News from the South - Georgia News Feed

As U.S. House GOP adopts budget, protesters rally against Medicaid reductions, tax cuts

Published

3 months ago

April 10, 2025

georgiarecorder.com – Ashley Murray – 2025-04-10 17:47:00

by Ashley Murray, Georgia Recorder
April 10, 2025

WASHINGTON — Hundreds demonstrated outside the U.S. Capitol Thursday, urging congressional Republicans to rethink cutting programs vital to millions of Americans as a way to help extend President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts.

The previously scheduled rally, organized by the advocacy coalition Fair Share America, occurred less than an hour after House Republicans, by a narrow margin, adopted a budget resolution that paves the way for negotiations on deep spending cuts as Congress works on an extension of the 2017 tax law.

The advocates, who flew and bused in from 30 states to rally and meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, say the cuts would be devastating for low-income Americans who rely on government health care, nutrition and early education programs, among other benefits.

Shelia McMillan, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, sits among demonstrators outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, April 10, 2025. McMillan attended a rally organized by Fair Share America that protested congressional Republicans’ proposed spending cuts. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

A state-by-state report from Democrats last month projected up to 25 million across the country could lose access to Medicaid, a health program that covers medical costs for some low-income people as well as nursing home care, if Republicans successfully pass their proposed cuts to make room in the budget for a roughly $4.5 trillion tax cut extension.

“This is personal to so many of us, and many of you are here from all over the country, Utah, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan,” Fair Share America Executive Director Kristen Crowell told the crowd. “This is a national movement where we are the people we’ve been waiting for.”

Lawmakers “need to look us in the eye while they do harm,” Crowell said.

Medicaid ‘was my lifeline’

Cadon Sagendorf of Salt Lake City, Utah, told his story of relying on Medicaid while growing up in the foster care system. Foster youth are automatically eligible for the federally funded health care program administered by the states.

“I was placed into the foster care system at birth and spent 10 days in the NICU withdrawing from meth, marijuana, heroin and cocaine. I was then later adopted seven months later, but at the age of 15, my adoption failed and I was placed back in the foster care system,” said Sagendorf, who is now 23 and studying psychology at the University of Utah.

“Medicaid was not just a policy, it was my lifeline,” Sagendorf said.

In most cases, foster youth who age out of the system at 18 can remain on Medicaid until age 26. Over 100,000 former foster youth received Medicaid in 2023, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Mickey Rottinghaus, 70, of Center Point, Iowa, said she’s scared that her adult son Tucker could lose his Medicaid benefits if Congress follows through with deep spending cuts.

The program pays for a nurse and home health aide to assist him every morning, seven days a week.

Tucker, 50, was left paralyzed after being shot with a .22 caliber handgun at a friend’s apartment in 1994.

“Our family was changed in a matter of moments,” Rottinghaus told the crowd.

For three decades she’s been arranging his care, patching together a daily schedule of nurses paid for by Medicaid, supplementing with care paid for out of pocket and a circle of friends who volunteer to help.

For the past two years, she’s been staying with her son in Waterloo, Iowa, to feed him in the afternoon and get him into bed at night.

“I know that if he didn’t have Medicaid, he wouldn’t be able to have a nurse and a home health aide in the morning,” she told States Newsroom in an interview following her speech.

The ‘hell, no’ Congress

Several House and Senate Democrats spoke to the demonstrators, who wielded signs bearing the messages “Tax the Rich” and “Fair Taxes Now.”

Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon borrowed a sign from the crowd that read “Dangerous Oligarchs Grab Everything,” referring to billionaire White House adviser Elon Musk’s DOGE cost-cutting agenda.

“Well, I’ll tell ya, I’m a member of the ‘hell, no’ Congress. Are you a member?” he yelled to the crowd.

“When Republicans say, ‘We are going to slash Medicaid,’ we say, ‘Hell no,’” he said, prompting the crowd to say it with him.

Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia said “a budget is not just a fiscal document, it’s a moral document.”

Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who represents Georgia, speaks to demonstrators outside the U.S. Capitol. The rally crowd, organized by the national advocacy group Fair Share America, protested congressional Republicans’ proposed spending cuts on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

“Show me your budget and I’ll show you who you think matters and who you think is dispensable. Show me your budget and I’ll show you what you think about children, what you think about workers, what you think made America great. And if this budget that they are trying to pass were an EKG, it would suggest that the Congress has a heart problem and is in need of moral surgery,” Warnock said.

On the hunt for spending cuts

House and Senate Republican leaders announced Thursday they agreed to find $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade. GOP House lawmakers have been instructed to find $880 billion in cuts to programs under the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which holds jurisdiction over Medicaid, among other areas.

The budget instructions that will guide the coming months of negotiations also direct the House Committee on Education and Workforce to find $330 billion in cuts, and the Agriculture Committee, which has jurisdiction over government food programs, including SNAP, to find $230 billion in cuts.

House Speaker Mike Johnson hailed the passage of the budget blueprint Thursday morning as “a big victory” and “a big day for us.”

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, maintains that letting the 2017 tax cuts expire would allow “the largest tax increase in U.S. history all at once.”

“We have a responsibility to get our country back on a sound fiscal trajectory and also make sure that we ensure and protect those essential programs,” he said.

Last updated 6:24 p.m., Apr. 10, 2025

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.

The post As U.S. House GOP adopts budget, protesters rally against Medicaid reductions, tax cuts appeared first on georgiarecorder.com

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www.youtube.com – 11Alive – 2025-06-29 22:59:55

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News from the South - Georgia News Feed

North Carolina US Sen. Thom Tillis announces retirement after drawing Trump wrath

Published

24 hours ago

June 29, 2025

Staff Editor

georgiarecorder.com – Jennifer Shutt – 2025-06-29 18:32:00

by Jennifer Shutt, Georgia Recorder
June 29, 2025

WASHINGTON — North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis announced Sunday he won’t seek reelection when his term ends next year, opening up a seat that will become central to control of Congress during next year’s midterms.

Tillis’ announcement came just hours after he voted against moving forward with Republicans’ tax and spending cuts package, eliciting a wave of criticism on social media from President Donald Trump.

Tillis wrote in a statement that it “has been a blessing to go on a journey from living in a trailer park and making minimum wage as a young man to having the honor of serving as U.S. Senator for North Carolina.”

His proudest accomplishments, he wrote, were the “bipartisan victories,” including “working across the aisle in the Senate to pass the largest investment in mental health in American history, passing the Respect for Marriage Act and monumental infrastructure investments, and reestablishing the Senate NATO Observer Group.

“Sometimes those bipartisan initiatives got me into trouble with my own party, but I wouldn’t have changed a single one.”

Tillis wrote he looks “forward to continuing to serve North Carolina over the next 18 months. I look forward to solely focusing on producing meaningful results without the distraction of raising money or campaigning for another election. I look forward to having the pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see fit and representing the great people of North Carolina to the best of my ability.”

Targeted by Trump over vote

Tills’ announcement followed several hectic days on Capitol Hill, where GOP leaders sought to sway him to support the party’s “big, beautiful bill,” though he ultimately voted against advancing the tax and spending cut legislation toward final passage on Saturday night.

That vote elicited a torrent of rebuke from Trump on social media.

“Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis,” Trump wrote in one post. ‘I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Tillis, 64, became a member of the state House of Representatives in 2007 before rising to become speaker in 2011. He held that position until 2014, when he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Tillis secured reelection in 2020 with 48.7% of the vote compared to his Democratic opponent’s 46.9%. The two were separated by fewer than 96,000 votes out of more than 5.2 million cast.

His term will officially expire in January 2027, but the contest to replace him is expected to begin quickly.

2026 election

Republicans will want whoever emerges from their primary well positioned to fend off a general election challenge. Democrats will be just as focused on the state as they look to regain control of the Senate following the 2026 midterm elections.

Republicans currently hold 53 seats in the Senate and while the map is highly favorable to the GOP, Democrats are expected to spend a considerable amount of time and money trying to flip seats.

North Carolina and Maine are the two most likely pick-up opportunities for Democrats and an open seat in North Carolina could help them a bit. But Democrats still face long odds to flip other seats in deeply red states like Alabama, Florida, Montana and West Virginia.

The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter had rated both Maine and North Carolina as leaning toward Republican wins next year, though its analysts moved North Carolina into the “toss-up” category a few hours after the Tillis retirement announcement.

Jessica Taylor, the Senate and Governors editor for CPR, wrote that Tillis’ retirement “officially makes the Tar Heel State Democrats’ top pickup opportunity.”

“The vulnerability of this seat, however, does not alter the overall Senate math for 2026,” Taylor added. “Even if Democrats were to win here in 2026, they’d still need to flip three more seats, including at least two in deep red states, in order to win a bare majority.”

Democrats not only need to pick up several seats to regain control of the Senate but will need to defend an open seat in Michigan and Sen. Jon Ossoff’s seat in deeply red Georgia.

The Cook Political Report rates both Georgia and Michigan as “toss-up races.”

Campaign committees react

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., wrote in a statement he expects North Carolina will stay red following the midterms.

“President Trump has won North Carolina three times, and the state’s been represented by two Republican Senators for over a decade,” Scott wrote. “That streak will continue in 2026 when North Carolinians elect a conservative leader committed to advancing an agenda of opportunity, prosperity, and security.”

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Maeve Coyle released a written statement just minutes after the announcement that “Tillis’ decision not to run for reelection is another blow to Republicans’ chances as they face a midterm backlash that puts their majority at risk.

“Even Tillis admits the GOP plan to slash Medicaid and spike costs for families is toxic — and in 2026, Democrats will flip North Carolina’s Senate seat.”

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said during an interview with NC Newsline just a few days before Tillis’ announcement that the state represented “one of our best pickup opportunities in the Senate” in 2026.

Martin said he had spoken with former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper about potentially running for the Senate seat.

The post North Carolina US Sen. Thom Tillis announces retirement after drawing Trump wrath appeared first on georgiarecorder.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article presents a balanced and factual overview of Senator Thom Tillis’s retirement and the political implications for the 2026 Senate elections in North Carolina. It neutrally covers Tillis’s career, his bipartisan accomplishments, and his recent vote against a GOP tax and spending package without editorializing. The coverage includes perspectives from both Republican and Democratic figures, quoting each side’s statements about the seat and the upcoming election. The tone remains informative without promoting a particular ideology or framing events to favor one party, adhering to objective political reporting.

News from the South - Georgia News Feed

One killed, three injured in shooting at southeast Atlanta park

Published

24 hours ago

June 29, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – FOX 5 Atlanta – 2025-06-29 18:28:51

SUMMARY: A shooting at Cone Park in southeast Atlanta during a fraternity gathering left one man dead and three others injured. The incident began when an uninvited guest approached the group, sparking an argument that escalated to gunfire. Police arrived around 8 p.m. Saturday, finding two men shot; one died on the scene from a headshot, while another was hospitalized at Grady. Two additional victims were shot but are expected to recover. The park is a popular community space, making the violence shocking to residents. Authorities urge people to call police rather than confronting disputes themselves. Investigation continues.

Police said they believe one of the people injured in the shooting was the aggressor in the situation.

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