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Metro Atlantans are still optimistic about the economy — less so than last year — and more likely to say they’re spending more on groceries, health care, rent and other bills.

• They’re spending less, however, on entertainment and dining out.

Driving the news: Every six months, McKinsey and Ipsos conduct a massive survey of Americans, asking about their perceptions of the economy.

Memorial Day weekend — the start of the summer travel season — will feature more travelers and higher prices in Georgia.

What's happening: A survey from AAA predicts nearly 1.2 million Georgians will travel 50 miles or more from home this Memorial Day weekend. 

City leaders want to put transit advocates’ concerns to rest: Yes, they’re committed to making sure the Atlanta Beltline will include transit.

Why it matters: The groundbreaking, city-changing, multibillion-dollar project was born from a vision of rail transit circling Atlanta and connecting dozens of neighborhoods.

The Atlanta Braves are about a quarter through their World Series title defense season.

Catch up quick: Last year, the Braves won it all for the first time since 1995.

• This season is also the first time since 2010 that first baseman Freddie Freeman is not on the roster.

Reality check: It is notoriously hard to repeat as champions in professional sports, especially in the MLB.

A day after polls closed, with a razor-thin 0.06% margin over the 50% required to avoid a runoff, state Sen. Burt Jones has claimed victory in the race to be Georgia's Republican nominee for lieutenant governor. However his leading opponent, fellow state Sen. Butch Miller is not conceding.

Driving the news: In a statement, Jones highlighted that he'd won 153 of Georgia's 159 counties. "Now is the time to unite as a party and stand together against whichever Democrat candidate emerges–and I look forward to working together with my primary opponents to do just that."

The power of Donald Trump’s endorsement took a beating in Georgia's primaries as he failed to dislodge all of the Republican elected officials he targeted, including some he's publicly treated as sworn enemies.

Why it matters: Georgia was Ground Zero for Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. His struggle to elevate candidates in the state who loudly echo his lies about stolen elections cast doubt on the 2020 election's continued salience for GOP voters — and may presage his weakened lock on the party.

Incumbent Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger held off a challenge from Rep. Jody Hice in the GOP primary, AP reported early Wednesday, the second major defeat for former President Trump in the Georgia primaries.

Why it matters: Perhaps no Georgia Republican faced as much blowback and as many withering attacks from former President Trump in the aftermath of the 2020 election than Raffensperger.

Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) defeated fellow incumbent Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.) in Bourdeaux's own Georgia's 7th district Tuesday, the AP reported.

Why it matters: The primary was seen as a proxy battle between the moderate and progressive wings of the Democratic Party, though the voting records of the two are similar.