Morning, y’all! Some mornings, nothing beats a bagel. But which bagel beats them all? AJC staffers had a fun day in the office taste-testing offerings from around the city to find ... drumroll ... The Best Bagel in Atlanta.
Let’s get to it.
PRECHECK OR NO PRECHECK
Let’s clear something up: TSA PreCheck lines are still open in Atlanta and elsewhere, and will be until, well, someone says otherwise.
- Late Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security abruptly announced the Transportation Security Administration would close its expedited PreCheck lines within hours.
- On Sunday, the DHS reversed course on the closures.
- The agency went through with other changes, though. The Global Entry program is paused in Atlanta and other airports.
- TSA is also no longer offering courtesy escorts for VIP travelers like members of Congress.
🔎 READ MORE: Updates as we enter week two of a partial government shutdown affecting DHS funding
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A POSSIBLE CAP FOR FULTON JAIL INMATES
Fulton County Jail needs to reduce its inmate population “to ensure safe operations” amid the jail’s staffing crisis, according to a new report.
- The jail, which received federal condemnation for deplorable and inhumane conditions, has to improve things under a legal agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
- A court-appointed monitor for the agreement said the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office’s staffing shortage “contributes to extreme violence and security violations, posing substantial risks to both residents and staff, as well as impacting the broader community.”
- A lack of regular supervision has allowed inmates to ignite fires, assault other inmates and cause other damage, the report said.
🔎 READ MORE: Measures to reverse the shortage haven’t worked so far
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
💰 A political committee controlled by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones must stop spending money on his gubernatorial campaign, a judge ruled. The temporary restraining order is the result of a lawsuit brought by Jones’ billionaire rival for the nomination, Rick Jackson.
🏫 U.S. Customs and Border Protection isn’t getting a warm welcome at some Georgia college career fairs.
A BIG BEER BILL
Georgia’s craft brewers are paying special attention to Senate Bill 456 this legislative session.
SB 456 would “authorize manufacturers of malt beverages to sell the malt beverages they produce, subject to certain limitations and conditions; to increase the daily maximum of malt beverages per individual per day of sales for consumption off the premises; to permit small brewers to sell a limited quantity of malt beverages at wholesale.”
In short, this means:
- Craft breweries could sell a larger volume to customers, for instance, if someone wanted a few cases for an event.
- The breweries would no longer have to work with a distributor to get their beer to, say, local restaurants, up until a certain amount.
Understandably, local breweries are very in favor of this. One brewer explains why.
NEWS BITES
The Winter Games are over, after many brilliant showings of excellence from Team U.S.A
OK, maybe I’m biased.
St. Francis of Assisi’s bones go on public display for the first time
Even if you don’t think they’re holy bones, Really Old Important Bones are always fascinating and thought-provoking.
Social media addiction affects adults, too. Here’s how to cut back
Every day brings us thismuchcloser to getting one of those old flip phones.
Black History Month: How Black gospel changed my white life
Written by yours truly, but Marvin Sapp got it started.
ON THIS DATE
Feb. 23, 1980
Dream moment: U.S. 4, Soviets 3. Maybe it’s like Herb Brooks, the coach who refuses to have stars, told them. Maybe these young American hockey players, some of whom don’t even need to shave regularly, were meant for the moment. The moment was unbelievable. So unbelievable it’s still difficult to comprehend. It was the greatest moment in American hockey history. It was a moment that will live for years.
On Sunday, an overtime goal against Canada gave the U.S. its first Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980 — exactly 46 years to the day after the “Miracle on Ice.” 🏅
ONE MORE THING
Oh, you think the metric system’s so much better? You think it’s weird to base entire measuring systems on body parts and objects? How about you weigh that BIG FAT U.S. HOCKEY WIN?* (x2, because the women took care of business a few days earlier.)
*trash talking is a skill I do not possess.
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.
