A.M. ATL: Stormy weather

Morning, y’all! It is I, revivified and back from France. The trip was a dream, except for a dicey moment when a server set down a pitcher labeled “sweet tea” in front of two Atlantans, a woman from Houston and another from New Orleans. You should have seen the dubious looks on our faces. It was potable, bless their French hearts.

Let’s hear a round of applause for Adam and Cassidy, who as always knocked it out of the park while I was doing some Gallic gallivanting. It’s tough working with so many talented people.

Oh, and scroll to the bottom for the best morning photo I’ve ever taken.

Let’s get to it.

HAVE MERCY, ISAIAS

By the time you read this, Tropical Storm Isaias could be the first Atlantic hurricane of the season. If not now, then possibly soon. Here’s the latest on how it will impact Georgia:

• Isaias is hanging around in the Gulf and is expected to make landfall as a hurricane late Friday or early Saturday between southeastern Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle.
• It could possibly bring heavy rain, strong winds and some tornadoes to Georgia Friday evening through Saturday. That could mean flooding and dangerous driving conditions.
• The football of it all: The bad weather has already forced schools to reschedule a few college football games, which, behind concerns for safety and property, is of high regional importance. We’re keeping an eye on the big Georgia-Alabama game in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, which President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend.

🔎 READ MORE: Isaias’ projected impact on the South

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NEW INFO IN VIENNA SHOOTING

New details from last weekend’s mass shooting in the small Georgia town of Vienna are sparking as many new questions as answers.

Thirty-five people were injured and two were killed when a rally of gunfire broke out at a large gathering that reportedly attracted people from around the area.

• As of Wednesday, police have not announced any arrests or motives for the shooting.
• Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy said on Tuesday there were at least a handful of potential scenarios investigators were considering. “We’re getting all different kinds of stories,” he said.
• That includes the possibility there was more than one shooter and that the gunfire wasn’t along the lines of a planned attack.
• “Nothing indicates that one person came in here to hurt that many people,” Peavy told the AJC.
• Police say 10 of the 35 injured were not shot, but sustained other types of injuries in the ensuing chaos.

🔎 READ MORE: AJC Macon bureau chief Joe Kovac Jr. has more details

P.S. — My husband tells me national media coverage of the tragedy featured a lot of mispronunciations of “Vienna.” (It’s Vy-eena.) Sorry Vienna, you deserve better.

MARTA SPENT TOO MUCH

MARTA went over last year’s fiscal budget by nearly 17%. Oops.

• MARTA’s full FY2026 budget was $1.55 billion. Its operating budget took up $652 million of that amount. Overtime spending and other costs stretched operational spending to nearly $762 million.
• After delivering the sobering news at a recent board meeting, General Manager and CEO Jonathan Hunt and other budget officials announced new procedures including monthly check-ins with staff and six-month reviews with the board to avoid future overruns.
• The World Cup delivered MARTA an unprecedented challenge, but officials say tournament expenses weren’t a main factor in the overspending.

🔎 READ MORE: How the agency will pay for the overage

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

🐘 Rick Jackson once said he wanted to be “Trump’s favorite governor.” The billionaire has moved away from that messaging lately, instead aligning himself with Gov. Brian Kemp, a nationally popular leader who nonetheless has occasionally broken with the MAGA mainstream. AJC senior political columnist Patricia Murphy breaks it down.

🔋 Duracell, one of the world’s largest battery manufacturers, has opened a $56 million global research and development headquarters at Science Square, Georgia Tech’s life sciences district along North Avenue in Atlanta.

IT’S ‘FLAGSHIP’ DAY!

A new episode of “Flagship,” the AJC’s weekly news and all-around-interesting-story digest, drops today. Like a well-stocked Halloween candy bucket, it has a little bit of everything.

👹 Netherworld turns 30: Atlanta’s most beloved haunt has a big birthday this year. To celebrate, Rodney Ho got mic’ed up and braved the Netherworld experience. We will never let him live it down.

• READ MORE: Why Netherworld says it’s the ‘antithesis of AI’ (love that)

💰 Talkin’ TADS: We often talk about tax allocation districts, a fundraising tool favored by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. But what does it actually mean? Riley Bunch and I have what is probably the liveliest conversation ever recorded about the topic.

📺 A Different World: “A Different World” was a touchstone of Black TV culture in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Ernie Suggs sits down with three cast members of the brand-new reboot, and makes a case for a second look at the unforgettable original.

• READ MORE: Why the reboot is especially important right now

🎧 Listen to “Flagship” on the AJC site, or anywhere you get your podcasts. Just search “AJC Flagship.”

NEWS BITES

Braves get eliminated, must now evaluate what needs to change this offseason

The ending stings, but there was plenty worth cheering along the way.

Dream remains perfect in postseason run after Game 2 overtime win over Liberty

Just the postseason pick-me-up Atlanta needed.

Decatur Book Festival ends relationship with romance bookstore after accusations of racism at event

Nothing hits like hyperlocal niche interest drama.

FCC could allow more political robocalls before midterms, including AI ones

“Midterm elections are really taxing on the collective American psyche. How can we make it even worse?”