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- [00:04]
A
Welcome to the Georgia Today Podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump has a new lead prosecutor. A second round of opioid lawsuit settlement money will soon hit Georgia, and documentary filmmaker Ken Burns wants you to imagine what it would be like to live during the American Revolution.
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B
Which side would I be on? Would I be willing to die for an idea, right, to give my life up for something that's totally new in human history?
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A
Today is Friday, November 14th. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today. The Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and others has a new lead prosecutor. Pete Scandalakis, head of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, said today that he will take over the case. This comes after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified. A judge ordered Scandalakis to find the new lead prosecutor, and he was unable to find one. Georgia State University law professor Clark Cunningham says Scandalakis could be good for accused Georgia fake electors, including former state GOP Chairman David Schaefer and Johns Creek State Senator Sean still would.
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C
That surprised me if he decided to dismiss charges against them, and I think those are the main charges. The real question is, what's he going to do with the lawyers?
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A
Last year, Scandalakis decided not to charge now Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones for his role as a fake elector in the 2020 election. But Trump lawyers, including Mark Meadows and Rudy Giuliani, still face charges, as does Trump himself. Although it's unlikely any action will go against the president while he's in office. Cunningham says the Republican Scandalakis should immunize the prosecution from claims of political motivation.
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C
If it goes forward. It would surprise me if Trump and his allies make accusations like that, but it's certainly going to be very different than the kinds of accusations that were made against Fannie Willis.
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A
Georgia's case is the last criminal prosecution still pending against Trump. The head of the Georgia Ethics Commission says his agency is still trying to prove whether or not a voter advocacy group founded by Democrat Stacey Abrams illegally coordinated election work with Abrams unsuccessful 2018 campaign for governor. David Imadi is the commission's executive director. He told a state Senate committee that the question of coordination is still under investigation. It's been more than seven years since the 2018 election and 10 months since the New Georgia Project admitted illegal activity relating to raising and spending money to influence the 2018 election and a 2019 transit referendum in suburban Gwinnett County. The New Georgia Project and Abrams always have denied coordinating spending and activity, which is illegal under state law, and evidence of contacts disclosed by the ethics commission between the group and Abrams first campaign for governor has been thin. A second round of private money won from lawsuits with opioid manufacturers has been announced for projects across Georgia. GPB's Sophie Gradas reports Georgia has over.
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A billion dollars to spend from settlements with opioid manufacturers. That money is managed and dispersed by the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust. In the trust's second round of awards, $42 million will go to 109 projects across the state. About half of the money will fund community based initiatives, with the rest promised to statewide work projects tackle opioid addiction treatment, prevention and research and provide services for people in recovery and in active addiction. Over 450 applications were submitted this round. The projects are funded for one to two years. 1,250 people died from an opioid overdose in 2024 in Georgia, down slightly from the previous year and part of a downward trend of overdoses since the COVID pandemic. For GPB News, I'm Sophie Gratas.
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A
Some of the South Korean workers detained in a September immigration raid in Southeast Georgia have returned to their US jobs. More than 300 South Koreans were detained and sent back to their country after a raid at Hyundai's electric vehicle plant in Bryan County. The raid halted construction of a battery plant at the site. The HLGA Battery Company said yesterday that work has resumed at the plant with a mix of new and returning workers. A company spokesperson confirmed to the Associated Press that some of the returning workers had been detained in the raid, but would not say how many. Shareholders of Atlanta based Norfolk Southern and Nebraska based Union Pacific are backing the two railroads. Proposed merger and the $85 billion consolidation will create the nation's first coast to coast rail network. Investors in both railroads voted to support the deal today. Federal regulators still have to approve it before the deal can be completed. Mercer University's executive vice president will become the institution's 19th and first female president. The university's Board of Trustees today chose Penny Elkins to succeed the current president, William Underwood, who will step down from his position to return to full time teaching next year. Elkins is the first Mercer graduate to serve as president since 1979 and the first Double Bear, a graduate with two degrees from Mercer to serve since 1959. Atlanta will host the 40th annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project in 2026. Habitat for Humanity International said Wednesday that its annual building blitz will be its first in Atlanta. Since 1988, volunteers for the 40 year old work project have built more than 4,500 homes in 14 countries. GPB's Amanda Andrews has more.
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Starting May 3, 2026, nearly 2,000 volunteers will help build 24 homes over the course of five days. The houses will be part of the eight acre Langston park development in the historic Sylvan Hills neighborhood. Rosalind Merrick is president of Atlanta Habitat for Humanity. She says this is their second master planned community.
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We are substantially expediting the speed at which we can stand up this community, so we will get that done. This meeting we'll fully develop Langston park in probably three years versus the seven that it took us at Brownsville Village.
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Once complete, the project will be a total of 64 units with a mix of houses and townhomes. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.
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High school football teams around the state.
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Are gearing up for an exciting Post season starting Nov. 14. John Nelson is GPB's high school football correspondent and host of Football Fridays in Georgia. And he's with me now. Hi John.
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H
Nah, man, just trying to be as busy as you. It's like trying to hang on to a comet with both hands and trying to catch rain through an open hand. So it's always fun trying to be as busy as Peter Biello.
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G
Flattering and untrue. Flattering and untrue. So now that the regular season is wrapped up, we have our matchups in the postseason. So what game should we look out for?
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H
Choice D? All of the above. You have a lot of games, and this is the last year in this particular cycle where we are going through region seedings. And so you have the top four teams in each region and half of the classifications going at each other. And then in the other four championships you have power rankings. After this year, it's all power rankings and math. And I know that I'm going to be in trouble when it comes to all of these equations, but. But you have because of a key loss in region play, you have a lot of folks that are in seeds that don't necessarily fit who they are. And I'll give you a couple you have a Ware county down in Waycross who's a three seed, which means that if you are a three or a four seed, you travel. If you're a one or a two seed coming out of your region, you get at least one home game, maybe two. And if coin flips work down the line, you get a lot more. Ware county is what I refer to as an atypical three seed because their body of work does not identify itself as a third seed coming out of a region, but it is traditionally a very, very tough region in South Georgia. So they have to go on the road as a three seed all the way through, unless someone else who's a three or a four gets to win. And then there's math once again in coin flips. I'll go choice D, all the above. But keep an eye on some of those past champs and those folks that play out of state and play up in classification that are threes and fours that have to do their work on the road.
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G
So what you're saying, essentially, it sounds like, is that because of the seeding and the way it's worked out, some of these games might not be as competitive as they would have been otherwise.
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H
Well, and you will have games that will be as competitive as you would not have anticipated. Traditionally, your ones and your fours, you have a bit of a wide berth when it comes to wins and losses and talent and depth and things like that. So if I ever mention in a conversation with you an atypical so and so seed, and that is a team that is highly competitive, that has a pedigree that for whatever reason, a key loss here or a key loss there, they're not in a traditional place. And those top teams, those top seeds, those ones, they get a tougher test than they would have anticipated coming out of the block. So keep an eye on those atypical threes and fours, as I call them.
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A
Well, tell us a little bit about.
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Individual players who might stand out. Do we have any commits playing?
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H
Oh, you got a lot of commits playing. You've got schools, and I'll just say it this way, you've got schools, frankly, that have anywhere from two dozen to, you know, 30 commits, depending on level. And this is, you know, what I'm referring to is the idea of not just Division 1, but Division 2, Division 3, NAIA and things like that. So you have a lot of different players around the state that are really going to be shining right now. You have Elijah Griffin from Savannah Christian. You have a Justice Terry who is part of Manchester, Isaiah Gibson from Warner Robbins, and as I mentioned, a lot of these players as they go to the next level, you're going to see a lot of the squished G from Athens attached to their next destination because Kirby Smart has done a really good job of making sure that they don't escape the state. And all of the. The talent stays where it is. You know you have a Josh Petty who's a large tackle at Fellowship Christian. He's going to Georgia Tech. He's been there, he's been declared to go to Tech for quite some time. You've got Braden Jacobs, a big offensive tackle. There's a lot of offensive tackles really that are in the top 25 class this year. A lot of the big heavies up front that are clear in the path for all the skilled guys. Braden Jacobs, the tackle from Milton who's going to Clemson. You have Dalen Penson from Sandy Creek who's going to Tech. And so, I mean it's been really fun to see this group in particular. And then you look at the 26s as they've worked their way forward in the state of Georgia. Get this. One of the highest recruits in the country who is a rising junior, he is going to Texas Tech, the number one recruit in the country at Grayson. He's got one more year, but he's going to Texas Tech. Xavier Griffin from Gainesville at linebacker. Jordan Edmonds from Spraberry at corner la. Damian Guyton is who I was referring to at Benedictine heading to Texas Tech. Tyler Atkinson from Grayson who's going to Texas. Tristan Givens, Carver, Columbus and Edge Rush are going to Texas A and M. Bryce Perry right from Buford going to Texas A and M. There's a lot of folks that are going in these different places and a lot of them are staying in the sec. So they're talent on hand. The answer is, you betcha.
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All right, well, where can people watch.
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All over the place on all the GPBs? It is gpb.org, gPB TV, the GPB Sports app. And we know what our first round matchup is going to be next week. It's going to be Camden. It's going to be Coquit county making their way up from Moultrie to take on Mill Creek. We'll have the broadcast for you at 7:30. All of the GPB sports, social media platforms, you name it, we're going to be there. YouTube, Twitch, the 280 character app, it's all there and all the socials, it's just going to be chaos for the next six weeks and then we will have forgotten we didn't buy Christmas presence when the championships are over and overnight shipping is going to be our best friend.
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All right, John Nelson, GPB's high school football correspondent, host of Football Fridays in Georgia. Thank you very much for speaking with me.
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H
Anytime, my friend.
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The new 12 hour documentary the American Revolution directed By Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt. Premieres Sunday at 8 o' clock on GPB. Yesterday, on this program, we heard from the filmmakers about the challenges of creating three dimensional portraits of historical figures like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Today we continue our conversation with a look at how the film opens.
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G
Wanted to ask you about starting the film with Native Americans. A little bit about the people who were here on this continent. What led you to that decision?
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B
It was a sort of an artistic desire, more than one that had some sort of historical import to it. The story of Benjamin Franklin's sort of being impressed with what the Iroquois Confederacy, which was a collection of first five and then six independent native nations, put together a thing called. That they called the Haudenosaunee, a democracy that had flourished for centuries. And he thought maybe we should do this as we begin to have a kind of common sense of ourselves as the new Americans, the British colonists here.
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Our Georgia audience would love to hear.
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A little bit about Savannah and the.
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Battles that took place there and its significance in the war.
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I can dive in.
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I think we're looking at you, David, on this one.
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No problem.
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So the British.
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Thought early on that the war was going to be something that they could settle in New England. Turns out all of the 13 colonies that became the United States rallied to Boston's cause. They saw that as precedent setting. We can't let them blockade the port of Boston. We can't let them do this. So all of the states are beginning to send people. They're not states yet. All of the colonies are beginning to send people north to become part of the Continental Army. So Georgia is invested from the beginning. So I just want to state that up front. Later in the war, after they failed in New England and in the middle colonies, the British decide, and I think it might have made sense to do this sooner, that they might have been able to pick off Georgia and South Carolina, maybe North Carolina, and the important ports, particularly of Savannah and Charleston, which had real ties to the Caribbean economy. If they bring a big force south and the first place they try that is at Savannah, and they take it in the very, very tail end of 1778, I think even after Christmas, Savannah falls. Shortly thereafter, In January of 1779, they go up the Savannah river and take Augusta. The commander says after he takes Augusta, because those are the two cities of any size in Georgia at the time, that he has ripped one star and one stripe from the rebel flag. That won't stay the case for too long, But Savannah will stay in the Possession of the British until well after Yorktown. After Yorktown, there's three cities that are occupied by the British. There's Savannah, Charleston and New York. And Savannah has two pretty major battles that happen there. Both are losses for the United States. So Georgia is important all the way through. But there are. There are two major battles that take place at Savannah.
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The presumption is about Georgia that because they have their backs to native territory, that they are going to be more loyalist because they are more dependent on the British army to protect them. And so there is the presumption in nearly every case that all you need to do is land a force, whether it's Massachusetts or New York or New Jersey or Georgia, and the population will come over to you. And because of this defense against native attack. And so it is initially true in Georgia, and they do capture those cities. But it's always in all the states, a complicated dynamic because you end up essentially enforcing a martial military rule, which is the wrong direction to be going with these people who have experienced 150 years of. Of essentially laissez faire attitude on the part of the British about how they conduct their lives. And they've come to incubate within, over generations, this sense of freedom and liberty. And the distance of 3,000 miles of the ocean is a big reason why this happens. Not just the time it takes for information to get, but the sense that we've been doing it and we know how to do it. Why are we suddenly being told how to do it?
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In a time when, by some measures, American democracy is weakening, how do you.
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Hope the audience receives your film?
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Well, we don't make a film. We're storytellers. We don't make it with a sort of sense of what you should take away.
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But do you have hopes?
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Is there anything?
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Absolutely.
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I think this is an inspiring story. A prickle. I don't think it's diminishing. I just think it is. As Jefferson understood, all experience has shown. He wrote in the Declaration, that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable. That means that everybody's been under a tyrant. Everybody's been a subject after this point. They've been superstitious peasants. And we're going to create a new thing which are citizens. And to be a citizen is to be educated and to be virtuous and to participate in lifelong learning. They called it the pursuit of happiness. It wasn't a material thing. Thereafter, they were talking about lifelong learning. So I think the reinvigoration of those initial concepts ought to give people energy to realize what the values were, what the sacrifices of a 14 and 15 year old are going to be making. The willingness, as David said, to ask that question, which side would I be on? Would I be willing to die for an idea, right? To give my life up for something that's totally new in human history? These are big, big concepts and we invented them. And it's to our credit. And I think it gives the possibility for all of us. We don't make this film for one particular group, we make it for everybody. And as I said before, we're umpires calling balls and strikes. So it's all there, the good, the bad, the ugly and, you know, the strikeouts and the home runs. So it's there. And I think that's it's an incredibly inspiring topic. We, Sarah, David and I will not work on a more important film than this one.
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It's called the American Revolution and it.
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Premieres on PBS stations across the country on November 16th.
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Directors Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David.
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Schmidt, thank you so much for speaking with me. I really do appreciate it.
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B
Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Thanks for coming to gpb.
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That's filmmakers Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt speaking about their film American Revolution, which premieres on PBS stations across the country, including GPB on Sunday. You can watch the first two hour episode on GPBTV at 8 o' clock on Sunday. And to watch a full video of my conversation with the filmmakers, go to gpb.org news and finally, in Georgia Sports, Atlanta native Charlie Condon has won the Durnell Stenson Sportsmanship Award for his hard work and leadership during baseball's Arizona Fall League season. Condon was a standout UGA player who's now in the Colorado Rockies farm system. Condon earned the award after receiving high praise from his teammates and coaching staff throughout the season. He hit.300 and.37 during the fall season with 28 hits and 13 RBIs. That is a wrap on a busy week of news. Thank you so much for choosing Georgia Today as your source of news. You can always learn more about what's going on in Georgia by checking out gpb.org news. And don't forget to subscribe to this podcast because we we will be back on Monday with all the latest headlines. If you've got a story you think we should know about, or if you've got some feedback for this podcast, let us know by email. That's the best way to reach us. And when you send an email to one email address, it'll go to the whole team. And that email address is Georgia todaypb.org I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. Have a great weekend, and we will see you on Monday.