A single gunshot brought the busiest airport in the world to a standstill.

It was Thanksgiving week 2021 when convicted felon, Kenny Wells, reached into his bag while a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer was checking it for weapons at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Wells grabbed the Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic handgun, pulling the trigger in what by all accounts was an accidental discharge.

The gunshot caused a panic.

Wells immediately ran from the secure side of the checkpoint into the airport toward the T concourse while holding the gun, but then turned around and exited through the South Terminal. He blended in with passengers running out of the airport, according to never-before-seen airport surveillance video obtained by Atlanta News First Investigates.

Read the full story here: 

https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/04/10/new-videos-gunfire-reveal-vulnerability-atlantas-airport/

The officers with the Special Investigations Section of the Roswell Police Department were clearing what they believed to be vacant apartments. A broken window covered with plywood made them suspect this apartment was occupied by squatters.

But they immediately had their doubts after the officer with the ballistic shield entered.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/04/17/no-knock-no-warrant-roswell-police-raid-wrong-apartment/

Born in Bainbridge, Georgia, Cloud Kirbo was a perfectly healthy baby. Or so his parents thought after his newborn screening did not detect anything abnormal.

“There weren’t any signs until right before his third birthday, where it became very bad to where he could hardly walk,” said his father, Carlyle Kirbo.

That’s when Carlyle and Sloane Kirbo took their son to a hospital where they said he was tested for multiple diseases before they finally got some answers.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/03/28/newborn-testing-childs-life-should-not-be-determined-by-zip-code/

That driver in front of you with their headlights off probably doesn’t know why you’re flashing your high beams.

Or you could be the one driving without your lights on, with no visual cue that you’re piloting a phantom vehicle.

Atlanta News First Investigates noticed a dangerous new trend: more and more vehicles on the road with their headlights or tail lights off. We documented multiple examples just about every night.

But why is this happening and why now?

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/04/01/phantom-vehicles-leaving-drivers-dark/

Buyer’s note: make sure your appliance deliverers are qualified installers.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/09/26/stove-refrigerator-delivery-ends-up-911-call/

Danyel Smith is serving a life sentence for murdering his infant son. He maintains his innocence, and recently turned down an effort to be released from prison.

Read the full report here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/09/19/hes-prison-murder-his-infant-son-now-theres-deal/

A new report released by the federal government strongly urges law enforcement agencies to enact policies to reduce high-speed chases in their communities.

The centerpiece of the report’s recommendations, published by the U.S. Department of Justice, suggests pursuits should only take place when an officer is aware a violent crime has been committed or when the suspect poses an imminent threat to commit another violent crime, not the danger created from the suspect’s driving as they flee from police.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/09/21/new-report-urges-police-reduce-high-speed-chases/

 The United States had 3.5 million residents who identify as Middle Eastern or North African, Venezuelans were the fastest-growing Hispanic group last decade and Chinese and Asian Indians were the two largest Asian groups, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The most detailed race and ethnicity data to date from the 2020 census was released Thursday more than three years after the once-a-decade head count, which determines political power, the distribution of $2.8 trillion in annual federal funding and holds up a mirror to how the U.S. has changed in a decade. The delay was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of a new method to protect the confidentiality of participants.

The Census Bureau says the 2020 census provided more details on the nation’s racial and ethnic groups than ever before, offering counts for about 1,550 racial, ethnic and tribal groups, although some tables aren’t available at smaller geographies for some groups because of the new confidentiality methods.

Metro Atlanta school police are often outgunned when responding to school shootings. Chief Investigative Reporter Brendan Keefe takes you Behind the Investigation.

Read his full report here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/08/08/outgunned-rifle-qualified-school-police-officers-vary-by-district/

 Galaine Knox filed her taxes in 2015 after her husband passed away. That year, she got a surprise IRS bill for nearly $4,000 and couldn’t afford to pay for it. She hoped that future refunds might cover the balance, but in 2021, she called a tax relief company.

FinishLine Tax Solutions, based in Houston, Texas, quoted her $600 to take her case.

Knox said she called the IRS three times over the next two months to find out if anyone contacted them on her behalf, and said no one did.

“I called FinishLine and said I want a refund, and they said we don’t give refunds and hung up on me,” said Knox, who also claimed the company failed to do any work on her behalf.

A FinishLine attorney disputed the claim; said the company followed the terms of its contract; and said the company stopped its investigation because Knox requested it.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/09/05/atlanta-woman-pays-tax-relief-company-600-says-she-got-no-relief/

A Georgia nurse will continue to practice medicine despite admitting she denied a dying man medical care while he begged for help.

In July, the Georgia Board of Nursing released its final judgement involving Annaleen Visser, a former nursing supervisor at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.

The board opened an investigation into Visser about three years after she oversaw the care for Kevil Wingo, who was detained at the jail in 2019 on drug possession charges.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/08/31/ex-head-nurse-cobb-jail-keeps-license-after-denying-care-dying-inmate/

Too much power with too little oversight is how a local senator describes HOAs.

In this two-part series, award-winning investigative reporter Rachel Polansky looks at two metro Atlanta homeowners associations that are taking financial and legal action against their own residents.

Part one: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/09/13/hoa-cuts-sick-residents-water-off-after-she-falls-behind-dues/

Part two: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/09/13/hoa-files-23k-lawsuit-after-woman-installs-therapeutic-rock-garden/

 Kelvin and Marissa Blakely were excited to take their first train trip.

The Atlanta couple bought a trip to New Orleans through Amtrak Vacations and, if it went well, they would plan a larger trip across the country.

The couple bought a package deal for five nights, but two days before departure, Amtrak sent an automated message canceling the trip and offered a bus or a 50-percent refund. The reason, Amtrak said, was because of a track closing.

“The first person I spoke with said it was for maintenance, but when I called again, they said it was for repairs,” Marissa Blakely said.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/09/12/atlanta-couples-amtrak-vacation-new-orleans-ruined/

On Sept. 5, 1955, two Atlanta businessmen - Joe Rogers and Tom Forkner - opened the very first Waffle House, located in DeKalb County's Avondale Estates community. Rogers started in the restaurant business as a short-order cook in 1947 
at the Toddle House in Connecticut.
By 1949, he was a regional manager, then moved to Atlanta. He met Forkner 
while buying a house from him in Avondale Estates.
Today, Waffle House has more than 1,900 locations in 25 states.
Njeri Boss, vice president of public relations, and Virginia Angles, curator of the Waffle House museum, talk about this national iconic culinary brand.

On Aug. 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered one of the most famous speeches in human history. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in an address that culminated the march on Washington, King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. Lasting less than 18 minutes, King's speech has inspired millions around the world. 

But where did King actually draft his speech? Conventional history records he wrote the speech at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington, D.C. But David Yoakley Mitchell of the Atlanta Preservation Center and Dr. Robert Adams of the Penn Center on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, say one of history's most influential speeches has its roots elsewhere.

The pandemic-mandated eviction moratorium in Georgia ended in October 2021.

But almost two years later, metro Atlanta landlords are still dealing with a court system backlog, with some waiting more than a year before a judge hears their case.

Eviction court backlogs are also affecting renters and rental prices across metro Atlanta.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/3OdIkPM

Scientists say we’ve all drank water laced with a toxin linked to cancer for decades, but it’s impacted one Georgia community more than most and there is little work underway to measure the impact.

Estimates are at least 16 million people in the U.S. have been exposed to PFAS through their drinking water.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/3O9VoFM

One of the world’s most celebrated and influential speeches was delivered 60 years ago.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., made his now-famous “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963, capping the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” event.

King gave his speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Here is a recording of what became a speech that has inspired millions around the world.

 Jervier Cater had big plans to renovate his West Atlanta home near historic Collier Heights, but for more than a month, he lived in a shed.

Cater wakes up every morning to a construction renovation nightmare. There is literally no roof over his head. The shingles, decking, and rafters are gone. In May, a construction crew demolished the roof but abandoned the job when they found out they weren’t getting paid.

Cater blames his contractor Clinton Garibaldi, the owner of Garibaldi Property Management and Construction. Garibaldi claimed he didn’t hire the demolition crew and instead is blaming his client.

Cater disputes the claim and said Garibaldi left a disaster. Almost daily rains after crews removed the roof ruined everything inside the house. The damage forced Cater to move into his backyard shed.

Read more here: bit.ly/3DrxUa5

A new federal lawsuit claims the Fulton County School System and its charter school enabled a child predator.

Former teacher Robert Vandel, 65, was convicted earlier this year for multiple charges connected to the rape and molestation of students at Fulton Academy of Science and Technology (FAST) and later at Lyndon Academy, a private school in Cherokee County.

In the Fulton case, Vandel was sentenced to 10 years in prison. In Cherokee, the negotiated plea was 20 years, the first eight of which will be served in prison and the remaining on probation.

Ex-Fulton County teacher convicted of rape pleads guilty to additional charges

However, Fulton County Schools and FAST are the subject of a June 14, 2023, federal suit, which alleges both the district and the school violated Title IX, the federal law mandating the right to education regardless of sex.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/3KdFbOq