Georgia Today: Delta faces federal investigation; Ossoff holds abortion ban hearing; Dems back Harris

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Tuesday, July 23rd. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, Delta Airlines faces a federal investigation over flight delays. Senator Jon Ossoff holds a hearing on the state's six week abortion ban, and Georgia Democrats unanimously back Vice President Kamala Harris for president. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

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Kamala Harris

Credit: AP Photo/John Bazemore

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Georgia delegates to the Democratic National Convention are unanimously backing Vice President Kamala Harris as the party's presidential nominee. GPB's Sarah Kallis has the latest.

Sarah Kallis: Harris clinched the delegates she needs to be the next Democratic presidential nominee on Monday, but won't officially earn the spot until delegates vote in August. Georgia House Democratic Caucus Chair Billy Mitchell is a convention delegate. He said that Harris' candidacy excited Georgia Democrats to pledge their support.

Billy Mitchell: A unanimous decision to do so. And I might add enthusiastically so. Normally we have to have meetings about these kinds of things with our caucus. So we sent an email and everyone responded in kind and was ready to go to work.

Sarah Kallis: Mitchell says Harris has the backing of all Democrats in the state legislature. Harris has visited Georgia over a dozen times since she was sworn in as vice president in 2021. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Atlanta.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: President Joe Biden will deliver an Oval Office address tomorrow night at 8 p.m. GPB radio and television will carry the address live, so you can listen on GPB or watch on GPB TV or stream the video at GPB.org.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff hosted a hearing today on the state's abortion ban that prohibits ending pregnancies after about six weeks. It's one of a series of hearings under the Federal Subcommittee on Human Rights and the law. GPB's Sofi Gratas has more.

Sofi Gratas: The hearing saw Georgia based OBGYNs testify that Georgia's abortion law limits their ability to practice reproductive medicine. They called it confusing even two years after its implementation. Ossoff peppered them with questions like how they make decisions when either the baby or mother's life is at risk. Georgia's abortion law has limited exceptions for such situations. Atlanta-based OB-GYN Nisha Verma.

Nisha Verma: And so often people are miscarrying if that's our process and we are having to wait until later in that process, until they get sicker, until they have more bleeding, until they have an infection, until we can intervene.

Sofi Gratas: The OBs also testified that with more patients turned away for reproductive care in Georgia, they're also seeing a decrease in physicians willing to practice that care. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas.

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Jon Ossoff

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Sen. Ossoff also traveled to technical colleges in Georgia on Monday to promote legislation that he says will help them better prepare students for in-demand careers. Ossoff met with leaders at Atlanta Technical College and Central Georgia Technical College to discuss a bill that would permanently authorize a workforce development grant.

Jon Ossoff: This is not just about building workforce development programs. It's about building workforce development programs that equip students for specific careers at specific employers.

Peter Biello: Georgia is booming with new manufacturing plants in the electric vehicle and solar energy sectors. Community colleges already have received some of the money using it to hire advisors for high-demand jobs.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: A national nonprofit that helps low-income people behind bars, is reopening in Atlanta. Last month, the Bail Project said it was leaving Georgia because of a new law that limits how many cash bonds people and organizations can post without meeting extensive requirements to become bail bond companies. A federal judge recently temporarily blocked the law, calling its limits arbitrary. The Bail Project's reopening comes as the state's attorney general appeals the judge's ruling.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Delta Air Lines has canceled more than 5,000 flights in the last five days, more than the total flights canceled by the airline in 2018 and 2019. GPB's Amanda Andrews reports the Atlanta-based company is now facing a federal investigation.

Amanda Andrews: The Department of Transportation is investigating Delta following an IT outage, to see if the airline is following the law and taking care of affected passengers. Secretary Pete Buttigieg shared a link on Facebook to a forum where travelers who believe Delta has not complied with federal passenger protection requirements can file a complaint. Meanwhile, Delta is waiving rebooking fees, offering refunds upon request and reimbursing expenses like hotels and car rentals. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: UPS managed to boost its volume in the U.S. for the first time since 2022 during its second quarter. The metro Atlanta-based company's CEO called it a, quote, "significant turning point." Still, profit and revenue fell short of Wall Street expectations, partly due to a $94 million charge to settle an international regulatory matter. For the three months that ended in June, UPS reported earnings of $1.4 billion.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: Six Flags Over Georgia has announced a chaperone policy for young guests. The Atlanta-area theme park says beginning Friday, anyone 15 years old or younger must be accompanied by a 21-year-old or older chaperone in the park after 4 p.m.. The announcement comes after local leaders discussed safety concerns with park officials following a shooting and fights at the park in March.

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Climate change

Story 9:

Peter Biello: A new analysis shows the U.S. is on track to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by a third to half of 2005 levels by 2035. A report released today credits falling prices for lower carbon energy and federal clean energy policies. Emissions tracker Drawdown Georgia shows state emissions also falling, but the declines are leveling out. Drawdown Georgia researcher Bill Drummond of Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning says that's because Georgia's declines largely stem from a switch away from coal, a transition that's nearing an end. And he says, without change —

Bill Drummond: Our electricity emissions will be going up. Our transportation will continue to go up. Forestry will offset some of those, but not enough to keep us from rebounding and moving back in an upward direction.

Peter Biello: The national report was published by research firm Rhodium Group.

Story 10:

Peter Biello: The Atlanta Braves face the Cincinnati Reds again tonight at Truist Park. Chris Sale is scheduled to get the start for the Braves. Hunter Greene and the Reds held the Braves scoreless through most of last night's 4 to 1 loss. Many of the regular starters for the Braves are on the injured list. Second baseman Ozzie Albies is likely to miss most of the rest of the season due to a fractured wrist. And his replacement, Nacho Alvarez Jr, went 0 for 4 last night in his major league debut. And Braves third baseman Austin Riley left the game early because his wife went into labor. Manager Brian Snitker:

Brian Snitker: So he was kind of on call. I mean, good for him. He came in and played and did everything. And, you know, knowing that this was a possibility, that we thought maybe we could get a whole game out of him. We didn't know what was going to happen, but we — so we, you know, we were kind of on call too.

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Chipper Jones

Peter Biello: The Braves are hoping to snap a three-game losing streak. Also worth noting that Hall of Famer Chipper Jones threw out the first pitch before last night's game. He and several other former All-Star Braves players were on hand to celebrate the unveiling of the logo of the 2025 All-Star game, which is scheduled for Atlanta's Truist Park next July.

Peter Biello: And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. We do appreciate you tuning in. And if you want to learn more about any of today's stories, visit GPB.org/news. If there's something you think we should be covering or some feedback about how we do this podcast, you can reach us all by email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. And we do take your suggestions to heart. So again that email GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. Now, a lot of news in the past few days. Lots more to come. Best way to stay on top of it is to subscribe to this podcast. Just do that and we will pop up in your podcast feed automatically tomorrow afternoon. Perfect for your commute home. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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