Political Rewind: Violence at Cop City; More voices back sports betting; Who's helping the economy?

Caption

During a police clearing of a proposed Atlanta training facility, a Georgia state trooper was shot and a protestor was shot and killed. Few details are currently public and the GBI is investigating the site.

The panel

Greg Bluestein, @bluestein, political reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Jill Nolin, @jillnolin, reporter, Georgia Recorder

Kevin Riley, @ajceditor, editor-in-chief, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Rahul Bali, @rahulbali, politics reporter, WABE

The breakdown

1. A state trooper shot, a protestor shot and killed at "Cop City."

• Authorities said they killed a man who shot and injured a Georgia state trooper Wednesday morning as law enforcement officers tried to clear protesters from the site of a planned Atlanta-area public safety training center that activists have dubbed “Cop City.”
• Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Mike Register says officers from several law enforcement agencies were conducting an operation to clear people out of the area around 9 a.m. when someone fired and struck a trooper in the abdomen, and officers shot back in self-defense.
• The trooper is out of surgery and in stable condition. Register said four people had been detained with possible charges to come and that the situation remains fluid. The identity of the man who was killed is not public.

2. Gov. Brian Kemp brags on Georgia's economy as experts warn the state will slow.

• The governor's new budget proposal increases state spending on salaries, school safety, and economic projects.
• But a looming recession and recurring costs could promise to wipe out the state's record surplus.
• The Georgia Recorder reports that Democrats continue their push for Medicaid expansion in the state. Rep. James Beverly criticized Kemp's spending package, calling it "foolishness" and "fiscal irresponsibility."

3. Former state Supreme Court Justice Harold Melton supported legalizing sports betting.

• Melton believes the movement wouldn't require a new state constitutional amendment, as long as it's state-run and benefits education.
• Opponents say legalized gambling would lead to crime and perpetuate poverty.

4. Georgia's new AAPI legislative caucus lays out its 2023 agenda.

• Members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander legislative caucus, which includes 11 voting members, is one of the largest AAPI caucuses in the nation.
• They vow to increase AAPI voter turnout and extend public rates at state universities to undocumented Georgians.

Friday on Political Rewind: Our panel has the latest on COVID in Georgia.