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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp wins re-election, defeats Democrat Stacey Abrams
Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp will retain his seat, defeating Democrat Stacey Abrams.
The showdown was a rematch of the 2018 governor’s election in Georgia, when Kemp narrowly edged Abrams, a former state Democratic legislative leader, voting rights champion, and rising star in her party.
While Abrams enjoyed a large fundraising advantage over Kemp during the entire election cycle, the governor consistently held the lead over Abrams in most public opinion polling during the campaign.
Kemp touted his record in office as he ran for re-election and continuously highlighted the issue of crime.
Incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Democratic Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams.
“I fulfilled a lot of promises over the last three and a half years. We created the gang task force at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. We’ve given our attorney general, Chris Carr, more resources to prosecute gangs,” Kemp told Fox News Digital in October. “We’ve been making sure our capital city’s safe.”
The governor also repeatedly accused Abrams of supporting the defund the police movement and blasted her for her support for cashless bail.
Abrams countered by attacking the governor as weak on crime. Pointing to a bill the governor signed into law in April allowing people to carry firearms without a permit, an Abrams ad over the summer claimed that “Brian Kemp may talk tough, but he makes us less safe.”
And Abrams said that if elected, she’d boost the base salaries of some law enforcement officers and expand training for officers who specialize in mental health and social services.
Kemp advanced to the general election against Abrams by easily defeating a Republican challenge from former Sen. David Perdue — who was endorsed and heavily supported by former President Donald Trump — in the state’s May GOP gubernatorial primary. Perdue’s crushing defeat to Kemp was the biggest and most high-profile loss this cycle by a Trump-backed candidate
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An immigration officer from Pennsylvania has been charged with accepting bribes in exchange for adjusting immigrants’ legal status over a nearly decadelong period.
Amara Dukuly, 43, of Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged with bribery of a public official, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced Thursday.
Dukuly had allegedly used his status as a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer since 2015 to receive payments in exchange for adjustments to some people’s immigration statuses. Those adjustments include receiving a green card, work authorization documents, or visas.
USCIS handles “processing immigration and naturalization applications and establishing policies regarding immigration services.”
“Dukuly did not have the authority to do any of the things he promised these individuals,” the press release says. “After corruptly seeking, receiving, and accepting money in return for being influenced in the performance of an official act, Dukuly converted the monies he obtained from these bribes for his personal benefit.”
The case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita Eve will lead the prosecution.
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In 2023, a group of Black investors based in Atlanta agreed to buy a white-owned bank, Holladay Bank & Trust, and convert it into a Black-owned one. The investors included Dr. Bernice A. King, a daughter of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr; Ashley D. Bell, a former White House policy adviser, and former NFL player Dhani Jones.
They planned to rename the Utah-based institution Redemption Bank and said they wanted to provide financial services to Black communities historically underserved by financial institutions while offering online banking services and small business loans.
The deal, which was awaiting regulatory approval, would mark the first time Black investors purchased a non-Black bank, a statement by Redemption Holding Company said at the time. It would also be the first time in American history that an existing commercial bank would become a Black-owned Minority Depository Institution (“MDI”) through acquisition, the statement added.
After two years, Redemption has finally completed its acquisition of Holladay Bank & Trust. It makes it the first time a bank has been owned by a Black-led investment group in the Western U.S., the AP reported this month.
The acquisition got delayed due to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in 2023, Bell, CEO and chairman of Redemption Holding, told the AP.
“This process has undoubtedly taken longer than any of us anticipated,” Bell said. “However, we are grateful for the diligence of the staff at the FDIC, the leadership of the (American Bankers Association), and the renewed sense of urgency from the new administration this year, all of which helped bring everything together.”
While Bell is the CEO, King is expected to be Redemption Bank’s senior vice president for corporate strategy and serve on the company’s advisory board.
With about $65 million in assets, Redemption Bank will be the first Black-owned bank not physically located within an economically vulnerable community and the first in the Rockies, according to the AP.
It will also be the only one located in the Black-banking desert that stretches from Houston to Los Angeles, the AP added.
The company will further become the 24th Black-owned bank in the nation, termed as Minority Depository Institutions (MDI). MDI is a federal designation for banks and unions that are owned or controlled by minority groups. The most recent MDI was Adelphi Bank, launched in January 2023.
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Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) questioned first lady Melania Trump’s reported “Einstein visa” at a House hearing Wednesday.
“Let me remind y’all that Melania, the first lady, a model — and when I say model, I’m not talking about Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford or Naomi Campbell level — applied for and was given an EB-1 visa, and what that stands for is an Einstein visa. Now y’all that don’t know, let me tell you how you receive an Einstein visa,” Crockett said.
“You’re supposed to have some sort of significant achievement, like being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize or a Pulitzer, being an Olympic medalist, or having other sustained extraordinary abilities and success in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics. Last time I checked, the first lady had none of those accolades under her belt,” the Texas Democrat added. “It doesn’t take an Einstein to see that the math ain’t mathin’ here.”
The Washington Post has reported that Trump in 2001 was given a green card via the elite EB-1 program. The program has been used by people such as academic researchers and multinational business executives, as well as people who have demonstrated “sustained national and international acclaim,” according to the Post.
Crockett’s comments came amid already heightened tensions over immigration in the U.S. as President Trump and his administration pursue an immigration crackdown.
The Trump administration has recently looked to social media more as a national security tool to vet immigrants, raising concerns the action could result in a chilling effect on political speech in the U.S.
The State Department announced earlier this month it was relaunching interviews and processing foreign student visas, with applicants having to make their social media accounts public for vetting or face possible denial.
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