As communities marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day, health advocates used the moment as a call to action. The Truth Initiative promoted its free X Program, an evidence-based tool to help people quit nicotine, framing cessation as an act of liberation and community care. Advocates say the effort is especially urgent as tobacco companies have long targeted Black communities while access to quitting resources remains uneven.

Meanwhile, Georgia politics and policy debates continue to intensify. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins is standing by a longtime aide facing allegations of misconduct, even as strategists warn the controversy could affect his Senate bid. The race for Georgia secretary of state is also taking shape, with new candidates pledging reforms to restore trust in elections. Immigration advocates across the state say ICE enforcement tactics are creating fear in communities, while conservation groups push back against proposed expansions on Cumberland Island that could threaten its protected character. Georgia’s film industry is also adapting post-strike, with studios diversifying as signs point to major productions possibly returning to metro Atlanta.

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