A.M. ATL: A terrifying Roblox lawsuit, new immigration policies and more

Morning, y’all! You can tell a lot about someone by what they collect. We have a great story on that later in the newsletter. I collect hymnals, crystal orbs and antique jewelry. What about y’all?

Let’s get to it.

NEW ICE TACTICS

Credit: Ben Hendren/AJC

Credit: Ben Hendren/AJC

One thing to remember as we talk about immigration, enforcement and legal status is how complicated and varied the immigrant experience is when it comes to things like securing visas or citizenship. To be frank, it makes reporting on immigration issues difficult as well.

That being said, the Trump administration has now moved to reverse past immigration court decisions that protected people from deportation.

This could put some 400,000 immigrants in the U.S. in danger of deportation.
These people have already gone through immigration cases that were administratively closed.
That means a judge decided, essentially, it wasn’t worth deporting them; either because they had no criminal record, were working on a legal immigration path already or were the subject of humanitarian concern.

In the words of one Atlanta immigration lawyer, “You put cases on the back burner because you don’t need them to be at the forefront.” Another local attorney called it “a serious due process violation.”

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.

SOLAR FOR ALL, OR MAYBE NOT

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

A new program offering free rooftop solar panels to low-income Georgia homeowners launched Monday … aaand now it may be gone.

The Georgia BRIGHT “Solar for All” program offers free solar panels that can slash power bills, funded by a $156 million federal grant awarded in 2024 by the Environmental Protection Agency. Those grants were part of a larger $7 billion nationwide “Solar for All” initiative.

The day after the program started accepting applications, the EPA reportedly prepared to announce the revocation of all 60 “Solar For All” grants.
It’s part of the Trump administration’s larger dismissal of clean energy initiatives under the newly passed funding package dubbed the “big, beautiful bill.”
However, it’s not a done deal. Organizers are still encouraging eligible households to apply through Sept. 7.

VIDEO GAME NIGHTMARE

A DeKalb County mother is suing Roblox, the popular online building game platform, claiming the company is liable for the sexual exploitation of her 9-year-old son.

Several other Georgia families, and others across the country, are planning to file similar suits saying their children were subject to unmitigated predation on the platform.
In the DeKalb case, the mother says her son was groomed by adults posing as children on the platform, sent pornographic content and coerced into sending explicit images of himself.
The complaint includes records of other incidents of children being exploited on Roblox, including a 2022 arrest of a man in Kansas.

It’s already difficult for parents to keep their kids safe online. Now may be a good time to check in about your family’s own rules and give your kids a compassionate ear.

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

⚖️ The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the Department of Justice for files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. It’s one sign political interest in the case remains strong, even with Washington on a monthlong break.

🚗 Self-driving Waymos haven’t been blamed for any crashes in Atlanta, but they sure do get confused a lot, which doesn’t seem to be a good sign.

🛣️ SR 400 Peach Partners, the group chosen to build and operate the new Ga. 400 paid express lanes, has closed on the record-breaking multibillion financing package needed to pull it off. The project should be completed by 2031, and no, my spirit is not strong enough to contemplate the mathematics of $11 billion for toll lanes.

🏢 Atlanta has a huge surplus of unused office space, but it’s not the fancy type. Companies looking for more luxe digs are having a hard time finding space to purchase.

THE AJC’S SUPER 11 IS ALMOST HERE

Tomorrow, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recognizes this year’s Super 11, the best high school football players going into their senior seasons.

This 40-year-old tradition represents a huge honor for Georgia players, who have proved their mettle in one of the greatest football states in the country. They may go on to have a college career. Some may join the NFL. Some may never touch a football again after this year, but they’ve earned their place in state history all the same.

We’re super excited to feature them. We’ll also talk more about why the Super 11 is so important.

WHAT DO CHEFS COLLECT?

Credit: Courtesy Jason Hall

(In short? A lot of spoons.) The AJC’s food and dining team talked to 10 chefs, mixologists and other food scene professionals about their culinary collections. For one, it’s knives. Another, aprons. It’s such a fun read, and I love how passionate these professionals are about their craft.

🍷 “Glassware is the stiletto, it’s the shoe of a cocktail.” — Mixologist Tiffanie Barriere on her glassware collection.

🍴 “It’s the hands that the tools have been in, just the grace, the whimsy, just knowing that so much soul and so much love and care about bringing people together has been attached to all these things.” — Executive chef Matt Marcus on his knife collection

NEWS BITES

Fernbank Museum announces its biggest renovation ever

The dinosaurs are getting new enrichments for their enclosure!

How a newlywed’s mustard recipe became a business

Nothing says “I love you” like a carefully crafted condiment.

A bird dropped a fish on power lines and start a brush fire in Canada

It has no idea how much trouble it caused. Incredible. This should be written about in chaos theory texts.

Sign up for the Dirty Birds Dispatch

The AJC’s new weekly Falcons newsletter is a must. No brush fires here.

ON THIS DATE

Aug. 6, 1962

Credit: File photo

From the front page of The Atlanta Constitution: Marilyn Monroe Dies After Dose of Sleeping Pills. Marilyn, the world’s most famous blonde, kept telling everybody she was sick but nobody believed her.

Beneath the announcement of her death on Aug. 4, a surprisingly candid and meaningful tribute by writer James Bacon about the film legend’s difficult life.

ONE MORE THING

Where is the line between “I collect x” and “I own a lot of x?”

I think it’s in the intent. We don’t collect books, they amass like dust bunnies in an unswept corner. We may own 20 serving spoons by accident, but do we regard them with the same reverence as an actual collector? Have YOU ever taken a nice flat-lay picture of all your spoons? Then you probably don’t collect them. Discuss amongst yourselves.

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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