tim darnell

Senators have approved cash bail for 30 more crimes, including 18 that are sometimes misdemeanors.

Erin Georgia, national policy director of the Bail Project, talks with digital content producer Tim Darnell, in this edition of Political Update.

Atlanta’s very first Super Bowl remains arguably the most exciting in NFL history.

The crime that happened only hours later remains the Super Bowl's most infamous.

Hours after the St. Louis Rams withstood a furious, late-game and last-second surge from the Tennessee Titans to win their first-ever NFL championship, two men were stabbed to death outside a Buckhead nightclub.

Ray Lewis - a Baltimore Ravens linebacker already well on his way to an NFL Hall of Fame career - was leaving Buckhead’s Cobalt Lounge when the fight broke out at the nightclub. Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar were stabbed to death

Eleven days later, Lewis and two friends - Joseph Sweeting and Reginald Oakley - were arrested and charged with double murder. Lewis later pleaded guilty to obstruction, received one year’s probation, and was fined by the NFL for $250,000. Less than a year later, he would be named MVP of Super Bowl 36, which was won by the Baltimore Ravens.

Tim Livingston recently finished a three-year investigation into the murders, which remain unsolved. He is the host of 'The Raven,' and his podcast can be heard wherever you receive your podcasts.

Listen to all of Atlanta News First’s podcasts, now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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/

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/

Paige Watts is the author of a new book, "What's With Atlanta?" The travel writer and blogger shares some fascinating aspects about life in the ATL.

 The United States had 3.5 million residents who identify as Middle Eastern or North African, Venezuelans were the fastest-growing Hispanic group last decade and Chinese and Asian Indians were the two largest Asian groups, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The most detailed race and ethnicity data to date from the 2020 census was released Thursday more than three years after the once-a-decade head count, which determines political power, the distribution of $2.8 trillion in annual federal funding and holds up a mirror to how the U.S. has changed in a decade. The delay was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of a new method to protect the confidentiality of participants.

The Census Bureau says the 2020 census provided more details on the nation’s racial and ethnic groups than ever before, offering counts for about 1,550 racial, ethnic and tribal groups, although some tables aren’t available at smaller geographies for some groups because of the new confidentiality methods.

On Sept. 5, 1955, two Atlanta businessmen - Joe Rogers and Tom Forkner - opened the very first Waffle House, located in DeKalb County's Avondale Estates community. Rogers started in the restaurant business as a short-order cook in 1947 
at the Toddle House in Connecticut.
By 1949, he was a regional manager, then moved to Atlanta. He met Forkner 
while buying a house from him in Avondale Estates.
Today, Waffle House has more than 1,900 locations in 25 states.
Njeri Boss, vice president of public relations, and Virginia Angles, curator of the Waffle House museum, talk about this national iconic culinary brand.

Rosalind Wise took her husband’s advice when he found a gently used 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee at The Car Spot.

Wise loves her new/used vehicle, but has yet to receive her tag. That’s because The Car Spot has seemingly closed.

Used car dealers have 30 days in Georgia to process paperwork and transfer the title to its new owner. If the car is financed, the lender holds the title until the debt is paid.

Temporary tags are good for 30 days. If a dealer falls behind, the buyer can request a 30-day extension, but in DeKalb - where Wise lives - one temporary tag extension is the limit.

The Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division (CPD) confirmed Wise needs her title. The office provides steps to replace missing or lost titles online, but the process is time-consuming and may require a lawyer.

Wise doesn’t have time. Like other buyers, time is running out, and she can’t afford to wait months for a new title. But if she drives with an expired tag, even with her paperwork and insurance coverage, she and other drivers could be stopped by police.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/44BLaVn

 Jervier Cater had big plans to renovate his West Atlanta home near historic Collier Heights, but for more than a month, he lived in a shed.

Cater wakes up every morning to a construction renovation nightmare. There is literally no roof over his head. The shingles, decking, and rafters are gone. In May, a construction crew demolished the roof but abandoned the job when they found out they weren’t getting paid.

Cater blames his contractor Clinton Garibaldi, the owner of Garibaldi Property Management and Construction. Garibaldi claimed he didn’t hire the demolition crew and instead is blaming his client.

Cater disputes the claim and said Garibaldi left a disaster. Almost daily rains after crews removed the roof ruined everything inside the house. The damage forced Cater to move into his backyard shed.

Read more here: bit.ly/3DrxUa5

A recent change in insurance could soon make it harder for breast cancer survivors to get a common type of reconstruction surgery.

It’s because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that administers Medicare and works with state governments to provide Medicaid, is considering dropping the specific billing code for DIEP Flap procedures. The treatment involves surgically removing tissue from the lower belly, shaping it and then attaching it to the chest in the form of a new breast.

This potential coding change has already garnered outcry from some breast cancer survivors.

Shielded, a special four-part series by Brendan Keefe, Atlanta News First Chief Investigator

Are police officers given special treatment when they are suspects in family violence incidents? After months of research, investigations and interviews, “Shielded” is a four-part series that uncovers cases where an officer in an alleged domestic dispute was treated differently – much differently – than similar suspects.

When cops are arrested for domestic violence, data shows they rarely get convicted. Many keep their jobs. About half keep their law enforcement certifications – and their guns. We also look at two cases in which officers who were given their guns back killed their wives with those same guns. This series provides resources and other help for not only police and their families, but everyone who might be experiencing domestic violence. 

Read and watch the entire series here: https://bit.ly/43Y3GH0

As more police use facial recognition software, the search for suspects is leaving behind is a trail of new victims. 

https://bit.ly/42fQITN

While re-selling unused diabetic test strips is legal, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is concerned.

Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/44Ux1DB

A Cobb County man died in law enforcement custody less than 24 hours after his arrest. His family claims he was having a mental health emergency, but jail medical staff ignored signs he needed help.

Read the story here: https://bit.ly/42q2Vpl

Atlanta News First Investigates has uncovered the state’s medical board could be investigating a doctor for his alleged role that nearly killed a Georgia mother.

https://bit.ly/3JQxmi3

A driver’s first thought after an accident is most likely an expletive, and if the car won’t drive, most aren’t thinking about how to vet a reputable, state-licensed and insured towing company.

Here are the hazards of using a tow truck company that isn’t law-enforcement recommended.