A push by fans to rename Nashville’s airport for Dolly Parton appears to be taking flight just days after the country music icon’s death.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and the CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority both came out in favor of the name change Friday. It’s expected to come up at the authority’s meeting next month.

Long before 80-year-old Parton died Tuesday, fans in January 2025 started an online petition calling for officials to rename Nashville International Airport in her honor. It got renewed attention following Parton’s death, jumping to more than 155,000 signatures Friday.

The change would make Parton the first woman whose name adorns one of America’s 50 busiest airports.

The governor said he’s already discussed the idea with representatives for Parton.

“At a place where Tennessee welcomes the world, it is fitting that Nashville International Airport would bear the name of our state’s favorite daughter and greet travelers with the enduring legacy of Dolly’s music, generosity, faith, and kindness,” Lee said in a statement.

Born in poverty in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, Parton became an icon whose popularity crossed generational, geographic and political boundaries. In addition to writing and recording hit songs such as “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You,” she starred in Hollywood films including “9 to 5” and “Steel Magnolias.”

A number of American airports bear the names of beloved celebrities, from Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky, to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. New Orleans’ airport was renamed for jazz icon Louis Armstrong in 2001.

The vast majority of U.S. airports named for a person honor men. Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas, is one exception. Another is Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport in Atchison, Kansas.

Putting Parton’s name on the Nashville airport could require its governing authority to revisit its policy for such honors, which states that airport properties should only be named for people who have been dead for at least two years.

The governor’s office said his proposal and the naming policy will be discussed by the airport authority at its meeting Sept. 17.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A U.S. Army unit is offering its troops a special bonus if they reenlist soon: four extra days off timed around the November release of the video game Grand Theft Auto VI.

Commanders of the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion based at Fort Stewart, Georgia, believe free time to indulge in the latest entry in the Grand Theft Auto series — in which players commit carjackings, battle police in shootouts and attempt audacious heists — will sway some soldiers to extend their military commitments.

The Nov. 19 release of Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to be one of the year’s biggest entertainment events. Game publisher Take-Two Interactive hasn’t released sales figures for preorders, but CEO Strauss Zelnick recently called them “unprecedented and astonishing.”

A career counselor with the Army engineer battalion hatched the idea with commanders to tie a retention perk to the game’s release, in part to remind soldiers of their approaching reenlistment dates, said Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, a Fort Stewart spokesperson.

“The idea was to have a unique incentives program that connects to what soldiers are interested in,” Tomko said Thursday in a statement to The Associated Press.

Battalion commanders wrote in a memo to soldiers that those who sign reenlistment contracts by Nov. 14 would receive “a special 4 day pass.”

“This special pass is specifically designed to coincide with the highly anticipated release of the video game Grand Theft Auto VI,” battalion commander Lt. Col. Ryan Hodgson wrote.

Tomko confirmed the authenticity of the July 28 memo, which was photographed and posted online.

She said at least 20 of 130 eligible soldiers have signed up for the bonus. To qualify, they must commit to serving at least two more years in uniform.

Buzz for Grand Theft Auto VI has been building since 2023, when its first cinematic trailer showed a return to the series’ fictional Vice City — a satirical analogue of Miami — and an expanded swath of Florida-based locales that include gator-infested swamps.

Underscoring the hype, developer Rockstar Games plans to debut gameplay video next week in an extended trailer on Netflix. The rollout was preempted when hackers leaked apparent footage online this week.

A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that in nearly half of U.S. states halted President Donald Trump’s executive order to create a federal list of eligible voters and limit delivery of mail ballots only to people on that list.

The ruling Saturday by judges of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration’s effort to move forward with the mail-in voting restrictions in 23 U.S. states that sued ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Trump issued an executive order in March for the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the commissioner of the Social Security Administration to create a “state citizenship list” of eligible voters. It also ordered the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on that list.

While Trump touted the proposed changes as safeguards to keep non-U.S. citizens from voting, state election officials argued they were ripe for abuse and could cause chaos.

Democratic officials in 23 states and the District of Columbia challenged Trump’s order in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Boston. They argued that Trump’s order was unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the authority to set election rules.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, agreed and halted Trump’s order from being implemented for the Nov. 3 elections — but only in the states that have sued.

The Justice Department said in an emailed statement Sunday that it is “reviewing all options” regarding its next legal steps and is confident that Trump’s executive order will ultimately be upheld.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister said Friday the United States and Iran have agreed to wording of an agreement aimed at ending their war in the Middle East and that mediators were working with both sides to finalize a deal.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the U.S. and Iran have reached a “final, agreed upon text.” He said Pakistan, which has taken the lead in mediation efforts, was working with the warring countries on next steps.

“Peace has never been this close as it is now,” Sharif said in a post on X.

The apparent breakthrough in negotiations comes after Iran exchanged fire with the U.S. and Israel over three days this week, threatening to return the Middle East to full-scale war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday an agreement “has never been closer” in a post on X. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said multiple times in recent weeks the countries are on the cusp of a deal, shared Araghchi’s post on his own social media.

The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 has rattled the Middle East and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 7.

Iranian official says nuclear details will follow an agreement to end the war

Araghchi told Iranian state TV on Friday that both sides were working toward signing an initial agreement declaring an end to the war “on all fronts, including Lebanon.”

Israel has been fighting the Iranian-allied militia Hezbollah in Lebanon since early March. Israel is not a party to the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, and its leaders have said they don’t plan to withdraw from Lebanon.

Araghchi said terms dealing with Iran’s nuclear program would be finalized in the 60 days after the initial agreement is signed. He said the parties could agree to extend that period.

Iran’s nuclear program has been a key point of division. The U.S. and Israel fear it could lead to an atomic weapon — a main reason their leaders cited for going to war. Tehran has insisted its nuclear efforts are for peaceful purposes.

A senior U.S. administration official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said Friday that the emerging agreement would begin the process of destroying or removing Tehran’s highly enriched uranium.

The official said the 60-day period after both sides sign the deal would be used to work out technical details for removing Iran’s enriched uranium. The official did not detail who the U.S. envisions taking charge of removing the uranium, which is believed to entombed under three nuclear sites that were battered by U.S. strikes last year.

Also critical is Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for oil and natural gas. Disruption of transit through the strait has crimped global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics more expensive well beyond the region.

The U.S. official said the emerging agreement includes provisions for reopening the strait.

Araghchi said Iran wants a deal that allows Tehran to charge ships “for services rendered” when they transit the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has imposed a toll system during the war, which the U.S. and other nations say violates international law.

“There will be costs involved,” Araghchi said, “and those costs must be paid.”

Officials say a deal could be signed in the coming days

Three regional officials said the emerging deal is also expected to include the phased lifting of sanctions on Iran and the release of frozen Iranian assets. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.

They said they expect a signing ceremony for the agreement in the coming days after officials in Washington and Tehran approve it.

Trump on Thursday claimed significant progress in the negotiations, just hours after he threatened to escalate attacks and seize Iran’s oil industry.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is not a party to the deal being negotiated. He said in a statement Friday that he and Trump were in “full agreement” that Iran must not have nuclear weapons.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a separate statement that Israel also expects Trump to uphold key Israeli interests, including weakening Iran’s missile program and proxy network.

Katz warned that Israel could still act independently toward Iran and that the country would not pull out of the zones it is occupying in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, nor would it withdraw from the northern refugee camps of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The deal was largely being brokered by Pakistan, led by its army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, the regional officials said, with backing from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar.

AP’s Munir Ahmed and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A museum in Georgia’s oldest city on Wednesday welcomed a truckload of treasures from the earliest period of U.S. history — 17 cannons that experts believe sank to the bottom of the Savannah River during the American Revolution and remained undiscovered for nearly 240 years.

Workers carefully hoisted the big guns one-by-one from the back of a truck and wheeled them inside their new home at the Savannah History Museum, which will put them on display just in time for the Fourth of July celebration of America’s 250th birthday.

“They look brand new,” said Andrea Farmer, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers archaeologist who was part of the team that researched and preserved the cannons. “They could pretty much be fired if someone wanted to.”

The artifacts were discovered in 2021 when a dredge scooping sediment from the riverbed as part of an Army Corps project to deepen Savannah’s shipping channel pulled up a cannon in its metal jaws. The crew soon dug up two more.

In the course of just over a year, a total of 19 cannons were hoisted from the location just downstream from Savannah, which is where Georgia was founded in 1733 as the last of Britain’s 13 American colonies.

After being pulled from the river, most of the cannons left Georgia for several years to undergo cleaning and preservation work at a Texas lab.

One of the Revolution’s bloodiest battles was fought in Savannah

Archaeologists initially assumed the cannons likely dated to the Civil War. But further research indicated they’re likely almost a century older and sank during the buildup to the American Revolution’s bloody siege of Savannah.

Savannah was under British occupation in the fall of 1779, when colonists planned an attack to retake the city with help from French allies.

When French ships carrying troops were spotted off the Georgia coast, British forces scuttled at least six ships in the Savannah River downstream from the city to block the French vessels.

The land battle that followed was one of the bloodiest of the war. British forces killed nearly 300 colonial fighters and their allies, and wounded hundreds more.

The Savannah History Museum sits right next to the battlefield. Its staff on Wednesday hoisted the cannons, weighing up to 1500 pounds (680 kilograms) apiece, onto custom display mounts that staffers likened to giant wine racks.

The cannons will be part of a new exhibit on Savannah’s role in the American Revolution, which is scheduled to open Fourth of July weekend, said Samantha Moss, the museum’s curator.

“Our great team has been prepping for months — building mounts and planning how we can safely display these very large, very special artifacts,” she said.

Cleaning the crusty cannons took years

Each of the iron cannons emerged from the river covered by a thick crust of mud and minerals.

Two were left in that raw state and put on display at the museum. The other 17 were sent to Texas A&M University, which has a lab that specializes in preserving underwater artifacts. Its staff spent years painstakingly cleaning the big guns and coating them in paint and wax to prevent rusting and corrosion.

“A lot of them have scour marks on the side from anchors or dredging, so there’s some scarring on the cannons,” said Chris Dostal, a professor of nautical archaeology who leads Texas A&M’s Conservation Research Lab. “But most of them look pretty exceptional.”

Most of the cannons arrived with wooden plugs still sealing their bores, which remained packed with cannonballs and gunpowder charges.

Dostal said radiocarbon dating of the wooden stoppers placed them roughly in the late 1700s. His team shared the cannons’ measurements and other details with experts in London, who concluded three of them were very likely forged by the British military.

The rest appeared to be of French design but bore no telltale markings. Dostal said he suspects those guns may have been cast in America around the time of the war.

Other artifacts found with the cannons included pieces of anchors and a portion of a ship’s bronze bell. Like the cannons, none of them bore engravings indicating which ship they came from.

That means many details of the cannons’ origins remain a mystery.

“You don’t have all of the information,” Farmer said. “You’re trying to piece it together as best as you can.”

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Officials battling two large wildfires that have destroyed dozens of homes in southern Georgia warned Tuesday that firefighters are bracing for a prolonged battle even after weekend rains gave a big boost to containment efforts.

“A little bit of rain is going to help us, but it’s not going to get us out of this situation,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp told a news conference after touring the fire areas Tuesday. “We’re going to be in this for a while.”

A fire that has burned roughly 35 square miles (90 square kilometers) and destroyed more than 80 homes in rural Brantley County was 32% contained, the command team overseeing the fire response said Tuesday. That’s up from just 6% containment reported Monday.

Rains on Sunday slowed the fire enough to give crews an opening to widen containment lines along the perimeter and to snuff out some smoldering pockets, said Johnny Sabo, director of the Georgia Forestry Commission.

“As that number increases, our confidence at holding it in that footprint increases,” Sabo told reporters. He added: “We have a long way to go. I just want to stress that.”

A larger wildfire in sparsely populated Clinch and Echols counties has charred more than 50 square miles (130 square kilometers) at the Georgia-Florida line. Sabo said crews have held that fire to roughly the same footprint for four days. It was considered 23% contained Tuesday.

One home and several dozen sheds and other smaller structures were destroyed, said Don Thomas, a Georgia Forestry Commission spokesperson.

An unusually large number of wildfires are burning this spring across the Southeast. Scientists say the threat of fire has been amplified by a combination of extreme drought, gusty winds, climate change and dead trees and other vegetation.

No fire injuries or deaths have been reported in Georgia. A volunteer firefighter in Nassau County, Florida, died last weekafter suffering an unspecified medical emergency while suppressing a brush fire.

Progress made against the Brantley County blaze prompted local officials to lift evacuation orders Monday for roughly 1,500 people who had fled their homes. About 2,500 remained displaced, said Susan Heisey, a spokesperson for the fire command team.

Local officials have warned people returning home to be prepared to evacuate again if necessary.

Both Georgia fires ignited as the state’s worst drought in two decades has rendered vast pine forests and swampy lowlands tinder dry and highly combustible.

Investigators concluded the Brantley County fire began April 20 when a foil balloon touched a power line, creating an electrical arc that set the ground ablaze. The fire in Clinch and Echols counties started April 18 by a falling spark as a man was welding a gate, according to state officials.

Forecasts showed a high chance of more rain over the fires this weekend. There’s also a possibility of thunderstorms, which can produce lightning that causes new fires.

Officials haven’t said how long the Georgia fires might burn, only that it will take significant rainfall to extinguish them.

Sabo noted that a vast fire sparked by lightning in the nearby Okefenokee Swamp in 2011 burned for just shy of a year.

NAHUNTA, Ga. (AP) — Heavy rain slowed the progress of two sprawling southern Georgia wildfires over the weekend, allowing crews to make some progress in containing the blazes that have destroyed more than 100 homes.

Although the rain helped the firefighting efforts, it wasn’t “nearly enough to put the fires out” and crews responded to 10 new blazes throughout the drought-stricken state Sunday, the Georgia Forestry Commission said Monday.

Blackened trees and charred palmetto fronds lined the shoulders of U.S. 82 on Monday in Brantley County, where Georgia’s second-largest blaze, the Highway 82 Fire, has been tearing through the forest. Smoke poured from the ground in several spots beside the highway — a sign that fire still smoldered beneath the dirt.

Residents like Anna Beaver, who had to evacuate her home in the small community of Atkinson, are doing what they can to help each other. Beaver has been spending her time accepting and sorting donated clothing at her church, Southside Baptist Church in Nahunta, a community of about 1,000 people that is the Brantley County seat. The church has been offering shelter, food, diapers and other supplies to people displaced by the fire.

“My heart hurts for everyone who has lost their homes, and I just want to help any way I can,” she said.

Danielle and David Grantham have been hunkering down at their home in the Atkinson area. They live in a neighborhood that was under an evacuation order Monday, so they wouldn’t be allowed back in if they left, and have been accepting donations of pet food and other supplies from friends.

“We haven’t left just because we’re trying to help other people out,” Danielle Grantham said.

All across Brantley County on Monday, there was praise for the efforts of firefighters and other emergency responders.

In the small community of Waynesville, a charred cinderblock shed stood near a wood-sided home that appeared unscathed. The house has been vacant and is being sold. Larry Ferrell, a carpenter hired to perform maintenance and repairs on the home before the owner closes with a buyer, returned there to work Monday.

“The firefighters got in here and saved it,” Ferrell said.

Georgia’s biggest blaze, the Pineland Road Fire, has scorched more than 50 square miles and at least 35 homes in a sparsely populated and heavily wooded part of the state about 35 miles north of Florida, which is also dealing with wildfires. The area has been full of highly combustible dead trees and other vegetation since Hurricane Helene carved a destructive path northward in September of 2024.

About 60 miles to the northeast, the Highway 82 Fire has been burning since April 20. It has destroyed at least 87 homes and torched more than 35 square miles, according to figures released Monday. It is only 6% contained.

“The fire basically doubled last night in size,” Brantley County Manager Joey Cason said in a Facebook post Sunday. “It is a dynamic fire event that will be impacted by the wind.”

Authorities believe the Highway 82 blaze was sparked by a foil balloon hitting live power lines. That created an electrical arc that ignited combustible material on the ground. They think the Pineland Road fire was started by sparks from a welding operation.

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock was in the area of the Highway 82 fire pm Monday. He said he assured residents that he’s pushing to get federal resources “both to contain this fire and then to respond to the devastation that communities will continue to experience over the next few weeks.”

Warnock said he’s working closely with the governor’s office on getting disaster relief funds. Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to survey damage from the Pineland Road Fire on Tuesday.

An unusually large number of wildfires are burning this spring across the Southeast. Firefighters have been battling more than 150 other wildfires in Georgia and Florida alone. Scientists say the threat of fire has been amplified by a combination of extreme drought, gusty winds, climate change and dead trees and other vegetation.

No fire deaths or injuries have been reported in Georgia. But in northern Florida, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office volunteer firefighter James “Kevin” Crews died Thursday evening after he suffered an unspecified medical emergency while suppressing a brush fire.

Florida’s blazes are smaller than Georgia’s two biggest, but the 139 Fire has burned 10 square miles of the Apalachicola National Forest in Liberty County, southwest of Tallahassee, since March 17. No structures have been lost in that fire, and no serious injuries have been reported, federal authorities said.

AP’s Jeff Martin contributed to this report

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A Guatemalan driver fleeing a Georgia traffic stop by federal immigration officers crashed into another vehicle, killing a teacher who was headed to work, authorities and school officials said.

Oscar Vasquez Lopez, the driver accused of causing the Monday crash just outside of Savannah, remained jailed Tuesday on charges including vehicular homicide, reckless driving and driving without a valid license. Lopez, 38, is in the U.S. illegally, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Immigration officers were looking for Lopez to enforce an immigration judge’s 2024 deportation order, ICE spokesperson Lindsay Williams said Tuesday, noting that Lopez has no other criminal history.

Lopez pulled over when ICE officers used sirens and blue lights to initiate a traffic stop, but then drove away when they approached his vehicle, Williams said. Lopez made a U-turn and ran a stop light before he crashed, ICE said in a news release.

Asked if the ICE officers chased Lopez, Williams said: “Chased? I wouldn’t say that. They followed him until he crashed.”

Williams said he didn’t know how far Lopez fled before he crashed.

“According to preliminary findings, we believe the pursuit was relatively short in duration and distance,” said Chatham County police spokesperson Betsy Nolen, who noted the investigation is ongoing.

Security camera video obtained by WTOC-TV showed a red pickup truck moving at high speed past Herman W. Hesse K-8 School on Monday morning. The footage showed a vehicle with flashing lights follow about five seconds later at a similar speed, and another vehicle with lights flashing pass several seconds after that.

News video from the crash scene showed one of the vehicles involved in the wreck was a red pickup.

Teacher killed was known for ‘kindness, patience, and ethusiasm’

Savannah-Chatham County school officials identified the woman killed as Linda Davis, a special education teacher at the school.

Davis was beloved by the school community, Principal Alonna McMullen said.

“She dedicated her career to ensuring that every child felt supported, valued, and capable of success,” McMullen said in a news release. “Her kindness, patience, and enthusiasm created a nurturing environment for her students and inspired those around her.”

The crash happened less than a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) from the school. Though students were off Monday for Presidents Day, teachers reported to work. Davis was driving to school when she was killed, school system spokesperson Sheila Blanco said.

Lopez remained jailed Tuesday. He is being representing by a public defender in Chatham County, said Don Plummer, a spokesman for the Georgia Public Defender Council.

“We recognize the community’s concern and extend condolences to those harmed,” Plummer said by email. “Mr. Lopez is presumed innocent. We will review the evidence and address it where it belongs — in court, not in the press.”

Local officials question necessity of ICE pursuit

Federal immigration officers have faced increased scrutiny for their aggressive tactics during the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration, especially since they shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

In a statement, Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, blamed “politicians and the media constantly demonizing ICE officers and encouraging those here illegally to resist arrest.”

Chatham County police said in a statement that they were unaware of the ICE operation and traffic stop before the deadly crash.

Chester Ellis, chairman of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners, noted that county police are constrained by a policy that allows vehicle pursuits only when officers believe a suspect has committed or is attempting to commit a violent felony. But he said county officers, had ICE requested their assistance, could have helped cut off the suspect’s escape without a pursuit that endangered other drivers.

“If that had been the case yesterday, then Dr. Davis would still be alive,” Ellis said. “My personal feeling is that one life lost is too many, especially when you’re taking about a precious teacher.”

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson also questioned whether Davis’ death might have been prevented.

“I’ve always been and remain very concerned about the activities of ICE in cities, particularly where they’re not coordinating or communicating,” Johnson, a former police officer, told reporters Tuesday.

He added: “What this individual was wanted for, did it necessitate the end result?”

FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) — An Army sergeant charged with attempted murder in the shootings of five people at a Georgia base last summer faces arraignment Friday before a military judge.

Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28, is scheduled to appear in a courtroom at Fort Stewart a week after Army prosecutors referred his case to a general court-martial, which handles cases involving the most serious crimes under military law.

Officials say Radford opened fire with a personal handgun Aug. 6 on members of his supply unit at Fort Stewart in southeast Georgia, injuring four soldiers and a civilian worker who was Radford’s romantic partner, before fellow soldiers were able to disarm and restrain him until military police arrived. The Army initially said all five victims were soldiers.

A week after the shootings, Army prosecutors charged Radford with six counts of attempted murder and assault, with the sixth victim being a person the shooter fired at and missed. They also charged him with domestic violence. That charge was added because the injured civilian worker was Radford’s “intimate partner,” Michelle McCaskill, a spokesperson for the Army prosecutors’ office, told The Associated Press.

The Army has not released the victims’ names and Fort Stewart officials have declined to comment on what led to the shooting.

Under military law, attempted murder carries a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

Since the shootings, Radford has been held in pretrial confinement at a Navy brig in Charleston, South Carolina. His military attorney, Lt. Col. Dylan Mack, said last week that his office does not comment on pending cases.

The largest Army post east of the Mississippi River, Fort Stewart is home to thousands of soldiers assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division. It is located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Savannah.

Radford has been serving as a supply sergeant in the division’s 2nd Armored Brigade. Army records show he enlisted in 2018.

Soldiers in Radford’s unit said they followed the sound of gunfire into the hallways of an office building where they found hazy gun smoke in the air and wounded victims on the floor and in nearby offices.

Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 3rd Infantry’s commander, credited soldiers with saving lives by immediately rendering first aid, in some cases using their bare hands to staunch bleeding gunshot wounds.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll visited Fort Stewart the day after the shootings to award Meritorious Service Medals to six soldiers who helped restrain the gunman and treat the victims.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia woman has been hospitalized with severe burns after someone poured a corrosive chemical onto her head while she was walking at a public park in Savannah, the victim’s son and a close friend said Friday.

Savannah police confirmed they are searching for a suspect in the chemical attack at Forsyth Park, one of the historic city’s landmark green spaces that attracts runners, picnickers, playing children and sightseeing tourists. Police said the woman appears to have been attacked by a stranger.

The victim, 46-year-old Ashley Wasielewski, was being treated for second- and third-degree burns at a burn center in Augusta, her son, Westley Wasielewski, told The Associated Press. He said the injuries cover roughly half her body, including her scalp, face, hands and legs.

“We don’t know who did it,” he said. “She doesn’t have any enemies. She is a friend to everyone.”

Westley Wasielewski said his mother was walking laps at the park on Wednesday night after attending a Christmas program at a nearby church. He found out about the attack in a call from a bystander who came to his mother’s aid. He said he could hear her agonized screams over the phone.

From her hospital bed, Ashley Wasielewski told family and friends she was walking the sidewalk along the park’s perimeter when she noticed a shadow from someone approaching her from behind. She was turning to face the person when he poured some liquid over her head, said Connor Milam, a close friend.

“She was instantly like, `Why are you pouring water on me?’ And then her skin started to burn,” said Milam, who has been at the burn unit with her friend. “She looked down and her pants were starting to burn off her body. She started screaming.”

Savannah police spokesman Neil Penttila said Friday that detectives are working with the FBI to identify the chemical used in the attack. Wasielewski’s son said investigators told the family it was so corrosive that it melted the key fob to his mother’s car that was in her pocket.

Savannah Police Chief Lenny Gunther said officers have been conducting extra patrols at parks throughout Savannah since the attack. No arrests had been announced by Friday afternoon.

Police said they were seeking a person of interest and released a security camera image of a man wearing what appeared to be a dark hoodie with a large cartoon rabbit on the front. Police said in a social media post that the man was “not currently a suspect in any crime.”

“Our Police Department is treating this case with the highest urgency,” Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said in a Facebook post. He added: “While this attack is deeply troubling, there is currently no information indicating a broader or ongoing threat to the public.”

Police did not name Wasielewski as the victim. Her son and Milam both said she wanted to share her story in hopes that people would come forward with information that helps police make an arrest.

Milam described her friend as a giving person who volunteered at a local nature center and packed grocery bags with snacks, toiletries and other essentials to give to homeless people. She said those close to Wasielewski are shocked and baffled by the attack.

“They didn’t rob her. They didn’t take anything from her,” Milam said. “This was a random person in the park who went out of their way to disfigure another human being.”

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Two months after 300 South Korean nationals were detained and left the U.S. following in an immigration raid at Hyundai’s electric vehicle manufacturing site in Georgia, some of those workers have returned to America to resume those jobs, their employer said Thursday.

The September raid shut down work on a battery plant under construction at the sprawling site near Savannah where Hyundai Motor Group began producing electric vehicles last year. Most of the 475 workers detained were South Korean nationals. U.S. immigration officials said they entered the U.S. with visas that had expired or with visa waivers that prohibited them from working.

The battery plant’s operator, HL-GA Battery Co., said in a statement Thursday that construction has resumed with a mix of new and returning workers. The company thanked the U.S. and South Korean governments, as well as Georgia officials, “for their collaboration in supporting a smooth and timely return.”

“We remain on track to start production in the first half of next year and continue to actively hire local positions to operate the facility,” the battery company’s statement said.

An HL-GA Battery spokesperson, Mary Beth Kennedy, confirmed to The Associated Press that some of the returning workers were among the South Korean nationals detained in September. Kennedy said she did not know how many.

More than 300 South Korean workers were detained in an immigration raid Sept. 4 at the sprawling site where the Hyundai Motor Group produces electric vehicles near Savannah. The workers spent a week at a Georgia detention center before the South Korean government negotiated their release and flew them home.

The roundup by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which released video showing some of the detained workers shackled in chains, sparked outrage and feelings of betrayal in South Korea, a key U.S. ally that has pledged hundreds of billions of dollars in American investments.

The Georgia raid targeted one of the state’s largest and most high-profile manufacturing sites, where Hyundai produces electric vehicles at a $7.6 billion plant. The 475 people detained all worked at the battery plant, which will produce batteries to power Hyundai EVs. It is operated by HL-GA Battery, a joint venture by Hyundai and LG Energy Solution.

The South Korean nationals detained in Georgia were largely engineers and other highly skilled workers who came to the U.S. temporarily to install equipment and perform other specialized work to get the battery plant up and running.

It is unclear how many of the formerly detained workers are coming back. Jongwon Lee, an attorney in metro Atlanta, said he has firsthand knowledge of two Korean nationals who plan to return after the U.S. State Department confirmed that their B-1 business visitor visas were still valid.

But Kihwan Kim, president of the Federation of Korean Associations for the Southeast U.S., said some of the workers snared in the raid are hesitant to return to the U.S.

“They don’t have to come to the United States to work after that kind of humiliation,” Kim said. “They can go to other countries.”

South Korea’s government demanded improvements to the U.S. visa system for skilled Korean workers. Last month, the South Korean Foreign Ministry announced that U.S. officials had agreed to allow South Korean workers on short-term visas or a visa waiver program to help build industrial sites in America

U.S. President Donald Trump initially defended the immigration raid in Georgia, saying in September that the detained workers “were here illegally, ” When asked about those workers again during an October visit to Seoul, Trump said: “I was opposed to getting them out.”

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the hate crime convictions of three white men who chased Ahmaud Arbery through their Georgia subdivision with pickup trucks before one of them killed the running Black man with a shotgun.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals took well over a year to rule after attorneys for the defendants urged the judges in March 2024 to overturn the case, arguing the men’s history of racist text messages and social media posts failed to prove they targeted Arbery because of his race.

Federal prosecutors used those posts and messages in 2022 to persuade a jury that Arbery’s killing was motivated by “pent-up racial anger.”

The appellate panel’s opinion, written by Judge Elizabeth L. Branch, said prosecutors at the trial showed “that each of the defendants held longstanding prejudice,” and that evidence was sufficient for “a reasonable juror to find that Arbery’s race was the determinative factor” for the deadly neighborhood chase.

Even if the appeals judges had thrown out their hate-crime convictions, the trio faced no immediate reprieve from prison. That’s because they’re also serving life sentences for murder after being convicted in a Georgia state court.

Video of Arbery’s killing fueled national outrage

Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves and used a pickup truck to pursue 25-year-old Arbery after spotting him running in their neighborhood just outside the port city of Brunswick on Feb. 23, 2020. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery at close range.

More than two months passed without arrests, until Bryan’s graphic video of the killing leaked online. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police as outrage over Arbery’s death became part of a national outcry over racial injustice. Charges soon followed.

All three men were convicted of murder by a state court in late 2021. After a second trial in U.S. District Court in early 2022, a jury found the trio guilty of hate crimes and attempted kidnapping.

Greg McMichael’s attorney in the hate crimes case, A.J. Balbo, declined to comment on the appellate ruling. Attorneys for Bryan and Travis McMichael did not immediately return phone and email messages.

Defense argued racist messages didn’t prove racism against Arbery

In their federal appeals, lawyers for Bryan and Greg McMichael criticized prosecutors’ use of more than two dozen social media posts and text messages, as well as witness testimony, that showed all three men using racist slurs or otherwise disparaging Black people.

Bryan’s attorney, Pete Theodocion, argued those statements were so repulsive that prosecutors were able to sway the jury without proving a racist intent to harm Arbery himself.

Balbo, Greg McMichael’s lawyer, insisted his client initiated the pursuit of Arbery because he mistakenly suspected him of being a fleeing criminal. The McMichaels had seen security camera videos in prior months that showed Arbery entering a neighboring home under construction.

The 11th Circuit judges rejected those arguments, noting there was no evidence Arbery had committed any crimes in the men’s neighborhood. He was unarmed and had no stolen property when he was killed.

In Travis McMichael’s appeal, attorney Amy Lee Copeland didn’t dispute the jury’s finding that he was motivated by racism. The social media evidence included a 2018 Facebook comment Travis McMichael made on a video of a Black man playing a prank on a white person. He used an expletive and a racial slur when writing he’d kill him.

Instead, Copeland based her appeal on legal technicalities. She said that prosecutors failed to prove the streets of the Satilla Shores subdivision where Arbery was killed were public roads, as stated in the indictment used to charge the men. The 11th Circuit rejected her argument.

The trial judge sentenced both McMichaels to life in prison for their hate crime convictions, plus additional time — 10 years for Travis McMichael and seven years for his father — for brandishing guns while committing violent crimes. Bryan received a lighter hate crime sentence of 35 years in prison, in part because he wasn’t armed and preserved the cellphone video that became crucial evidence.

POOLER, Ga. (AP) — After more than 300 South Korean workers were taken into custody during a raid on an electric battery plant in Georgia, the country’s foreign minister traveled to the U.S. this week in hopes of bringing them home.

Law enforcement agents detained some 475 workers during the raid Thursday at the battery factory under construction on the campus of Hyundai’s sprawling auto plant west of Savannah.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Seoul and Washington were discussing details for the workers’ return. Late Tuesday, the State Department announced that Secretary Marco Rubio will meet with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun at the White House on Wednesday morning.

Here are some things to know about the raid and its aftermath.

What efforts have been made to get the South Koreans home?

Korean Air says a Boeing 747-8i will fly from South Korea to Atlanta as early as Wednesday to bring the workers home. Asked about the flight and about the foreign minister’s visit to the U.S., the Korean embassy said it is staying in close contact with U.S. authorities and that its priority is “the safety of our citizens.”

The South Korean workers were being held at an immigration detention center in Folkston, in southeast Georgia, near the state line with Florida. It’s a 285-mile (460-kilometer) drive from there to Atlanta.

South Korean television stations showed Cho Ki-joong, consul general at the Korean Embassy in Washington, speaking outside the detention center. He said some administrative steps remained to be completed but that things were going smoothly. The South Korean Foreign Ministry declined to comment on media reports that he and other diplomats met with detained workers.

What are the immigration consequences for the workers?

U.S. authorities have said that those detained during the raid were “unlawfully working” at the plant. But Charles Kuck, a lawyer representing several of the detained South Koreans, said the “vast majority” of the workers from South Korea were doing work that is authorized under the B-1 business visitor visa program.

A B-1 visitor for business visa allows foreign workers to stay for up to six months, getting reimbursed for expenses while collecting a paycheck back home. There are limits — for example, they can supervise construction projects but can’t build anything themselves — but if it’s spelled out in a contract, they can install equipment, Los Angeles immigration lawyer Angelo Paparelli said.

Also, South Korea is one of 41 countries whose citizens can use the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which provides a visa waiver if they can provide “a legitimate reason’’ for their visit, and this basically gives them B-1 visa status for up to 90 days, said immigration attorney Rita Sostrin in Los Angeles.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry has said that officials from Seoul and Washington are discussing details that could allow all of that country’s detained workers to leave the U.S. voluntarily instead of being deported. A deportation order could make someone ineligible to return to the U.S. for up to 10 years, while people who agree to “voluntary departure” may be able to apply for a visa to return to the U.S., according to a guide on the Justice Department’s website.

What effect has the raid had on the area around the plant?

In Pooler, a suburb of Savannah, the sprawling Hyundai electric vehicle plant has triggered noticeable growth.

Signs in shopping center parking lots point to homes for sale in new subdivisions nearby. Construction crews work on multistory apartment buildings while finished apartments in the same complex display large banners proclaiming they’re ready for new residents.

Meanwhile, a growing number of Korean restaurants and Asian grocery stores have found a home among standard American fast-food franchises and chain eateries like Starbucks and Cracker Barrel.

Ruby Gould, president of the Korean American Association of Greater Savannah, said there’s no question that last week’s raid has raised anxiety among the area’s Korean immigrants.

“People are very upset about the incident, the arrest of the workers,” Gould said. “I’m sure there are some people in fear about this visa situation after they witnessed what’s happened.”

The U.S. Census Bureau says Pooler’s population jumped to 31,171 last year, an increase of 21% since 2020. That period includes the groundbreaking and construction of Hyundai’s EV factory.

People of Asian origin made up just 6% of the suburban city’s residents in 2020. While newer demographic data isn’t available, people in the area say Korean-Americans and South Korean immigrants make up a sizable share of recent newcomers.

Pastor Robin Kim and his wife closed last month on a new home in Pooler, where Kim is starting his own church. He left the Army a few months ago after serving as a chaplain to soldiers at nearby Fort Stewart. Kim said they wanted to be a part of the Savannah suburb’s growing Korean community.

Kim, 51, has sought to calm some of the anger and anxiety in the community since last week’s raid. He noticed fewer Korean people out shopping over the weekend, and reads a constant stream of messages posted in a chat group of 1,900 local Korean residents.

“The people feel like they’re being watched, like they’re being judged by the American people,” Kim said. “They are scared right now. They don’t want to be trouble.”

He said some are resentful at the U.S. government considering the billions of dollars Hyundai has invested in the Georgia plant and the thousands of U.S. jobs it’s creating. Others worry the immigration arrests will mean increased scrutiny that hinders their own efforts to extend visas or obtain green cards.

A suggestion that local Korean residents stage a protest, Kim said, was quickly stifled by others who cautioned against drawing attention.

“They’re trying to keep a low profile right now,” he said, “to not go out much and stay home.”

For his part, Kim hopes the raid doesn’t have lasting impacts.

“I hope the Korean community keeps thriving here,” he said, “and we get over this incident real soon.”

Kate Brumback contributed to this report

ELLABELL, Ga. (AP) — Immigration authorities said Friday they detained 475 people, most of them South Korean nationals, when hundreds of federal agents raided the sprawling manufacturing site in Georgia where Korean automaker Hyundai makes electric vehicles.

Steven Schrank, the lead Georgia agent of Homeland Security Investigations, said during a news conference Friday that the raid resulted from a monthslong investigation into allegations of illegal hiring at the site and was the “largest single site enforcement operation” in the agency’s two-decade history.

The Thursday raid targeted one of Georgia’s largest and most high-profile manufacturing sites, where Hyundai Motor Group a year ago began manufacturing electric vehicles at a $7.6 billion plant. The site employs about 1,200 people in an area about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Savannah where bedroom communities bleed into farms. Gov. Brian Kemp and other officials have touted it as the state’s largest economic development project.

Agents focused their operation on an adjacent plant that’s still under construction at which Hyundai has partnered with LG Energy Solution to produce batteries that power EVs.

Court records filed this week indicated that prosecutors do not know who hired what it called “hundreds of illegal aliens.” The identity of the “actual company or contractor hiring the illegal aliens is currently unknown,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote in a Thursday court filing.

South Korean government expresses ‘concern’

The South Korean government expressed “concern and regret” over the operation targeting its citizens.

Koreans are rarely caught up in immigration enforcement compared to other nationalities. Only 46 Koreans were deported during the 12-month period that ended Sept. 30, 2024, out of more than 270,000 removals for all nationalities, according to ICE.

“The business activities of our investors and the rights of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the process of U.S. law enforcement,” South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jaewoong said in a televised statement from Seoul.

Lee said the ministry is dispatching diplomats from its embassy in Washington and consulate in Atlanta to the site, and planning to form an on-site response team.

Immigration attorney Charles Kuck said two of his clients who were detained had arrived from South Korea under a visa waiver program that enables them to travel for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.

“They were both engaging in normal visa waiver activities, still lawfully here doing the activities that are lawful for a visa waiver to do,” Kuck said.

One of his clients, he said, has been in the U.S. for a couple of weeks, while the other has been in the country for about 45 days. He did not provide details about the kind of work they were doing but said they had been planning to go home soon.

Schrank told reporters in Savannah that while some of the detained workers illegally crossed the U.S. border, others had entered the country legally but had expired visas or had entered on a visa waiver that prohibited them from working. He said some of those detained worked for the battery manufacturer, while others were employed by contractors and subcontractors at the construction site.

Schrank said he didn’t know precisely how many of the 475 detained were Korean nationals, but that they made up a majority. No one has yet been charged with any crimes, he said, but the investigation is ongoing.

“This was not a immigration operation where agents went into the premises, rounded up folks, and put them on buses,” Schrank said. “This has been a multi-month criminal investigation where we have developed evidence and conducted interviews, gathered documents and presented that evidence to the court in order to obtain a judicial search warrant.”

He said most of the detainees were taken to an immigration detention center in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida state line.

Trump administration has undertaken sweeping ICE operations

President Donald Trump’s administration has undertaken sweeping ICE operations as part of a mass deportation agenda. Immigration officers have raided farms, construction sites, restaurants and auto repair shops.

The Pew Research Center, citing preliminary Census Bureau data, says the U.S. labor force lost more than 1.2 million immigrants from January through July. That includes people who are in the country illegally as well as legal residents.

The Democratic Party of Georgia on Friday condemned the raid, with its chair, Charlie Bailey, calling the raids, “politically-motivated fear tactics designed to terrorize people who work hard for a living, power our economy and contribute to the communities across Georgia that they have made their homes.”

Kemp and other Georgia Republican officials, who had courted Hyundai and celebrated the EV plant’s opening, issued statements Friday saying all employers in the state were expected to follow the law.

The Hyundai site sits on 3,000 acres (1,214 hectares) in a largely rural area of Bryan County, drawing in workers from several surrounding counties and communities including Savannah.

Hyundai began producing electric vehicles at the site last September. A few months later, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chairman Euisun Chung during a White House appearance with Trump credited the president with the company’s decision to create more American jobs by building an EV factory in Georgia.

“Our decision to invest in Savannah, Georgia, creating more than 8,500 American jobs, was initiated during my meeting with President Trump in Seoul in 2019,” Chung said at the March event.

Battery plant slated to open next year

The battery plant operated by HL-GA Battery Co., a joint venture by Hyundai and LG Energy Solution, is slated to open next year.

In a search warrant and related affidavits, agents said they wanted employment records for current and former workers; personnel files; payroll information; bank account information; timecards; video and photos of workers; and immigration documents. Social security cards, visas, passports and birth certificates also were targeted. The agents also sought records about the ownership and management of multiple construction companies and contractors named in the search warrant materials.

The documents included the names and photos of four people identified as “target persons” to be searched, without further information about them.

In a statement to The Associated Press, LG said it was “closely monitoring the situation and gathering all relevant details.” It said it couldn’t immediately confirm how many of its employees or Hyundai workers had been detained.

Operations at Hyundai’s EV manufacturing plant weren’t interrupted by the raid, said plant spokesperson Bianca Johnson. Hyundai Motor Company said in a statement Friday it was “working to understand the specific circumstances” of the raid and detentions.

“As of today, it is our understanding that none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company,” the company’s statement said. “We prioritize the safety and well-being of everyone working at the site and comply with all laws and regulations wherever we operate.”

HL-GA Battery Co. did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. In a statement Thursday, the company said it’s “cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities.”

Those arrested Thursday who fight deportation may be detained as their cases wind through immigration court. The number of people in ICE custody topped 60,000 in August, an all-time high.

Kim Tong-Hyung contributed to this report

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — U.S. immigration authorities on Thursday raided the sprawling site where Hyundai manufactures electric vehicles in southeast Georgia, shutting down construction on an adjacent factory being built to produce EV batteries.

The operation targeted one of Georgia’s largest and most high-profile manufacturing sites, touted by the governor and other officials as the largest economic development project in the state’s history. Hyundai Motor Group began manufacturing EVs a year ago at the $7.6 billion plant, which employs about 1,200 people.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Lindsay Williams confirmed that federal authorities were conducting an enforcement operation at the 3,000-acre (1,214-hectare) site west of Savannah. He said agents were focused on the construction site for the battery plant but gave few other details.

Georgia State Patrol troopers blocked roads to the Hyundai site. They were dispatched to assist federal authorities in serving “a criminal search warrant,” the Georgia Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

Video posted to social media Thursday showed workers in yellow safety vests lined up as a man wearing a face mask and a tactical vest with the letters HSI, which stands for Homeland Security Investigations, tells them: “We’re Homeland Security. We have a search warrant for the whole site.”

“We need construction to cease immediately,” the man says. “We need all work to end on the site right now.”

President Donald Trump’s administration has undertaken sweeping ICE operations as part of a mass deportation agenda. Immigration officers have raided farms, construction sites, restaurants and auto repair shops.

The Pew Research Center, citing preliminary Census Bureau data, says the U.S. labor force lost more than 1.2 million immigrants from January through July. That includes people who are in the country illegally as well as legal residents.

In addition to making electric vehicles at the site facing Interstate 16 in Bryan County, Hyundai has also partnered with LG Energy Solution to build the battery plant. It’s slated to open sometime next year.

The joint venture, HL-GA Battery Company, “is cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities,” the company said in a statement. “To assist their work, we have paused construction.”

Operations at Hyundai’s EV manufacturing plant weren’t interrupted, said plant spokesperson Bianca Johnson.

“This did not impact people getting to work,” Johnson said in an email. “Production and normal office hours had already begun for the day” when authorities shut down access.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday threw out a lawsuit by one of Georgia’s top Republican officials against his chief rival for the 2026 GOP nomination for governor that claimed the opponent had an unfair advantage in campaign fundraising.

The judge’s ruling allows Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to continue raising unlimited campaign funds using a special leadership committee granted to a select group of Georgia officials under a 2021 law. The suit was filed by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, who says the committee gives Jones an edge that violates Carr’s constitutional rights to free speech and equal protection.

Carr filed suit as a candidate, not in his official capacity as attorney general, as he and Jones compete as leading candidates for the Republican nomination to succeed term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp. The GOP primary is next May.

Filed Aug. 7 in Atlanta, Carr’s lawsuit asked a U.S. District Court judge to cut off Jones’ ability to raise and spend money using his leadership committee. That’s a special fundraising vehicle that allows only the governor, lieutenant governor and a small group of legislative leaders to raise unlimited funds.

The law doesn’t give Carr access to that type of committee. Instead, he must rely on a regular campaign committee limited to raising $8,400 from each primary donor plus $4,200 for any primary runoff.

In her ruling Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Marie Calvert wrote that “it is undisputed” that Jones’ leadership committee gives him a fundraising advantage.

She still dismissed the lawsuit, noting that Carr wasn’t challenging the constitutionality of the law itself, but instead sued Jones and his campaign for “doing exactly what Georgia law allows them to do.”

By seeking to blame Jones for the disparity rather than the fundraising law, the judge wrote, Carr was asking the court “to twist itself into a logical pretzel.”

The favorable ruling for Jones comes two weeks after the lieutenant governor got a political boost from President Donald Trump, who endorsed Jones’ candidacy for governor.

Carr’s campaign spokesperson, Julia Mazzone, said the dismissal was based “on a procedural technicality, not on the merits.” She said the campaign was considering further legal options.

Jones’ campaign has called Carr a hypocrite because Carr’s office in 2022 defended the same finance law he sued to block Jones from using. Carr has said he’s obligated as attorney general to defend challenged laws even if he personally disagrees with them.

Carr announced his run for governor last year, saying he needed a head start raising money because he isn’t personally wealthy. Carr’s campaign has voiced concerns for months that Jones will use his leadership committee and family wealth to win the primary.

Jones has already made a $10 million loan to his leadership committee, which Carr’s campaign tried unsuccessfully to get the state Ethics Commission to investigate.

Carr’s lawsuit cited a 2022 federal judge’s ruling that Kemp’s leadership committee could not spend money to help him win the Republican primary that year. U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen found that the “unequal campaign finance scheme” violated challenger David Perdue’s free speech rights.

But Carr sought more extensive restrictions on Jones’ leadership committee than Cohen ordered, such as seeking to cut off both fundraising and spending by Jones’ committee until the primary is over.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Former Food Network star Paula Deen announced Friday the abrupt closure of the Savannah restaurant that launched her to fame with its menu of fried chicken, banana pudding and other indulgent Southern dishes.

Deen ran The Lady & Sons restaurant with her two sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen, for nearly three decades. Loyal fans visiting Savannah continued to line up for Deen’s buffet long after the Food Network canceled her show, “Paula’s Home Cooking,” in 2013.

But 78-year-old Deen said Friday that The Lady & Sons closed for good along with The Chicken Box, which sold takeout lunches behind the main restaurant. A statement posted on Deen’s website and social media accounts didn’t say why the restaurants had shut down.

“Hey, y’all, my sons and I made the heartfelt decision that Thursday, July 31st, was the last day of service for The Lady & Sons and The Chicken Box,” Deen’s statement said.

“Thank you for all the great memories and for your loyalty over the past 36 years,” she said. “We have endless love and gratitude for every customer who has walked through our doors.”

Deen said her four restaurants outside Savannah will remain open. They’re located in Nashville and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Branson, Missouri.

Windows at The Lady & Sons were covered with brown paper Friday. Signs posted at the front entrance read: “It is with heavy hearts and tremendous gratitude that we announce that we have retired and closed.”

Deen’s restaurant seemed `packed’ until it closed

Adrienne Morton and her family, visiting Savannah from Cincinatti, had made dinner reservations at Deen’s restaurant for 5:45 p.m. Friday.

Morton said she received a text message Friday morning saying her reservation had been canceled.

“I thought this must be a mistake or maybe they planned to close and we don’t live here and just weren’t up to speed, but no,” Morton said. “We wish them the best. Hopefully everything turns out.”

Martin Rowe works in a downtown office across the street from Deen’s restaurant. He said business seemed to be going strong up until it closed.

“Nobody knew anything was wrong,” Rowe said. “I walk by there two or three times a week at lunch, and it was always packed.”

Deen went from nearly broke to Food Network fame in Savannah

Deen was divorced and nearly broke when she moved to Savannah with her boys in 1989 and started a catering business called The Bag Lady. She opened her first restaurant a few years later at a local Best Western hotel, then started The Lady & Sons in downtown Savannah in 1996.

The restaurant soon had lines out the door and served roughly 1,100 diners per day at the height of Deen’s popularity. A USA Today food critic awarded The Lady & Sons his “meal of the year” in 1999.

Deen moved her Savannah restaurant to a larger building nearby the year after The Food Network debuted “Paula’s Home Cooking” in 2002. Filmed mostly in her home kitchen, Deen taped more than 200 episodes over the next decade.

The Food Network canceled Deen’s show in 2013 amid fallout from a lawsuit by a former employee. A transcript of Deen answering questions under oath in a legal deposition became public that included Deen’s awkward responses to questions about race.

Asked if she had ever used the N-word, Deen said, “Yes, of course,” though she added: “It’s been a very long time.”

Deen returned to television on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” on chef Gordon Ramsay’s Fox show “MasterChef: Legends,” and on Fox Nation, which began streaming “At Home With Paula Deen” in 2020. She also posts cooking videos to a YouTube channel that has more than 520,000 subscribers.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A conservation group said Friday it has reached a $60 million deal to buy land outside the Okefenokee Swamp from a mining company that environmentalists spent years battling over a proposed mine that opponents feared could irreparably damage an ecological treasure.

The Conservation Fund said it will buy all 7,700 acres (31.16 square kilometers) that Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals owns outside the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Georgia, halting the company’s mining plans.

“It’s a big undertaking, but it was also an existential threat to the entire refuge,” said Stacy Funderburke, the Conservation Fund’s vice president for the central Southeast. “We’ve done larger deals for larger acres, but dollar-wise this is the largest deal we’ve ever done in Georgia.”

Twin Pines President Steven Ingle confirmed the sale through a spokesman, but declined to comment further.

Twin Pines of Birmingham, Alabama, had worked since 2019 to obtain permits to mine titanium dioxide, a pigment used to whiten products from paint to toothpaste, less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the southeastern boundary of the Okefenokee refuge near the Georgia-Florida line.

The Okefenokee is the largest U.S. refuge east of the Mississippi River, covering nearly 630 square miles (1,630 square kilometers) in southeast Georgia. It is home to abundant alligators, stilt-legged wood storks and more than 400 other animal species.

The mine appeared to be on the cusp of winning final approval early last year. Georgia regulators issued draft permits in February 2024 despite warnings from scientists that mining near the Okefenokee’s bowl-like rim could damage its ability to hold water and increase the frequency of withering droughts.

Twin Pines insisted it could mine without damaging the swamp. Regulators with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division agreed, concluding last year that mining should have a “minimal impact” on the refuge.

The decisions by Georgia regulators played an outsize role in the Twin Pines project after environmental rollbacks during President Donald Trump’s first term stripped the federal government of any oversight.

Advocates battling Twin Pines said there is still a potential threat to the Okefenokee, with thousands of acres of privately owned land remaining unprotected. Georgia lawmakers have batted aside multiple attempts in recent years to prohibit mining near the refuge.

“There’s maybe 30,000 acres that’s still vulnerable outside the Okefenokee on Trail Ridge that needs to be conserved,” said Rena Ann Peck of the Georgia River Network.

Josh Marks, an Atlanta environmental attorney who fought the mining project, called the land sale “a huge victory.” But he also called on conservationists to redouble efforts for a state law protecting the Okefenokee and to keep pressure on other companies to refrain from mining near the refuge.

Funderburke said the steep purchase price for Twin Pines’ land was driven largely by its mineral-rich soils that would have been highly valued by other mining operations. Reaching a deal became more urgent with the company so close to obtaining its final permits.

“It became pretty clear once a draft permit was issued last year that this was the final exit ramp” to stopping the project, Funderburke said.

He said his group was closing Friday on about 40% of the property that includes the 820-acre (332-hectare) site for which Twin Pines’ had sought its mining permit. The Conservation Fund plans to close on the rest by the end of July.

Funderburke said he hopes there is eventually a deal for the land to pass into government ownership and protection.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees the Okefenokee refuge, in January approved a plan to expand the refuge by buying up to 22,000 acres (8,900) along its perimeter from private owners. The proposal included land owned by Twin Pines.

Negotiations with the Conservation Fund might explain why Twin Pines had yet to follow through on a financial commitment required before Georgia regulators could make a final decision on its mining permit.

The Environmental Protection Division recently confirmed Twin Pines had been notified in February 2024 that it needed to set aside $2 million for future restoration of the mining site. The company never followed through in the 16 months before the sale was announced.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A company that has spent years battling conservationists as it seeks a permit to mine outside the Okefenokee Swamp and its federally protected wildlife refuge needs to do just one thing before regulators make a final decision: set aside $2 million for future restoration of the mining site.

Sixteen months after being notified of the requirement, Twin Pines Minerals still hasn’t submitted a surety bond or equivalent financial assurance to show the Georgia Environmental Protection Division that it has access to that amount of cash or credit.

That’s brought an unexpected halt to a project that appeared on the cusp of winning final approval early last year. Georgia regulators issued draft permits in February 2024 despite warnings from scientists that mining so close to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge could irreparably harm a national treasure.

Twin Pines of Birmingham, Alabama, has worked since 2019 to obtain permits to mine titanium dioxide, a pigment used to whiten products from paint to toothpaste, less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the southeastern boundary of the Okefenokee refuge near the Georgia-Florida line.

Within days of the draft permits being approved, Georgia regulators informed Twin Pines in a letter that it needed to submit a $2 million bond, cash or letter of credit that can be used as needed to pay for restoration of the 820-acre site.

Regulators have finished reviewing thousands of public comments that poured in a year ago regarding the mining project in Georgia’s Charlton County, said Environmental Protection Division spokeswoman Sara Lips. Now they’re waiting on Twin Pines before moving forward.

“The financial assurance is the last piece of the permit package that will then get routed to our staff, up to the director, to make a final decision,” Lips told The Associated Press. She said Twin Pines faces no deadline to put up the money.

Twin Pines President Steve Ingle declined to comment through a company spokesman. Ingle has insisted Twin Pines can mine without harming the Okefenokee. State regulators have agreed, concluding last year that mining should have a “minimal impact” on the refuge.

The mining company’s failure to set aside the $2 million after well over a year has opponents questioning whether it has the resources to mine responsibly in an ecologically sensitive area.

“When we’re talking about the potential damage of this mine, it goes way beyond $2 million,” said Peter Slag, an attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. “It’s sort of an alarm bell that they probably don’t have the money to do other sorts of compliance and capital investment.”

The Okefenokee is the largest U.S. refuge east of the Mississippi River, covering nearly 630 square miles (1,630 square kilometers) in southeast Georgia. It is home to abundant alligators, stilt-legged wood storks and more than 400 other animal species.

Scientists have warned that mining near the Okefenokee’s bowl-like rim could damage the swamp’s ability to hold water and increase the frequency of withering droughts.

There are other signs Twin Pines may be struggling financially.

Danish shipping company Lauritzen Bulkers sued Twin Pines in federal court in Colorado last October, saying it’s owed $9.3 million after contracting with Twin Pines in 2022 to transport minerals to Asia. A judge paused the case in April, at the shipper’s request, amid arbitration proceedings.

Twin Pines’ attorney in that case, Joseph Martinez, did not immediately return email messages seeking comment.

In March, a second company sued Twin Pines in a California state court. M&L Commodities says Twin Pines owes it $5.6 million stemming from a 2021 contract for M&L to store minerals for the mining company. Twin Pines denies wrongdoing in legal responses filed in court.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The mayor of a small city in Georgia and two former election officials have been jailed on felony charges stemming from efforts last November to halt a local election after one of the mayor’s allies was disqualified from a city council race.

Camilla Mayor Kelvin Owens was being held at the Mitchell County jail Friday, two days after a grand jury indicted him on a felony charge of election interference and a misdemeanor count of conspiring to commit election fraud.

Also jailed were the city’s former elections superintendent, Rhunette Williford; and her former deputy superintendent, Cheryl Ford, who is currently Camilla’s city clerk. They were charged with the same crimes as the mayor, plus misdemeanor counts of failing to perform their duties as public officers.

Chaos roiled special elections for a pair of city council seats in Camilla last November amid a long-running legal battle over local politics in the town, a farming community of about 5,000 people in rural southwest Georgia.

The case revolved around Venterra Pollard, a city council member removed from office last summer after a judge ruled he wasn’t a Camilla resident. Pollard ran to regain the position in the fall special election. Another judge ordered Pollard disqualified and ruled that votes for him should be discarded. In addition, the city was ordered to post signs saying votes for Pollard wouldn’t be counted.

On Nov. 4, the day before Election Day, both Williford and Ford quit as the city’s two top elections officials. Their joint resignation letter blamed “mental duress, stress and coercion experienced by recent court decisions regarding our role in elections.”

Owens, citing his emergency powers as mayor, moved swiftly to halt the city’s elections. Signs posted at City Hall and a notice on Facebook declared the election was canceled. Polling places were closed to both poll workers and voters in the morning.

The elections were held, albeit several hours behind schedule, after Superior Court Judge Heather Lanier appointed new supervisors to oversee the voting and ordered polls to remain open until nearly 4 a.m. Elections for president, Congress and other offices weren’t affected.

Mayor Owens had blamed the local upheaval on racial politics, saying that Pollard, who is Black, was targeted by white residents trying to wrest power from the majority Black population. The city of Camilla is nearly three-fourths Black.

The Georgia NAACP said in a statement on Facebook that it was “deeply alarmed” by the allegations of election interference. Owens and one of the former election officials, Williford, are both Black. Ford is white, according to jail booking records from the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office.

“We were shocked that there were indictments,” said Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia NAACP. “We are still in a fact-finding mode to see what actually happened.”

All three defendants remained in jail awaiting a hearing Monday. It was not immediately known if any of them had attorneys who could speak for them. Messages seeking comment were left at two phone numbers for Owens. The Associated Press could not find working phone numbers for Williford or Ford.

District Attorney Joe Mulholland, whose circuit includes Camilla, declined to comment on the indictment Friday. ___ This story was first published on May. 30, 2025. It was updated on Jun. 3, 2025 to correct that one of the people charged, Cheryl Ford, is white, not Black, according to jail booking records from the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office.