiple questions about Scheer ([02:54]).

3. Lawrenceville Hot Car Death and Prevention Efforts

[03:20 – 04:22]

• Incident: A woman is charged with second-degree murder after a 1-year-old dies in a locked car.
• Heat Stroke Prevention: The “Never Happens” campaign urges parents to check cars consistently; 37 U.S. children die in hot cars annually.
• Expert Insight:

  “Stop, kind of take a minute, look, look around the vehicle, make sure that you don't have a kid inside...as you exit, lock the door so we don't have children entering back into the vehicle, which tragically results in about a quarter of deaths every year.”
  — Jonathan Morrison, NHTSA ([03:56])

4. Other Headlines

[04:22 – 05:19]

• CDC Director Nominee: Dr. Erica Schwartz, nominated by President Trump, advances toward becoming CDC Director; experts are cautiously supportive, hoping for agency recovery after layoffs.
• Savannah Paper Mill Site For Sale: The International Paper Mill, closed in 2025, is now on the market; it’s a large waterfront property with high interest from developers.

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Feature Segment: Women's Professional Baseball League

5. Interview with Ashton Lansdell, LA Queens Infielder

[05:19 – 13:13]

5.1 The Return of Women’s Pro Baseball

• Inaugural Season: The Women's Professional Baseball League (WPBL) starts in Springfield, Illinois, featuring teams from New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
• Personal Dream:

  “Now we have a league of our own once again after over 70 years. And, you know, it’s like a dream come true that I never really thought was gonna come true.”
  — Ashton Lansdell ([00:26], [05:46])

5.2 Ashton’s Journey: From Youth Baseball to the Pro League

• Early Years: Started baseball at age 4, always resisted calls to switch to softball ([06:21], [06:38]).
• Softball Stint: Played college softball for financial reasons but remained committed to baseball.
• Savannah Bananas/Party Animals:
  • Played with the viral “Banana Ball” team, describes it as “baseball on steroids,” with music, dancing, and a fan-centric ethos:

    “Everything banana ball is surrounded around is just fans first...spreading smiles and joy and love to the world while playing the game that we love.”
    — Ashton Lansdell ([07:56])

5.3 On Being a Performer and Athlete

• Entertaining the Crowd:

  “I love to play, I love to compete...my passion for that kind of naturally comes out and I can show that to the fans...There’s no greater feeling.”
  — Ashton Lansdell ([09:41])

• Memorable Moment: Recalls hitting a home run for Team USA and celebrating with kids in the crowd ([10:19]).

5.4 WPBL Rule Differences & Expansion Hopes

• League Rules:
  • Seven-inning games, metal bats, mostly female umpires, no automatic ball-strike system. Field dimensions slightly smaller but all core rules are baseball standards ([10:55]).
• Future Vision:

  “I definitely do hope and I'm sure we will start traveling all over the country...I would love to play for my hometown, my home city of Atlanta.”
  — Ashton Lansdell ([12:14])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Judge Nicholas Prim:

  “This only closes the legal chapter of this horror, the pain, the heartache. They continue. I understand that. I hope all of you know that this community loves you...” ([01:07])

• Mike Collins:

  “Jon Ossoff should answer for a few...” (as he deflects at press conference, [02:50])

• Ashton Lansdell:

  “I never once thought that I would ever play softball in my playing career...at the end of the day and in my heart, I'm a baseball player and I never once was going to give up on that dream of becoming a professional baseball player.” ([06:38])

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Important Timestamps

• Colin Gray Sentencing: [00:03 – 01:38]
• Mike Collins Political Controversy: [01:38 – 03:20]
• Lawrenceville Hot Car Tragedy: [03:20 – 04:22]
• CDC Nomination & Savannah Mill: [04:22 – 05:19]
• Women's Pro Baseball / Ashton Lansdell Interview: [05:19 – 13:13]

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For more reporting, visit gpb.org/news.

Transcript

[Peter Biello]

Welcome to the Georgia Today Podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, Colin Gray, father of convicted Apalachee school shooter Colt Gray, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. GOP Senate candidate Mike Collins faces questions about his son in law's anti semitic social media posts. And the first season of the women's Professional Baseball league is set to begin this weekend.

[Ashton Lansdell]

Now we have a league of our own once again after over 70 years. And you know, it's like a dream come true that I never really thought was going to come true.

[Peter Biello]

Today is Thursday, July 30th. I'm Peter Biello and this is Georgia Today. Colin Gray, the father of convicted Apalachee school shooter Colt Gray, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for providing the rifle his son used to kill two teachers and two students. GPB's Chase McGee has more.

[Chase McGee]

Colin Gray was convicted in March of more than two dozen charges, including two counts of second degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Prim handed down the sentence, addressing the families in the room.

[Judge Nicholas Prim]

This only closes the legal chapter of this horror, the pain, the heartache. They continue. I understand that. I hope all of you know that this community loves you and I ask that God gives you peace. Thank you.

[Chase McGee]

Prem sentence Colt Gray to life without parole on Tuesday of this week because Colin Gray was convicted of murder, any appeal he may enter will go straight to the Supreme Court of Georgia. For GPB news, I'm Chase McGee.

[Peter Biello]

Democratic US Senator John Ossoff and Republican US Representative Mike Collins continue to trade barbs over a report linking Collins son to racist and anti Semitic social media posts. Both lawmakers spoke to journalists today. GPB's Sarah Kalis reports.

[Sarah Kalis]

In an online press conference, Ossoff said Colin should be transparent about his personal and financial ties to his son in

[Ashton Lansdell]

law, David Scheer, and he needs to

[Chase McGee]

answer for his well documented ties to neo Nazis and white supremacists.

[Sarah Kalis]

CNN reported two weeks ago that Collins son in law has posted white supremacist and anti semitic content on social media since then. Collaboration office slammed his challenger over the report. Meanwhile, Collins held a press conference while visiting a Monroe county hospital in Middle Georgia to talk about his proposals for making health care more affordable, like lowering prescription drug costs.

[Mike Collins]

Third, we should continue expanding the health savings accounts, incentivize people to take advantage of tax deductions.

[Sarah Kalis]

But reporters quickly shifted to questions about Scheer.

[Mike Collins]

You know we fully addressed that, but Jon Ossoff refuses to disavow these Democrat socialist movements in our country.

[Sarah Kalis]

Reporters continue to press Collins.

[Mike Collins]

Jon Ossoff should answer for a few

[Sarah Kalis]

seconds more until Collins waved goodbye to the press and left. Collins has not disclosed whether Scheer has ever been paid by his congressional or campaign offices, but he appears to have narrated videos for Collins Trucking Company. Collins himself has faced criticism in the past for his social media posts, which some critics have called inflammatory. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallas.

[Interviewer]

Police in metro Atlanta's Lawrenceville have arrested

[Peter Biello]

a woman after a one year old child was found dead inside of a locked vehicle yesterday. The woman was charged with second degree murder and cruelty to children. The death highlights the risk of hot car deaths, especially in summer. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more on a new campaign to help children stay safe.

[Ellen Eldridge]

The Never Happens Heat Stroke Prevention Campaign says deaths are preventable with simple, consistent actions by parents and caregivers. Jonathan Morrison is the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Board. He says a change in daily routine or an unlocked car door can be devastating.

[Mike Collins]

Stop, kind of take a minute, look, look around the vehicle, make sure that you don't have a kid inside and then as you exit, lock the door so we don't have children entering back into the vehicle, which tragically results in about a quarter of deaths every year.

[Ellen Eldridge]

Morrison says an average of 37 children die in hot cars every year. For GPP News, I'm Ellen Eldredge.

[Peter Biello]

President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Atlanta based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has cleared a hurdle in the Senate. A committee today sent to the full Senate the nomination of Dr. Erica Schwartz to be director of the nation's top public health agency, a large employer in metro Atlanta. Public health experts cautiously support Schwartz, noting her qualifications and potential to rebuild an agency recently hit by sweeping layoffs and funding cuts. The shuttered site of the International Paper Mill in Savannah has gone on the market. The mill employed generations of area residents until it shut down last year, laying off 800 people. The company hired real estate professional Steven Ezell to market the site.

[Ashton Lansdell]

We've had a phenomenal amount of interest with the property having only been on

[Chase McGee]

the market for about a week now, he says.

[Peter Biello]

The mill could be demolished by the buyer or seller. The waterfront property could attract a wide range of industrial uses.

[Interviewer]

The Women's Professional Baseball League is kicking off its inaugural season on Saturday in Springfield, Illinois. There will be four teams representing the cities of New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Among those playing in the new league's first game between the Los Angeles Queens

[Peter Biello]

and the New York Heights is infielder

[Interviewer]

Ashton Lansdell, who graduated from Marietta's Joseph Wheeler High School. Ashton, welcome to the program.

[Ashton Lansdell]

Hi. Thanks for having me.

[Interviewer]

So what an exciting time. What does this mean for you to be a part of this new iteration of the game?

[Ashton Lansdell]

Yeah, I mean, it's amazing. It's everything. You know, I dreamed of growing up being a girl who wants to play baseball. I've always had to play with the boys growing up and just, you know, hope and work my hardest that one day I could become a professional baseball player. And always thought that was going to be, you know, in the MLB or whatever other professional league there was out there. But growing up, there was nothing for women baseball players specifically. So now we have a league of our own once again after over 70 years. And, you know, it's like a dream come true that I never really thought was gonna come true. It's cool. It's exciting.

[Interviewer]

When did you first start playing the game?

[Ashton Lansdell]

I started playing baseball at 4 years old.

[Interviewer]

When I was a kid playing baseball, there were a few girls on the team, but at a certain point, they would have to either drop the sport or switch to softball. Was that your experience? Did you have to at some point just stop playing because there were no options for you?

[Ashton Lansdell]

Yeah, I mean, well, I was lucky to grow up in a really welcoming community and a very supportive community, so I always had the opportunities. But there were always people who would be like, hey, you know, you should go play softball. Or, you know, if these guys are going to outgrow you and get stronger than you, you might as well switch over and play softball right now, or just give up baseball and go play, like, basketball or something else. And I was just always. Just shot them down real quick, and I was just like, no, I'm baseball player. This is the game that I love. This is what I want to do. And I never once thought that I would ever play softball in my playing career. I ended up playing softball for three years in college, two years at Florida International University, and I graduated playing softball for Ole Miss, but that was almost strictly for financial reasons. Played for three years, and it was amazing, but it just wasn't baseball at the end of the day. And luckily, throughout that time, the Savannah Bananas reached out to me while I was playing softball and everything. So I was so highly involved with baseball while I was playing softball for those three years. But at the end of the day, and in my heart, I'm a baseball player and I never once was going to give up on that dream of becoming a professional baseball player.

[Interviewer]

Well, tell us about the banana ball experience. You played with the Party Animals. What was that experience like?

[Ashton Lansdell]

Yeah, it's. It's amazing. I was lucky to start my career with the Savannah bananas in 2024, I believe it was. So I was actually Savannah Banana for a month when I started out. And then 2025, I was a party animal for a few months and then now currently I am a full time party animal. I'm on the full time roster. I'm just kind of taking a two month sabbatical playing for the WPBL and everything. So me and a few other girls who are involved in both leagues are lucky to be able to play in both the WPBL and in Banana ball. It makes a huge impact for both leagues, honestly. But playing for the party animals is amazing. I love those guys and it's such a unique and invigorating environment. It's. It' baseball like on steroids, I guess, with the trick plays and there's constant music and dancing going on and everything. The fans are absolutely amazing. I think the fans is what makes it so special because everything banana ball is surrounded around is just fans first. And that's just what we do. Everything is fans first. And so every time we're out there, we're just meeting new people and connecting with fans and just having a good time and honestly just spreading smiles and joy and love to the world while playing the game that we love. So I think banana ball is just a very unique and special place to where we can kind of combine the best of both worlds of, you know, spreading positivity and playing baseball.

[Interviewer]

So you're by all accounts a fun player to watch, not just because you are talented, but because you're willing to engage with the crowd. You're pumping them up when you, when you have a great hit. And you're also way out there on social media dancing and having fun. I mean, they call it the game the greatest show on Dirt for a reason. Right. How do you see yourself as not just a player but as a, as a performer?

[Ashton Lansdell]

Yeah, I mean, I definitely, you know, put my playing game first. You know, I love to play, I love to compete and I think just my passion for that kind of naturally comes out and I can show that to the fans. Like when I get a good hit, like I can celebrate, I can celebrate with the fans, but I'm always focused on my performance number one. I mean, I love, you know, being entertaining and Being this performative character on the field, especially in banana ball, because that's what the job is in banana ball. You're supposed to entertain and make everything super fun. But I honestly, honestly just love to play at the end of the day and then when you're successful while playing and then you get to celebrate with your fans, I mean, it's, it's. There's no greater feeling like this. Last weekend I was playing with Team USA and I hit a home run and there are these kids in the stands wanting me to do the 67 celebration. So I did it right back with them and they like lost their minds and went crazy and everything. So I just love the fact that we get to connect with these people and put smiles on their faces. No matter if you have a good game or if you have a bad game, they're always there to support you and cheer you on.

[Interviewer]

So for this new league, for those who aren't familiar with it, but people who may be familiar with Major League Baseball, are there going to be differences when it comes to things like rules

[Peter Biello]

or field size, pitch clock, automatic ball

[Interviewer]

strike system, that kind of thing?

[Ashton Lansdell]

Yeah, there's a few key differences, but I think the number one focus is that we're playing baseball. So it's still 60ft from the rubber to home plate. Still 90 foot bases. The only key differences really are the fences in the outfield. We'll be in a little bit, I believe center field is around either. I think down the lines are 320 and I think center field is 350, I believe. And then we will be using metal composite bats. So we're allowed to use USSSA bbcor metal bats of that sort. There's going to be no abs, nothing like that. We are hopefully going to have mostly female umpires, which is really cool. You know, just bringing all the women on staff as we can and everything. We also play seven innings instead of nine innings. Those are the main key differences between the women's baseball game and the male baseball game. But every rule within the game itself is the same. Substitutions, pinch hits, designated hitter. Everything else strategically is the same.

[Interviewer]

The first season of the Women's Professional Baseball League is played in one place, Springfield, Illinois, by teams representing just four American cities. There's no Atlanta team in this league yet. Do you hope at some point that the league's gonna have games in various places, home and away, and maybe expand to Atlanta?

[Ashton Lansdell]

Yeah, absolutely. All of the above, absolutely. I think it's cool that we get to experience this inaugural season all being in the same location, I think it's just going to allow us to kind of create a culture and just a very unique first year for all of us to experience it together instead of, you know, going coast to coast and traveling. So I think us being in Springfield, which is actually where I'm on my way to right now, I'm doing this interview in the car for anyone that can't see. But I'm literally on my way to Springfield right now. But I'm excited to be there with everybody and then down the road, road. I mean, I definitely do hope and I'm sure we will start traveling all over the country to play these games and hopefully we'll have home fields in our respective cities and everything. So hoping I make my way out to LA or they bring in an Atlanta team. I would love to play for my hometown, my home city of Atlanta. So, yeah, I have big hopes and aspirations for this league down the road.

[Interviewer]

That's fantastic. Ashton Lansdel, infielder for the Los Angeles Queens. Thank you so much for speaking with me.

[Ashton Lansdell]

Yeah, thank you, Peter. Thanks for having me.

[Peter Biello]

And that's it for this edition of GEORGIA Today. Thank you so much for tuning in.

[Interviewer]

If you want to learn more about

[Peter Biello]

any of these stories, visit gpb.org news and remember to subscribe to this podcast as we'll be back in your feed tomorrow afternoon. Your feedback is welcome, of course. Send it to us by email. The address is Georgia todaypb.org I'm Peter Biello. Thank you. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.