Morning, y’all! New scary weather term just dropped: frost quake. A frost quake, or cryoseism, happens when water in the ground quickly freezes during a cold snap. The ice expands, building pressure in the soil, which can cause cracks, shaking and even deep booming sounds. Now imagine how scary it would be hearing all that and not knowing what it was!
Let’s get to it.
MILLION‑DOLLAR CUT LOOMS FOR GEORGIA SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
In the program’s first year, about 7,700 students qualified for the Georgia Promise Scholarship — meaning fewer than half of the vouchers the state set aside were actually claimed. Taking a closer look at the numbers:
- The $6,500 awards were poised to go to students who are zoned to attend low-performing public schools.
- Lawmakers set aside $141 million, or enough for more than 20,000 scholarships.
- Between March 1 and Dec. 12, 2025, 20,217 students applied for the scholarship, according to data provided this month by the Georgia Student Finance Commission.
- Only 7,744 students qualified to receive one, at a cost to the state of about $55 million.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s amended budget for fiscal year 2026 proposes cutting $86 million of the allocated funding. GSFC President Chris Green told lawmakers it would be a “one-time reduction” to reflect the actual number of participants.
Lawmakers in the Georgia House of Representatives proposed budgeting less than $50 million for the scholarships last year. Georgia senators aligned with Kemp on the $141 million funding plan, which ultimately prevailed.
🔎 READ MORE: See how many scholarships were awarded by district
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.
FMR. CLAYTON COUNTY SHERIFF IS AT IT AGAIN
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
You may not know about former Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill. Allow me to introduce him.
- Hill became Clayton County’s sheriff in 2005. He began his tenure by firing 27 deputies who were escorted out under the watch of sheriff’s office snipers on the roof.
- He had his predecessor’s brother arrested after two heated phone calls and was forced to pay more than $600K in a civil judgment.
- Multiple people have accused him and his staff of mistreatment, saying they were strapped to restraint chairs inside the Clayton County Jail for hours on end as punishment.
- He owes $500,000 to one of those people, a landscaper who said Hill arrested him and strapped him to a chair.
- He served 10 months in an Arkansas prison for violating the civil rights of jail detainees.
Now, he’s filed for bankruptcy for a second time while facing multiple lawsuits worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Oh, and he launched a bid for Georgia’s 5th congressional seat last year.
🔎 READ MORE: How else Hill is accused of using his power for personal scores
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
📦 Amazon secured initial approval for a tax break in Fulton County Tuesday as part of a $500 million project to transform an existing warehouse into a high-tech package facility.
🗳️ A federal appellate court tossed a challenge to the state’s authority to take over county election boards. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger praised the 11th Circuit ruling and credited the 2021 state law for making Georgia elections more secure.
🏗️ Kaiser Permanente is paying top dollar to acquire land south of downtown Atlanta for a future development project. The health care provider announced Monday it bought a 7-acre site in Summerhill near Center Parc Stadium — formerly Turner Field and home of the Atlanta Braves.
A NEW CENTER FOR AT-RISK YOUTH
Credit: Courtesy Lloyd Mackayi/Atlanta Police Foundation
Credit: Courtesy Lloyd Mackayi/Atlanta Police Foundation
Atlanta has opened its fourth At-Promise Center, a space dedicated to reducing crime among the city’s youth.
- Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens says the center addresses some of the challenges kids face growing up in high-crime areas. It provides a place for kids to go after school, during the summer and on weekends.
- Programs at the centers focus on three key goals: education, economic opportunity and a stable home life.
- The four centers are managed by the Atlanta Police Foundation. The newest was helped along by a $3.5 million donation from QuikTrip.
- According to the police foundation, the centers have helped cut crime relapses from 85% in 2017 to a current 6%.
🐦🔥 READ MORE: How youth centers help keep youth on a brighter path
NEWS BITES
The Winter Olympics start Feb 6. Here’s a schedule
Time for everyone to get super into curling for a few weeks.
How to cope when the news fuels anxiety
You know, we say “touch grass” as a joke, but there’s truth to it. Please, go touch grass. The Anxieties will be here when you get back.
No. [🤖 sad beeping noises 🤖] Sorry little guy. I mean, “No, thank you.”
‘Doomsday Clock’ moves closer to midnight over nuclear threats, climate change and AI
Oh Doomsday Clock, such a flirt.
ON THIS DATE
Jan. 28, 1986
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
Shuttle explodes: Seven crew members, including teacher, are killed in blast moments after launch. Space shuttle Challenger exploded into a gigantic fireball moments after liftoff today, apparently killing all seven crew members, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. … No American astronaut ever had been killed in flight.
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Challenger disaster. Another pivotal moment in time, immortalized in print.
ONE MORE THING
Boring fact: I have a shortcut on my computer for the “magnifying glass tilted right” emoji, the most-used emoji in A.M. ATL. 🔎
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
