According to the Los Angeles Times and RT, more than 250 firefighters were at the scene of the blaze, which began about 1:20 a.m. PT at an apartment complex under construction.
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According to the Los Angeles Times and RT, more than 250 firefighters were at the scene of the blaze, which began about 1:20 a.m. PT at an apartment complex under construction.
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The defense bill also would authorize an increase in funding, to $1 billion from $300 million this year, for Taiwan-related security cooperation and direct the Pentagon to establish a joint drone and anti-drone program.
Another provision supports Taiwan's bid to join the International Monetary Fund, which would provide the self-governing island with financial protection from China.
It comes amid mixed signals from Trump, who appears careful not to upset Beijing as he seeks to strike trade deals with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Chinese leader has urged Trump to handle the Taiwan issue “with prudence,\" as Beijing considers its claim over Taiwan a core interest.
In the new national security strategy, the White House says the U.S. does not support any unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and stresses that the U.S. should seek to deter and prevent a large-scale military conflict.
“But the American military cannot, and should not have to, do this alone,” the document says, urging Japan and South Korea to increase defense spending.
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It isn’t even in the top 10."},{"_id":"GYR6THZCFNBDDEDHDIJCK7IK7I","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"But Eric Gisler’s stunning victory in a district designed for Republicans to win sent shockwaves across Georgia’s political landscape and supercharged Democrats, the AJC’s Michelle Baruchman reports."},{"_id":"MBOOIXGBGZDMHNMJLJYNU3VHGQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Gisler garnered nearly 39% of the vote a year ago when he challenged Republican state Rep. Marcus Wiedower in the northeast Georgia district spanning parts of Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties. On Tuesday, he captured nearly 51% of the vote to best Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest, the GOP candidate to succeed Wiedower after he resigned in October to focus on his real estate business."},{"_id":"X2S35XN2UVGQBDKZQCQS6WS4PE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"His victory likely cuts the GOP edge in the House to 99-81, pending the result of a special election runoff for another solidly Republican district in Atlanta’s northwest exurbs. That’s one of the tightest margins since Republicans flipped the chamber in 2005."},{"_id":"GOHEDO2SO5DGLIPOPIOVYYIKMM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Charlie Bailey called it another sign that Democrats are going to “fight on every front — and we’re going to win more than we’re going to lose.”"},{"_id":"KT5CRZTH3REQ3MI257DZPDKJGM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"The party pumped $50,000 into TV ads in the district that linked Guest to President Donald Trump and framed a vote for Gisler as a rejection of MAGA politics."},{"_id":"SXOW23XVABB6JBJVOYSRZPYXRM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“There are 17 Georgia House districts that were more Democratic than this one last year,” Bailey said in an interview. “Republicans should be very worried.”"},{"_id":"3R6RFBZ6V5BDZIG5YH4CGOL3YA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"They seemed like they were. Insurance Commissioner John King said the GOP needs to “sound the alarm from now until November” and do a better job addressing pocketbook issues."},{"_id":"LO7MWMYHPFAAJCMHJJ6TMIP5DA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“Our donors aren’t motivated and our voters aren’t either,” he said."},{"_id":"KODO4M6B6JG6ZFMK2J6OGQBOCQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Gisler told us he pulled off his upset with a mix of shoe leather and strategic messaging. His campaign knocked on 8,000 doors, made 10,000 phone calls to voters and focused on affordability, health care access and election security."},{"_id":"DV2NJBKOXZBE3MVXTT6X3FAFXY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“What I’m taking away from this is people were fed up with business as usual. People are looking for solutions,” he said."},{"_id":"HED675WPWJD3NOSH77EOZRXQGM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Keeping the seat during next year’s general election won’t be easy. Republicans carved deep-blue Athens into four districts, and Gisler’s territory was among the three drawn for a GOP candidate to win."},{"_id":"XNI3PC4JLZE6VFZWIIUCMGZCOM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“I’m going to draw a wedge between MAGA Republicans and mainstream Republicans,” Gisler said. “I want to show them it’s OK to vote for a Democrat.” "},{"_id":"JTJ4R2AW4RHMXPXUZIVCBL3TWI","type":"divider"},{"level":2,"_id":"S3Z2YWXIBVB3HFHET6KFZFENF4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"header","content":"Things to know"},{"_id":"F3YAQYMXWRAY3OPMBGSXUYYPTA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Good morning! The Georgia legislative session begins in 33 days. The primary for U.S. Senate, governor and other offices is in 160 days."},{"_id":"JMNWAHV7YBBYRKMRLZR6OVCAUM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Here are three other things to know for today:"},{"list_type":"unordered","_id":"D5VZ6MSRIVG3FJMW6C4LPUEWIU","type":"list","items":[{"_id":"N226JTEO4JG7JHAAGJ4PF662KQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"indent":0},"alignment":"left","type":"text","content":"U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told Tia Mitchell that she is leaving Congress for the same reason she first ran for office — disappointment with Republicans."},{"_id":"DOMHH6GRMZE6XFZLBDH5GIMH2E","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"indent":0},"alignment":"left","type":"text","content":"A former member of the Cobb County Board of Education and a retired state lawmaker will face each other in a runoff election next week for a seat in the state Senate, the AJC’s Maya T. Prabhu reports."},{"_id":"APCZUREJLJBGXG3N5YVKUG546E","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"indent":0},"alignment":"left","type":"text","content":"An attorney for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she will testify before a Republican-controlled special state Senate committee next week, the AJC’s Rosie Manins reports."}]},{"_id":"PJE6FKJ4UNG7ZLVBWRK3MLET6U","type":"divider"},{"level":2,"_id":"SD7C5ONUC5GZRLSISPMDOTFSEM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"header","content":"Rule change"},{"owner":{"sponsored":false,"id":"ajc"},"copyright":"Atlanta Journal-Constitution 2025","address":{"street_address":"Buckhead Library","locality":"Atlanta","region":"Georgia"},"auth":{"1":"5230800b5adbd0e658376a699c42b7502c4354b3768099ec5ce72497879a3e1b"},"caption":"Voters cast their ballots using touchscreens at a Buckhead voting precinct in November. 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But today, the board will consider taking another big swing: creating a path to get rid of Georgia’s touchscreen voting system."},{"_id":"ZQ5BWZMT6NDLHONU3LPT2Y6KXE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Supporters of President Donald Trump have distrusted the system ever since he lost the 2020 presidential election. But they’ve been stymied by Georgia’s 10-year contract with the company that makes the machines."},{"_id":"IQYSAV7K7ZFZ3MIDTOCDGSBTUI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"However, state law says counties can bypass the machines for hand-marked paper ballots if it is impossible or impracticable to use them. Today, the board is expected to clarify just want “impossible” and “impracticable” mean."},{"_id":"X7RUEJX6XRAFTIBOHDJ2PYSH2Q","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Under the new definitions, counties could switch to paper ballots because the voting machines use QR codes, which aren’t readable by humans and thus impossible for voters to verify their choices. Counties could also switch to paper ballots if election officials believe if it’s impossible for voters to use the touchscreens without others seeing their choices."},{"_id":"2ZERFXGZA5ENTHBTXMNLUSFJ5M","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Supporters, including the state Republican Party and the chair of the Morgan County Democratic Party, say the board is simply carrying out its obligation to ensure Georgia’s voting machines comply with the law. But opponents say it’s another example of the board going beyond it’s legal authority."},{"_id":"7I6XJHXK4NGUDB42KGHEZXCPOE","type":"divider"},{"level":2,"_id":"4NBA22H2YRDABAL24FQV4JF22I","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"header","content":"Health care vote"},{"owner":{"sponsored":false,"id":"ajc"},"copyright":"Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved","address":{"locality":"Washington","country_name":"USA","region":"DC"},"auth":{"1":"7965412b14138e645b1813f2120cd2e3bb3797f9690d2d2c6a9ea4782247e45a"},"caption":"Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (left) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke to reporters earlier this month about why Democrats are pushing to keep health care subsidies. (J. 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Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is making health insurance subsidies a central issue of his reelection campaign. His Republican rivals are taking the opposite approach."},{"_id":"WPR4BM32YFBDTPDT4HWQDM7IKA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins, and former football coach Derek Dooley say they oppose a plan in the U.S. Senate that would extend the subsidies for another three years. The Republican-controlled Senate is set to vote on the proposal this week, which is likely to fail."},{"_id":"GKMQ2F55WFAWBKZGG3LRBHQE2U","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Carter noted Democrats first subsidized health insurance after passing former President Barack Obama’s health care law in 2010. 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His first inauguration in 2022 was limited because of the coronavirus pandemic."},{"_id":"XI7AXS24OVAJFIQQGPSGC36RNU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"That’ll do it for us today. 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But despite his health challenges, Cooksey had one goal. "},{"_id":"QGPMZBHGURGFNGEBWIZKY6QN7U","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“He was trying to live to see his daughter graduate (from high school),” Cooksey’s sister, Brenda Hardy, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week. “He was doing much better. He couldn’t walk, but he was doing better. He fought to live.”"},{"_id":"YHPF5N2WVRE57JKYGIFUTFHDXU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Cooksey, 57, used a website to find a caregiver to help him with daily tasks, his family said. Danetta Knoblauch answered the ad and brought her son with her when she moved to Georgia from Kansas. She also brought a sledgehammer, which she would use to kill him, according to investigators. 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The medical device that had been implanted to keep Cooksey alive had a serial number on it that confirmed it belonged to him. "},{"_id":"Q5EKVVOU5JDT3NA53QTEBLT224","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"There weren’t many skeletal remains found, but there was enough evidence to confirm Cooksey was no longer alive and that his death was a brutal one, investigators determined."},{"_id":"MKZBPDVOJJHXTBOJA2MCZIYKVQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Knoblauch, now 37, was identified as the suspect and arrested in July 2023. District Attorney Randy McGinley of the Alcovy Judicial Circuit thanked those who worked on the case for bringing justice to Cooksey. 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I want to thank the numerous agencies that assisted in the investigation and trial preparation for this case. "},{"_id":"2J5ZEFBEC5CKPIKTDHLLZ5ZXP4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“This verdict shows the continued dedication of the DA’s office to seeking justice for victims and their families,” McGinley said. "},{"_id":"24SINLEY3RG73JMOOBOZGAHRBU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Cooksey had used Craigslist to find Knoblauch, his sister said. At the time, Knoblauch wanted to be far from Kansas, where she was wanted for allegedly attacking a man with a sledgehammer, investigators later found out. "},{"_id":"PX6ARTPS35EKHL5ZXYBSLOGM7A","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Problems arose between Knoblauch and Cooksey as soon as she moved in with him in February 2023, Hardy said. "},{"_id":"S7JB4NP4FZADTKEJWMRGTAMNEQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“They just didn’t agree with one another,” Hardy said. “I think she took advantage of him being in a wheelchair.”"},{"_id":"E4TICVSMNVEKHC6YZD6GYTLZRQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"On Feb. 23, Newton deputies and firefighters were called to Cooksey’s Mote Road residence. The home, where Hardy and her brothers had grown up, had been set on fire. "},{"_id":"AM7COVGON5BO5LNH4S2BKC5Y2E","additional_properties":{"nofollow":false,"selectedStory":false,"sponsored":false,"openInNewTab":true},"type":"interstitial_link","content":"No body of proof: How Georgia homicide cases are solved without remains","url":"https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/11/no-body-of-proof-how-georgia-homicide-cases-are-solved-without-remains/"},{"_id":"FM7RACFS5JGQXLWBSMMJ7EYJIU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Investigators determined propane tanks had been spread throughout the house and the fire had been intentionally set. And there was blood, indicating something horrific had happened, Hardy said, but there was no sign of her brother. "},{"_id":"E5DBNKIFTNEMXIAM6ZMS2PAIYI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"In addition to having a pacemaker, Cooksey received intravenous medicine via a port that also had an alert system, according to prosecutors. A nurse testified during the trial that the port beeped if there was an issue giving the medication, and Knoblauch’s son told authorities he heard beeping coming from Cooksey’s room."},{"_id":"OVFTG7F6DNF2JFVESZAGSIELHY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"The fire and Cooksey’s disappearance remained under investigation until May 2023, when authorities got a major break. The skull and pacemaker found in Fannin County belonged to the missing man, they determined. "},{"_id":"J6MJAR5C6FEBXA7N7BAFQYLGEY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“Witness statements, social media records, phone records and (license plate reader) camera records led investigators to identifying Knoblauch,” McGinley said."},{"_id":"CK76TEQVZ5ANFB6VXOOWFNLX74","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"By that time, Knoblauch was on the run again. Police found her in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she was in a lengthy standoff with local and state police. She also had a phone she used while in Fannin, Wynne said during the sentencing."},{"_id":"POJFXOMOPRBTFOF7TQLT6BLQXM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"When the standoff ended, Knoblauch was taken into custody on outstanding warrants from Kansas, according to the Newton district attorney’s office. "},{"_id":"YFLZVEQ4M5GVBPADJZJJLQEFDY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"She was later brought to Georgia to face more serious charges."},{"_id":"IJC7FSNKGRCD3AOITHWDCUIBMQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"In July 2023, Georgia investigators had enough evidence to charge Knoblauch with Cooksey’s death, court records show. The DA’s office and police department in Kansas worked with the Newton prosecutors and testified during trial."},{"_id":"KCONYWP7Y5GKZCIABDDAIUZDXI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"According to her indictment, Knoblauch killed Cooksey with trauma to the head. There were some markings in Cooksey’s home that appeared to be from a sledgehammer, according to investigators. A forensic anthropologist also testified that the trauma to Cooksey’s skull was likely caused by a sledgehammer. "},{"_id":"JWBRJRMR2NEAJH4QALXHU7ANGA","additional_properties":{"nofollow":false,"selectedStory":false,"sponsored":false,"openInNewTab":true},"type":"interstitial_link","content":"Second suspect in 2023 deaths of Atlanta veteran, teen arrested in Minnesota","url":"https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/12/second-suspect-in-2023-deaths-of-atlanta-veteran-teen-arrested-in-minnesota/"},{"_id":"4N2R3OUVUVDXVEOKGKWRKHM374","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Hardy said her brother’s brutal death was devastating. Cooksey had been beaten and was helpless, she said. "},{"_id":"JUQ54WQWMFBQHJZMX6QK67Q5SI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“She was trying to get money to take care of her and her son because she was on the run,” Hardy said. “He had (a) good spirit. He didn’t deserve what happened to him at all.”"},{"_id":"BNBWUVSZMBHYHCMLJGRX5V7IH4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Hardy said she can only imagine how proud her brother would be of his daughter, who is now a nursing student at Kennesaw State University. Cooksey’s daughter said she hopes to one day work with newborn babies. "},{"_id":"AZP2D2GQNBACHPPBL6TXY25VFQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"— Photojournalist Miguel Martinez contributed to this article."},{"_id":"MKVBUA23DVFWLK5B7V5P4E6ILE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":""}],"credits":{"by":[{"socialLinks":[{"site":"email","deprecated":true,"deprecation_msg":"Please use social_links.","url":"alexis.stevens@ajc.com"},{"site":"twitter","deprecated":true,"deprecation_msg":"Please use social_links.","url":"https://twitter.com/alexisnews"}],"social_links":[{"site":"email","url":"alexis.stevens@ajc.com"},{"site":"twitter","url":"https://twitter.com/alexisnews"}],"name":"Alexis Stevens","description":"Alexis Stevens is a member of the Crime and Public Safety team.","_id":"alexis-stevens","additional_properties":{"original":{"lastName":"Stevens","role":"Crime and public safety reporter","education":[],"longBio":"Alexis Stevens is a member of the Crime and Public Safety team. 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