A.M. ATL: Going deep

Morning, y’all! Thanks to reader Neill, who introduced me to a new word: taradiddle, which means “pretentious nonsense.” He wasn’t talking about A.M. ATL, thankfully, but if I start another newsletter, I’ll definitely call it “The Daily Taradiddle.”

Let’s get to it.

PRIMARIES: WHO WON, WHO’S HEADED TO A RUNOFF

Republican candidates for governor, Rick Jackson (left) and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones will continue their feud into a June runoff. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

The results are in from yesterday’s primaries, and it looks like we have some runoffs in our future.

• Burt Jones and Rick Jackson: The lieutenant governor and the billionaire will go head-to-head in June after a nine-figure spending spree and a very public feud. At the time of this send, Jackson had 33% of the vote, and Jones had 38%. Reactions from both camps and more here
• Bottoms avoids a runoff: Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms won the Democratic nomination for governor outright with 56% of the vote so far.
• Collins has to keep fighting: U.S. Rep. Mike Collins will face Derek Dooley in a runoff to decide the Republican challenger to U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in November. Collins got the most votes, but not enough to score a majority. More on that race here
• Congressional wins: U.S. Reps. Rick Allen, Andrew Clyde and Clay Fuller won their respective GOP primaries. U.S. Reps. Hank Johnson and Nikema Williams won their Democratic primaries. In Georgia’s 13th District, state Rep. Jasmine Clark won the Democratic primary for a safely blue seat. That race was upended after the death of U.S. Rep. David Scott.
• Other statewide races taking shape: In the race for attorney general, Democratic state Rep. Tanya Miller will face Republican state Sen. Brian Strickland. In the race for secretary of state, state Rep. Tim Fleming and former DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones have advanced to a GOP runoff. On the Democratic side, Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett will face former judge Penny Reynolds.
• Judicial race results: Georgia Supreme Court justices Sarah Hawkins Warren and Charlie Bethel kept their seats, defeating challenges from attorneys Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin in nonpartisan races.

Other resources:

• Our quick-look election results dashboard
• Live updates: Track how the evening played out
• Analysis: Greg Bluestein on the GOP’s ‘Trump test’ results
• “Politically Georgia” podcast: The AJC politics team breaks down primary results and what’s next
• A closer look at where key races stand

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NOT TO DREDGE THINGS UP ...

A cargo ship departing from the port along the Savannah River. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

The Savannah River is Georgia’s shipping gateway to the world, and state leaders want to expand it to accommodate larger ships and heavier cargo.

The Georgia Ports Authority greenlit an $8 million-plus feasibility study into deepening and widening the 33-mile-long shipping channel.

• The study focuses on two factors: the national economic benefit that may come from the investment and what scale — appropriate depth and width of the expanded channel — will be least harmful environmentally.
• The Ports Authority recorded a $200 million profit last fiscal year. Savannah is the third-busiest cargo port in the U.S.
• Dredging is a really fascinating process that, at its most simple, involves scooping up a lot of dirt and moving it around.
• It also takes a really long time to do responsibly. The last deepening was just completed in 2022, and that took more than 25 years from study phase to completion due to environmental concerns.

🔎 READ MORE: Environmental, logistical issues experts are watching

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

⚖️ Two top DeKalb County schools officials sued the district after they were suspended and demoted following a dispute regarding the district’s interim superintendent. They say the district’s actions violated their contracts and Georgia labor law.

🏟️ Get ready for your makeover, Bobby Dodd! Georgia Tech got approval for a $70 million stadium upgrade from the Develop Fulton Board of Directors. The money will help modernize and upgrade Bobby Dodd Stadium on the school’s campus.

WORLD CUP HOTEL RESERVATIONS ARE ON TRACK IN ATLANTA

Many hands have been wrung over whether U.S. cities have overpromised on World Cup enthusiasm and the local economic benefits the tournament will bring. Experts are watching hotel reservation rates as one indicator of interest.

Luckily, a new study suggests Atlanta is doing pretty well.

• About 50% of the Atlanta hoteliers surveyed said their booking pace was in line with or ahead of expectations for June and July.
• That puts Atlanta ahead of nine of the 11 U.S. host cities for lodging outlook.
• About 213,000 hotel rooms are now booked during the month Atlanta will host World Cup matches, according to the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau.

⚽ READ MORE: The worries threatening World Cup cities’ optimism

NEWS BITES

Google announces new AI advances, including a personal AI assistant

Booooo!

Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

Yeah, what they said.

Lettuce introduce you to the live frog found in a grocery store salad bag

That poor thing. This is like an inter-dimensional cosmic journey for a frog.

A look at ‘Spanglish,’ the new cookbook from the AJC’s Sr. Food and Dining Editor Monti Carlo

Not to be dramatic, but I would die for Monti. If you love food, you’ll love her.

ON THIS DATE

May 20, 1935

‘Lawrence of Arabia’ loses last battle. England’s “Lawrence of Arabia,” one of the most romantic yet enigmatic personalities of modern times, died today. Death came to Colonel T.E. Lawrence, 46, shortly after 8 a.m. (2 a.m. eastern standard time).

May 20, 1973

First woman in Congress dies. Jeannette Rankin, a pioneer suffragette and the nation’s first woman in Congress, is dead at 92 after a long political career marked by an unswerving aversion to war and an outspoken advocacy of the rights of women. Miss Rankin was the only member of Congress to vote against American involvement in the nation’s two world wars. … Death came to the former social worker and Republican congresswoman Friday night at her retirement apartment in Carmel, Calif.