(GEORGIA NEWS NETORK)
*Biomedical research funding is likely to be cut drastically in Georgia. The National Institutes of Health provided the state’s universities, hospitals and businesses with around $780 million last year. The Trump administration says major overhead cuts like lab space and equipment will begin this week. Emory University alone expects funding to drop by $140 million this year.
*A Decatur-based Baptist group is joining a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). A policy enforced during the Biden administration limited immigration arrests near what were described as sensitive locations, but President Trump has scrapped that initiative in executive orders. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in Decatur joined a lawsuit last week to reverse the order. One pastor told the AJC that deterring congregants undermines the freedom of religious liberty.
*Three Atlanta men are accused in a fake check scheme south of Atlanta. Investigators say the suspects created more than 200 fake checks following a Forsyth post office box theft. Monroe County sheriff’s deputies arrested the trio on theft charges last Thursday.
*The Cobb County Board of Education’s decision to fire a teacher over a book is being upheld. Katie Rinderle was fired in August 2023 after members decided she read a divisive book, My Shadow Is Purple, to her fifth-grade class at Due West Elementary School. The decision was later supported by the state board of education. Atlanta News First reports an appeal to Cobb County Superior Court was recently denied.