A.M. ATL: Pollution probe

Morning, y’all! The World Cup begins today. No big deal. It’s not like every other billboard, web ad and social media post around the city is covered in soccer balls. Atlanta still has a few more days (until June 15) to stress over its first match.

Let’s get to it.

NEW STUDY WILL LOOK AT INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION IN COASTAL GEORGIA

A phlebotomist working with Emory University takes a blood sample from Brunswick resident Etta Brown as part of a study by the college into potential long-term health effects of exposure to chemicals present in Superfund sites around the Brunswick area. (Stephen B. Morton/AJC)

One of Georgia’s most contaminated counties will soon benefit from a $15 million grant to study the effects of the industrial chemicals.

• The city of Brunswick in Glynn County is home to several Superfund sites, contaminated land designated by the federal government for long-term cleanup.
• That’s more than any other Georgia city.
• A team of roughly 50 researchers led by Emory University will use funding granted by the National Institutes of Health to study exposure effects and cleanup options in the area.
• Two types of chemicals are of particular interest: polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a class of now-banned synthetic chemicals; and toxaphene, a pesticide produced for years by a local factory.
• Blood tests have shown high levels of both chemicals in Glynn County residents. With this study, they’ll hopefully get answers and options.

🔎 READ MORE: How community outcry helped bring the study to the area

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DEVELOPER MUST PAY UP OVER NATIVE AMERICAN REMAINS

(Illustration: Philip Robibero / AJC)

A Savannah developer will pay $1.1 million to the federal government to settle a whopper of a claim about how it handled Native American remains and artifacts while planning a gated residential community.

• The government says Savannah Land Holdings removed Native American human remains and funerary objects without notification.
• The 2025 suit alleges 80,000 artifacts were not properly curated, and about 3,000 artifacts were either lost or disposed of.
• In one instance, the government said a burial urn “was cleaned and reconstructed, causing the crematory remains inside to be lost.”
• Savannah Land Holdings denies the allegations but has agreed to pay a civil penalty. It will also put an archaeologist in charge of preservation, repatriate remains and funerary objects and curate all artifacts removed from the site.
• The Muscogee (Creek) Nation signed off on the preservation terms.

🔎 READ MORE: In case you weren’t convinced someone’s getting haunted over this

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

🗳️ GOP Senate runoff preview: U.S. Rep. Mike Collins is cleaving close to President Donald Trump’s MAGA base, while former football coach Derek Dooley is betting on his outsider status to win him independent and crossover voters.

🚆 Norfolk Southern doesn’t have the crew power to keep trains moving, a powerful rail union claims. The union claims the rail giant’s slow train speeds are due to understaffing. Norfolk Southern says it’s due to weather and unexpected demand. The issue plays out on the backdrop of a controversial $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern by Union Pacific.

📈 What, exactly, is an initial public offering? This glossary helps clear things up, and yes, it’s completely normal to be a little unsure.

‘CURIOSITY IS A THROUGH-LINE’

Singer, songwriter and actress Jade Novah sings as her husband and creative partner Devin Johnson plays piano at their home studio in metro Atlanta. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Jade Novah has built a successful career in entertainment without recording contracts or sending headshots for auditions.

• The Atlanta-area entertainer gained a following by uploading performance clips covering artists like Rihanna, Beyoncé and Stevie Wonder online.
• Those viral videos led Novah to write and produce three independent albums with her husband, Devin Mykel Johnson, released through their production company, Let There Be Art.
• Wonder became a fan of Novah and eventually invited her to perform for him.
• Her impersonations of female singers also led to roles on NBC’s variety show “That’s My Jam” and in Netflix’s 2025 political comedy produced by Tyler Perry, “Miss Governor.”

Novah, who turned 40 last month, is disrupting how entertainers thrive in the industry. She said her career results from experimentation, community-building and family.

“Curiosity is a through-line to how I approach everything, and I want people to navigate the world by understanding things instead of accepting them as they are in pushing our culture forward,” Novah told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Christopher A. Daniel.

🎤 READ MORE: Novah’s journey began with her first dorm room YouTube video in 2006.

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