Community tea

President Joe Biden on Friday urged Russia to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on espionage charges — allegations the newspaper denies. “Let him go,” Biden told reporters at the White House when asked about his message to Russia on the arrest of Gershkovich. Russia’s Federal Security Service has accused Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen, of trying to obtain classified information. It is the first time an American journalist has been detained in Russia on accusations of spying since the Cold War. The Journal has said it “vehemently denies” the charges. Speaking at a news conference in Lusaka, Zambia, Vice President Kamala Harris added that the administration was “deeply concerned” about Gershkovich’s arrest. “We will not tolerate — and condemn, in fact — repression of journalists,” Harris said during a weeklong visit to Africa.

Four months after her release from Russian prison, WNBA star Brittney Griner and her wife, Cherelle, called on President Joe Biden to push for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Gershkovich, who had been reporting in Russia for six years and wrote extensively about the country’s invasion of Ukraine, was arrested on espionage charges last week and faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. That sentence would be served in the same notoriously harsh prison system that held Griner until December when the Biden administration agreed to a prisoner exchange deal with Russia that freed convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout. In a statement released Sunday, the Griners praised the administration for its efforts in releasing prisoners like Griner and said it should keep pushing for Gershkovich.

Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Georgia on Thursday to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration’s effort to build a cleaner economy. On Apr. 6, Harris will travel to Dalton and tour the Qcells plant. The Biden-Harris Administration plans to discuss ways to create clean energy and good-paying jobs. It is reported that Qcells will spend nearly $2.5 billion to build a new plant in Cartersville while expanding the capacity of the current facility in Dalton. By 2024, the expansion is expected to bring 2,500 jobs to the state when the new production capacity is brought online.

A federal judge has ruled that former Vice President Mike Pence will have to testify before a grand jury in the Justice Department’s investigation into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Pence and his attorneys had cited constitutional grounds in challenging the subpoena. The sealed ruling from U.S. District Judge James “Jeb” Boasberg sets up the unprecedented scenario of a former vice president being compelled to give potentially damaging testimony against the president he once served.

The annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report released Friday warns that the financial safety nets millions of older Americans rely on and millions of young people are counting on will run short of money to pay full benefits within the next decade. Medicare, the government-sponsored health insurance that covers 65 million older and disabled people, will be unable to pay full benefits for inpatient hospital visits and nursing home stays by 2031, the report forecast. And just two years later, Social Security won’t have enough cash on hand to pay out full benefits to its 66 million retirees. The report is another prod for politicians to address the fragile financial state of the social programs, which are only expected to get more expensive in the coming years.

University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue blasted a $66 million state funding decrease lawmakers approved late Wednesday, which the system said will hurt schools across the state. The General Assembly passed a budget for the upcoming fiscal year with about $3.1 billion in state funding for the University System of Georgia (USG), which oversees 26 public colleges and universities. The University System said the cut adds to the pain of revenue losses due to recent falling enrollments at 20 schools, most of which are smaller, regional colleges. The budget now goes to Gov. Brian Kemp for his approval. 

On Wednesday, the General Assembly concluded. Here are some of the bills that passed and others that didn’t:

• SB 44: Adds an extra 5 years in prison at minimum if convicted of a gang-related crime.
• SB 63: Expands a list of criminal offenses to include more misdemeanors and more than 30 new charges, like forgery, theft, and criminal trespassing, to require posting bail before being released from jail.
• SB 222: Prohibits local election offices from accepting grant money to help run elections.
• SB233: The House initially voted against the “school voucher” bill which would essentially give money to low-income families to help pay for private school tuition. Moments later they voted to re-consider the measure which was not voted on before the end of the session.

Those that did not pass include the following:

• The senate voted down a medical marijuana bill that would’ve expanded production in the state.
• Lawmakers did not discuss an antisemitism bill that would make hate against Jewish people a hate crime in Georgia.
• A bill that would have limited the amount of personal income court officials who process passport applications could receive did not come to a final vote by the end of the legislative session. Superior court clerks and probate judges will be allowed to continue the practice legally under current state law. 
• Efforts to revive the proposed city of Lost Mountain will have to wait another year. State Sen. Ed Setzler, RAcworth, opted not to introduce the bill this session, delaying supporters’ ability to get the new feasibility study needed to put another cityhood measure on the ballot. Last week, he sent out a map of the proposed new city and said the bill would be introduced Monday. However, the bill was not filed Wednesday, the last day of the legislative session.
• Legislation to offer private-school vouchers to Georgia students attending low-performing public schools failed in the state House of Representatives.  The bill would have created $6,500 vouchers for Georgia students to use for private-school or home-schooling expenses if they were assigned to attend a public school in the lowest-performing quartile of public schools in the state.  
• A bill to provide one of the most significant boosts in Georgia tenant protections in decades failed to come up for a Senate vote during the legislative session’s final hours Wednesday. HB 404 would for the first time require Georgia landlords to provide rentals that are “fit for human habitation.” Georgia is one of only three states lacking such a standard, and housing advocates rallied behind the measure, calling it a meaningful step toward making housing safe and decent for families.
• A bill that would have made antisemitism part of Georgia’s hate crimes law failed early Thursday without receiving final votes before the General Assembly adjourned for the year. Opponents of the legislation said it could have limited speech against Israel, though backers of the proposal said it would have applied only when Jewish people were targeted by crimes or discrimination. The bill didn’t pass because state Senate leaders never called for a vote on the last day of the annual legislative session. The measure, House Bill 144, would have defined antisemitism and made it a part of Georgia’s hate crimes law, allowing harsher criminal penalties against those who target victims on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, sex, national origin, religion, or physical or mental disability. ” 

The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern, alleging its Feb. 3 derailment in Ohio unlawfully polluted waterways. The government wants the court to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for the derailment of the train carrying hazardous materials, and to ensure that the railroad pays the full cost of the environmental cleanup. The lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in an Ohio federal court but became publicly known Friday, is the latest in a series of legal actions against Norfolk Southern since the wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, and follows lawsuits filed by Ohio’s attorney general, residents, and shareholders. 

Honda is recalling more than 330,000 vehicles from 2020-22 because heating pads behind both side-view mirrors may not be bonded properly, which could lead to the mirror glass falling out and increase the risk of a crash. 

Disney started the company’s mass layoffs on Monday after the company last month outlined plans to cut 7,000 workers this year in an effort to slash $5.5 billion in costs.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled about 53,000 hoverboards this week, after numerous reports that they had caught fire, including one instance last year in Pennsylvania, in which two sisters were killed. The model in question, manufactured by Jetson Electric Bikes, is the 42-volt Jetson Rogue hoverboard. The agency said the hoverboard’s lithium-ion battery pack could overheat and create a fire hazard. The product was sold in Target stores nationwide from August 2018 to June 2019 and online from January 2019 to November 2021 for about $100 to $150.

57,000 Jeep Wranglers are being recalled over an ‘unnecessary’.  According to a recall report filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Administration, an “unnecessary” part installed on some Jeep Wranglers could puncture the fuel tank and create a fire risk. Chrysler, the maker of Jeep vehicles, said the recall affects 57,885 vehicles, 58% of which are expected to have the “unnecessary and unused frame stud.” The extra stud could pierce the fuel tank during a crash, Chrysler said, causing a fuel leak.

The Laundress – a high-end laundry and fabric care store owned by Unilever – issued a recall for tens of thousands of its products that may be contaminated with a carcinogen. This comes just months after the company issued a recall for millions of its laundry and household cleaning products due to a bacteria risk. This time, the company issued a recall for an additional 70,000 fabric conditioners, according to a Friday notice posted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). 

Have a wonderful week.