Morning, y’all! Good news: Airlines are hopeful air travel will get back to normal by the Thanksgiving rush. The FAA never did cut flights by 10%, by the way. The cuts stayed at 6% because enough air traffic controllers and other pros stayed on the job despite the huge financial stress of not getting paid. This is not what we mean when we say “Air traffic control is so stressful, you couldn’t pay me to do it!”
Let’s get to it.
THE FATE OF THE GEORGIA TRUMP CASES COMES TODAY
Today is the deadline for the head of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia to find a new DA to lead the blockbuster election interference case against President Donald Trump.
Pete Skandalakis, the head of the state agency, was tasked with naming a replacement prosecutor after DA Fani Willis was officially removed from the case earlier this fall. Here’s what could happen:
- New DA, case moves forward: Skandalakis could find someone willing to take over the sprawling racketeering case, and it could proceed in either its current form or in a reduced form.
- No new DA, case dismissed: If Skandalakis can’t find someone, the case will be dismissed “without prejudice for want of prosecution.”
- New DA, case could be dismissed: A new DA could decide the case isn’t worth pursuing.
A reminder of what the case is about: Willis’ charge against Trump hinged on a leaked phone conversation with Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after the 2020 election. During that call, Trump pleaded with the fellow Republican to “find” him enough votes to overturn his narrow defeat by Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia.
Earlier this week, Trump signed a set of preemptive pardons that includes all 18 of his co-defendants in the interference case. In a statement, Skandalakis said he didn’t think Trump’s pardons changed the task before him: “We will continue to carry out our responsibilities without being influenced by matters outside the scope of our assigned task.”
🔎 READ MORE: More about the DA selection, the PAC’s deadline and what’s at stake
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HEMP INDUSTRY DOESN’T WANT TO BE WEEDED OUT
Georgia has warmed to the growing hemp industry, and numbers show Georgia residents feel the same. It’s agriculture, after all!
- However, the U.S. Senate bill to end the shutdown also included a provision that makes most hemp products illegal.
- It would take a year to kick in, meaning plenty of time to argue about it in Congress.
- If nothing changes, that’s bad news for the more than 4,100 licensed hemp businesses in Georgia, which includes farmers, manufacturers, processors, retailers and wholesalers.
🔎 READ MORE: GA hemp producers and others sound off
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
⚡ Environmental groups want to delay a PSC vote until the two Democrats who won seats last week are installed on the commission. The vote is on whether to allow Georgia Power to undertake a historic 10,000 megawatt expansion.
✍️ What’s next for the Epstein issue in Congress? A petition to open a vote on releasing the files reached 218 congressional signatures after some shutdown-related gamesmanship. It will head to the House floor soon. The next issue is not whether it will pass (long way to go on that), but how Republican lawmakers, several of whom support the bill, will handle the situation.
☀️ Georgia solar installers say they’re seeing a surge of customers trying to install rooftop systems before federal tax credits vanish at the end of the year.
HORSES ARE HEALERS
Horses are used in all kinds of therapy, to improve trust and connection, and to empower through responsibility. The Cobb County jail is sticking a hoof in the water to see what that could do for inmates.
- Through the Cobb sheriff’s office’s new detainee equine therapy work release program, two men are caring for the draft horses that belong to Cobb’s Mounted Patrol Unit.
- One of the men said he knew he needed to change his life after landing in jail several times. He says working with the horses has taught him life-changing skills like patience and responsibility.
TODAY’S MUST-READ: Cobb jail sees hope in a new kind of rehab
WEEKEND PLANS
The weekend countdown begins now. What are you up to?
Hot Sauce Fest ATL: Tastings, vendors, food, music and hopefully a lot of water. Find yourself a new favorite.
Suwanee Chili Cook Off and Music Festival: “Staying warm and full of good food” is clearly a theme here.
More weekend ideas here, including some unique holiday shopping opps.
Weekend spotlight: Upgrade your dates
Tired of the old date routine of dinner, drinks and howling at the moon? Try a pottery class instead. No, really. There’s a whole movie about how romantic that is. Maybe some casual pickleball or vintage music shopping spree?
The AJC’s Wellness team is full of neat date ideas.
NEWS BITES
Doritos and Cheetos dial back the bright orange with more natural ingredients
Are you telling me that bright orange wasn’t natural?!
Will the Falcons win a football game this weekend?
The answer is unclear.
The winners of this year’s Suzi Bass awards, which honor professional Atlanta theater
Named after the beloved Atlanta stage and screen actress, whose credits include “Fried Green Tomatoes” and “Sweet Home Alabama.”
A guide to the Georgia High School football playoffs
One team has to drive almost 400 miles to play another! Good luck to all.
ON THIS DATE
Nov. 14, 1995
Government employees sent home. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers were sent home today as the budget deadlock between President Clinton and the Republican Congress forced much of the government to shut down. … The directive affects about 800,000 workers — 40 percent of the federal workforce. … Each side insists the other must compromise to break the impasse.
As one government shutdown ends, another was beginning 30 years ago. Isn’t life weird?
ONE MORE THING
Before you go, what’s one thing you accomplished this week and one thing you’re grateful for? Take that positivity into the weekend!
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.
