Morning, y’all. TGIF.
⛅️ Your weekend forecast: Temperatures in the mid- to high-80s and a limited chance of rain throughout.
🌀 Cleanup from Hurricane Idalia continues in the Valdosta area and beyond. Here’s what you should know if you’re a South Georgia homeowner or renter affected by the storm.
📅 Quick programming note: We’ll be off on Labor Day. See you Tuesday.
On to the news!
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Leisure time
Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Botanical Garden
Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Botanical Garden
Dragon Con, Black Pride and the big college football kickoff game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium are all Labor Day weekend traditions in Atlanta.
Another tradition: avoiding those crowds if you’re not part of them.
With that spirit in mind, we offer suggestions for how to make the most of your time off — while keeping your distance from the biggest hordes of humanity.
See some live music. Maybe give the Georgia Country Musical Festival (today through Sunday in Marietta) or the El Pum Pum Latin Festival (2 p.m. Sunday at Lakewood Amphitheatre) a shot?
Still crowds involved. But smaller ones!
Get cultured. Over at the High Museum of Art, it’s the debut weekend for their “In the City of Light: Paris, 1850–1920″ exhibit — and the final weekend for their “Ancient Nubia: Art of the 25th Dynasty” exhibit.
A fun art installation of massive wooden trolls at the nearby Atlanta Botanical Gardens is leaving soon, too.
Watch college football at home. Georgia Tech plays in the Aflac Kickoff Game tonight, but you’d be just as comfortable watching the matchup with Louisville on TV (7:30 p.m. on ESPN).
Georgia football starts its quest for a third straight national title with Saturday’s cupcake game against UT-Martin (6 p.m. on SEC Network).
There’s even a big game on Sunday: No. 5 LSU at No. 8 Florida State (7:30 p.m. on ABC).
Here’s the full slate of college action.
Take the kids to see an outdoor movie in the ‘burbs. Sandy Springs airs “The Bad Guys” tonight and Peachtree Corners offers “Coco” on Saturday.
You could always just go to the pool, too. Seriously! This is the last weekend most pools around these parts are open.
No matter what you do, soak it up.
Keep scrolling for more news.
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MORE TOP STORIES
💲 Hyundai and its battery-making partner plan to invest an additional $2 billion in their already massive electric vehicle plant in Bryan County.
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Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to his 13 criminal charges in Fulton County. He also waived his arraignment hearing — meaning he won’t be coming to Atlanta next week.
Gov. Brian Kemp, meanwhile, tamped down talk of punishing Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis for prosecuting Trump and his 18 co-defendants in the 2020 election conspiracy case.
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📊 Georgia’s labor market: still strong, but showing signs of a slowdown.
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METRO ATLANTA
⛽️ Expect higher gas prices and a busy airport if you’re leaving town for the holiday weekend. And travel safely, please.
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Multiple stabbings at the Fulton County jail left one inmate dead and two others injured. That makes five deaths at the jail in recent weeks.
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✅ The Morrow City Council member censured for her support of multilingual ballots is now running for mayor.
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THE NATION AND WORLD
🙏 Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson launched a fund to help residents displaced by Maui’s wildfires — and chipped in $10 million.
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🍃 The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends easing federal restrictions on marijuana.
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SPORTS
⚾️ Ronald Acuña Jr. married his longtime girlfriend Thursday — and then hit a grand slam to become the first player in major league history with 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a single season.
The Braves beat the rival Dodgers, 8-7.
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LIVING AND ARTS
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for the AJC
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for the AJC
The AJC’s Matt Kempner shares the story of Mary Charles Howard, the Georgia woman with an audacious dream to build the country’s longest paved trail — and maybe save some small towns while she’s at it.
“Hers is a grand vision. I hope she succeeds,” one resident said. “But she better be ready to fight some battles.”
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🎤 Comedian Dave Chappelle comes to State Farm Arena this fall. Tickets are on sale now.
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ON THIS DATE
Sept. 1, 1972
A gas explosion at Grady High School kills employee Corine McGhee, who cleaned at Atlanta schools for nearly two decades.
A cracked gas main triggered the explosion, which also injured eight people and destroyed a lab building “used mainly for woodcraft classes.”
“I thought the place had been blown to kingdom come,” a mailman near the scene said.
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Credit: John Spink/AJC
AJC photographer John Spink captured members of the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association picketing outside the domestic terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
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ON THE RECORD
Razor wire has no place in any commercial corridor of Sandy Springs.
- MELODY KELLEY, SANDY SPRINGS COUNCILWOMAN, ON THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING FENCING FOR A NEW POLICE FACILITY IN THE CITY.
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Thanks for reading A.M. ATL. Contact Tyler at tyler.estep@ajc.com with any thoughts, comments or suggestions. And sign up for the free newsletter here if you’re not already on board.
Until next time.
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