Atlanta, GA
Flight delays, cancellations continue to pile up at Atlanta airport during government shutdown
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Flight delays and cancellations continue to pile up at the world’s busiest airport.
There were at least 128 reported on Monday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
It prompted travelers to sound off about the government shutdown, which is to blame.
“So far, I haven’t experienced any personal delays, but anybody that works should get paid, and the frustration that these people must have has to be astronomic. How do you support your families, how do you buy groceries and that what not,” traveler John Nichols said.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, a surge in air traffic controllers calling out last Friday strained staffing at many airports and led to flight delays nationwide.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy discussed the issue during a nationally televised interview.
“I think it’s only going to get worse,” Duffy said. “We have controllers who – some of them are new controllers. We have trainee controllers who are very helpful in the tower. They don’t make a lot of money.”
Duffy said some controllers have called in sick in protest, while others are taking time off to work other jobs while not getting paid.
Atlanta News First spoke with two flight attendants on Monday about the ongoing issue.
“How long is it fair to expect them to show up at a job that they’re not getting paid for? How long is it reasonable for them to start looking for compensation elsewhere? And I think that it’s something that we are feeling as air crew every single day,” Delta flight attendant Kara Wargo said.
RELATED COVERAGE: Some Delta flight attendants once again pushing to unionize
“What’s happening right now must stop,” said Keturah Johnson, vice president of the Association of Flight Attendants International. “And for those people who are frustrated when they’re waiting in line in TSA, you know what, call your congresspeople.”
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Atlanta, GA
SF Giants lose pitching coach Martinez, but Tingler reportedly set to join staff
Tony Vitello will be tasked with finding a new pitching coach after J.P. Martinez elected to leave the Giants and join the Atlanta Braves as the team’s bullpen coach.
Martinez, 43, spent just one season as San Francisco’s pitching coach after Bryan Price stepped down after the 2024 season. Price, too, only spent one year as pitching coach under former manager Bob Melvin.
Prior to becoming the pitching coach, Martinez spent four seasons as San Francisco’s assistant pitching coach. In 2025, the Giants finished 10th in ERA in the majors and sent three pitchers — Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Randy Rodríguez — to the All-Star Game. Martinez was also one of the Giants’ few coaches who also spoke Spanish, another being assistant hitting coach Oscar Bernard.
While Martinez is departing the organization, Jayce Tingler will reportedly be joining Vitello’s coaching staff, likely as a bench coach. The San Francisco Chronicle first reported the news, which has not been announced by the Giants.
Vitello and Tingler were teammates at Missouri, and Tingler’s experience at the major-league level should be invaluable as Vitello navigates his first professional season. Along with managing the San Diego Padres for two seasons, Tingler has been a coach for both the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins. Tingler is also bilingual and has experience coaching in the Dominican Republic.
Martinez, who was under contract for next season, is not the only departure from last year’s coaching staff, as bench coach Ryan Christenson and third-base coach Matt Williams will not return for the 2026 season. On Wednesday, the Athletics announced that Christenson would become the team’s first-base coach.
Following Martinez’s departure, Vitello will have to decide if he wants to look internally or externally to fill the vacancy. One strong internal option is Garvin Alston, who has been the team’s bullpen coach for the last two seasons and been with the organization since 2020.
Alston has two decades of professional coaching experience dating back to his time with the Oakland A’s, serving as the Minnesota Twins’ pitching coach for one season in 2018. Alston has also served as the bullpen coach at the major-league level for the Arizona Diamondbacks (’16) and A’s (’17).
Atlanta, GA
Nonprofit bringing injured Palestinian children to metro Atlanta halted by new refugee policies
The Trump administration is restricting the number of refugees admitted annually to the United States from 125,000 to 7,500 — mostly white South Africans.
It’s a dramatic drop that changes America’s traditional role as a haven for people fleeing war and persecution.
The decision is affecting Palestinian families from the Gaza Strip, including one that recently traveled to metro Atlanta to care for a 12-year-old boy who lost his legs during the Israel-Hamas war. Heal Palestine, the nonprofit that’s helping the boy, asked CBS News Atlanta not to use the family’s last name due to safety concerns.
After almost two years of waiting for permission to travel to the United States for emergency medical treatment, Yassin and his family received a warm welcome over the summer at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
“I look and see them and say, ‘I’m good,” Fadwa says.
The mother and son traveled from the Gaza Strip to Atlanta with the help of Heal Palestine, which was founded in 2024 to deliver urgent relief to Palestinian children and families.
“He had surgery here in Atlanta with good doctors and good teams, and now he have therapy,” Fadwa said.
Heal Palestine Atlanta volunteer Ghada Elnajjar said that Yassin was hit by an air strike and lost both legs, which had been amputated without anesthesia.
“When a family like Fadwa’s is evacuated and a child like Yassin is seeking help in the United States, there are communities that come together and help support the child,” Elnajjar said.
The U.S. organization is helping 63 Palestinian children across the country. Several, including Yassin, are in metro Atlanta.
“We take the child, treat them medically and mentally, so we provide mental health wellness, and continue to provide their education through online resources,” Elnajjar said.
The family lived in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza that saw heavy shelling during the Israel-Hamas war.
Fadwa says she worked as a quantum physicist before coming to America.
“I lose my husband, I lose my house,” she said.
“As a mother, this is so difficult for Fadwa, having to be torn between finding treatment for her 12-year-old and leaving behind part of her heart in Gaza,” Elnajjar said.
Yassin, his brother, and two of his sisters are living in Alpharetta with their mother while he receives physical therapy and treatment for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. His older brother and sister are still in Gaza, unable to travel to the United States because of visa restrictions.
“I’m cooking Palestinian food. I’m talking about Palestine. That’s my country. And if the war destroys everything, I still love this country,” Fadwa said.
A home she loves and hopes to return to once Yassin heals.
Heal Palestine also provides food, water, and supplies for people who are still living in the Gaza Strip and are still working to evacuate more injured children.
You can learn more about the organization here.
Atlanta, GA
First Alert Forecast: Sunny, warm Thursday with isolated weekend rain ahead
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Temperatures will remain well above average through most of the weekend. The first FREEZE is expected early next week.
This morning is starting clear but not quite as chilly as previous mornings. Temperatures will once again climb quickly once the sun rises, reaching the 70s after lunch.
Friday will be yet another warm and mostly dry day with highs in the 70s. Isolated showers could move in after sunset, but we’ll also be watching for some late rain/storms pushing into north Georgia after midnight into early Saturday.
Scattered, on/off rain will be possible for the rest of Saturday into Sunday. Behind Sunday’s front, substantially colder air arrives Monday morning with sub-freezing wind chills expected. The coldest morning will be Tuesday.

Copyright 2025 WANF. All rights reserved.
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