Morning, y’all! PSA: If you have really scary Halloween decorations, please light them well. Nothing triggers a fight or flight response like skeletons emerging from the darkness during your evening dog walk. Take a cue from Georgia Tech coach Brent Key, who has all of his looming ghoulies properly illumined.
Let’s get to it.
THE SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON
The government shutdown began Oct. 1 and here we are, almost three weeks later with no end in sight. In addition to the furloughs, firings, missed paychecks, sidelined priorities and political infighting, some institutions must consider plans for a longer financial stagnation.
- In Atlanta, Georgia Tech says it is prepared to “significantly limit” certain purchases “to help slow expenditures and preserve cash.”
- Many major universities like Tech get federal funding for research, and the money is typically doled out over time rather than all at once. At Tech, these awards make up about $100 million of the school’s monthly expenses.
- The shutdown has put a halt to those payments, meaning further belt-tightening may be on the way.
- Emory University, the University of Georgia and other area schools are also developing plans to safeguard federally supported research.
🔎 READ MORE: How schools are preparing for further difficulty
How long are we gonna do this?
The current government shutdown is already one of the longest in U.S. history, and is more than halfway to being the longest. Here’s where it ranks:
- 35 days: 2018-2019, under President Donald Trump
- 21 days: 1995-1996, under President Bill Clinton
- This one. Great.
🔎 READ MORE: Shutdown impacts across the U.S.
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THE WALKER BRIGADE AT ‘NO KINGS’
People in all 50 states gathered for a weekend of “No Kings” demonstrations to protest Trump administration policies.
- The protest at the Atlanta Civic Center downtown drew a few thousand participants. Both U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and two-time gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams spoke at the event.
- No unrest or significant incidents were reported.
- In DeKalb County, another “No Kings” protest included several dozen residents from a nearby senior living community, who dubbed themselves “The Walker Brigade.”
🔎 READ MORE: Scenes from the Atlanta protest
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
💬 GOP members called this weekend’s protests ‘Hate America’ rallies. Meanwhile, a Trump campaign social media account mocked the protest with an AI-generated video of the president dressed like a monarch and wearing a crown.
⚽ Atlanta officials say Trump’s threats to move World Cup games from cities he deems “unsafe” are “not a concern.”
⚖️ Profile: Meet Ashleigh Merchant, the investigator who derailed Georgia’s prosecution of Trump by digging into DA Fani Willis’ history.
PROTECT GEORGIA’S DOMES
A Georgia high school football player with greatness in his blood is making a safety statement on the field with a Guardian cap, a soft-shell helmet cover designed to reduce impact.
- North Oconee junior tight end and linebacker Nick Pollack is the son of David Pollack, a former All-American defensive end for the Georgia Bulldogs.
- The elder Pollack’s career was cut short in 2008 by a severe neck injury.
- The Guardian cap is mandated for all positions during NFL practices. Its effectiveness is still a matter of debate among researchers, but the Pollacks say it’s also important to normalize any available safety measures.
🔎 READ MORE from AJC Varsity: How the caps claim to reduce injury
NEWS BITES
QB Gunner Stockton delivers for UGA against higher-ranked Ole Miss
I still can’t get over the fact UGA has a guy named Gunnar Stockton at QB, just a few years after having Stetson Bennett. Potent wild-west-high-noon-yeehaw-pardner kinda names.
Atlanta United fires manager Ronny Deila after a very forgettable season
Sometimes when you have a bad game, you gotta “flush it” and move on. Let’s hope that works for whole seasons.
Scotch eggs and people tossing giant logs. Now that’s living.
I do want to thank Lane, though, for the end of the game. He gave me some hot yoga tickets so I can go get a yoga. So, I tell him I appreciate that.
Love some inscrutable head coach beef. Unfortunately, “Let’s go get a yoga” is now firmly lodged in my vocabulary.
ON THIS DATE
Oct. 20, 1959
Autumn flirts with Georgia: Coy old vamp drops leaves. Autumn, the coy old vamp, is flirting with Georgia. She’s got her foot in the door — the northern, hill country entrance, that is. She made her first overtures with a bit of a frost early Monday morning. And now dreamily, sensuously as a practiced old stripper, she’s dropping a few leaves here and there and taking on ever so s-l-o-w-l-y, her brazen, blazin’ carnival costume.
Some lovely writing for this lovely Monday morning. That’s right baby, show us some leaf!
ONE MORE THING
I had a lovely time this weekend visiting Lake Sinclair and taking in Milledgeville’s “Deep Roots” festival. If you’re in Milly, get the catfish at Ms. Stella’s. You’re welcome.
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.
