Georgia Today: Special legislative session; Private security at airport; Social media affecting kids

TRANSCRIPT: 

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, lawmakers wrapped up the session, but they may be called back to resolve one outstanding issue. The push to use private contractors to screen travelers reaches Atlanta's airport. The new research out of UGA finds a child's social media use is connected to underdeveloped vocabulary. 

Cory Carvahlo: Adolescents add between 2,000 and 3,000 new words a year, and what we found was that faster growth in social media was related to slower growth in these crystallize abilities. 

Peter Biello: Today is Monday, April 6. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today. 

 

Story 1

Peter Biello: An Atlanta City Council member wants federal officials to consider privatizing security screeners at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The idea comes after weeks of frustration at ATL, where travelers faced long delays because of a partial government shutdown that left TSA workers without pay. Such a public-private program would mostly avoid delays due to government shutdowns since those workers are private contractors. Councilmember Byron Amos says the TSA's public-private screening program already is in place elsewhere. 

Byron Amos:  So this is nothing new. This will be the first time an international airport, one the size of Hartsfield-Jackson, will actually be looking at doing it. 

Peter Biello: Amos plans to speak with labor leaders and present a resolution to the city council later this month. 

 

Story 2

Peter Biello: Georgia lawmakers wrapped up their 2026 legislative session last week, but they could be back again for a second session this year. The state Senate refused to vote on a bipartisan elections bill, leaving Georgia with QR-coded ballots that soon will be illegal under state law. There is no plan in place for an alternative, and the result could be lawsuits or hand-marked, hand-counted paper ballots in November. Cornelia Republican state Rep. Victor Anderson sponsored a bill that would have extended a July deadline to remove QR codes from ballots. 

Victor Anderson: We'll have an irreconcilable statutory conflict come July 1 if we don't resolve it. 

Peter Biello: Gov. Brian Kemp would need to call the special session. 

 

Story 3

Peter Biello: Voters in Georgia's 14th Congressional District will choose who will finish out the remainder of former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's term during a special election runoff tomorrow. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports. 

Sarah Kallis: Republican Clay Fuller and Democrat Shawn Harris are both hoping to represent Northwest Georgia for the remainder of Greene's term. Greene stepped down in January, citing division between her and President Trump. The runoff between the two candidates comes after Harris received the highest percentage of votes and Fuller came in second in a special election in March with over a dozen mostly Republican candidates. Fuller has President Donald Trump's endorsement in the heavily Republican 14th District. National Democrats like former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg have campaigned for Harris ahead of the runoff. Whoever wins this race will have to run again next month for the regular primary for a term that starts in January 2027. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis. 

 

Story 4

Peter Biello: New research from the University of Georgia links underdeveloped vocabulary skills to early childhood social media use. GPB's Chase McGee has more. 

Chase McGee: Results from a nationwide survey of more than 10,000 young people suggests that frequent social media use starting around age 10 can stunt vocabulary growth. Corey Carvalho is a UGA postdoctoral fellow and the lead author of the study. He says social media takes up time that kids would otherwise add to their existing knowledge of the world, known as crystallized ability 

Cory Carvahlo: Adolescents add between 2,000 and 3,000 new words a year. And what we found was that faster growth in social media was related to slower growth in these crystallized abilities. 

Chase McGee: That slowed growth doesn't just mean they'll have a hard time reading: Carvalho says it can hurt a person's ability to name a complicated feeling that they're experiencing, or to communicate complex ideas. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee. 

 

Story 5

Peter Biello: Georgia has agreed to pay $4 million to the family of a man who was beaten to death in a state prison. Attorneys from the family David Henegar announced the settlement last week as a jury trial approached this week. Henegard died after a five-hour beating at the hands of his cellmate who was charged with murder. Henegars family alleged guards knew that he was in danger but took no action to prevent him from being attacked and provided no assistance when he was. GPB has reached out to the Department of Corrections and the Georgia attorney general's office for comment. 

 

Story 6

Peter Biello: Environmental groups are challenging a federal review of the potential risks of a proposed nearly 200-mile natural gas pipeline. Southern Natural Gas says it needs the pipeline across three states, including Georgia, to meet the region's growing energy demands. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission agrees with the company, but in comments filed last week, groups represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center doubted the energy demand predictions. They also expressed concerns over plans to trench across more than a thousand streams and wetlands. 

 

Story 7

Peter Biello: Georgia U.S. senator, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, used his Easter sermon to respond to a social media post from President Donald Trump. Preaching yesterday at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the Democrat referenced what he called a "vile tweet" posted earlier that day, when Trump warned that Iran would face severe consequences if the country didn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Warnock didn't mention the president by name, but directly addressed his message. 

Raphael Warnock: Well, can I tell you what their messiah did this morning, on Easter Sunday morning? He sent out the most vile tweet that I can't even repeat it from this pulpit. Dropping F-bombs while threatening to drop actual bombs on energy power plants and bridges in Iran, which is a war crime. 

Peter Biello: The Sunday service drew some notable attendees, including singer Mariah Carey and former Atlanta mayor and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms. 

 

Story 8

Peter Biello: Norfolk Southern has signed a five-year lease committing to its headquarters on Atlanta's West Peachtree Street. Lease term began April 1. Norfolk Southern is currently trying to merge with another rail company, Union Pacific. Their most recent application to merge, filed with the Surface Transportation Board, was rejected for lack of required information. The companies indicated they intend to refile their merger application at the end of month. 

 

Story 9

Peter Biello: Officials in Southwest Georgia's Mitchell County are working on a plan that would keep Georgia Pines services available there. Georgia Pines is a safety net mental health care provider that offers treatment for substance use disorder, developmental disabilities, and mental health disorders. The organization uses donated space in nearby counties, but pays $5,000 a month for space in Mitchell County. CEO R.J. Hurn says he's asking Mitchell County to help find a less expensive location. 

R.J. Hurn: We have to look at all options. If I don't have to move them and I can open up another one, that's my preference. 

Peter Biello: Hurn says Georgia Pines would offer the same services, but may require telehealth or travel to nearby counties. He says there's no deadline for an agreement, so services are likely to continue as usual for several months. 

 

Story 10

Peter Biello: Soccer fans lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission against FIFA over ticket prices for the World Cup taking place in North America this summer. Two European groups, Football Supporters Europe and Euro Consumers, allege soccer's world governing body has abused its position to impose excessive prices. Atlanta will host eight games in the tournament, beginning in June. On Tuesday, GPB's Orlando Montoya asked soccer fans attending an international friendly in Atlanta, USA vs. Portugal, whether they were planning to attend the World Cup. 

Soccer Fan No. 1: Honestly, probably not because the tickets are too expensive. 

Soccer Fan No. 2: I'm looking to wait until closer to the date, hopefully for a price drop. 

Soccer Fan No. 3: I think that's a problem right now with the workup, like all the tickets are overpriced. 

Soccer Fan No. 4: Paid $330 for this game, for the friendly, so World Cup tickets are insane. 

Soccer Fan No. 5: We're still going to do it, we're going to do it on the secondhand market. 

Peter Biello: For more on the complaints over World Cup ticket prices, we bring you Orlando's conversation with Derek Howard, a trial attorney and sports law professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law. 

Orlando Montoya: Mr. Howard, FIFA promised $60 tickets. What happened to those? 

Derek Howard: Well, that's a very good question, and that's part of the reason why people are upset. When they initially pitched for this World Cup to be awarded to the United States, FIFA promised that the tickets would be around $60 and affordable for all the normal, everyday, passionate soccer fans around the world. So, what has happened instead is a massive price-gouging scheme, where FIFA is set to receive about $11 billion in revenue. And unfortunately, absent legal action, it looks like nobody's going to be able to stop them. And as a result, tickets are going to cost from an average of about $5,000 to $7,000 per match — and increasing as the matches progress.

Orlando Montoya: Why are ticket prices significantly higher than previous tournaments in 2018 and 2022?

Derek Howard: Well, that's a very good question. And the reason is that there is no fox watching the chicken coop. The FIFA organization has unilaterally set these prices, and being in a monopoly position, they are essentially challenging anybody to try and stop them. And the second part of the answer is that FIFA and the head, Mr. Infantino, have a very close relationship with the President of the United States. And as a result, there's no political will to challenge FIFA.

Orlando Montoya: What is the impact of things like dynamic pricing and resale platforms?

Derek Howard: Dynamic pricing is a very interesting and ever-changing concept. The idea behind it is to collect fair prices, but taking into the interest of the consumer. Unfortunately, in these AI-driven days, there are no protections for consumers with dynamic pricing. Rather, because FIFA has all the relevant information that leads into pricing decisions, they have tilted the pricing scale completely in their favor so they can collect the highest prices rather than fair prices for consumers.

Orlando Montoya: And resale platforms?

Derek Howard: FIFA has used a number of tickets to drive the resale market towards its own website. And they've also initiated a campaign to frighten consumers that if they go to alternative platforms that we're all familiar with, for example, for concerts and whatnot, they won't get the best tickets or they may even be defrauded. As a result, consumers are afraid to use these alternative platforms — again, to the benefit of FIFA.

Orlando Montoya: Soccer fans might complain, but do they have any leverage on prices?

Derek Howard: Well, it depends, first off, on whether or not you're talking about the European and international fans or the United States fans. The European fans are facing exorbitant costs. For example, if you're a follower of England, you would have to pay about $10,000 just to get out of the first round watching your team that you support. The United States fans do have more access to the U.S. legal system. And it's either going to have to come from private attorney generals who are not politically beholden to the governing party right now, or private action from attorneys seeking to utilize the consumer statutes that are available in the United States.

Orlando Montoya: Do cities and states have any leverage? And what would the consequences be if they actually used it?

Derek Howard: Well, the cities and states are in a very difficult spot because, unfortunately, they're shouldering part of the cost of putting on this event, which is being described as 100 Super Bowls in a row. They are desperate for federal funding, and they have recently gotten a small amount of $625 million through FEMA funding. But even with that funding, the local municipalities and states are absorbing millions of dollars in cost to put on pregame and game events with all the things that you would expect, like security, police and fire over time, et cetera. So the city's only remedy, again, is to file lawsuits to protect the interests of their taxpayers.

Orlando Montoya: Is there an equitable way to sell World Cup tickets?

Derek Howard: There is. The first thing that FIFA can do is roll back the prices of the remaining tickets that have not yet been purchased due to their exorbitant rates. Secondly, they can make refunds. And third, they change their pricing structure on their own FIFA resale site and cap the prices that can be charged for a ticket.

Orlando Montoya: And finally, what's your best advice for fans who want to watch the World Cup affordably?

Derek Howard: Be ready to organize a watch party. Don't hold your breath that the ticket prices are gonna come down, and just try and make the best of a bad situation.

Peter Biello: That was Derek Howard, a trial attorney and sports law professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law. 

 

Story 11

Peter Biello: In sports, the Atlanta Braves head to Anaheim to face the Angels today for the first of a three-game series. The Braves split the four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, concluding yesterday with a 6 to 5 loss in extra innings. Chris Sale, who has won his first two starts of the season, will start the game for the Braves tonight. In basketball, the Atlanta Dream has acquired two-time WNBA All-Star Angel Reese from the Chicago Sky in exchange for the Dream's first-round picks in 2027 and 2028. Reese earned All-Rookie team honors in 2024 after setting WNBA rookie records for rebounds per game and consecutive double-doubles. Reese led the league in rebounding last year, earning WNBA peak performer honors and has twice been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. Atlanta will face Chicago in its first preseason game on Wednesday, April 29. And the Atlanta Hawks bolstered their inside depth for their playoff run today by signing center Tony Bradley, who played in 38 games for the Indiana Pacers this season. Atlanta is fifth in the Eastern Conference entering tonight's home game against the New York Knicks. 

 

And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, check out our website, gpb.org/news. If you haven't subscribed to this podcast yet, take a moment to do it now. It'll keep us current in your podcast feed. And if you have feedback, we would love to hear from you. Email us. The address is georgiatoday@gpb.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.