As states across the U.S. implement stricter stay-at-home orders to combat the spread of COVID-19, Georgia's Governor Brian Kemp re-opened the state's beaches, despite having issued a statewide shelter-in-place executive order.
Tybee Island, one of Georgia's most popular beaches, voted to close its shores on March 20. The city's Mayor Shirley Sessions, who called the governor's decision "reckless," told Cheddar Monday.
The beaches, according to the order, remain open for exercise purposes only, banning objects like beach towels, coolers, and beach chairs, with violators subject to a fine.
"I felt like it was not the right decision for our community in helping to keep our residents, our city staff, our visitors safe," Sessions said, describing the congestion the municipality's 2.5 miles worth of shoreline faced. The mayor noted that if people were able to keep six feet of social distancing or their groups down to 10 or fewer people, "then that sounds like a great concept, but unfortunately that is not reality."
Governor Kemp's executive order also supersedes local rules regarding the coronavirus including the Tybee Island city's council's decision to ban vacation rental check-ins during the month of April to prevent travelers from staying in the city.
Sessions said locals have noticed more visitors arriving from locations undergoing heavy rates of infection. "We are now seeing more out-of-state tags coming from those hot spot areas, and that is very concerning to our residents," she said.
Despite some of Kemp's exemptions to his stay-at-home order, Sessions revealed that some local businesses were sticking with the city's previous measures. "We are also hearing from our business community who are saying that they too are listening to what our directives were, which formerly we said all nonessential businesses will close. And they adhere to that, and they're staying true to that."
For his part, Gov. Kemp defended his beach exemption on Twitter on Sunday, posting a video that purports to show a largely empty Tybee Island beach.
Many U.S. consumers say they’ve noticed higher than usual prices for holiday gifts in recent months, according to a a December poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A contributing factor is the unusually high import taxes the Trump administration put on foreign goods. While the worst-case consumer impact that many economists foresaw from the administration’s trade policies hasn’t materialized, some popular gift items have been affected more than others. Most toys and electronics sold in the U.S. come from China. So do most holiday decorations. Jewelry prices have risen due to the cost of gold.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
