Candidates for governor make pitches at Barrow Gop BBQ

Four of the five Republican candidates to succeed Gov. Nathan Deal in next year's election brought their campaign messages to Barrow County Saturday evening, as each of them vowed to provide conservative leadership for the state. Secretary of State Brian Kemp, state senators Hunter Hill and Michael Williams, and Marc Alan Urbach made brief pitches to a crowd of well over 200 people at the Winder Lions Club during the Barrow County GOP's annual large barbecue fundraiser.

John McCain’s family celebrates his 81st birthday

Hassebrook, the Democr... -- Thousands of people likely remain stranded and an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 homes have been destroyed in the Houston area as Hurricane Harvey, now a tropical sto... -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said that his country's most recent missile launch is "a meaningful prelude to containing Guam," North Korea's state-run news ag... Some types of Salmonella cause disease in food animals, like pigs. Others cause foodborne illness in humans.

Ted Cruz Calls Chris Christie A ‘Desparate Politician’ [VIDEO]

Sen. Ted Cruz didn't respond kindly to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's criticism of his decision to vote no on a relief bill for Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Cruz has been accused of hypocrisy for voting against the Sandy bill - which he claims was "filled with pork" - while asking for federal aid to help Texas with Hurricane Harvey.

Chris Christie Backs Trump, Says He’s Fit For Office

GOP New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Wednesday President Donald Trump is fit for the office of the presidency, adding that this debate was ended in November when he was elected. "I do, I do.," he told "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski on if he thought Trump was fit to lead.

5 Controversial Ideas For Shoring Up Health Insurance Markets

Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander , chairs the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee; Sen. Patty Murray , is the committee's ranking Democrat. With Republican efforts to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act stalled, tentative bipartisan initiatives are in the works to stabilize the fragile individual insurance market that serves roughly 17 million Americans.

Relief package for Texas reignites bitter feud with the north

Republicans from New York and New Jersey have pledged unconditional support for those devastated by Hurricane Harvey , despite lingering resentment. As historic floods wreaked havoc across the Gulf Coast, north-eastern Republicans recalled the days after Superstorm Sandy ravaged their region in 2012.

Why Approving Emergency Funding For Harvey Might Not Be Easy For Congress

A helicopter carries an evacuee during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey on Tuesday in Houston. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images hide caption The cleanup bill will likely be hefty - possibly topping $100 billion - and the vast majority of those efforts will be funded by the federal government.

Thinking Of Running For Office? A Website Lets You Test The Waters

Democratic congressional candidate Regina Bateson speaks with local resident Paige Stauss outside a public library in Granite Bay, Calif., following a campaign event. Aarti Shahani/NPR hide caption Democratic congressional candidate Regina Bateson speaks with local resident Paige Stauss outside a public library in Granite Bay, Calif., following a campaign event.

Democrats should ask: What if Bannon was right?

In normal times, you could bank the bet that a man who was a Russian stooge, gave comfort to neo-Nazis and spent his first year in office trying to take health care from 22 million Americans was going to get destroyed when voters finally had a chance to send him a message. Add to that an approval rating that hit 34 percent last week, and a poll from swing states showing 1 in 5 of people who voted for Donald Trump are now embarrassed by his presidency, and you'd think Democrats were in great shape for next year's midterm elections.

Trump heads for Missouri as he hits the road to tout his push for tax reform

President Donald Trump goes Wednesday to Springfield, Missouri to accelerate his administration's push for tax reform, amid ongoing questions as to whether Republicans in Congress can get something done in coming months on the subject, as lawmakers in both parties await the details of a GOP tax plan. "We're committed to passing the first major tax reform in over thirty years," the President said to cheers last week at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona.

Jeff Jacoby: Why do presidents have unfettered power to pardon?

As the sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz., Joe Arpaio was an authoritarian and incompetent disgrace to public service. He bragged of confining inmates in conditions so harsh that they amounted to a " concentration camp ," and in his zeal to find illegal immigrants he engaged in naked racial profiling - even after a federal court ordered him to stop.

Scot Lehigh: Texas pols should live up to their inspiring rhetoric

It may be an impolitic point to make at this meteorological moment, but sometimes bluntness helps clear the conceptual clouds. So here goes: The rhetoric around the Texas disaster relief effort is inspiring, but shouldn't political leaders' professed concern about their fellow citizens transcend national emergencies? Or to put it another way, why don't President Trump and the leading politicians of Texas practice what they preach? This week, Greg Abbott, Texas's governor, spoke movingly about the spirit of generosity and community on display in the Houston area's Dunkirk-like response to this natural disaster.

Exploiting Hurricane Harvey: Fiscal hawks fear big spenders will capitalize on Harvey relief bill

A $100 steak knife, a $600 filing cabinet, $300,000 in sports equipment and an $88,000 tactical combat vehicle may have nothing to do with Hurricane Katrina, but those items were paid for as part of a multibillion-dollar spending bill that Congress quickly passed after the 2005 storm, which has prompted lawmakers to become skeptical of disaster-relief bills. Twelve years later, with Hurricane Harvey still dumping water on flood-ravaged Houston, some are already worried that the next relief bill will pose the same problem: millions of dollars spent on wasteful or unrelated projects.

Trump’s decision on ‘Dreamers’ could spell fate of immigration reform

President Trump's forthcoming decision on the fate of so-called Dreamers - unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the U.S. before adulthood - could have far-reaching consequences not only for his quest for immigration reform and an impenetrable border wall. As the Washington Examiner reported last week, Trump is under mounting pressure to terminate or phase out the Obama-era Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program that protects nearly 800,000 undocumented youth before a coalition of conservative state attorneys general sue his administration for what they see as unlawful amnesty.

Carrollton teacher to serve on state charter commission

Carrollton High School culinary arts teacher Carmen Dill has been named to the State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia, a state-level, independent charter school authorizing entity. Appointed to fill an unexpired term by Gov. Nathan Deal, she attended her first meeting Aug. 30 and will continue service on the commission through January 2019.

The Latest: Town scrubs game; football players clean school

Flooding in Houston coupled with Tropical Storm Harvey's outer rain bands heading east had emotions running high in New Orleans, especially among those whose homes flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz says he won't second-guess the decision not to ask Houston residents to evacuate before Harvey hit the city with heavy rain and wind.