A.M. ATL: Price lines

Morning, y’all! I wonder why “pumpkin” became a term of endearment. While pumpkins are very cool, there’s nothing remarkably cute or sweet about them. Then again, “mon petit chou,” or “my little cabbage,” is apparently a term of endearment in French, so maybe produce can be adorable.

Let’s get to it.

FTC WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT DELTA’S AI PRICING MOVES

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has ordered Delta Air Lines, along with Walmart and other companies, to provide detailed information on how they use consumers’ data when they’re setting prices.

But wait, Delta has said repeatedly they don’t use personal data when setting prices. What’s the deal?

What Delta says

• Delta says it will comply with the FTC’s inquiry, but denied using consumer data as part of its pricing structure.
• “There is no fare product Delta has ever used, is testing or plans to use that targets customers with individualized offers based on personal data,” a spokesman said.
• That’s the same statement Delta gave several times over the summer, when public backlash over its AI pricing algorithm began to spread.

Why there’s suspicion

• Delta has been experimenting with AI pricing models for more than a year.
• This summer, a group of Democratic senators sent a letter to Delta questioning whether it was using AI to price gouge based on personal data.
• The senators have cited comments by Delta’s then-president, Glen Hauenstein in 2024 and 2025.

Responding to a question about the model’s possibilities at Delta’s 2024 Investor Day, Hauenstein said, “I think the answer, the Holy Grail, is to get you the right offer in your hand at the right time.”

In 2025, during an investor conference, Hauenstein reportedly said the technology could be used to determine “the amount people are willing to pay for the premium products related to the base fares.”

🔎 READ MORE: Brush up on the issue with our coverage from last year

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WHAT’S ‘PROJECT BULLDOG?’

Companies love a good code name for their projects, and an Austell-based dealer of Caterpillar equipment put a little UGA flair on theirs.

• Yancey Bros. recently acquired a former UPS facility in the city of South Fulton, not far from Six Flags over Georgia.
• It’ll be demolished to make way for a campus for assembly, service and testing of Caterpillar power systems.
• The company’s asking Fulton County for a nearly $3.3 million tax break to assist with the transformation.

🔎 READ MORE: The facility will employ more than 450 people

OBAMA VISITS GEORGIA

Former President Barack Obama stormed back into Georgia’s political fray yesterday with blistering attacks on President Donald Trump, casting next week’s midterm election as a “last, best chance” to curb his power.

• Speaking before a roaring, foot-stomping crowd of thousands at the Arena at Southlake in Morrow, Obama sought to energize Democrats fighting to secure U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s reelection and help former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms flip the Governor’s Mansion after decades of Republican control.
• With just two days of early voting left, Obama urged Georgians to elect “serious” Democratic candidates who could wrest power from a “spineless Congress” doing Trump’s bidding.
• “We need to start showing the American people who are hungry for real solutions what real leadership looks like, what concrete plans look like to lower costs,” the former president said.

It’s all about turnout: Obama rallied voters in heavily Democratic Clayton County as both parties work to drive supporters to the polls.

🔎 READ MORE: The event was part political revival, part rock concert, the AJC’s Greg Bluestein reports.

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

⏱️ The countdown is on: Follow live updates from the campaign trail as Georgia political candidates make their final pitches to voters.

💰 Rick Jackson has poured more than $200 million of his personal fortune into his GOP bid for Georgia governor. The staggering sum was revealed in recent financial disclosures.

🗳️ A new lawsuit filed by a voter claims nearly 2,900 people in Cobb County did not receive their absentee ballots as requested. Voters and party leaders blame the vendor the county hired to handle the task, and are demanding the county rush replacement ballots before Election Day.

DON’T BE MEAN TO THE MARTA CARS :(

One of MARTA’s new trains was vandalized during what appears to be multiple security breaches into MARTA’s gated rail facilities.

• It’s the second time the new trains have been tagged with graffiti while parked in the South Yard awaiting the completion of final safety testing.
• The unwanted paint job showed up in photos posted to social media, and now MARTA police are investigating.
• The incidents raise concerns about security protocols at MARTA facilities.

Illegality aside (though still very important; don’t do crimes), do we really tag brand-new railcars that haven’t even seen service? Ones resting peacefully in a secure, gated area? Isn’t that like tattooing a baby? There’s no rind on that thing.

🔎 READ MORE: What MARTA leaders had to say

NEWS BITES

Today’s WNBA Finals Game 6 at State Farm Arena is sold out

If your coworker mysteriously “disappears” in the early afternoon on account of some “hooping cough,” mind your business. Go Dream!

A popemobile exhibition is unveiled at the Vatican, featuring the vehicle popes have used since 1930

Respectfully, the older ones give “sanctified hamster enrichment toy.”

A guide to the Georgia Renaissance Festival 2026 Fall Fling, After Dark

Corsets, corsets everywhere!

Ken Burns wins a $250,000 prize for bringing American history to life

Aw, so glad he’s finally making a name for himself.

ON THIS DATE

Oct. 29, 1992

WORLDCHAMPS! Fireworks in the night sky, and champagne held high, and Jane kisses Ted again, and there’ll be confetti on Peachtree Street because Atlanta’s Braves are world champions at long and blessed last. Baseball’s dominant team in this decade but losers in two World Series, the Braves finally have won it all.

Man, it feels good, doesn’t it? It never stops feeling good. Even if things get awful again (and really, it’s more of a “when”), you’ll always remember the moment your team won a World Series for the first time.