Rosalynn Carter recast the White House’s East Wing. Now it’s being razed.

Today’s newsletter highlights:

• Brian Kemp begins trade mission in South Korea.
• Former PSC candidate’s arrest draws Republican reaction.
• Electric car company challenges Georgia’s sales restrictions.

Changing White House

Demolition continued on the East Wing of the White House on Wednesday in Washington.

First lady Rosalynn Carter, who died in 2023, helped transform that space after Jimmy Carter took office in 1977. The Plains native was the first to establish her own office in the East Wing, turning what had long been a ceremonial annex into an engine of influence in her husband’s administration.

Now, as the East Wing comes down, so too does a chapter of the Carter legacy.

Things to know

John Cristadoro is vice chair of the Cobb County Schools Board of Education.

Good morning! It’s day 23 of the federal government shutdown. We’re 12 days away from the Nov. 4 elections for Public Service Commission and various local governments across the state.

Here are four other things to know for today:

• Cobb County Board of Education Vice Chair John Cristadoro, who was accused of stealing $250,000 from a business client, has agreed to pay back most of the money, the AJC’s Cassidy Alexander reports.
• The interim CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast is pushing back against allegations that she doesn’t support LGBTQ rights, the AJC’s Maya T. Prabhu reports.
• Coca-Cola is now selling a version of its classic soda made with U.S. cane sugar, just a few months after President Donald Trump said he convinced the company to do it, the AJC’s Amy Wenk reports.
• The State Election Board wants to end no-excuse absentee voting and get rid of Georgia’s voting touchscreens ahead of the 2026 midterms, the AJC’s Caleb Groves reports.

Long haul

Gov. Brian Kemp met with President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea during a trade mission there last year. President Lee Jae Myung now leads the country.

Gov. Brian Kemp and a state delegation awoke this morning in South Korea, where he’s beginning a long-planned trade mission that could hardly have come at a better time.

Now, Kemp said, a goal of the trip is to reaffirm the decades-long relationship with one of Georgia’s most critical trading partners.

“That’s why we’re going,” the governor told Elliot. “We’re not going to let one incident stop a 40-year relationship.”

PSC drama

Patty Durand is a former Democratic candidate for the Public Service Commission.

Durand is a former Democratic candidate for the commission who has loudly criticized Georgia Power — the commission’s primary regulatory responsibility — for what she says is hiding critical public information behind the excuse of “trade secrets.”

The image of a Democrat getting arrested for taking documents during a PSC meeting was too much to pass up for Republicans seeking an edge in the Nov. 4 election for two seats on the all-Republican board — even though Democratic party leaders have worked to distance themselves from Durand long before her arrest.

“There’s no leftist activist more involved in pushing the candidacies of the two Democrat candidates for PSC than Patty Durand,” Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon said.

The two Democrats in the race — Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson — didn’t comment on McKoon’s barbs.

While the arrest was the most dramatic thing to happen involving a PSC meeting that we can remember, whether it’s enough to move voters in an off-year, low-turnout election is debatable.

But for Republicans with real fears of losing these seats, it was worth a shot.

Car talk

It’s been 10 years since Tesla convinced the Georgia Legislature to let it bypass the state’s auto dealers to sell electric vehicles directly to consumers. Now another electric vehicle company wants to do the same thing — except it will have to convince the state Supreme Court.

The amendment gives lawmakers the power to ban automakers from owning car dealerships to protect consumers from fraud and “other abuses.” Voters approved the amendment in 1992.

Tesla started selling directly to Georgia customers in 2013. They argued the law didn’t apply to them because they don’t use dealers at all. Lawmakers then clarified the law to say it does apply to them — but they agreed to exempt Tesla.

Lucid started making electric vehicles in 2021. The law bans them from selling directly to consumers like Tesla.

Eyes on Europe

Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns is a fifth generation timber farmer.

Georgia wood exporters say they’re having a hard time sending their product overseas because the European Union doesn’t allow the use of sulfuryl fluoride to fumigate shipments. The chemical is good at keeping shipments free of pests. But it’s also toxic to humans and bad for the environment.

Listen up

Democratic U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock (left) and Jon Ossoff (right) are topics of discussion on today's "Politically Georgia" podcast.

Today in Washington

• President Donald Trump is scheduled to make an announcement from the White House.
• The House is out of session indefinitely.
• The Senate will vote on more of Trump’s nominations and consider a bill that would pay military personnel and federal workers deemed essential during the shutdown.
• U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, will host a news conference at a health care facility in Albany and another at a veterans memorial in Columbus to highlight the expiring health insurance subsidies.
• U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, will host a telephone town hall meeting to field constituents’ questions and concerns about the government shutdown.

Shoutout

State Rep. Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta, first took office in 1997.