Morning, y’all! If your Georgia Power bills have been outrageous lately, you’re not alone. Yes, it’s the heat, but that money — your money — is also being used to pay for a nuclear power station near Augusta and the fuel Georgia Power uses at their power plants. Wow, we are so generous.
Let’s get to it.
TRUMP’S DC OCCUPATION RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT ATL HOMELESSNESS PLAN
Credit: Jason Getz/TNS
Credit: Jason Getz/TNS
President Donald Trump called the National Guard to the nation’s capital to allegedly tackle violent crime and begin, in his words, “removing homeless encampments.” He’s also threatened to send federal forces to other major cities.
While that’s alarming for several reasons, Atlanta leaders and advocates are especially concerned with what further federal interference could mean for the city’s already delicate plan to decrease Atlanta’s unhoused population.
- The city of Atlanta and the nonprofit organization Partners for HOME created a plan called Atlanta Rising, which aims to reduce homelessness in Atlanta ahead of next summer’s 2026 FIFA World Cup.
- Such plans are, by nature, controversial since homelessness is a complex problem and advocates say the solutions are too often cosmetic.
- Creators say the Atlanta Rising emphasizes housing placement and other sustainable solutions.
- The threat of federal action — and the bellicose model Trump has put into motion — has advocates worried how the plan could devolve in the coming months.
🔎 READ MORE: The stakes are raised for Atlanta’s homelessness plans
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CDC SHOOTING LATEST
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
The sprays of bullet holes in windows at the Centers for Disease Control told part of the story, and now we know the full impact: CDC gunman Patrick Joseph White fired 500 rounds in his Friday attack, using five of his father’s guns he stole from his parents’ Kennesaw home. Here’s what else we’ve learned:
- White died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the GBI said.
- Investigators found a “written document that expressed the shooter’s discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations” at the Whites’ home.
- Democrats and CDC staff past and present called for better gun control at a rally Tuesday night. State lawmakers in the audience said they continue to push for measures such as restrictions on access for people in mental health crises and requirements that guns be safely secured in storage units.
🔎 READ MORE: Info from the investigation so far
A GEORGIA PILOT’S FAMILY TURNS GRIEF INTO ACTIVISM
Credit: Craig Hudson/AJC
Credit: Craig Hudson/AJC
The family of Sam Lilley, the 28-year-old Savannah native who lost his life in the January American Airlines crash outside Washington, D.C., is advocating for air safety improvements.
- Lilley was the co-pilot of the flight, which collided with an Army helicopter and fell into the Potomac River.
- His father, Tim, and stepmother, Sheri, have made monthly trips to Washington to assure front-row seats to National Transportation Safety Board hearings.
- Sheri says it is a “calling on their lives” to make sure air travel is safer for all.
Talking to the AJC, Tim put it into devastating words:
“I don’t know any other way to deal with my son’s passing than to make some sense of it. This is not something brave we’re doing. This is something that we do because we don’t know what else to do. We’re led to do it.”
🔎 TODAY’S MUST-READ: Eerie coincidences make the Lilley family’s activism all the more potent
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🐘 Trump endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones for Georgia’s next governor. That’s a blow to Attorney General Chris Carr, the other prominent Republican in the race. However, recent history shows a Trump endorsement doesn’t equal an automatic win.
💬 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, an archconservative network of Christian-like congregations. The network’s leading pastors don’t believe women should have the right to vote.
👔 The Arthur M. Blank Family Office named a new CEO. Andrea DeMarco will handle the personal business affairs and investments of the Atlanta titan and his family.
INTERNATIONAL FOOD FROM DELTA, WITH LOVE
Did you know some food imports fly commercial? For instance, on Delta Air Lines’ direct route from Tokyo to Atlanta, all manner of fresh seafood tag along in the cargo hold bound for restaurant kitchens.
- Industry insiders say the service’s speed and reliable temperature control make it an ideal food shipping option.
- Other specialty items get a lift, too, and it’s directly fortifying Japanese offerings in Atlanta.
- That’s important for the city’s trendy omakase sushi scene. “Omakase” means something like “I’ll leave it up to you” and is served tasting menu-style.
🦞 READ MORE: Other food items that fly Delta
NEWS BITES
Soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo and his partner, Georgina Rodríguez, are engaged
It’s so heartwarming to see homely, unsuccessful people find love!
Man tried to smuggle 850 protected turtles to Hong Kong
At first, I thought they meant, like, in a carry-on. That is not the (suit)case.
Taylor Swift announces 12th studio album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’
Welcome to the new era, Swifties 🧡
‘Not every day is a slay’: Atlanta stylist Kenzie Welch redefines style
Amen. I need that cross-stitched on a pillow ASAP.
ON THIS DATE
Aug. 13, 1883
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
From the front page of The Atlanta Constitution: The Kimball razed to the ground by the flames! For years, the burning of this great hotel has been dreaded as a calamity reasonably sure to come ... Two things were held to be certain: 1. That its burning would sweep away the whole central part of the city. 2. That a great number of lives would be lost when it was burned. By favorable circumstances that were almost miraculous, neither of these results came about.
Cool news backstory to this one: The historic Kimball house burned to the ground early on Aug. 12. The Atlanta Constitution had already printed its Sunday edition, which is why this item appears the day after. However, the staff at The Atlanta Journal, which had just started printing at the beginning of 1883, burned the midnight oil and turned out the 1800s equivalent of breaking news coverage, beating the Constitution by an entire day.
Side note: I love seeing the walls of text on the front of old newspapers. You could spend a whole morning without turning the page! Ah, a dream.
ONE MORE THING
Have you ever thought, “Wow, AJ seems cool, I’d love to hang out with her?” Well, you’re wrong. I’m a nightmare. Not even a Taylor Swift fan, me. We should still hang out, though! Scroll down and enter to win swanky tickets with me to the Sept. 20 Atlanta United game, and we’ll kick it.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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