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For many local school kids, summer brings more struggle than vacation

By
Carly McCurry
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A volunteer from Food 4 Kids passes out free lunches to children at Whispering Woods Coin Laundry at the Baldwin-Cornelia border. (Carly McCurry/NowHabersham.com)

As summer sets in across Habersham County, the divide between childhood experiences becomes clearer. While some children enjoy pool days, church camps, and tennis lessons, many others face long days without supervision, consistent meals, or safe spaces to play.

More than a quarter of Cornelia’s residents live below the poverty line. In neighboring Baldwin, that number climbs above 30%, according to the latest U.S. Census data. For families earning well below the state’s median income, the rising cost of food, rent, and transportation puts added strain on an already tough season.

“It’s improving, but poverty still exists here,” said a local nonprofit volunteer. “And in a town like Cornelia, it’s concentrated in ways people don’t often see unless they go looking.”

The summer gap

Loaded with free summer lunches, the Food 4 Kids bus pulls into Whispering Woods Coin Laundry, where a crowd of families waits for much-needed nourishment. (Carly McCurry/The Cute North Georgian Magazine)

For many working families, summer break creates a childcare gap. With few affordable programs and no public transportation, many children are left to fill the long, hot days on their own. Some spend time in overcrowded apartments or trailer homes with little air conditioning. Others wander neighborhoods or wait for parents to return from work.

Food insecurity is a constant concern. Around 88% of schoolchildren in Habersham County qualify for free or reduced lunch. During the school year, these meals offer critical support. In summer, those options shrink.

To help address that need, Food 4 Kids, in partnership with Volunteers for Literacy of Habersham and the Habersham County School System, launched a summer meal and literacy program. Funded by the USDA, the program provides both hot meals and take-home food, along with books for children.

This year, the program runs from June 2 through July 17, with congregate meal service offered at Cornelia Elementary and the Tim Lee Boys & Girls Club. Grab-and-go sites include Habersham Central High School, Wilbanks Middle School, the Cornelia Library, Meadowbrook, and Whispering Woods Coin Laundry, among others.

At these sites, families often gather on foot, pushing strollers or shopping carts. After receiving meals, children can visit the Volunteers for Literacy table to pick out books. Each child gets five to keep.

“They really get five books each?” one mother asked, standing with her two sons. “Thank you.”

April and Ellie Matson of Volunteers for Literacy help children choose books they’ll love, taking time to chat with each reader about their interests. (Carly McCurry/The Cute North Georgian Magazine)

More than meals

Other local efforts are also working to give kids safe spaces and positive role models. The Tim Lee Boys & Girls Cluboffers structured programs, field trips, and mentoring. However, space is limited, and many families can’t get in.

In downtown Cornelia, the Cornelia Boxing Academy offers free boxing classes to kids, funded by the nearby Smash It! Rage Room. The gym serves as a place where young people from all backgrounds come together to train and build confidence.

For children living in older mobile homes or crowded apartments, options like these make a real difference. Volunteers, nonprofit leaders, and community groups are stepping up to fill gaps—but challenges remain.

Some children still go without lunch. Others go without books. And while programs like Food 4 Kids help ease the burden, the underlying need is vast.

(Carly McCurry/NowHabersham.com)

Looking ahead

Cornelia’s poverty rate remains more than twice the national average. Transportation barriers, limited income, and a lack of affordable childcare continue to shape daily life for many families.

Efforts like the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (GICH) are beginning to address the longer-term issues, including housing stability. GICH, in partnership with the University of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, is helping Cornelia plan for more affordable housing based on community needs.

But progress is slow. And summer doesn’t wait.

For now, school buses filled with meals and books, community volunteers, and programs like the Boys & Girls Club remain vital lifelines. They may not reach every child, but for those they do, the impact is immediate and lasting.

In Cornelia, where poverty touches so many lives, even small acts of support can mean everything.

Georgia voters picking PSC nominees in primaries focused on bills

By
Jeff Amy
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Early voting in the Georgia's PSC race was extremely low, with only 1% of the state's 7.4 million registered voters casting ballots. (Chaz Mullis/NowHabersham.com)

ATLANTA (AP) — Voters head to the polls Tuesday to choose party nominees for two posts on the Georgia Public Service Commission, which oversees utilities including Georgia Power Co.

There are two separate primary elections taking place. A voter can choose either a Republican ballot or a Democratic ballot. In each race, candidates must live in a certain district, but run statewide.

In the District 2 Republican primary, Lee Muns of Harlem is challenging incumbent Commissioner Tim Echols, who lives in Hoschton. Echols has been on the Public Service Commission since 2011. The winner will face Democrat Alicia Johnson of Augusta in November.

In the District 3 Democratic primary, three people are vying to challenge Republican incumbent Fitz Johnson in November. They are Peter Hubbard and Keisha Waites of Atlanta and Robert Jones of Brookhaven. If no Democrat wins a majority on Tuesday, a runoff will be held on July 15.

Daniel Blackman of Atlanta will appear on ballots in the District 3 Democratic primary, but votes for him will not be counted after a judge ruled he hadn’t moved into the district in time to meet the November 2024 deadline

Debate in the primary has centered on bills charged by Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Co. Georgia Power customers have seen bills rise six times in recent years because of higher natural gas costs, construction projects including two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, and other factors. A typical Georgia Power residential customer now pays more than $175 a month, including taxes.

All the challengers are calling for change, while Republican incumbent Tim Echols defends his record.

The five-member commission, currently all Republicans, also oversees some natural gas rates for Atlanta Gas Light and Liberty Gas.

Georgia usually doesn’t have statewide elections in odd-numbered years, but these were pushed back after elections were delayed by a lawsuit that unsuccessfully challenged the statewide voting scheme as discriminatory to Black people. No Georgia Public Service Commission elections have been held since 2022 because of the lawsuit.

Johnson was appointed to the commission in 2021 by Gov. Brian Kemp and has never faced voters. He was supposed to run for the last two years of his predecessor’s term in 2022. Instead, the District 3 winner can run again next year for a six-year term, after lawmakers rewrote the terms.

Echols was supposed to run for a six-year term in 2022. Instead, the District 2 winner will serve for five years, with the next election in 2030.

Habersham County to pay for school supplies through new initiative

By
Chaz Mullis
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The days of public school supply lists in Habersham County are over, at least for now. The school district announced it will provide basic supplies for all students through E-SPLOST beginning in the upcoming 2025-26 school year.

This article has been updated.

Habersham County Superintendent Patrick Franklin debuted the “Habersham Ready” initiative during the county’s Board of Education meeting Monday night. The initiative aims to provide basic school supplies for every child attending the county’s schools.

“Gone are the days of the school supply list in Habersham County,” Franklin said. “[Habersham Ready] will ensure that students have what they need to start school again without burdening our families.”

Franklin said after the meeting that the initiative’s current cost is $290,000 and will be paid for by ELOST funds. The Board of Education fully intends to roll back the millage rate this year, he said.

According to a press release from Habersham County Schools, classrooms in the county will receive a “complete, customized set of essential school supplies tailored to each grade level.”

Habersham County Superintendent Patrick Franklin introduces the “Habersham Ready” initiative. (Chaz Mullis/NowHabersham.com)

Basic supplies in each set include pencils, pens, markers, notebooks, scissors, glue sticks, and other essential classroom supplies, said Franklin.

Items not provided by Habersham Ready are backpacks, earbuds, and headphones due to hygiene awareness and personal preference.

“This initiative reflects the Habersham County School’s deep commitment to community collaboration and ‘Success for All Students,'” the press release said. “It’s another step in our mission to ensure that every student is truly Habersham Ready — prepared to learn, grow, and thrive.”

Franklin took time to thank Angie Anderson, the administrative assistant and county school district bookkeeper, for her contribution to the program.

“This is a big deal when you’re ordering this amount of products, making sure it gets shipped to the right place, getting it broke down to the right quantity, but I think it’s gonna be a wonderful thing for our families,” he said.

Families can expect Habersham Ready to take effect by the start of the new school year.

Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez set to report to federal prison for 11-year bribery sentence

By
Associated Press
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FILE - Former Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., speaks to reporters outside federal court in New York, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is set to report to federal prison on Tuesday to begin serving an 11-year sentence for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt. The New Jersey Democrat has been mocked for the crimes as “Gold Bar Bob,” according to his own lawyer.

Menendez’s lawyers revealed in court papers last month that he is expected to be housed at a facility in eastern Pennsylvania that has both a medium-security prison and a minimum-security prison camp. Given the white-collar nature of his crimes, it’s likely he’ll end up in the camp.

The prison, the Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill, is about 118 miles (190 kilometers) west of New York City. It’s home to about 1,200 inmates, including ex-New York City organized crime boss James Coonan and former gas station owner Gurmeet Singh Dhinsa, whom the New York Post dubbed “Gas-Station Gotti” for his ruthless, violent ways.

Menendez, 71, maintains his innocence. Last week, a federal appeals court rejected his last-ditch effort to remain free on bail while he fights to get his bribery conviction overturned. A three-judge panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied his bail motion.

Pleading for leniency, Menendez told a judge at his sentencing in January: “I am far from a perfect man. I have made more than my share of mistakes and bad decisions. I’ve done far more good than bad.”

Menendez has also appeared to be angling for a pardon from President Donald Trump, aligning himself with the Republican’s criticisms of the judicial system, particularly in New York City.

“This process is political and it’s corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system,” Menendez told reporters after his January sentencing.

Menendez resigned last year after he was convicted of selling his clout for bribes. FBI agents found $480,000 in cash in his home, some of it stuffed inside boots and jacket pockets, along with gold bars worth an estimated $150,000 and a luxury convertible in the garage.

In exchange, prosecutors said, Menendez performed corrupt favors for New Jersey business owners, including protecting them from criminal investigations, helping in business deals with foreign powers and meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials before helping Egypt access $300 million in U.S. military aid.

Menendez, who once served as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, resigned his seat a month after his conviction. He had been in the Senate since 2006.

Two business owners also were convicted last year along with Menendez.

His wife, Nadine Menendez, was convicted in April of teaming up with her husband to accept bribes from the business owners. Her sentencing has been set for Sept. 11.

At his sentencing, Menendez’s lawyers described how the son of Cuban immigrants emerged from poverty to become “the epitome of the American Dream” — rising from mayor of Union City, New Jersey, to decades in Congress — before his conviction “rendered him a national punchline.”

“Despite his decades of service, he is now known more widely as Gold Bar Bob,” defense lawyer Adam Fee told the judge.

By Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister

Jury finds MyPillow founder defamed former employee for a leading voting equipment company

By
Colleen Slevin
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Mike Lindell walks into federal district court for a defamation trial on Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

DENVER (AP) — A federal jury in Colorado on Monday found that one of the nation’s most prominent election conspiracy theorists, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, defamed a former employee for a leading voting equipment company after the 2020 presidential election.

The jury found that two of Lindell’s statements about Eric Coomer, the former security and product strategy director at Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems, including calling him a traitor, were defamatory. It ordered Lindell and his online media platform, formerly known as Frankspeech, to pay Coomer $2.3 million in damages, far less than the $62.7 million Coomer had asked for to help send a message to discourage attacks on election workers.

“This is hurting democracy. This is misinformation. It’s not been vetted and it needs to stop,” Charles Cain, one of Coomer’s attorneys, told jurors in closing arguments Friday.

Lindell said he would appeal the financial award, saying Coomer’s lawyers did not prove Coomer had been harmed. He also said he would continue to speak out about election security, including criticizing the makers of election equipment like Dominion.

“I will not stop talking until we don’t have voting machines in this country,” said Lindell, who backs paper ballots counted by hand.

Lindell stuck by his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen during the trial, but did not call any experts to present evidence of his claims.

Cain faulted Lindell for being “all hat and no cattle.” Even though the damage award was smaller than he had asked for, Cain said he thought it would still send a message that people who work behind the scenes of elections should not be attacked. But he said Coomer, who has recevied death threats, is “still going to be looking over his shoulder.”

Dominion’s voting machines became the target of elaborate conspiracy theories among allies of President Donald Trump, who continues to falsely claim that his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 was due to widespread fraud.

Dominion won a $787 million settlement in a defamation lawsuit it filed against Fox News over its airing of false claims against the company and has another lawsuit against the conservative network Newsmax.

Newsmax apologized to Coomer in 2021 for airing false allegations against him.

Coomer said during the two-week Lindell trial that his career and life were destroyed by the statements. His lawyers said Lindell either knew the statements were lies, or conveyed them recklessly without knowing if they were true.

Lindell’s lawyers denied the claims and said Frankspeech was not liable for statements made by others. The jury found that eight other statements made by Lindell and others appearing on Frankspeech were not.

Lindell said he went to trial to draw attention to the need to get rid of electronic voting machines that have been targeted in a web of conspiracy theories. He said he used to be worth about $60 million before he started speaking out about the 2020 election and is now $10 million in debt.

Reviews, recounts and audits in the battleground states where Trump contested his loss in 2020 all affirmed Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. Trump’s attorney general at the time said there was no evidence of widespread fraud, and Trump and his allies lost dozens of court cases seeking to overturn the result.

Lindell said his beliefs that the 2020 election was tainted by fraud were influenced by watching the 2020 HBO documentary “Kill Chain” and by the views of Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. In an interview for a documentary Lindell made in 2021, Flynn said foreign interference was going to happen in U.S. elections, and Lindell said he had no reason to doubt the claim since Flynn had worked for both political parties in intelligence.

Lindell distanced himself from an account by a Colorado podcaster who claimed to have heard a conference call from the anti-fascist group Antifa before the 2020 election. The podcaster claimed that on the call someone named Eric from Dominion said he would make sure that Trump would not win, a story that was recounted on Frankspeech during a 2021 event. Lindell said he only learned about that during the trial.

Lindell said he never accused Coomer of rigging the election, but he did say he was upset because he said Newsmax blocked him from being able to go on air to talk about voting machines after it apologized to Coomer. Coomer denied there was any such deal to block Lindell under his agreement with the network.

Coomer’s lawyers tried to show how their client’s life was devastated by the conspiracy theories spreading about him. Lindell was comparatively late to seize on Coomer, not mentioning him until February 2021, well after his name had been circulated by other Trump partisans.

Coomer said the conspiracy theories cost him his job, his mental health and the life he’d built and said Lindell’s statements were the most distressing of all. He specifically pointed to a statement on May 9, 2021, when Lindell described what he believed Coomer had done as “treason.”

Lindell’s attorneys argued that Coomer’s reputation was already in tatters by the time Lindell mentioned him. They said that was partly because of Coomer’s own Facebook posts disparaging Trump, which the former Dominion employee acknowledged were “hyperbolic” and had been a mistake.

Lindell denied making any statements he knew to be false about Coomer and testified that he has called many people traitors. His lawyers argued the statements were about a matter of public concern — elections — and therefore protected by the First Amendment.

But Coomer’s lawyers said the statements crossed the line into defamation because Lindell accused Coomer of treason, a crime.

Jean Stewart Lee

By
Now Habersham
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Jean Stewart Lee, age 62, of Clarkesville, passed away on Saturday, June 14, 2025.

Born on July 12, 1962, in Demorest, she was the daughter of the late Walter Allen “Dub” and Imogene Smith Stewart. Jean was employed with Lanier Technical College for 25 years, where she retired as a supervisor in housekeeping. In her spare time, she enjoyed riding horses, camping, playing Nertz, and spending time with friends. Jean especially loved her family and relished her role as a grandmother. She was a member of Christ Fellowship Church in Toccoa.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Tony Lee, and her brother, Ronnie Stewart.

Survivors include her daughters and sons-in-law, LaQuilla Berkshire (Jarrod) and Amy Lee Hefner (Frank); stepdaughter, Marci Lee; grandchildren, Addison Berkshire, Lance Roberts, Preston Berkshire, Luke Berkshire, Lorelai Hefner, Peyton Porter, Gracie White, Ryder White, and Mystery Lee; sister-in-law, Colleen Stewart; special dog, Conway Richard Lee; special cat, Cookie Lee.

Funeral services are 11 am on Thursday, June 19, 2025, in the Chapel of McGahee-Griffin & McEntire, with Rev. Scott Collett officiating. Interment will follow in Demorest City Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 6-8 pm on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Northeast Georgia Medical Center at www.nghs.com/foundation/hospice, or at 2150 Limestone Parkway, Suite 222, Gainesville, Georgia 30501.

An online guest register is available and may be viewed at www.mcgaheegriffinandmcentire.com.

McGahee-Griffin & McEntire Funeral Home of Cornelia, Georgia (706/778-8668) is in charge of arrangements.

Israel strikes state-run Iranian TV during live broadcast while Trump issues warning to Tehran

By
Associated Press
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Smoke billows after an Iranian missile struck an oil refinery in Haifa, northern Israel, early Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel struck Iran’s state-run television station Monday during a live broadcast, forcing a reporter to run off camera following an explosion, after Iran fired a new wave of missiles at Israel that killed at least eight people.

In other developments, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli strikes have set Iran’s nuclear program back a “very, very long time.” He added that Israel is not attempting to topple the Iranian government, but he said he would not be surprised if that happened as a result of the strikes.

“The regime is very weak,” Netanyahu told a news conference. He also said he is in daily touch with U.S. President Donald Trump, who posted an ominous message on his social media site later Monday calling for the immediate evacuation of Tehran.

Israel had warned hundreds of thousands of people in the middle of the Iranian capital to evacuate ahead of the strike against the TV station, which the military said provided a cover for Iranian military operations.

That warning came on the fourth day of the conflict, when the Israeli military claimed it had achieved air superiority above the Iranian capital and could fly over the city without facing major threats.

Trump posted his own message while in Canada attending the G7 summit. He has repeatedly said — and said more than once during the day — that Iran could not have a nuclear weapon. He emphasized that again in his post, writing “IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” adding that Iran should have signed the “deal” he told it to sign to prevent what he said was “a shame, and waste of human life,” referring to Israel’s attack last week.

Trump ended the post with, “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on social media shortly after Trump’s post that he was departing the summit on Monday night, leaving for Washington a day early due to the intensifying conflict between Israel and Iran.

Israel’s military issues evacuation warning affecting up to 330,000 people

Tehran is home to around 9.5 million people. Earlier Monday, Israel’s military issued an evacuation warning affecting up to 330,000 people in a part of central Tehran that includes the country’s state TV and police headquarters, as well as three large hospitals, including one owned by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Israel’s military has issued similar evacuation warnings for civilians in parts of Gaza and Lebanon ahead of strikes.

State-run television abruptly stopped a live broadcast after the station was hit, according to Iran’s state-run news agency.

While on the air, an Iranian state television reporter said the studio was filling with dust after “the sound of aggression against the homeland.” Suddenly, an explosion occurred, cutting the screen behind her as she hurried off camera.

The broadcast quickly switched to prerecorded programs. The station later said its building was hit by four bombs.

An anchor said on air that a few colleagues had been hurt, but their families should not be worried. The network said its live programs were transferred to another studio.

Israel claims ‘full aerial superiority’ over Tehran

Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said his country’s forces had “achieved full aerial superiority over Tehran’s skies.”

The military said it destroyed more than 120 surface-to-surface missile launchers in central Iran, a third of Iran’s total, as well as two F-14 planes that Iran used to target Israeli aircraft and multiple launchers just before they launched ballistic missiles towards Israel.

Israeli military officials also said fighter jets had struck 10 command centers in Tehran belonging to Iran’s Quds Force, an elite arm of its Revolutionary Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran.

The Israeli strikes “amount to a deep and comprehensive blow to the Iranian threat,” Defrin said.

Elsewhere, three drones struck South Pars, Iran’s main gas production center, according to Iranian state news. The report did not specify the extent of the damage.

Iran, meanwhile, announced it had launched some 100 missiles and vowed further retaliation for the sweeping attacks on its military and nuclear infrastructure that have killed at least 224 people in the country since Friday.

So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel and more than 500 injured, Israeli officials said, after Iran launched more than 370 missiles and hundreds of drones.

One missile fell near the American consulate in Tel Aviv, with its blast waves causing minor damage, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said on X. He added that no American personnel were injured.

The latest conflict began when Israel launched an assault on Iran’s top military leaders, uranium enrichment sites and nuclear scientists that it said was necessary to prevent its longtime adversary from getting any closer to building an atomic weapon.

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful, and the U.S. and others have assessed that Tehran has not pursued a nuclear weapon since 2003. But the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly warned that the country has enough enriched uranium to make several nuclear bombs if it chooses to do so.

Iran has retaliated by firing waves of ballistic missiles at Israel. The back-and-forth has raised concerns about all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval.

Explosions rock Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, and Haifa oil refinery

Powerful explosions rocked Tel Aviv shortly before dawn Monday, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky over the coastal city.

Authorities in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva said Iranian missiles hit a residential building there, charring concrete walls, shattering windows and ripping the walls off multiple apartments.

Iranian missiles also hit an oil refinery in the northern city of Haifa for the second night in a row. The early morning strike killed three workers, ignited a significant fire and damaged a building, Israel’s fire and rescue services said. The workers were sheltering in the building’s safe room when the impact caused a stairwell to collapse, trapping them inside.

Firefighters rushed to extinguish the fire and rescue them, but the three died before rescuers could reach them.

The Israeli Magen David Adom emergency service also reported that five people were killed in the strikes in central Israel.

Petah Tikva resident Yoram Suki rushed with his family to a shelter after hearing an air-raid alert. They emerged after it was over to find his apartment destroyed.

Despite losing his home, he urged Netanyahu to keep up the attacks on Iran.

“It’s totally worth it,” the 60-year-old said. “This is for the sake of our children and grandchildren.”

In addition to those killed, the emergency service said paramedics evacuated another 87 wounded people to hospitals, while rescuers were still searching for residents trapped beneath the rubble of their homes.

“When we arrived at the scene of the rocket strike, we saw massive destruction,” said Dr. Gal Rosen, a paramedic with the service who said he rescued a 4-day-old baby as fires blazed from the building.

No sign of conflict letting up

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, appeared to make a veiled outreach Monday for the U.S. to step in and negotiate an end to hostilities between Israel and Iran.

In a post on X, Araghchi wrote that if Trump is “genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential.”

“It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu,” Iran’s top diplomat wrote. “That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.”

The message to Washington was sent as the latest talks between the U.S. and Iran were canceled over the weekend after Israel targeted key military and political officials in Tehran.

On Sunday, Araghchi said that Iran will stop its strikes if Israel does the same. But after a day of intensive Israeli aerial attacks that extended targets beyond military installations, the Revolutionary Guard struck a hard line on Monday, vowing that further rounds of strikes would be “more forceful, severe, precise and destructive than previous ones.”

Health authorities reported that 1,277 people were wounded in Iran. Iranians also reported fuel rationing.

Rights groups such as the Washington-based Iranian advocacy group Human Rights Activists have suggested that the Iranian government’s death toll is a significant undercount. The group says it has documented more than 400 people killed, among them 197 civilians.

Ahead of Israel’s initial attack, its Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran. Since then, Iran has reportedly detained several people and hanged one on suspicion of espionage.

By Ami Bentov and Melanie Lidman

Georgia man charged with leaving threatening messages for 2 Republican senators

By
Associated Press
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FILE - Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks at the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis,File)

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia man accused of leaving threatening voicemails for two Republican U.S. senators appeared in federal court to face charges Monday.

Robert Davis Forney, 25, of Duluth, Georgia, was arraigned in Atlanta on two federal counts of communicating threats in interstate commerce, according to court records. A grand jury indicted him last week.

“Threatening our elected officials and their families is an act of violence that undermines our entire democracy,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement. “Political discourse and disagreements never justify resorting to vile attacks against our nation’s leaders.”

According to prosecutors, Forney called the office of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in January and left voicemails that threatened sexual violence against Cruz and his family. Forney left a similar voicemail threatening sexual violence against Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer the next day, authorities said.

A federal public defender assigned to Forney’s case didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment about the charges.

Parents push for change at North Habersham Middle amid calls for principal’s removal

By
Chaz Mullis
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NHMS parent Elizabeth Akin speaks to the Habersham County school board. (Chaz Mullis/NowHabersham.com)

Amid recent calls to remove North Habersham Middle School Principal Dr. Renee Crandall, two concerned parents say they’re hopeful the issues can be resolved after a meeting with school officials.

On Monday, Elizabeth “Beth” Akin and fellow parent Michael Morris met with Crandall to address what they describe as serious leadership issues during the past school year. The meeting was mediated by Habersham County Schools Assistant Superintendent David Leenman.

“I do think it was a successful meeting,” Akin said afterward. “I have faith in the integrity of Mr. Leenman that the concerns we brought today are really being considered, and we will expect some change in the new school year.”

The meeting followed Akin’s appearance before the Habersham County Board of Education on June 12. At the close of the board’s work session, she distributed a five-page letter detailing concerns shared by multiple parents. The letter included claims of poor student support and described a school environment where, Akin said, teachers felt intimidated and afraid to speak out, fearing retaliation or placement on “development plans.”

“If anyone needs a development plan, it is Renee Crandall,” Akin wrote in the letter, which concluded with a direct call for Crandall’s removal.

Akin said she previously brought the concerns to both former superintendent Matthew Cooper and current superintendent Patrick Franklin. Cooper, she said, offered little response, citing the matters as within the principal’s discretion. Franklin has not yet provided a full reply.

While the school board has not commented publicly, Akin says she remains hopeful that Monday’s meeting marks a step toward meaningful change.

Recess restrictions and added workload draw criticism

Dr. Renee Crandall. (Habersham County Board of Education)

Crandall just completed her first year as principal at North Habersham Middle School. She was promoted last year to succeed Adam Bagwell, who took over as principal at Habersham Central High School.

Dr. Crandall served as assistant principal at North Habersham Middle School for three years before being promoted to principal. At the time, then-superintendent Cooper said she was highly recommended by colleagues and staff.

It proved to be a difficult transition for some students and staff.

During Thursday’s school board work session, Akin addressed various concerns, including Crandall’s decision to reduce students’ daily “brain break” — designated periods designed to give students time to unwind during the school day.

According to Akin, brain breaks were eliminated two days per week and sometimes were withheld entirely from students with incomplete work, including missing reading assignments. Akin said this led some children to go without breaks for weeks.

The letter also accused Crandall of repurposing morning free time for graded assignments. Students who arrived early by bus were reportedly expected to begin working on Progress Learning, a computer-based program, as early as 7:30 a.m., rather than socializing or reading—an approach that Akin said differed from Bagwell’s.

“There is no time for socialization with the over rigid structure Crandall has installed this half of the year,” Akin wrote. “This approach of additional morning work is detrimental in not promoting reading for enjoyment.”

Band and field trips canceled

The recent resignation of band director Sam Berman was another point of contention. Akin claimed the change in morning schedules stripped band students of their chance for morning practice.

Some parents also claimed Crandall denied students a chance to say goodbye to Berman on the last day of school. They blamed the cancellation of band trips and morning practices for contributing to his departure.

And they objected to Crandall’s decision to cancel multiple educational field trips, including the school’s annual 8th-grade overnight trip and a 7th-grade science outing. According to Akin, Crandall cited lost instructional time due to weather-related closures as the reason for cutting the trips. However, Akin argued that state rules classify academic field trips as instructional time, and the school should have allowed them.

Superintendent Franklin reportedly told parents that trip funding was not an issue and that no requests had been denied at the district level, suggesting the decision to cancel was Crandall’s alone.

Dress code enforcement called ‘discriminatory’

One of the more serious allegations in Akin’s letter concerned the alleged arbitrary enforcement of the school’s dress code. Some parents claimed that heavier-set girls were disproportionately singled out and publicly shamed for their clothing, while thinner students wearing similar outfits were not reprimanded.

The letter included a firsthand account of a student being told by Crandall to “never wear that again,” despite the student reportedly being dressed more modestly than others.

NHMS parent Elizabeth Akin speaks to the Habersham County school board. (Chaz Mullis/NowHabersham.com)

“A teacher I spoke with made the point that heavy girls cannot necessarily help their size, and it is detrimental to their mental health for the principal to point them out during adolescence when, specifically, girls have a difficult time with their image,” Akin wrote. She also noted inconsistencies between the school’s dress code policy and photos in the NHMS yearbook.

During their June 16 meeting with Crandall, Akin said Principal Crandall told them it was never her intention to target any specific child.

Staff morale and climate concerns

In the letter distributed to the school board, Akin cited a staff member who said the environment at the middle school left them “on edge” and that leadership under the previous principal was more motivational and supportive. She likened the alleged sense of “fear” and “intimidation” at the middle school to the current situation at Truett McConnell University in Cleveland.

“Staff instructors at Truett McConnell were dismissed for speaking out about the unfairness of the happenings on that campus, and Crandall has created that same intimidation to our amazing teaching staff at North Hab,” Akin wrote. She told Now Habersham that she and other parents plan to return to Monday night’s board meeting on June 16 to speak about the matter.

Now Habersham made repeated attempts to contact Dr. Crandall to give her an opportunity to address the grievances made public against her. She did not responed to our requests. Dr. Robert Barron was the only school board member to respond to our request for comment, and he deferred all questions to Superintendent Franklin and School Board Chair Russ Nelson. Neither has responded.

Suspect in shooting of Minnesota state lawmakers targeted 2 others that night, prosecutors say

By
Associated Press
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This booking photo provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office shows Vance Boelter in Green Isle, Minn., on June 16, 2025. (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via AP)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The man charged with killing one Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another meticulously planned the shootings and intended to inflict more carnage against those on his hit list, driving to the homes of two other legislators on the night of the attacks, a federal prosecutor said Monday.

But one of those state lawmakers was on vacation and the suspect left the other house after police arrived early Saturday, acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said.

Investigators say Vance Boelter appeared to spend months preparing for the shootings — the latest in a string of political attacks across the U.S. His list of potential targets contained dozens of names, including officials in at least three other states.

In Minnesota, Boelter carried out surveillance missions, took notes on the homes and people he targeted, and disguised himself as a police officer just before the shootings, Thompson said.

“It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares,” he said.

Boelter surrendered to police Sunday night after they found him in the woods near his home after a massive two-day search. He is accused of fatally shooting former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs.

Authorities say he also shot and wounded Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, who lived a few miles away.

Federal prosecutors charged Boelter, 57, with murder and stalking, which could result in a death sentence if convicted. He already faces state charges, including murder and attempted murder. At a federal court hearing Monday in St. Paul, Boelter said he could not afford an attorney. A federal public defender was appointed to represent him, and he was being held without bail pending a court appearance next week.

Manny Atwal, his lead attorney, declined to comment, saying the office just got the case.

Notebooks show careful planning

Evidence photos showing the interior of Vance Boelter’s vehicle are presented during a news conference at the United States Courthouse in Minneapolis, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Boelter had many notebooks full of plans, Thompson said. Underscoring what law enforcement officials said was the premeditated nature of the attacks, one notebook contained a list of internet-based people search engines, according to court records.

But authorities have not found any writings that would “clearly identify what motivated him,” Thompson said. Though the targets were Democrats and elected officials, Thompson said it was too soon to speculate on any sort of political ideology.

All of the politicians named in his writing were Democrats, including more than 45 state and federal officials in Minnesota, Thompson said. Elected leaders in Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin said they, too, were mentioned in his writings.

Democratic Rep. Esther Agbaje, whose district includes parts of Minneapolis, said she stayed with friends and family over the weekend after learning that her name appeared on the list of targets. She returned home only after learning the suspect had been caught.

“It was only today that you can sort of begin to exhale,” she said.

In texts, the suspect said he ‘went to war’

Authorities declined to reveal the names of the other two lawmakers whose homes were targeted but escaped harm. Democratic Sen. Ann Rest said she was told the suspect parked near her home early Saturday. She said in a statement that the “quick action” of law enforcement officers saved her life.

Boelter sent a text to a family group chat after the shootings that said : “Dad went to war last night … I don’t wanna say more because I don’t wanna implicate anybody,” according to an FBI affidavit.

His wife got another text that said: “Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation … there’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don’t want you guys around,” the affidavit said.

Police later found his wife in a car with her children. Officers found two handguns, about $10,000 in cash and passports for the wife and her children, according to the affidavit.

Just hours after the shootings Saturday, Boelter bought an electronic bike and a Buick sedan from someone he met at a bus stop in Minneapolis, the federal affidavit said. Police found the sedan abandoned on a highway Sunday morning.

In the car, officers found a cowboy hat Boelter had been seen wearing in surveillance footage as well as a letter written to the FBI, authorities said. The letter said it was written by “Dr. Vance Luther Boulter” and he was “the shooter at large.”

The car was found in rural Sibley County, where Boelter owned a home. A police officer later saw Boelter running into the woods. He was found within 20 minutes — about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the home — and gave himself up, crawling out before he was handcuffed and taken into custody in a field, authorities said.

Coordinated attacks on legislators

Drew Evans, superintendent of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said the rampage likely would’ve continued had Brooklyn Park officers not checked on Hortman’s home, causing Boelter to flee.

The Hoffmans were attacked first at their home in Champlin. Their adult daughter called 911 to say a masked person had come to the door and shot her parents.

Boelter had shown up carrying a flashlight and a 9 mm handgun and wearing a black tactical vest and a “hyper-realistic” silicone mask, Thompson said.

He first knocked and shouted: “This is police.” At one point, the Hoffmans realized he was wearing a mask and Boelter told them “this is a robbery.” After Sen. Hoffman tried to push Boelter out the door, Boelter shot him repeatedly and then shot his wife, the prosecutor said.

A statement released Sunday by Yvette Hoffman said her husband underwent several surgeries. “He took 9 bullet hits. I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive,” the statement said.

When police in nearby Brooklyn Park learned that a lawmaker had been shot, they sent patrol officers to check on the Hortmans’ home.

Officers arrived just in time to see Boelter shoot Mark Hortman through the open door of the home and exchanged gunfire with Boelter, who fled into the home before escaping, the complaint said. Melissa Hortman was found dead inside, according to the document. Their dog also was shot and had to be euthanized.

Search for motive continues

Writings recovered from the fake police vehicle included the names of lawmakers and community leaders, along with abortion rights advocates and information about health care facilities, said two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation.

Friends and former colleagues interviewed by the AP describe Boelter as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and went to campaign rallies for President Donald Trump.

Boelter also is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman, records show, though it was not clear if they knew each other.

By Steve Karnowski, Alanna Durkin Richer and John Seewer

Members of Congress on edge after assassination of Minnesota state legislator

By
Jennifer Shutt
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The U.S. Capitol pictured on March 25, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON (States Newsroom) — The U.S. Senate will gather behind closed doors Tuesday to hear from federal law enforcement officials about protection for lawmakers and the safety of their families, just days after a gunman said to be posing as a police officer targeted state lawmakers in Minnesota.

The briefing from U.S. Capitol Police and the Senate Sergeant at Arms follows years of increased funding for both entities as threats and attempted assassinations against members of Congress have become part of the job.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, said Monday on the floor that the suspected shooter had a list of more than 70 public officials he wanted to target, including several members of the Senate.

“My highest priority right now is working with the Senate leadership on both sides, the Senate Sergeant at Arms and Capitol Police, to ensure everyone’s safety,” Schumer said. “This weekend I asked Capitol Police and the Sergeant at Arms to increase security for members, including Sen. (Alex) Padilla and the Minnesota senators.”

California Sen. Padilla moved to the forefront of the public debate about immigration and deportations last week when he was forcibly removed from a press conference after trying to ask Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question while she was still speaking.

Schumer said the briefing would be an opportunity for USCP and the SAA to “convey what they’re doing for members to keep them safe.”

He urged senators to “come together” to oppose political violence in all forms, before criticizing Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee for social media posts. Lee made two posts that drew condemnation.

“I was deeply disappointed and sickened to see a member of this chamber use the tragedy in Minnesota to take cheap political shots at the other side on social media and risk escalating a perilous moment,” Schumer said. “What the senior senator from Utah posted after the shooting was reckless and beneath the dignity of his office.

“For a senator to fan the flames of division with falsities while the killer was still on the loose is deeply irresponsible. He should take down his post immediately and apologize to the families of the victims.”

On another social media account, Lee wrote, “These hateful attacks have no place in Utah, Minnesota, or anywhere in America.”

Suspect faces state and federal charges

Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Sunday during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the attack on the two state lawmakers and their spouses was clearly motivated by politics.

Klobuchar said she has received additional security and that she was concerned about the possibility of more attacks against lawmakers.

“I have had threats before, as several of our colleagues have had,” Klobuchar said. “And I think one of the things is, we don’t talk about this stuff much because you don’t want to see copycats that copy exactly what they’ve done.”

The suspected gunman, who was arrested Sunday following a manhunt, has been charged by both state and federal prosecutors with murdering state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, and attempting to kill state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.

The suspect went to the homes of at least two other state lawmakers and had a list of Democratic lawmakers’ home addresses as well as abortion providers, according to police.

Lawmakers disclose they were on list of targets

The U.S. House won’t receive a security briefing this week since its members are out of session on a district work period, typically a time when lawmakers are back in their communities for town halls and other public events, though the shooting has led some members to change their schedules.

Michigan Democratic Rep. Hillary Scholten announced Monday she would postpone her town hall in Muskegon, writing in a statement she didn’t want to “divert additional law enforcement resources away from protecting the broader public at this time.”

“Nothing matters more to me than the safety and well-being of the people I serve,” Scholten wrote. “After being made aware that my name was on a list connected to the recent tragic shooting in Minnesota, my office has made the difficult decision to postpone our planned town hall in Muskegon.”

Scholten added she hoped to “reschedule this event as soon as possible.”

Ohio Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman released a statement on Monday, announcing that USCP bolstered his security after his name was found among the suspected Minnesota shooter’s possessions.

“On Sunday morning, Capitol Police contacted my office to inform me that the FBI had found my name among the evidence collected during the search for a suspect in Minnesota — who is accused of murdering and seriously injuring lawmakers,” Landsman wrote. “Since the suspect was still at large at that time, we worked very closely with the Cincinnati Police Department to arrange for increased security for my family and me.”

Texas Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar wrote in a statement posted to social media that she was among the people the suspected Minnesota shooter had on his list.

“This was only a day after protestors were shot in Utah, an extremist drove a car into protests in Virginia, credible threats were made against state lawmakers in Austin and a man pointed a gun at protestors here in El Paso,” Escobar wrote.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New York Democratic Rep. Joseph D. Morelle, ranking member on the Committee on House Administration, wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Monday, urging him to take action to ensure members’ safety.

“While we differ in many areas related to policy and our vision for America’s future, Member safety must be an area of common ground. Representatives from both sides of the aisle have endured assassination attempts that changed their lives and careers forever,” the two wrote. “Too many other patriotic public servants have left Congress because they no longer felt safe carrying out their duty as elected officials. We must act to protect each other and preserve this great American institution.”

Threats on the rise over the years

Members of Congress and their families are no strangers to threats, which have steadily risen for years,attacks and shootings.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked in their family home in San Francisco in October 2022 by a man wielding a hammer, who was searching for Pelosi, a California Democrat.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La, was shot and severely wounded in 2017 when a gunman opened fire at GOP lawmakers practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game. Several others were injured during the shooting.

Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords survived being shot in the head during a constituent meeting in a grocery store parking lot in 2011 when a gunman opened fire, killing six people and injuring a dozen others.

Even President Donald Trump, who has extensive Secret Service protection, was shot in the ear last July while campaigning in Pennsylvania. The gunman in that incident killed local fireman Corey Comperatore and injured two others.

The union representing U.S. Capitol Police warned more than a year ago that the federal law enforcement agency was struggling to keep up amid an increasingly hostile political environment and staffing shortages.

“We’ve never seen a threat environment like this,” union Chairman Gus Papathanasiou wrote in a statement. “Given the profound divisions in this country and this year’s elections, people ask me if I’m concerned and I tell them I am worried — very worried.”

Former USCP Chief Thomas Manger, who retired earlier this year, told lawmakers well before the union’s public statement that he was concerned by how few threats against members of Congress were actually prosecuted successfully.

Few threats led to prosecution

Klobuchar, who was chair of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee at the time of the hearing, said USCP referred 458 threat cases for prosecution during 2021, with 40 of those leading to a court case. That was out of 9,625 total threats.

Just 22 of the 7,501 threats lobbed at members during 2022 led to prosecution, a USCP spokesperson confirmed to States Newsroom at the time.

Threats against lawmakers have continued to increase ever since.

USCP investigated 8,008 “concerning statements and direct threats against the Members of Congress, including their families and staff” in 2023 and 9,474 in 2024, according to data from USCP.

Mining project near the Okefenokee Swamp has stalled over a $2M permit requirement

By
Russ Bynum
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FILE - The sun sets on the lily pads and floating vegetation in the Chesser Prairie inside the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge on March 30, 2022, in Folkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, File)

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.

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