Georgia candidate faces scrutiny over Gold Star claim

May 30, 2026

Summary

A Georgia Democratic candidate’s description of herself as part of a Gold Star family is drawing scrutiny before a congressional runoff.

Why this matters

The dispute centers on how military service and sacrifice are described in a closely watched House race. For voters, it raises questions about candidate biography and accuracy ahead of the runoff.

Democratic congressional candidate Traci George is facing questions about her past references to herself and her family as Gold Star after she said she divorced her former husband months before his death.

George is in a June 16 runoff in Georgia’s 12th Congressional District against fellow Democrat Ceretta Smith. In the primary, Smith received 32.62% of the vote, or 17,430 votes, and George received 27.22%, or 14,545 votes. The winner will face Republican Rep. Rick Allen, who has represented the district since 2014.

George’s campaign website said, “Traci George is a Gold Star family member, a mother of three, and a leader shaped by service, sacrifice, and responsibility. Her husband served this country, and her family paid the ultimate price.”

In an Instagram post about 11 weeks ago, George said her divorce from Chief Warrant Officer Chadrick D. George was finalized about four months before his death in October 2017, after more than 15 years of marriage.

“Following his passing, the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs recognized our children as surviving dependents connected to his service,” George wrote. “Our children continue to receive certain benefits he earned through his service.”

A Gold Star spouse is the surviving wife or husband of a U.S. service member who died in the line of duty. It has been reported that Chadrick George died after a medical emergency on a flight from Hawaii to a military installation in Alaska. His obituary mentioned the couple’s three children, but not Traci George.

Questions about George’s claims have come from Smith, from Republican candidate and Marine veteran Tori Branum, and from others following the race. In a May 15 Facebook video, Branum said George was “lying” and added, “He did not die in combat, they were not married, she is not a Gold Star widow.”

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South Carolina

S.C. backs federal move to speed death row appeals

Death row inmates spend an average of 21 years in prison before execution while courts review appeals.

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South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson supported a federal proposal that would make it easier for states to set deadlines for death row inmates to file federal appeals if they provide lawyers to assist them.

In a May 15 letter to the U.S. attorney general, attorneys general from 16 states said the proposed Justice Department rule would remove some requirements that have limited states’ ability to use an expedited process created by Congress in 1996. The Justice Department proposed the change in March. No decision timeline has been announced.

That is also the average for the 22 men on South Carolina’s death row.

The attorneys general wrote that lengthy appeals can delay executions and finality for victims’ families. The letter, led by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, said faster review would also benefit inmates with valid claims.

“Delay in capital cases benefits no one except prisoners with meritless claims; they receive an unjust windfall,” Marshall wrote.

Since 1996, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas have applied to the Justice Department for certification to use the faster process. South Carolina would apply if the rule is finalized, Alan Wilson spokesman Robert Kittle said.

Only Arizona won approval, in 2020 during the first Trump administration. The federal government revoked that approval a year later after opponents of capital punishment challenged it in court.

The Death Penalty Information Center told the Justice Department the proposal could weaken legal representation by removing federal requirements for attorneys appointed to handle appeals. In a May 18 statement, the nonprofit said, “Federal court review is essential to ensuring that state convictions and death sentences are accurate, fair, and constitutional. Limiting the scope of federal court review and imposing shorter filing deadlines on prisoners only increases the risk of wrongful convictions and executions.”

South Carolina resumed executions in 2024 after a 13-year pause tied first to ongoing appeals and later to difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs. Since September 2024, the state has executed seven people, four by lethal injection and three by firing squad.
Africa

Kenyan court halts U.S. Ebola quarantine plan

The Kenyan doctors’ union on Thursday issued a 48-hour strike notice if the government proceeded, saying authorities were putting public health at risk.

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A Kenyan court on Friday suspended a plan to establish an Ebola quarantine facility for U.S. nationals exposed to the virus, pending a ruling in a legal challenge brought by activists.

High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi halted the agreement after a petition by the Katiba Institute, a Kenyan rights group. The case is expected to be heard next week.

The plan drew objections from health workers and rights groups in Kenya, which has no known Ebola cases. In its petition, the Katiba Institute said the facility was being established “in secrecy and unilaterally” and that it “raises grave constitutional concerns.” The group also warned of “grave and imminent risks” to public health.

It was unclear when the legal challenge was filed where the facility would be located or whether the Kenyan government had formally approved the plan. Kenya has acknowledged discussions with Washington on Ebola preparedness support, but has not directly addressed reports of a quarantine center.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington planned to commit $13.5 million to Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts, but did not publicly confirm details of the proposed facility.

U.S. officials later said a facility with 50 isolation beds for U.S. nationals arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo was due to open Friday.

The Kenyan doctors’ union on Thursday said the U.S. appeared unwilling to admit Ebola-exposed people onto its own soil and warned Kenya should not become a “dumping ground.”

“As the vanguard of Kenya’s healthcare system, we are utterly disgusted by the government’s apparent willingness to trade national biosecurity and the lives of its citizens for foreign aid,” union Secretary-General Davji Atellah said.

The Law Society of Kenya said the country lacked “the high-containment infrastructure required to safely manage such a facility.”

The dispute came as authorities worked to contain an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in eastern Congo that has crossed into Uganda. The Congolese government has confirmed more than 1,000 suspected cases and at least 220 deaths since declaring the outbreak May 15. Uganda has confirmed seven cases and one death.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 90% of reported cases were in Ituri province. “Eastern DRC now faces a catastrophic collision of disease and conflict,” he wrote Wednesday on social media.
Europe

UK spy chief says 500,000 Russians killed in Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this month that Russia was losing roughly five soldiers for every Ukrainian casualty.

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Nearly 500,000 Russian soldiers had been killed in Ukraine since 2022, the head of Britain’s signals intelligence agency said Wednesday, offering one of the highest fatality estimates publicly given by a Western government.

“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin is going backwards on the battlefield, with new intelligence showing that almost half a million Russian soldiers have been killed since the conflict began,” GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler said.

Western governments had previously cited about 1.2 million Russian killed and wounded by late 2025, without a public estimate for deaths alone. Michael Clarke, former director-general of the Royal United Services Institute, told CBS News the new British figure “should now be regarded as an official estimate given its source,” and said the real toll “might well be higher” because Russian forces are “so neglectful of their front line wounded.”

The estimate was broadly in line with an earlier Dutch military intelligence assessment of about 1.2 million Russian “permanent losses,” including more than 500,000 killed. Independent Russian investigators have identified more than 108,000 named war dead through open-source reporting, with Meduza estimating a minimum of about 350,000 killed.

U.S. intelligence had not publicly released a deaths-only estimate. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in March 2025 that Russia had suffered more than 750,000 killed and wounded. Ukraine’s General Staff put total Russian losses at about 1.36 million killed and wounded and said Russia was losing about 1,000 troops a day in killed and wounded along the front.

Russian forces remained on the offensive in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia and continued missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities.
Business

Eli Lilly tops $1 trillion as retatrutide draws focus

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk were among the healthcare stocks that drew investor interest early in the bull market that began in late 2022.

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Eli Lilly closed above a $1 trillion market value at a record high for the first time since November, as investors increasingly focused on retatrutide, its experimental obesity drug.

The stock has risen more than 25% since the market’s March 30 low and more than 400% over the past five years.

Retatrutide is not approved. The drug targets three hormone pathways tied to appetite, blood sugar regulation, and energy use. Eli Lilly’s approved obesity and diabetes drugs, Zepbound and Mounjaro, target two pathways.

In Eli Lilly’s phase 3 TRIUMPH-1 obesity trial, patients on the highest dose lost an average of 70.3 pounds, or 28.3% of body weight, over 80 weeks. More than 45% of patients on that dose lost at least 30% of their body weight, which Eli Lilly said has long been associated with bariatric surgery.

The results have increased investor attention on whether glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, drugs and related treatments could expand beyond obesity and diabetes into sleep apnea, kidney disease, heart risk, liver disease, and addiction research.
Finance & Markets

Stocks rise as Trump weighs decision on Iran deal

Markets have been upbeat since Trump said last week that the U.S. was in the “final stages” of talks with Iran.

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U.S. stocks rose further as President Donald Trump said he would soon decide on a deal with Iran.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.7%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) each added 0.2% after the indexes touched record highs, supported by confidence in the artificial intelligence trade and hopes for easing global tensions.

Investors have been watching for signs of relief in U.S.-Iran tensions as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz added to rising prices and concerns about how the Federal Reserve might respond on interest rates.
Military & National Security

U.S., Japanese troops join Australian military drill

U.S. forces are training for littoral combat, meaning jungle warfare.

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American soldiers and Marines joined Australian and Japanese troops Friday for Southern Jackaroo, the Australian army’s largest exercise of the year, at Townsville Training Ground in Queensland.

The exercise will run through July 3, according to U.S. and Japanese officials.

Participants include Marine Rotational Force-Darwin, the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division, the Australian army’s Townsville-based 3rd Brigade, and Japan’s Middle Army, according to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

About 300 U.S. Marines are taking part, along with 1,500 Australian troops and 400 Japanese troops, Capt. Kevin Hicks, a spokesman for the rotational Marines, said Friday.

The Marines will “conduct offensive and defensive operations, live-fire platoon attacks, small-arms/indirect-fire employment, and a capstone multi-national combined-arms live-fire exercise,” Hicks said.

South Korean troops are also in Australia for Exercise Tiger Dingo, which is running concurrently with Southern Jackaroo, Hicks said.

The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force said Southern Jackaroo aims to maintain and strengthen a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” according to a May 22 news release. The release said Japanese forces will improve combat capabilities and cooperation with U.S. and Australian forces during the exercise.

Troops from the three countries also trained together in September during Orient Shield in Niigata, Kyoto, Hyogo, Chiba, and Kanagawa prefectures on Japan’s main island of Honshu.

A reciprocal access agreement that took effect in August 2023 allows Australian and Japanese forces to train in each other’s territory.
Health

UnitedHealthcare to ease prior approvals for kids

UnitedHealthcare said the move is part of a broader effort, announced May 5, to eliminate prior-approval requirements for 30% of health care services.

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UnitedHealthcare said May 29 that it will eliminate about two-thirds of prior authorization requirements for children it covers by the end of 2026.

The insurer said the changes will affect some diagnostic services, routine surgical procedures, and specialty care, including cardiology, neurology, pulmonology, and orthopedics.

Prior authorization is the process insurers use to review requests before doctors or other medical providers can bill for certain services or prescriptions.

Doctors and patients have long criticized prior authorization, saying it can delay or deny care. Large insurers, including UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Kaiser Permanente, and Humana, have said they will reduce its use.

UnitedHealthcare also said it will introduce “authorization waivers” for some procedures at some pediatric hospitals. In a news release, the company said the waivers will be based on children’s hospitals’ “consistent use of well-established care practices.”

The insurer did not name the hospitals that would qualify, but said they are part of a “broad network of nationally recognized pediatric centers spanning medical and surgical specialties.”

The changes will apply to people covered by UnitedHealthcare’s private insurance and Medicaid.

As part of its previously announced broader changes for patients of all ages, UnitedHealthcare said it also plans by the end of 2026 to reduce prior authorizations for some outpatient operations, diagnostic tests such as echocardiograms, outpatient therapies, and chiropractic care.
US Politics

Louisiana passes House map favoring Republicans

Gov. Landry had postponed Louisiana’s closed U.S. House primary, originally set for May 16, to allow a new map to be implemented. He later signed a law making the primary open and moving it to Nov. 3.

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Louisiana lawmakers on Friday passed a new congressional map that is expected to improve Republicans’ chances of winning a fifth of the state’s six U.S. House seats.

The map removes one of Louisiana’s two majority-Black districts, both represented by Democrats. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry is expected to sign it.

The vote came after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled April 30 in Louisiana v. Callais that the state’s current map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander because it was drawn to create two majority-Black districts. Louisiana had been using that map under a 2024 lower-court order to comply with the Voting Rights Act.

The state Senate approved the new map, 28-10, after a brief debate in which Democrats argued it was racially gerrymandered by concentrating more Black voters, who often register as Democrats, in one district.

Democratic state Sen. Royce Duplessis said Louisiana was joining a “vicious, vicious race to the bottom” by redrawing districts in an election year.

The map redraws a district represented by Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields around largely white communities in the Baton Rouge area and southern Louisiana. It also adds part of Baton Rouge to a heavily Democratic, majority-Black district based in New Orleans, represented by Democratic Rep. Troy Carter.

More lawsuits appeared likely. The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana said Friday it could sue, calling the map a “racial gerrymander hiding behind the thin veneer of partisanship.”

The plaintiffs who prevailed in the Supreme Court case also criticized the new map for keeping one majority-Black district in place.
Military & National Security

Congress backs containerized Navy HELIOS laser

In April, the Navy disclosed a test of a palletized AeroVironment LOCUST counter-drone laser on the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.

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Members of Congress moved to fund work on a containerized version of the Navy’s High-Energy Laser with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance, or HELIOS, as part of an early draft of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.

The House Armed Services Committee draft would add $5 million for a containerized HELIOS and $2.5 million for a “Containerized Maritime High Energy Laser Weapon System,” a program not otherwise identified by that name in the Navy’s budget request.

The Navy separately requested $75.6 million for its Joint Laser Weapon System effort, which includes plans for a containerized 150-kilowatt-class laser and work toward 300- and 500-kilowatt-class designs. It is unclear whether the maritime laser system in the draft bill is related to that program.

HELIOS, also designated Mk 5 Mod 0, is a 60-kilowatt-class laser intended to damage or destroy targets such as drones and small boats. The Navy has one HELIOS installed on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Preble, but described it in its latest budget request as a “Non-Program of Record (POR) Research & Development (R&D) asset.”

Containerized or palletized lasers could be installed more quickly on a wider range of ships if sufficient deck space, power, and cooling are available.

Navy leaders have supported both directed-energy weapons and containerized systems. In March, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said at the McAleese Defense Programs Conference, “From towed-array-systems, to drone swarms, to electronic attack systems, to high-powered lasers … I want to containerize everything.”

Still, laser weapons face limits. Their range and effectiveness can be reduced by weather, smoke, dust, ship motion, and challenges involving optics, cooling, and reliability at sea.

The draft bill also proposed cutting $5 million from the Navy’s directed-energy and electric weapon systems account for what it called “unjustified growth.” The legislation is likely to change before any final vote.
World

Polish executive arrested at Army basic training

Polish authorities accused Pióro of participating in a fraud and money laundering

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A Polish businessman wanted on fraud and money laundering charges was arrested May 19 during Army Basic Combat Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, federal authorities said.

Marcin Pióro, 46, chief executive of the Polish financial services platform Cinkciarz.pl, was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice and an extradition request from Poland, according to a May 21 news release from the U.S. Marshals Service. Interpol listed his age as 45.

Authorities found Pióro after he enlisted in the Illinois National Guard and reported to Fort Leonard Wood for basic training. The U.S. Marshals Service said deputies arrested him during a training exercise after coordinating with Army Criminal Investigation Division personnel. The arrest was completed without incident.

“This fugitive investigation is a testament to the commitment the U. S. Marshals Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force in the Western District of Missouri has for finding, apprehending, and bringing to justice violent fugitives,” Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Chris Deaton said in a statement issued May 21.

“Our deputies and support staff have tirelessly collaborated to locate and apprehend Pioro. Today’s arrest was a strong symbolic gesture of this commitment,” he added.

Pióro had spent several months as a delayed-entry trainee before shipping to Missouri, and Army officials reportedly confirmed he had not graduated from training when he was arrested. Illinois National Guard officials discharged him afterward.

Polish authorities accused Pióro of participating in a fraud and money laundering scheme tied to Cinkciarz.pl, which operates foreign currency exchange and financial services platforms in Poland and abroad. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Polish investigators alleged losses exceeded 125 million Polish złoty, or more than $30 million, and later reporting suggested losses could exceed 150 million złoty, involving more than 5,000 alleged victims.

Polish prosecutors alleged customers deposited funds with the company but could not recover their money. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri were handling the case.