By Jill Nolin | Editor
“It is an insurance policy that we bought and paid for, and then we're denied for some bogus reason. And there's no reason why any person couldn't see exactly where the hurricane went. You can see pictures from space where it took out the lighting, and it’s right on us. It's obvious as anything that we got the hurricane.”- Newman Pryor, a pecan farmer in east Georgia
A tree-damaged house near Evans, Georgia as seen shortly after Hurricane Helene damaged the area in 2024. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
AGRICULTURE
By Ross Williams
Nearly two years after Hurricane Helene unleashed flooding and fierce winds across the South, some Georgia farmers say they still haven’t received compensation for damages, despite efforts from both sides of the political aisle.
Newman Pryor remembers the night the storm hit. He runs Pryor farms, growing pecans and row crops across four east Georgia counties:, Screven, Effingham, Bulloch and Jenkins.
“It was much scarier than we anticipated it to be because they predicted it to go more to the west,” he said. “They were saying it was going to go to Atlanta, which would be well to the west of us, and it wasn't going to be all that bad. I knew we were going to get some wind from it, but I didn't think it was going to be nearly what we ended up with.”
Members of Georgia's Election Equipment Specifications and Standards Committee hold their first meeting in Atlanta on Aug. 7, 2026. Maya Homan/Georgia Recorder
VOTING
By Maya Homan
In 2028, as Georgia residents cast their ballots in the presidential primary, voters across the state will be using a brand new election system. At least, that’s the hope of a special committee dedicated to helping state officials make the switch.
The committee, which includes mostly Republican lawmakers from both chambers as well as current and former election officials and other experts, held its first meeting Friday at the state Capitol. The panel was established under a new law passed in June during the state’s special legislative session.
The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
DC BUREAU
By Shauneen Miranda
The U.S. Senate adjourned for its summer recess early Saturday after approving a stopgap spending bill but declining to advance legislation that would require photo ID for voting.
In a rare overnight session that began on Friday, senators trudged through a slew of measures, confirmed President Donald Trump’s nomination of Todd Blanche as attorney general and then departed the nation’s capital for the coveted August recess. The chamber is not expected to return to regular session until after Labor Day.
Students walk down the hall at a public elementary school. The Trump administration has given states more flexibility in spending some federal dollars. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)
EDUCATION
By Robbie Sequeira
The Trump administration is increasing its efforts to turn more control of federal education money to the states as it continues working to dismantle the Education Department.
Six states have received waivers allowing them to consolidate more than $109 million in federal educationfunding and bypass certain requirements for local education agencies, Kirsten Baesler, assistant secretary for the department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, told Stateline in an interview.
News tips, feedback, question? Email us: [email protected]
ICYMI FROM THE RECORDER
Thanks for reading The Daily Record. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.