Georgia Today: Father of alleged Apalachee shooter pleads not guilty; Transgender sports subcommittee

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Thursday, Nov. 21. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, the father of the suspected Apalachee High School shooter enters a not guilty plea. A Senate subcommittee studies transgender students participating in school sports. And Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr says he's running for governor. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Caption

Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, enters the Barrow County courthouse for his first appearance, Sept. 6, 2024, in Winder, Ga.

Credit: AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, Pool, File

Story 1:

Peter Biello: The father of the teenage shooter accused of killing four people at Apalachee High School entered a not guilty plea this morning. GPB's Chase McGee reports.

Chase McGee: Colin Gray pled not guilty to 29 charges, including second degree murder. His 14-year-old son, Colt, also pled not guilty during an October court appearance and was charged with 55 counts, including first degree murder. The charges stem from the September murders of two teachers and two students. Colin Gray's trial could set precedent in Georgia if prosecutors successfully argue that his providing a rifle to his son amounts to manslaughter or at worst, second degree murder. Meanwhile, part of the school building remains closed and some students are attending classes at an offsite location. School leaders are also considering possible safety enhancements, including metal detectors, clear backpacks and increased security. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee in Winder.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Two former Georgia election workers are asking a judge to penalize former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani further after winning a $148 million defamation judgment against him. Ruby Freeman and Shae Moss claim Giuliani is still spreading false allegations about their handling of ballots during the 2020 presidential election. In a federal court filing yesterday, their attorney said Giuliani repeated debunked claims on two recent episodes of his show on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. They're asking the court to hold him in contempt and issue sanctions.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: The Georgia Senate Committee studying the issue of transgender students participating in school sports heard testimony today at the state capital. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports.

Sarah Kallis: The hearing included public comment from supporters and opponents of possible restrictions, including child welfare attorney Tom Rawlings, who expressed his support for excluding transgender students from competing.

Tom Rawlings: In the effort to inject gender identity rights into sport is that we are actually making women inferior to trans women.

Sarah Kallis: Meanwhile, Kim Siders, the parent of a transgender girl, said the restrictions were unnecessary and harmful.

Kim Siders: Talk about these kids as if they are dangerous and it makes their lives harder.

Sarah Kallis: The committee is expected to announce legislative recommendations for transgender girls in sport at its final meeting before the 2025 legislative session in January. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: The Macon Bibb County Commission is moving ahead with the plan to demolish a long-vacant downtown hotel by the end of the year to make way for new development. GPB's Grant Blankenship has more.

Grant Blankenship: The hotel, just yards away from the Ocmulgee riverfront, has at various times been called a Hilton, a Ramada Inn and a Crowne Plaza. For over a decade, it's been empty. Now, after purchasing the over 15-story tall hotel making bid, Mayor Lester Miller says the city would spend millions of dollars to implode the structure — likely on New Year's Eve.

Lester Miller: It's been an albatross for our communities. It's stopped the growth to the river in downtown Macon for the last decade, and somebody needed to do something about it. And sometimes you've got to take the steps necessary to do that. We acquired this property to blow it up.

Grant Blankenship: Meanwhile, nearby businesses and the people connected to the city's oldest church have expressed some concern the demolition could damage their properties. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: Georgia shrimpers are welcoming a finding from the U.S. International Trade Commission that four countries are engaging in unfair trade practices. The panel's ruling, announced Tuesday, mean tariffs could come swiftly on frozen imported shrimp from Indonesia, Ecuador, India and Vietnam. But Paige Morrison of the Georgia Commercial Fishermen's Association says tariffs are likely to provide shrimpers only a limited benefit, while the finding itself is more valuable politically.

Paige Morrison: That wakes Congress up to see that, yes, we need help, we need our — our government to level the playing field for us.

Peter Biello: Her group is pressing for legislation to treat seafood harvesters more like farmers when it comes to federal oversight and relief.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr says he's running for governor in 2026. The Republican's announcement today makes him the first major candidate from either party in the race. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is limited to two terms and could run for U.S. Senate. It is early to announce a 2026 candidacy. But Carr started lining up donors for a run more than a year ago. Carr has been attorney general since 2016, aligning himself closely with Kemp.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale has won the National League Cy Young Award, and in doing so, he defied the skeptics who wondered if acquiring him from the Red Sox was a mistake, given Sale's history of injuries. Sale says he started the season simply wanting to stay healthy. And last night, after learning he'd won the Cy Young, he said the award felt special.

Chris Sale: As soon as that happened, I just — I'm thinking about people and teammates and coaches and trainers and family and it's just — it's special to me because of all the hard work that other people put in to get me here.

Peter Biello: Sale led the National League in strikeouts, went 18 and 3 and made his eighth All-Star appearance. And in winning the Cy Young, he joins a list of Braves legends that includes Greg Maddux, Warren Spahn, Tom Glavine and Jon Smoltz.

And that's it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit GPB.org/news. And subscribing to this podcast is a great way to stay on top of all things happening in Georgia. So do it now and we will pop up automatically in your podcast feed tomorrow. And if you've got feedback or a story that we should be following, let us know by email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

---

For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news