Morning, y’all! If you’re like me, time is a formless void in which “tomorrow” and “five years from now” hold the same hypothetical weight. The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been an abstract future event in Atlanta for a while (unless you’re an unhoused person finding yourself jostled about), but now it’s time to start planning. Ticket sales open later this month for the eight matches to be held here next summer, with wider sales in October.
Let’s get to it.
WASTED FOOD, WASTED AID
In warehouses in Georgia and Rhode Island, millions of life-saving meals meant for African children are wasting away, abandoned after the Trump administration’s massive cuts to foreign aid earlier this year.
- About 70 million meals are split between the states, with a Savannah-area warehouse storing about 300,000 boxes of food.
- Many of the meals, called ready-to-use therapeutic food, or RUTF, are produced by Georgia-based Mana Nutrition and made with peanuts grown right here in-state.
- Several areas in Africa already facing famine could see untold deaths as the U.S. scales back foreign aid programs.
- Luckily, the food doesn’t need to be refrigerated and stays good for two years. The U.S. State Department told the AJC the supplies will move again in September.
- Still, humanitarian agencies warn such sustenance is needed now, and more delays will create dire consequences.
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DEI IS OUT AT EMORY
Emory University will discontinue its DEI programs and offices, the university announced Wednesday.
- Interim president Leah Ward Sears said the decision was made because of federal anti-DEI mandates. “The standards are clear, and we must act accordingly,” Sears wrote.
- The announcement didn’t include details about what, specifically, would be shuttered, but it will likely include terminations.
- Sears said just because Emory is shuttering DEI initiatives doesn’t mean the school isn’t committed to diversity.
- “Closing offices or reimagining lawful programs is not, after all, the same as ending our unwavering commitment to fairness, belonging and opportunity for all, values that are part of Emory’s DNA,” she wrote.
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
💬 Epstein survivors spoke on Capitol Hill Tuesday and implored political leaders to release information about the investigation. The women also mentioned Ghislaine Maxwell’s role in their abuse and decried Trump’s dismissal of the files as a “hoax.”
💉 Florida wants to be the first state to eliminate childhood vaccine mandates; “Every last one of them,” according to State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo.
🥤 Coca-Cola may be considering a sale of Costa Coffee, which the company acquired in 2019 for $5 billion. At the time, Coke wanted to be a “total beverage company,” but times have changed.
🧲 A $223 million magnet manufacturing facility will open in Columbus in 2027. JS Link America’s investment will create more than 520 jobs in Muscogee County. I suddenly have a lot of questions about how magnets are manufactured.
🍟 McDonald’s will cut prices after years of cost creep pushed away lower-income customers. Their decision could influence other fast food giants, too.
DEATH, TAXES AND ROADWORK
Ah, the only inevitabilities in this life. Macon folks, I’m sorry to say you’ll be feeling this for a while.
The massive overhaul of the I-75/I-16 junction connecting Savannah to Atlanta started in 2017, and it’s not going to be finished any time soon. Most of it will be done by 2027, but the final phase may stretch to 2030.
Not only has the construction created hellish traffic conditions (big, universal sigh of sympathy), but it’s also made Macon less accessible. City leaders are looking forward to new tourism opportunities when it’s all done.
DINING, OUT
A new book by journalist Erik Piepenburg explores a part of Atlanta unknown to many: gay restaurant geography.
- Like gay bars, Piepenburg asserts restaurants owned and operated by gay men, and/or those who serve mostly gay clientele, are critical cornerstones of Atlanta’s gay culture.
- “Dining Out” tours gay restaurants across the U.S., but Piepenburg will spotlight Atlanta’s gay restaurant scene at a talk tonight at Woofs Sports Bar, where the most unobservant straight man in the world once took me on a date.
- One of the most interesting parts of the culture, he says, is that such restaurants don’t necessarily intentionally cater to gay clientele. It can be something that happens naturally.
- He’ll also explore what he calls “the golden age” of gay restaurants: the 1980s.
🍴 MORE INFO: Event time and more fixtures on the Atlanta scene
NEWS BITES
Everything I learn about this wedding is against my will, and now you have to join me.
I asked what y’all think Atlanta smells like, and someone said Georgia should be “peaches and peanut butter.” Love that. The perfumer in the article included smoke notes in Atlanta’s as a nod to Sherman’s burning of the city. Thanks?
A $1.4B Powerball jackpot is up for grabs after 40 drawings without a winner
Friendly reminder that your odds of winning the whole thing are about one in 292 million.
Each and every week, I come with the same juice.
The Falcons will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this weekend, Penix’s hometown team. He says he’s not jazzed about it, and his juice levels remain both high and steady at all times. He can be a little jazzed, though! We are.
ON THIS DATE
Sept. 4, 1988
From the front page of The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution: Dooley opens 25th year with Georgia. Vince Dooley marks the start of his 25th season as University of Georgia football coach with Saturday’s opener against Tennessee. The Bulldogs presented him with a 28-17 victory over the Volunteers, Dooley’s 193rd career win.
Dooley retired after the 1988 season, but his legend will never fade.
ONE MORE THING
If you’re in Athens for a game and are unfamiliar with UGA culture, I highly recommend staying at the Georgia Gameday Center. It is a fever dream. Georgia logos on everything: the carpets, the cabinet handles, the doors. Photos and memorabilia on every surface, and if you’re lucky, a portrait of Vince Dooley or Larry Munson will watch over you in the bathroom. Don’t be shy.
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Until next time.
