A.M. ATL: A bittersweet parting

Let’s get to it.

ATLANTA JOURNALIST DEPORTED

Mario Guevara was emotional arriving in Olocuilta, El Salvador. He says he's changed after more than 100 days in immigration jail.

Mario Guevara, the local Spanish-language journalist arrested in June and detained for months in a Georgia ICE facility, was deported to his native El Salvador Friday.

• Guevara shared emotional scenes with Salvadoran journalists and family.
• It was a complex and bittersweet arrival. Guevara, who says he still has marks on his wrists and ankles from ever-present cuffs that only came off once he was out of the country, was overwhelmed with relief. However, he lamented half his family is still in the U.S.
• He had a powerful message for American viewers, and the country at large:

“Because I am in El Salvador, I am no longer your prisoner,” he said. “I feel free for the first time.”

• He vowed to return to the U.S. at some point to continue his work.

FULTON TRUMP CASE NEEDS A NEW PROSECUTOR ASAP

PAC has its work cut out for them searching for a quick replacement to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

The Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia has two weeks to name a new prosecutor in the Fulton County election interference case involving President Donald Trump, a Georgia judge decided.

• PAC is the nonpartisan agency tasked with replacing Fulton County DA Fani Willis, who was removed from the high profile case for good earlier this fall after contentious arguments over an alleged conflict of interest.
• The new prosecutor will have a huge responsibility. They will decide whether to move forward with the case, reduce its scope or dismiss it entirely.

WAY TOO MANY SCHOOL BUS CRASHES

School buses have been involved in 200 crashes in Georgia since Aug. 1, according to the Department of Public Safety.

• Luckily, most of the incidents were minor. In more than half, drivers in other vehicles were found to be at fault.
• It’s still a terrifying number. DPS School Bus Safety Division Commander Capt. Anthony Hudson had a clear description for the problem:

“Drivers are impatient,” he said. “They’re leaving at the last minute and they are always in a rush.”

Remember, “I was in a rush” doesn’t hold up in court or at the pearly gates.

DIDDY SENTENCED

Music mogul and Atlanta regular Sean “Diddy” Combs was sentenced to four years and two months in prison after an investigation and trial that included lots of barely printable, “please slough this horror from my brain” details.

• Combs apologized in court. His children pleaded for leniency for the music superstar, who was convicted of transporting people across state lines for so-called “freak-offs;” marathon sex parties involving drugs and various alleged abuses.
• Combs got off relatively easy given the possibilities. Prosecutors wanted an 11-year sentence. Earlier in the trial, jurors acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that could have carried a life sentence.
• Combs’ attorneys say everything was consensual and the mogul should be freed immediately.

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

WRITING WISDOM

October is National Book Month, too!

NEWS BITES

2026 World Cup ball design just dropped

That’s a lot of regional symbolism for a single ball. Verdict: It’s nice!

UGA is back in the top 10 in the AP top 25 poll after beating up on Kentucky

Oh, and Georgia Tech is 5-0. We’re on a roll.

Cute pics from Splish Splash Doggie Bash at Piedmont Park Aquatic Center

Thankfully not scratch-n-sniff.

Gatorade and Cheetos among the Pepsi products getting a natural dye makeover

Two food products famous for their subdued colors and health consciousness, of course.

ON THIS DATE

Oct. 6, 1997

Remember waiting in line for these things? The camaraderie, the shared sense of shameless obsession. Now we just get mad at Ticketmaster.

ONE MORE THING

I’ve seen a lot of people online saying you can spot AI-generated writing (like ChatGPT’s farted-out gibberish) by seeing how many em dashes it contains. You know why that’s true? Because language learning models train on online content, including untold reams of news writing. There’s nothing a news writer loves more than an em dash. I only used two today. What temperance.