Sunday, July 26, 2026

Good morning! On this day in 1884, Lulu Hurst’s “Georgia Wonder” chair act was featured in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper.

The Atlanta Dogwood Festival will return to Piedmont Park in 2027 for its 91st year. Will you be attending the event? Let us know in today’s Poll.

In case you missed it, this week on The Flyover Podcast, Ayla tackled the weather pattern that could rewrite the entire winter. Forecasters now put the odds at 81% that El Niño reaches "very strong" status by winter, potentially one of the largest on record, and every corner of the country will be affected. When a pattern this powerful takes over, it doesn't just tweak the forecast, it decides which states get soaked and which dry out. Ayla broke down the five ways forecasters say this El Niño will shape the months ahead. So which side of the split does your state land on? Tune in here!

Today's sponsor, BluSky AI, is sharing how it aims to address the growing demand for AI infrastructure by developing data centers designed to come online faster and support the computing power behind modern AI applications.

Storm Hits Hall County

A storm swept through Hall County Friday, causing flooding, road closures, downed trees, power outages, and infrastructure damage.

Nearly seven inches of rain fell across Hall County during the storm. A flash flood warning was put in place for several cities in the county and more than a dozen roads were closed.

Repairs began on Falcon Crest Drive after heavy rainfall and a clogged pipe caused a section of the road to collapse, cutting off access to 50 homes. Downed power lines left residents in multiple parts of the neighborhood without power, while a nearby mobile home park flooded.

The storm came as 22 counties in North Georgia were under a flood watch.

Accountant Sentenced in Hospital Fraud

A former accountant, Ronald Deabler, was sentenced to four years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay more than $682,000 in restitution for assisting in laundering $5.3 million stolen from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA).

Prosecutors said a hacker accessed the email system of a furniture vendor for CHOA and changed the vendor’s bank account information to Deabler’s account. The hacker impersonated a vendor employee, deceiving CHOA into sending a $5.3 million payment to Deabler’s account in June 2023.

After attempting to send all of the money to another bank account, which Deabler’s bank declined to do, Deabler converted about $3.5 million into cashier’s checks distributed to other people and entities, according to officials.

CHOA and the vendor discovered the fraud within days, and roughly $4 million was recovered.

Atlanta Dogwood Festival Set to Return

The Atlanta Dogwood Festival will return to Piedmont Park as a free event April 9–11, 2027, after nearly being canceled last year due to a lack of funding.

The annual event had run in the red for years after the pandemic due to an increase in costs and a decrease in sponsorships, with a shortfall of about $250,000 nearly forcing it to cancel its 2026 event.

The 2026 festival charged an admission for the first time and turned a profit, helped by stronger donations, sponsorships, and foundation support.

Founded in 1936, the festival draws hundreds of thousands of visitors and more than 250 artists and performers each spring.

Flying together with our sponsor

The $7.6 Trillion Flowing Into AI Is Not What You Think

Goldman Sachs is projecting $7.6 trillion in AI investment by 2031.

The common assumption is that all of the AI money flows to names like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. But that is not where the infrastructure dollars are going.

Every AI model, chatbot, and recommendation engine needs compute power to run. And compute power needs physical infrastructure. Data centers. Lots of them.

The problem: AI demand has increased 1 million times in the last two years, stated Jensen Huang, NVIDIA’s CEO. Meanwhile, traditional data centers take 3 to 7 years to build. The infrastructure cannot keep up.

BluSky AI has developed a premanufactured solution ready in months, not years. They have a robust portfolio of sites with negotiated power ready for deployment. BluSky AI utilizes less power, smaller footprints, little to no water, and minimizes the impact on communities.

For the first time, everyday investors can back BluSky AI as they build the backbone of AI.

➤ Villa Rica: All eastbound lanes on Interstate 20 reopened after being temporarily closed due to a 17-vehicle crash that injured nine people. (More)

➤ Albany: St. Clare’s Soup Kitchen, which has been in operation since the 1960s, has reopened as Pot of Gold Outreach Ministry under new owners, serving free lunches on Mondays and Wednesdays. (More)

➤ Thomas County: Crews have begun a $2.2 million road resurfacing project that’ll repave 13 aging roads with new asphalt technology designed to reduce wear on vehicles. (More)

➤ Barrow County: Barrow County received a $2 million state grant to help fund an expansion of its wastewater treatment facility, increasing capacity to 2 million gallons per day. (More)

➤ Tybee Island: Six borrowable beach walkers have been added to the city's Beachable program, providing people with mobility challenges another free option for reaching the shore alongside the program's existing beach wheelchairs. (More)

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➤ Georgia was picked to win the SEC in the conference's preseason media poll released Friday, receiving 88 championship votes to Texas' 57. (More)

➤ Andruw Jones will enter the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a Brave this afternoon, becoming the 12th player whose plaque represents the franchise. (More)

➤ The Atlanta Braves designated right-hander Elieser Hernández for assignment Saturday, one day after he threw three scoreless innings against Baltimore in his first major league appearance since 2024. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | WNBA | Golf

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Data Centers Built For Coexistence

Communities across the country are pushing back on data centers, and for good reason. Massive facilities are draining local water supplies, straining power grids, and disrupting neighborhoods, all while offering little in return.

BluSky AI took a different approach.

Their SkyMod prefabricated, AI-ready data centers use less power, require little to no water, and fit onto smaller footprints. This minimizes the impact on the communities they're built near, from Colorado to Texas. This is AI infrastructure designed to coexist, not compete, with the people around it.

BluSky AI's model is a unique solution to meet the high market demands that aren’t being met by the industry.. Become a BluSky AI shareholder as they open the door to everyday investors.

This is a paid advertisement for BluSky AI Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at https://invest.bluskyaidatacenters.com/

➤ The Georgia National Fair announced its 2026 concert lineup, featuring headliners such as Jesse McCartney, Hanson, Tucka, and Lonestar during the fair's Oct. 8–18 run in Perry. (More)

➤ Baldwin County students got free school supplies, haircuts, and other support at the district’s annual Back-to-School Bash ahead of classes starting Aug. 5. (More)

➤ Mercer University in Macon is offering a new bachelor's degree program in music business and production this fall, giving students hands-on training at the historic Capricorn Sound Studios. (More)

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➤ Apply This Before Bedtime To Smooth 75% Wrinkles By Morning. A powerful anti-aging nutrient helps relax facial muscles while you sleep, leaving wrinkles visibly softer by morning - without needles or costly creams. Watch the video here.

The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes, straight from the heart of the country. Clicking the link will take you directly to these stories:

➤ Delivery giants are rushing to keep weight-loss drugs cold. (Hear More)

➤ Thousands celebrated the birthday of the internet's favorite little monkey. (Listen Now)

➤ A beloved honey farm teetered on collapse, but one beekeeper refused to quit. (Podcast Available)