Morning, y’all! Do you ever think about what a clear night sky looked like before light pollution? No wonder people were so obsessed with the stars. If you’re an early riser and the Georgia sky plays along, you could see activity from two meteor showers between now and August. Nature is the ultimate special effects master.
Let’s get to it.
DO IT FOR THE TURTLES
Georgia’s St. Simons Island may be a sought-after vacation destination, but the sea turtles aren’t big fans. Of the roughly 1,700 loggerhead nests along the state coast, only one is on St. Simons.
- An obvious problem: The island is heavily populated, with noise and light pollution that drive turtles away. Artificial beachheads made of boulders also discourage nesting.
- An obvious danger: Other lights, like pole lights across bridges, can disorient newborn turtles who mistake them for the moon reflecting off the water.
- There’s definitely hope: A local environmental expert pointed to a recent dramatic increase in loggerhead nests — from 400 nests statewide in 2004 to a high of 4,000 in 2022 — as evidence things can change. Updated lightning ordinances and new light technology that minimize dangers to turtles could bring numbers back up in St. Simons and beyond.
🐢 READ MORE: Where is the balance between man and turtle? (Leave it to our own Adam Van Brimmer to serve up some philosophy.)
Not signed up yet? What’re you waiting for? Get A.M. ATL in your inbox each weekday morning. And keep scrolling for more news.
MORE LIQUIDS AT THE AIRPORT
“More liquids at the airport” sounds like a threat, so to clarify, it’s carry-on liquids. Whew.
After doing away with TSA’s shoe removal policy, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she’s questioning “everything TSA does,” including its liquids policy.
“The liquids, I’m questioning. So that may be the next big announcement is what size your liquids need to be,” Noem said. “We have put in place in TSA a multilayered screening process that allows us to change some of how we do security and screening so it’s still as safe.”
🔎 READ MORE: Noem describes the ideal airport experience
ATL is busy staying the “world’s busiest”
Meanwhile, AJC business reporter Emma Hurt has been covering Delta’s 100th anniversary, and wrote a deep dive into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s title as the “world’s busiest airport.”
It’s an honor airport and city leaders guard jealously, but it requires work to maintain. In her piece, Hurt asks if and how long we can keep the title and at what possible cost.
BAD BUG ALERT
Spotted lanternflies have been, uh, spotted in Fulton County. It’s peak season for the invasive, dangerous insect, which can destroy agricultural crops en masse.
- Experts are asking the public’s help with some simple advice: If you see one, take a picture, report the bug to the Georgia Department of Agriculture and kill it.
- (Optional: Apologize to the bug before its execution, for it has no notion it’s causing trouble; it’s just a lanternfly in the wrong place at the wrong time.)
- Spotted lanternflies are native to Asia and feed on more than 70 plant species, many of which are important to Georgia’s agriculture: hardwood trees, roses, hops, grapevines and stone fruits among them. No, not the peaches! They also invite more pests by leaving behind a sticky residue.
🔎 READ MORE: More information on how to identify and report spotted lanternflies
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
⚡ Georgia’s powerful Public Service Commission decided Georgia Power can continue to keep some financial information hidden from the public despite criticism from state energy regulators.
🚪 President Donald Trump says he’s “highly unlikely” to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell despite rumors and private discussions.
✂️ The Senate has passed about $9 billion in federal spending cuts, including deep reductions to public broadcasting and foreign aid. The legislation, which now moves to the House, would have drastic consequences despite accounting for only a sliver of federal spending.
💬 Trump criticized his followers who want answers in the Epstein case, calling them “weaklings” and saying he doesn’t want their support.
WE WANT YOUR WAYMO STORIES
The AJC’s business team is working on a story about Waymo and self-driving cars. Have you ridden in a Waymo? Tell us about your experience; good, bad or otherwise. Be sure to include your name and where you’re from. Your response could be featured in a future AJC piece. Email us here.
NEWS BITES
Move over, Christmas in July. The newest un-holiday is Summerween
It’s always the right time to be a lil’ spooky.
Another look at Labubu, the creepy, grinning toy craze from China
A good fit for Summerween, you must admit.
Can nostalgia push Chuck E. Cheese into the future with adult arcade concept?
The words “adult Chuck E. Cheese arcade” send a chill down my spine. I did my time in the ball pits. I survived the flashing lights and torment of loosely chaperoned classmates. I cleansed the rat’s rictus from my dreams. You can’t send me back.
The largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth was sold for over $5 million
I spent far too long looking at this, but the Martian meteorite weighs about 54 pounds, or 25 kilograms. That’s 25,000 grams, at about $200 a gram. That’s more than, say, saffron, which runs about $20 a gram, but less than coral snake venom ($4,000 a gram) or lots of very fancy minerals. You’re cool, Mars, but we have just as cool stuff on Earth!
ON THIS DATE
July 17, 1956
From the front page of The Atlanta Constitution: Big top hoisted in finale as Ringling Circus collapses. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus ended its 1956 run four months early and announced it would never play again in the form that brought joy to “millions of children of all ages.” The tinseled, tented fairyland, as its publicity men love to describe it, fell victim to television, traffic congestion, labor trouble, bad weather and mounting costs.
Seems very dramatic, given the circus went on for many decades and (kind of) still exists today. However, 1956 was the last time the iconic show played under its own big top.
ONE MORE THING
Chuck E. Cheese is canonically a rat. I said what I said.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.
About the Author
AJ Willingham is an National Emmy, NABJ and Webby award-winning journalist who loves talking culture, religion, sports, social justice, infrastructure and the arts. She lives in beautiful Smyrna-Mableton and went to Syracuse University.
![function toUpperCase() { [native code] } logo](/resources/logos/UATL/uatl-header-logo.svg){kind=logo}
