Morning, y’all! Expect high temperatures in the mid-50s today, but we’ll cool down a little bit during the (festivity filled!) weekend.
- A quick programming note: I’m off next week, but the lovely Lindsay Deutsch will be filling in. Enjoy your holidays!
But first we’ve got a whole lotta news to discuss, from deadly state patrol pursuits to striking Amazon workers, food desert solutions and brand new territory in Fulton County’s case against Donald Trump.
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TROUBLE COUPLE
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Bill Rankin and Tamar Hallerman are, for my money, the best legal reporters (and people!) in the country — and they’ve owned every detail of President-elect Donald Trump’s indictment in Fulton County.
That was no different Thursday, when the Georgia Court of Appeals handed down one whopper of an opinion in the case tied to the 2020 election.
Make sure to check out their full story, but here are the basics.
What it says: The 2-1 opinion found that Willis’ one-time romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade (you remember all that, right?) created enough appearance of impropriety to warrant removing the entire Fulton County DA’s office from the case.
- That reverses a previous ruling by Scott McAfee, the Fulton judge overseeing the case. He decided the office could proceed if Wade resigned (which he did).
What it doesn’t say: While Trump’s Atlanta lawyer said the opinion “puts an end to a politically motivated persecution of the next President of the United States,” a separate ruling denied a motion to dismiss the case entirely.
Where it goes from here: Willis signaled her intent to appeal the latest ruling to Georgia’s Supreme Court but has not provided further comment.
- If the high court takes the matter up and agrees with the disqualification, the case could be assigned to another district attorney’s office. That duty would fall to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia.
It’s complicated because: Trump’s legal team will continue pushing the presidential immunity angle, arguing he can’t be prosecuted. Would another prosecutor willingly take that on — not to mention the rest of the complex case?
- Remember: Fourteen other people indicted alongside Trump remain in legal limbo, too.
The other political angle: Willis comfortably secured reelection last month, but the Trump case unraveling in this fashion would mark a major embarrassment.
Developments in Fulton’s other marquee case — the sprawling and still drama-filled “Young Slime Life” ordeal — have reflected poorly on her office, too.
Check out columnist Bill Torpy’s take on Willis’ rough few weeks — and follow @ajccourts and @TamarHallerman for all the latest.
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DEADLY DECISIONS
Credit: GSP video
Credit: GSP video
The second installment of an AJC investigation into the Georgia State Patrol’s life-threatening highway pursuits finds that troopers regularly engage in high-speed PIT maneuvers — controversial tactics that have led to at least 19 deaths and hundreds of injuries in recent years.
- “At a high speed, what you’re basically doing is putting that car out of control,” one expert said. “You’re risking everybody’s lives. You’re risking the person you’re chasing, the police officer or state police officers who’s chasing, and third parties.”
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TRAGEDY HITS HOME
» Authorities identified the teacher killed in this week’s school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, as 42-year-old Erin West: a mother of three and graduate of both Harrison High School and Kennesaw State University.
» The family of a 15-year-old volleyball player who died earlier this month after collapsing at a College Park recreation center plan to file a lawsuit after an ambulance didn’t respond for almost an hour.
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AMAZON ANGST
Credit: Ben Hendren for the AJC
Credit: Ben Hendren for the AJC
About 100 drivers at an Amazon facility in Alpharetta joined striking counterparts in other cities Thursday, demanding better pay and work conditions.
- What does that mean for holiday deliveries? Around here, probably not much.
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FOOD ISSUES
» Hartsfield-Jackson’s swank American Express Centurion Lounge opened earlier this year with great fanfare, especially among the luxury travel crowd. It just failed a health inspection.
» Atlanta officials approved more than $8 million in incentives to lure grocery stores to low-income areas where residents lack fresh food options. Namely downtown and Campbellton Road.
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MEANWHILE, IN WASHINGTON …
Congress has until the end of the day to try again and pass a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. Hurricane relief money hangs in the balance, too.
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HERE WE GO
Credit: David Becker/AP
Credit: David Becker/AP
The Michael Penix Jr. era officially begins Sunday, when the Falcons host the impressively inept New York Giants (1 p.m. on Fox). Fans seem excited about the lefty QB — and AJC columnist Michael Cunningham sees a win in our future.
Penix, he writes, “at least can move well enough to scramble, roll out of the pocket and make handoffs on stretch runs to the outside. No NFL experience is needed for those tasks.”
- College football: Notre Dame and Indiana help launch the College Football Playoff at 8 tonight on ABC. The winner gets Georgia (which will, of course, be without quarterback Carson Beck) in the Sugar Bowl.
- Hawks: Atlanta surrendered 42 points to San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama in a 133-126 overtime loss.
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MORE TO EXPLORE
» Acworth golf club blamed in player’s death by lightning strike
» ‘RHOA’ alum Peter Thomas sentenced to prison in tax evasion case
» Police seeking man who punched woman in face in downtown Atlanta
» Homework for the holidays? Parents would rather not, survey says
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ON THIS DATE
Dec. 20, 1998
The AJC covered quite the historic day: the end of a bombing campaign targeting (ahem) weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.
The inevitable Bill Torpy was there to take the pulse of the people, too: “Many expressed disgust and weariness with the almost surreal spectacles,” he wrote.
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
AJC photographer Miguel Martinez got the aerial view of progress at Centennial Yards, the massive redevelopment of downtown Atlanta’s Gulch area. The megaproject’s 19-story Hotel Phoenix recently “topped out.”
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ONE MORE THING
Attention, fellow puzzlers: Sunday’s print edition of the AJC will include a mammoth crossword. Really, that’s what it’s called! It covers two whole pages! Make sure to check it out — and let me know how you do.
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Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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