Hi, folks, and happy Friday! Yes, this is a real one: Don’t Put all Your Eggs in One Omelet Day, a play (of course) on the phrase, “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” If I were celebrating, I’d have eaten an omelet for breakfast, leaving at least one egg in the carton. But, alas, I grabbed an Rxbar on the way to work. Such is life!
Let’s get on to the news.
Pat Conroy
- As I mentioned on Wednesday, AJC reporter Patricia Murphy is on a political road trip around the state. Today, her dispatch comes from Savannah. (Alternate link.)
- Georgia has granted a license to Spaceport Camden.
- The University System of Georgia appointed an advisory group last year to look at renaming some buildings that currently honor problematic figures. So far, there’s been little action from the group. (Alternate link.)
- Georgia’s jobless rate has started to tick upwards just as the state is pulling back the federally-funded $300/week assistance bump.
- Brian Kemp has released his first 2022 campaign ad, and if you had “Stacey Abrams” and “liberal mob” on your bingo card, you’re well on your way to a win. (Alternate link.)
- Agnes Scott College has some new trustees and a new board chair.
- The delta variant now makes up 12% of COVID cases in Georgia. Please, if you haven’t already, go get vaccinated! (Alternate link.)
Alice Walker
- Zalia Avant-garde from Louisiana made history by being the first Black American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. (Alternate link.)
- The end date for military operations in Afghanistan has moved up to August 31st.
- In the discovery process of a wrongful death trial against Remington brought by Sandy Hook parents, the gunmaker has filed more than 18,000 files depicting cartoons and emoji unrelated to the case.
- A judge has ruled that the victims of the 2019 synagogue shooting in San Diego can sue Smith & Wesson.
- Yes, the Supreme Court swerved to the right during this term.
- A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Agency states that American can cut 40% of methane emissions from oil and gas production without spending additional money.
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will no longer detain most pregnant and postpartum migrant women. (Alternate link.)
- A study by the Mozilla Foundation has found that most of YouTube’s problematic content is recommended by the platform’s own algorithm.
- The Wall Street Journal has looked into the mismatch between available workers and jobs available. (Alternate link.)
- QAnon has receded from major social media platforms, but it’s still lurking around.
- Pfizer and the Centers for Disease Control disagree on the need for COVID booster shots.
- Research out of China shows that the delta variant of COVID grows more rapidly inside people’s respiratory tracts and to much higher levels.
- Two American citizens and ex-Colombian military members are responsible for the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse.
- A factory fire in Bangladesh has killed 52 people.
- Japan has banned spectators from the Tokyo Olympics.
Flannery O’Connor
- Guam’s new tourist niche: Vaccinations for foreign travelers.