Russ Bynum, Author at The Rapid City Post

FILE - The Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America is seen on March 26, 2025, in Ellabell, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

US immigration officers raid Georgia site where Hyundai makes electric vehicles

September 4, 2025

Immigration agents are conducting a raid at the sprawling industrial site where Hyundai makes electric vehicles in southeast Georgia. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Lindsay Williams said the operation Thursday focused on the site where construction workers are building a separate factory for making batteries that power EVs. The Department of Homeland Security said it executed a search warrant as part of an investigation into possible illegal employment activities. Georgia State Patrol troopers blocked roads leading to the plant. The Georgia Department of Public Safety said the troopers were assisting as federal authorities. A spokesperson for Hyundai’s vehicle factory said work there was uninterrupted.

FILE - Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, center, speaks to a delegate at the Georgia Republican Convention in Dalton, Ga., June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File)

Judge throws out campaign finance lawsuit between Republican rivals in Georgia governor’s race

August 28, 2025

A federal judge has thrown out Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s campaign finance lawsuit against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. The suit alleged Jones has an unfair fundraising advantage as the two Republicans run for governor next year. Carr sued earlier this month asking a judge to prohibit Jones from using a special leadership committee that allows for unlimited fundraising. Carr alleged his free speech and equal protection rights were being violated. U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Marie Calvert dismissed Carr’s lawsuit Thursday. She ruled that Carr should have challenged the law instead of suing his rival.

Judge questions if Spanish-language journalist can stay in immigration detention without charges

August 27, 2025

A federal judge is questioning whether a Spanish-language journalist arrested at a June protest can remain in immigration detention after charges against him were dropped. Attorneys for journalist Mario Guevara told a federal magistrate judge in Georgia on Wednesday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is keeping Mario Guevara in custody because he’s a journalist who frequently records and livestreams activities of ICE agents and other law officers. They are calling for Guevara’s immediate release. Attorneys for the U.S. government argue that ICE has wide discretion to detain Guevara because the El Salvador native is deportable. U.S. Magistrate Judge Benjamin Cheesbro hasn’t ruled yet.

A sign welcoming people to Fort Stewart in Georgia is seen on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Army sergeant charged with attempted murder in the shootings of 5 Fort Stewart soldiers

August 12, 2025

An Army sergeant accused of shooting five fellow soldiers at a Georgia base has been charged by the military with attempted murder. The suspect was also charged with aggravated assault and domestic violence. An Army spokesperson said one of the victims was the suspect’s romantic partner. Sgt. Quornelius Radford was arrested last Wednesday, when officials say he opened fire with a personal handgun on members of his supply unit at Fort Stewart, which is southwest of Savannah. Fort Stewart officials say soldiers restrained and disarmed the gunman before military police arrived. All five of the wounded soldiers survived the attack.

People stroll past Paula Deen's restaurant The Lady Sons in Savannah, Ga., on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, after Deen announced the eatery that launched her to Food Network fame had closed. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

Paula Deen has abruptly closed the Savannah restaurant that launched her to Food Network fame

August 1, 2025

Former Food Network star Paula Deen has abruptly closed the Savannah, Georgia, restaurant she started with her two sons nearly three decades ago. Deen said in a statement Friday on her website and on social media that she and sons Jamie and Bobby Deen had made a “heartfelt decision” to close The Lady & Sons, which they opened in downtown Savannah in 1996. She also shut down an attached takeout business called The Chicken Box. No reason was given. Deen said four restaurants she owns in Tennessee, South Carolina and Missouri will remain open. Deen’s flagship Savannah restaurant helped launch her to fame. Her Food Network show premiered in 2002 and ran for a decade.

FILE - In this image from Camden County Detention Center surveillance video provided by attorney Harry Daniels, jailers beat detainee Jarrett Hobbs at the facility in Georgia, Sept. 3, 2022. (Camden County Detention Center/Courtesy of Attorney Harry Daniels via AP, File)

A former Georgia deputy gets federal prison for beating a Black man in a jail cell

July 25, 2025

A former Georgia sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to federal prison in the beating three years ago of a Black jail detainee who was punched repeatedly by guards who rushed into his cell. Court records show that a U.S. District Court judge sentenced Ryan Biegel to a year and four months in prison Thursday. Biegel pleaded guilty earlier this year to violating the due process rights of detainee Jarrett Hobbs by using unreasonable force. Security camera video from the Camden County jail recorded deputies beating Hobbs after was booked for traffic violations and drug possession charges in September 2022. Biegel still faces state charges in the beating along with and two other ex-deputies.

FILE - The sun sets on the lily pads and floating vegetation in the Chesser Prairie inside the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge on March 30, 2022, in Folkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, File)

Conservation group makes $60M land deal to end mining threat outside Okefenokee Swamp

June 20, 2025

A conservation group says it will pay $60 million to buy land outside the Okefenokee Swamp from a mining company that spent years battling environmentalists over its plans to extract minerals there. The Conservation Fund announced the deal Friday, saying the purchase of 7,700 acres ends what it called an “existential threat” to the largest federally protected wildlife refuge east of the Mississippi Rivers. Twin Pines Minerals had been seeking permits to mine less than 3 miles from the refuge since 2019. Scientists and conservationists warned the project could cause irreparable damage to an ecological treasure. Twin Pines President Steve Ingle confirmed the sale but declined further comment.

Mining project near the Okefenokee Swamp has stalled over a $2M permit requirement

June 16, 2025

A hotly debated mining project near the federally protected Okefenokee Swamp has stalled over a $2 million permit requirement needed before Georgia regulators make a final decision. Twin Pines Minerals was told in 2024 that it must submit a $2 million bond or equivalent before state officials can issue a permit to mine minerals near the wildlife refuge. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division says that still hasn’t happened 16 months later. The mining company declined to comment Monday on the delay. Federal scientists have warned that miningnear the swamp could irreparably harm the environmentally sensitive area. But regulators say mining there should have minimal impacts.

Russ Bynum.