Students are back to school across the Chattahoochee Valley including Muscogee County and Phenix City. Educators returned to the classroom on Monday.
Law enforcement is reminding drivers to slow down in the designated school zones. Traffic cameras will be working to catch any violators in Muscogee County.
The next three-day weekend for students and teachers is less than two weeks away. Schools will be closed Monday January 19, 2026, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Jeff Duncan says the attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia was an organized, unlawful effort driven by former President Donald Trump and his allies and brought the country “dangerously close” to losing its democratic foundation.
Duncan made the remarks during a recent interview on MS NOW, ahead of his scheduled testimony marking five years since the January 6 Capitol insurrection. House Democrats reconvened the select committee that investigated the attack to examine what they describe as ongoing threats to free and fair elections.
Duncan, a Republican at the time, broke publicly with Trump after the 2020 election and officially switched parties last year. He is now running for governor of Georgia as a Democrat.
Duncan said Georgia officials were placed under intense pressure by Trump and his allies to reverse the state’s certified election results.
“We were on the front lines of Donald Trump’s attempts to not validate an election,” Duncan said. “It was an organized, unlawful attempt through multiple acts to try to upend democracy.”
He said the pressure included demands to call a special legislative session, not to address legitimate concerns, but to create confusion and doubt.
“Their only game plan was to create chaos,” Duncan said. “To plant enough seeds of doubt on social media, interviews, and phone calls.”
Duncan referenced recently released audio reports describing Trump’s efforts to pressure Georgia legislative leaders, noting that similar tactics were used across state government. He said Trump has even publicly praised one of Duncan’s potential opponents in the governor’s race, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, for supporting efforts to overturn the election.
“This was a very granular attempt by Donald Trump and his supporters to upend democracy in Georgia,” Duncan said.
Duncan said the fallout from refusing to support Trump’s false election claims was immediate and personal.
“It’s certainly been difficult for me and my family over the last five years,” he said. “We had armed guards around our house. We had death threats coming in. We had our kids getting picked on at school.
He said neighbors stopped waving at his family, and the hostility has lingered for years. Still, Duncan said he has no regrets.
“I’m guided by our family motto: doing the right thing will never be the wrong thing,” he said. “Standing up to Donald Trump was the right thing to do.”
That conviction, Duncan said, ultimately led him to speak at the Democratic National Convention, campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris, and leave the Republican Party.
“Being a Republican right now only means one thing,” Duncan said. “You have to just bow down to Donald Trump and accept whatever bad idea he has in that moment in time. Whatever attacks against democracy he wants to think of that morning, you’ve got a rubber stamp it, and I’m not willing to do that, and I see millions of other Republicans starting to wake up and see the other side.”
Duncan said he continues to speak publicly about the post-election period and January 6 because Trump continues to promote false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
“Donald Trump continues to talk about it in a way that’s trying to whitewash history,” he said. ‘The reality is, it was an egregious attempt to overthrow a legal election and to usurp democracy.”
He warned that democracy nearly failed and would have if even a small number of state officials had chosen political loyalty over the rule of law.
“Most Americans don’t realize how close we came to the edge of breaking democracy. If just a handful of state legislators like myself would have just turned around and said, ‘You know what, actually, I changed my mind. I’ve seen enough proof here. There’s some fraud happening,’ just to make political points with Donald Trump — we would have a totally different landscape. The [US] would be referred to as one of these Third World countries that we’re talking about in other parts of the world that have erroneous elections.”
Now seeking Georgia’s top office, Duncan acknowledged that some Democratic voters may be skeptical of his long Republican past.
“Some people ask, ‘Geoff, have you lost your mind? And the answer is ‘No, I found my heart,'” he said.
Duncan said switching parties allows him to focus on what he sees as Georgians’ most urgent problems.
“I wake up every day as a proud Democrat with a better tool set to serve the needs of Georgians,” he said. “I don’t have to make excuses when I drive by that hospital and see folks scared to go in because they don’t have health insurance. I don’t have to drive by that school any longer and blame the teachers instead of the government systems that support those schools. I don’t have to make excuses. I don’t have to lie for Donald Trump, or be expected to lie for Donald Trump.”
Duncan said his campaign will focus on three issues he believes unite voters across party lines. “The affordability crisis, the health care crisis, and the Donald Trump crisis.”
Referring to Trump’s military raid on Venezuela and threats about overtaking Greenland, Duncan said those actions are not solving the problems of those who can’t afford to buy groceries, pay their rent, or health insurance.
“Donald Trump’s not solving America’s problems,” Duncan said. “He’s just continuing to sow chaos around the world.”
Jessica Motes, the Northeast Georgia woman who is charged with murder in the death of 4-year-old Autumn Fox, has a history of violence, drugs, and criminal cases involving child victims, law enforcement documents show.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) arrested Motes on Sunday, October 26, after authorities discovered Fox’s body in the trunk of a car in the Sam’s Club parking lot off Mundy Mill Road in Oakwood.
A review of public records shows Motes was arrested in Lula, Georgia, on the evening of October 3, 2015, following a domestic dispute that occurred in the presence of young children.
In that incident, deputies responded to a report of a physical altercation in progress at the 8900 block of Forrester Road sometime after 7 p.m. The investigation resulted in Mote’s arrest, who was 25 at the time.
The victim identified in the incident report was her father, Tim Motes, and two children, aged 9 months and 2 years.
The investigation, based on evidence and witness statements, determined that Motes allegedly tried to hit her father, punched a hole in a wall, and threatened to shoot him. During the event, Motes also allegedly threatened to kill herself, according to a witness statement.
The incident and outburst of violence took place in front of her two children, whom she had left behind when she fled the scene. Drew Motes, Jessica’s brother, said in a witness statement that he heard Jessica yelling at her kids and saying she was “leaving and she wasn’t gonna take the kids.”
Motes was charged with several offenses, all listed under the Family Violence Act. Those charges included criminal trespass, terroristic threats, and cruelty to children in the third degree.
The police report noted that Motes reportedly used methamphetamines. Tim Motes stated that his daughter was “on drugs” and that the family had “done all we can to help her.”
Motes was arrested at the scene and transported to the Hall County Jail that night. Court records have been requested to determine the outcome of these allegations; however, a source tells Now Habersham the cruelty to children charge was later dropped.
According to jail records, Motes remains in the Hall County Jail without bond.
ATLANTA, Ga. — The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFACS) is grappling with a projected budget shortfall of more than $85 million, triggering immediate service cuts and a near-halt on new foster care placements by private providers. These figures were announced during a Joint Judiciary Juvenile and Appropriations Human Resources Subcommittee meeting held on December 18, 2025. The financial crisis comes even as the state of Georgia reports a historic $14 billion budget surplus.
State officials attribute the deficit, estimated between $85 million and $87.5 million for the fiscal year, to a convergence of economic pressures. According to the Georgia Department of Human Services, the cost of care has risen nearly 50% over the last three years. Inflation, a decrease in federal funding, and delayed grants resulting from a federal government shutdown have compounded the issue.
To manage the shortfall, DFACS has implemented aggressive cost-control measures. These include terminating or suspending contracts with private providers and slashing supplemental aid previously available to foster families. This aid is often critical for families fostering children with complex needs, such as developmental disabilities or severe medical conditions.
Allison Ashe, CEO of the nonprofit Wellroot Family Services, warned that these financial decisions are taking precedence over child welfare. Ashe stated that children—especially those with special needs—risk “falling through the cracks” because decisions are now being driven by financial constraints rather than the best interests of the child.
Foster families have reported losing resources they were promised when they initially agreed to take in children.
Locally, family members of the accused murderer, Jessica Motes, have questioned the lack of investigative involvement of DFACS that may have intervened in the death of 4-year-old Autumn Fox earlier this year.
In November 2025, the impact of the deficit widened when DFACS issued a directive to private providers to stop accepting new cases without explicit written approval from the state. DHS Commissioner Candice Broce confirmed the directive during the December Subcommittee meeting. This requirement has created a significant administrative bottleneck.
One agency reported that, while they typically handle 300 to 500 cases a month, they received approval for only 5 cases after the new rule went into effect. Providers describe a system where routine authorizations have effectively ground to a halt, requiring an “extra layer of review” that delays critical services.
The cost of care varies widely depending on the child’s needs. While basic foster care in a family home costs the state roughly $9,000 to $12,500 per year, specialized care for children with behavioral or medical needs can reach approximately $76,000 annually. Officials note that a “seller’s market” for placement services, driven by labor shortages and inflation, has forced the state to pay premium prices, particularly for temporary staffing or hotel placements when traditional homes are unavailable.
The crisis has drawn sharp criticism from state lawmakers, who have questioned DFACS leadership regarding how the deficit reached this point, given the state’s overall financial health.
State Rep. Esther Panitch (D-Sandy Springs) criticized the agency’s handling of the situation. According to the legislative record from late 2025, Panitch noted that legislators are “left trying to clean up the mess” created by the sudden shortfall.
As providers warn of layoffs and a system nearing collapse, the contrast between the agency’s austerity measures and the state’s multi-billion dollar surplus remains a central point of contention for advocates and legislators alike.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Five years ago outside the White House, the outgoing President Donald Trump told a crowd of his supporters to head to the Capitol — “and I’ll be there with you” — in protest as Congress was affirming the 2020 election victory for Democrat Joe Biden.
A short time later, the world watched as the seat of U.S. power descended into chaos, and democracy hung in the balance.
On the fifth anniversary of Jan. 6, 2021, there is no official event to memorialize what happened that day, when the mob made its way down Pennsylvania Avenue, battled police at the Capitol barricades and stormed inside, as lawmakers fled. The political parties refuse to agree to a shared history of the events, which were broadcast around the globe. And the official plaque honoring the police who defended the Capitol has never been hung.
Instead, Trump will meet privately with House Republicans at the Kennedy Center, which the president has rebranded to carry his own name, for a policy forum. Democrats will hold a hearing with witnesses to the violence and later gather on the Capitol steps to mark the memory of what happened.
And the former leader of the militant Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, is staging a midday march retracing the rioters’ steps from the White House to the Capitol to honor Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt and others who died in the Jan. 6 siege and its aftermath.
“I ask those that are able to attend please do so,” Tarrio said on social media feed X.
Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy for having orchestrated the Jan. 6 attack, and he is among more than 1,500 defendants who saw their charges dropped when Trump issued a sweeping pardon on his return to the White House last year. “This will be a PATRIOTIC and PEACEFUL march. If you have any intention of causing trouble we ask that you stay home,” Tarrio wrote.
RELATED Jan. 6 plaque made to honor law enforcement nowhere to be found
The Jan. 6 events, being held inside and outside, carry echoes of the split screen five years ago, as the House and the Senate gathered to affirm the election results while the Republican president’s supporters swarmed.
This milestone anniversary unfolds while attention is focused elsewhere, particularly after the U.S. military’s stunning capture of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and Trump’s plans to take over the country and prop up its vast oil industry, a striking new era of American expansionism.
“These people in the administration, they want to lecture the world about democracy when they’re undermining the rule of law at home, as we all will be powerfully reminded,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said on the eve of the anniversary.
The Democratic leadership is reconvening the now defunct Jan. 6 committee to hear from police, elected officials and regular Americans about what they experienced that day.
Among those expected to testify is former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who along with former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming were the two Republicans on the panel that investigated Trump’s efforts to overturn Biden’s win. Cheney, who lost her own reelection bid to a Trump-backed challenger, is not expected to appear.
Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, who has been tapped by House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana to lead a new committee to probe other theories about what happened on Jan. 6, rejected Tuesday’s session as a “partisan exercise” designed to hurt Trump and his allies.
Many Republicans reject the narrative that Trump sparked the Jan. 6 attack, and Johnson, before he became the House speaker, had led challenges to the 2020 election. He was among some 130 GOP lawmakers voting that day to reject the presidential results from some states.
Instead, they have instead focused on security lapses at the Capitol — from the time it took for the National Guard to arrive on the scene to the failure of the police canine units to discover the pipe bombs found that day outside Republican and Democratic party headquarters. The FBI arrested a Virginia man suspected of placing the pipe bombs, and he told investigators last month he believed someone needed to speak up for those who believed the 2020 election was stolen, authorities say.
“The Capitol Complex is no more secure today than it was on January 6,” Loudermilk said in a social media post. “My Select Subcommittee remains committed to transparency and accountability and ensuring the security failures that occurred on January 6 and the partisan investigation that followed never happens again.”
Five people died in the Capitol siege and its aftermath, including Babbitt, who was shot and killed by police while trying to climb through the window of a door near the House chamber, and Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died later after battling the mob. Several law enforcement personnel died later, some by suicide.
The Justice Department indicted Trump on four counts in a conspiracy to defraud voters with his claims of a rigged election in the run-up to the Jan. 6 attack.
Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers last month that the riot at the Capitol “does not happen” without Trump. He ended up abandoning the case once Trump was reelected president, adhering to department guidelines against prosecuting a sitting president.
Trump, who never made it to the Capitol that day as he hunkered down at the White House, was impeached by the House on the sole charge of having incited the insurrection. The Senate acquitted him after top GOP senators said they believed the matter was best left to the courts.
Ahead of the 2024 election, the Supreme Court ruled ex-presidents have broad immunity from prosecution.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Approaching the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, the official plaque honoring the police who defended democracy that day is nowhere to be found.
It’s not on display at the Capitol, as is required by law. Its whereabouts aren’t publicly known, though it’s believed to be in storage.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has yet to formally unveil the plaque. And the Trump administration’s Department of Justice is seeking to dismiss a police officers’ lawsuit asking that it be displayed as intended. The Architect of the Capitol, which was responsible for obtaining and displaying the plaque, said in light of the federal litigation, it cannot comment.
Determined to preserve the nation’s history, some 100 members of Congress, mostly Democrats, have taken it upon themselves to memorialize the moment. For months, they’ve mounted poster board-style replicas of the Jan. 6 plaque outside their office doors, resulting in a Capitol complex awash with makeshift remembrances.
“On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on Jan. 6, 2021,” reads the faux bronze stand-in for the real thing. “Their heroism will never be forgotten.”
RELATED Fifth anniversary of Jan. 6 attack brings fresh division to Capitol
In Washington, a capital city lined with monuments to the nation’s history, the plaque was intended to become a simple but permanent marker, situated near the Capitol’s west front, where some of the most violent fighting took place as rioters breached the building.
But in its absence, the missing plaque makes way for something else entirely — a culture of forgetting.
Visitors can pass through the Capitol without any formal reminder of what happened that day, when a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the building trying to overturn the Republican’s 2020 reelection defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. With memory left unchecked, it allows new narratives to swirl and revised histories to take hold.
Five years ago, the jarring scene watched the world over was declared an “insurrection” by the then-GOP leader of the Senate, while the House GOP leader at the time called it his “saddest day” in Congress. But those condemnations have faded.
Trump calls it a “day of love.” And Johnson, who was among those lawmakers challenging the 2020 election results, is now the House speaker.
“The question of January 6 remains – democracy was on the guillotine — how important is that event in the overall sweep of 21st century U.S. history,” said Douglas Brinkley, a professor of history at Rice University and noted scholar.
“Will January 6 be seen as the seminal moment when democracy was in peril?” he asked. Or will it be remembered as “kind of a weird one-off?”
“There’s not as much consensus on that as one would have thought on the fifth anniversary,” he said.
At least five people died in the riot and its aftermath, including Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot by police while trying to climb through a window toward the House chamber. More than 140 law enforcement officers were wounded, some gravely, and several died later, some by suicide.
All told, some 1,500 people were charged in the Capitol attack, among the largest federal prosecutions in the nation’s history. When Trump returned to power in January 2025, he pardoned all of them within hours of taking office.
Unlike the twin light beams that commemorated the Sept. 11, 2001, attack or the stand-alone chairs at the Oklahoma City bombing site memorial, the failure to recognize Jan. 6 has left a gap not only in memory but in helping to stitch the country back together.
“That’s why you put up a plaque,” said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa. “You respect the memory and the service of the people involved.”
The speaker’s office over the years has suggested it was working on installing the plaque, but it declined to respond to a request for further comment.
Lawmakers approved the plaque in March 2022 as part of a broader government funding package. The resolution said the U.S. “owes its deepest gratitude to those officers,” and it set out instructions for an honorific plaque listing the names of officers “who responded to the violence that occurred.” It gave a one-year deadline for installation at the Capitol.
This summer, two officers who fought the mob that day sued over the delay.
“By refusing to follow the law and honor officers as it is required to do, Congress encourages this rewriting of history,” said the claim by officers Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges. “It suggests that the officers are not worthy of being recognized, because Congress refuses to recognize them.”
The Justice Department is seeking to have the case dismissed. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and others argued Congress “already has publicly recognized the service of law enforcement personnel” by approving the plaque and displaying it wouldn’t alleviate the problems they claim to face from their work.
“It is implausible,” the Justice Department attorneys wrote, to suggest installation of the plaque “would stop the alleged death threats they claim to have been receiving.”
The department also said the plaque is required to include the names of “all law enforcement officers” involved in the response that day — some 3,600 people.
Lawmakers who’ve installed replicas of the plaque outside their offices said it’s important for the public to know what happened.
“There are new generations of people who are just growing up now who don’t understand how close we came to losing our democracy on Jan 6, 2021,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a member of the Jan. 6 committee, which was opposed by GOP leadership but nevertheless issued a nearly 1,000-page report investigating the run-up to the attack and the attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
Raskin envisions the Capitol one day holding tours around what happened. “People need to study that as an essential part of American history,” he said.
“Think about the dates in American history that we know only by the dates: There’s the 4th of July. There’s December 7th. There’s 9/11. And there’s January 6th,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-calif., who also served on the committee and has a plaque outside her office.
“They really saved my life, and they saved the democracy and they deserve to be thanked for it,” she said.
But as time passes, there are no longer bipartisan memorial services for Jan. 6. On Tuesday, the Democrats will reconvene members from the Jan. 6 committee for a hearing to “examine ongoing threats to free and fair elections,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York announced. It’s unlikely Republicans will participate.
The Republicans under Johnson have tapped Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia to stand up their own special committee to uncover what the speaker calls the “full truth” of what happened. They’re planning a hearing this month.
“We should stop this silliness of trying to whitewash history — it’s not going to happen,” said Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., who helped lead the effort to display the replica plaques.
“I was here that day so I’ll never forget,” he said. “I think that Americans will not forget what happened.”
The number of makeshift plaques that fill the halls is a testimony to that remembrance, he said.
Instead of one plaque, he said, they’ve “now got 100.”
The White House said Tuesday that “U.S. military is always an option,” even as a series of European leaders rejected President Donald Trump’s comments about seeking an American takeover of the world’s largest island.
Trump has floated since his first term the idea of purchasing Greenland, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark. But, after this weekend’s U.S. military action in Venezuela, he’s renewed calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland, citing strategic reasons.
“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. military is always an option at the commander in chief’s disposal.”
That’s notable since Trump’s newly appointed special envoy to Greenland, as well as deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller, had suggested that military action wouldn’t be necessary. And asked Tuesday if he felt comfortable taking military action in Greenland, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said, “No. I don’t think it’s appropriate.”
Leavitt’s comments also followed the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom joining Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in issuing a statement reaffirming that the strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island “belongs to its people.”
Their statement defended the sovereignty of Greenland, which is a self-governing territory of Denmark and thus part of the NATO military alliance.
“Greenland belongs to its people,” it said. “It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also expressed his support, and announced a visit to Greenland early next month by Canada’s Governor General Mary Simon, who is of Inuit descent, and Foreign Minister Anita Anand.
“The future of Greenland and Denmark are decided solely by the people of Denmark,” Carney said, standing next to Frederiksen at the Canadian Embassy in Paris.
Also Tuesday, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who Trump appointed last month as U.S. special envoy to Greenland, said when it comes to making a deal with Greenland, he isn’t interested in talking to people in Denmark who “absolutely have made their position clear.”
Nor does Landry want to talk to European diplomats. Instead, he said, he wants to have conversations directly with residents of Greenland.
“I want to talk to people who want an opportunity to improve the quality of life in Greenland,” the Republican said on a Fox News radio show.
Landry said he has already exchanged emails with Greenlanders who had reached out to him.
“They tell me they like to hunt, they like to fish, they like to have a good time. I’m like, y’all belong in Louisiana. I’m gonna call it culinary diplomacy,” Landry quipped.
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, said Monday that Greenland should be part of the United States in spite of a warning by Frederiksen that a U.S. takeover would amount to the end of NATO.
“The president has been clear for months now that the United States should be the nation that has Greenland as part of our overall security apparatus,” Miller said during an interview with CNN on Monday.
The Danish leader, together with Greenland’s prime minister, has firmly rejected Trump’s renewed call for the island to come under U.S. control. Trump has argued the U.S. needs to control Greenland to ensure it security in the face of rising threats from China and Russia in the Arctic.
“It’s so strategic right now,” he told reporters Sunday.
“Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” Trump said. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”
Miller wondered during his interview on Monday whether Denmark can assert control over Greenland. “What is the basis of their territorial claim,” Miller said. “What is their basis of having Greenland as a colony of Denmark?”
But he also said it wasn’t necessary to consider whether the U.S. administration was contemplating an armed intervention. “There is no need to even think or talk about this in the context that you are asking, of a military operation. Nobody is going to fight the U.S. militarily over the future of Greenland,” Miller said.
Greenland had been a colony of the Danish kingdom for hundreds of years, becoming an integral part in 1953. The U.S. government recognized Denmark’s right to the whole of Greenland at the beginning of the 20th century.
Legislation in 2009 that extended self-government to Greenland also recognized a right to independence under international law, an option favored by a majority of Greenlanders.
Greenland sits off the northeastern coast of Canada, with more than two-thirds of its territory lying within the Arctic Circle. That location has made it crucial to the defense of North America since World War II.
The U.S. Department of Defense operates the remote Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland. Constructed after a 1951 defense agreement between Denmark and the U.S., the base supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO.
Greenland also guards part of the GIUK Gap, named for the initials of Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom, where NATO monitors Russian naval movements in the North Atlantic.
Greenland has large deposits of rare earth minerals needed to make everything from computers and smartphones to the batteries, solar and wind technologies that will power a transition away from fossil fuels. The U.S. Geological Survey also has identified potential offshore deposits of oil and natural gas.
What started out as a social media post on Saturday by Miller’s wife over the weekend quickly turned into something that Denmark now perceives as a real threat.
Katie Miller, a former Trump administration official turned podcaster, posted an illustrated map of Greenland in the colors of the U.S. flag, accompanied by the caption: “SOON.”
Trump’s comments Sunday, including telling reporters “let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days,” deepened fears that the U.S. was planning a Greenland intervention in the near future.
Frederiksen said Monday that Trump’s comments about Greenland “should be taken seriously.”
“If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops,” Frederiksen told Danish broadcaster TV2. “That is, including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War.”
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen insisted on the need for good relations with the U.S. “We are not in a situation where we think that there might be a takeover of the country overnight and that is why we are insisting that we want good cooperation,” he said Monday night.
U.S. Reps. Steny H. Hoyer and Blake Moore, co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Friends of Denmark Caucus, issued a joint statement Monday urging calm.
“Sabre-rattling about annexing Greenland is needlessly dangerous,” they said. “An attack on Greenland — a crucial part of that alliance — would tragically be an attack on NATO.”
“We already have access to everything we could need from Greenland,” the congressmen said, noting Denmark has previously given the U.S. a green light to deploy more forces or build additional missile defense infrastructure in Greenland.
Ulrik Pram Gad, a global security expert at the Danish Institute for International Studies, questioned Trump’s characterization of the Russian and Chinese presence in the region.
“There are indeed Russian and Chinese ships in the Arctic, but these vessels are too far away to see from Greenland with or without binoculars,” he wrote.
By AP’s Claudia Ciobanu and Stefanie Dazio
CLARKESVILLE, Ga. — Franklin Brown was sworn in as mayor Monday night, praising city staff and leadership as the Clarkesville City Council organized for the new term and heard reports on finances, staffing and Main Street events.
Brown took the oath of office administered by Pastor Hobie Wood of Christ Presbyterian Church. He then swore in newly elected council members Leigh Johnston and Blake Rainwater.
“I think at this time we have the best group of people — the city manager, the council, our attorneys and every employee in this city,” Brown said after being sworn in. “Every department head is absolutely fantastic. It’s the best group I have ever seen in the city, the way you guys work together, and I look forward to the future.”
Following the meeting, Rainwater and Johnston reflected on their first night on the council.
“It was a lot more people than I thought it was, and it was actually a little short,” Rainwater told Now Habersham. “But it was a special time seeing Franklin get sworn in as mayor. I think the city has got a lot of exciting things to tackle this year.”
Johnston said the brief meeting did not lessen the work ahead. “I bet there’s plenty of work to come, so I’m not worried about it being a short and sweet first meeting,” she said. “We’ve got a great team and a lot of work this year.”
City Manager Keith Dickerson presented a financial report showing the city ended November with revenues exceeding expenses across all major funds. As of Nov. 30, the general fund posted $3,233,985 in revenues and $2,749,005 in expenses, leaving a surplus of $484,980. The water and sewer fund reported $2,276,159 in revenues and $2,173,773 in expenses, for a surplus of $102,386. Overall, the city recorded $587,366 in revenues over expenses.
Dickerson said the figures will be amended to reflect American Rescue Plan Act spending, estimated at about $600,000, and adjustments tied to the city’s decision not to move forward with a courthouse purchase.
Dickerson also announced staffing updates, including Rosie Cantrell as the city’s new Main Street director, Sarah Burke as grant writer and Yvonne Marinelli, who is expected to transition into the economic development director role later this month. Full reports from the new hires are expected in February.
Cantrell delivered her first Main Street report, highlighting two December events. Downtown Clarkesville Christmas on Dec. 5 drew an estimated 1,200 people and included more than 400 photos with Santa. The fourth annual candlelight Christmas walk on Dec. 22 drew about 200 people, the largest turnout to date. Cantrell said the next Main Street event, Clarkesville Mardi Gras, is scheduled for March 7.
Planning and Zoning Director Caleb Gaines reported the city issued 100 permits in 2025 and conducted 215 construction inspections for the year, including 10 inspections in December. He said there were 26 code enforcement cases for the year and 10 zoning issues overall.
Gaines also noted that, effective Jan. 1, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs adopted the 2024 International Code Council codes with Georgia amendments, replacing the 2018 edition. The city automatically adopts codes approved by the state, he said.
The council unanimously approved appointments for City Manager Keith Dickerson, City Clerk Julie Poole, the city attorney firm Sanders, Ranck & Skilling, P.C., and City Judge Robert A. Sneed. Councilwoman Angela Kiker was approved to serve as mayor pro tem.
HABERSHAM COUNTY, Ga. — A crash involving a tractor-trailer sent another vehicle overturning on GA 365, according to authorities.
Investigators say both vehicles were traveling southbound in the right lane when the driver of the first vehicle began following the tractor-trailer too closely. The driver, 20-year-old Camden Hansard of Alto, then attempted to change lanes from right to left, state troopers said.
During the lane change, the front passenger side of the Hansard’s vehicle struck the rear driver side of the trailer. The impact caused the vehicle to rotate counterclockwise and overturn multiple times.
The vehicle traveled into the grass median of GA 365 near Rock Road before coming to an uncontrolled rest upright on all four tires.
The tractor-trailer continued driving and left the scene. The driver did not return, and authorities were unable to locate witnesses or obtain additional identifying information.
EMS transported Hansard to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville with non-life-threatening injuries.
NEW YORK (AP) — A defiant Nicolás Maduro declared himself “the president of my country” as he protested his capture and pleaded not guilty Monday to federal drug trafficking charges that the Trump administration used to justify removing him from power in Venezuela.
“I was captured,” Maduro said in Spanish as translated by a courtroom interpreter before being cut off by the judge. Asked later for his plea to the charges, he stated: “I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.”
Maduro’s court appearance in Manhattan, his first since he and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized from their Caracas home Saturday in a stunning middle-of-the-night military operation, kicked off the U.S. government’s most consequential prosecution in decades of a foreign head of state. She also pleaded not guilty.
The criminal case is unfolding against a broader diplomatic backdrop of an audacious U.S.-engineered regime change that President Donald Trump has said will enable his administration to “run” the South American country.
Maduro, 63, was brought to court under heavy security early Monday — flown by helicopter to Manhattan from Brooklyn, where he is jailed, and then driven to the courthouse in an armored vehicle. He and Flores were led into court just before noon. Both were in leg shackles and jail-issued garb, and both put on headsets to hear the English-language proceeding as it was translated into Spanish.
As Maduro left the courtroom, a man in the audience denounced him as an “illegitimate” president.
As a criminal defendant in the U.S. legal system, Maduro will have the same rights as any other person charged with a crime in the country — including the right to jury trial. But, given the circumstances of his arrest and the geopolitical stakes at play, he’ll also be nearly — but not quite — unique.
That was made clear from the outset as Maduro, who took copious notes throughout the proceedings and wished Happy New Year to reporters as he entered the courtroom, repeatedly pressed his case that he had been unlawfully abducted.
“I am here kidnapped since Jan. 3, Saturday,” Maduro said, standing and leaning his tall frame toward a tabletop microphone. “I was captured at my home in Caracas.”
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a 92-year-old jurist who was appointed to the federal bench in 1998 by Bill Clinton, interrupted him, saying: “There will be a time and place to go into all of this.” Hellerstein added that Maduro’s lawyer could do so later.
“At this point in time, I only want to know one thing: Are you Nicolás Maduro Moros?”
“I am Nicolás Maduro Moros,” the defendant responded.
Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, said he expects to contest the legality of his “military abduction.”
Pollack, a prominent Washington lawyer whose clients have included WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, said Maduro is “head of a sovereign state and is entitled to the privileges and immunities that go with that office.”
Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega unsuccessfully tried the same immunity defense after the U.S. captured him in a similar military invasion in 1990. But the U.S. doesn’t recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state — particularly after a much-disputed 2024 reelection.
Flores, who identified herself to the judge as “first lady of the Republic of Venezuela,” had bandages on her forehead and right temple. Her lawyer, Mark Donnelly, said she suffered “significant injuries” during her capture.
A 25-page indictment accuses Maduro and others of working with drug cartels to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S. They could face life in prison if convicted.
Among other things, the indictment accuses Maduro and his wife of ordering kidnappings, beatings and murders of those who owed them drug money or undermined their drug trafficking operation. That included the killing of a local drug boss in Caracas, the indictment said.
Outside the courthouse, police separated those protesting the U.S. military action from pro-intervention demonstrators. Inside the courtroom, as the proceeding wrapped up and Maduro prepared to leave, 33-year-old Pedro Rojas stood up and began speaking forcefully at him in Spanish.
Rojas said later that he had been imprisoned by the Venezuelan regime. As deputy U.S. marshals led Maduro from the courtroom, the deposed leader looked directly at the man and shot back in Spanish: “I am a kidnapped president. I am a prisoner of war.”
Trump said Saturday the U.S. would “run” Venezuela temporarily and reiterated Sunday night that “we’re in charge,” telling reporters “we’re going to run it, fix it.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried to strike a more cautious tone, telling Sunday morning talk shows that the U.S. would not govern the country day-to-day other than enforcing an existing ” oil quarantine.”
Before his capture, Maduro and his allies claimed U.S. hostility was motivated by lust for Venezuela’s rich oil and mineral resources.
Trump has suggested that removing Maduro would enable more oil to flow out of Venezuela, but oil prices rose 1.7% on Monday. There are uncertainties about how fast oil production can be ramped up in Venezuela after years of neglect, as well as questions about governance and oversight of the sector.
Venezuela’s new interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, has demanded that the U.S. return Maduro, who long denied any involvement in drug trafficking — although late Sunday she struck a more conciliatory tone in a social media post, inviting collaboration with Trump and “respectful relations” with the U.S.
Rodríguez was sworn in on Monday by her brother, National Assembly leader Jorge Rodríguez.
“I come with sorrow for the suffering inflicted upon the Venezuelan people following an illegitimate military aggression against our homeland,” she said with her right hand up. “I come with sorrow for the kidnapping of two heroes.”
Maduro’s son and Venezuelan congressman Nicolás Maduro Guerra warned on Monday that his father’s capture could set a dangerous precedent globally and demanded that his parents be returned.
“If we normalize the kidnapping of a head of state, no country is safe. Today it’s Venezuela. Tomorrow it could be any nation that refuses to submit. This is not a regional problem. It is a direct threat to global political stability,” Maduro Guerra said
Also Monday, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting, with the top U.N. official warning that America may have violated international law with its unilateral action. The world body also spotlighted the profound humanitarian needs in Venezuela. Its people have endured a yearslong, complex economic crisis.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank released a letter to fans on Monday to announce Sunday night’s firings of coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot are not the only moves planned in an attempt to end the team’s streak of eight consecutive losing seasons.
Blank also unveiled upper management changes, including the addition of a new president of football who will be hired from outside the organization.
The new president will report to Blank and will replace Greg Beadles as the head of football operations. Beadles was named president and chief executive officer of the Falcons and will oversee business operations.
In his new role, Beadles replaces Rich McKay, who will continue as CEO of AMB Sports and Entertainment with responsibilities including the role of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in this year’s World Cup and plans for Atlanta’s 2028 Super Bowl.
The firings of Morris and Fontenot were announced hours after Sunday’s 19-17 win over the New Orleans Saints. The Falcons capped their second straight 8-9 season under Morris with four consecutive wins but haven’t enjoyed a winning season or appeared in the playoffs since 2017.
“No statement can change the disappointment of the past several seasons,” Blank said in the letter to fans released by the team on social media. “I know we have fallen short of the standard you expect and we as an organization have for ourselves. That responsibility rests with me.”
The moves came after Blank hired the consulting firm Sportsology to study the Falcons. Sportsology previously worked with Blank’s Major League Soccer franchise, Atlanta United.
The Falcons search for a new coach and GM begins immediately. An executive search firm, ZRG Partners, will assist on the coach search and Sportsology will be involved in the search for a new general manager.
The immediate focus will be finding the new president of football, who will be involved in the search for the new coach and GM.
“The leader in this new role will set the vision and identity for our team,” Blank said. “Our new head coach and general manager will report to the new president of football. … We plan to move quickly on this hire so the new president of football can be fully involved in the selection of our new leaders in the head coach and general manager roles.”
Morris and Fontenot led a team meeting at the Falcons’ practice facility on Monday morning.
“They let everybody know they were proud of the way we finished, especially after being eliminated (from playoff contention),” said linebacker Josh Woods.
“It obviously wasn’t a joyful meeting. Everybody was kind of somber.”
Woods said Morris, who remained upbeat even during a five-game losing streak which doomed the season, “made football fun again.”
Long snapper Liam McCullough said Morris and Fontenot “are two great, phenomenal people. … It’s a somber day because of the people we are losing.”
The Falcons won’t have a first-round draft pick in this year’s NFL draft and the status of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. for the start of the season is uncertain as he recovers from reconstructive left knee surgery. Meanwhile, veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins’ status must be determined. He referred to the 2025 season as a contract year because of speculation he could be cut to save salary cap space.
Despite those questions, Blank told fans he believes the Falcons will be an attractive landing spot for a new coach, GM and president of football.
“While I’m very disappointed the Falcons will not be in the playoffs this year, I believe our football team has a solid core of outstanding veterans and exciting young talent that will make all of these open positions highly attractive to an array of top leaders who can come in, get to work and lead our team back to the standard we expect,” Blank said.
The team’s biggest star is running back Bijan Robinson, who set a team record with 2,298 scrimmage yards, the 12th most all time in the league.
Fontenot’s final draft, including first-round picks James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker, laid the foundation for an improved pass rush. The Falcons set a team record with 57 sacks, including four against the Saints, after finishing next to last in the league with 31 last season.
Pearce finished with 10 1/2 sacks, the most by a Falcons player since Vic Beasley had 15 1/2 in 2016. Falcons rookies had 17 1/2 sacks.
The draft class also included safety Xavier Watts, who had five interceptions.
The Falcons face decisions on such potential free agents as tight end Kyle Pitts, running back Tyler Allgeier, kicker Zane Gonzalez and linebacker Kaden Elliss. Perhaps the key decision is with Cousins, 37. A decision to clear cap space by releasing Cousins would force the team to look elsewhere to find insurance for Penix.
Over the weekend, local protests started up against President Trump’s decision to order a U.S. strike on Venezuela.
The U.S. attack and capture of Venezuela’s president on January 3rd sparked nationwide protests. In Athens, the Party of Socialism and Liberation hosted what they called an “emergency” protest on Sunday, January 4th.
On January 5th, the Athens-Clarke County Democrats, Indivisible GA 10, and others gathered for two demonstrations in Athens as part of the national and international “Hands off Venezuela” protests.
Supporters of President Trump’s actions have taken to social media to express their praise, including State Representative Houston Gaines of Athens, who posted to ‘X’ extolling America’s military.
