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Georgia Today: Cold weather hits Georgia; Runoff elections; Former CDC director on second Trump term
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LISTEN: On the Tuesday, Dec. 3 edition of Georgia Today: Cities open warming centers as an arctic front brings freezing winds to Georgia; runoff elections in eleven Georgia counties settle races that were undecided last month; and a former CDC director talks about risks the agency faces in a second Trump administration.
Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Tuesday, Dec. 3. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, cities open warming centers as an Arctic front brings freezing winds to Georgia. Runoff elections in 11 Georgia counties settle races that were undecided last month. And a former CDC director talks about risks the agency faces in a second Trump administration. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Peter Biello: An Arctic front is bringing Georgia its coldest air since January and tomorrow morning is expected to be even colder. Albany, Augusta, Columbus and Savannah are among cities opening warming shelters for unhoused residents. GPB's Amanda Andrews reports on preparations in Atlanta.
Amanda Andrews: Two warming centers will open this evening at Central Park and Old Adamsville Recreation centers as temperatures dip into the low 20s. Mayor Dickens also highlighted partner organizations providing shelter to residents as temperatures drop.
Andre Dickens: We have spaces for men; we have spaces for women and children. They get meals, they get a safe place, they get a comfortable bed. They also get some counseling and some support. Those things are open.
Amanda Andrews: Officials from the fire and police department, as well as the department of transportation, joined the mayor to provide additional safety updates touting an overall drop in traffic accidents and crime in the city. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.
Story 2:
Peter Biello: Polls are open today in 11 Georgia counties holding runoff elections to settle races not decided on Nov. 5. Candidates on the ballot include those seeking to be mayor of Saint Marys in Southeast Georgia and those running for a council seat in the newly created city of Mulberry, northeast of Atlanta. County Commission, school board and other races are also being decided. Polls remain open until 7:00.
Story 3:
Peter Biello: A Southwest Georgia farm is recalling mustard greens sent to distribution centers in nine states, including Georgia. Baker Farms in Colquitt County issued the recall after Texas health officials notified the company the greens tested positive for listeria contamination. The Georgia Department of Agriculture says listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections. No illnesses have been reported to date.
Story 4:
Peter Biello: Georgia Ports Authority officials have outlined plans to spend more than $120 million in federal grants aimed at improving operations and sustainability. The authority's CEO presented the plans yesterday. They include projects to upgrade power supplies, provide onshore electricity to ships and build out a rail expansion. The authority's CEO also is expressing uncertainty over tariffs from the incoming Trump administration. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports.
Benjamin Payne: Speaking to GPB after the Ports Authority board meeting this week, CEO Griff Lynch said he doesn't expect tariffs will create more U.S. manufacturing or exports in the near term. But he also added that in the long term, tariff policy could drive domestic growth. Also —
Griff Lynch: It could change what we call source shifting. So you could have Southeast Asia growing more or India growing more depending on what their tariffs are. So I think that we could see that — and that could that change could happen more quickly.
Benjamin Payne: Trump has proposed a 10% tariff on Chinese imports and 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico. Economists largely expect American consumers will shoulder the cost, since tariffs are paid by U.S. importers, not foreign countries. For GPB News, I'm Benjamin Payne in Savannah.
Story 5:
Peter Biello: Georgia's longest criminal trial has come to an end, with the last two defendants being found not guilty of racketeering, murder and gang--related charges. An Atlanta jury this morning acquitted Deamonte Kendrick, also known as rapper Yak Gotti, on all charges. The jury also found codefendant Shannon Stillwell guilty only of a gun possession charge. The trial started nearly two years ago. Grammy-winning rapper Young Thug was among its more than two dozen defendants. He was released on probation after pleading guilty to gang, drug and gun charges in October.
Story 6:
Peter Biello: Robert F. Kennedy Jr ran for president this year on a campaign to make America healthy again. Kennedy, a known vaccine skeptic, is now President-elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, the agency that oversees the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If confirmed, Kennedy will have greater control over the CDC. But just how much? With me now is former CDC director Tom Frieden, who served during the Obama administration. He's now the president and CEO of the nonprofit Resolve to Save Lives, which he created in 2017 to focus on heart disease prevention and epidemic preparedness. Tom Frieden, welcome to the program.
Tom Frieden: Thank you. Great to speak with you.
Peter Biello: So if Kennedy is confirmed as director of HHS, what do you think the immediate impact on the CDC would be?
Tom Frieden: Really, I think the person who is confirmed as director of CDC may have even more impact. And if there's one thing we have to be, it's situational. We have to see what happens and then respond appropriately. We can always hope that there will be policies that promote health and protect Americans. But there are obviously really serious risks. There are proposals to dismantle CDC. And a weaker CDC would mean a sicker USA.
Peter Biello: Let me ask you about that vaccine policy question, because [RFK Jr. is] famous for being a vaccine skeptic. What impact could he have on Americans' access to vaccines?
Tom Frieden: Although his recent statements sound reasonable, there's a huge risk here. The plain truth is that vaccines save lives. And false claims by RFK Jr. and others not only undermine confidence in safe and effective vaccines, they also divert our energy and attention from figuring out the real cause of things like autism that affect so many people.
Peter Biello: One of the new initiatives of the CDC during the Biden administration was tracking gun violence as a public health issue. Do you expect this to continue?
Tom Frieden: I think we're just going to have to see. Time will tell what happens. I hope that whoever becomes the next CDC director defends the agency and helps it to do what it does best, which is work 24/7 to protect Americans from threats, whether those threats are infectious or noninfectious, manmade or naturally occurring, from the U.S. or from anywhere in the world.
Peter Biello: The word you used earlier in this conversation was "situational." Are there any such situations that you are particularly concerned about, aside from vaccines that we've already discussed?
Tom Frieden: I'm quite concerned about America's involvement in global health. It's in our self-interest that other countries have strong public health systems. Stronger there, safer here. Programs like PEPFAR have saved millions of lives. PEPFAR is the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and it was created by George W. Bush. It's the largest global health program ever. I'm hopeful that the folks in Congress and in the administration will see that these are programs that are not just great for the world, they're great for the United States as well.
Peter Biello: Do you see nonprofits like yours filling the gap or picking up the slack if CDC is weakened or dismantled under the next administration?
Tom Frieden: Absolutely not. There is no nonprofit alternative to an effective public health agency. Nonprofits don't have the authority. They don't have the power. They don't have the staff. They don't have the resources. There are certain things that we do rely on our government to do: keep the water, the food, the air safe; ensure that we're protected from avoidable diseases; track trends that may affect our lives. That can only be done by a governmental public health agency.
Peter Biello: Do you expect any new initiatives for the CDC under Kennedy if he is in fact confirmed as secretary of HHS?
Tom Frieden: Well, it's interesting to see the attention to chronic disease. It's very rare to have bipartisan interest in addressing chronic disease. And there is a chronic disease epidemic in the United States. But if we're going to address that effectively, we need to avoid simplistic solutions and implement what's proven to work. What we know works are things like comprehensive tobacco control policies, which CDC leads. Taxing sugary drinks. Regulating polluters. Supporting public transport. Those are all really important. And if, truly, RFK Jr. wants to take on the powerful economic interests that are driving our chronic disease epidemic, he will be taking on the tobacco and junk food industries that market to children, create more addictive products and block the efforts of government and communities to make it easier for people to make the healthy choice. Unless he takes these on, then I think his attention to chronic disease is more about public relations than real public health progress.
Peter Biello: Dr. Tom Frieden, thank you so much for speaking with me. I really appreciate it.
Tom Frieden: Thank you.
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Peter Biello: And that's it for this edition of Georgia Today. We do appreciate you tuning in. We hope you'll come back tomorrow as well. Please do subscribe to this podcast. It's the best way to stay on top of the news. And if you want to read more about what's happening in Georgia, check out our website. We're always updating it. Go to GPB.org/news. And your feedback is always welcome. The best way to get it to us is by email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.
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