President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Small Business Administration, former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, passed a key procedural vote in the Senate on Thursday, clearing the path for her final confirmation vote. 

The Senate’s vote this afternoon to invoke cloture ended the debate on the Georgia Republican’s nomination, as she now moves on to the confirmation stage.

The final cloture vote was 51-43 in favor of invoking cloture.

"Like President Trump, Senator Loeffler left behind a successful career in the private sector to advance the America First agenda," Loeffler spokeswoman Caitlin O'Dea told Fox News on Jan. 28. 

TRUMP'S COMMERCE NOMINEE PASSES KEY HURDLE

"Should she be confirmed, she will continue the practice of donating her federal salary to charities and nonprofits across the country — and put her full focus on working to make the Small Business Administration a gateway to the American Dream for entrepreneurs across the country." 

Loeffler, whose net worth is estimated at roughly $1 billion, previously donated her annual Senate salary of $174,000 between 2019 and 2021 to more than 40 Georgia charities and nonprofits. 

Those organizations included food banks, faith groups and organizations opposed to abortion, foster care/adoption groups as well as organizations promoting health care, agriculture, education, law enforcement and disaster relief. 

Loeffler previously worked at several top financial firms, including Intercontinental Exchange. Her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, whom she met at ICE, is the current chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.

Loeffler also previously bought a minority stake in the WNBA Atlanta Dream, but is reportedly no longer associated with the team.

Loeffler also sparred with Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass, during her confirmation hearing over the Trump administration’s announcement that it would freeze federal funds and grants. 

TRUMP LANDS KEY TULSI GABBARD CONFIRMATION FOLLOWING UPHILL SENATE BATTLE

After Trump fired SBA inspector general Hannibal Ware in January, Markey -- the top Democrat on the Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee – expressed anger and called for a pause on Loeffler’s confirmation consideration.

Markey said the process should be halted "either until Inspector General Ware is reinstated or until a qualified and impartial nominee to replace him is confirmed by the Senate."

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the committee’s chairwoman, called Loeffler the "perfect person for the job" in an Osceola Sentinel-Tribune column.

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"Throughout her career, she rose through the ranks at multiple companies due to her determination and grit. She also started many businesses and knows what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur," said Ernst.

"Most importantly, she knows what it means to be overrun by Washington’s bureaucratic overreach — and that the government must instead get out of the way so businesses can thrive."

Fox News Digital's Diana Stancy and Deidre Heavey contributed to this report

Tybee Island, Georgia, plans to welcome back the controversial "Orange Crush" music festival in April, so long as the organizers agree to meet certain conditions.

"Thanks for your interest in the 2025 Orange Crush Festival!" a post on the Orange Crush Instagram page reads. "We’re thrilled to announce that for the first time in decades, we are fully permitted and ready to celebrate April 18-20."

The event previously came to the popular Georgia beach town but without official permits issued by the city. It has also built a reputation for creating security and trash issues on the island.

The Tybee Island City Council on Jan. 26 sent a conditional letter of approval to Orange Crush organizer Steven Smalls, saying that the city will issue a special events permit to the festival after "all conditions" listed in the letter "have been addressed to the satisfaction" of local government leaders.

POPULAR GEORGIA BEACH TOWN OVERRUN BY ‘ORANGE CRUSH’ FIGHTING, CHAOS, VIDEO SHOWS

Conditions that need to be met include event timing and placement requirements to "coordinate municipal services"; assuring "the preservation of public property"; preventing dangerous and unlawful behavior; ensuring people's safety at the event; and planning for traffic control, among other conditions.

If the "scope, intensity, location, type or size of the event" deviates from the city's requirements, permit approval will be retracted.

CRIME ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES SPIKES AFTER DECADE OF STEADY DECLINE AS STUDENTS FEAR FOR SAFETY

"Orange Crush Festival 2025 is bringing nothing but HEAT this year," a Thursday announcement on the festival's Facebook page reads, adding that this year's event will be "the BIGGEST Orange Crush Festival yet!"

"You already know it’s about to be legendary!" the post reads.

POLICE, GUNMAN EXCHANGE FIRE IN HOTEL AFTER PHONY 'MURDER' CONFESSION, BODYCAM SHOWS

Last year, the event came to Tybee without an official permit. Videos from the festival shared on social media showed violent brawls, women throwing haymakers and wrestling with each other, and piles of trash growing on the beach.

ROAD RAGE SHOOTING CAPS GEORGIA '23 SPRING BREAK CHAOS AT TYBEE ISLAND

In the early 1990s, Orange Crush had a reputation for being a wild, crime-filled weekend, and Savannah State University disassociated with the event in 1991 because of the high number of arrests and reports of violence.

READ THE CONDITIONAL LETTER OF APPROVAL. MOBILE USERS CLICK HERE

Two years ago, the event moved to Jacksonville, Florida, "due to lack of resources, limited parking, civil rights violations and political injustices," according to a June 2021 story on Jacksonville.com, which cited the event's website. The website has since been taken down.

The event returned to Tybee Island in 2023 for the first time since 2020.

Fox News Digital's Chris Eberhart and Bonny Chu contributed to this report. 

A Georgia judge on Tuesday granted the father of the Apalachee High School shooting suspect a $500,000 bond.

On Sept. 4, 2024, Colt Gray, 14, allegedly killed two teachers and two other 14-year-old students when he opened fire inside the high school.

Colt pleaded not guilty to 55 criminal counts, including 25 counts of aggravated assault, and his 54-year-old father, Colin Gray, pleaded not guilty to 29 criminal counts, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

The father is accused of buying the AR-15-style firearm his son allegedly used in the shooting. He would have to pay at least $50,000 of the total $500,000, in cash, to be released from jail.

BODYCAM FOOTAGE RELEASED OF 2023 INTERVIEW WITH COLIN GRAY

Prosecutors had asked the judge to set Colin Gray's bond at $1 million, noting that he lived in seven different residences over five years with Colt, and if he returned, he would pose a significant threat to his wife and his other children, whom the state intends to call as witnesses at trial.

Colin Gray's attorney, Brian Hobbs, argued that his client was not a threat to the community. Fox News Digital reached out to Hobbs for comment.

GEORGIA SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT ON FBI RADAR SINCE 2023 AS POSSIBLE THREAT AFTER ONLINE REMARKS

During Tuesday's hearing, the court heard several impact statements from victims of the shooting. Jerry McIlhenny, the grandfather of victim Taylor Jones, said his granddaughter still has an iron rod in her leg from a bullet wound.

"You’ve taken her childhood away from her," McIlhenny said. "She’s 14!"

COLT GRAY PLEADS NOT GUILTY, DEMANDS JURY TRIAL 

Breanna Schermerhorn, mother of 14-year-old victim Mason Schermerhorn, testified that she has suffered and struggled personally since the murder of her son.

"He was an amazing son and brother," Schermerhorn said, adding that Colin Gray "should have no influence going forward on any child."

Georgia is one of 42 states in the U.S. that holds parents criminally responsible for their children.

Last year, a Michigan judge sentenced James and Jennifer Crumbley, parents of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, to serve 10 to 15 years in prison for their roles in their son's decision to open fire inside his school, killing four students and injuring multiple others.

The Crumbley parents' trials have been described as historic, as they are the first parents of a school shooter in U.S. history to be tried, setting a new precedent for parents of children accused of committing mass shootings.

Fox News' Chip Bell and Bonny Chu contributed to this report.

Georgia’s Republican lieutenant governor has introduced a plan similar to the DOGE efforts taking place with the Trump administration that he tells Fox News Digital will bring much-needed government accountability to his state.

"I own my own business employing thousands of people, and I know one of the biggest things that we run into as small business owners is regulatory burdens. And that's regulatory burdens at the local, state and federal level," Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones told Fox News Digital of his Red Tape Rollback Act of 2025.

"We've been fortunate here in Georgia to be the No. 1 state to do business for 11 years running, and if we want to stay like that, we're going to have to always be retooling how we do things, improving how we do things, making government more efficient, making it try to work more like business."

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DOGE AND ITS QUEST TO SLASH GOVERNMENT WASTE, SPENDING

Jones introduced the plan last year but was unable to move it through the Georgia Legislature. But he said Trump’s DOGE efforts provided an opportunity to pair the plan with the new DOGE brand that has become increasingly popular with Republicans and some Democrats in Washington, D.C. 

"That's what the essence or the genesis behind red tape rollback, which is our state version of DOGE that the Trump administration is doing, and I'm excited about what they're doing with the first week of that administration," Jones said. 

Jones explained to Fox News Digital what the priorities of his statewide DOGE plan would entail if successfully passed through the Legislature.

"The first thing we'd like to do is basically have a reset on all regulatory issues at every state agency. And what I mean by that is, instead of always adding more regulations, we'll start back at zero and then the agencies just add what they need," Jones said. 

ELON MUSK'S DOGE MAKES ANOTHER HIRING PUSH

"There are so many regulations that are on the books that have been put there from decades worth of, you know, legislative laws that were passed or whatever. What our bill will do is basically have a reset just like you would on a computer game or whatever. 

"And say there's a lot of things that are unneeded, whether we're talking about on the educational front, on the environment front, transportation, whatever it might be, just the entire blanket. Have a reset, and then make the agencies tell us what regulations are needed and which ones they're glad to get rid of."

Jones said in a press release his bill will "also give legislators the ability to request a ‘Small Business Impact Analysis’ for pending legislation to better understand how a bill might impact Georgia’s most important job creators."

Jones told Fox News Digital that statewide spending waste is at a much "smaller scale" than federal government waste, but he said he hopes his statewide efforts will help shine a light on waste in the federal government. 

"There's no question D.C. is the elephant, so to speak, in the room that has gotten so bloated through duplicate agencies, duplicate services, whatever it might be," Jones said. "There's a lot of ways to trim the fat at the federal level. 

"State government, it won't be anything like what you have at the federal level, but there's definitely inefficiencies that need to be addressed, whether it's in licensing, permitting processes, whatever it might be, regulatory codes and things that need to be repealed. Those are all things that are going to be on the table."

Tempers flared during a high school basketball game in Georgia this month. The heated moment appeared to spark a physical altercation between players from opposing teams. 

TMZ reported that the fight in question happened during a game between Sonoraville High School and Rockmart High School on Jan. 3 in Calhoun, Georgia. Calhoun is located approximately 70 miles from downtown Atlanta.

A video posted to social media appeared to show an unidentified Rockmart player shoving one of Sonoraville's athletes to the ground. The Rockmart athlete then immediately hit the Sonoraville player in the face immediately after he regained his footing.

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The Rockmart player was later seen punching a separate player from the opposing team. 

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYER JUMPS INTO ACTION TO SAVE OPPONENT'S LIFE AFTER HARROWING ON-COURT COLLAPSE

The second Sonoraville player was hit after he dashed toward the scuffle. Spectators in the crowd could be heard making noises as they reacted to the situation. The video also showed some individuals moving from the stands to the court area to intervene.

An incident report from the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office suggested a Rockmart player was provoked by the repeated use of a racial slur by the player from the opposing team.

The teenager who appeared to initiate physical contact during the incident faces two charges of simple battery, per the police report. The brawl broke out during the third quarter of the game.

Officials from Rockmart High School and Sonoraville High School have yet to offer public comment on the incident.

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A fire chief died in Alabama after being shot and killed while trying to help a driver who struck a deer, police say. 

The Coweta County Fire Rescue in Georgia is now mourning the loss of Battalion Chief James "Bart" Cauthen, who they described as an "amazing, hard-working man with a gentle soul" who served the department for more than 24 years. The shooting unfolded Sunday afternoon. 

"Early investigation indicates that Chief Cauthen was attempting to assist individuals that had struck a deer while traveling on County Road 267," the Chambers County Sheriff's Office said. "Another individual (William Randall Franklin) that resided in the area opened fire on Chief Cauthen and the individual that struck the deer." 

"All individuals were injured during [a] shootout. Chief Cauthen succumbed to his injuries prior to deputies arriving on the scene," the Sheriff’s Office added. 

WOMAN VANISHES AS POLICE FIND CAR IN DITCH, ARREST DRIVER IN PUZZLING DISAPPEARANCE 

Police say an arrest warrant for murder has been issued for Franklin, who will be taken into custody upon his release from a local medical facility.  

The motive for the shooting is unclear. 

"At this time, investigators are working to piece together the events that led to this horrific scene," the Chambers County Sheriff's Office said. 

"The deceased victim is identified as James Bartholomew Cauthen, 54 years of age from Moreland, Georgia," it added.  

GEORGIA MAN ACCUSED OF STABBING OFF-DUTY ATLANTA POLICE OFFICER AFTER HIT-AND-RUN REMAINS ON THE LOOSE 

Coweta County Fire Rescue said in a Facebook post that "we have many questions as we navigate through this horrible tragedy." 

"Our hearts and prayers go out to Cauthen’s family, friends and our brothers and sisters in the Fire Rescue family who worked closely with him," it continued. "We want to thank all of the agencies who have reached out to us to offer condolences, as well as our community." 

The Chambers County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment by Fox News Digital. 

The College Football Playoff National Championship Game is set to kick off in Atlanta on Monday night, and the city and state have buffed security measures to ensure everyone at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and its surrounding areas are safe and secure.

Among those with boots on the ground are agents of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, as they posted a picture of two agents on X. 

"GBI agents are in Atlanta today ensuring everyone stays safe during the CFP National Championship game," the post read. "If you see us, come say hi! Please prepare for the weather and stay safe and warm."

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Atlanta’s weather is cold, with an expected low of 17 degrees on Monday night. And the GBI agents reflect just how cold it is, as they are bundled up from head to toe. 

Gov. Brian P. Kemp issued a state of emergency "to ensure appropriate resources are deployed" due to the below-freezing temperatures.

NOTRE DAME, OHIO STATE MEETING IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WITH FAITH AT FOREFRONT

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, as well as Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum, highlighted increased security measures for the title game, which is being hosted at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the second time since its inception.

While the city has seen this event before, the tragedy in the early hours of New Year's Day on New Orleans’ historic Bourbon Street led to increased personnel and precautions before Ohio State and Notre Dame kick off. New protocols were incorporated into the extensive preparation for this event.

The terror attack in New Orleans came hours before the Sugar Bowl, which was postponed to the following day as a result. 

"Everyone in the Atlanta Police Department will be out working," Chief Scheirbaum said, per local 11 Alive.

Chief Scheirbaum confirmed that multiple specialized units and visible police presence will be seen at and around the stadium. Specialized units from the Atlanta Fire Department will also be around the city for rapid response situations.

It’s a busy day for Atlanta as their Martin Luther King Jr. Parade to honor the civil rights leader on the federal holiday took place earlier on Monday. It required enhanced security measures as well, with street closures that would eventually transition into the college football festivities.

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A Georgia state senator has had his ban from entering the state House chamber revoked following an ugly incident on Thursday which saw him flung to the floor, arrested and subsequently hospitalized.

State Sen. Colton Moore, a hardline supporter of President-elect Trump who previously tried to have Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis impeached for indicting the former president, was involved in a heated exchange at the entrance to the House chamber where officials refused him entry to attend Gov. Brian Kemp's State of the State Address.

Moore, of Trenton in Dade County, ended up being pushed to the floor by Keith Williams, a lawyer for House Speaker Jon Burns' office, who was trying to enforce a ban placed on Moore by the speaker. Moore was banned from entering the chamber after he blasted the state Senate's decision last year to consider a resolution to name a building at the University of North Georgia after the now-deceased former house speaker David Ralston.

STATE SENATOR PUSHED TO THE GROUND, ARRESTED WHILE TRYING TO ENTER GEORGIA HOUSE CHAMBER

Moore on Thursday made several attempts to brush past House staffers but was pushed back on several occasions. Then, at one point, William sent Moore flying, with the senator falling awkwardly to the floor. After another attempt to enter, Moore was arrested by state troopers and led away.

Later in the evening, Moore posted a video of himself sitting on a hospital bed with a blood pressure monitor strapped to one of his arms. His other arm was elevated on the bed’s guard rail. 

"I did take a bit of a beating; my hand, it’s a bit swollen and purple; we’re waiting to get some X-rays to check it out," Moore said.

"Today they took my freedom and liberty away as I was fighting for your freedom and liberty. But I tell you what, we still have a constitutional duty to do work, and I’ll still be in that legislature tomorrow morning. Thank you all for the support."

Burns initially said that the incident was "incredibly unfortunate and said that Moore had "created a dangerous situation when he chose to use force against our law enforcement officers, dedicated doorkeepers and House staff." Burns said that the integrity and decorum of this House was "non-negotiable—period."

On Friday, Burns, a Republican from Newington, lifted his ban after state Senate and Republican Party leaders lined up to support Moore.

GEORGIA LAWMAKER SAYS WHISTLEBLOWER ALERTED HIM OF SECRET MIGRANT ROOM AT AIRPORT 

He said that Moore’s desire to "cause a disturbance and gain notoriety in the press broke longstanding rules and precedents of decorum that each member of the General Assembly has a responsibility to uphold." But he said he’d admit Moore for joint sessions without an apology because Ralston wouldn’t have wanted the legislature’s work to be hindered.

"For this reason, the Ralston family has expressed to their family here in the House that they desire for our chamber to resume business as normal — with all members of the General Assembly present — for any future joint sessions with or without the apology they and the House deserve," Burns said.

Moore’s ban had stemmed from a speech he gave last year blasting former speaker Ralston, who was also a Republican. 

Moore accused Ralston of using his office to delay court cases for criminal defendants he had represented as an attorney. Ralston claimed in 2019 that his actions were entirely legal.

"This body is about to memorialize, in my opinion, one of the most corrupt Georgia leaders that we are ever going to see in my lifetime," Moore exclaimed at the time. 

It’s not the first time Colton, a self-described "RINO wrangler," has clashed with his Republican colleagues.

In 2023, Georgia’s Republican Senate Caucus suspended Moore for attacking them for opposing his plan to impeach Willis for indicting Trump in an election interference case.

Moore was the most prominent backer of a special session to impeach and remove Willis or defund her office, winning Trump’s endorsement. Kemp denounced the call as "some grifter scam" to raise campaign contributions for Moore.

The Willis case eventually unraveled, in part because she was in a romantic relationship with a prosecutor she had hired.

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Moore was booked into Fulton County jail on a misdemeanor charge of willful obstruction of law enforcement officers.

After Moore took a mug shot imitating one Donald Trump famously took at the same jail, a supporter posted Moore’s $1,000 bail.

Lt. Edward Starling, a troopers spokesperson, said he had no update on whether charges would be dropped.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A pair of voting advocacy groups founded by failed Democrat Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams were hit with a historic fine by the Georgia Ethics Commission for violating campaign finance laws to bolster Abram's 2018 election.  

"Today the State Ethics Commission entered into a consent agreement with the New Georgia Project and the New Georgia Project Action Fund for a total of $300,000," the Georgia State Ethics Commission posted in a statement on Wednesday. "This certainly represents the largest fine imposed in the history of Georgia's Ethics Commission, but it also appears to be the largest ethics fine ever imposed by any state ethics commission in the country related to an election and campaign finance case."

Abrams founded the New Georgia Project in 2013 as part of an effort to register more minority voters and young voters. The organization was founded as a charity that can accept tax-deductible donations, while the New Georgia Project Action Fund worked as the organization's fundraising arm. 

The groups admitted to failing to disclose about $4.2 million in contributions and $3.2 million in expenditures that were used during Abram's election efforts in 2018, according to the commission's consent order. The groups were hit with a total of 16 violations, including failing to register as a political committee and failure to disclose millions of dollars in political contributions.

STACEY ABRAMS SAYS TRUMP RE-ELECTION WAS NOT A 'SEISMIC SHIFT' OR 'LANDSLIDE'

The groups were accused of carrying out similar activity in 2019, when they reportedly failed to disclose $646,000 in contributions and $174,000 while advocating for a ballot initiative. 

STACEY ABRAMS ACCUSES CNN HOST OF 'REPEATING DISINFORMATION' ABOUT HER CASTING DOUBT ON 2018 ELECTION RESULTS
 

"This represents the largest and most significant instance of an organization illegally influencing our statewide elections in Georgia that we have ever discovered, and I believe this sends a clear message to both the public and potential bad actors moving forward that we will hold you accountable," the ethics commission continued in its statement Wednesday. 

STACEY ABRAMS PRAISED ON ‘THE VIEW’ FOR NOT CONCEDING ELECTION, DEFENDS SAYING SHE ‘WON’ GEORGIA RACE IN 2018

Abrams stepped down from the group in 2017, with Sen. Raphael Warnock taking the reins as the New Georgia Project’s CEO from 2017 to 2019, the Associated Press reported. Warnock was elected as a U.S. senator from Georgia in 2020. 

A spokesperson for Warnock's Senate office told the AP that he was working "as a longtime champion for voting rights" and that he was not aware of campaign violations. The spokesperson added that "compliance decisions were not a part of that work." Fox News Digital also reached out to Warnock's office for additional comment but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Abrams ran for governor of Georgia in 2018 and 2022, but lost to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in both races. Abrams drew national attention after the 2018 race when she refused to concede to the Republican despite losing by 60,000 votes. 

STACEY ABRAMS ON NOT CONCEDING GEORGIA LOSS: WE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO 'LEGITIMATELY QUESTION' SYSTEMS

Amid the 2018 race, she touted the New Georgia Project on her X account, which was called Twitter at the time.

"When Abrams sees a problem, she doesn’t wait for someone else to step up – she does it herself. So when she saw that 800,000 people of color in Georgia weren't registered to vote, Abrams immediately set out to fix the problem & founded The New GA Project," she tweeted. 

The New Georgia Project said in a comment provided to Fox News Digital that they are "glad to finally put this matter behind us" so the group can "fully devote its time and attention to its efforts to civically engage and register black, brown, and young voters in Georgia."

"While we remain disappointed that the federal court ruling on the constitutionality of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act was overturned on entirely procedural grounds, we accept this outcome and are eager to turn the page on activities that took place more than five years ago," the group continued. 

Two men disguised as Amazon delivery employees reportedly beat a 66-year-old Savannah, Georgia, pub owner nearly to death with a sledgehammer-esque weapon on the morning of Jan. 11, according to police and local reports. 

The two suspects, wearing the company's signature blue jackets with the Amazon logo and carrying a cardboard box, knocked on the man's front door around 8 a.m. 

They allegedly proceeded to attack him with the weapon for nearly eight minutes, as WTOC first reported.

In security camera footage shared by the Savannah Police Department on their website, the two perpetrators can be seen slowly approaching the man's door in the 500 block of Price Street, wearing ski masks that cover their faces. The victim can then be heard crying out for help. 

APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY BRINGING GUN TO CAMPUS MONTHS AFTER DEADLY MASS SHOOTING

His neighbors arrived soon after and found the 66-year-old man with multiple head wounds. The victim received 14 stitches and is continuing to recover from the surprise attack, according to WTOC.

MAN AVOIDS PROSECUTION FOR FIGHTING BACK AGAINST MIGRANT SUBWAY ATTACK, FATALLY STABBING 1

The perpetrators fled the scene after the attack with $80 stolen from the victim, the outlet reported.

An Amazon spokesperson told Fox News Digital that based on the company's internal investigation, it can confirm the individuals seen in the video were not making a scheduled delivery for Amazon.

The spokesperson added that Amazon monitors the Internet regularly for unauthorized Amazon apparel and demands that those items are removed when and where possible. People who make deliveries on behalf of Amazon do not routinely knock on doors nor ask customers to sign for packages unless already prearranged, the spokesperson noted.

WOMAN VANISHES AS POLICE FIND CAR IN DITCH, ARREST DRIVER IN PUZZLING DISAPPEARANCE

Savannah police are actively investigating the attack and still looking for the two suspects.

"Contact SPD if you happened to see two people dressed as Amazon workers in the area around the time of the incident," SPD said in a statement on Facebook. "You can contact us via CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020, or submit an anonymous tip through the SPD mobile app."

Two Democrats in the 2025 race to succeed term-limited New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy did not cast votes this week in Congress on the Laken Riley Act, leading them to be lambasted by gubernatorial candidates from both parties.

The House Clerk’s office recorded Reps. Mikie Sherrill of Essex and Josh Gottheimer of Bergen County recorded as "not voting" on the landmark bill, which would require illegal immigrants convicted of theft-related crimes be detained by municipal and state authorities.

The bill takes its name from a young woman murdered by an illegal immigrant in Georgia who had been previously arrested and released on lesser charges.

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop exclaimed, "This is cowardly," in an X post.

NEW JERSEY USED AS ‘TRANSIT POINT’ FOR MIGRANT BUSES HEADED FOR NYC AFTER NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER, GOVERNOR SAYS

"We lose elections when we don’t have any core convictions… when we can’t explain why we have a view and why we believe in it. Hiding is not an answer that wins elections," the Democrat said.

"Mikie and Josh are the same again – If you don’t have the courage to vote for a bill then what does that say about your courage to lead as Governor?" Fulop added.

Meanwhile, former Republican Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli slammed the two lawmakers from their right.

"Shame on [Josh and Mikie] for gutlessly ducking a vote on the Laken Riley Act today," said Ciattarelli.

On X, Ciattarelli said Riley "fought till her last breath against a murderous illegal immigrant, but Josh/Mikie didn’t have the courage to stand up to their extreme far left base."

Ciattarelli ran against Murphy in 2021 and nearly defeated him by Garden State standards, losing by less than three points. In November, President-elect Trump only lost the state by four points, leading the GOP to signal their optimism about flipping Trenton red this fall.

When the bill last came up for a vote, Gottheimer voted "yea," and a spokesman told the Philadelphia Inquirer he would have supported the bill this week if he had voted.

New Jersey’s three Republican congressmen – Reps. Christopher Smith, Jeff Van Drew and Tom Kean Jr. – all voted for the Laken Riley Act.

Democratic Reps. Nellie Pou, Frank Pallone, Herbert Conaway, LaMonica McIver, Donald Norcross and Rob Menendez Jr. all voted against it.

NJ RESIDENTS HIT WITH DOUBLED BILLS AS LAWMAKERS FUME AT MURPHY'S ‘ENERGY DISASTER PLAN’

Republican Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia – who is not running for governor – torched the pair on Wednesday with a quip:

"The Road to Drumthwacket is paved with flat squirrels who couldn't make a decision," she said, referring to the historic governor’s mansion near Princeton.

State Sen. Jon Bramnick, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, told Fox News Digital on Thursday that a lawmaker’s first responsibility is to their constituents, not their next campaign.

"I think you have to have campaign activities come secondary to your responsibility," Bramnick said when asked about Gottheimer’s and Sherrill’s non-votes.

"The key question is – if you’re going to run – campaign activities must be secondary to your voting," adding that systemically it seems "the more [someone] campaigns the less they vote."

Bramnick, who is also an attorney in Plainfield, added that he couldn’t assume what was on the two Democrats’ minds in terms of their vote, but that immigration is a hot issue and often difficult to navigate.

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With the Laken Riley Act scoring 48 Democratic "yea’s," Bramnick said immigration is a bipartisan issue.

If elected governor, he said he would "follow the law" when asked how he would approach President-elect Trump or border czar-designate Tom Homan.

"Unfortunately, the Congress hasn’t done anything to [create] a path to citizenship for people who may have an opportunity to stay here," he said, discussing those who have lived in the U.S. for many years as otherwise law-abiding members of their communities.

"If America doesn’t like the law, change it,  but state-by-state shouldn’t change the law based on how they feel on the issue."

Sherrill and Gottheimer did not immediately respond to inquiries made via their campaigns.

Another Democrat in the race, Ras Baraka – mayor of the state’s largest city, Newark – also did not respond.

Baraka, however, separately indicated he would have voted against the Laken Riley Act if he were in Congress.

One person was killed and another injured after a suspect opened fire in the parking lot of the Consulate General of Honduras near Atlanta on Monday afternoon, according to police.

The Doraville Police Department in Georgia told Fox News Digital officers responded to the consulate after receiving a report of a shooting at about 2:30 p.m.

When officers arrived, they found one person dead from an apparent gunshot wound.

The officers also found a second person who was injured, and that person was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

FAMILY ACCUSED OF ‘SOPRANOS’-STYLE BRAWL WITH BATS, GUNS AGAINST RIVAL PAVING COMPANY: POLICE

Police said a male suspect has been arrested and is currently being questioned by investigators at police headquarters.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT INVOLVED IN SUSPECTED DUI CRASH THAT CLAIMED LIFE OF GEORGIA REALTOR

FOX 5 in Atlanta reported that the consulate is in a business complex on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Doraville, adding that it is unclear if the victims were in the parking lot to visit the consulate or another business nearby.

Police did not release the names of those involved as they continue to investigate.

The week-long state funeral services honoring former President Jimmy Carter, who died at 100 last week, began Saturday morning. The ceremonies will honor Carter’s journey from his hometown of Plains, Georgia, to his esteemed role on the global humanitarian stage and as the 39th American president.

On Saturday morning, individuals gathered in downtown Plains to place flowers at the base of Carter's monument. The tribute also featured Habitat for Humanity hardhats adorned with handwritten messages, including one that read, "God bless you, Mr. President," USA Today first reported. 

Carter was the oldest living president, and President Biden has now taken that mantle at the age of 82 years, 2 months.

Carter's specific cause of death on Dec. 29 was unclear. Carter's death followed the passing of his wife Rosalynn on Nov. 19, 2023. She died at the age of 96 with her family by her side at the Carter home in Plains, just days after she had been admitted to hospice care. 

Carter's motorcade arrived at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta just before 4 p.m. ET. As his casket was unloaded, a military band played "Hail to the Chief."

During the private memorial service, Carter was eulogized and stories from his life were shared.

His son, James Earl Carter III, spoke of a kind but firm parent who spent time with his Boy Scouts of America troop and took the family on vacations.

"Chip" Carter said that once, while working on the hiking merit badge, their troop hiked six miles to the family farm.

While roasting marshmallows and hot dogs on the fire, President Carter told ghost stories. Some of the tales appeared to spook the scouts to the point that they began employing the "buddy system" when they left the relative security of the fire to use the latrine and so on.

When Chip was in eighth grade, he recalled, he brought home an "F" on a Latin exam just before Christmas break.

"I didn't see any reason to learn Latin, no one spoke it very much," he quipped. "But my father was not pleased."

During their vacation, President Carter would take Chip's Latin textbook, study it, and return to teach Chip what he had learned himself each day.

When Chip returned to school in January, he asked his teacher to retake the exam. When she assented, he returned home with a 100% score.

The Morehouse College Glee Club provided musical accompaniment during the service, including the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Carter's body will lie in repose at his presidential center overnight, and the public can pay its respects during that time.

Next, Carter's casket will be on its way to the District of Columbia, where the 39th president will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol until his Thursday morning funeral in Northwest D.C. President Biden is expected to eulogize his fellow Democrat, and all other living presidents – Clinton, G.W. Bush, Obama and Trump – have received invitations.

Late Saturday morning, Carter's motorcade departed his hometown of Plains, a small farming community just below Fort Benning (now Fort Moore) and two hours above Tallahassee, Florida.

Carter's funeral detail arrived in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. He will lie in repose at the Carter Center. On its way there, the motorcade passed by the girlhood home of Rosalynn Carter. The couple had been married for 77 years when Mrs. Carter died.

JIMMY CARTER, 39TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DEAD AT 100

The convoy also rolled by Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign headquarters and a gas station that had been owned by his brother, Billy Carter, according to the AP.

The motorcade also passed through the small community of Archery, Georgia – just outside Plains.

It was in Archery where Carter grew up on the family’s peanut farm owned by James Earl Carter Sr. The farm’s bell was rung 39 times on Saturday to honor the 39th president.

Carter’s mother, Lillian, was a nurse, who ironically delivered the then-Rosalynn Smith, who would go on to marry her son.

Carter’s body arrived in Atlanta around 3 p.m. ET, and stopped outside the Georgia State Capitol from where he once governed.

A moment of silence was led by Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Democratic Mayor Andre Dickens.

Here is the order of funeral events:

•10:15 a.m.: The Carter family will arrive at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia. Nine current and former Secret Service agents of Carter's administration will serve as pallbearers, escorting his remains to the hearse.

•10:50 a.m.: The motorcade will travel through Plains, pausing briefly at Carter’s boyhood home in Archery. During this pause, the National Park Service will ring the historic farm bell 39 times, symbolizing Carter’s tenure as the 39th President.

•10:55 a.m.: The journey to Atlanta begins.

FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER TO SPEND 'REMAINING TIME' AT HOME RECEIVING HOSPICE CARE

•3 p.m.: Upon arrival in Atlanta, the motorcade will stop at the Georgia State Capitol for a moment of silence led by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, and members of the Georgia General Assembly.

Georgia State Patrol troopers, both current and retired, will assemble on the Capitol steps, with those who served on Carter’s security detail during his governorship taking a place of distinction.

•3:45 p.m.: An arrival ceremony will take place at the Carter Presidential Center.

•4 p.m.: A private service will be conducted in the lobby of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum.

•7 p.m.: President Carter will lie in repose at the Carter Presidential Center, allowing the public to pay their respects until 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

•Jan. 7: Carter’s remains will be transported to Washington, D.C., where he will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol for national homage.

•Jan. 9: A national funeral service will be held at the Washington National Cathedral, with President Biden expected to deliver the eulogy. Biden has declared Thursday as a National Day of Mourning. 

JIMMY CARTER EXPECTED TO LIE IN ROTUNDA AHEAD OF STATE FUNERAL SCHEDULED BY BIDEN

Following the Washington service, Carter’s remains will return to Georgia for a private funeral at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains. 

He will then be laid to rest next to his late wife, Rosalynn, at their residence.

Fox News Digital's Andrea Magolis and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is urging the state Supreme Court to reject an appeal by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, after she was removed from the election interference case against President-elect Trump.

Earlier this month, a Georgia court of appeals disqualified Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Trump and others, citing an "appearance of impropriety." The panel also cited the romantic relationship between Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

On Monday, the state’s lead attorney, who announced plans to run for governor in November, posted a statement on social media regarding the ruling against Willis.

"The Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled that the Fulton County DA created her own conflict and rightfully removed her from the case against President-elect Trump," Carr wrote. "‘Lawfare’ has become far too common in American politics, and it must end.

GEORGIA APPEALS COURT DISQUALIFIES DA FANI WILLIS AND HER TEAM FROM TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE

"As such, I would encourage the Georgia Supreme Court to not take her appeal," Carr continued. "It’s our hope that the DA will now focus taxpayer resources on the successful prosecution of violent criminals in Fulton County."

Willis, who was spearheading the sweeping prosecution case against Trump, came under fire after she was accused in February of having an "improper" affair with special prosecutor Wade, whom she had hired to help prosecute the case.

FANI WILLIS WAS 'TERRIFIED' BECAUSE HER CASE AGAINST TRUMP WAS 'WEAK,' ATTORNEY SAYS

Wade was ultimately forced to step down from the prosecution team.

The court did not toss Trump's indictment entirely, but Willis and the assistant DAs working in her office now have "no authority to proceed."

"After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office," the court filing read. "The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring."

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Former President Jimmy Carter, the first U.S. commander-in-chief to reach the age of 100, was fondly remembered by state leaders across the political spectrum after his passing.

Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement that he, first lady Marty Kemp and their children "join all Georgians and the entire nation in mourning the loss of former President Jimmy Carter."

"As the only American president thus far to come from Georgia, he showed the world the impact our state and its people have on the country. And as a son of Plains, he always valued Georgians and the virtues of our state, choosing to return to his rural home after his time in public office," Kemp said.

Georgia GOP Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a top potential contender to replace the term-limited Kemp in 2026, added in his own tribute that Georgia, the nation and world "lost a man who exemplified what it means to be a public servant and to put the needs of others before your own."

JIMMY CARTER DEAD AT 100

Jones said he once met the Carters and described them as kind and accepting.

Georgia State Senate Leader John F. Kennedy, R-Fort Valley, said Carter’s life was "largely defined by his servant’s heart" and "steadfast commitment to our country and state."

"The lord has called home his good and faithful servant," added Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Effingham.

To the White House, he brought "pragmatic wisdom of a peanut farmer, work ethic of a homebuilder and unyielding faith of a Sunday School teacher," he added.

Former two-time Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams said Carter "lived a life of courage, fortitude, kindness and grace."

"He was a giant who never saw anyone as smaller than himself. Whether at a Boys & Girls Club banquet or when he sponsored a medical clinic for the uninsured in his corner of rural Georgia, he lived James 2:17 each day," said Abrams.

Outside the late Democrat’s home state, tributes poured in from all 49 others.

In neighboring North Carolina, Democratic Governor-elect Josh Stein called the late president a "principled man" who "represented the best of America: guided by faith and service and dedicated to our nation's promise."

Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey noted that Carter grew up not far from the Yellowhammer State line, and praised the Democrat for his Navy service and work in taking over his family’s peanut farm after his father, James Sr., died.

"Jimmy Carter not only lived the longest of any former U.S. President, but his life also brought greater dignity to the presidency," Ivey said in a statement.

"President Carter lived a great life marked by service to his country. Volunteering his time to build homes for those in need well into his 90s," said Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican.

CARTER EXPECTED TO LIE IN CAPITOL ROTUNDA

West Virginia’s Democratic Party chairman, state Del. Mike Pushkin added that Carter’s legacy is one of "humility, integrity and relentless service."

"He taught us that true leadership is not about power, but about lifting others up and making the world a better place. His work continues to inspire generations of Americans to engage in public service and to strive for a more just and equitable society," said Pushkin, D-Kanawha.

Rhode Island Democratic Gov. Dan McKee said in a statement that America lost a "great man, compassionate leader and true humanitarian."

"In everything he did, President Carter put service above self. He believed fiercely in lifting up others and lending a hand to those in need – an example for all of us to follow," McKee said. "We thank President Carter for his service to our nation and dedicating his life to making the world a better place."

One rising star in Carter’s party ordered flags across his state at half-staff Monday.

"President Jimmy Carter was a humble, generous, and admirable public servant — both as our president and in his years after as a citizen in service," Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement.

In the current president's home state, outgoing Delaware Gov. John Carney called Carter a "champion for peace and human rights."

Delaware Gov.-elect Matt Meyer wrote on X that Carter’s life "left an indelible mark on the world."

"[W]hat made him truly extraordinary was his humility and compassion," Meyer said.

Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly called Carter "a truly moral man."

"His innate humanity, his humility, his devotion to serving his community and his country, and his belief that the world could live in peace is the remarkable legacy he leaves behind."

In California, potential 2028 presidential candidate Gov. Gavin Newsom also paid his respects.

"Jennifer and I join the country and the world in mourning the passing of President Jimmy Carter, a tireless champion for human rights and democracy whose unparalleled life of service made the world a better place," he said.

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Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement that Carter proved "good people, wanting nothing more than to do good – can excel in politics and life."

Thousands of miles to the west, Hawaii Democratic Gov. Josh Green said the people of his state "send our Aloha and heartfelt condolences to the Carter ‘ohana during this difficult time."

"President Jimmy Carter truly exemplified what it meant to live a life full of service," added Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, another likely 2028 Democratic hopeful.

"His towering legacy of compassion for others set a standard that will always be remembered," the Hyatt Hotels heir added.

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, was long associated with peanuts — an enduring symbol of his humble beginnings and a testament to the values of hard work that he embraced during his lifetime.

Before entering the political arena, Carter, who passed away at age 100 on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, managed his family's peanut farm in Plains, Georgia, according to the National Park Service (NPS).

"The key to peanut harvest was the threshing machine, which we called a ‘picker’ because it picked the nuts from the vines," said Carter, the NPS noted.

JIMMY CARTER SPENT NEARLY 2 YEARS IN HOSPICE CARE BEFORE HIS DEATH

"It was most often driven by a flat belt from the rear axle or wheel of a truck, and the dried stacks were hauled to it on wooden sleds, each pulled by a mule," Carter also said, the same source reported.

He added, "This was a big and important operation and involved all the men on the place."

After his father passed, Carter resigned from the U.S. Navy in 1953.

He saw fortune in expanding the three acres of peanuts on the farm.

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Carter began growing peanut seeds himself, opening "Carter’s Warehouse," which sold seeds and shelling. 

The agri-business also supplied corn, ginned cotton, liquid nitrogen, bulk fertilizer and lime.

Carter’s connection to peanuts became a defining feature of his public image. 

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It became a symbol for his White House bid, reflecting his dedication to representing everyday Americans. 

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Campaign Committee even handed out bags of peanuts with "Jimmy Carter for President" during his run against Republican Gerald Ford. 

In Oct. 1977, President Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter hosted a Peanut Brigade Party.

The First Family hosted 500 Georgian supporters on the South Lawn for a barbecue and boiled peanuts, according to the White House Historical Association (WHAA).

Jimmy Carter served as the 39th President of the United States.

Known for his Christian faith, Carter lived a life of service that left a forever mark on United States history.

Jimmy Carter, the nation’s 39th president, has died at the age of 100. He served a single term as president, but he also will be remembered for his decades of humanitarian work. 

Those who knew him – opponents and supporters alike – described him as a man of integrity, whatever flaws he may have had as president. 

"When we look at the whole thrust of Jimmy Carter’s life, it’s an amazing American story," Douglas Brinkley, author of The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter’s Journey Beyond the White House, told Fox News Digital. 

"He grew up with no electricity, went to work in the… Navy. He became President of the United States at the height of the Cold War and won the Nobel Prize for his post-presidency," Brinkley said. "All the time, his ambitious humanity was aimed at trying to make sure that everybody he came in contact with, had a better, fair shake at life." 

JIMMY CARTER HAD ONE OF THE ‘GREATEST SECOND ACTS’ IN AMERICAN HISTORY, CONSERVATIVE HISTORIAN SAYS

A peanut farmer and former one-term governor of Georgia, Carter beat the odds and was elected president in 1977. 

"Nobody thought Carter could procure the Democratic nomination. But Carter had a unique amount of bulldog tenacity [and] gumshoe perseverance," Brinkley said. 

His campaign befuddled Democrats, as Carter was deeply religious and ran to the right of his Republican opponent, Gerald Ford, on some social issues. As a Washington outsider, Carter’s agricultural background and accent endeared him to the deep south. 

He took office at a time when Watergate, the Vietnam War, and stagflation had left the country in a sour mood. In Washington, his populist campaign inevitably collided with establishment Democrats who never fully accepted Carter. 

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"He never had a full grip on his own Democratic Party. Ted Kennedy liberals didn’t like Carter, and the Scoop Jackson Cold War hawks didn’t like him," Brinkley said. "So, he was kind of an island unto himself as president." 

Carter’s foreign policy wins included brokering Mideast peace by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the bargaining table for nearly two weeks in 1978. At home, Carter partially deregulated the airline, railroad, and trucking industries and established the departments of Education and Energy and the Federal Emergency Manager Agency. 

Carter designated millions of acres in Alaska as national parks or wildlife refuges and he appointed a then-record number of women and non-whites to federal posts. He also built on Nixon’s opening with China and pushed Latin America from dictatorships to democracy. 

Yet, his president was also marked by double-digit inflation, long gasoline lines, and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His bleakest hour came when eight Americans died in a failed hostage rescue in April 1980, helping to ensure his landslide defeat. 

Carter was also crippled by his – as Brinkley put it – "lack of communication chops." Oratory, Brinkley said, was not his strong suit. 

In 1979, Carter delivered his famous "Crisis of Confidence" speech in which he lamented that the United States, once a nation "proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God" had descended into "self-indulgence and consumption."

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"Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we’ve discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning," Carter said. "We’ve learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose." 

Craig Shirley, a Reagan biographer and historian, recalled watching the speech while working for a senator on Capitol Hill. 

"I remember watching it that Sunday night and feeling for the first time in my life, I felt scared as an American. The speech was such a downer. It was so depressing," Shirley said. "A president is supposed to tell the truth to the American people, but also appeal to the American people’s hopes and aspirations and not their worst feelings or desires." 

Carter ultimately served a single, tumultuous term and was defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980. 

But whatever flaws his presidency may have had, Carter will perhaps be most fondly remembered for the decades he spent post-presidency advocating for democracy, public health, and human rights via The Carter Center. 

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The Center, which Carter opened with his wife, Rosalynn, in 1982, has been a pioneer of election observation, monitoring at least 113 elections in Africa, Latin America, and Asia since 1989. In perhaps its most widely hailed public health effort, the organization recently announced that only 14 human cases of Guinea worm disease were reported in all of 2021, the result of years of public health campaigns to improve access to safe drinking water in Africa. Carter's work with the Center garnered a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. 

For his humanitarian work, Shirley argued, Carter will be remembered as "one of the best ex-presidents of the 20th century." 

"Carter really wasn’t for PR stunts. He really threw himself into his charitable works and did so for many years," Shirley said. 

"We’re going to remember him kindly. He was a terrific former president with what he did with the Carter Center and the various initiatives around the country. His book writing stands out [as does] his charitable works. So, he goes down in his history as an extraordinarily good, former president."  

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States and a former peanut farmer whose vision of a "competent and compassionate" government propelled him into the White House, died on Sunday, the Carter Center confirmed. He was 100.

The news was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday, shortly before The Carter Center, the late president's non-profit organization, made an announcement on X.

"Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia," the organization's post read.

Carter's death follows the passing of his wife Rosalynn on Nov. 19, 2023. She died at the age of 96 with her family by her side at the Carter home in Plains, just days after she had been admitted to hospice care. 

FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER TO SPEND 'REMAINING TIME' AT HOME RECEIVING HOSPICE CARE

The late former president himself had entered hospice care in February 2023. Carter survived for years after he had a "small mass" removed from his liver in early August 2015 and later that month announced he had liver cancer that had spread throughout his body. 

The Carter family had a history of cancer and the former president lost his father, brother, and two sisters to pancreatic cancer. His mother had breast cancer, which later spread to her pancreas.

Jason Carter, Carter's grandson, had announced in May that he believed the former president was "coming to the end" of his life's journey. But the former president hung on much longer.

The soft-spoken leader with a signature Georgia drawl saw his single term in the Oval Office clouded by an economic downturn at home and a hostage crisis abroad.

His post-presidency life was marked by a very visible dedication to service, but also a series of sometimes controversial moves as he continued to wade into foreign affairs, particularly as it related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Carter met with the leadership of terrorist group and Palestinian representative Hamas in 2009 and 2015. He reprimanded Israel for its operations against Hamas in 2014, saying there was "no justification in the world for what Israel is doing."

James Earl Carter Jr. was born in 1924 in Plains, a farming town. Carter’s father was a farmer, a background that helped instill in him a love of the land – and the working and lower class people who tilled it – that would follow him throughout his personal and professional life.

But Carter initially sought a path outside the dirt of Plains and, after attending the U.S. Naval Academy, he served as a submariner in the post-World War II navy, eventually attaining the rank of lieutenant.

Carter married Rosalynn Smith, a fellow native of Plains, in 1946, the same year he graduated from the Academy.

After Carter’s father died in 1953, Carter resigned his naval commission and returned to his and Rosalynn’s roots in Plains. Carter took the lead at the family farm while Rosalynn operated a farm supply company in their small Georgia town.

It wasn’t long, however, before Carter again left the farm fields behind, this time beginning a career in politics that would land him the nation’s highest office in just 14 years.

Carter won election to the Georgia Senate in 1962 and, following a failed gubernatorial bid in 1966, he became the state’s governor in 1971.

JIMMY CARTER CELEBRATES 98TH BIRTHDAY WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS, BASEBALL

Carter grew into a national Democratic Party leader and won the 1976 presidential election against President Gerald Ford, riding a wave of popular discontent with former President Richard Nixon – and the pardon that Ford had extended to Nixon.

While in the White House, Carter established full diplomatic relations with China and led the negotiation of a nuclear limitation treaty with the Soviet Union. Domestically, he led several conservation efforts, showing the same love of nature as president as he did as a young farmer in Plains.

He has cited the Panama Canal treaties and the Camp David accords that brought peace between Egypt and Israel as among his greatest personal accomplishments.

"We focused on peace," he told The Washington Post in 2014. "We never shot a bullet or dropped a bomb on anyone."

But peace wasn’t always easily maintained, and a perceived lack of strength in dealing with bad actors likely contributed to his lopsided 1980 defeat by Ronald Reagan.

The final 14 months of his presidency were dominated by the Iran hostage crisis. Following the country’s revolution, the new government took 52 American hostages. Carter was never able to retrieve the detained Americans or negotiate for their release. In an obvious snub, Iran finally released the 52 after they had been held for 444 days — on the same day Carter left office.

And though Carter started the Department of Education and the Department of Energy, two government bureaucracies that have since become popular targets for Republicans, a nationwide energy crunch also served to hurt his tenure. Footage of gas lines and high gas prices are a seminal feature of nearly any late 1970s documentary or discussion.

The domestic and foreign issues led Sen. Ted Kennedy to take the rare step of challenging Carter for the Democratic presidential nomination. Though Carter survived that battle, though barely, he wasn’t as fortunate in November 1980, when Reagan won 44 states and the presidency.

JIMMY CARTER, WIFE ROSALYNN CELEBRATE 75 YEARS OF MARRIAGE

Upon leaving the White House, Carter, who authored 28 books, was named a distinguished professor at Emory University in Atlanta and founded The Carter Center, a nonprofit organization focusing on national and international public policy. Carter told The Associated Press that he had the "best times" of his life after establishing the organization in 1982.

"This beautiful place on Earth that has set moral and ethical standards that exemplify what a superpower like America ought to be," Carter said of the center in October.

Recalling the manual labor of his youth in Plains, Carter was often seen volunteering and fundraising for Habitat for Humanity, helping to build homes for the needy.

Carter also served as a member of The Elders, a group of independent global leaders no longer in politics  whose ranks at one time included South African President Nelson Mandela, Irish President Mary Robinson and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

In his spare time, Carter, a deeply religious man who served as a deacon in the Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains, enjoyed fishing, running and woodworking.

Carter is survived by his four children, his 12 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.

A Georgia judge has ruled that state lawmakers can subpoena Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as part of an inquiry into whether she engaged in misconduct during her prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump.

In his Dec. 23 order, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram gave Willis until Jan. 13 to file a list of claimed privileges and objections to anything that has been subpoenaed.

Willis plans to appeal the decision. 

"We believe the ruling is wrong and will appeal," former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, who is representing Willis in the case, wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

GEORGIA APPEALS COURT DISQUALIFIES DA FANI WILLIS AND HER TEAM FROM TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE

Earlier this month, an appeals court removed Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Trump and others, citing an "appearance of impropriety." The panel also cited the romantic relationship between Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

"This is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings," the court said. 

At the time, Trump called the case a "disgrace to justice."

"It was started by the Biden DOJ as an attack on his political opponent, Donald Trump," he said, "They used anyone and anybody, and she has been disqualified, and her boyfriend has been disqualified, and they stole funds and went on trips." 

In August, the Republican-led Senate committee sent subpoenas to Willis seeking to compel her to testify in September. She skipped a hearing that month when lawmakers hoped to question her. 

The committee was formed to examine misconduct allegations against Willis during her prosecution of Trump over efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 election loss in Georgia.

FANI WILLIS WAS 'TERRIFIED' BECAUSE HER CASE AGAINST TRUMP WAS 'WEAK,' ATTORNEY SAYS

Barnes, Willis’ attorney, argued the subpoenas were overly broad and not related to a legitimate legislative need and that the Senate committee didn't have the power to subpoena her in the first place. 

One issue raised is that the Georgia legislative term will end when lawmakers are sworn in for their new term on Jan. 13. Republican state Sen. Greg Dolezal said last week that he plans to file legislation to re-establish the committee at the beginning of the 2025 legislative session.

"The law is clear, and the ruling confirms what we knew all along," Dolezal wrote in a text Friday. "Judge Ingram rejected every argument made by Willis in her attempt to dodge providing testimony to the committee under oath. I look forward to D.A. Willis honoring the subpoena and providing documents and testimony to our committee."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.