Morning, y’all! I wish I had half the resilience and spunk as the mushrooms that grow unchecked during these wet, muggy times. Pull them up in the afternoon, and they’re back in the morning — with friends. They’re not afraid to take up space; they’ll grow wide as a salad plate in the middle of the lawn. Hustle culture? Weak. Mushroom culture’s where it’s at.
Let’s get to it.
TRUMP TIES GIVETH, TRUMP TIES TAKETH AWAY
Credit: Jordan Strauss/AP
Credit: Jordan Strauss/AP
President Donald Trump says he will pardon former reality television stars and Atlanta multimillionaires Todd and Julie Chrisley. The couple is currently serving prison time on bank fraud and tax evasion charges.
“Your parents are going to be free and clean, and I hope we can do it by tomorrow,” Trump told the couple’s children in a Monday phone call, posted online by the president’s communications manager.
- The real estate investor couple’s reality show, “Chrisley Knows Best,” aired from 2014 to 2023 and documented their lavish Georgia-based lifestyle.
- The Chrisleys were found guilty of federal bank fraud and tax evasion, including hiding millions of dollars in income from their show to avoid paying taxes.
- Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and Julie was sentenced to seven.
Attorneys for the couple say they were unfairly targeted for their fame and conservative politics. Trump says he has never met the couple but heard they were “given pretty harsh treatment.”
READ MORE: The Chrisleys’ legal struggles before a possible Trump pardon
Meanwhile, high-profile lawyers tied to Trump’s false 2020 election fraud claims in Georgia are not finding the same fortune.
- Criminal defense attorney McCall Calhoun spent about a year in prison for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection before being pardoned by Trump in January 2025.
- However, the Georgia Supreme Court suspended his license in light of his criminal charges. In March of this year, the court flagged the case to a specialist to see if Calhoun’s conduct should be investigated further.
🔎 READ MORE: Where former Atlanta attorney Lin Wood and others are now after their ties to Trump election fraud claims
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THAT’S A COOL ROOF
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Reflective roofing standards could help homes and neighborhoods stay cool in the Atlanta heat, and the Atlanta City Council is considering legislation to require them in new builds.
How can a roof keep things chill?
- Darker colors attract sun and heat. Updated roofing standards would call for roofs made with lighter materials, which reflect the sun.
- Council member Liliana Bakhtiari said if 80% of Atlanta’s roofs were made with such materials, it could reduce the maximum summer temperature in the city by 2.5 degrees.
It isn’t just about comfort. Heat vulnerability is a very real thing in urban areas, and the consequences can be deadly.
NEW REVELATION IN BIOLAB FIRE
Credit: Ben Gray/AP
Credit: Ben Gray/AP
A new report reveals BioLab was storing way more dangerous chemicals than previously thought at its Conyers facility when the complex caught fire and blanketed Atlanta in toxic fumes last September.
The company had about 14 million pounds of reactive chemicals in its warehouse at the time, more than twice the amount it had disclosed to Rockdale County officials years before, according to a new report from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.
“The more we learn about this unacceptable incident, the more disturbing it is,” CSB chairperson Steve Owens said in a release.
🔎 READ MORE: How the new information fits into the ongoing investigation
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🐅 U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, former Auburn head football coach, officially announced his 2026 bid for Alabama governor.
📈 Consumer confidence increased in May after five months of anxiety spurred by the Trump administration’s tariff turmoil. April’s national consumer confidence numbers were the lowest recorded since May 2020.
⚖️ NPR sued Trump yesterday, arguing his executive order to cut funding to the network is illegal and violates free speech. Three of NPR’s local stations are also part of the suit.
🗳️ The most pivotal event in Georgia’s Republican race for the U.S. Senate may have already happened. Now the party is in limbo as it waits to see whether Gov. Brian Kemp and Trump can rally behind the same contender.
ALWAYS, ALWAYS CHECK THE BACKSEAT
No one thinks it will happen to them, but that’s why it’s so important to remember: Summer is the most dangerous season for hot car deaths. However, experts have tips on how to protect your precious cargo:
- Keep a stuffed animal in the car seat, and move the animal to the front seat when your child is buckled in.
- Limit the amount of times you need to leave your car while driving with your child.
- Install door alarms or other safety equipment.
- Keep keys out of reach of children and teach them why it’s important not to go in the car without an adult.
🔎 READ MORE: The common factors experts notice in these tragedies
NEWS BITES
Lucuma, the South American fruit that could be the next big food trend
Delish. Try it now so you can tell everyone you “had it before it was cool.”
United is narrowing its check-in window for US flights
A new level of airport anxiety, unlocked!
Braves drop the first game of key series against Phillies
Uh oh, .500 is starting to feel like a distant dream again ...
See video of the eye-scanning ‘orb’ that determines whether you’re human or AI
A robot is going to verify my humanity? Absolutely not. Eat sparks, you unholy beast.
ON THIS DATE
May 28, 1988
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
From the front page of The Atlanta Journal: Zoo Atlanta’s Willie B. appears to unnerve a fellow gorilla, but not the three new ladies.
There are few sights in all of nature more fearsome than a bull gorilla – especially to another bull gorilla. And Willie B., the pride of Zoo Atlanta, is getting his first good look. The huge lowland gorilla spent the last 27 of his 30 years indoors in the company of nothing but humans. Two weeks ago, he ventured outdoors for the first time since infancy, testing the pleasures of the zoo’s new Ford African Rain Forest.
Ah, Atlanta icon Willie B. He passed in 2000 at the ripe old age of 42 or 43 (gorillas aren’t exact with those things). A lovely statue of him now reclines inside Zoo Atlanta.
ONE MORE THING
I don’t like the eye-scanning orb. I hope the mushrooms come for it.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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