(GA. NEWS NETWORK)
*An Atlanta doctor is facing dozens of healthcare fraud charges. Investigators say Murrell Rutledge submitted thousands of Medicaid claims that totaled four-million dollars between 2017 and 2023. His case is just one of hundreds nationwide announced by the Department of Justice who were part of an operation called National Health Care Fraud Takedown. Fraud numbers reached into the billions of dollars nationwide.
*The deaths of two south Georgia prisoners are under investigation this week. The Georgia Department of Corrections says Antavious Bailey died on Sunday at Valdosta State Prison, while serving a sentence for an armed robbery and home invasion. A second inmate, Steven Bryant, died on Tuesday. The GBI crime lab will conduct the autopsies.
*Savannah is embarking on a plan to redevelop River Street. A vision plan approved by the city council yesterday aims to use improvements to enhance security and make more space for entertainment venues across the 12-acre area. The plan notes that Savannah intends to rival the world’s greatest urban waterfronts. The aim is for property owners and the city to collaborate together on making the changes.
*A report released Thursday shows Georgia has added more than half-a-million residents in the past five years, and a large portion of that growth is from non-whites. The report finds more than 40 percent of new residents are Latino, 33 percent are Black, and 20 percent are Asian. It also shows Georgia lost nearly 25,000 white non-Latino residents. The Census Bureau says the Peach State is now nearly equally divided between white and non-white residents.
*A dead alligator has been found in a tree in Valdosta. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources says the alligator was killed illegally and was discovered by game wardens hanging from a tree limb at Langdale Park on Thursday. Authorities are offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible. Georgia law has specific rules on hunting alligators and violating them can result in fines or up to a year in jail.