Recount eyed in Atlanta mayor’s race
Atlanta voters woke up to deja vu Wednesday in the racially polarized contest to choose the city’s next mayor, with one candidate laying claim to City Hall while the other vowed to seek a recount over a margin of just 759 votes.
The Tuesday runoff between Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is black, and Mary Norwood, who is white, split Atlanta practically in half after a vitriolic campaign punctuated by political grudges and allegations of corruption. Unofficial results showed Ms. Bottoms leading with 46,464 votes, or 50.41 percent, to Ms. Norwood’s 45,705 votes, or 49.59 percent.
Election officials say a recount could happen next week if Ms. Norwood formally requests one. Results could be certified as soon as Saturday. Ms. Norwood would then have 48 hours to request the recount, which could take about three hours to complete.
Hunters catch python
FORTLAUDERDALE, Fla. — Three hunters caught a 17-foot, 132-pound Burmese python in the Florida Everglades in southern Miami-Dade, a record for the program aimed at curbing the proliferation of the non-native species, according to media reports.
The giant snake was caught Friday at Big Cypress National Preserve, according to NBC 6 Miami.
“That snake could pretty much kill any full-grown man,” said one of the hunters who caught the python, Jason Leon, to NBC 6. “If that snake was alive right now, it would probably take like three of us to be able to control that snake.”
It’s the largest snake to be caught so far under the South Florida Water Management District’s python elimination program.
Man to let voters decide
AKentucky man who was denied a license to marry his male partner by county clerk Kim Davis in 2015 has announced that he is challenging her for her seat next year.
David Ermold and his now-husband, David Moore, were among the same-sex couples denied a license by Ms. Davis in defiance of a Supreme Court decision. Ms. Davis, the chief clerk of Rowan County, cited “God’s authority” and said her stance was motivated by her beliefs as an Apostolic Christian.
On Wednesday, Mr. Ermold filed in Morehead, the county seat, to run for the position — to “restore the confidence of the people” in the office.
VW scandal sentence
A federal court judge in Detroit sentenced a former Volkswagen manager Wednesday to seven years in prison and ordered him to pay $400,000 in the company’s massive diesel emissions cheating scandal, but Judge Sean Cox made clear that justice has not yet been served.
Judge Cox described the ex-manager, Oliver Schmidt, as a significant player in Volkswagen’s attempted cover-up and an opportunist, but he noted that “senior management has not been held accountable” in a case that has hurt both consumers who thought they were getting a good product and blue collar and middle management workers at VW.
Still, Judge Cox had harsh words for Mr. Schmidt, noting that he is highly educated as a mechanical engineer, does not suffer from the substance abuse issues and comes from a good family.
Judge Cox sided with prosecutors in their sentencing recommendation.