COMMUNITY TEA

President Joe Biden signed a bill last week that will give security protection to the families of Supreme Court justices. The law, which passed the House and the Senate, comes eight days after a man was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house after threatening to kill the justice. Many in the community see the irony of protecting the justices in the backdrop of children being killed by firearms that should be better regulated by the government but are not.  

The U.S. House committee investigating Jan. 6, 2021, riot says a man shown on footage outside the Capitol during the insurrection was also on a tour Georgia U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk hosted the day prior. The revelation comes after Loudermilk released a letter from Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger on Tuesday that said the congressman had done nothing wrong as part of the Jan. 5, 2021, tour. In response, the committee renewed its request that he voluntarily agree to an interview about the group he escorted. The committee in a letter Wednesday to Loudermilk also provided more details about the group. Some in that group attended a “stop the steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6, Chairman Bennie Thompson wrote. The letter said that footage shows “the individual who appeared to photograph a staircase in the Longworth House Office Building filmed a companion with a flagpole appearing to have a sharpened end who spoke to the camera saying, ‘It’s for a certain person,’ while making an aggressive jabbing motion.” The existence of the video was first reported by Punchbowl News.

President Joe Biden signed a bill last week that will give security protection to the families of Supreme Court justices. The law, which passed the House and the Senate, comes eight days after a man was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house after threatening to kill the justice. Many in the community see the irony of protecting the justices in the backdrop of children being killed by firearms that should be better regulated by the government but are not.

According to an analysis released Thursday by the New York-based Commonwealth Fund, Georgia’s response to the pandemic ranked among the nation’s worst. Georgia ranked 44th among all states and the District of Columbia for its overall health performance according to the report, which measured rates of death and hospitalization as well as staffing shortages and overflow in hospital intensive care units. Georgia ranked 47th for its response to the pandemic. In response to this scathing report, a spokeswoman for Gov. Brian Kemp said the governor had “prioritized the lives and livelihoods of Georgians throughout the pandemic,” noting Kemp’s deployment of the

National Guard and other resources to hospitals and pandemic health sites. Measures favored by some public health experts that Kemp did not endorse included mask mandates, vaccination mandates, and longer shutdowns of gatherings. 

U.S. Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina has been ousted from Congress in his Republican primary after voting to impeach Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 insurrection. He is the first of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump to lose a reelection bid. Rice, a five-term congressman, was defeated Tuesday by state Rep. Russell Fry, who was endorsed by Trump. Rice was a strong supporter of Trump’s policies in Washington but said he was left with no choice but to impeach Trump over his failure to calm the mob that violently sought to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.

The British government ordered the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges, a milestone — but not the end — of a decade-long legal saga sparked by his website’s publication of classified U.S. documents. WikiLeaks said it would challenge the order, and Assange’s lawyers have 14 days to lodge an appeal. Assange has battled in British courts for years to avoid being sent to the U.S., where he faces 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse. American prosecutors say the Australian citizen helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.

Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert, and President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday. Fauci, 81, who has received two doses of the Moderna vaccine and two booster shots, diagnosed himself after taking a rapid antigen test. He had not previously tested positive and had not recently been in close proximity to Biden. Fauci said in April that the United States has moved out of the “full-blown pandemic phase” of fighting the coronavirus, as vaccines and antiviral treatments have limited complications and deaths from contracting an infection. But he has continued to warn of the continuing risks of the virus.

A Kennesaw city councilman resigned, and his daughter announced plans to relocate her business out of downtown Kennesaw, in protest of a Confederate memorabilia shop reopening last week after the city issued it a business license. Wildman’s Civil War Surplus, infamous locally for its collection of racist souvenirs, closed earlier this year after its founder, Dent “Wildman” Myers, died in January and its business license expired. When the owner died in January, Marjorie Lyon vowed to keep the shop open. Councilman James “Doc,” Eaton said he resigned effective June 21 after the city manager told him there was nothing the city legally could do to prevent the store from reopening. “It breaks my heart to have to do it. I said, ‘If you guys can’t do anything about it, I don’t want any part of it.’”

Beyonce revealed that her highly anticipated seventh studio album, “Renaissance,” is coming on July 29. The announcement comes shortly after the singer raised fans’ suspicions by wiping the profile pictures on her social media accounts — suggesting something big was on the way. The “Formation” artist broke the news via her social media bios, which now read, “act i RENAISSANCE 7.29.” Tidal, the music streaming platform co-owned by Beyonce and husband Jay- Z, also shared the title and release date on social media. “Renaissance” is set to arrive six years after Beyonce’s last studio album, “Lemonade,” came out.

A Tesla investor accused the electric vehicle maker’s officers and directors in a lawsuit of allowing a “toxic workplace culture” to fester at the company. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and others fostered an environment of discrimination and harassment, exposing Tesla to potential liability, according to the complaint filed Thursday by stockholder Solomon Chau in Austin, Texas.

Feds say NATION Automakers reported nearly 400 crashes of vehicles with partially automated driver-assist systems, including 273 involving Teslas, according to statistics released by U.S. safety regulators Wednesday. Automakers reported crashes from July of last year through May 15 under an order from the agency, which is examining such crashes broadly for the first time.

The 90th annual Superior Plumbing presents North Georgia State Fair will be from Sept. 22 through Oct. 2 at Jim R. Miller Park in Marietta. As the largest fair in metro Atlanta, it attracts 300,000 people every year from north Georgia and neighboring states.

The fair features live music, free attractions and shows, farm animals, flower shows, blue-ribbon competitions, local entertainment, and fair foods. There are also games and rides on the Great James H. Drew Exposition midway – one of the largest carnival midways in the U.S., featuring the Wildcat Rollercoaster, Georgia Mountain Lift, and the Mega Slide. For more information, visit www.northgeorgiastatefair.com.

One of the world’s biggest and most-watched sporting events is coming to Atlanta in four years. Soccer’s global governing body, FIFA, on Thursday named Atlanta and 15 other North American cities to host matches in the 2026 men’s World Cup.

After two years of planning and marketing, the Black Sports Business Symposium moved from a dream to a reality when organizers welcomed thousands from across the United States to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for a three-day symposium that began Thursday. Among other things, the event provided opportunities for attendees to speak to representatives from companies looking for Black talent. Students and professionals also were encouraged to participate in many learning sessions with well-known speakers and members of the business community who led discussions surrounding race and equity in the sports business. Headliner, Deion Sanders, Jackson State’s football coach, who played with the Atlanta Falcons from 1989-93 and the Atlanta Braves from 1991-94,

closed the first day with an hourlong message about his playing and coaching careers. Closing his time with a Q&A, he discussed his role at Jackson State and his experiences at his HBCU. Grateful for its first stop in Atlanta, the Black Sports Business Symposium looks to continue spreading the importance of diversifying the sports industry.

Sue Bird, WNBA’s oldest player, is retiring. The Seattle Storm star and five-time Olympic gold medalist announced Thursday that the 2022 season will be her last in the WNBA. Bird’s announcement ended any speculation about her future, though she acknowledged in February when she re-signed with Seattle that this would likely be her final season. Bird is a four-time WNBA champion, 12-time All-Star, and the oldest player in the league at 41. She has spent her entire WNBA career with Seattle since becoming the No. 1 draft pick in 2002 following her storied college career at UConn.

WNBA star Brittney Griner will remain in Russian custody through at least July 2, Russian state-run news agency Tass reported Tuesday. The 31-year-old American basketball player has been held in Russia on drug-smuggling accusations since

February. The U.S. Department of State reclassified her as wrongfully detained. The Khimki district court of the Moscow region extended Griner’s detention for a third time, according to the Tass report, which also cited a top Russian diplomat as saying that Moscow will not consider including Griner in a detainee swap “until a court investigation into her case is completed.”

For the first time since late 2020, the price of bitcoin fell below $20,000 on Saturday in a fresh sign that the sell-off in cryptocurrencies is deepening. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, fell below the psychologically important threshold, dropping as much as 9% to less than $19,000, according to CoinDesk. The last time bitcoin was at this level was November 2020, when it was on its way up to its all-time high of nearly $69,000. It’s the latest sign of turmoil in the cryptocurrency industry amid wider turbulence in financial markets. Investors are selling off riskier assets because central banks are raising interest rates to combat inflation.

Revlon, a cosmetics maker that broke racial barriers and dictated beauty trends for much of the last century, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company has been a mainstay on store shelves since its founding 90 years ago in New York City as it oversaw a stable of household names, from Almay to Elizabeth Arden. Revlon failed to keep pace with changing tastes, however, slow to follow women as they traded flashy red lipstick for more muted tones in the 1990s.

An earthquake shook part of southeast Georgia early Saturday morning, waking up more than a few folks. The 3.9-magnitude quake was recorded about 4 a.m. just west of Statesboro, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The rumbles were about a half-mile

deep. At 2:09 a.m. Friday, a smaller 2.2-magnitude earthquake with an epicenter to the west of Augusta was detected. The epicenter of Saturday’s earthquake was recorded near Reedy Creek about 5 miles north of Interstate 16, between Stillmore and Metter.

June is National Candy Month, so indulge in your favorite guilty pleasure and have a wonderful week.