Local
Georgia GOP adds itself to the list of opponents against casino gambling
Amidst Georgia legislators’ preparations for another debate over legalizing gambling, the Georgia GOP committee passed a resolution on Saturday that opposes casinos and horse racing. According to the AJC, John Watson, recently-elected Georgia GOP chair, excused himself from the vote, having advocated in the past for legalizing gambling on behalf of Boyd Gaming Corp. Concerns within the resolution are that gambling is connected with increasing crime and divorce rates, and could open the door for “any Indian tribe to venue shop for property to open casinos around the state.” The resolution states that “the state should not have a vested interest in predatory activities such as gambling for the sake of filling state coffers at the expense of ruined lives and broken families.” Gambling advocates have fought for legalization for years, some in hopes that it could increase the funds for the HOPE scholarship. Opponents see this reasoning as failing to overcome the substantial societal costs of gambling, which include increased crime and divorce rates, local job loss as a result of altered spending habits, increase in bankruptcies and increase in childhood violence and domestic abuse.
National
White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci fired after 10 days
Days after a vulgar tirade discussing White House staff members such as Reince Priebus and Stephen Bannon was released to the public, Anthony Scaramucci has been fired from his position as White House communications director after 10 days in office. Priebus resigned shortly after the release of the heated conversation accusing him of undermining the President through leaks of information to the press. This comes as the result of President Donald Trump’s new chief-of-staff, John Kelly, asserting his authority after telling aides he will implement military discipline over a free-for-all West Wing, according to the New York Times. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House press secretary, said, “The President certainly felt that Anthony’s comments were inappropriate for a person in that position. He didn’t want to burden General Kelly, also, with that line of succession.”
Global
U.S. Military searches for 3 marines after aircraft landed in sea off Australia coast
According to Global News, the U.S. Marine Corps said on Saturday a search and rescue operation was underway service members involved in an aviation accident off the East Coast of Australia. The mishap involved an MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, as stated by the III Marine Expeditionary Force’s Twitter account. The force, based in Okinawa, Japan, also stated that the ship’s small boats and aircraft from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group are conducting the search and rescue operations. No Australian Defence Personnel were on board when the aircraft crashed into sea off the coast of Shoalwater Bay. The ship had 26 people on board when the incident occurred, with 23 now accounted for.
