Morning, y’all! If you’re traveling for Memorial Day weekend, here are the times and roads that will likely have the heaviest traffic. Another answer could simply be, “All of them.”
Let’s get to it.
ATLANTA WEIGHS PRIVATIZING AIRPORT SECURITY
The Atlanta City Council passed a resolution this week requesting a study on the possibility of privatizing security at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
- We all remember the chaos earlier this year, when a partial government shutdown led to hourslong waits in security lines that snaked around parts of the airport we didn’t even know existed.
- One council member said airports that are part of the TSA Screening Partnership Program fared better with the backups.
- About 20 airports have private companies handling security screening through the program.
🔎 READ MORE: Should ATL privatize airport security? The pros and cons
- A U.S. House committee met this week to discuss modernizing the TSA and ensuring agents get paid in the event of another shutdown.
- The Trump administration has a different aim. President Donald Trump’s proposed budget includes $477.3 million to have private companies take over airport screening at about 250 smaller airports. That would cut more than 4,500 TSA positions.
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.
PLAYING CHICKEN WITH SAFETY
Georgia’s poultry industry is the biggest jewel in the state’s agricultural crown. It’s also a dangerous line of work that relies on the labor of immigrant workers. Combine those things, and advocates say you court disaster.
- The number of calls from poultry workers reporting safety violations on the job “has gone down drastically” since the government ramped up arrests of immigrants, according to a local labor collective.
- That’s not good — in this case, it likely means workers want to keep a low profile.
- Now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is mulling a change that would allow plants that process young chickens, or broilers, to increase their line speeds by 25%.
- While industry leaders have long pushed for increased production, labor experts say it will lead to even more dangerous conditions. They say lines are already too fast, leading to repetitive stress injuries and accidents.
- Poultry companies report some of the highest numbers of severe work-related injuries across all U.S. employers, according to recent data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
🔎 READ MORE: Why one former OSHA official calls the plan ‘cruel’
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🗳️ If you missed any primary election results, here’s a recap of the big wins and surprising turnouts from Tuesday’s contests.
🌇 Two big-ticket public spaces debuted yesterday in preparation for Atlanta’s World Cup moment. The redevelopment of South Downtown and “The Center,” the revamp of the former CNN Center, will offer tourists more options for dining and mingling during Atlanta’s eight World Cup matches and beyond.
AN ATLANTA PARKS APPRECIATION POST
Woo, some good news! Atlanta ranked 18th nationally in Trust for Public Land’s 2026 ParkScore rankings. Not only does the city have one of the best park systems in the country, the new rankings tell a story of serious improvement.
- When Mayor Andre Dickens first took office in 2022, Atlanta ranked 49th out of the nation’s 100 largest cities. Only 72% of residents lived within a 10-minute walk of a park.
- Now, we’re sitting pretty in the top 20 and parks are readily accessible to 85% of residents.
🎡 READ MORE: Michael Halicki, president and CEO of Park Pride, details how the city can keep the momentum going
❓ QUIZ TIME: How many parks are there in Atlanta, according to TPL? (Hint: The number’s higher than you think. Nope, higher than that. Keep going. Answer at the bottom.)
NEWS BITES
Don’t put plastic bags in the recycling bin. There’s another way to recycle them
Wait, really? Looks like some of us need to apologize to the recycling fairy.
Shirtless fans cheer at MLB stadiums as part of ‘Tarps Off’ trend
Ideal baseball shenanigans: A little weird, but mostly wholesome.
Rome’s longtime ‘sexy priest’ calendar star never set foot in a seminary
He’s gonna need a few extra Hail Marys to work that one off.
California turns to AI to keep whales from being struck by ships
Not sure we need AI for that, but if it helps save the whales I will happily amend my “AI sucks” position. A little.
ON THIS DATE
May 21, 1973
Suspects hear slay charges. In a 50-year-old courtroom here decorated with the tablets of the Ten Commandments and the scales of justice, the four suspected killers of the Alday family were told of the charges against them. More than 60 townspeople watched quietly as the suspects were read, one by one, warrants charging them with the mass murder of six members of this local pioneer farm family.
Earlier this week, we featured a front page that mentioned the Alday family murders. Judging by the number of reader emails, the 1973 South Georgia massacre is still infamous in local minds. If you’re unfamiliar (and in an appropriate mental state to read about a really terrible event), the AJC has an overview.
ONE MORE THING
QUIZ ANSWER: Atlanta has … wait for it … 540 parks! Some of them are quite little or simple, but you know what? Simple little parks can be delightful, too.
If you must quibble with the number, send a handwritten letter in purple ink on ruled notebook paper, triple folded (and in cursive, obviously), to Trust for Public Land. They’re the ones who did the data, not me.
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.
