www.youtube.com – FOX 5 Atlanta – 2025-06-12 08:41:10
SUMMARY: Hundreds of CDC employees who were laid off in April are being rehired amid public backlash. The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that 460 workers have been reinstated, including 200 in the HIV, Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention center and 150 in Environmental Health, focusing on labs dealing with lead poisoning. Layoffs had affected critical roles in public health, sparking rallies, lawsuits, and concerns about empty vital positions. This is not the first reinstatement; a previous round of layoffs in February led to some employees being rehired. Thousands remain unemployed, with future rehiring uncertain.
More than 460 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been reinstated after being laid off earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed Wednesday.
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SUMMARY: The Charlton County Commission approved expanding the ICE processing center at the D. Ray James Correctional Facility in Folkston, Georgia, set to become the largest ICE detention center in the U.S. The facility, three miles from Folkston’s center, will create about 400 jobs, vital for the struggling rural town of 13,000 residents. Local officials hope the expansion boosts tax revenue, retail, and public services after economic decline caused by shifts in transportation and industry. Despite a multimillion-dollar contract, the county receives only a $260,000 administrative fee. Community members remain hopeful the job growth will positively impact local livelihoods.
Union members rallied in Los Angeles demanding the release of union leader David Huerta, arrested during immigration enforcement on June 9, 2025. Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled President Donald Trump’s deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles protests unlawful, returning control to Governor Gavin Newsom. Breyer stated Trump exceeded statutory authority and violated the Tenth Amendment by bypassing Newsom, contrary to federal law requiring gubernatorial consent. The Trump administration argued the president alone can federalize the Guard, but Breyer rejected this, emphasizing constitutional limits. The ruling did not affect the deployment of 700 Marines. Several Democratic officials supported California’s stance.
A federal judge in California late Thursday ordered President Donald Trump to relinquish command of 4,000 National Guard troops the president called to help contain Los Angeles protests over immigration raids.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said Trump’s mobilization of the National Guard was illegal, and ordered the return of control to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had opposed the deployment. He said his order would go into effect noon Pacific time Friday, likely setting up an emergency appeal by the administration.
Trump’s “actions were illegal—both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” Breyer wrote.
He issued the 36-page order mere hours after an afternoon hearing at which he appeared skeptical that Trump’s order was lawful.
Breyer at the hearing appeared not to accept the Trump administration’s argument that obtaining consent from Newsom, a Democrat, was not a prerequisite to federalize the California National Guard.
Newsom has been backed up by Democratic attorneys general across the nation in the closely watched case.
Breyer noted the law Trump cited when mobilizing the troops requires the order to go through a state’s governor, but Trump’s order bypassed Newsom and went directly to the adjutant general of the California National Guard.
“I’m trying to figure out how something is through somebody if, in fact, you didn’t give it to him, you actually sent it to the adjutant general,” Breyer said. “It would be the first time I’ve ever seen something going through somebody if it never went to them directly.”
‘A constitutional government and King George’
U.S. Justice Department attorney Brett Shumate, who argued for the administration, said Newsom’s approval was not necessary for the commander-in-chief to call National Guard troops into service.
“There’s no consultation requirement, pre-approval requirement,” he said. “The governor is merely a conduit. He’s not a roadblock. The president doesn’t have to call up the governor, invite them to Camp David, ‘Let’s have a summit, negotiate for a week about what are the terms that we’re going to call up the National Guard in your state, what are the terms of the deployment?’”
The president alone can determine whether the conditions allowing for the federalization of the National Guard are met, Shumate said.
But Breyer, who was appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton, said the president faced more limits on his authority than Shumate had argued.
“That’s the difference between a constitutional government and King George,” Breyer said.
Nicholas Green, who argued on behalf of the state, called the federal government’s argument “breathtaking in scope,” in part because the troops appear to be assisting in domestic law enforcement.
“They are saying, Your Honor, that the president, by fiat, can federalize the National Guard and deploy it in the streets of a civilian city whenever he perceives that there is disobedience to an order,” Green told Breyer. “That is an expansive, dangerous conception of federal executive power.”
Breyer seemed less opposed to Trump’s order to deploy 700 U.S. Marines to the area, noting those troops are not yet on the ground in Los Angeles and, as federal troops, were already under Trump’s command without needing to satisfy any other criteria.
Breyer’s order Thursday night did not direct any action regarding the Marines.
Pause requested
The judge, who is the brother of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, said he would rule quickly, possibly late Thursday, on California’s request for a restraining order to stop the deployment in Los Angeles.
Shuman requested that, if Breyer found in favor of the state, he should pause any restraining order while the federal government appeals.
Green said the state would “strongly oppose” such a pause because of the urgency of the situation in Los Angeles.
The city has seen days of protests starting on Friday over Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on workplaces. Trump ordered the National Guard to the area on Sunday, saying it was necessary to restore order.
Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass objected to the decision and have said it has caused more chaos and inflamed tensions.
Democrats’ amicus brief
The hearing on California’s request for an injunction came a day after 21 Democratic attorneys general and the Democratic governor of Kansas filed an amicus brief in the case backing up California.
Trump wresting control of a state National Guard sets a dangerous precedent that undermines National Guard missions, they said.
“National Guard troops fight fires, respond to hurricanes, protect their residents from flooding, and provide much-needed security,” they wrote. “By undermining states’ authority, unlawfully deploying the National Guard troops, and leaving the door wide open to deploy the Guards of every state, the President has made us all less safe. This Court should enjoin the federal government from continuing down this unlawful and perilous path.”
In addition to Kansas Gov. Laura Kelley, the attorneys general of Washington, Delaware, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin and Rhode Island signed the brief.
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 Jill Nolin for questions: info@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: Center-Left
This article presents a factual recounting of a legal conflict between the Trump administration and Democratic officials over the deployment of National Guard troops during immigration protests in Los Angeles. The inclusion of detailed court arguments, references to Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and Democratic attorneys general, and critical quotes regarding presidential overreach subtly highlight constitutional limits on executive power and support state authority, reflecting a perspective that leans slightly left. However, the article maintains a largely balanced tone by presenting both sides’ legal arguments without overt editorializing, anchoring it close to the center but with a modest left-leaning inclination.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-06-12 17:29:00
The Georgia Supreme Court is handling an appeal involving Fulton County DA Fani Willis’ attempt to quash a Senate subpoena. The Senate Special Committee on Investigations wants Willis to testify about her prosecution of former President Trump and others. Willis’ effort was denied by a Fulton County judge. The committee proposed dates for Willis to appear, but she has yet to comply. Chairman Bill Cowsert urged Willis to honor the subpoena or pay attorney fees incurred after May 10. Willis was disqualified from the Trump case due to a conflict of interest and is appealing. A bill allowing defendants to recover court costs when a prosecutor is disqualified was recently signed into law, sparking partisan debate.
(The Center Square) – The Supreme Court of Georgia has received the direct appeal involving Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ attempt to squash a Senate committee subpoena.
The Senate Special Committee on Investigations subpoenaed Wills to testify about her office’s prosecution of President Donald Trump and others. Willis fought the subpoena, but Fulton County Superior Court Judge Skukura L. Ingram denied Willis’ effort to quash it.
The Senate committee last met in March and decided to ask Willis’ attorney, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, for some dates when Willis could appear.
“Let’s be nice guys again first,” said Chairman Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, said at the meeting. “Let’s reach out to her counsel and suggest either a Thursday or Friday beginning the last week of April, the first two weeks of May. And if they agree to a date, then we will issue a subpoena. And I believe they will honor their word.”
Willis has still not appeared before the committee.
The committee also instructed Josh Belinfante, an attorney representing the committee, to request that Willis be responsible for any of the attorney’s fees charged to the committee after May 10.
“Make her comply if she won’t, make her pay for your fees, make her do what the judge has already told her she’s got to do,” Cowsert said.
Willis was disqualified from the Trump case because of her personal relationship with the lead prosecutor. She is also appealing that decision.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill last month that would allow defendants to receive “reasonable court costs” if the prosecutor was disqualified from the case. Democrats said the bill was filed at the behest of Trump because of the Georgia case but Republicans denied it.
“There is absolutely nothing in this bill that focuses on a single county nor does it have a sunset for a single issue,” said Rep. Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta, who presented the bill in the Senate.
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: Center-Right
The article primarily reports on the legal conflict surrounding Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the Senate Special Committee on Investigations, and related political and judicial actions. While the piece largely sticks to factual recounting of events, the inclusion of substantial quotes from Republican officials and emphasis on criticisms of Willis, who has pursued charges against former President Trump, gives the coverage a subtle center-right framing. The language used is straightforward and largely neutral, but the selection of content—especially the focus on Republican perspectives and skepticism toward Willis—leans the article slightly to the center-right without overt editorializing or partisan rhetoric. Overall, it reports ideological positions and actions while exhibiting a mild leaning evident in source choices and framing rather than overt bias in tone or language.
