A.M. ATL: Diced and flooded

Morning, y’all! Happy Friday. Did you know pumpkins are a kind of fruit, specifically a berry? Botanically speaking, that is. It’s OK to reject this. Taxonomies are more flexible than you think. Enjoy your berry spice latte.

Let’s get to it.

ATLANTA FAMILY’S LANDMARK CASE AGAINST FBI HAS NEW LIFE

In 2017, an FBI agent and an armed SWAT team raided the Atlanta home of Trina Martin and Toi Cliatt searching for a gang member that, it turned out, lived a block away.

The traumatic experience led the pair to sue the FBI in a landmark case that has bounced up and down the court system for years.

Now, a trio of federal judges have given new life to the case, but in a different form.

• Rather than suing the federal government, which the judges said would invoke a “mess” of legal precedent, the judges agreed the FBI agent who led the raid can still be held accountable.
• This has huge implications for allegations of wrongful actions by federal employees, and law enforcement officers in particular.
• It’s notoriously hard to levy legal consequences against federal law enforcement officers due to a web of qualified immunity rules.
• In 2022, a federal judge said the lead agent in this Atlanta incident had immunity because he was acting in the course of his work duties.
• However, the shields of immunity can theoretically be lowered if plaintiffs prove an officer violated a constitutional right.
• This case is already influencing similar cases pending in Georgia against authorities accused of raiding the wrong home.

🔎 READ MORE: A review of the case, the legal underpinnings behind it, and what happens next

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.

THE WAFFLE HOUSE INDEX

Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency yesterday ahead of the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Isaias this weekend.

Parts of Middle and North Georgia, including the metro Atlanta area, are under a flood watch Friday evening through Sunday morning.

Several events around the Atlanta area have been canceled or moved in anticipation of the storm. Here’s a list, but double-check any event before you go, especially if it’s outside.

Consult the hash browns

Maybe you’ve heard of the Waffle House Index before, an unofficial measurement that helps locals, and even federal officials, gauge the severity of a storm.

Waffle House has even turned it into a visual. During severe weather, the company maintains and shares a color-coded map of the chain’s over 1,900 locations.

• Green means the location is serving a full menu.
• Yellow is for a limited menu, which means the location could be short on food or is pulling power from a generator.
• Red means the location is closed — a sure sign of damage or flooding in an area.

The index was actually thought up by a former Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator when he noticed Waffle Houses were often the last places to close when things got dicey.

🔎 READ MORE: What Waffle House does to ensure safe service in a storm

TAKEAWAYS FROM LAST NIGHT’S SENATE DEBATE

Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins took the stage last night, facing each other for the first time in a midterm battle for one of Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats. Here are a few takeaways:

• Collins tried to tie Ossoff to the far left. He repeatedly highlighted left-leaning podcaster Hasan Piker’s support of Ossoff and Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, whom Ossoff has endorsed. “He doesn’t represent us,” Collins said. “He wants to take control of this country with these weird and dangerous ideas with his radical friends.”
• Collins and Ossoff both voted for the Laken Riley Act, but now disagree on it. Named for the Georgia nursing student who was killed by a man living in the country illegally, the law allows federal immigration officials to detain immigrants charged with certain crimes. Ossoff voted for the bill, but Collins said he “didn’t lift a finger” to help pass it. Ossoff responded that the legislation was intended to target “the worst of the worst,” but added, “that’s not what they have done.”
• Collins downplayed controversies and defended his family. It was inevitable that Collins would be asked about his son-in-law, who lives on his property and has posted antisemitic and white nationalist commentary online. Collins did not criticize his son-in-law, but said he has made his views clear. “I’ve condemned racism, antisemitism and hate,” he said. “I don’t care where the source is, and I tell him that too.”

🔎 READ MORE: The candidates clashed over healthcare spending, Trump tariffs and the war in Iran.

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

⚖️ The family of a young girl shot and killed during unrest in Atlanta in 2020 condemned Rick Jackson’s campaign ad that features audio of the mother’s desperate 911 call. An attorney for the family of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner called the ad “despicable.”

🐘 President Donald Trump could make two campaign stops in Georgia before the November midterms in an attempt to energize his MAGA base. For Republican candidates attempting to distance themselves from the President, the visits could cause complications.

🛒 Target says it plans to hire 2,300 seasonal employees for its metro Atlanta stores this holiday shopping season. The positions will pay $15 to $24 an hour.

NEWS BITES

Georgia Tech will sport new Ramblin’ Reck logos on their helmets this weekend

It’s in honor of the 65th anniversary of the 1930 Ford Model A Sport Coupe’s first appearance at Bobby Dodd Stadium.