Atlanta Journal-Constitution Briefing

Georgia to challenge federal vaccine mandate in court this week; Biden taps Atlantan to key ambassador post; Biden taps Atlantan to key ambassador post; Georgia Sens. Ossoff, Warnock work to keep Medicaid expansion in spending package; UPS flags holiday shipping challenges after 3Q profit surg

COVID-19 killed 4 times as many Georgia cops as violence, accidents; Look how high ticket prices have soared for World Series games here; Stone Mountain Park board names finalist for new business partner; Coke offers $2,000 to employees who follow new vaccination requirement

Atlanta’s Black voters largely undecided on who should lead the city; 2 teens fatally shoot each other in car at gas station; Kemp takes a swing at MLB as Braves advance to World Series; Judge rules for Oxendine in decade-long battle with Georgia ethics commission; Charlie Morton will start Game 1 of World Series for Braves

Challenges to voter eligibility rejected ahead of Atlanta election; Georgia graduation flattens after years of routine increases; Storied Atlanta startup Spanx sells majority stake to investment firm; Lawsuit in Georgia may shape who gets to keep working from home

Shooting at Midtown high-rise leaves 2 dead, including suspected gunman; Abrams’ group launches campaign pushing Medicaid expansion; Massive Georgia solar energy project coming to South Georgia

Police to team with private lab in Atlanta Child Murders case, Mayor Bottoms says; Atlanta housing market running out of steam after pandemic price surge; Man surrenders in death of woman who fell from Lamborghini in Buckhead; Atlanta council votes to pay $19 million to settle trash collection lawsuit

Georgia consumers likely to see higher natural gas, electricity bills; TSA works to increase 60% employee vaccination rate ahead of mandate; Atlanta mayor pushes for new arrest diversion center at city jail; Federal EPA eyes self-reporting requirement for Cobb County plant that uses ethylene oxide

Strike averted as TV and film crews, producers reach agreement; 14-year-old dead after shooting at Woodstock house party injures teens; House GOP raising money from lobbyists at George Strait concert during session; ‘America’s Got Talent: Extreme’ delays production after escape artist has major injury at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Georgia pediatricians prepare to begin vaccinations for children under 12; Development proposals for two MARTA stations fall through; Atlanta receives $33 million from Centennial Yards to invest in housing, jobs; Tallest elevator test tower in U.S. the star of company’s $200-million Cobb headquarters

Hartsfield-Jackson No. 1 in firearms uncovered at checkpoints; Georgia ballot inspection case dismissed after no fraud found; Walker cancels fundraiser with supporter who had swastika in her Twitter profile; Port of Savannah looks to feds for help unclogging jam

No counterfeit ballots found by Georgia election investigators; Cisco expected to announce major expansion in Atlanta; Ex-GA insurance commissioner Jim Beck gets 7 years in federal prison; DeKalb will remove ‘genocide cannon’ from Decatur Square

Fulton fires 2 elections workers accused of shredding 300 voter applications; Middle Georgia town mourning officer killed in retaliation shooting; The Race for City Hall: A contentious debate kicks off first week of early voting; Will Georgia voting laws reduce turnout? Maybe not, studies show

Suspect captured after Middle Georgia officer shot; 2 children among dead in DeKalb plane crash; Georgia leaders grieve death of state school board member; Kasim Reed says he’s cleared in feds’ probe of City Hall

Defense seeks to exclude Confederate flag vanity plate at upcoming Arbery trial; Tech investment in Georgia, Southeast, off to fast start in 2021; Georgia solar gets another boost: Company plans 500-plus new jobs; Northlake Mall, at 50, takes shot at new life as office center

State labor department spent $1 million on free meals for employees, audit finds; Massive redevelopment to change Buford Highway in Norcross; Fulton County judge denies parents’ request to overturn school mask rule; Changes to federal student loan program will help thousands of Georgia borrowers

Atlanta’s frontline workers to get an extra $500 per month in ‘premium pay’; Atlanta mayor gets to create offices for social justice, reducing crime; DeKalb schools shuffle teachers amid enrollment drop; Wellstar-United insurance contract ends without a deal, affecting thousands

Georgia ballot inspection gambit: Get rid of Democrats; ‘A horror movie’: Two violent deaths shake Atlanta’s Guatemalan community; Film and TV crews vote to authorize a possible strike; New postage stamp could honor civil rights icon John Lewis

Woman found fatally shot along Clayton County interstate; Georgia again named top business state by trade publication; AJC Decatur Book Festival marks single-day celebration amid pandemic; More than 700 apartments, townhouses pitched near Gas South District

Georgia charts out who can receive coronavirus booster shots; Major I-285 lane closures near Atlanta delayed until June; High-stakes election tests Fulton amid state takeover threat; Paulding deal blocks county airport commercialization for 25 years

Hearings set for Buckhead cityhood bill during special session, lawmakers say; Health experts urge the public to take flu shot to head off ‘twindemic;’ Fulton DA’s office indicts dozens of murder suspects ahead of deadline; A sign of the economic times: Ships lined up at Savannah port

Spa shooting suspect pleads not guilty to Atlanta killings; Two DeKalb cities requiring city employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19; Atlanta-area school districts continue to report decreases in COVID cases; Number of Georgia voters without state ID declines

Kemp announces $1,000 bonuses for law enforcement, firefighters, other first responders; ICE detention center in southwest Georgia passes 1,000 COVID-19 cases; Part of I-285 named in honor of Rev. Charles F. Stanley; Alpharetta man charged with $9M investment fraud

Georgia’s pro-Trump ticket fixates on ‘audits’ of 2020 ballots; DeKalb debuts new ‘voter kiosk’; Falcons’ Matt Ryan tosses his 350th touchdown pass; Cobb Schools superintendent defends mask-optional policy amid COVID.

Lawsuit accuses Georgia Rep. Kelley of ‘cover up’ in bicyclist death; Cobb students accused of ‘antisemitic graffiti’ to face disciplinary charges; New I-285 eastbound ramp to Ashford Dunwoody opens Sunday; Rowen to transform eastern Gwinnett into job, research hub over this century

Biden to name Calvin Smyre as ambassador to Dominican Republic; Federal judge approves extension for DeKalb sewer fixes; Atlanta’s candidates for mayor spar over federal investigations during debate; Film crews threatening to strike nationwide, which could shut down Georgia production

Atlanta-area school districts report a sharp decline in COVID cases; Illegal voting allegation against Herschel Walker’s wife dismissed; I-285 lane closures north of Atlanta postponed again; Georgia high court dismisses challenge of close state House race

Fulton County parents sue school district over mask mandate; Judge seeks info on Georgia investigations of counterfeit ballots; Georgia’s abortion law in federal appeals court Friday; Report shows giant state revenue surplus in Georgia

Music Midtown’s return draws thousands of fans to see star performers; 2 men killed in separate shootings within 1 hour in Gwinnett; Months-old mail piles up in Atlanta Veterans Affairs hospital basement; Metro Atlanta hotels hurt by steep drop in business trips

Georgia GOP Senate leader eyeing Texas’ restrictive abortion law; DeKalb audit raises questions about handling of sensitive information, transparency; Report says state, local government payrolls have lagged recovery in Georgia; ‘Hamilton’ performance canceled after actors’ positive COVID test

Exclusive AJC Poll: Residents like Atlanta Mayor Bottoms, but say she’s off-track on key issues; ICUs still full, ambulances strained across Georgia; Atlanta fintech GreenSky gets offer of $2.24 billion; New Fulton election chair appointed over objections to Fair Fight ties

Feds open civil rights probe into Georgia prison conditions, violence; Metro Atlanta schools record nearly 4,000 COVID cases in shorter week; Amazon to hire thousands of metro Atlanta workers; Metro Atlanta schools record nearly 4,000 COVID cases in shorter week

Georgia death penalty trial restarts after COVID-19 scare; Georgia colleges at the top of the class in U.S. News rankings; ​​Gwinnett school district keeps full accreditation after special review; Path to Republican U.S. House majority boosted by Georgia redistricting

4 people injured by explosion at Dunwoody apartment complex; Swastikas and ‘Hail Hitler’ drawn on bathroom wall at Pope High School in Cobb; Woman dead after argument leads to triple shooting at Atlanta convenience store

Georgia jobless claims number keeps dropping; More Delta employees get vaccinated after insurance surcharge announced; Atlanta Mayor Bottoms says forested land only option for public safety training center; Coronavirus surge driving up OT hours for Cobb County firefighters

Atlanta City Council passes police, fire training center proposal; Lead contamination lands Atlanta neighborhood on EPA’s Superfund priority list; COVID cases in metro Atlanta schools surpass 24,000 in first weeks; Under siege with COVID patients, Grady Memorial among hospitals delaying elective procedures

Trump is set to headline September rally in Georgia; Dragon Con drew 42,000, reaching expectations given COVID circumstances; Another Georgia district attorney indicted, this one for bribery

Former district attorney in Ahmaud Arbery case indicted; DeKalb elementary school to close after 18 students test positive for COVID; Georgia to allow electronic driver’s license, ID cards; Raffensperger accuses DOJ of conspiring with voting groups, nonprofits

Atlanta to express interest in 2028 Super Bowl; Georgia COVID-19 economic relief now won’t go out until 2022; Georgia abortion activists on notice after Supreme Court allows Texas law to take effect; Councilman and mayoral candidate’s fraud case headed to trial

Georgia hospitals in crisis as COVID patient load sets records; Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill facing new restraint chair abuse allegation; Most metro Atlanta school districts report rise in COVID cases; Arbery’s imperfect past can’t be used by defense at trial

Alleged spa shooter driven by racial, gender bias; The Race for City Hall and may the ads be ever in your favor; Georgia National Guard troops are prepared to be called up; Experts warn of dangers from breach of voter system software

Sonny Perdue does Brian Kemp a solid at GOP rally; Man shot by officer after wielding metal pipe in Midtown; National Guard to help Cobb County hospital at center of COVID storm; Tax break could bring 3,000 new jobs to Cobb’s Lockheed plant

As Atlanta’s population changes, so does the race for mayor; City Schools of Decatur aims to require vaccines for students, staff; A Clayton man was the latest from Georgia to be arrested in the Capitol riot probe; Residents file recall petition against Stonecrest mayor

Metro Atlanta home prices flat in July; Charges dropped against man cleared by DNA after 30 years behind bars; Atlanta Pride cancels 2021 festival and parade; Iconic Atlanta restaurant Buckhead Diner permanently closes

Herschel Walker is running for U.S. Senate in Georgia; Kemp deploys National Guard medical staff to hard-hit hospitals; No COVID-19 mandates planned for Georgia’s Sanford Stadium; The Georgia Supreme Court upheld a Long County election where seven people cast illegitimate ballots

The Stone Mountain Memorial Association changing it's logo; Herschel Walker registers to vote in Georgia as he weighs U.S. Senate run; Metro Atlanta schools record over 6,300 COVID cases in third week; SE Atlanta neighborhoods: Don’t build police training facility on old prison farm site

AJ McCarron out for season with ACL injury

Kemp bars local officials from requiring businesses to adopt virus restrictions; Gwinnett science teacher dies after contracting COVID-19, family says; City looks to install more cameras at parks after Piedmont attack

In some COVID-stricken Georgia schools, virtual learning is the new norm; Georgia board launches inquiry of Fulton election problems; Georgia courts try to keep jury trials going despite COVID-19 delta surge

Georgia governor open to accepting Afghanistan refugees after Taliban takeover; Atlanta to remove ‘Lion of the Confederacy’ statue from Oakland Cemetery; Georgia hits 1 million COVID-19 cases since pandemic’s beginning; Georgia hits 1 million COVID-19 cases since pandemic’s beginning

Georgia to boost hospital funding to fight new coronavirus surge; More than 1 million Georgians to see increase in food stamps; Atlanta City Council tables police and fire training center proposal; Almost 500 Clark Atlanta students moved to hotels due to dorm delays