Category: Security

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to Congress Tuesday to appeal for more aid to resist Russia’s invasion, and Republican leaders told him to first wait for an elusive U.S. deal on immigration.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he told Zelenskyy that Republicans “stand with him and against Putin’s brutal invasion” but won’t send more aid until Democrats accept “a transformative change” in U.S. immigration and border policies.

Republican demands for tough measures to stem a surge in migration across the U.S.-Mexico border have delayed new Ukraine assistance for months.

The Senate Armed Services Committee’s top-ranking Republican, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, said after a private session Zelenskyy held with senators that he would prefer to send the aid this month but congressional approval will likely slip to early January as the border talks continue.

“The house is not on fire,” Wicker said of Ukraine’s need for ammunition and other weaponry.

Zelenskyy said in a post on the social media platform X that he had “a friendly and candid conversation” with senators and informed them about “Ukraine’s current military and economic situation” as well as “the significance of sustaining vital U.S. support.”

Newly declassified intelligence shared with some congressional officials puts Russian losses in the war so far at 315,000 deaths or injuries, a person familiar with the talks said. The Russians have also lost about 63% of their tanks, which had been a fleet of 3,500 before the invasion, and the war has set back efforts to modernize its ground forces by about 15 years, according to the person.

Zelenskyy told senators Ukraine is considering conscripting men over 40 years old to bolster its front line troop levels, Wicker said, a sign his government is struggling to replace killed and wounded soldiers.

Support for Ukraine has been slipping among Republican voters, with 65% of Republicans saying the U.S. is spending “too much” to help Ukraine’s war effort, according to a Financial Times-Michigan Ross poll taken Dec. 5 and 6.

Many Republican lawmakers voiced support for Ukraine and called the meeting with Zelenskyy inspirational. But they demanded changes to U.S. immigration and border policies before approving additional aid.

“There will be no supplemental without border security reform,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he told Zelenskyy.

Democrats are resisting most of the Republican demands, leaving both sides locked in a standoff and delaying military assistance to help Ukraine at a critical moment in its fight against Russia’s invasion.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer left the meeting with Zelenskyy calling the session “productive” and “very powerful.”

Democrats involved in Ukraine funding negotiations on the Hill are growing more frustrated that President Joe Biden isn’t more directly engaged, including with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the person familiar with the talks said. Republicans also said Ukraine aid could pass this year if Biden got more involved in the talks and made better offers to them.

There’s a fair amount of uncertainty on what the White House is willing to concede on border security issues to win Republican votes on Ukraine.

Still, Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a close ally of Biden who is a leading negotiator for Democrats in the talks, said the White House is “getting more involved.”

Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said Zelenskyy understood the end-of-year politics at play on Capitol Hill.

“He’s an elected official himself,” Tillis said leaving the meeting. “He understood we have to go through this political process and get border security wrapped up.”

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© 2023 Bloomberg L.P

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

An Alabama man has been convicted for his role in a scheme that involved selling stolen military weapons stored at the Anniston Army Depot.

Steve Bonner, 62, of Goodwater, in Coosa County, acted as a middleman in the scheme by selling the stolen goods to buyers and delivering the items to the owner of a military surplus store in Sylacauga, prosecutors said when Bonner and others, including two army depot police officers, were indicted in May.

The stolen items included equipment that was designed to be attached to military weapon systems to provide operators with instant nighttime engagement capabilities and/or improved target acquisition.

Bonner was convicted Thursday by a federal jury in Birmingham on one count of conspiracy to steal government property, said U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona on Monday.

The equipment was designed to be attached to military weapon systems to provide users with the ability to use the weapons at night or improve their ability to acquire a target, prosecutors said.

Nine other defendants pleaded guilty in connection to the case:

Eric Matraia, 54, of Munford, pleaded guilty in February 2023 to conspiracy to steal United States property.

Stantillio Whitfield, 44, of Anniston, pleaded guilty in November 2022 to conspiracy to steal United States property.

Tevin Fletcher, 33, of Oxford, pleaded guilty in December 2022 to conspiracy to steal United States property.

Jerry Baker, 63, of Hokes Bluff, pleaded guilty in May 2023 to conspiracy to steal United States property.

James Kenneth Scott, 72, pleaded guilty in January 2023 to conspiracy to steal United States property.

Christopher Price, 55, of Childersburg, pleaded guilty in January 2023 to conspiracy to steal United States property.

Scott Bunch, 53, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty in October 2023 to conspiracy to steal United States property in October.

Shane Farthing, 41, of Gadsden, pleaded guilty in July 2023 to conspiracy to steal United States property.

Kelvin Battle, 53, of Anniston, pleaded guilty in August 2023 to conspiracy to steal United States property.

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© 2023 Advance Local Media LLC

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Pedro Henrique, a Brazilian gospel singer, collapsed suddenly during a performance in front of a crowd at a religious festival in Brazil Wednesday night and was later pronounced dead at a local medical center.

According to TMZ, the 30-year-old singer was performing “Vai Ser Tão Lindo,” when Henrique suddenly collapsed on the floor of the stage. TMZ reported that multiple people quickly rushed over to the singer to provide medical assistance to Henrique, and he was quickly transported to a local medical center. However, Henrique was declared dead by the medical center.

Video footage of Wednesday’s incident shows the moment the 30-year-old singer collapsed in the middle of his performance.

Todah Music, Henrique’s record label, claimed that the gospel singer’s death was caused by a major heart attack, according to Radio 93.

READ MORE: Video: Famous singer hit in the face by firework mid-concert

In an Instagram statement released Thursday that was translated by The New York Post from Portuguese, the record label wrote, “There are very difficult situations in life for which we have no explanation. We just need to understand that God’s will prevails! Pedro was a happy young man, a friend to all. An only son. A present husband and a super dedicated father…The Christian music sector is in mourning. The Todah Music family is in mourning. Heaven in chorus welcomes an illustrious son: Pedro Henrique! So long, dear brother! So long! May the Holy Spirit comfort everyone.”

The Daily Mail reported that Henrique reportedly joked about his level of weariness a few hours before taking the stage for what would become his last performance on Wednesday. The gospel singer allegedly told a friend, “I’m tired. I’m tired. That’s why I want fame. I’m tired.”

According to The New York Post, Henrique leaves behind his wife, Sulian Barreto, as well as the couple’s 2-month-old daughter, Zoe.

A new study reveals that the majority of Americans would discourage young people from choosing to enlist in the United States military.

A Rand Corp. report based on a recent survey of Americans states, “A majority of Americans (54.4 percent) would discourage a young person close to them from enlisting in the military, but a majority of Americans (61.2 percent) would encourage a young person to join the military via Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) or a service academy (i.e., as an officer).”

Rand Corp. noted that 31% of Americans who answered that they would discourage young people from military enlistment said they would encourage young people to join through a service academy or the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.

Rand Corp. also noted that the study comes in the midst of a very challenging time for military recruitment in the United States.

READ MORE: Air Force, Space Force raise enlistment age limit to over 40

“Fiscal year 2022 was one of the worst U.S. military recruitment years on record, with all services apart from the Space Force failing to meet recruitment goals, and fiscal year 2023 saw similar shortfalls,” the report states. “The U.S. public’s overall confidence in the military is likewise declining.”

According to Rand Corp., factors such as the end of the Afghanistan War, the politicization of the military, and the polarization of American citizens likely contributed to the recent survey’s results.

Rand Corp. explained that despite the majority of Americans indicating they would discourage young people from enlisting in the military, researchers discovered that the majority of Americans have a very positive view of U.S. military veterans, with survey respondents “endorsing positive stereotypes about veterans at a high rate and endorsing negative stereotypes at a very low rate.”

The Rand Corp. study revealed that while both Republicans and Democrats would encourage young people to join the military as an officer, Democrat respondents were less likely to encourage young people to enlist in the U.S. military.

Rand Corp. also reported that survey respondents with negative views of veterans were less likely to encourage people to enlist in the military and that respondents who previously served in the military were more likely to answer that most Americans have a negative perception of the military.

After the Mexican military confiscated ten improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at the southern border, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is alerting agents to “exercise extreme caution” and watch for additional explosive devices.

An anonymous federal law enforcement source told Fox Business that an internal officer safety alert distributed on Dec. 13 warns CBP to be on heightened alert due to a recent incident that involved the Mexican military seizing ten IEDs during a cartel fight at the southern border.

The federal law enforcement source told Fox Business that the CBP’s internal officer safety alert warns agents to “exercise extreme caution and should report any possible armed subjects approaching the border with possible explosive devices.”

Fox Business reported that Mexican authorities discovered the IEDs after Tucson Border Patrol reported gunshots from the southern border. According to Fox Business, a supervisory border patrol agent arrested an armed individual on the U.S. side of the border with a handgun, a loaded AK-47 rifle, two AK magazines, and additional ammunition.

READ MORE: Feds warn Hamas terrorists may enter US through southern border, report says

Another anonymous source told Fox Business that the incident involved a cartel fight for the control of a gap in the southern border fence at a ranch that has previously been used by cartels to smuggle illegal drugs across the border. The source told Fox Business that the location has also been used for human smuggling.

The agency’s warning to agents at the southern border comes as Republican lawmakers continue to demand additional border security provisions be included in President Joe Biden’s $106 billion package for Ukraine and Israel, according to Fox Business.

While Republican and Democratic lawmakers remain in disagreement over proposed border security policies, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y) announced Thursday that the Senate would post-pone its Christmas break and meet again on Monday to continue negotiating.

“That will give negotiators from the White House, Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans, a time to work through the weekend in an effort to reach a framework agreement,” Schumer said. “It will then take some time to turn that framework into text.”

Vivek Ramaswamy, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, has generated controversy regarding several of his statements during the fourth Republican primary debate. The political outsider noted that “sometimes the truth is uncomfortable” and warned that ideas considered to be conspiracy theories “yesterday” often “becomes truth tomorrow.”

According to Cincinnati.com, during the fourth Republican presidential debate on Dec. 6 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Ramaswamy claimed that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from former President Donald Trump,” that January 6 “now does look like it was an inside job,” and that the federal government “lied to us for 20 years about Saudi Arabia’s involvement in 9/11.”

Earlier this week, Ramaswamy emphasized to reporters outside of a campaign event at the Sioux Center in Iowa that “sometimes the truth is uncomfortable.” The Republican presidential candidate explained that while he would not have believed some of the statements he made during the debate just three years ago, he believes in the importance of “being grounded to the truth.”

“What was a conspiracy theory yesterday becomes truth tomorrow,” Ramaswamy told reporters. “That’s not the way a government leads a country. It’s not the way a president should lead the country. And as I said on the debate stage, if you want somebody who’s going to go in there and speak truth to power in the deep state, then vote for somebody who’s going to speak the truth to you. And sometimes the truth is uncomfortable.”

READ MORE: 2024 presidential candidate appears to urinate on hot mic – here’s the audio

Kedron Bardwell, a Simpson College political science professor, told Cincinnati.com that Ramaswamy’s recent claim that Democrat elites are utilizing the “great replacement theory” to intentionally replace white Americans in society “came out of left field.” Bardwell also argued that the theory is “one of the most radical or radicalizing theories.”

In response to the claims of people like Bardwell, who argue that Ramaswamy’s statements are “dangerous,” the presidential candidate told CNN’s Dana Bash, “I disagree. I think what’s dangerous is the suppression of open dialogue.”

Ramaswamy also explained, “As a leader, it is important to give people the permission to say in public what they will otherwise say in private.”

Actor and comedian Tiffany Haddish has been charged in Los Angeles after being taking into custody on Nov. 24 on suspicion of driving while under the influence.

According to documents reviewed by the L.A. Times, Haddish was charged Wednesday with two misdemeanors — one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and one count of driving with at least a 0.08% blood alcohol level. She is set to be arraigned Dec. 22.

Representatives for Haddish did not immediately respond to the L.A. Times’ request for comment.

The 44-year-old comedian was arrested Nov. 24 after authorities received a call around 5:45 a.m about a vehicle blocking the road on Beverly Drive near Dayton Way.

Beverly Hills police said they found Haddish inside the car and cited her on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Haddish spoke about the incident in an interview with “Entertainment Tonight.”

She said she spent the earlier part of Thanksgiving Day serving meals at L.A.’s Laugh Factory before performing a set at the historic comedy club. The “Girls Trip” actor told “ET” that she later fell asleep behind the wheel, and her Tesla parked itself, blocking off a portion of the street.

“This will never happen again,” she said. Haddish vowed she was going to “get some help” to “learn balance and boundaries.”

Additionally, a judge in Georgia — where Haddish was previously taken into custody on suspicion of DUI, in 2022 — has ordered the stand-up comic not to drink alcohol or consume illegal drugs after her arrest in Los Angeles, according to court documents cited by Radar Online. The news outlet said she also would be subject to court-ordered random drug and alcohol testing.

The Emmy- and Grammy-winning actor was arrested in Peachtree City, south of Atlanta, on Jan. 14, 2022, after police received a call around 2:30 a.m. about a driver who had allegedly fallen asleep at the wheel, the Associated Press reported.

Haddish, who had reportedly been filming a movie in the Atlanta area around the time of the 2022 incident, was detained and charged with driving under the influence. She posted a $1,666 bond and was released from Fayette County Jail.

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© 2023 Los Angeles Times

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

In a major blow to expanding access to medical cannabis in Georgia, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration has warned pharmacies across the state that dispensing medical marijuana violates federal law. The warning comes just after the state became the first in the nation to authorize the practice.

Georgia’s medical marijuana panel acknowledged Wednesday there is nothing they can do at this moment that would allow pharmacies to be able to sell medical marijuana products, even though it’s allowed under state law.

”We certainly would love to see allowing pharmacists continue to be able to provide consultation for medical cannabis products as they do with other medication they dispense,” said Andrew Turnage, executive director for the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission. “But we also recognize that this is a federal issue, and that’s something beyond our ability to intervene.”

In a Nov. 27 memorandum sent to pharmacies, the DEA said no pharmacy on its register can lawfully possess, handle or dispense marijuana and related products containing more than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol — the psychoactive component of the cannabis plant known as THC.

Though recreational marijuana use remains illegal in Georgia, the state allows eligible patients to buy low-THC medical marijuana products with up to 5% THC, the compound that gives users a high. Street marijuana has a far higher level of THC.

The DEA said it considers products derived from the cannabis plant with a THC content above 0.3% to be marijuana, which is a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I drugs are those with the highest risk of abuse that are considered to have no safe medical use.

“A DEA-registered pharmacy may only dispense controlled substances in Schedules II-V of the Controlled Substances Act,” the memo sent to pharmacies in Georgia states. “Neither marijuana nor THC can lawfully be possessed, handled, or dispensed by any DEA-registered pharmacy.”

This latest development adds yet another curveball to the state’s bumpy road to making medical marijuana accessible to eligible Georgians and thrusts the state into a complex landscape of marijuana legislation, and what’s allowed, and what’s not.

Georgia has allowed eligible patients to possess and consume low-THC medical cannabis products since 2015, but until recently there was no legal way for them to buy the product in Georgia.

Around the U.S., 38 states allow medical marijuana, and 24 of them have legalized marijuana for recreational use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Georgia, medical marijuana, in the form of low-THC cannabis oil, is available to Georgians with approval from a physician to treat severe illnesses including seizures, terminal cancers, Parkinson’s disease, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

And Georgia was set to do what no other state has done: be the first state to offer a medical marijuana product in pharmacies thanks to a new rule passed by the Board of Pharmacy and approved by Gov. Brian Kemp. In October, the Georgia Board of Pharmacy began accepting applications from independent pharmacies to sell the oil.

Licenses to dispense low-THC oil have been issued to 23 Georgia independent pharmacies, according to the board. It does not publicly disclose information about license applications. There have been no plans for the product to be sold by national drugstore chains such as CVS and Walgreens.

The recent DEA notice was published online by the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which generally opposes marijuana legalization.

Mahlon Davidson, the interim CEO of the Georgia Pharmacy Association said pharmacies need to be aware of the warning from the DEA.

Davidson said he believes some pharmacies have received the product but he was not sure if any had started selling it yet.

“The current conflict between state and federal law puts Georgia’s pharmacies in a difficult position,” the Georgia Pharmacy Association said in a letter to pharmacists, adding that the association is “putting forth the maximum effort to help provide timely information and assist in navigating this issue.”

Davidson, who is currently working as a pharmacist at a Kroger grocery store, which is not one of the pharmacies with plans to sell low-THC oil, said each independent pharmacy will make its own decision on how to proceed but seemed to have little doubt pharmacists are abiding the warning.

“I could extrapolate for you: Let’s say you are an independent pharmacist and you own a pharmacy and you employ an average of 10 people and you’ve got a very profitable pharmacy. If the DEA sent you that letter, you look at that product behind you and go, ‘You know, if I keep this on my shelf and the DEA decides to not only flex their muscles but exercise their power, I am putting at risk the families of 10 other people plus my own.’ “

The warning from DEA is being heralded by Michael Mumper, the executive director of the nonprofit Georgians for Responsible Marijuana Policy. He said the DEA’s guidance helps to protect consumers, who generally trust that drugs dispensed from pharmacies are fully tested, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and federally legal.

Mumper said that’s not the case with medical marijuana, on which few pharmacists have been trained. He said he hopes the DEA’s warning slows the legalization of marijuana and its growing accessibility in order for scientific research about the drug to catch up.

Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor under former Presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton, and currently the president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, applauded the DEA for helping “prevent Georgia pharmacies from acting as illegal pot shops.”

“Pharmacies found to be violating federal law should be shut down immediately and face the harshest penalties under the law,” Sabet said Wednesday in a press release.

Turnage, with the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, pointed to another potential development that could have profound implications on the industry, as well as enforcement.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has called for easing restrictions on marijuana by reclassifying it as a lower-risk Schedule III substance in a letter to the DEA, according to reports first reported by Bloomberg. Rescheduling marijuana could potentially open up more avenues for research. Due to restrictions on Schedule I drugs, cannabis studies are nearly impossible to do.

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that cannabis could have some medicinal benefits, and “we owe it to patients to research and test the drug for that purpose.”

But Carter, a long-time pharmacist, who does not currently own any pharmacies, noted the DEA has made it clear that pharmacies dispensing certain THC products are in violation of federal law and said, “that guidance should be taken seriously.”

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© 2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, who has represented a congressional district that includes the south Metro Atlanta suburbs since 2019, announced Thursday he will not seek re-election next year.

The Pike County Republican said in a statement that he decided to retire and spend more time in his West Georgia home with his wife and family.

“Georgia is truly a special place, and it’s calling us home,” Ferguson said. “Julie and I look forward to spending more time with our children and grandchildren while continuing to work to keep Georgia the best state in America to live and do business.”

Ferguson’s Third Congressional District includes parts of west Georgia south of Atlanta, west of Macon and north of Columbus. As it’s currently drawn, the seat is considered solidly Republican.

However, Georgia’s congressional map was recently redrawn and a judge has scheduled a hearing next week to determine whether it meets his directive to create a new Black-majority district. With Ferguson announcing he will not seek another term, that means Republicans will have one less incumbent to try to protect if that map is rejected.

Ferguson has struggled to find his place in House GOP leadership ever since the party won a thin majority in the 2022 elections. A former chief deputy whip, Ferguson attempted to be promoted to GOP whip, but he lost that election at the end of last year.

In the months that passed, Ferguson grew frustrated with the hardliners in his party as they wielded new influence and ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his post. What ensued was a contentious three-week battle to name McCarthy’s successor with Ferguson regularly siding with the establishment.

After ultra-conservatives’ nominated one of their own, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, as speaker, Ferguson decided against supporting him and said he received death threats as a result. Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson was ultimately promoted House speaker.

Ferguson, a dentist by trade, grew up in West Point but relocated last year to a home in Pike County 63 miles away. The State Board of Elections is investigating a complaint filed after Ferguson voted at his old precinct in Upson County throughout 2022, an apparent violation of state laws requiring people to register to vote where they live.

After the 2020 election where then-President Donald Trump falsely claimed to have won contested states like Georgia, Ferguson raised concerns about election fraud. However, he ultimately voted to uphold Joe Biden’s election as president and was also one of just two Georgia Republicans who voted with Democrats to accept electoral college ballots from contested states.

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© 2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

An election board in a conservative Georgia county voted this month to buy software called EagleAI to identify potentially outdated voter registrations, despite warnings from voting rights groups that it could erroneously flag legitimate voters.

Columbia County will become the first government to use EagleAI, a private venture supported by Republican activists who have filed challenges against voters’ eligibility and Cleta Mitchell, an attorney who backed efforts to overturn then-President Donald Trump’s defeat in 2020.

Election officials in the suburban area near Augusta said they will “beta test” EagleAI, which uses public records to find voters who might have moved away, appeasing conservatives’ concerns about the possibility that a voter who lives in another state could cast a ballot in Georgia.

EagleAI will supplement government-run voter registration updates, which this year canceled 189,000 registrations of voters who filled out change-of-address forms or whose mail was undeliverable. Georgia election investigators have found few cases of illegal out-of-state voting.

Elections Supervisor Nancy Gay said she will use EagleAI to send letters to voters who might have moved, and their registrations would only be removed if they return a cancellation form.

“It will just be a tool to research voter status and residency to help have an accurate list. I would love to see how many people EagleAI claims no longer live in Columbia County,” Gay said. “We still have to follow the parameters of the law: We can’t do anything without voter consent and voter signature.”

EagleAI has billed itself as a potential replacement for the Electronic Registration Information Center, a voter registration information sharing organization that serves 24 states, including Georgia. Nine Republican-led states have withdrawn from ERIC in response to conservatives’ beliefs that it’s biased and ineffective.

But EagleAI lacks access to private voter information that Georgia uses to verify invalid registrations, such as birthdates, driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers. Instead, EagleAI depends on voter lists, property records, tax data, obituaries and change-of-address information.

“The EagleAI software increases the risk of removing lawful voters at an unacceptably high rate,” said Kristin Nabers, state director for the voting rights organization All Voting Is Local. “Georgia’s counties must resist pressure from conspiracy theorists and refuse to partner with EagleAI. This software will bring more problems than solutions.”

The bipartisan election board in Columbia County, where 62% of voters supported Trump in 2020, voted 2-0 to begin using EagleAI next year for an annual payment of $2,000, Gay said. The county can terminate its agreement with EagleAI at any time, she said.

Democratic board member Larry Wiggins said he’s not worried that EagleAI will cause problems, and it might help identify ineligible voters more quickly than existing government efforts to keep voter registration lists up to date.

“In our county historically, we go above and beyond the state minimum on contacting the customer,” Wiggins said. “We’re comfortable with what we’ve seen so far” from EagleAI.

Wiggins said EagleAI could also help election workers check voters’ information when their eligibility is challenged by conservative activists, as is allowed under Georgia’s election law passed two years ago. Since then, over 100,000 voter challenges have been filed across the state, but county election boards have rejected the vast majority of them.

Georgia Elections Director Blake Evans has said that EagleAI won’t be better than existing voter registration list updates, which already use death records, check for duplicate registrations and use government records to confirm when someone has moved.

EagleAI CEO Rick Richards said the company’s technology will make voter registration list maintenance more efficient and comply with state and federal laws.

“EagleAI does not make any decisions or recommendations, nor does it have the ability to change the status of any registration,” said Richards, a retired doctor and entrepreneur. “EagleAI has no data of its own; rather, it improves the efficiency of the county voter list maintenance.”

Under state and federal laws, a voter’s registration can be automatically canceled two general elections after election officials receive information that the voter might have moved. Registrations can be canceled sooner if voters respond to confirmation letters sent by election officials.

Richards has previously said EagleAI could be rolled out in several other states and counties, but Columbia County is the only area to try it so far.

Columbia County could begin testing EagleAI after this year’s primary elections and before the 2024 presidential election, Wiggins said.

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© 2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.