Morning, y’all! That inmate who escaped from Grady Hospital Monday was re-arrested yesterday. He apparently spent part of his time on the lam ordering an Uber and knocking on doors in Covington, where he was found. Glad that’s over.
Let’s get to it.
GEORGIANS ARE LIVING LONGER, BUT ...
L’Chaim! Georgia saw one of the largest increases in life expectancy in the U.S. between 2021 and 2022. Not so l’chaim: We still live shorter lives than others in the country.
- The average life expectancy in Georgia rose 1.6 years to 75.9 years overall, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- That’s still less than the nationwide average of 77.5 years. Georgia ranks 36th out of all states and the District of Columbia.
- Two heartening factors contributed to the rise: Fewer people dying of COVID-19 and a significant drop in overdose deaths.
- Georgia saw a 21% decrease in drug overdose deaths between April 2024 and April of this year. The country as a whole saw a 26% decrease.
🔎 READ MORE: One expert explains how corporate accountability has decreased drug deaths
❓Trivia question: Which state has the highest average life expectancy, and which the lowest? Answer at bottom.
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CORPORATE LANDLORD EXPOSED FOR DECEPTIVE RENTAL FEES
Greystar, a massive national property manager, has agreed to a $24 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for “deceptive advertising practices” that obscured rental fees.
- The company manages more than 800,000 residential rental units in the U.S., including complexes in Midtown, Decatur, Brookhaven, Smyrna, Buckhead, Alpharetta and elsewhere in Georgia.
- According to the lawsuit, Greystar would add hundreds of dollars in hidden charges in monthly bills in the form of service fees and administrative costs.
- Some applicants only learned about the fees when they had already paid a deposit and found the fees deep in the contract’s fine print.
The case shows how thorny the affordable housing issue can be. Just last week, the Department of Justice reached a settlement with tech company RealPage, which was accused of colluding with corporate landlords, including Greystar, to fix rental prices in the multifamily rental industry.
🔎 READ MORE: More recent consequences for rental property giants
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
💸 Delta took a $200 million hit during the government shutdown because of refunded flights and a dip in bookings. Still, CEO Ed Bastian says end-of-year travel is looking solid.
🔍 Georgia’s Democratic U.S. senators launched an inquiry into the Trump administration’s new policy of restricting lawmaker access to immigration detention facilities. Sen. Jon Ossoff said his office had to postpone a welfare-oriented visit because of new DHS restrictions.
⚖️ A lawsuit regarding the Kentucky UPS plane crash that killed 14 alleges the company put profits over safety by flying older planes. It’s one of many inquiries likely to be made into the November tragedy.
SANTA’S GLAM SQUAD
What, you think they wake up like this? Before Santa gets his lap crushed and insides hugged out by hundreds of starry-eyed children, he has to look the part.
Three-13 Salon, Spa & Boutique in Marietta helps about 15 Santas get ready for the season every year.
- Some Santas start the process months in advance. As any bottle blonde knows, getting your hair lightened is a journey, and Santas who haven’t actually gone white get their hair and beards professionally bleached.
- Each Santa has an amazing backstory. One salon Santa says he was “discovered” by a legendary Atlanta Santa. For another, it’s a legacy generations in the making.
- You know the phrase “comfort and joy”? That’s what Santas bring to kids, especially in difficult moments.
- “The last thing you want to see is a hospital bed on Christmas,” he said. “For the families, too, it means everything. They get to see their child smiling, happy, even if just for a moment. And really … what’s a smile worth?”
🎄 This is such a cute story and shows how much passion (and effort!) (and bleach) goes in to playing the man with the bag. It’s Today’s Must-Read.
NEWS BITES
How to find your Spotify Wrapped, YouTube recap and more for 2025
It’s time to reveal the weird hyperfixations you indulged this year.
Get festive with some drive-through light shows in the area
The sparkle of a holiday stroll, the heater of the family car.
How a sperm bank for cheetahs might one day save the fastest land animal
Well, I think we can guess how.
The PlayStation needs a retinol.
ON THIS DATE
Dec. 4, 1992
Census Bureau paints America’s future. The year is 2050, and today’s elementary school students will be hitting retirement age. They’ll call their grandchildren on shirt-pocket satellite telephones, watch 3-D TV and ride in cars that drive themselves. And they’ll still be catering to their own doddering baby boomer parents, who will swell the over-85 age bracket as they test the limits of the human body and America’s Social Security system.
They nailed the “shirt-pocket satellite telephones” and cars that drive themselves. Who would have thought 3D television would be passé now?
ONE MORE THING
Hawaii has the highest average life expectancy in the country at 80 years. West Virginia has the lowest at 72.2.
I find it interesting that “living longer” is a common phrase, but “living shorter” feels grammatically and logically odd. I like to think it’s because length is only one way to measure a life and has nothing to do with how well it was lived.
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.
