1. Prosecutors offer revealing glimpse into case against Ross Harris.
Justin Ross Harris' words and deeds prior to his son Cooper's death were examined closely during Monday's final motions hearing in Cobb County Superior Court. Prosecutors introduced evidence they believe proves the former Web developer intentionally left his son inside a hot SUV for seven hours while he reported to work at Home Depot. Just 10 minutes before he last saw his 22-month-old son alive, Harris, according to prosecutors, responded sympathetically to a social media post written by an anonymous mother lamenting her decision to have children. But Harris continued to insist his son's death was an accident. Read more.
Years after a baseball career defined by hot-headed remarks and attacks on political correctness, former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker is once against embroiled in a firestorm. The controversy centers on his involvement in a real estate deal to build a $22 million apartment complex in north Florida. While the details of the dispute are complicated, Rocker's signature inflamed rhetoric still shines through. Rocker filed the lawsuit asserting he owns 21 percent of the 254-unit apartment complex. The company he is suing, Partnership Liquidity Investors, claims it obtained that share of ownership as part of a bankruptcy sale of another investor, who had been working with Rocker. Read more.
3. Tax breaks for Super Bowl tickets, back-to-school goods move ahead.
A House panel Monday approved legislation to waive the state sales tax on tickets for the Super Bowl, a break worth an estimated $5 million to $6 million. In an effort to make it more palatable, supporters tacked on the annual sales tax holiday for back-to-school shoppers. The Atlanta Sports Council — along with Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed — is backing the ticket bill in hopes of persuading the National Football League to bring the Super Bowl to Atlanta to showcase the new stadium that's rising next door to the Georgia Dome. These kinds of deals are typical of cities bidding on Super Bowls, officials said. Read more.
4. Georgia House votes to legalize guns on the state's college campuses.
The state House voted Monday to legalize carrying concealed guns on Georgia's college campuses, upping pressure on their Senate counterparts to overturn the state's longtime ban on so-called "campus carry." HB 859 would allow anyone 21 or older with a weapons license to carry a gun anywhere on a public college or university campus, except for inside dormitories, fraternities and sorority houses, and at athletic events. It also would mandate that those weapons be concealed — something proponents say make it safer — because Georgia requires gun owners to apply for "concealed carry" permits that require fingerprinting and background checks. Read more.
5. Klan continues push join program picking up highway trash.
The state's top court is being asked to decide whether a North Georgia chapter of the Ku Klux Klan should be allowed to pick up trash along state highway and then get credit for it through the Adopt-A-Highway Program. The Georgia Supreme Court is weighing whether state Department of Transportation signs recognizing participation in the highway cleanup program represent "government speech" or are instead an expression of free speech by individuals protected by the First Amendment. The state's lawyers say the public, driving by the signs along highways, see them as a messages from Georgia. They argue erecting one recognizing the work of the Klan could be perceived as an endorsement of the group's beliefs. Read more.
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