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Georgia Today: Giuliani admits to election lies; Pediatricians address gun violence; Atlanta Open
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On the Wednesday, July 26 edition of Georgia Today: Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani admits he made false public comments about two Fulton County election workers; a group of Georgia pediatricians ask lawmakers to address a rise in emergency room treatment for kids with gunshot wounds; and a former Georgia Tech tennis player wins big at the Atlanta Open.
Orlando Montoya: Hello and welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Wednesday, July 26. I'm Orlando Montoya. On today's episode, former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani admits he made false public comments about two Fulton County election workers. A group of Georgia pediatricians asks lawmakers to address a rise in emergency room treatment for kids with gunshot wounds. And former Georgia Tech tennis player Chris Eubanks continues his winning ways at the Atlanta Open. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.
Story 1:
Orlando Montoya: Former attorney for Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani concedes he made public comments falsely claiming two election workers in Atlanta's Fulton County committed ballot fraud during the 2020 presidential race. But he argues the statements were protected by the First Amendment. The assertions came in a filing yesterday in a lawsuit by the two workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss. They claim Giuliani defamed them by repeatedly pushing debunked claims that they pulled out suitcases of illegal ballots to try to alter the election's outcome.
Story 2:
Orlando Montoya: Georgia is getting $2 million in federal funding to address lead in drinking water consumed by children. GPB's Sarah Kallis has more.
Sarah Kallis: The money from the Environmental Protection Agency will be used to replace the pipes in schools and day care centers. Senior adviser to President Biden, Mitch Landrieu, says Georgia state officials will decide who gets the money, but it comes with specific guidelines.
Mitch Landrieu: It's pretty specific. They have to use the funds to remove and replace lead pipes. They have to replace the faucets of the water fountains that the kids drink from, things like that. It's pretty specific in this instance, because that's what the — that's what the challenge is and that's what the mission is.
Sarah Kallis: Landrieu says the plan helps, quote, "give kids the tools they need to be healthy." The money is part of a nationwide $58 million grant. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis.
Story 3:
Orlando Montoya: A man who's been in a South Georgia jail for 10 years while awaiting trial for a 2013 drive-by shooting that killed two people will have to keep waiting for a verdict. A jury in Albany's Dougherty County was dismissed on Monday after failing to reach a verdict in the long-delayed, two-week trial of Maurice Jimmerson. The county's district attorney says he'll try the case again and blames the delay on the pandemic and a flood in the courthouse. Jimmerson's lawyer wants a judge to reduce his bail and says the long delay means the charges should be thrown out.
Story 4:
Orlando Montoya: Opponents of a planned police training center in Atlanta say they've gathered 30,000 signatures to get a referendum on the ballot. GPB's Amanda Andrews reports, they want voters to decide the project's future.
Amanda Andrews: Canvassing groups have less than a month to gather a total of 70,000 valid signatures. The petition for the referendum was filed June 7 and approval was given June 21, after several delays and a lawsuit against the city. Signatures can only be collected in person, so many local organizations have set up field offices where residents can walk up and sign the petition. The petition is also limited to Atlanta residents who were registered to vote in the last citywide election in 2021. That makes DeKalb County residents who live near the training center, but outside Atlanta district lines ineligible to collect signatures, sign the petition or vote on the measure if it makes it on the ballot. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.
Story 5:
Orlando Montoya: Forty Georgia pediatricians are warning about a rise in children coming into emergency rooms with gunshot wounds. GPB's Donna Lowry reports on their open letter to state lawmakers.
Donna Lowry: Atlanta doctor Wendalyn Little has worked on pediatric emergency medicine for over 25 years, but lately she's treating more children with bullet wounds.
Dr. Wendalyn Little: I feel like in past weeks and months, I've cared for an increasing number of just horrific gunshot wounds and was just moved to write this piece after an experience of — you know, I think I took care of, you know, four or five within a two-week period,.
Donna Lowry: She says it's heartbreaking.
Dr. Wendalyn Little: And one of the things that I've always been struck by and I wrote about in this letter was how small those holes in the body could actually be. I've always struck by that. If someone comes in and they're dying in front of you with a very tiny hole in their body and you're just struck by how much damage is done behind that.
Donna Lowry: She shared her letter with fellow pediatric ER physicians who added their feelings about what they see. Dr. Sofia Chaudhary:
Dr. Sofia Chaudhary: I mean, for me, particularly if it's especially if it's a younger child, I see my own child in these cases and your heart goes out to these family members. We know that these injuries can happen within seconds.
Dr. Wendalyn Little: And it's it's sobering to to see them come in and to see parents — like I write, again, in the article — about seeing parents with bloodstains on their clothing from where they've held their children. And, you know, they're — they're horrified. They're frightened. And I can't help but, you know, in the moment, we're pretty good at sort of focusing on our jobs. But later, we certainly, you know, all, I think, think about our own families and our own children.
Donna Lowry: Their message to lawmakers?
Dr. Sofia Chaudhary: Firearms are the leading cause of death for our children and youth in Georgia. They're the leading cause of death for all youth in the United States. Firearm injuries have surpassed motor vehicle crash injuries and fatalities in children and teens.
Dr. Wendalyn Little: I liken this to automobiles. Automobiles used to be a leading cause of death in children. And we've passed a lot of laws where, you know, seatbelt laws are, were been made. And you can't — there are laws in place of how young children need to be restrained in cars. You know, the children, the infants need to be in car seats. I think we can also work as a culture to to lessen this culture of sort of guns and and glorification of weapons that's in music, that's in television, that's all around us. And I think that's one place where a politician can lead the way and say "This is not something we need to glorify in our society." This is a human problem, that this is not a political matter. This is a public health matter.
Donna Lowry: They're asking the Georgia General Assembly to consider solutions, including safer gun storage. Donna Lowry for GPB News.
Story 6:
Orlando Montoya: A North Carolina man is backing down from a proposal to build a dragon sculpture the size of half a football field on top of a North Georgia mountain. Sci-fi and fantasy fan Michael Parrish operates unusual Airbnbs, including a Wizards Hollow and a planned starship out of Asheville. He plans to retire in North Georgia's Hiawassee and wanted to build a towering Hogwarts style dragon sculpture on nearby Whiskey Mountain. That is, he says, until a fiery city council meeting on Monday.
Michael Parrish: A lot of other people love it, but a lot of other people didn't. And I don't want to be a longtime resident in my remaining years at Hiawassee and I'd like to get along with everyone. And you know, it just appears that the dragon was too controversial.
Orlando Montoya: No zoning laws prevent the sculpture, which would have been visible in the small town. Parrish says he now plans to build a much smaller dragon sculpture visible only on his property, where he also plans to build a castle-like house.
Story 7:
Orlando Montoya: Former Georgia Tech tennis player and 2023 Wimbledon phenom Christopher Eubanks dominated his opening match at this year's Atlanta Open last night. He cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 win over fellow Yellow Jacket Andres Martin and plays again tonight in the tournament's round of 16. Tournament director Peter Lebedevs says interest in the nine-day Atlanta Open skyrocketed when Eubanks went on a stunning tear at Wimbledon earlier this month.
Peter Lebedevs: It's been a tremendous boost to the tournament, but more than that, it's just tremendous to Chris. Chris is a great guy, tremendous young man who's been out there working his tail off for all these years.
Orlando Montoya: Eubanks now has won 10 out of his last 11 matches. After last night's win in front of a supportive hometown crowd, Eubanks said Atlanta, quote, "means everything to him." He said he's focused on details surrounding his recent run of form as he sharpens his game for the upcoming U.S. Open.
Story 8:
Orlando Montoya: In other sports news, despite the Braves completing the first triple play of the Major League Baseball season, the Boston Red Sox beat Atlanta 7 to 1 last night in a game delayed an hour and 40 minutes by rain and lightning. And in Major League Soccer. Argentine star Lionel Messi scored twice and added an assist in his first start for Inter Miami, leading his new club to a 4 to nothing win over Atlanta United in the League's Cup. And in the WNBA, the Atlanta Dream beat the Phoenix Mercury 78 to 65.
And that's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. Our GPB reporters are constantly adding stories to our website, GPB.org/news. So check out the website for the latest from Georgia. If you'd like to hear more from this podcast, subscribe to us. That way you'll never miss us in your feed. And as always, if you have feedback, let us know by sending us an email at GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. Filling in for Peter Biello all this week, I'm Orlando Montoya. I look forward to talking to you tomorrow.
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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news
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