Morning, y’all! Hope everyone made it through the weekend snug as a bug in a rug. Like many idioms, that one makes less sense the more you think about it. A bug IN a rug sounds like a sign of a larger housekeeping problem. Can’t be very relaxing for the bug either. Isn’t it nice to let your thoughts ramble in the morning?
Let’s get to it.
STILL FROZEN
The laws of thermodynamics are still holding the Southeast in an icy cycle of wet weather and freezing temperatures.
- Many Atlanta-area school districts and institutions are closed today or have switched to remote learning.
- At one point, more than a million people in the region were without power. That number was below 40,000 early Monday. The AJC has an interactive map of power outages in Georgia. As a Cobb County resident, I’ll spare a thought for Rabun and White counties.
- Air travel boards were a mess of red CANCELED signs this weekend. More than 190 flights have been added to that tally today at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. If your travel is or was disrupted, here’s what airlines owe you for the inconvenience.
But what about the robotaxis?
An interesting niche concern in these icy times: What happens to self-driving cars in bad road conditions? Is it even safe to use one? Fear not. Atlanta’s autonomous vehicle services say they’re watching forecasts and making service adjustments accordingly.
Waymo says its AI-powered vehicles are “all-weather drivers” and have undergone extensive testing in snow and ice conditions. Your confidence in their expertise may vary.
Not signed up yet? What’re you waiting for? Get A.M. ATL in your inbox each weekday morning. And keep scrolling for more news.
GA REACTS TO ANOTHER ICE KILLING IN MN
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot and killed a man in Minneapolis, marking the second time this month a U.S. citizen has died at the agency’s hands in the city.
Multiple videos show officers shooting point-blank at 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, who was wrestled to the ground before he was shot. Lawmakers from both parties are questioning federal narratives that contradict video perspectives of the slaying.
- Georgia U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock said they will oppose a government funding package unless money for ICE is removed or civil liberties protections are added.
- The NRA pushed back on White House officials who used Pretti’s legal gun possession as justification for ICE’s deadly actions.
- Former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also criticized White House narratives, saying Republicans would be praising Pretti if his cause were different. “There is nothing wrong with legally peacefully protesting and videoing,” she said in a statement.
The day before the shooting, hundreds gathered around the ICE field office in downtown Atlanta to protest ICE’s tactics and the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good.
🔎 READ MORE: How the latest ICE killing could affect a government shutdown
GEORGIA’S FIRST LIBERTY INVESTIGATION IN PERIL
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has been aggressively investigating the downfall of First Liberty Building and Loan. A group of state House Republicans want to remove his office’s powers to do so.
- They say legislation that would transfer oversight of securities and commodities away from Raffensperger’s office is about efficiency and continuity.
- Raffensperger warns the move would seriously endanger the investigation.
First Liberty was highly influential in Georgia Republican circles and contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to GOP interests. The lender is accused by federal regulators of cheating investors out of millions through a Ponzi scheme paired with conservative-coded promises of “patriotism.”
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
📦 Amazon wants a $16 million tax break to turn a southwest Atlanta package center into warehouse. The company says the project will create 750 new jobs.
🐘 The three leading Georgia GOP Senate hopefuls are riding President Donald Trump’s roller-coaster proclamations on Greenland. The president says he no longer wants to take control of the sovereign island. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter and Derek Dooley all say they trust Trump and still see Greenland as an important national security issue.
CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT BIRDS FOR A WHILE?
OK, I’m tired of news today. Instead, I direct you to Charles Seabrook’s latest pastoral meditation celebrating three lovely little birds who take center stage during Georgia winters.
The Carolina chickadee, the tufted titmouse and the white-breasted nuthatch are feeder regulars, even in freezing temperatures. As Seabrook writes:
They also display remarkable adaptability, surviving the cold months through a mix of physical traits and behavioral adaptations — including an ability to lower their body temperatures overnight and enter a state of torpor to conserve energy. In addition, the three species may huddle together in a tree cavity or nest box to share warmth and survive extremely cold nights.
This is their message to you: Look to each other. Cuddle. Don’t work too hard.
🐦 TODAY’S MUST-READ: Relax and think about birds
NEWS BITES
It’s Seahawks vs. Patriots for this year’s Super Bowl
Party like it’s 2015!
Sleep-tracking devices have limits, explain experts
Oh great, now we have sleep performance anxiety.
End of the road: These vehicles won’t be back in 2026
Drive gently into that good night, Chevy Malibu.
GA House bill would designate lemon pepper as the official Georgia chicken wing flavor
This is it, the legislation that will fix everything.
ON THIS DATE
Jan. 26, 1892
A football game. Saturday the colors of Mercer university, of Macon, will mingle with the red, orange and black of the State university in Athens. On that day the first game of football, with teams from two Georgia colleges contesting, will be played in the classic city. This coming game has aroused a great deal of interest throughout the state, and many will go to Athens to witness the event and wear the colors of their favorite team. The teams are evenly matched, and the struggle for victory will be a fierce one.
The teams were not, in fact, evenly matched. UGA’s first-ever football game was a 50-0 blowout.
ONE MORE THING
Do you know why birdsong is so relaxing? It’s an aural indicator no predators are about, so our instincts associate it with safety. Also, it’s pretty.
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.
