Behind the Investigation with Atlanta News First

How could a safety requirement end up killing more children than it would save?

The answer to that question has allowed parents to carry babies and toddlers on their laps at 35,000 feet and more than 500 miles per hour for decades. There is also no airfare cost for a lap baby.

Since 1995, the Federal Aviation Administration has relied on multiple studies showing a safety-restraint requirement for children under two on commercial aircraft would lead to many more highway deaths if parents choose to drive instead of fly.

In the meantime, the FAA strongly recommends parents buy a ticket for their babies. “The safest place for your child under the age of two on a U.S. airplane is in approved child restraint system…not in your lap,” it said.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/02/12/lap-babies-still-allowed-planes-after-door-plug-blowout/

New details have surfaced involving a case about a Georgia woman accused of marrying a man after he was found mentally incompetent.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/02/21/starved-man-returned-family-wake-marriage-fraud-claims/

A metro Atlanta mother is now seeking full custody after Atlanta News First Investigates tells her of an attempt to have her arrested a year earlier. But where did the anonymous tip come from?

Here is the full audio of a police major interviewing his lieutenant about the anonymous tip's source.

A nationwide shortage of ADHD medication has been limiting the supply of Adderall for almost a year and a half.

While the shortage’s primary culprit was believed to be supply chain issues, a new study is revealing another cause: an increase in diagnoses among adult women; in fact, the number of women being diagnosed with ADHD has nearly doubled in the last few years.

That’s according to a new study from JAMA Psychiatry, which revealed prescriptions for ADHD medication have jumped by more than 14% since the start of the pandemic.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/02/19/adhd-diagnoses-increase-adderall-shortage-continues/

Water beads are often sold as toys, in craft kits, or as sensory tools for children with developmental disabilities.

But the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission said children who have swallowed water beads can suffer suffer severe consequences, including internal injuries, lifelong health impacts and death.

Some of the cases of children ingesting water beads in metro Atlanta have required medical attention at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA).

Water beads are small, water-absorbing, often colorful balls of super absorbent polymer and can grow 100X their original size when exposed to water.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/29/choa-doctor-water-beads-can-expand-inside-stomach-causing-harm-children/

Thousands of electric vehicle drivers and their passengers may not be protected if involved in a crash with barriers meant to keep them alive.

Newly released crash tests reveal guardrails failed involving two popular models on the road today: the Tesla Model 3 sedan and the Rivian R1T pickup.

The video, obtained exclusively by Atlanta News First Investigates, shows when the Tesla hit a guardrail at 62 miles per hour, the vehicle goes through the barrier.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/10/crash-tests-reveal-guardrails-failed-protect-tesla-rivian-vehicles/

Keeping kindergarteners focused in the classroom is never easy, but Larkin Davidson struggles more than most.

The seven-year-old suffers from multiple learning disabilities and mental health challenges.

“He says, ‘I’m not smart. I wish I could talk right. My mouth doesn’t work right,’” said Melanie Starrett, his mother. “It breaks my heart that he’s been made to feel that way.”

Starrett said Larkin can’t identify all the letters in the alphabet and has outbursts in class. “He’s a handful,” she said, “and I can’t imagine what his teacher has gone through the last two years.”

To get help, the Newton County mother sent her son to doctors and specialists for psychological evaluations and speech screenings over the past few months. That means missing school to make the appointments.

All but one of the absences in Larkin’s attendance records show the days were excused, which is why Starrett was shocked when his school, West Newton Elementary, withdrew him for chronic absenteeism in November.

In December, the Newton County School Board also recommended “educational neglect” charges be filed against Starrett for failing to keep Larkin in class. The crime carries fines and up to 30 days in jail.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/02/05/school-marks-unexcused-absences-childs-record-after-hes-kicked-out/https://youtu.be/6VKttQtTQP0

 Last October, Dr. Lynne Damali, a Forest Park, Georgia, chiropractor, traded in two cars for a new Jeep Grand Wagoneer.

The Wagoneer gave her family everything the other cars didn’t: space, luxury, and power, but Damali didn’t anticipate what happened over the next two months.

“They have bounced eight checks,” Damali said, referring to the dealership’s payoffs on her two trade-ins that were sent to her credit unions.

Damali made the deal at a Union City Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM; the dealership’s new general manager confirmed the checks bounced because of a corporate processing error.

Many consumers don’t know that if there is a problem with their car trade’s loan payoff, the owner must continue making monthly payments and insurance premiums until the payoff is complete.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/23/woman-trades-two-cars-one-ends-up-with-three-payments/

Last week, a Marietta couple discovered their complex’s mandated policy did not cover their contents when a pipe in the above unit burst and flooded their apartment.

The renter’s liability-only policy they purchased did not cover damage to their contents and additional expenses for hotel, food, and boarding for their dog.

“Our throw pillows, our throw blankets, were completely damaged,” said Madison Kelley. “We have a large area rug that sits under the couch. It was literally flowing in the water.”

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/19/heres-why-couples-renters-insurance-wont-cover-their-flooded-apartment/

Deed theft, wrongful foreclosures, fraudulent loans are all ingredients for real estate fraud.

Metro Atlanta families are coming home to notices saying their homes are no longer theirs, and arguing their properties were wrongfully sold without their knowledge.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/16/is-it-hard-steal-your-home-georgia-experts-say-no/

Black men jailed, wrongfully accused, and arrested. One technology at the center of it all. 

Police use facial recognition to link people to crimes they did not commit. Atlanta News First exposes cases from Atlanta, Balitmore, New York, to Louisiana. 

A common denominator is that law enforcement agencies are not following policy because the policy does not exist. 

Randall Reid was arrested in Atlanta for a robbery which occurred in a city he never visited. Before his case, it happened to two other fathers on the East Coast. 

Today, the list grows. As it turns out, bias can be embedded in facial recognition software. Which means in the search for suspects, there's a list of new victims. 

While more police agencies are beginning to use the technology, other non-law enforcement state entities are following their lead.

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RACIAL PROFILING AT THE GATE

Plainclothes drug agents search innocent passengers at airport gates across the United States, looking for cash.

The drug agents seize anything over $5,000 if the passenger can’t prove — on the spot — that their own money didn’t come from drug trafficking. The government seizes the cash when no drugs are found, without arresting the traveler or charging them with a crime. The DEA gets to keep the money it seizes.

Our ongoing investigation revealed that passengers selected for what the government calls “random, consensual encounters” are actually profiled by the drug agents who search Black men far more often than any other group of passengers.

We analyzed data showing that, for drug agents to find just one passenger with money, they have to publicly search 10 departing passengers. Some of those profiled passengers are left deeply scarred by the process, even when nothing is seized.

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Poisoned without permission

Three scientists are calling for more testing of a dangerous toxin impacting residents who live in the Rome, Georgia, area. It’s in response to an Atlanta News First investigation that uncovered elevated levels of the chemical compound in some residents’ blood.

For decades, the Oostanaula River that supplied Rome’s drinking water was contaminated with perfluoroalkyl (PFAS). The chemical group is linked to serious illness, including cancer.

City officials switched to a different water source in 2017, but many residents have always wondered how the contaminated water impacted them prior to the disclosure.

When the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) said it didn’t have plans to investigate, Atlanta News First Investigates purchased testing kits that can measure the total values of some of the most common PFAS and asked Rome-area residents to test their blood.

The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to an attorney if you’re accused of a crime and a speedy trial. But Georgia and the nation are experiencing a shortage of public defenders and a backlog of cases creating a crisis. Atlanta News First Investigates’ Emmy award-winning series, The Sixth, sheds light on its impact on the criminal justice system, people accused of crimes and victims waiting for justice.

Three scientists are calling for more testing of a dangerous toxin impacting residents who live in the Rome, Georgia, area. It’s in response to an Atlanta News First investigation that uncovered elevated levels of the chemical compound in some residents’ blood.

For decades, the Oostanaula River that supplied Rome’s drinking water was contaminated with perfluoroalkyl (PFAS). The chemical group is linked to serious illness, including cancer.

City officials switched to a different water source in 2017, but many residents have always wondered how the contaminated water impacted them prior to the disclosure.

When the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) said it didn’t have plans to investigate, Atlanta News First Investigates purchased testing kits that can measure the total values of some of the most common PFAS and asked Rome-area residents to test their blood.

Read our full series here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/12/06/poisoned-without-permission-georgia-town-exposed-toxin/

Police use facial recognition to link people to crimes they did not commit. Atlanta News First exposes case from Atlanta, Balitmore, New York, to Louisiana.  A common denominator is that law enforcement agencies are not following policy because the policy does not exist.

Randall Reid was arrested in Atlanta for a robbery which occurred in a city he never visited. Before his case, it happened to two other fathers in the southeast. Today, the list grows. As it turns out, bias can be embedded in facial recognition software.  Which means in the search for suspects, there's a list of new victims.

While more and more police agencies are beginning to use the technology, other state agencies are following their lead. The Georgia Department of Driver Services now use the system, too. It raises questions about privacy and state law. 

Read our full series here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/news/investigate/false-recognition/

Plainclothes drug agents search innocent passengers at airport gates across the United States, looking for cash.

The drug agents seize anything over $5,000 if the passenger can’t prove — on the spot — that their own money didn’t come from drug trafficking. The government seizes the cash when no drugs are found, without arresting the traveler or charging them with a crime. The DEA gets to keep the money it seizes.

Our ongoing investigation revealed that passengers selected for what the government calls “random, consensual encounters” are actually profiled by the drug agents who search Black men far more often than any other group of passengers.

We analyzed data showing that, for drug agents to find just one passenger with money, they have to publicly search 10 departing passengers. Some of those profiled passengers are left deeply scarred by the process, even when nothing is seized.

Read our full series here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/page/in-plane-sight/

27-year-old Mariam Abdulrab was abducted from her boyfriend's driveway in 2021 and later shot and killed. Police soon arrested DeMarcus Brinkley, a repeat sex offender in Georgia with a long rap sheet, including child molestation.

As a repeat offender, Brinkley should have been fitted with an ankle monitor. But a loophole in Georgia law allowed him to slip through the tracks, a loophole that was exposed by Atlanta News First Investigative Reporter Rachel Polansky.

Now, follow Atlanta News First Investigates as Abdulrab's family and friends fight for justice, and learn how our coverage of Mariam's legacy brought a major change to how Georgia monitors its convicted sex offenders.

Read our full coverage here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/mariamslaw/

Behind the Investigation from Atlanta News First has taken listeners behind the scenes from our most informative, hard-hitting stories. In this special edition of our podcast, our award-winning team of investigative journalists recount 2023's top stories, including phantom cars, shed living, kicked out, and false recognition.

Harry Samler, better known by his 'Better Call Harry' fame, has been solving problems on Atlanta's streets for almost two decades.

In this special edition of Behind the Investigation With Atlanta News First, Harry looks back at some of his 2023 top headlines, including stories on predatory towing, a MARTA bus crash, and Buckhead's tunnel of darkness on Georgia 400.

Jeffery Williams (aka Young Thug) is on trial in Atlanta in a massive RICO case involving himself and five other defendants. Prosecutors allege Williams and his co-defendants are members of the Young Slime Life (YSL) gang, while defense attorneys argue YSL is simply the name of a record label, Young Stoner Life.

In 2022, Fulton County prosecutors included lyrics from the rapper, referencing drugs and violence, as evidence of an “overt act in furtherance of a (gang) conspiracy.”

Here are the rap lyrics that will be admitted as evidence:

• “Come and enroll to the YSL school and I swear I am the principal (slime!). I do not care if you slime for a dollar and chance, it’s the principle.” — Jeffery “Young Thug” Williams
• “I never killed anybody, but I got something to do with that body ... I told them to shoot a hundred rounds ... ready for war like I’m Russia ... I get all type of cash, I’m a general.” — Jeffery “Young Thug” Williams
• “I was a capo in the hood way before a plaque or a mention.” — Jeffery “Young Thug” Williams
• “I’m at the top with bro though, ooh, head honcho ...” — Jeffery “Young Thug” Williams
• “I just beat a murder rap, paid my lawyer 30 for that ... me and my slimes above the law.” — S. Stillwell, M. Farley, W. Lee, Q. Nichols
• “Honestly, truth be told, YSL won’t fold, pick his a** off from the balcony ... YSL wipe a n**** nose.” — Jeffery “Young Thug” Williams
• “My n***** really be slime and we committin’ them crimes ... hop out and shoot ... you wanna be slime ... go catch you a body.” — Jeffery “Young Thug” Williams
• “Hey, this that slime s*** (hey!), YSL s*** (hey!), killin’ twelve s*** (hey!), f*** a jail s*** (hey!), ... this that mob s*** YSL, this that mob life.” — Jeffery “Young Thug” Williams, D. Kendrick, M. Arnold, J. Winfrey
• “Money longer than the world’s longest ruler, yeah, playing with YSL, n***** gon’ shoot you ...” — Jeffery “Young Thug” Williams
• “We be on some 2Pac s***, ‘Hit Em’ Up’ ... n**** play with Unfoonk and get hogtied ... n**** play with Unfoonk, then they all die ... why would I lie, I got mob ties, ... knockin’ off you big homie b****.” — Jeffery “Young Thug” Williams
• “Ooh-woo, I done for the crew, ooh-woo, I done did the robbin,’ i done did the jackin’, now I’m full rappin ' ... I escaped everyone of them licks ‘cuz I was supposed to be rich, I don’t care nothing ‘bout no cop, I’m tellin’ you just how it is.” — Jeffery “Young Thug” Williams
• “Gave the lawyer close to two mil, he handle all the killings ... we don’t speak ‘bout s*** on wax it’s all mob business, we known to kill the biggest cat of all kittens.” — Jeffery “Young Thug” Williams
• “I rep my life for real ... for slimes you know I kill.” — D. Kendrick
• “Hey, how you doing? I’m Yak Gotti, I got bodies on bodies.” — D. Kendrick
• “I shot at his mommy, no he longer mention me.” — Jeffery “Young Thug” Williams
• “Where you from? (I’m from Bleveland!) Throw your set up (YSL!) ... the opps hate the crew we gettin’ this paper and we duckin’ cases ... Free Lil Shannon he the one that had them runnin’ with that cannon.” — Wunnie Lee

https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/11/09/here-are-young-thugs-lyrics-that-will-come-up-his-trial/

Emory University associate professor of law Alexander Volokh talks with digital content producer Tim Darnell about the use of rap lyrics in Young Thug's trial.

Full coverage from Atlanta News First: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/news/crime/young-thug-trial/

Jeffery Williams - aka Young Thug - is one of American music's most decorated hip-hop performers. He's also in big trouble with the law, and is facing multiple gang, drug and weapons charges in his high-profile RICO trial in Atlanta.

Atlanta News First's Joy Lim Nakrin and renowned Atlanta defense attorney J. Edward Shipp talk about what to expect in Young Thug's trial, as opening statements begin on Nov. 27.