Four Cities Make Livability List

Athens, Savannah, Macon, and Augusta all landed on Livability.com’s 2026 ranking of the 100 best places to live in America.

The list prioritizes affordability and amenities. Only cities with 75,000 to 500,000 people qualify, and any city with a median home value above $500,000 is excluded.

Athens ranked No. 68, followed by Savannah at No. 88, Macon at No. 96, and Augusta at No. 99.

Livability highlighted Athens’ music scene and college-town energy, Savannah’s history, Macon’s festival calendar, and Augusta’s climate, among other attributes.

Huntsville, Alabama, claimed the top spot.

  Holiday Travel Meets the Heat

The heat is coming along for the ride as more than 2 million Georgians hit the road for the Fourth of July.

The weather forecast calls for highs in the mid-to-upper 90s, with the feels-like heat index reaching 100 to 105 across much of the state through Saturday.

AAA said road congestion will remain at a peak through Saturday.

State troopers and local officers began stepped-up enforcement of DUI and traffic laws at 6 p.m. Thursday, running through 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Last year, state troopers and local officers made more than 700 DUI arrests during the holiday period.

Tens of thousands will also be traveling by air, with Savannah/Hilton Head International expecting roughly 40,000 passengers between today and Sunday.

Peachtree Runners Brace for Swelter

More than 56,000 participants will pack Peachtree Road on Saturday morning for the 57th Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race, the world’s largest 10K.

Temperatures could already be near 77° when the first wave leaves Lenox Square at 6:50 a.m. Organizers will post race-day conditions on a color-coded alert system and are urging runners to slow down and hit all five water stations.

“Maybe it’s not the year to go for a PR (personal record),” said Natalie Cabanas of the Atlanta Track Club, encouraging runners to soak in the experience instead of chasing a time.

New this year is a World Football Wave for World Cup visitors running in their countries’ colors. Runners can still register in person at the Lenox Square expo today.

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➤ Atlanta: The National Park Service held a ceremony Thursday to celebrate the reopening of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home on Auburn Avenue. The 1895 Queen Anne-style house, where King spent his first 12 years, closed in late 2023 for an extensive rehabilitation. (More)

➤ Liberty County: A shark—reportedly 5 to 6 feet long—bit a teenager on the thigh near Ossabaw Island as the teen tried to unhook it from a fishing line. Bystanders gave first aid before emergency crews took the teen to the hospital. (More)

➤ Hampton: NASCAR fans from around the globe will start rolling into EchoPark Speedway as early as Monday ahead of next weekend’s races. The Cup Series Quaker State 400 runs under the lights on July 12. (More)

➤ Hall County: A group of residents filed paperwork to recall Sheriff Gerald Couch, weeks after he returned from a suspension tied to a February DUI arrest. (More)

➤ Statewide: A new law requires the State Board of Education to create an audit committee to monitor school district finances, giving the state more tools to identify financial problems early. (More)

➤ Augusta: City leaders are collecting public feedback on a draft ordinance that would tighten where future data centers can be built and how each project is approved. (More)

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➤ Atlanta Braves prospect Eric Hartman, 20, has surged into baseball’s top 100 rankings during a breakout season at High-A Rome, drawing Ronald Acuña Jr. comparisons. (More)

➤ Rival teams view the Atlanta Braves as the favorites to land Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, the back-to-back American League Cy Young winner, before the MLB trade deadline. (More)

➤ Veteran tackle Jawaan Taylor anchors the Atlanta Falcons’ rebuilt offensive line entering the July 29 start of training camp. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: World Cup | Wimbledon | MLB | WNBA | Golf 

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➤ Big AC companies are panicking over this new cooling invention that helps Americans stay cool for less. Stop suffering from extreme temperatures and high electric bills. Get instant cooling in summer and cozy warmth in winter with CoolCove. Learn More

➤ Walmart opened a training hub at Tulsa Welding School in Decatur, aiming to boost its pool of skilled workers. The retailer is also boosting pay for general maintenance technicians by about 40%, to a range of $26 to $51 an hour. (More)

➤ Atlanta continues to draw praise from World Cup visitors for the area’s atmosphere, transportation, and hospitality, though heat, crowds, and sold-out events have tested them. (More)

➤ Semiconductor startup Falcomm is scaling its radio-frequency chip technology for defense, satellites, and drones from an Atlanta office. (More)

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➤ Fort Gordon kicked off its America’s 250th anniversary celebration at Barton Field with fireworks, music, food trucks, and family activities. (More)

➤ Georgia teachers use AI to build lesson materials but worry about students’ use of the technology, according to a state survey of nearly 13,700 teachers that found fears of cheating and weakened critical thinking. (More)

➤ A new documentary, The Tree Economy by James Schroeder, examines tree loss across metro Atlanta and Brookhaven’s efforts to protect its canopy. (More)

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

➤ Trump Accounts launch on the Fourth of July with a $1,000 federal deposit, though most eligible families have yet to enroll. (Hear Details)

➤ Wisconsin school officials barred a graduating senior from including a Bible verse in the ceremony slideshow. (Hear Episode)

➤ Brooklyn bodegas are openly selling an experimental weight-loss drug over the counter, despite a federal ban on its commercial sale. (Listen Now)

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