1. Clinton, Sanders step up their case to minority voters.
It became clear during Thursday's debate that Hillary Clinton was betting her campaign on her ability to entice black and Latino voters to support her over Vermont senator Bernie Sanders. In the debate held only two days after her defeat in the New Hampshire Primary, Clinton railed against "systemic racism" and warned that Sanders' plan to expand health care would risk the first black president's signature policy achievment. Sanders also sharpened his tone. He vowed to drastically reduce the "beyond unspeakable" incarceration rates of black men and said race relations woul dbe better under him than any other White House contender. Read more.
More than 45 current and former Georgia Department of Corrections officerse and contract correctional officers have been charged in seven separate federal indictments with smuggling contraband into prisons and accepting bribe payments in exchange for providing protection for drug deals. A federal grand jury indicted 49 people Feb. 11 as the most recent phase of a federal undercover operation. The operation has led to charges as far back as Sept. 24, when 12 prison employees, inmates and others were charged federally in a wide-ranging conspiracy that involved drug trafficking, identity theft and credit card fraud. Read more.
3. John Lewis praises Clinton while slapping Sanders.
John Lewis, considered one of the most influential Democrats in the state and in Congress, dismissed presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' civil rights work as a University of Chicago student in the 1960s. "I never saw him. I never met him," Lewis said at a press conference held by the Congressional Black Caucus to back Hillary Clinton. During the same event, Lewis offered an endorsement of Clinton. "I was involved in the sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, the march on Washington, the march from Selma to Montgomery and directed teh voter education project for six years. I met Hillary Clinton, I met President (Bill) Clinton," he said. Read more.
4. Ross Harris' wife files for divorce 2 months before trial in hot-car death case.
Legal experts say Leanna Harris' divorce filing won't affect her husband's murder trial set to begin April 11. Those close to the couple also say that the divorce does not mean Leanna Harris is no longer in her husband's corner. Leanna, they say, reached ou tto Ross' family Wednesday to let them know she would be filing for divorce. She told them that she loved them, and that she still loved Ross. But she needs to move on. Leanna Harris has stuck by Ross since he was charged with killing his 22-month-old son by locking him inside a hot car for seven hours in 2014 and continued to stick with him through a probably cause hearing that chronicled her husbands alleged sexual escapades in lurid detail. Read more.
5. Kasim Reed unleashes attack on 'Wile E. Coyote' Vincent Fort.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed pulled no punches Thursday when asked about longtime rival and critic, State Sen. Vincent Fort. "Vincent Fort is one of the most disappointing human beings I've ever seen," Reed told reporters and business folks at an Atlanta Press Club luncheon on Thursday, in response to a journalist's question about Fort's legislative priorities. The mayor also accused Fort of introducing legislation aimed at Atlanta City Hall as a "publicity stunt" ahead of a bid for the mayor's office in 2017 — though Fort has not officially declared his intent. The state senator, a Democrat who represents Atlanta, is behind various bills that would prohibit City Hall from outsourcing parking enforcement, place the Atlanta Streetcar under MARTA's control and block a pedestrian bridge the city is building at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Read more.
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