Thompson (left), with the Fulton County Proclamation, presented by Atlanta City Council member Marvin Arrington Jr. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice
When Kenan Thompson tells you he hasn’t lived in Atlanta since high school, the SNL veteran isn’t downplaying his roots, he’s explaining why Thursday’s homecoming felt so monumental. At Retreat by The Gathering Spot on Howell Mill Road, the longest-tenured cast member in “Saturday Night Live” history received an official proclamation from the City of Atlanta, a reminder to everyone that the city’s “proud son” has been representing all along, even if he’s been doing it from 30 Rock.
The ceremony brought together entertainment executive Shanti Das, Fulton County Commissioner Marvin S. Arrington Jr., City Council Post 3 At-Large member Eshe’ Collins, and other city leaders, including director of the Mayor’s Office of Film & Entertainment Phillana Williams
“It feels monumental, man,” Thompson said when asked what it meant to be honored by the city. “It’s so funny to me that a lot of people don’t know that I’m from here. I haven’t done anything but represent Atlanta. I just haven’t lived here since high school.”
He added that the proclamation served as a reminder that Atlanta has “a proud son out there and a son that they can be proud of as well,” calling the moment “a beautiful occasion.”
Thomposon (above) was born in Columbus, Ohio, but was raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice
Das, who organized the event, said the idea began months ago as Thompson prepared to release his second book, a children’s title called “The Unfunny Bunny.”
“I feel like a lot of people don’t know that he’s actually from here,” Das said. “With him being at the height of his career and a new book coming out, I wanted Atlanta to celebrate him.”
She said she first floated the idea to Thompson about four or five months ago, then coordinated with his team to add Atlanta to his book tour schedule. She also reached out to Ryan Wilson of The Gathering Spot to co-host the event, along with city officials to begin the proclamation process.
Wilson said the decision to participate was immediate.
“Shanti is doing amazing work,” Wilson said. “When Shanti calls, I’m going to do it.” He added that celebrating hometown figures in a way that brings community together aligns with The Gathering Spot’s mission.
Thompson received two proclamations during the ceremony. Arrington Jr. presented one from Fulton County, while Collins delivered a proclamation from the Atlanta City Council officially declaring February 12, 2026, as “Kenan Thompson Day” in the city.
Reading from the proclamation, Collins highlighted Thompson’s Atlanta roots, noting he was raised in College Park in the Cascade community, where his creative talents were nurtured through Atlanta institutions including the Alliance Theater School, the Atlanta Boy Choir, the Freddie Hendricks Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, church productions, and Tri-Cities High School.
“Atlanta is a special place, and one thing we want to continue to foster is our children knowing that they can be who they see in front of them,” Collins said, thanking Thompson for sharing his talents with Atlanta’s children. “So thank you so much for your book.”
The proclamation recognized Thompson as an Emmy Award-winning actor, comedian, producer, author and cultural icon whose career has brought joy, laughter and representation to audiences for more than three decades. It noted his professional debut in 1994’s “D2: The Mighty Ducks” and his role as an original cast member of Nickelodeon’s “All That,” before co-starring in “Kenan & Kel” and joining “Saturday Night Live” in 2003, where he became both the first cast member born after the show’s debut and the longest-tenured cast member in its history.
Beyond the ceremony, Thompson used the visit to promote “Unfunny Bunny,” his second book following a memoir. The children’s story centers on a bunny learning how to be funny and is aimed at young readers and families.
“It’s a children’s book called ‘Unfunny Bunny,’” Thompson said. “It’s for little kids. It’s my second book.” He explained that as a parent of two daughters, ages 7 and 11, he understands both the joy and daily effort required in raising children.
Thompson said he has visited multiple schools during his trip, reading to students across the city.
“I’ve visited like four schools in the last two mornings and read to a bunch of beautiful little Black faces,” he said, noting that what matters most is not celebrity recognition but time spent. “What matters is that somebody came to spend time with them.”
The book, he said, is part of a broader desire to inspire young people to dream beyond what they see in front of them.
“I didn’t think when I was growing up that I would write books or be a movie person,” Thompson said, encouraging families to support the next generation.
During a brief discussion about his longevity on “Saturday Night Live,” Thompson credited his support system. The show’s schedule runs roughly eight to nine months each year, from October to May, he said, making it a significant time commitment.
“My family is very supportive of my career,” he said, adding that their encouragement allows him to pursue his work without feeling disconnected from home.
Even as he has become a household name, Thompson said he still values moving through the world with humility and accessibility, preferring genuine connection over celebrity insulation.
For Das, the turnout reflected something bigger than a single proclamation.
“Atlanta shows up for Atlanta,” she said. “That’s what makes this such a special place.”
Long-term Gwinnett educator and mental health advocate Astrid Ross is preparing to launch her campaign for Georgia State Senate District Seven. The Atlanta Voice talked with the first-time candidate and Atlanta native about the issues impacting families across one of Georgia’s most diverse districts, including educational funding and mental health resources.
As a mother of five who has built a life in Gwinnett, Ross’s focus is on helping District Seven sustain its status as a good place to raise a family.
The Atlanta Voice talked with first-time candidate and Atlanta native Astrid Ross (above) about the issues impacting families across one of Georgia’s most diverse districts, including educational funding and mental health resources. Photo by Tabius McCoy/the Atlanta Voice
The Atlanta Voice: You’re launching your campaign as a first-time candidate for Georgia State Senate District Seven on Saturday. How are you feeling as you begin this campaign?
Astrid Ross: “I’m excited and relieved. It’s time.”
AV: You’re a longtime educator. Can you talk about what inspired you to go into education?
AR: “There are a number of things that pushed me into that, including that I’m a mother of five children. All my children are adults. My oldest is 35, my youngest is 25. Education is very, very important, and it always has been, generation after generation in our family. It has been a way that we have broken the generational curses of poverty by using education as a way of lifting ourselves out of those spaces.”
AV: You name this a people-powered campaign. What does that mean for you and the people of District Seven?
AR: “As a Black girl from Atlanta, I have always looked at politics as a space that we should not exist in, because it has been encrypted and decoded. And a lot of times, we look at that as a space that we are not supposed to venture into. So, I was nominated a couple of years ago to the Emerge Georgia cohort. We had to do an entrance exam and compete against like 100 people for 25 spaces. I was blessed to get in. And this program is so holistic and comprehensive, it really decoded or demystified the whole field of politics.”
“As far as my intentions to run, what I got was a lot of pushback from everybody. I had to look at the past 30 years. I’m a community activist and advocate, suicide loss survivor — my dad was a Vietnam vet who took his own life. He was a pre-med student and just didn’t get the opportunities, healthcare, and economics in every sphere. Over the past 36 years working with food drives. We feed the homeless. We do all these things at a grassroots level. So, when I actually went through this process of seeing how those things look from the top down, it was a no-brainer. Why not do things at a higher level so we can get a greater impact? It’s one thing to feed 100 people per month, and it’s another thing to help change legislation so that resources become available to millions of people. It’s kind of a ‘work smarter, not harder.’
“And as an educator, my children, my students, over the past 20 years, were asking me after this last administration was elected: ‘You’ve taught civics and government. This is not what you taught us. It’s not supposed to work this way.’ I was really dumbfounded, and I really had to credit my students for realizing that, no, we can’t make those kinds of decisions. No, we can’t unhinge the Constitution. Being an educator in our community, I’m the only Black person there. There has been a ton of diversity in our school enrollment for the past 20 years that I’ve been there. And we have children from 13 countries this year. So to have a little Iraqi boy ask me, ‘Why does the government run this way when we weren’t taught that,’ it really was an eye-opener for me. Looking at that next generation, looking at my why, how would I tell my grandkids that I figured out how to decode it, but I wasn’t a part of that process of changing those things that don’t benefit us?”
AV: We talked about your father, and we talked about growing up as a Black girl in Atlanta and navigating this role that historically you wouldn’t be in. How have you been able to navigate the mental health advocacy of it all, especially with the stigmas within the Black community? How do you hope to bring that into your campaign?
AR: “I credit NAMI. Nami is the National Alliance on Mental Illness. It is the largest grassroots organization geared towards advocacy resources, collection of data, and education in the nation. I joined NAMI in 2020, and it gave me my voice. It wasn’t until we sat down and looked at our own mortality during that time that I actually let the word suicide-loss survivor come out of my mouth. And then that same year, our children were all going into behavioral health fields. We saw all of this movement in healthcare and behavioral health, and started a nonprofit in 2020 called the Mental Health Support Network. I’m NAMI Gwinnett’s advocacy chair, so I’m the one who has gone to the Capitol for the past five years, talking to legislators about mental health. I also participated in the passing of HB 1013, which became the Mental Health Parity bill.
“With our nonprofit, we do a lot of advocacy and education as well, a lot of free programs, seminars, and we work with Gwinnett County schools and our community. We haven’t charged for one thing yet. And then the lived experience with growing up as a little poor Black girl in Atlanta, whose dad [took his own life]. I felt robbed of our lives because we had a very high future in our midst. As Black people, what we traditionally don’t have in disenfranchisement is access to health care, and the stigma of mental health in the Black community. So I decided to break the curses. It was a lot, and it was coming from all those different directions. And instead of letting it happen to me, I decided to do something about it, and just use those spaces that I exist in now to kind of level up.”
AV: On the other side of things, what type of perspective does being a long-term educator award you about the issues that are impacting residents in Gwinnett?
AR: “I come with a unique perspective as an educator and as a mother of five children, because before my children went to public school, I was a homeschooling mom. I’ve been in private school now for 23 years. I ran a daycare, so I’ve been from pre-K all the way through 12th grade. So in all those spaces, this is what makes me a child advocate. As a legislator, I have to advocate for all the spaces where children learn. I get very frustrated because I’ve put my children through public school, I’ve supported children through a nonprofit private school, and I’ve been in homeschool groups. Why are we not supporting all the places that children learn? Because right now in Georgia, we’re about 36 when it comes to education nationwide. So instead of picking and choosing where we’re going to put that funding, fund them all. Make sure that we can raise the level of education. Even in the private school sector, when we looked at schools with the best models, we had to look North. We look at Vermont and Massachusetts, which have some of the best school models in both the public and private sectors. So, I’m for making sure that children have what they need in every space that they learn in.”
AV: If you win this seat, what is your ideal hope and future for Gwinnett County residents?
AR: “As a resident and graduate in Fulton County, I’ve been in Gwinnett County since 1999. I’m seeing some trends that we’ve seen decades before in some of the other counties. Gwinnett had this appeal to us as business owners. We moved to Gwinnett to raise our kids and to open a business. My husband opened his first barbershop in 1999 in Gwinnett County. We’re seeing downward trends for families in the economy. The diversity, of course, is so beautiful. That’s another reason why I love Gwinnett County, but that diversity itself is now being used against the residents.
“So, you’re seeing a lot of ICE activity, you’re seeing drops in funding in the public schools, you’re seeing the economy drop. Certain areas of Gwinnett County are now changing, just like areas in Fulton County. East Point used to be thriving. Not anymore. Gwinnett County is going to look like the Greenbrier area in a while if we don’t put those safeguards in place and make sure that the economy is up and moving. If we don’t make sure that we secure that funding for the public schools, then families won’t look at it as the place now to raise their kids. As an Atlanta native, I want to make sure that Gwinnett doesn’t follow the trends that some of the other older counties have.”
AV: As you prepare to launch this campaign, is there anything you want to say directly to the people who want to support you, or the people who are learning more about you?
AR: “No. 1, I’m a mother. I’m a grandmother. I am not a politician. I am a person who has sneakers that will run down because I stay on the streets. I’m the one who can call someone and say, ‘We’ve got ICE and snow coming, I need a couple of people to fill the van. We need to come down and bring food and resources Downtown to some of the homeless before the snow hits. And now, in Gwinnett County, where we first moved here there were no homeless people. And I hate to say that, because of course, there were homeless people, but it wasn’t as visible or as widespread as it is right now. So, that won’t stop me, because for me, this is about public service. My grandmother was a police officer at East Point. Community policing was what she did, which meant that if this family didn’t have diapers or if this family had a dispute, she would go there, and we were literally in the car with her all those times. For me, this public service is really a part of helping and sustaining our communities. Now, politics is a vehicle and an avenue to do that through. So, I don’t want to become a career politician. That’s a conversation for a later date, but it does afford legislators the opportunity now to help grow their spaces in their districts, so I hope to do that as well.
“I’m a human. I want to connect with people in that human space, just to let them know I’ve done the work. We know how to do the work. Now, we want to do it at a higher level.”
I don’t like horror movies, scary TV shows, or true crime podcasts. I still occasionally check behind the shower curtain after being peer-pressured into watching I Know What You Did Last Summer in high school. So, when a friend suggested visiting Serial Killer: The Exhibition, which opened last weekend at Pullman Yards, I was hesitant. However, after speaking with Giancarlo Guerra, director of Italmostre, the company who puts on the exhibit, I was convinced.
See, I like psychology. I’ve always been fascinated by why people do things—that’s part of what drove me to become a journalist. According to Guerra, Serial Killer is not intended to be scary or macabre. It’s the result of more than 10 years of research and the collaboration of 60 international collectors, historians, criminologists and forensic specialists and is designed to be factual, rather than speculative.
A mummified body on display
Courtesy of Serial Killer: the Exhibition
After touring in Berlin, London, and Paris, it made its American debut in Atlanta with more than 2,100 original artifacts from serial killers from all over the world. It covers notorious killers like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Jack the Ripper, alongside older and less well-known cases—women included. Photographs, testimonies, and victim biographies are among the captivating information presented.
“It’s not about exploiting,” Guerra say. “Curiosity is a normal part of humankind. This is something outside our ordinary life. People want to see something different.”
The exhibit runs through April 30 and costs $45 to $49 per person. It is not recommended for those ages 13 and under.
Exhibit mannequins are so realistic it’s hard to tell they’re fake.
Photo by Carly Cooper
Here’s what you need to know before you go:
The exhibit is huge. It’s 27,000 square feet. “It’s the biggest in the world,” Guerra says. Two- to two-and-a-half hours are recommended, but I’d allow more if you really want to experience it all. After 75 minutes, my friend and I had only gotten through 15 of the 40 rooms. Had we known how many there were, we would’ve chosen to truly read a couple items in each room rather than all of them. I’d also suggest wearing comfortable shoes, as you’ll be standing the entire time.
It’s creepy. The exhibition is dark and quiet, with mannequins so realistic that we once had to ask a staff member if the man in the next room was alive. (We were too chicken to check for ourselves.) Most rooms feature posters with photos and stories about individual serial killers. There are items like John Wayne Gacy’s typewriter and Danny Rolling’s artwork. Then there are the objects I got squeamish about—like the dead rat Richard Chase sent to the FBI and a replica of the skin Ed Gein wove to look like his mother. Certain nightmare-inducing scenes—such as faux bloodied bodies and freezers—seemed downright unnecessary.
You can’t really prepare for what you’ll learn. I had no idea serial killers went back so far in history and have had so many different motives (profit, belief-driven, sexual, cannibalistic, etc.). According to the information in the exhibit, there are approximately 30 active serial killers in the U.S. at any given time. Now that’s reassuring! I was also especially disturbed by the killers who harvested blood and organs from their prey and cooked them. One even baked them into cookies distributed to neighbors!
Bring headphones. The exhibit is self-guided; QR codes on the walls connect to an audio tour when scanned with a cell phone. We didn’t know this in advance, and it may have helped us better pace ourselves, as well as reduced the cognitive load with so much reading.
Overall, it was certainly capture my attention and gave me great fodder for Monday morning “What’d you do this weekend?” small talk at the office.
We boarded the train at dawn. The stainless-steel cars glowed beneath the streetlamps of downtown Mobile, Alabama, ready for the engine’s pull. Inside our coach car, we hoisted our bags into the overhead storage and settled into two navy-blue leather seats. I peered out our window, where a line of passengers still waited to show the conductor their tickets. A young couple in shorts and sandals. A group of women wearing matching pink family-reunion T-shirts. A father and his elementary-age son, who wore glasses and a flat-billed hat and held his dad’s hand.
My husband and I were bound for New Orleans, the train’s fifth and final stop. Amtrak only resumed the Gulf Coast route in August, some 20 years after Hurricane Katrina laid waste to wide swaths of the track. On I-10, the drive between the two cities would have taken us two hours. Instead, we’d opted for a four-hour train journey with four Mississippi stops along the way. Our decision was born of curiosity, mostly. As lifelong residents of the southeastern United States, where cars are plentiful but train travel is a novelty, taking an Amtrak trip sounded like a check-the-box experience in itself.
At exactly 6:30 a.m., the train platform outside my window began to glide out of view. “Choo choo!” called a little girl behind me. Two middle-aged women clinked plastic cups filled with white wine they’d purchased from the cafe cart. I smiled. The rail line’s name, Mardi Gras Service, felt right.
We chugged west, the train’s horn calling, scenes of morning life captured like grainy snapshots in my window. Shirts fluttered from a clothesline. A field burrowed beneath a blanket of mist. A dog with perked ears barreled toward the train, barking angrily behind a chain-link fence.
Illustration by Rui Ricardo
At one point we slowed, waiting for a freight train to pass on a parallel track. Yards away, an old man sitting on his porch shaded his eyes to look at us. I wondered if he lived in that house decades ago when passenger trains used to be a familiar sight in these parts. We began moving again, and he raised his thin arm and waved.
• • •
The train line hugging the Gulf Coast can be traced to the Gulf Wind, which began running between Jacksonville and New Orleans in 1949. When Amtrak assumed operation of most American intercity passenger lines in 1971, it discontinued the route. It wasn’t until 1993 that Amtrak established rail service between Los Angeles and Miami, and in so doing, restored the former Gulf Wind line as part of the cross-country journey known as Sunset Limited. Though the full trip to Miami didn’t last, the Gulf Coast portion did, with the Sunset Limited terminating its line in Orlando.
But in 2005, Hurricane Katrina spared no mercy on the Gulf or its infrastructure. It blasted through more than 100 miles of track, tossing trees and even barges onto the rails that remained. Although repairs were made and some freight service resumed within months, Amtrak made no moves to restore its passenger line. Sunset Limited, it announced, would henceforth travel no farther east than New Orleans.
At the time, there wasn’t much pushback. Homes had been flattened; entire communities were scattered. Arguing in favor of passenger trains filled with tourists seemed ridiculous. But by 2010, with the Gulf Coast slowly rebuilding and a new normal seemingly within reach, a growing chorus of voices began to call for the train’s return.
Illustration by Rui Ricardo
They were met with resistance. Freight railroad companies owned the tracks, and they weren’t willing to let Amtrak use them again. This began a lengthy showdown that Railway Age dubbed the “Second Battle of Mobile” (the first, of course, took place during the Civil War). In a 2021 legal filing, the freight companies argued that allowing the passenger line to return would “devastate” their operations. In response, Jim Mathews, president and CEO of the Rail Passengers Association, called such claims “prima facie absurd.” “It’s clear this is just another stalling tactic by the railroads,” he said in a statement.
But a year later, the two sides reached a settlement agreement, and in 2023, the passenger line was awarded a $178 million federal grant. The train was destined to ride again. “We had three states, six cities, and the federal government involved,” says David Clark, president and CEO of Visit Mobile and a member of the Southern Rail Commission. “The fact we were able to bring the train back is kind of miraculous.”
• • •
My husband and I paid $66 each for our round-trip coach seats on the Mardi Gras Service. Our plan was to stay in New Orleans overnight, then return to Mobile the next day on the late-afternoon train (two trains depart daily in each direction). Riding the train was much more comfortable than I’d expected. For starters, there were no middle seats: All rows were two-by-two. And the seats themselves were roomier than I’d imagined, reclining 45 degrees and offering footrests. There were folding trays, power outlets, and reading lights. The Wi-Fi was free. I could have easily done some work, had I been so inclined (I was not).
Our first stop was Pascagoula, Mississippi, with a charming 1904 train depot that’s undergoing renovations to include a brewery. Though the town is best known for shipbuilding (it’s a key supplier to the Navy), it’s also home to a newly revitalized downtown a block from the depot. A handful of people in our car disembarked in the few minutes we spent idling, but the majority stayed put.
Stop two was Biloxi, Mississippi, where eight casinos towered in the distance. Gaming draws a fair number of Mardi Gras Service passengers, says Judy Young, CEO of Coastal Mississippi Tourism. Sure enough, a group stood up to leave.
With the train stopped for a few minutes, I decided it was time for breakfast. A single cafe cart in the rear served coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and blueberry muffins. For lunch or dinner, options included New Orleans–themed items like muffulettas, Zapp’s Voodoo chips, and pralines. I paid for a muffin and a spicy Bloody Mary; it seemed to fit the setting.
Gulfport, Mississippi, was our next stop, with a white-sand beach that beckoned from a block away. March through October, the town offers ferry service to nearby Ship Island, a National Seashore with a fort built soon after the War of 1812. Gulfport is also home to the Mississippi Aquarium, which means school children from nearby communities can now take Amtrak for field trips.
Our last Mississippi stop was Bay St. Louis, an artsy beach town dotted with coffee shops and galleries. Walt Leger, president and CEO of the New Orleans & Company tourism organization, says it’s a popular weekend getaway for New Orleans residents looking to escape the city. When our train pulled into town, half a dozen resident volunteers waved to greet us, and golf-cart taxis idled in the parking lot, ready to shuttle passengers to downtown restaurants and vacation rentals.
Illustration by Rui Ricardo
My husband and I remained with the thinned-out crowd inside the train. Soon, we were passing coastal wetlands where gray herons waded in the marshes. Across from us, I heard the little boy in glasses and a hat let out a gasp. “Dolphin!” he cried, looking out his window. I couldn’t help myself. I got out of my seat and crouched in the aisle, trying to get a better view. Sure enough, a school of dolphins was arcing along the water in the same direction we were traveling, as if racing us.
Half an hour later, we pulled into New Orleans. Water melted into asphalt and horizon morphed into building after building. The train slowed to a halt at the station, a mile from the Superdome. We’d arrived in one of our favorite cities, and now the fun was supposed to start. Maybe it was the reclining seats, all those water views, or the pre-noon cocktail, but I could have simply kept riding the train all day.
• • •
According to data released by the Southern Rail Commission, Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service logged 20,000 bookings in just its first two months, with passengers departing from Mobile and New Orleans in almost equal numbers. Amtrak initially estimated it would have 71,000 riders in its first year; they have now more than doubled that estimate to 150,000 riders. Post-trip surveys showed that for a majority of riders, this was their first Amtrak trip. “Amtrak is more than pleased,” David Clark of Visit Mobile says.
Indeed, the company announced in September that due to increased demand, it would add an additional railcar to the train on days the New Orleans Saints played at home. “When you find ways to connect communities together, good things happen,” says Walt Leger of New Orleans & Co.
Still, questions remain. Federal funding is only guaranteed for three years, after which state and local governments will decide if the rewards of keeping the train outweigh the increased costs. Mobile’s newly elected mayor, Spiro Cheriogotis, has publicly stated he’s unsure whether the city should continue to support the train when federal funding ends.
Clark, for his part, doesn’t mince words: “It takes ridership and interest,” he says. “If people want to see it be successful, they can’t talk about it; they have to ride it.”
And if they continue to do so with the same enthusiasm they’ve shown these past few months, perhaps even more cities will connect to the line. Leger says he dreams of it stretching west from New Orleans to Baton Rouge and on to Houston, then expanding east of Mobile to Jacksonville, eventually routing north to Atlanta. “I think in some ways, the current train is a model for how to come together,” he says. “We really are better together.”
I had a similar thought as the sunset sky faded from orange to purple to black on my return ride to Mobile. I recognized a few faces on the train from the previous day. Some had gone to the Saints game, and they were commiserating over the team’s loss.
“Where are you headed now?” I heard one rider ask another.
“Pascagoula.”
“My aunt’s from there. Maybe that’s where I’ll take the train next time.”
I smiled from my seat. There would be a next time for us, too. Maybe we’d bring our kids and show them the Gulf Coast in a way I-10 never could. We’d explain that there was a time before they were born that this area was scattered in every direction. But it built its way back from the storm, track by track, fight by fight. And today, it is reconnected once more by a single, unifying line.
• • •
Laissez les bons temps rouler! Fat Tuesday is February 17, and three stops on the Mardi Gras Service Line—New Orleans, Mobile, and Biloxi—celebrate in a big way. Grab your krewe and hop on the train for some serious revelry.
New Orleans, Louisiana Home of the country’s largest and most famous Mardi Gras festivities, the Big Easy celebrates with more than 40 parades that include giant floats, elaborate costumes, and the traditional tossing of beads. (Be sure to look out for the Mardi Gras Indians parading in intricately beaded traditional regalia.) Don’t miss tasting the sugary King Cake (a ring-shaped cake with a plastic baby hidden inside) from Gambino’s Bakery.
The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery in the French Quarter offers up to 20 percent off rooms for those arriving by train; its celebrated restaurant, Compere Lapin, combines Caribbean, Creole, and French fare. In town ’til the weekend? Indulge in the jazz brunch at Arnaud’s Jazz Bistro and wander upstairs to view the venerated restaurant’s very own Mardi Gras museum, complete with more than a dozen preserved ball gowns worn by former owner Germaine Wells, who reigned as queen over 22 Mardi Gras balls in the mid-20th century.
A suite at the Admiral Hotel
Courtesy Admiral Hotel
Mobile, Alabama Mobile was the first city in the country to celebrate Carnival, commemorating the occasion with processions and religious services in 1703. It still makes a big deal of the occasion, hosting dozens of parades, but the ones here are smaller and more family-friendly than those in New Orleans. Plenty of beads are tossed from the floats, but so are MoonPies, Conecuh sausages, and toys.
Not only is the Admiral Hotel walking distance from the train station, but it’s also situated directly on the main downtown parade route. Its VIP Mardi Gras tickets include access to a private balcony viewing area with a premium bar and dedicated server. While you’re in town, check out the newly renovated Mobile Carnival Museum, which delves into the city’s eight mystic societies and how they impact local celebrations.
Beau Rivage Resort & Casino
Courtesy Beau Rivage Resort & Casino
Biloxi, Mississippi The Gulf Coast Carnival Association hosts the city’s signature Mardi Gras Parade on Fat Tuesday, complete with 17 floats, 50 torch (“flambeaux”) carriers, and a 12-piece band. Earlier in the week, the Krewe of Neptune Night Parade rolls through with more than a dozen marching bands sounding into the evening.
Centrally located Beau Rivage Resort & Casino offers proximity to the action, plus more than 10 restaurants and a massive gaming floor. From the Biloxi train station, walk across the street to the transit station and ride the “Casino Hopper” bus to the hotel.
This article appears in the Winter 2026 issue of Southbound.
Let’s Transform a Bleak Outlook for Millions of Georgians
On Feb. 12 Georgia will celebrate the 293rd anniversary of its founding by Gen. James Oglethorpe in 1733. Georgians should be proud that the 13th British American colony has become a political and economic powerhouse. Thanks to a highly productive workforce, accommodating tax laws and strong public infrastructure, various news outlets have ranked Georgia as the best state for business in America.
Did you know, though, that Georgia’s founders envisioned our state as an experiment in both economic development and social welfare reform?Spurring economic growth to uplift the poor and downtrodden drove the innovative strategy that gave birth to the Georgia colony.
Gen. Oglethorpe and the early colony’s trustees would certainly celebrate our progress; however, they would be disappointed, if not appalled, by CNBC’s scathing review of the Peach State in its America’s Top States for Business study. The authors of the 2025 report concluded that Georgia is “a leading state for business but it ranks low in quality of life.”
The Georgia colony was planned as an “Asilum of the Unfortunate,” where England’s “worthy poor” could earn a living exporting products from small farms. Oglethorpe and trustees sought to resolve socioeconomic problems troubling 18th-century British society. Farmland boundaries and Industrial Age technological advances had left tens of thousands of Britons unemployed and destitute.
In those days, creditors could legally have delinquent debtors incarcerated until their debts were satisfied. Serving in the British Parliament, the charismatic Oglethorpe chaired a special committee that investigated three debtor prisons. The committee uncovered widespread corruption among prison officials and inhumane living conditions for impoverished prisoners.
Four years before Oglethorpe established the Savannah settlement, he passed legislation that freed 10,000 debtor prisoners and made him a national hero. But these freed debtors had nowhere to go and joined thousands of homeless beggars who slept on the sidewalks of London and other cities.
Oglethorpe built support for a charity colony for former debtors, with opportunities for employment, financial stability and moral improvement. Slavery was banned because the founders believed it would prevent widespread economic growth. Georgia was the only British American colony to prohibit the enslavement of Black people prior to the American Revolutionary War.
The Georgia trustees planned to populate their new colony situated between the British colony of South Carolina and Spanish-controlled Florida by transporting 100 former debtor prisoners. Soon though, they encouraged as many poor and persecuted colonists as possible to immigrate.
Fast forward to now. For 12 consecutive years, Georgia has earned the distinction of “top state for business” from Area Development magazine. The state is known as one of the most business-friendly in the country.
However, Georgia’s origin story — our historical DNA — expected economic growth to enhance the financial well-being of families on the margins of society. This support is a unique aspect of our heritage that’s woefully missing today. Daily life for millions of Georgians – the unemployed and underemployed, women and children, the elderly and the uninsured — is growing increasingly bleak. Compared to other states, Georgia’s quality of life rankings are downright dismal:
Georgia ranks 30th out of all fifty states in terms of cost of living.
WalletHub ranks Georgia 41st, among the worst states to raise a family.
Georgia ranks 39th in overall child well-being. We fell two spots after improving the seven previous years, which researchers called “a troubling reversal” (2025 Kids Count Data Book).
Georgia’s maternal mortality rate is among the nation’s highest: 37.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, with 87 percent of deaths deemed preventable.
Most tragically, Georgia’s infant mortality rate hovers above the national average at 7.1 per 1,000 live births, with stark disparities based on race and religion.
More than 11% of Georgians are uninsured and our state ranks 40th in access to primary care and 48th in mental health services (CNBC).
Researcher Charles Hayslett observes that rural Georgia has suffered a “breathtaking drop” in per capita income over the last 20 years.
Georgia’s business success cannot offset the perennial underperformance in these critical quality-of-life metrics. As we approach the 300th anniversary of Georgia’s founding, our North Star should be the visionary motto that guided Gen. Oglethorpe and his fellow trustees: Non sibi sed aliis (Latin for “Not for self, but for others”). Our political, corporate and nonprofit leaders must transform the original vision for Georgia into a 21st-century call to action: All of our people – not just our businesses – deserve to thrive.
Mike Thurmond, the author of James Oglethorpe, Father of Georgia: A Founder’s Journey from Slave Trader to Abolitionist, is a candidate for Governor of Georgia
The views expressed in this opinion are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of The Atlanta Voice.
The Battery is getting a new casual fine dining restaurant just in time for baseball season. J. Alexander’s is opening its third metro Atlanta location.
The restaurant is part of SPB Hospitality’s portfolio. The Houston-based operator and franchiser currently has J. Alexander’s locations in Dunwoody and Peachtree Corners, respectively.
Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
The Cobb County location will be at 455 Legends Place, Suite 872, within steps of the Wahlbergers and Jenn’s Ice Cream, and next door to the Piedmont Orthopedics/Ortho Atlanta clinic. The location, being within The Battery, will provide Atlanta Braves and Major League Baseball fans with another dining option on game days and nights. The Battery has over 20 restaurants.
According to a company release, 90-100 front- and back-of-house positions are available at the new location. The hiring site is located within The Battery at 800 Battery Avenue, SE, Suite 120, and is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Overall employment in the food and beverage industry is projected to grow by 5% in the next nine years, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median hourly wage for food and beverage workers is $14.92 (May 2024).
“We’re excited to build a talented team that will deliver the exceptional experience our guests have come to expect from J. Alexander’s, said SPB Hospitality CEO G.J. Hart in a release.
A community college bus carrying the school’s baseball team crashed and overturned in a ditch in rural Iowa on Wednesday, authorities said, killing one person and injuring all the other 32 occupants.
The 11 a.m. crash involved the Iowa Lakes Community College bus and no other vehicles, the Iowa State Patrol said in a statement. It occurred on a highway near Twin Lakes, about 110 miles northwest of Des Moines.
The name of the deceased victim was not immediately released. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Paul Gardner confirmed to CBS News that the other 32 occupants aboard the bus were hurt.
Three people were airlifted to trauma hospitals in Des Moines, said Bruce Musgrave, director of Calhoun County Emergency Medical Services, and others were taken by ambulance to four hospitals in the area.
KTIV-TV reported that the college’s baseball team was on board.
Investigators with the FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department said they were able to recover footage from a Google Nest camera outside the Arizona home of Nancy Guthrie — the missing mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie — by extracting “residual data located in backend systems,” raising new questions about how it was possible to retain the video.
Retired special agent Jason Pack told CBS News that locating the missing footage of a masked individual outside Guthrie’s door was “like finding a needle in a haystack,” providing a breakthrough authorities needed more than a week after she was reported missing.
But many are questioning how footage was recovered from a doorbell camera that officials said was disconnected with no active subscription to store video. With a free Google Nest plan, the video should have been deleted within 3 to 6 hours — long after Guthrie was reported missing.
How doorbell cameras store data
Although Nest users with a free plan cannot access cannot access recordings past a certain time frame, cybersecurity experts say doorbell cameras, like Guthrie’s, have built-in backup mechanisms that enable them to store data across multiple layers, which makes short-term recovery possible.
“Internal storage uses a very lazy deletion mechanism, so the data wouldn’t be available to users who didn’t pay,” cybersecurity expert Alex Stamos explained to CBS News. “The video for non-subscribers would be marked for deletion, but depending on the exact implementation details, the actual files might not be deleted for days and the actual data wouldn’t be overwritten until the storage was needed.”
Patrick Jackson, a former NSA data researcher and the chief technology officer for privacy and security company Disconnect, added, “There’s kind of this old saying that data is never deleted, it’s just renamed. And I think this is a perfect, you know, showing of this where once this data’s uploaded, they may mark it for deletion, but it may never get deleted.”
Jackson said most doorbell cameras also have a tamper mode, a security feature that alerts a user when a device is being disconnected or damaged. He believes this may serve as a signal for companies to hold onto data for a longer period of time.
“From Google’s server perspective, it knows if that device goes offline,” Jackson said. “And so if the last event was tamper detected, and it’s a motion event, it could tag it in a way where Google may not delete that and may know that this could have some value to some law enforcement.”
Jackson said there’s nothing in the terms of service that would prevent Google from activating this feature and retaining video for a longer period of time. He suspects most users aren’t aware of this potential feature.
Implications for future investigations
“This is Google tipping their hand for potentially a capability that maybe they’ve never disclosed,” Jackson said. “And maybe this rose to the occasion where they felt, OK, you know, we do have this ability, we’re going to use it for this occasion.”
According to Google’s cloud storage protection backup recovery overview, “Cloud Storage offers a variety of options to help you protect your data from accidental or malicious deletion and recover your data in the event of a disaster. These options can be useful for legal or regulatory compliance, as well as for protecting data that is critical to your business.”
FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News that authorities executed lawful searches and turned to private sector companies to “expedite results and then go into their systems and actually excavate material that people would think would normally be deleted and no one would look for.”
In a transparency report, Nest explained how the company responds to court orders or requests from law enforcement.
“When we get a request for user information, we review it carefully and only provide information within the scope and authority of the request. Privacy and security are incredibly important to us. Before complying with a request, we make sure it follows the law and Nest’s policies. We notify users about legal demands when appropriate, unless prohibited by law or court order. And if we think a request is overly broad, we’ll seek to narrow it,” the company stated online.
Jackson said the recovery of critical footage from Guthrie’s free account could open Google up to a flood of future law enforcement inquiries.
“We’re not the only ones as consumers looking at this kind of alarm,” Jackson said. “Law enforcement folks are looking at this as like, oh, this could be a new capability that we could add to our pipeline for when we’re trying to source video footage.”
CBS News has reached out to Google for comment on the Nest footage. A Google spokesperson previously told CBS News, “We are assisting law enforcement with their investigation,” and adding that “this is an ongoing investigation, and we cannot share further details at this time.”
Michelin darling Grassfed Culture Hospitality—the group behind One Starred and Green Starred Los Félix and Green Starred and Bib Gourmand-awarded Krüs Kitchen in Miami—is bringing its seasonal touch to Atlanta with the launch of Füm. A contemporary Italian restaurant focused on transparency, locality, and natural wines, Füm will open in Stella at Star Metals on the Westside February 14.
“Italy is such an inspiration. I grew up with an Italian stepfather, and our summers in Italy were always very impactful,” says cofounder and executive chef Sebastián Vargas. “We’re working within a 300-mile radius to find our produce, meat, and all our sourcing. We’re working with the seasons. We’re working in a sustainable manner, with the Italian philosophy and roots.”
The restaurant is set up to provide the utmost visibility. In addition to an open kitchen, there is a pasta-making room, dry-aging room, wine area, and cocktail bar—all which can be easily observed by diners. It’s organized in a way that’s intended to be reminiscent of Italian piazzas, where locals wander through, purchasing items at the butcher, the bakery, the cafe, and more as they prepare for their evening meal.
Once seated, dinner can begin with house-made sourdough focaccia based on a custom flour mixture created with a Georgia farmer. There will be crudo, tartar, oysters, cheeses, charcuterie, salads, and antipasti. Handmade pasta, from agnolotti to pappardelle, come in half portions to allow diners to taste more items, and plated meat and seafood entrees will be available too.
“The beauty of it all is that like you can look at the menu, then look up and see where all those things are coming from,” Vargas exclaims.
As for beverages, Esther Merino, a respected Spanish mixologist, is leading the way, developing eight house cocktails, plus aperitivo and after-dinner drinks. A negroni cart will come table to table, offerings Alpine spins on the cocktail, using ingredients like grappa and sherry.
Violeta cocktail (vodka, limoncello, blueberry, lime, and ginger)
Photo by Juliana Diaz Muñoz
There will be a few beers, but biodynamic Italian wines created by female producers take precedence with 120 to 150 bottles on the list. About 15 of those will be available by the glass, including red, white, orange, rose, bubbly, and skin contact options.
“We’ve never aimed for Michelin. We’ve just done things the way we think they should be done, and the accolades have come naturally,” Hackler says. “If it comes to us here, we’ll be super grateful, but there’s no formula we follow because we want a Star.”
At 150 seats, Füm (pronounced “foom”) is adorned with warm reds, soft greens, and neutrals, with elements of wood, metal, stone, and plaster. Millwork and hardwood floors are carefully crafted, with an open hearth taking center stage. The dining room features intentionally low ceilings to create a feeling of coziness and intimacy, explains Grassfed cofounder Josh Hackler.
Grilled wild head-on prawns
Photo by Juliana Diaz Muñoz
A patio will open in the spring, and validated valet parking will be offered to offset some of the stress of intown driving. A breakfast-and-lunch cafe serving coffee drinks, pastries, paninis, and cold sandwiches will reside just outside the restaurant, providing a grab-and-go option for building residents and workers.
The Grassfed team is also working on a cocktail bar called Rabbit Ears on the 17th floor of the building. Slated to open in the spring, it promises whimsical drinks with names like Garden Intruder, the Burrow, and Carrot Chaser, alongside small plates such as yellow dynamite popcorn and carrot tartare. Shareable seafood options like sea urchin with brown butter milk bread, tuna crudo, and lobster rolls will round out the menu. A high-fidelity sound system will play carefully curated records.
Buckhead Life Restaurant Group has shaped Atlanta’s dining identity for decades. When founder I. Pano Karatassos launched the company in 1979, he set a new standard for hospitality in the city. The opening of Chops Lobster Bar in 1989 cemented that legacy, establishing a steakhouse that many Atlantans still consider a benchmark of fine dining. In the years since, the group expanded its reach to South Florida, opening a Chops in Boca Raton and spinoff called Lobster Bar Sea Grille in Ft. Lauderdale. But despite its enduring influence in Atlanta, the city hasn’t seen a Buckhead Life opening in years. That changes with Chops Lobster Bar’s upcoming debut at Centennial Yards Downtown. Slated to open in spring 2027, the 13,0000-square-foot restaurant will feel similar to the Buckhead location with some new menu items.
“Chops is all about luxury: luxury steaks, luxury ingredients, and luxury wines,” says Buckhead Life Restaurant Group co-president and culinary director Pano I. Karatassos Jr., son of the founder. “We will continue to bring our signature, top-quality steaks and seafood. We have a lot of confidence in our brand. People love what we do.”
Pepper steak
Courtesy of Bites and Bevs
Fresh seafood will continue to be flown in daily, and popular menu items such as filet mignon, crab-stuffed lobster, and Hong Kong-style Chilean sea bass will serve as staples. Other, new items, or South Florida favorites—like lobster risotto—may make it onto the menu. Look for signature cocktails and a “grand selection” of wines. With both lunch and dinner service planned, Karatassos Jr. says he anticipates a mix of business diners, convention guests, game‑day crowds, and families.
Though unaffiliated, the restaurant will reside in the bottom of a hotel, and validated valet parking will be available. Construction begins in August. Expect Chops’s signature coffered ceiling, iconic mahogany columns, and backlit bar with brass shelving. Other elements may be inspired by modernizations, such as the lipstick-red booths added in Buckhead about two years ago.
Seafood tower
Courtesy of Bites and Bevs
Chops helped elevate Atlanta’s dining scene once before. Its return downtown suggests it’s ready to help define the next era, too.
“The more we learned about Centennial Yards, the more we could see this would be a great fit for Chops. We’re happy to be a part of it,” Karatassos Jr. says.
The Atlanta Jazz Festival unveiled the lineup for its 49th annual event Tuesday night, announcing a Memorial Day weekend program that pairs Atlanta-based artists with Grammy-winning musicians and internationally recognized performers.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced the lineup. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice
The free festival will return to Piedmont Park, maintaining its status as the largest free jazz festival in the country. Organizers said this year’s lineup reflects both the traditions of jazz and the genre’s continued evolution through hip-hop, R&B, soul, and spoken word.
Adriane V. Jefferson, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, said the 2026 festival was curated with intention, emphasizing Atlanta’s role in shaping artists at every stage of their careers.
“This year represents a true full-circle moment,” Jefferson said. “For nearly five decades, it has brought people together across generations, across neighborhoods and backgrounds, rooted in community, driven by excellence and grounded in a deep respect for artistry.”
Saturday’s lineup includes Buddy Red, Aja Monet, Grammy-winning drummer Nate Smith, bassist Christian McBride with his Ursa Major project, and saxophonist Kamasi Washington.
Sunday’s performances will feature Cleveland P. Jones, the Myron McKinley Trio, Donnie Johnson of The Colored Section, Esperanza Spalding, and The Roots.
Monday’s closing day will showcase Cody Matlock, Nicole Zuraitis, Destin Conrad, Butcher Brown ( who appeared at the festival in 2024), and PJ Morton, who will close out the weekend.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said the festival remains one of the city’s most important cultural institutions, nearly five decades after it was established under former Mayor Maynard Jackson.
Executive Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs, Adriane V. Jefferson. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice
“For almost 50 years, this festival has celebrated Atlanta’s cultural diversity and ensured that world-class music remains accessible to everyone,” Dickens said, noting that the event continues to serve as the city’s unofficial kickoff to summer.
In addition to the three-day festival, organizers announced a special concert honoring the centennial of Miles Davis. The Miles Electric Band will perform on May 22 at Atlanta Symphony Hall as a lead-in to the festival weekend.
Sponsors for this year include Design Essentials and Bank of America.
For singer Donnie Johnson, who performs as Donnie, returning to the festival stage reflects the long-term impact of Atlanta’s investment in the arts. He said early opportunities through local festivals and cultural institutions helped lay the foundation for his career.
“If I didn’t come here, I don’t think I would be where I am because of the opportunities,” Johnson said. “I love the South, I love Atlanta, and I’m thankful for the people who believed in me.”
When Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to the Fox Theatre February 11 to 15, the company will close each show with Revelations, as it has done every year since it started performing here in 1976. The ballet, choreographed by Ailey and inspired by his “blood memories” of growing up in the Baptist church in Texas, has become synonymous with the modern dance company’s vivid and emotional work.
Revelations is divided into three sections; pictured above is company member Constance Stamatiou dancing in part two, “Wade in the Water Processional.” Stamatiou explains the making and meaning of Alvin Ailey’s most revered production.
Blood Memories “Revelations has been performed countless times all over the world. It’s been a part of the Olympics opening ceremony; it’s been performed at the White House. I remember seeing a CBS special about Revelations when I was a little girl. This section reflects Ailey’s memories of hearing ‘Wade in the Water’ sung while people were being baptized in a creek in the woods. He wanted the piece to resemble what he saw.”
Mother of the Church “We call this part the ‘Umbrella Lady’— I think of her as the mother of the church. Her job is to hold the umbrella to provide shade for the couple who is getting baptized. Everyone is in white for this part; the colors were Ailey’s vision, and then the decor and costumes were originally designed by Ves Harper for the first production of Revelations, in 1960. Your arms are definitely in shape from holding that umbrella!”
Troubling the Water “The pale-blue background represents the sky, and then you have the two pieces of cloth representing the water. Offstage, dancers are holding the edges of the cloth and shaking the water to make it move. Over the course of the piece, the waters start to rise, and you’ll start to see bigger waves. It’s really quite beautiful.”
Fluid Casting “Revelations is close to a full group piece, but the casting is constantly changing. We have a book—it’s like our Bible—that has the casting assignments for each performance of the multiweek tour. I used to perform a lot as the Wade Girl who is getting baptized, but I moved up to Umbrella Lady after having my kids. I still dance other parts in Revelations, too, and Wade Girl maybe once a year to satisfy my need!”
Honoring a Legacy “The original dancer in this role was Judith Jamison [the legendary dancer who also served as the company’s second artistic director after Alvin Ailey died]. When I dance in it, I’m definitely trying to channel Ms. Jamison, and Renee Robinson, who is also famous for this role. I’m embodying all the mothers in the church that I would see growing up—my grandma, my aunts. And I’m thinking of the shoulders I stand on, trying to honor Mr. Ailey’s choreography, trying to give gratitude to be a part of this company.”
The Spirit of ’96 kit was revealed on Tuesday night at the Delta Flight Museum. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
Among the hanging airplanes and memorabilia of flights long past, the new Atlanta United Spirit of ‘96 kit was unveiled on Tuesday night at the Delta Flight Museum.
Live music filled Hangar 1 as season ticket holders wearing jerseys, jackets, and hats emblazoned with the iconic Five Stripes and the golden A filed in and made themselves comfortable an hour or so before the big reveal.
The 2026 regular season was still three weeks away, but as live music filled the hangar, the excitement for a fresh start after last season’s rollercoaster ride could be felt in the air.
Atlanta United season ticket holders got a chance e to get an early look at the Spirit of ’96 kit. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
The new Atlanta United kit was revealed around 7 pm and was roundly applauded by the fans in attendance. The Spirit of ‘96 kit is paying homage to the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, which took place in Atlanta and across Georgia 30 years ago. The primary color is white, with accents of green and gold throughout. The gold continues through the kit on the crest.
Former Atlanta United and United States National Team goalkeeper Brad Guzan modeled the new kit alongside Morehouse College legend and Olympic gold medal 400-meter hurdler Edwin Moses, and Olympic gold medal gymnast Shannon Miller.
Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
“Everyone is going to be coming here to experience Atlanta,” Guzan said. Once his name was announced, the familiar chants of “GUZZZZZZ” were chanted from the crowd. Guzan said the city and Atlanta United will be on display this summer when the FIFA World Cup stops downtown for eight matches, including one semifinal match.
“You talk about being able to host the 1996 Olympics, this will be a chance to show the world how great Atlanta is,” Guzan said.
Following the reveal, a pop-up shop selling the new kit opened in the back of Hangar 2. A five-minute mini-documentary appropriately titled “Spirit of ‘96” played on a loop throughout the night.
(CNN) — The US Food and Drug Administration has refused to accept an application from Moderna to review its first mRNA seasonal flu vaccine, the company said Tuesday, in another setback for the technology that’s been a target of some Trump administration health officials.
The agency told Moderna that its application didn’t contain an “adequate and well-controlled” trial because the control arm didn’t reflect the “best-available standard of care in the United States at the time of the study,” according to a letter dated February 3 that Moderna posted online. It didn’t identify any safety or efficacy concerns, the company said.
Moderna said that the refusal was inconsistent with previous feedback from the agency and that it had requested a meeting with FDA officials to understand how to proceed.
“The complete stunner here is at no point in any of this did anybody say that it was not adequate” to run its clinical trial the way it had discussed with the agency, Moderna’s president, Dr. Stephen Hoge, told CNN on Tuesday.
The US Department of Health and Human Services said “the FDA generally does not comment on regulatory communications to individual sponsors.” It’s rare for the FDA to issue a “refuse-to-file” letter; a 2021 study of almost 2,500 applications submitted to the agency found that only 4% received such letters.
Modernaused a standard-dose seasonal flu vaccine called Fluarix as a comparator in a 40,700-person clinical trial to demonstrate the experimental mRNA vaccine’s safety and efficacy. The company said the FDA had agreed with that plan in April 2024 but suggested it also include data comparing its vaccine with an approved high-dose flu vaccine for people over 65, which the company said it did.
Moderna added that as recently as August, in a meeting before it submitted its application for approval of the vaccine, the FDA suggested that it would review the filing and assess issues with the comparator during that process. The agency did note that there could be a “significant issue” with the data “during review” of the application, according to written feedback that Moderna shared.
But last week, the agency refused to do the review at all, according to the letter. It was signed by Dr. Vinay Prasad, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which oversees vaccine regulation.
Prasad was an outspoken critic of the government’s response to Covid-19 before he was appointed to the FDA under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He claimed late last year without providing details that Covid-19 vaccines resulted in deaths of 10 children and has said the agency will change its vaccine approval process.
Moderna is one of three manufacturers in the US of approved Covid-19 vaccines, along with Pfizer and Novavax. Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines use mRNA technology. Pfizer also has mRNA-based flu vaccines in development.
Although the record-speed development of mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccines during the pandemic was a chief accomplishment of Trump’s first term, his second administration has withdrawn support for mRNA technology in infectious diseases. HHS canceled 22 projects worth about $500 million focused on mRNA vaccine development in August, claiming against evidence that “these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.”
Covid-19 vaccines are estimated to have saved millions of lives. The hope behind applying mRNA technology to seasonal flu vaccines is that it could improve how well they work, enable tailoring for geographic regions where different strains are circulating and lead to combinations with Covid-19 vaccines so people would need only one shot for protection against both viruses.
With currently approved technology, experts select flu strains for each fall’s seasonal vaccines during the preceding February. Hoge pointed out that mRNA vaccines can be manufactured much faster; for Covid-19 vaccines, he said, the design is decided in May or June, for shipping by August.
Choosing the strains closer to the start of flu season could potentially lead to a better match with circulating viruses, “and better matching equals, usually, better protection,” Hoge said.
Moderna’s phase 3 study showed in results reported in June that the mRNA-based flu shot produced efficacy that was about 27% higher than Fluarix in adults 50 and older. A separate trial that assessed safety and immune response included the comparison with a high-dose flu vaccine for people 65 and older and showed superiority, Moderna said.
Immune response is assessed in the laboratory by analyzing blood samples of people who’ve been vaccinated, while efficacy assessments typically involve seeing how well a vaccine protects against cases of the disease.
Moderna had been awaiting the start of the review of its flu shot before it moved its experimental combination flu and Covid-19 mRNA vaccine intothe FDA review process, Hoge said. That’s now on hold as the company awaits a meeting and further guidance from the agency.
Meanwhile, the combination vaccine is moving forward in other countries.
“We do expect that our first approval will be … probably in Europe, and this year,” Hoge said. “So that’ll be a milestone event.”
30 years ago this year, Atlantans marveled as the spectacle of the Summer Olympic Games took over the city. It put Atlanta on the world’s stage and helped pave the way for the city to host this summer’s epic sporting event, the 2026 World Cup. Atlanta United is honoring the impact of those Olympic games with its new secondary kit, which will replace 2024’s Resurgens Kit.
Atlanta United’s new Spirit of ‘96 kit
Photograph courtesy of Atlanta United
Dubbed the “Spirit of ‘96″ kit, the new jersey is dominated by gold and forest green accents, calling back to the emblem of the games. The gold-on-gold Atlanta United crest shines like a winning medal atop a green patterned vertical stripe that is meant to invoke the medal sashes. Roman numerals on the collar spell out the years 1996 and 2026.
Details on the Spirit of ‘96 kit
Photograph courtesy of Atlanta United
Details on the Spirit of ‘96 kit
Photograph courtesy of Atlanta United
Sarah Kate “Skate” Noftsinger, Atlanta United’s senior vice president and chief business officer, says that when the club began planning the kit two years ago, they realized there was no better time to pay homage to the 1996 Olympics, especially with the 30th anniversary coinciding with the World Cup.
“People were almost shocked that Atlanta got the ‘96 Olympics,” she says, “and it ended up [as] a turning point for the city of Atlanta. It goes back to that theme of whether people realize it or not, big moments are born here in Atlanta, and people are always counting us out and wondering, Why Atlanta? And then we put on these major events or have these big moments happen here . . . and it’s like, Oh, it’s Atlanta.”
Olympic swimmer and Lawrenceville native Amanda Weir
Photograph courtesy of Atlanta United
Defender Matthew Edwards models the new kit
Photograph courtesy of Atlanta United
Noftsinger acknowledged that the last few years for Atlanta United have been tough. Despite winning the MLS Cup in just its second season in 2018, the club finished second-to-last in the Eastern Conference last fall. “This kit provides a moment for everyone to look back and feel that nostalgia [of the 1996 Olympics] and know that no matter how hard things can get, greatness is still there, and we can still strive for those big moments,” she says. “At the end of the day, it’s in our DNA to be excellent and to be on the world stage, and no matter how hard things are, we can never forget that.”
The team officially unveiled the kit at an event for season ticket holders at the Delta Flight Museum on Tuesday evening that featured appearances from Olympians including gymnast Shannon Miller, hurdler Edwin Moses, swimmer Allison Schmitt, and Paralympic track and field athlete Jarryd Wallace. It also re-introduced recently retired Atlanta United keeper (and Olympian) Brad Guzan in his new role as club ambassador and sporting advisor.
Defender Juan Berrocal models the new kit
Photograph courtesy of Atlanta United
The jerseys go on sale February 11 at 11 a.m. and will also be available at the Atlanta United Team Store. On February 26, an Olympics-themed fashion collection will also launch to support the kit. The regular season officially kicks off on February 21 with an away game against Cincinnati.
“We can’t wait for this summer when the world returns to Atlanta for the World Cup,” Noftsinger says. “Seeing this jersey hopefully brings a bit of nostalgia and makes people look into the history of the city, and it will remind people that the city of Atlanta does shine brightest on the biggest stages, and we always rise to the occasion.”
It’s not as well-known as Tennessee’s other ‘villes, Nashville and Knoxville, but the state’s fifth-largest city is worth visiting for its reliably pink sunsets and a compact, walkable downtown district chock-full of independent shops, bars, and a central urban park. While wandering among the historical red-brick buildings, stop to admire the town’s diverse public art installations—particularly the sculptures that complement the many blocks of colorful murals.
INLAND ALOHA When Arapaap opened in late 2021, it brought the concept of okazuya, a Japanese-style deli popular in Hawaii, to town. Build your own bento box, choosing from Spam musubi, fried rice, tempura, and daily specials, and do not skip the ube puff pastry.
THE GREEN LIFE The small storefront of Pups Plants + Goods is deceptive; walk inside and the space is packed with a large selection of houseplants, vintage furniture, boho-style clothing, and gifts. The business emphasizes sustainability, with many secondhand products offered, and free potting services are available at the soil bar.
UNDER ONE ROOF Funky art, antiques, clever T-shirts, and a family-friendly welcome center coexist at the Clarksville Collection, a quirky boutique on Franklin Street, one of the city’s best shopping avenues. Owner Jody Isaacs is the unofficial mayor of mercantile, welcoming visitors and directing them to the city’s gems.
LOCAL LORE Housed in a former federal building and post office, the majestic Customs House Museum & Cultural Center features fine art and historical displays. Don’t miss the exhibit on Wilma Rudolph, a Clarksville native who overcame polio and went on to become the fastest woman in history at the 1960 Olympic Games.
SKY HIGH Treat yourself to expansive views of the Cumberland River at Skyline 500 Bar, the city’s only rooftop bar. Head here to watch the sunset with a cocktail, or stop in for a nightcap and drunken cookies—chocolate chip cookies paired with bourbon dipping cream.
LISTEN HERE Allot plenty of browsing time at AndVinyl Records, where you’ll find stacks of classic records, CDs, cassettes, and VHS tapes. All manner of music, well organized and catalogued, is available in this independent music shop, but punk and hip-hop reign.
STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER Once a road through the mayor’s wife’s strawberry fields, Strawberry Alley is a must-browse side street, home to Frozen Fuel ice cream (specializing in small-batch flavors, including dairy-free varieties), Mug Shot Coffee Co., and Strawberry Alley Ale Works brewpub. The street becomes an artist market the first Sunday of each month.
This article appears in the Winter 2026 issue of Southbound.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t memory or problem-solving tasks that moved the needle — it was an interactive computerized game that tested the ability to recognize two separate images in faster and faster sequences.
The game shows the user one of two vehicles in a desert, town or farmland setting. Next, a Route 66 sign appears briefly along the periphery, surrounded by additional distracting road signs. To do the training accurately, the player must click on the correct car or tractor and the location of the Route 66 sign. As players improve, the images disappear increasingly quickly.
“It’s what we call a task of divided attention in which you don’t have a conscious strategy on how to improve,” said study coauthor Dr. Marilyn Albert, a professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Baltimore.
“You’re just trying the best you can to figure out how to divide your attention,” she said. “It was also adaptive, in the sense that as people did better, it got harder.”
Unconscious learning
Initiated in 1998, the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly, or ACTIVE, trial tested three types of cognitive training on more than 2,800 volunteers with an average age of 74. All were free of dementia at the start and lived independently in six communities around the United States. A fourth group who received no training served as a control.
“A real strength of the study is this was a really representative population — 25% of the participants were minorities,” Albert said. “So we can truly say the findings generalize to the entire US population.”
One group was focused on memory, learning techniques for remembering word lists, text materials and details of stories. A second group underwent training focused on reasoning, such as solving problems and identifying patterns that could help with daily life.
A third group used a split-attention speed brain game developed by professors in Alabama and Kentucky. Sold in 2008 to the owners of BrainHQ, a for-profit brain-training company, the updated game now goes by the name Double Decision. (Other brain-training companies have also developed similar speed games.)
Adaptive dual-attention games use implicit learning, which is an automatic acquisition of knowledge or skills without conscious awareness of what is being learned. Implicit learning uses different parts of the brain than solving problems or understanding the meanings of words, Albert said.
Examples include tying shoelaces, reacting to social cues and learning to ride a bike.
“If you don’t ride a bicycle for 10 years, you can get on a bicycle and ride it. We know this type of learning is very long-lasting,” Albert said.
However, an important distinction exists between acquiring a skill and expecting it to confer broad benefits in other areas such as preventing dementia, said Walter Boot, an Irving Sherwood Wrightprofessor of geriatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and associate director of its Center on Aging and Behavioral Research in New York City. He was not involved in the study.
“One can learn to ride a bicycle and still remember how to do so 20 years later, just as one can learn the ‘speed of processing’ task in the study and continue to perform well on that task many years later,” Boot said in an email. “What remains unclear is how either of these activities would translate into a reduced risk of dementia.”
Extra practice necessary
Initially, the program was intense. Volunteers were trained in person twice per week for 60 to 75 minutes per session over five weeks. At the end of the first year, about half of the people in each cognitive training group underwent an additional “booster” of four one-hour sessions. Another four hours of training was also done at the end of the third year of the study, for a total of 22.5 hours.
No more official training was done, yet when investigators compared the three groups with their Medicare records 20 years later, they found it was only the dual-attention speed game that contributed to a 25% reduction in dementia diagnoses compared with the control group.
That benefit, however, was only for a subset of the volunteers, according to the study published Monday in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions.
“The 25% reduction in risk for dementia was only in people who had the original training on the speed game and then the booster sessions. If you didn’t have the booster sessions, you didn’t benefit,” Albert said.
While insights from a 20-year study are valuable, the research did not have the data needed to show a definitive connection between the computerized training and the prevention of dementia, said Dr. Susan Kohlhaas, executive director of research and partnerships at Alzheimer’s Research UK, a nonprofit research center based in Cambridge. She was not involved in the study.
“Diagnoses were identified through health records rather than specialist clinical testing, so we do not know whether this training changed the underlying diseases that cause dementia or affected specific types of dementia,” she said in a statement.
While memory and reasoning training did not lower the risk for dementia, earlier publications using data from the ACTIVE trial found both do improve memory and executive reasoning, she said. Such training also helps people with skills that enable them to live independently in their own homes.
Why speed training might help the brain
Why did only fast-paced split-attention cognitive training work against dementia? More importantly, why would only 22.5 hours of such training appear to last over years? While more research is needed to understand the results, Albert has some educated guesses.
“First, the game is quite demanding and not particularly fun,” Albert said. “To do it for an hour twice a week is hard work. You’re pushing your brain in a way that it wouldn’t normally do.
“So, it’s possible that speed training activates neurons across the brain, creating greater connectivity and increasing plasticity,” she said.
The game was also adaptive in that it became harder as people progressed and easier when they failed, said Alzheimer’s prevention researcher Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of research at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Florida.
Such interactivity “exercises the brain in new ways that can contribute to the cognitive reserve needed to delay dementia,” said Isaacson, who was not involved in the study.
Cognitive reserve is the brain’s ability to adapt and maintain normal function despite the presence of underlying damage, aging or disease. In Alzheimer’s disease, for example, people with more cognitive reserve often delay the onset of symptoms despite the presence of the amyloid and tau, two proteins that are the hallmark signs of the neurological disorder.
There could be another factor involved in the game’s long-term positive impact. An October study found speed training may preserve acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that makes the brain more awake, focused and attentive.
“We’re talking about a fundamental physical chemical change that we know really matters as a contributor to brain health,” Dr. Michael Merzenich, professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco, told CNN in an earlier interview. Merzenich is the cofounder and chief scientific officer of Posit Science, which owns BrainHQ.
While researchers work out the answers, experts say cognitive training is just one part of the journey toward improving brain health.
“Alzheimer’s and other dementias are complex disorders. You can’t just eat a magic blueberry or play a game on your cell phone or do any one single thing,” Isaacson said.
“You need the entire cocktail — eating a brain-healthy diet, exercising regularly, modifying blood pressure, getting quality sleep, reducing stress, positive relationships — all of these are necessary for brain health.”
More Americans than expected enrolled in Affordable Care Act health insurance plans for this year, after premium subsidies were dramatically cut — but it remains to be seen whether they’ll keep the coverage as their costs mount.
It’s all part of a drama that roiled the ACA’s 2026 open enrollment period. Congressional debate over whether to extend more generous subsidies made available under the Biden administration led to the longest-ever government shutdown and focused public attention on rising health care costs and the affordability issue.
The enhanced subsidies, which expanded eligibility both by lowering the percentage of household income people had to pay toward their care and removing an income cap, expired at the end of last year. As a result, just about everyone buying ACA coverage saw their costs increase. For some, what they paid toward premiums doubled or more, even though less generous subsidies remain in place.
Many experts expected ACA enrollment, which hit a record 24 million in 2025, to fall this time around.
“If you raise the price of something a whole lot, economics tell us that a lot of people will buy less of it or not buy at all,” said Katherine Hempstead, a senior policy officer with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Here are things to watch now:
Initial Numbers Aren’t Final
The Congressional Budget Office told lawmakers in December 2024 that not extending the enhanced subsidies would cause 2.2 million people to lose insurance in 2026, with further increases in following years. Analysts with the Wakely Consulting Group also estimated that millions would opt out of insurance for this year.
Data released Jan. 28 by federal officials showed a year-over-year drop of about 1.2 million enrollments across the federal healthcare.gov marketplace and those run by states. Overall, there were 23 million enrollees, including 3.4 million new to ACA coverage.
At about the same time last year, there were 24.2 million sign-ups, with 3.9 million new to the marketplaces.
But there’s more to it than those initial numbers.
For one thing, both years’ data was pegged to Jan. 15 for the federal marketplace, which closed its open enrollment period that day. But, the data for the states that run their own marketplaces included sign-ups in most cases only through Jan. 10 or 11, even though some held open enrollment until the end of the month. Thus, the numbers don’t reflect what might have happened in those last days. Was there a surge in state sign-ups? Or, conversely, did the marketplaces see more enrollees cancel their coverage?
Additionally, those initial numbers are a mix of newly minted ACA enrollees and existing customers, many of whom were auto-reenrolled for 2026 — which raises other issues.
For existing, reenrolled policyholders, the real figures won’t be known for weeks or months, when it becomes clear how many actually pay their premiums. Some consumers may not have focused on their reenrollment costs or may have hoped Congress would extend the subsidies.
That’s an important factor to keep in mind because the CBO and Wakely estimates of millions losing insurance were based on projections for full-year coverage, not initial sign-ups.
In the coming weeks, “consumers may find they really can’t afford the premiums and cancel their plans, while carriers may also cancel coverage for nonpayment,” said Pat Kelly, executive director of Your Health Idaho, a state-based ACA marketplace, during a Jan. 22 call with reporters.
Sharp Differences in State Enrollment Patterns
Changes are also afoot in the 19 other states (and the District of Columbia) that run their own exchanges, some of which have issued more detailed data about enrollment than the federal marketplace.
Most states saw lower enrollment for 2026 than the prior year, with the biggest drop in North Carolina, where sign-ups fell by nearly 22%, federal data shows.
In a few states — including New Mexico, Texas, California, and Maryland, as well as the District of Columbia — the number of people selecting ACA plans increased.
The jump was largest in New Mexico, with its initial number of people selecting plans up by nearly 14%. Increases were in the single digits in the other states and Washington, D.C.
New Mexico — uniquely — used its own tax dollars to fully offset the loss of the more generous federal tax subsidies for all consumers. A few other states, including California, Colorado, Maryland, and Washington, used state money to help some enrollees.
The State Marketplace Network, a collective of 22 state marketplaces supported by the National Academy for State Health Policy, said initial enrollment figures raise concern. Compared with the same time last year, outright plan cancellations are up 83% in Colorado, disenrollments are four times what they were in Idaho, and Virginia has seen cancellations double.
New enrollments are down 32% in California from the same period last year, according to data from the state. In Pennsylvania, people ages 55 to 64, the group with the highest premiums, and young people 26 to 34 are terminating their coverage in higher numbers than other age groups, state data shows.
“We have drastically higher rates of people dropping their coverage,” said Devon Trolley, executive director of the Pennsylvania Health Insurance Exchange Authority. “We had 70,000 drop in the last two months, from early retirees to small-business owners to farmers not knowing how to make ends meet.”
On Feb. 9, Pennsylvania released final numbers, showing enrollment dropped by about 2% from last year, although that figure masks some of the effects. The state says nearly 18% of enrollees dropped coverage altogether, with older and rural residents being the most likely to fall out.
Some Republicans credited Trump-administration-backed anti-fraud measures, which included a range of regulatory and legislative changes, for tightening the system. Although some of those actions were paused by a federal court and have not taken effect, those ACA critics, some of whom have produced controversial estimates that millions may have been improperly enrolled, say that’s behind the decline. They have previously blamed the more generous subsidies for unauthorized enrollments or ACA plan-switching by commission-seeking brokers.
States that run their own ACA marketplaces, however, reported little or no such unauthorized switching. Relative to the federal marketplace, the state-based ACA platforms employ additional safeguards to prevent brokers from accessing consumers’ coverage without authorization.
Among consumers not returning to the marketplace, the main reason is cost, said Mila Kofman, executive director of the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority, which runs the district’s ACA marketplace.
“When we looked at who these folks are, half are small-business owners,” Kofman said. “They are not folks committing fraud.”
Lower Premiums, Higher Deductibles
Rather than sticking with automatic reenrollment, existing customers in many states shifted sharply into lower-priced “bronze” plans that come with higher deductibles than silver, gold, and platinum plans.
California saw 73% of renewing members who switched plans move to a bronze plan, up from 27% at the same time last year, the State Marketplace Network reported. In Maine, bronze enrollment now represents almost 60% of all plans purchased.
People are “looking at what works in their monthly budget, looking for that lower premium,” said Stacey Pogue, a senior research fellow at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University. “Some might be crossing their fingers that they won’t need to meet their deductible.”
On average, bronze plans have an annual deductible of $7,500. All ACA plans are required to cover certain preventive services — such as some vaccinations, cancer screenings, and other tests — without a copayment or deductible, but most everything else is covered only after an annual deductible is met.
High deductibles can lead some patients to avoid seeking medical care, Hempstead said.
“People are terrified to use their care,” she said. “They may delay something until it’s more serious.”
She added that medical providers, including hospitals and doctors, are bracing for an increase in the number of insured patients who can’t afford to pay their deductibles.
“Everyone is anticipating that hospitals will have to give out more charity care, which will hurt their bottom lines and might lead them to have to lay off people or close or reduce services,” she said.
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founder Thomas Coker is preparing to bring his casual, health-forward eatery from Charlotte, North Carolina to Buckhead. The counter-service restaurant will open on February 11 in the space formerly occupied by Australian-inspired cafe Isle & Co. and before that, grain bowl spot Sama, in Andrews Square.
“We’ve successfully taken over two locations of former restaurants [in Charlotte] in the last year, so we’re not concerned,” Coker says. “We feel the location is perfect with good street visibility and parking availability. Plus, the demographics of the area are similar to that of our stores in Charlotte.”
Street car bowl and poke bowl
Courtesy of LunahZon Photography
Coker launched his all-day cafe in 2022. The Buckhead location will be the first outside of North Carolina. It will open early, serving coffee and tea, smoothies, pastries, and heartier breakfast items like the Bandito Burrito, stuffed with scrambled eggs, Oaxaca cheese, tater tots, bacon, scallions, salsa, and chipotle aioli. Here, breakfast lasts until 3 p.m., but the larger menu is available from 11 a.m. to close (around 8 p.m.).
Expect wraps, sandwiches, and paninis, including turkey prosciutto, sprouted salmon, and spicy Caesar. Bowls range from Blazin’ Buffalo with free-range blackened chicken in buffalo sauce to Poke Me with ahi tuna and pickled vegetables. There are five salads—six if you could the side salad that comes with the sandwiches. This can be swapped for a fee for street corn, mint watermelon salad, truffle fries, or gluten‑free mac and cheese.
Inside Salted Melon
Courtesy of LunahZon Photography
“Portions are pretty large—especially the bowls and salads,” Coker notes. “It’s certainly a very filling meal.”
Coffee is sourced from Counter Culture. In addition to the basics, Salted Melon offers blue matcha made from butterfly tea powder and boasts gluten-free syrups. The team also introduces new seasonal coffee drinks and smoothies every quarter.
“We get really creative with the different seasonal offerings,” Coker explains. “New salad and sandwich in spring and fall, too, but about 80 percent of the menu stays core.”
Smoothies
Courtesy of LunahZon Photography
The Buckhead restaurant will seat 55 people inside and another 16 on the patio. Its look is designed to be vibrant and beachy with light blue tile and warm orange and deeper blue accents. Both traditional tables and lounge seating are featured.
The team is already exploring other areas of the city for Salted Melon. “We really like Sandy Springs and Virginia‑Highland,” Coker says. “We’re excited to be a part of the Atlanta market.”
