Atlanta, GA
Rico Wade, trailblazing hip-hop producer from Atlanta, dies at 52, family says
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Rico Wade, a trailblazing songwriter and record producer from Atlanta, has died at 52, his family announced.
Wade was part of Organized Noize, a production team that worked with OutKast, Goodie Mob, TLC and other prominent hip-hop groups. He was also a founding member of The Dungeon Family, an Atlanta-based music collective made up of famous hip-hop, funk and soul artists.
“We are deeply saddened by the sudden and unexpected passing of our son, father, husband, and brother Rico Wade,” his family said in a statement. “Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of a talented individual who touched the lives of so many. We ask that you respect the legacy of our loved one and our privacy at this time.”
In a joint news release, Organized Noize and The Dungeon Family described Wade as the “cornerstone” of the groups.
“The world has lost one of the most innovative architects in music, and we have lost an invaluable friend,” they said. “We will forever treasure his memory and the moments we shared, creating music as a united team.”
Notable Atlanta figures have taken to social media to mourn the artist. Killer Mike, an Atlanta rapper and activist, said he is praying for Wade’s family.
“I don’t have the words to express my deep and profound sense of loss,” he wrote on Instagram. “I deeply appreciate your acceptance into The Dungeon Family, mentorship, Friendship and Brotherhood. Idk where I would be without ya’ll.”
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens called Wade a “musical genius.”
“A product of Atlanta Public Schools, he led in the creation of a hip-hop sound that has spanned decades and genres,” Dickens wrote. “Without Rico Wade, the world may have never experienced The Dungeon Family, OutKast, Goodie Mob, Future and many more. Rico left an indelible mark on music and culture around the world and for that, the South will always have something to say.”
Copyright 2024 WANF. All rights reserved.
Atlanta, GA
Decatur Square businesses thrive during 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup and WatchFest: “…beyond our wildest imagination”
With all the soccer fans visiting metro Atlanta, local businesses are reaping the benefits.
In Decatur, shops and restaurants on the Decatur Square are seeing a surge in foot traffic during the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup and Decatur WatchFest.
Lee Fewell, manager and bartender at The Brick Store Pub on the square, said the excitement has been nonstop. “It’s been really crazy,” Fewell said. “We have our outback garden area just completely filled up. We added some TVs, and it’s just been full capacity at any given moment.”
While Wednesday night was relatively slower than recent days, Fewell noted that business is usually quieter during the summer. This year, however, the restaurant saw its biggest day ever when the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team played its first match in the tournament.
“It’s been 29 years this month since this place opened, but usually, it is definitely not like this,” Fewell said. “This is, I think, beyond our wildest imagination.”
Across the square, Siam Thai Restaurant is also enjoying record-breaking business. “We sold out of beer,” said Narit Narajit-McCrary, who works at the restaurant. “I had to go to the supermarket to restock for Monday.”
Narajit-McCrary said the World Cup boost has far exceeded expectations: “During the summer, normally it’s very slow for business, but this summer has been very good for us.”
Atlanta, GA
FBI orders field offices to send analysts to Atlanta for 2020 election investigation, sources say
The FBI is ramping up its investigation into the 2020 election results in Fulton County, Georgia, by ordering field offices across the country to send investigative analysts to Atlanta to help evaluate thousands of records, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
According to a memo sent to all field offices and reviewed by CBS News, the Directorate of Intelligence requested “surge support” to Atlanta to assist in what it called FBI Director Kash Patel’s “priority” investigation. The memo did not explicitly discuss the nature of the investigation, but multiple sources confirmed to CBS News the subject of the memo is the 2020 election probe in Fulton County.
The memo calls on every FBI field office to assign analysts, seeking to reach a total of 260 analysts. Large field offices are being asked to contribute eight analysts each, while small and medium offices must dedicate between three and five analysts. They are being asked to review 708 records each, and complete the work by July 17, the memo shows.
These “tactical intel” staffers typically provide help with day-to-day casework, such as running license plates, doing open-source checks on subjects of investigations, phone analysis, preparing subpoenas and reviewing subpoena returns.
The surge of personnel was first reported by MS Now.
President Trump has repeatedly alleged without providing evidence that officials in heavily Democratic Fulton County manipulated ballot counts in 2020 and that large numbers of votes in the state were cast by deceased Georgians, nonresidents or other ineligible participants.
After Mr. Trump lost Georgia by 11,799 votes, he frequently claimed the election had been “rigged.” But Joe Biden’s win in Georgia was confirmed in both a machine recount and an audit that involved hand recounts by every county in the state.
Earlier this year, the FBI executed a search warrant in Fulton County where it seized “all physical ballots” from 2020, as well as tapes from vote-tabulating machines, ballot images and voter rolls. Home to Atlanta, Fulton County was crucial to Biden’s narrow 2020 win in the state.
The case was referred to the FBI by Kurt Olsen, a lawyer who previously fought to help overturn the results of the 2020 election and now works for the Justice Department, where he is assigned in Miami to help investigate the so-called “grand conspiracy” into whether Obama and Biden-era officials conspired to keep President Trump out of office.
A judge in May denied a request by Fulton County to return the ballots that were seized.
The FBI declined to comment.
I think it’s time to chat again about Eric Hartman. The Braves’ now top prospect completed a 20 HR, 30 SB season on July 1st, through 71 games of his season. He was also ranked the 25th prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America and it’s getting easier every day to see him in the top 10 by the offseason. This is simply a hugely valuable prospect coming from a 20th round pick just two years ago and the back end of the organizational top 30 as recently as March. While he’s only at high-A (probably not for long) and still has work to do on his game, he has rapidly become a potential superstar on the position-player side for an organization that desperately needed talent on that hitting side and has got it this year from not only Hartman.
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