Kemp Suspends School Board

Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday suspended all seven members of the Dublin City school board with pay and created a committee to recommend temporary replacements.

The state Board of Education voted 10-0 last week to recommend the suspensions following a hearing on the district’s $20 million deficit, which required emergency state payroll help.

Attorneys for the school board blamed former finance director Chad McDaniel for hiding the shortfall. McDaniel invoked the Fifth Amendment at the hearing.

The district has since cut 46 positions and 10 days from its calendar, and has also been downgraded to one step away from losing accreditation.

  Ponzi Cases Multiply

A Flowery Branch man accused of running a $165 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme was returned from Fiji to face federal charges, the latest in a series of major Georgia Ponzi cases.

Prosecutors say Ed Zimbardi, 59, ran The Crypto Program from suburban Atlanta, collecting money from more than 6,000 investors on the promise of a 25% monthly return.

He appeared before a federal magistrate in Los Angeles on Monday and faces 25 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy in the Northern District of Georgia.

The case follows last week’s sentencing of Drive Planning founder Todd Burkhalter, given the maximum 20 years in prison for a $380 million scheme the FBI calls likely Georgia’s largest. Two other Drive Planning executives were sentenced the same week.

In May, Newnan-based First Liberty Building and Loan founder Brant Frost IV pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a separate $140 million Ponzi scheme orchestrated in part to fund political campaigns.

Heat Wave Persists

Dangerous heat gripped Georgia for a second straight week, with heat index values reaching 115 and higher in the state’s southern half.

Forecasters expect a weekend front to break the pattern.

A heat advisory remains in effect for much of the state, with some schools canceling or rescheduling outdoor activities and Savannah opening cooling centers.

On Monday night, storms knocked out power and downed trees and limbs across north Georgia. One tree fell onto several vehicles in Atlanta.

Drier air should take the edge off the worst heat impacts starting today, though highs will stay near 100 degrees and advisories are expected to continue through late week.

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➤ Cobb County: A local 44-year-old man was charged with burglarizing the North Carolina home of NASCAR driver Greg Biffle after Biffle and his family died in a plane crash in December. (More)

➤ McDonough: A Walmart shopper posted an image online seeking to identify and thank the stranger who returned his lost cash-filled wallet to his home, and a father recognized the Good Samaritan as his son and responded, “Glad that he found it and what we instilled was displayed here. Thank you for giving me a proud dad moment!”  (More)

➤ Augusta: AFCEA’s TechNet Augusta conference runs through Thursday, an annual event that typically generates about a $6 million economic impact locally. (More)

➤ Atlanta: White House officials called a rally remark by Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff about President Trump traveling with aide Natalie Harp sexist. (More)

➤ Warner Robins: Students returned to the high school for the first time since an Aug. 12 shooting, in which a fight in a restroom left a ninth-grader shot in the leg and a 14-year-old in custody. (More)

➤ Atlanta: The WNBA said league security should not have ordered a mother and her 17-year-old daughter to cover XX-XY Athletics shirts at an Atlanta Dream game Sunday at State Farm Arena. (More)

➤ Roswell: Crews will dredge a 600-foot stretch of the Chattahoochee River near Don White Memorial Park, removing at least 12,000 cubic yards of sediment to increase the river’s depth. (More)

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➤ The Atlanta Falcons signed veteran pass rusher Za’Darius Smith, adding depth after one of their 2025 first-round edge rushers tore an ACL and the other received an eight-game suspension. (More)

➤ Georgia soccer hosts James Madison on Thursday in the Soccer in Sanford event, the first soccer match at Sanford Stadium since the 1996 Olympics. (More)

➤ Atlanta United’s pursuit of Swiss forward Breel Embolo fell through after the World Cup striker reportedly rejected the club’s $18 million offer. (More)

➤ The Atlanta Hawks wrapped up their sixth annual Community Court Tour, providing free basketball clinics and wellness activities to more than 1,600 metro Atlanta youth. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | WNBA | Tennis

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➤ Cirkla will invest more than $5 million in a molded-fiber food packaging plant in Gainesville, creating about 140 jobs over three years. (More)

➤ Atlanta-based Home Depot beat second-quarter expectations and reaffirmed full-year guidance amid a frozen housing market, saying it is gaining share among professional and do-it-yourself customers. (More)

➤ Milledgeville city officials hope the long-planned Baldwin County industrial park will attract manufacturers, with construction on the entryway and main access road set to begin next year. (More)

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➤ A 450-foot digital mural on Georgia’s Own Credit Union building in Atlanta lit up the skyline Tuesday to honor Plains native Rosalynn Carter on what would have been her 99th birthday. (More)

➤ A lightning-caused wildfire burning on Wassaw Island since the Fourth of July sent smoke toward Tybee Island and Hilton Head. (More)

➤ Waffle House began testing seven taco varieties at about 45 metro Atlanta locations for a limited time. (More)

➤ The mystery thriller Girl wraps its Savannah shoot Friday, directed by Steven Spielberg’s daughter, Destry Allyn Spielberg. (More)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:

➤ Your childhood kitchen held these five staples that America has abandoned, and experts now say one is healthier than butter. (See Foods)

➤ Fraternity pledges were allegedly forced to cut and bag cocaine for a sprawling drug ring at Penn State. (Hear Details)

➤ Reports of worsening conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are raising serious questions about life on the warship. (Listen Now)

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