Latest news with #ElectionDay
New York Post
6 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Georgia mayor, 2 others jailed on felony charges for trying to halt local election
The mayor of a small city in Georgia and two former election officials have been jailed on felony charges stemming from efforts last November to halt a local election after one of the mayor's allies was disqualified from a city council race. Camilla Mayor Kelvin Owens was being held at the Mitchell County jail Friday, two days after a grand jury indicted him on a felony charge of election interference and a misdemeanor count of conspiring to commit election fraud. Also jailed were the city's former elections superintendent, Rhunette Williford; and her former deputy superintendent, Cheryl Ford, who is currently Camilla's city clerk. Advertisement 5 Camilla, Ga. Mayor Kelvin Owens was arrested on election interference charges. City of Camilla, Ga. They were charged with the same crimes as the mayor, plus misdemeanor counts of failing to perform their duties as public officers. Chaos roiled special elections for a pair of city council seats in Camilla last November amid a long-running legal battle over local politics in the town, a farming community of about 5,000 people in rural southwest Georgia. Advertisement The case revolved around Venterra Pollard, a city council member removed from office last summer after a judge ruled he wasn't a Camilla resident. Pollard ran to regain the position in the fall special election. Another judge ordered Pollard disqualified and ruled that votes for him should be discarded. In addition, the city was ordered to post signs saying votes for Pollard wouldn't be counted. On Nov. 4, the day before Election Day, both Williford and Ford quit as the city's two top elections officials. Advertisement 5 Camilla Mayor Kelvin Owens was being held at the Mitchell County jail Friday, two days after a grand jury indicted him on a felony charge of election interference. Kelvin Owens/Facebook Their joint resignation letter blamed 'mental duress, stress and coercion experienced by recent court decisions regarding our role in elections.' Owens, citing his emergency powers as mayor, moved swiftly to halt the city's elections. Signs posted at City Hall and a notice on Facebook declared the election was canceled. Advertisement Polling places were closed to both poll workers and voters in the morning. The elections were held, albeit several hours behind schedule, after Superior Court Judge Heather Lanier appointed new supervisors to oversee the voting and ordered polls to remain open until nearly 4 a.m. Elections for president, Congress and other offices weren't affected. 5 Signs posted at City Hall and a notice on Facebook declared the election was canceled. WALB News 10/YouTube 5 Camilla is a farming community of about 5,000 people in rural southwest Georgia. WALB News 10/YouTube Mayor Owens had blamed the local upheaval on racial politics, saying that Pollard, who is Black, was targeted by white residents trying to wrest power from the majority Black population. The city of Camilla is nearly three-fourths Black. The Georgia NAACP said in a statement on Facebook that it was 'deeply alarmed' by the allegations of election interference as well as the arrests of Owens and the two former election officials, all of whom are Black. 'We were shocked that there were indictments,' said Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia NAACP. 'We are still in a fact-finding mode to see what actually happened.' Advertisement 5 A woman enters a polling station in the city of Camilla, Georgia. WALB News 10/YouTube All three defendants remained in jail awaiting a hearing Monday. It was not immediately known if any of them had attorneys who could speak for them. Messages seeking comment were left at two phone numbers for Owens. Advertisement The Associated Press could not find working phone numbers for Williford or Ford. District Attorney Joe Mulholland, whose circuit includes Camilla, declined to comment on the indictment Friday.
The Hill
15 hours ago
- Business
- The Hill
Department of Energy cancels nearly $4B in energy awards
The Big Story The Trump administration announced Friday it has canceled nearly $4 billion in awards aimed at the decarbonizing industry that were issued under the Biden administration. © Greg Nash A press release described the $3.7 billion in canceled funding as mostly carbon capture projects — where technology is used to cut planet-warming emissions from fossil fuel plants — and 'decarbonization initiatives.' It also notes that of the 24 awards it canceled, 16 of them were issued between Election Day and Trump's inauguration. 'While the previous administration failed to conduct a thorough financial review before signing away billions of taxpayer dollars, the Trump administration is doing our due diligence to ensure we are utilizing taxpayer dollars to strengthen our national security, bolster affordable, reliable energy sources and advance projects that generate the highest possible return on investment,' Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a written statement Friday. In addition to carbon capture, projects that were canceled include efforts to advance climate-friendly cement production, getting greener furnaces at glass and pipe companies and an effort to cut emissions at various plants used by food company Kraft Heinz. Read more at Welcome to The Hill's Energy & Environment newsletter, I'm Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future: Trump announces plan to double steel tariffs President Trump announced Friday his administration would be doubling tariffs on steel imports from 25 percent to 50 percent during a visit to Pennsylvania focused on boosting the U.S. steel industry. Swiss village buried in glacier collapse A village in Switzerland was buried in a recent glacier collapse, according to Swiss officials. Canadian wildfire smoke to affect air quality, visibility in parts of US: What to know Smoke from wildfires burning in Canada is expected to cast a haze over the skies — and diminish air quality — in parts of the U.S. over the coming days. What We're Reading News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics: Oil Companies Are Sued Over Death of Woman in 2021 Heat Wave (The New York Times) Extreme Heat Waves Are Longer and Hitting the Tropics Hardest (Bloomberg) On Our Radar Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: Wednesday Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik is slated to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik is slated to testify before the House Appropriations Committee What Others are Reading Two key stories on The Hill right now: GOP runs into voter buzzsaw of criticism on Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' Fresh off a huge victory in passing their 'big, beautiful bill' through the House, Republican lawmakers are finding that President Trump's agenda is a much tougher sell at home. Read more Ernst responds to jeers on Medicaid cuts: 'Well, we're all going to die' Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (R) pushed back against constituents who shouted out at her recent town hall meeting that cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would cause people to die, responding, 'Well, we're all going to die.' Read more Opinions in The Hill Op-ed related to energy & environment submitted to The Hill: Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Department of Energy cancels 24 awards issued to businesses
Downtown Birmingham viewed from Red Mountain. Two companies in the area will lose $75 million each after their grant funding was eliminated by the U.S. Department of Energy. (John Coletti/The Image Bank) The U.S. Department of Energy announced Friday the cancellation of 24 awards issued by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations that impacts two businesses in Alabama. American Cast Iron Pipe Company and United States Pipe and Foundry Company, LLC were both set to receive $75 million in grant money from the Department of Energy but will no longer receive the funding in light of the grants getting canceled. 'While the previous administration failed to conduct a thorough financial review before signing away billions of taxpayer dollars, the Trump administration is doing our due diligence to ensure we are utilizing taxpayer dollars to strengthen our national security, bolster affordable, reliable energy sources and advance projects that generate the highest possible return on investment,' said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in a DOE press release. 'Today, we are acting in the best interest of the American people by cancelling these 24 awards.' A message was left with both companies Friday seeking comment. According to a press release, American Cast Iron Pipe Company made it to the negotiation stage of the awards process and was planning to use the funding to replace single cupola furnaces with four coreless induction furnaces. This would have reduced the facility's CO2 emissions by an estimated 62% and the melting/holding process CO2 emissions by 95%. The U.S. Pipe and Foundry Company said in a press release that they planned to use the money for Phase 1 of U.S. Pipe's Iron Electric Induction Conversion project. The project involved replacing a coke-fired furnace with electric induction melting furnaces and would have resulted in an 'estimated 73% reduction in carbon intensity at the Alabama Works ductile iron pipe production facility.' Of the 24 awards given, nearly 70% were signed between Election Day last year and Jan. 20. By cancelling the awards, the Department of Energy is generating $3.6 billion in savings for Americans. The DOE said the awards have been terminated because they 'failed to advance the energy needs of the American people, were not economically viable and would not generate a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.'
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why the White House decided even the conservative Federalist Society isn't good enough
Donald Trump's agenda on trade tariffs has long rested on a shaky legal foundation, predicated in part on the idea that there's an 'emergency' that allows the president to unilaterally impose economic penalties based on nothing but his whims. This week, that dubious foundation started to shake when two separate courts — a three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade and a U.S. district court judge — ruled that the White House's gambit is illegal. Those rulings were soon after paused by an appeals court, but Trump's back-to-back defeats represented an important embarrassment on one of his top policy priorities. As is usually the case, the president and his team responded to the legal setbacks by lashing out, with varying degrees of hysterics, at the country's judicial system, as if there were something inherently outrageous about independent courts adjudicating cases involving the president's agenda. But one nagging detail got in the way: One of the judges that ruled against the White House was appointed by Trump and confirmed by Senate Republicans. The political problem was obvious. And so, as Politico reported, the president has opened up a new line of attack. President Donald Trump leveled unusually pointed criticism of a prominent conservative legal activist and organization Thursday as he railed against a ruling that struck down his sweeping tariffs. The president, in a post on his social media platform, slammed Leonard Leo, the former chair of the Federalist Society, calling him a 'sleazebag' who 'probably hates America.' As part of an odd and meandering online rant, the Republican wrote, 'I am so disappointed in The Federalist Society because of the bad advice they gave me on numerous Judicial Nominations. This is something that cannot be forgotten!' For those unfamiliar with the Federalist Society, it is a conservative organization that has long been seen as one of the most successful projects of the conservative movement. Indeed, throughout Trump's first term, the group was a key part of a brutally efficient assembly-line process: The Federalist Society would vet and recommend far-right ideologues for the federal bench; the White House would use the organization's lists for judicial nominations; Senate Republicans would rubber-stamp the president's choices; and Americans would watch the judiciary lurch to the right to a degree unseen in generations. But for Trump and some close to him, that victory wasn't good enough — because some of the jurists backed by the Federalist Society have occasionally ruled in ways the Republican Party hasn't liked. Sure, they were conservative, but not enough of them were mindless, knee-jerk conservatives who were willing to abandon free thought altogether. Some even had the nerve to take the rule of law seriously. In fact, a year before Election Day 2024, The New York Times reported that Team Trump had begun looking at Federalist Society members as 'squishes.' The article quoted Russell Vought, 15 months before he'd begin his latest tenure as the director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget, saying, 'The Federalist Society doesn't know what time it is.' That was in late 2023. Now, midway through 2025, as several Trump-appointed federal judges rule in ways the president does not like, he won't blame himself, and he's won't blame Senate Republicans for confirming his picks — but he can blame the Federalist Society for recommending jurists who sometimes see themselves as neutral arbiters of a separate and coequal branch of government. That's precisely why Stephen Miller, a White House deputy chief of staff, appeared on CNN the morning after Trump's online rant and accused the Federalist Society of creating 'a broken system.' He added, 'We're not going to be using the Federalist Society to make judicial nominations at all going forward.' As for what Team Trump might replace it with, watch this space. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dem candidate for Georgia Public Service Commission challenges disqualification
A Fulton County Superior Court hearing is scheduled for June 10 on Georgia Public Service Commission candidate Daniel Blackman's appealing a ruling disqualifying him from the Democratic Primary of June 17. Stanley Dunlap/Georgia Recorder (file) A Georgia Public Service Commission candidate will remain on the Democratic primary ballot after appealing a decision this week disqualifying him from the race for failing to meet residency requirements. A Fulton County Superior Court hearing is scheduled for June 10 when Chief Judge Ural Glanville will hear arguments on PSC candidate Daniel Blackman's appeal. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had affirmed a state court judge's ruling that Blackman was unable to provide evidence that a Fulton County property is his primary domicile. Blackman is a candidate for District 3, which includes Clayton, DeKalb, and Fulton counties. Commissioners are elected statewide but must be residents of a given district for at least 12 months. Blackman served as the Environmental Protection Agency's Southeast regional administrator under the Biden administration, and he's a former PSC candidate who came close to winning a seat on the commission back in 2020. Blackman's lawyer, Matthew Wilson, said Blackman's name will remain on ballots after Glanville granted an injunction Thursday. 'Once we're given the opportunity for a fair hearing, I'm confident that Daniel will prevail because all of the facts and all of the law are on his side,' Wilson said Friday. The complaint against Blackman was filed by Atlanta resident Rodney Stephens, who currently resides in a home previously owned by another Democratic candidate, Keisha Waites, according to online county property records. Stephens and Waites declined to comment about the residency challenge. The residency dispute involves a one-bedroom dwelling in Atlanta that Blackman leased on Oct. 4, 2024. Blackman testified that he purchased the property to live closer to work while his wife and children continued to reside in their Forsyth County home north of Atlanta, according to the 12-page ruling. The state court judge wrote that Blackman failed to provide evidence that he actually lived in the home, such as utility bills or mail being delivered to the Atlanta address. Early voting for two PSC seats began Tuesday with Blackman's name on ballots statewide. If Blackman's ban is permanent, notices will be placed in polling places advising voters of his disqualification and votes cast for him will not be counted, Raffensperger's office said. Election Day is June 17. Three other Democrats appear on the District 3 PSC ballot: Waites, a former Atlanta City Council member and ex-state representative; Peter Hubbard, founder of the clean nonprofit Center for Energy Solutions, and Robert Jones, a former utility executive. The winner will face GOP incumbent Fitz Johnson in the Nov. 4 general election. Johnson was appointed to the seat by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2021. Jones said Friday he would like to see an expedited final decision in the Blackman case so candidates can focus solely on their own campaigns without having to deal with the distraction. 'The appeal filed Wednesday was another surprise in a race that has had too many,' Jones said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
