Atlanta's parks department said strong winds and rotten roots combined to uproot and topple the water oak tree in the Oak Hill section of Piedmont Park on Sunday, April 23. No one was injured in Sunday's incident. The city's arborist and forestry crew inspected the tree and said there were no external signs of decay. Before the tree's fall, it had not been identified as dead, dying, diseased, or hazardous, according to a statement. The Piedmont Park Conservancy said the tree was planted before 1910.

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Mathew Palmer, a former Delta Air Lines employee, at his home in Atlanta on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025.  Palmer was fired less than two weeks after writing a post on social media about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. (Natrice Miller/AJC)