A.M. ATL: You can’t harness a hurricane

Morning, y’all! Expect plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the mid-70s.

• In Florida, a Category 3 Hurricane Milton made landfall between Tampa and Fort Myers around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
• It left destruction — and millions without power — in its wake before starting to exit into the Atlantic Ocean this morning.
• A storm surge warning remained in affect for Georgia’s coast. Stay tuned to AJC.com for updates.

Today’s newsletter also includes the latest on a Rockdale County official’s death, the Braves filing a lawsuit over Hank Aaron memorabilia and some prime apple-picking spots in North Georgia.

But first we’re gonna circle back to natural disasters — and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

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OUT OF CONTROL

It’s unfortunate that we even need to have this conversation. I’m a little reluctant to wade in. But that said:

• The government does not control the weather.
• No one else does, either.
• And Democrats are not somehow steering hurricanes into Republican-leaning areas to affect the election.

Never one to shy away from a good conspiracy theory (see: “Jewish space lasers,” 2018), U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has spent her post-Helene and pre-Milton time hinting at all of the above.

One such social media post from the northwest Georgia Republican accrued north of 43 million views.

• Greene (sort of) pointed to real projects like cloud seeding, a process that involves introducing chemicals to clouds to produce localized rain showers.
• Its efficacy is debatable — and either way, it’s a far cry from controlling life-threatening storms spanning a few hundred miles. Meteorologists say that’s impossible.

Sam Woolley, a disinformation expert at the University of Pittsburgh, tells the AJC’s Chris Joyner that Greene is tapping a strain of extremist thought dating back decades.

“People who spread disinformation understand that tensions are running high at these moments and people are much more likely to make rash decisions,” Wooley said.

• Put another way, by another scholar: It’s about offering people the idea that they can find someone responsible and punish them for it.

Red meat for the base, basically.

But with a potential side effect of preventing people from getting the help they need.

Folks like former President Donald Trump have also claimed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is merely offering those displaced by Helene a $750 check for their trouble.

• They are doing that, to help cover immediate expenses like food and shelter.
• But residents of the 53 Georgia counties included in Helene’s federal disaster declaration can also request assistance for storm-related damage not covered by insurance.

They can do that by visiting DisasterAssistance.gov or calling 800-621-3362.

Not signed up yet? What’re you waiting for? Get A.M. ATL in your inbox each weekday morning. And keep scrolling for more news

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SORROW AND SPECULATION

A worker at the BioLab facility in Conyers last week.

Kenny Johnson, Rockdale County’s Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor, died Tuesday after he delivered passionate testimony during a legislative hearing on the BioLab chemical fire.

The incident immediately sparked online speculation about potential ties to the ongoing crisis.

• What we know: Per officials, Johnson complained of shortness of breath and collapsed in a building near the Georgia state Capitol. He got CPR until paramedics arrived and took him to the hospital.
• What we don’t know: The exact nature of Johnson’s medical emergency or his cause of death.

Democratic members of Georgia’s congressional delegation, meanwhile, called on the EPA to more forcefully regulate the chemicals at the center of the incident.

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WANNA BUY A HOUSE?

The metro Atlanta market is evening out a bit after recent interest rate cuts. September sales dropped 6% from the same month a year ago, marking a slow but steady rise in buyer bargaining power.

• “There’s opportunity for negotiations over those houses,” John Ryan, chief marketing officer for Georgia MLS, told the AJC. “And that is positive, especially for first-time buyers.”

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SWING STATE BLUES

If the nonstop TV ads from both presidential candidates haven’t driven you crazy yet, I’ve got good news: Both campaigns have spent tens of millions on upcoming ads — including about $7 million in Kamala Harris radio spots.

• Civil rights groups want state to extend voter registration deadline
• Judge: Dems can’t make Kemp investigate State Election Board

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THE PLOT THICKENS

Third base sits in the background as Henry Aaron begins the swing that broke Babe Ruth's career home run record in 1974.

The Braves filed a lawsuit against former employees Bill and Ben Acree, formally accusing them of stealing the bases from Hank Aaron’s historic 715th home run and trying to put them up for auction earlier this year.

The father-son duo both worked for the team for decades, in roles that included clubhouse and equipment management.

• Bulldogs: Receiver Colbie Young, arrested Tuesday on misdemeanor charges of battery and assaulting an unborn child, is now suspended from the team indefinitely.
• Falcons: Quarterback Kirk Cousins earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors — and columnist Michael Cunningham expects him to keep getting better.

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PICKIN’ AND GRINNIN’

It’s apple picking season, y’all. Check out our guide to North Georgia’s overflowing orchards and hit the road while you still can! (Two cents: Mercier Orchards is a classic.)

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MORE TO EXPLORE

» South Korea promotes Georgia tourism amid K-culture boom

» Metro Atlanta AI company raises $30M+ in less than a year

» Clinics grapple with uncertainty in Georgia’s abortion law

» Cops: 4 hospitalized after wrong-way driver causes crash on I-20

» Man shot while intervening in robbery at Atlanta Dollar General

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ON THIS DATE

Oct. 10, 1900

A wild front-page illustration announced the start of the Southern Interstate Fair, an event complete with war reenactments and a guy riding “an electric bicycle on a wire” some 75 feet in the air.

“He works without a net below,” the Atlanta Constitution proclaimed, “and the slightest miscalculation would result in his being hurled to death.”

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

AJC photographer Jason Getz made a portrait of Mike Mathews, the director of Athens-Ben Epps Airport. Officials say UGA football fans are driving increased activity at the tiny airport — and could ultimately help fuel the return of commercial passenger service.