After breaking a 35-year pollen record, twice, Atlanta continues to experience ‘extremely high’ pollen levels. But why are we getting hit so hard? AJC’s Fraser Jones breaks down why these recent pollen records are worse than ever and how to change course.
🎥: AJC | U.S. DHHS | The Wire Science | Getty Images
Sources: Emory News Center | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health | Nature Communications | Georgia Tech Center for Spatial Planning
America has spoken. The nation's best soccer bar is in Atlanta
Thousands across the U.S. voted Little Five Points’ The Brewhouse Cafe the best soccer bar in the nation, a crowning achievement awarded by the popular Men In Blazers Media Network. One of the criteria bars had to meet: “showing games in authentic atmospheres.”
Soccer has been on the rise in Atlanta. Atlanta United FC games have the highest attendance in the MLS. The city is hosting the Club World Cup this summer and the FIFA World Cup next summer. Atlanta will also welcome a new U.S. Soccer national training center in the near future.
🎥: AJC | YouTube / Men in Blazers | YouTube / Manchester United | YouTube / LiveScoreOfficial | Instagram / @juventus
Jasmine Crowe-Houston believes in feeding more and wasting less, which is why she founded Goodr. With humble beginnings in Atlanta in 2017, Goodr now partners with companies in 15 states to reduce their edible food waste. That food is then transported to local non-profits with the use of technology and logistics.
Goodr has also opened more than two dozen free grocery stores, diverting 4 million pounds of food from landfills and serving 30 million meals to people in need. Crowe-Houston’s story is the first of the AJC’s new Her+Story series, which connects with women who are paving the way in a changing world.
In partnership with Wellstar.
🎥: AJC | Goodr | USDA
When you think of the South and Georgia, you inevitably think about that Georgia southern drawl. But is this vernacular disappearing? AJC's Fraser Jones breaks down what researchers from the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech have learned about the potential fate of the classic southern accent.
🎥: AJC | Reddit
Norfolk Southern has made some changes since their 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Since that $2 billion incident, the Atlanta-based railroad company has implemented digital train inspection portals, which are designed to inspect railcars and locomotives for potential defects. Business reporter Emma Hurt got a behind-the-scenes look at a DTI portal in Jackson, GA, to see how this new technology may prevent the next train disaster.
🎥: AJC | Getty Images | Norfolk Southern | ABC News | NewsNation | WKYC Channel 3 | WTOL11
Black Dads rewriting the book on fatherhood
Meet “The Library Dads,” an Atlanta-based group rewriting the narrative on fatherhood—one book at a time.
A few times a month, these dedicated dads bring their kids to local libraries to bond over reading and play. But it's more than just story time—it's about building a strong community of fathers who support each other through dad-only events and shared experiences.
AJC’s Najja Parker shows how the impact is real: Studies show that kids who are close to their fathers are twice as likely to go to college or secure a steady job.
🎥: AJC | Scholastics | The Fatherhood Project | The Guardian
Marijuana is not legal in Georgia.
But, the 2018 Farm Bill opened the door for businesses in the state to start selling hemp-derived products like gummies and THC-infused beverages. With no federal regulations on how these products are made or marketed, state lawmakers have since introduced legislation restricting what hemp products can be sold. AJC’s Fraser Jones breaks down these recent regulations and speaks with local business owners about how they’ve been impacted.
🎥 : AJC / Fraser Jones
Sources: Georgia Department of Agriculture, The Journal of the American Medical Association, ASC Laboratory
Tornado Alley—a broad section of the central U.S. known for frequent tornados—is shifting eastward, making storms deadlier and harder to predict. Powerful tornadoes are hitting the Southeast and Midwest more often, striking at night when people are least prepared. In the South, dense forests and hilly terrain make it difficult to spot tornadoes from a distance, unlike the wide open landscapes of the Great Plains.
As the threat grows, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the agency responsible for tracking severe weather, is facing mass layoffs, raising concerns about weaker and less frequent forecasts when they’re needed most.
🎥: AJC | Getty Images | Scientific American | Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology | The Christian Science Monitor | CBS News | KHOU 11 | ArcGIS Online | X: @Massimo | YouTube: @EdgarTheStormChaser, @thebroderickhoward, @ConvectiveChronicles
🖋️ : Nature | Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology | NOAA | National Weather Service | Eos | Scientific American | CBS News | CNN | The Christian Science Monitor | The Guardian | Axios | Berkeley Beacon
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration finished a six-week purge of humanitarian programs funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Mana Nutrition, a Georgia-based maker of enriched peanut butter, went through months of uncertainty because of repeated starts and stops related to $12 million in supply contracts.
The future of the company and its products remains unclear because of the DOGE cuts.
🎥 : AJC | AP | Internal Rescue Committee | The Times and The Sunday Times | Getty | Mana Nutrition | BBC
Is laughter the best medicine? These clowns say yes
Medical clowns are trained professional performers who work in tandem with medical staff at hospitals. They aim to prove that laughter is the best medicine, as they continue to become more common at medical facilities across the world. In Georgia, at Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital, clowns employed by Laughter League spread joy each week to young patients. AJC’s Fraser Jones followed these humorous healers for a day to learn why we all need laughter and find a few new ways to spread it.
🎥: AJC | Robyn Hutson, Fraser Jones
Sources: Red Nose International, Scientific Reports, Journal of Clinical Nursing, Laughter League
60 years after Bloody Sunday, thousands gathered in Selma to honor a defining moment in the Civil Rights Movement. AJC’s Senior Reporter Ernie Suggs was on the ground, covering the commemoration of this historic march and the lasting impact of the fight for voting rights.
On March 7, 1965, peaceful demonstrators advocating for Black voting rights were brutally attacked by state troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, including John Lewis, then-chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and Hosea Williams, a top aide to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The violence shocked the nation and helped lead to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Six decades later, civil rights leaders, march survivors, and supporters return to Selma to reflect on its legacy and the work still left to be done.
🎥 : @erniesuggs / AJC | Getty Images | AP
📷 : AJC | Getty Images | AP
The month-long search for Westminster coach Gary Jones ended when his body was recovered from Lake Oconee.
Jones and his fiancée, Spelman College instructor Joycelyn Wilson, were last seen on a fishing boat on February 8. Wilson’s body was found the next day, but difficult conditions prolonged the search for Jones.
Recovery expert Keith Cormican, brought in by the family, located Jones’ body in 45 feet of water using advanced sonar equipment.
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