Morning, y’all! It’s nice to be back after a little break and just in time to fret about an ice storm in the Southeast. As the National Weather Service in Atlanta calls it, “impactful wintry weather” could freeze out Georgia late this week, bringing dangerous icy conditions. Or it could miss us entirely and make a mess of the Carolinas. We’ll find out soon enough!
Let’s get to it.
SCAMAZON DELIVERY
In 2022, two Atlanta-area women, along with a handful of Amazon employees, allegedly scammed the tech and retail giant out of $9.4 million through a complex fake invoice scheme. Details of the plan have finally become public as one of the women stands trial.
- Brittany Hudson was an Amazon contractor who had the power to approve new Amazon vendors through her package delivery company. Her girlfriend, Kayricka Wortham, was an operations manager at Amazon’s warehouse in Smyrna.
- Together, the couple is accused of creating fake vendors and submitting more than $10 million in bogus invoices, complete with stolen information and identities.
- Altogether, six people were charged in the criminal case. They’re facing penalties ranging from years in prison to million-dollar payments for Amazon’s depleted coffers.
🔎 READ MORE: A deeper look at the conspiracy and who did what
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STRUGGLES FOR MENTAL HEALTH CARE IN GA
The Georgia Department of Insurance hit 22 health insurance companies with $25 million in fines for not covering mental health claims the same way they cover physical ones. That oversight breaks state law and leaves patients with unnecessary costs.
What the law says:
- A 2022 Georgia law requires insurers to have the same copays, deductibles and number of sessions for anxiety, depression or addiction as for illnesses of the rest of the body.
What regulators found:
- Insurance Commissioner John King’s office found about 6,000 violations of the law, amounting to thousands of people who paid for services they needn’t have.
- Unfortunately, the penalty fees won’t go back in people’s pockets. They’ll go to the state treasury instead.
🔎 READ MORE: What activists and GA leaders said about the fines
Meanwhile, the federal government abruptly canceled and then reinstated about $2 billion in U.S. mental health and addiction grant funding last week.
- The cuts included many Georgia organizations, like the National Alliance on Mental Illness Georgia and the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
- Groups got a letter saying their work didn’t align with federal priorities.
- In the end, the whole issue was backtracked after congressional outcry, but not before making things extremely difficult and confusing for people who already work in an extremely difficult and confusing field.
❓Did you know? Georgia ranks 46th among states for access to health insurance and mental health care, according to a 2025 report.
ATLANTA HOMICIDES HIT A HOPEFUL LOW
Listen, we take good news where we can get it. The Atlanta Police Department investigated 98 homicides in 2025, the first time in six years that number has been under 100.
- Atlanta city leaders say the drop is due to technological advances and agencies and community groups working together to lessen crime.
- Homicides rose sharply across the country during the pandemic. In 2022, the city’s homicide numbers reached a 25-year high of 171.
🔎 READ MORE: How investigators have made strides in solving homicides
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
👀 An oversight commission is reviewing Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ $5.5 billion plan to revitalize historically underserved neighborhoods. The plan uses a controversial tax allocation district strategy and must be signed off on by the Atlanta City Council, Fulton County and Atlanta Public Schools.
💰 Netflix really wants Warner Bros. Discovery. The entertainment giant offered to buy WBD’s studio and streaming business for $72 billion — all cash.
✈️ Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport hit a TSA record last year, screening a record 30.1 million passengers through TSA checkpoints. Oh, and a TSA spokesperson said Atlanta’s screening times are among the best in the country. Go us.
🗳️ Activists are still trying to make paper ballots happen in Georgia before the midterm elections. State lawmakers don’t seem to see it as a priority, though.
THE FALCONS GET A NEW DAD
We're thrilled to land a lead-by-example leader in Kevin Stefanski who brings a clear vision for his staff, our team and a closely aligned focus on building this team on fundamentals, toughness and active collaboration with every area of the football operation.
The Falcons hired former Cleveland Browns skipper Kevin Stefanski as the franchise’s 20th head coach. It’s a confident move by Matty Ice in his new role as president of football in Atlanta. Get acquainted with Stefanski here.
Still open: the Falcons general manager position. More on that search here.
MORE TOP STORIES
- Morris Brown College’s president is back in the role a week after his surprise firing
- Georgia has opted in to a controversial new federal school voucher program
- The Eastside Beltline light rail project was secretly halted six months ago
NEWS BITES
Whew, I know who all of those people are. We’re not old yet, folks.
Netflix’s “Love is Blind” may be coming back to Atlanta for seasons 12 and 13
They’re probably trying to remake the magic of Season 1. Two Atlanta couples who got married that season are still going strong!
Wearable health tech is everywhere. Here’s how it works best
It does not work best thrown across the room because it reminded you, for the 452nd time today, to “breathe.”
Braves legend Andruw Jones elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in ninth year of 10-year eligibility
❓Trivia time! Seven other Braves greats from the franchise’s 1991-2005 heyday are already in the Hall of Fame. How many can you name? Answer at the bottom.
ON THIS DATE
Jan. 21, 1980
Soviets: Ban stabs at spirit. The Soviet Union said Monday that President Carter is guilty of “political zig-zagging” and charged that he is holding athletes and the Olympic movement hostage in his call for a boycott of this summer’s Moscow games. Soviet Olympic officials said Carter’s comments about a boycott were “an absolute contradiction of the Olympic spirit.”
The 1980 Olympic Games went on, but more than 60 countries joined the Carter-led boycott in protest of Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan.
ONE MORE THING
Here are the seven ’90s/’00s-era Braves greats Andruw Jones will join in the Hall of Fame. Their year of induction is in parentheses.
Bobby Cox (2014)
Tom Glavine (2014)
Greg Maddux (2014)
John Smoltz (2015)
John Schuerholz (2017)
Chipper Jones (2018)
Fred McGriff (2023)
I know our good friend and The Win Column host Tyler Estep could probably name them all.
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.
