As the great reopening debate continues, some state and local officials are not seeing eye to eye on when stay-at-home orders and business closures should end.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is one such local official who is speaking out against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's plan to reopen businesses such as gyms, nail salons, barbershops, and bowling alleys this Friday, April 24.
"It doesn't make sense to me," Bottoms told Cheddar. "There's nothing essential about a bowling alley or a movie theater."
Bottoms, a Democrat, said that she had previously worked closely with the Republican governor.
"Governor Kemp and I have had a very good working relationship over the past couple of years, and we communicate regularly, but I was surprised along with a number of mayors," she said.
The mayor said Kemp did not consult her in the development of the plan or provide details on which businesses would be allowed to reopen. She also expressed disappointment that the governor did not provide flexibility to local governments to alter the plan based on local needs.
"We recognize that the economy is a huge consideration for people. My mother owned a small business, a hair salon, for many years. This would have been devastating to her. But I do know we need to be able to live to fight another day."
Bottoms said that Georgia is still seeing an uptick in cases, despite a steady flattening of the curve, and that the plan is coming prematurely.
"To the extent that we've had any success in our state, it's because we've been very aggressive in Atlanta and in surrounding metro cities to close down businesses and encourage people to stay home," she said.
The Pentagon has sent “prepare to deploy” orders to about 2,000 U.S. troops to be ready to respond to the Israel-Hamas war, two U.S. officials said on the condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that has not been announced yet.
The head of Israel’s Shin Bet security service has taken responsibility for not warning of the bloody Oct. 7 Hamas rampage that killed over 1,400 Israelis.
Republicans rejected Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on a first ballot Tuesday, as an unexpectedly numerous 20 holdouts denied the hard-charging ally of Donald Trump the GOP majority needed to seize the gavel.
The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election subversion case against Donald Trump in Washington imposed a narrow gag order on him on Monday, barring the Republican former president from making statements targeting prosecutors, possible witnesses and the judge's staff.
A 71-year-old Illinois man accused of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old boy and seriously wounding a 32-year-old woman was charged with a hate crime Sunday.
Republicans chose Rep. Jim Jordan as their new nominee for House speaker on Friday during internal voting, putting the gavel within reach of the staunch ally of GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump.
American citizens in Israel can start leaving the country on charter flights starting Friday after the State Department said flights will take Americans and immediate family members to either Athens, Greece or Frankfurt, Germany.
The Israeli military has ordered the 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza to evacuate to the south within 24 hours as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel.
