The AJC provides in-depth coverage of the top stories affecting metro Atlantans. Here are three highlights from this past week. You can get even more details by clicking on the links below.
McIVER TRIAL: The Tex McIver trial resumed after a week off, with the state resting its case against the 75-year-old lawyer accused of murdering his wife when his gun went off in their vehicle. McIver has said he fell asleep with the gun on his lap while riding in the back seat of the car and accidentally shot his wife through the seat. McIver's personal masseuse was among the witnesses whose testimony was eagerly awaited: Annie Anderson, subject of much innuendo concerning her relationship with McIver, adamantly denied they were having an affair. Also this past week, the defense received some good news: Two of the charges for influencing a witness were thrown out by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney. The defense rested Friday, including McIver telling the judge that he won't be testifying in his own defense. The state plans to call some rebuttal witnesses, however, meaning closing arguments could come Monday at the earliest.
• Prosecution rests: Will long case come up short for prosecution in Tex McIver trial?
• Two charges dropped: First full day of defense testimony
• Masseuse responds to rumors: "1,000 percent never!"
• Defense rests: Prosecution up next with rebuttal
• Need to catch up on other testimony in the case since it began? Click here for our roundup of coverage
Credit: Bob Andres
Credit: Bob Andres
CITY HALL SCANDAL: Last Sunday, pastor Mitzi Bickers, a former Atlanta official who was indicted the previous week in connection with the City Hall bribery case that was sparked during former Mayor Kasim Reed's tenure, appeared before her church congregation and welcomed their support amid her travails. One day later, City Hall was in the spotlight when Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms requested resignation letters from 26 high-level city employees who are holdovers from Reed's administration. The shake-up is designed to set a new course for the city after the scandal that embroiled in the months before Bottom's inauguration back in January. Also on Monday, former city of Atlanta employee Shandarrick Barnes was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for trying to intimidate a longtime contractor who was talking to the feds investigating the bribery case.
• Mayor's maneuver: Keisha Lance Bottoms to decide which resignations to accept
• Who's who: The people on the resignation list
• Portal launched: Government transparency lets residents track city spending
• Church support for Bickers: "Turn your worry into worship."
• Barnes sentenced: Intimidation with brick through a window and dead rats
FACEBOOK SCRUTINY: As Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress over the course of two days this past week, millions of users on the social media platform found out on their pages whether their personal information had been compromised by the data firm Cambridge Analytica. Despite the recent revelations that Facebook let a data mining firm collect user data that was used to try and influence the 2016 presidential election, Facebook users have found it difficult to give it up despite their concerns over their privacy. The platform has 2 billion active users around the globe.
• Preview of Sunday's AJC front-page coverage: Georgians discuss privacy and their connections to Facebook
• Social media regulation: Facebook CEO Zuckerberg says it's inevitable
• Facebook notifess users: Privacy alerts being sent
