Morning, y’all! As musical prophet Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty once said, “Man, it’s a hot one.” It’s supposed to hit 90 whole degrees in the metro Atlanta area today. Good news is, it’ll be the last 90-degree day this year. Goodbye for real, summer.
Let’s get to it.
GEORGIA SCORES THREE TOP SCHOOLS
Three Georgia universities cracked the top 100 in the 2026 edition of the famed U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Rankings. Statistically speaking, that’s pretty great. Fifty states, average of two a state, and here’s Georgia with three.
This would be a fun question to ask someone if you’re scrolling at the breakfast table or in your living room. See if people can guess them all.
- 24: Emory University
- 32: Georgia Tech
- 46: University of Georgia
Other schools made the extended list, with Mercer University at 169, Georgia State University at 198 and Augusta University at 273.
The report contains lists of different types of schools as well, so here’s another good trivia question:
❓ What private college was the highest-ranked Georgia school on the U.S. News list of national liberal arts colleges and was also named the nation’s top historically Black college and university?
Answer at the bottom, as usual.
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ATL HISPANIC JOURNALIST AT IMMEDIATE RISK FOR DEPORTATION
Mario Guevara, the Spanish-language journalist who was arrested in June while covering an Atlanta-area protest, is out of options after months of legal struggles and public outcry.
- The American Civil Liberties Union says Guevara “could be put on a deportation plane at any moment.”
- Guevara was granted bond in July, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed an appeal to block Guevara’s release. His legal team filed an emergency brief earlier this month, but nothing has stuck.
- Guevara, who has been detained for more than three months now, is the only known US-based journalist in ICE custody.
In spite of having no criminal or violent background, all charges dropped for lack of evidence, a path to a green card, and a work permit that allowed him to take care of his family and be self-sufficient, Mario Guevara has an order of deportation. Democracy thrives on free press and checks and balances, both seem under threat and Mario is a symbol of that.
FAMILY WANTS JUSTICE FOR DATA CENTER DEATH
The parents of a man electrocuted while working on a Fayetteville data center in June filed a lawsuit against Allison-Smith Company, an Atlanta contracting firm, saying sloppy electrical work contributed to his death.
- Anthony J. Riera Azuaje, 25, made “incidental contact” with an electrical setup and died four days later.
- The lawsuit claims Allison-Smith violated electrical codes. It also aims to discover any other claims of shoddy electrical work at big data facilities in the area.
🔎 READ MORE: The case is a reminder of workplace dangers
STATE SENATE RUNOFF RESULTS
Republican Jason Dickerson defeated Democrat Debra Shigley in yesterday’s special election for a state Senate seat in District 21.
That’s a deep red zone, so it’s not necessarily a surprise Dickerson won. However, Shigley caught national attention for her better-than-expected performance in the first round of elections.
Dickerson, an investment manager and trucking company founder who lives in Canton, also also landed major endorsements — among them Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and the Georgia Senate Republicans.
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🚂 “Sounds good to me.” President Donald Trump gave an unofficial OK to the $85 billion merger between Union Pacific and Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern. The sale would unite two major coastal railway outfits.
💰 MacKenzie Scott gave $70 million to a scholarship nonprofit to benefit historically Black colleges and universities.
🗳️ Two candidates in the southwest Atlanta City Council district race were disqualified after residency challenges. It was a complex process since the city’s vague state residency statute leaves room for interpretation.
NEWS BITES
Build-A-Bear continues to grow despite very bear-ish challenges like tariffs
I’ll buy lunch for the first economist to submit an academic paper on the economic resilience of Build-A-Bear.
Are you a “but robots will be no fun to boo” baseball fan or a “please let the robots bring me a modicum of strike zone-related peace” fan?
Chick-fil-A is getting into the fancy beverage biz with a new restaurant concept called Daybright
Fancier than a frosted lemonade? That’ll be hard to beat.
Bert Weiss is retiring after 25 years on ‘The Bert Show’
He was recently inducted into the Friends of Georgia Radio Hall of Fame and got engaged earlier this month. Time to carpe that diem for an Atlanta icon.
ON THIS DATE
Sept. 24, 1990
200,000 party in the streets shouting Atlanta! Olympics! Proud city pats itself on back before talking task at hand. Monday, Atlanta ceremonially began what will turn out to be the shortest six years in its long, dramatic rise from the ashes left by Sherman and his hordes. A huge open-air stadium must be built. A velodrome and natatorium must be built. A rowing canal must be dredged and shaped. Twenty-six-story twin towers must spring out of the ground at Georgia Tech. But Monday, the city allowed itself one more celebratory bash.
In other words, Atlanta started preparing for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Here we are, in a little echo of time, preparing for the 2026 World Cup. No Sherman references, though. Seems “too soon” and “too late” at the same time.
ONE MORE THING
Trivia answer: It’s Spelman! The private all-women’s historically Black college was the highest-ranked Georgia school on the U.S. News list of national liberal arts colleges, ranking 37th. It was also named the nation’s top HBCU. 🩵🤍
Agnes Scott College came in at 67 on the liberal arts list. Morehouse College took 95th on that list and is No. 3 on the HBCU list.
Additional fun fact: “Alma mater” means “nourishing mother” in Latin.
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.
