Morning, y’all! I don’t remember seeing many fireflies this summer. Apparently they’re getting way more than usual in the Northeast, but in general, the twinkling bugs are on the decline. Maybe not the happiest thought to start the day. Hmmm. Did I mention you look nice today? The new thing you did with your hair is working for you. OK, that’s better.
Let’s get to it.
MORE IMMIGRATION PROTESTS
It was another weekend of nationwide demonstrations against the Trump administration’s immigration policies. The event was organized by 50501, the same group that started “No Kings Day.”
- This weekend’s theme was “Rage Against the Regime.” Hundreds of people gathered near the King Center in Atlanta, as well as at demonstrations in Augusta, Decatur and Fayetteville.
- A reported 300 or so protests took place nationwide.
- Speakers and attendees at Atlanta’s event said they were concerned and angry about ICE’s apprehension and imprisonment of immigrants who may be in the country legally or have not committed crimes.
Meanwhile, in Henry County, a father of three was arrested by ICE while driving his 2-year-old daughter to daycare last month. Eduardo Guzman Garcia crossed the border illegally as a teenager, but filed for legal status through his U.S. citizen wife six years ago.
🔎 READ MORE: ‘He has been trying to do things the right way,’ Guzman Garcia’s wife says
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MARTA? I CAN FIX HER
I love our new Opinions editor, David Plazas. He’s not afraid to jump into the fray. Last week we asked your thoughts about how to improve MARTA and I don’t even want to think about the number of replies Plazas got. It’s an extremely hot topic.
Some interesting ones:
- Fare point: “Question: Why does MARTA not charge for the distance of the ride you take? Why should someone from Midtown to Five Points pay what I pay to go to the airport?” - John M., Alpharetta
- Unreliable schedules: “Atlanta needs reliable bus service, and it needs many more routes. Until then, MARTA does not serve people who rely on transit to get to work.” - Jennifer S., Atlanta
- K.I.S.S.: “Instead of extravagant renovations, MARTA needs to do the unglamorous work of running enough trains and buses to meet both normal schedules and demand during special events.” - Matthew W., Atlanta
🔎 READ MORE: Readers and riders sound off on how they’d fix MARTA
FIRST LIBERTY LATEST
First Liberty and Loan, the conservative-tied lender that defrauded investors through an alleged Ponzi scheme, threaded its shady business dealings through loopholes in Georgia’s regulatory laws.
- The company took advantage of a loophole inadvertently introduced in 2016, when Georgia modernized its banking laws. They struck the term “building and loan” from regulatory language, since the term was outdated.
- However, that also removed the ability of regulators to go after companies like First Liberty.
- First Liberty itself also failed to file paperwork and sold illegal, unregistered investments, the AJC has found.
🔎 READ MORE: Some banking experts raised suspicions over the years
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
⌛ The Senate left Washington for the August break without a deal to advanced dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees. On social media, the President told Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer he can “GO TO HELL!”
💬 Trump wants the Federal Reserve’s board of governors to take control of the U.S. central bank from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Powell has refused to cut interest rates in order to gauge how Trump’s tariff strategies will impact the economy.
👾 Delta has received backlash for its AI-backed pricing strategy and insists it hasn’t used personal data to tweak fare prices.
WITH MORE POWER COMES ...
By now, we know data centers are power slurping behemoths that hike energy prices for nearby residents and generally hog the grid.
Georgia Power is looking for ways to lessen that burden, and they’re turning to ... gas. The company is planning to build new gas-burning units, battery storage systems and more solar to meet the needs of Georgia data centers. If the plan goes forward, more than half of Georgia Power’s supplies would come from burning ozone-eating, global-warming-exacerbating gas.
🔎 READ MORE: The plan gets even more complex, and includes buying energy from Alabama
NEWS BITES
If you don’t get the reference, just know it’s a grave insult.
Not a great weekend, all around! Unless we’re talking about the Atlanta Dream, who just notched their third straight win.
Atlanta airport sees continued delays and cancellations
Look, you can either roast in the oppressive heat, or it can be pleasant and rainy but your flight will be messed up. There is no good path.
One tech tip: Can you tell if that song is AI-generated?
Does it sound like someone sharpened every tine of a plastic fork and swirled it around your ear drum? Do the voices echo with insatiate emptiness? Does your soul feel worse off for hearing it? Then that song is AI.
ON THIS DATE
August 4, 1941
From the front page of The Atlanta Journal: Fulton resident for 75 years sees Stone Mountain. Lonnie West, 75, who has lived in Fulton County all his life without seeing Stone Mountain, was given that pleasure Monday. Two of his nieces and their families took him on a picnic to the see the big piece of granite, and Mr. West was reported to have been highly impressed. … Mr. West lives near Fairburn, within 35 miles of the great rock which has attracted visitors from all over the world.
Deeply relatable, Lonnie.
ONE MORE THING
I will never apologize for my feelings on generative AI. If AI can troll published medical cases to find unexpected connections between health conditions or something like that, I’m all for it. Otherwise, send any and all generative AI hatred my way. It fuels me.
(Also, if you haven’t noticed, my emoji for AI is this little guy: 👾)
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.
