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Atlanta airport TSA lines stretch for hours amid shutdown

With nearly 40% of TSA staff out, ATL travelers were told to arrive four to five hours early.

Travel

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will assist short-staffed TSA officers starting today at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Mayor Andre Dickens said.Why it matters: The deployment by President Trump thrusts the very agency that sparked the shutdown with its conduct in Minnesota into the nation&#x27;s airports to deal with the consequences, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Axios&#x27; Andrew Pantazi reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/22/trump-ice-agents-airports-tsa-dhs-shutdown" data-vars-content-id="e45ad5fe-4d1e-4d03-bcf0-baa713b47834" data-vars-headline="Atlanta airport TSA lines stretch for hours amid shutdown" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/22/trump-ice-agents-airports-tsa-dhs-shutdown" target="_self">Axios&#x27; Andrew Pantazi reports</a>.

Atlanta surpasses goal to house 400 people before World Cup

The Atlanta Rising campaign has built 387 housing units and another 112 are expected to open by April.

Politics

Atlanta&#x27;s Downtown Rising initiative has helped move over 400 people off the street and into housing, marking <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="a major milestone" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2025/11/21/atlanta-housing-affordability-world-cup" data-vars-content-id="5cb51301-f616-45db-a862-d9bc05924708" data-vars-headline="Atlanta surpasses goal to house 400 people before World Cup" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2025/11/21/atlanta-housing-affordability-world-cup" target="_self">a major milestone</a> in its effort to reduce homelessness in the city.Why it matters: The city&#x27;s push to house its most vulnerable residents kicked into high gear last year as preparations began for <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the World Cup" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2025/06/12/2026-fifa-world-cup-atlanta" data-vars-content-id="5cb51301-f616-45db-a862-d9bc05924708" data-vars-headline="Atlanta surpasses goal to house 400 people before World Cup" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2025/06/12/2026-fifa-world-cup-atlanta" target="_self">the World Cup</a>.

Colorectal cancer's alarming rise in young Georgia adults

Many young adults in Georgia aren't getting screened early enough.

Health

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Colorectal cancer" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/08/05/early-colorectal-cancer-screening-more-cases" data-vars-content-id="3f2600cc-5d1d-47e8-8cdb-a14b2afd2505" data-vars-headline="Colorectal cancer&#x27;s alarming rise in young Georgia adults" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/08/05/early-colorectal-cancer-screening-more-cases" target="_self">Colorectal cancer</a> is now the deadliest cancer for Americans <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="under 50" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/03/02/colorectal-cancer-rises-55-and-younger" data-vars-content-id="3f2600cc-5d1d-47e8-8cdb-a14b2afd2505" data-vars-headline="Colorectal cancer&#x27;s alarming rise in young Georgia adults" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/03/02/colorectal-cancer-rises-55-and-younger" target="_self">under 50</a>, per new <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="JAMA research" data-vars-click-url="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2844189" data-vars-content-id="3f2600cc-5d1d-47e8-8cdb-a14b2afd2505" data-vars-headline="Colorectal cancer&#x27;s alarming rise in young Georgia adults" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2844189" target="_blank">JAMA research</a> — and cases are rising in Georgia.Why it matters: Screening more young adults for colorectal cancer could save lives.

Stat du jour: Atlanta airport traffic snarled

Storms, a checkpoint closure and TSA shortages have slowed Atlanta's airport to a crawl this week.

News

<h2 class="text-h6 !font-sans !font-normal !leading-[1.2em]">3,053</h2>Total number of canceled and delayed flights flying in and out of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport since Monday morning, according to Flight Aware.Zoom in: Awful weather, a security checkpoint closure and TSA <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="staffing shortages" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/12/tsa-dhs-shutdown-airports-donations" data-vars-content-id="eb025ab3-9bee-476b-89b3-cfcd7160e650" data-vars-headline="Stat du jour: Atlanta airport traffic snarled" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/12/tsa-dhs-shutdown-airports-donations" target="_self">staffing shortages</a> related to the partial government shutdown have slowed the world&#x27;s busiest airport to a crawl.Of note: On Tuesday, airport officials asked travelers who are taking a domestic flight to use the domestic terminals.<ul><li>Word has <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="apparently gotten out" data-vars-click-url="https://x.com/jisaacraymond/status/2033920464632811697?s=20" data-vars-content-id="eb025ab3-9bee-476b-89b3-cfcd7160e650" data-vars-headline="Stat du jour: Atlanta airport traffic snarled" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://x.com/jisaacraymond/status/2033920464632811697?s=20" target="_blank">apparently gotten out</a> about Hartsfield-Jackson&#x27;s best kept secret: passing through TSA in the international terminal and riding the Plane Train is a great way to skip gridlock in the domestic terminal.</li></ul>State of play: Airline CEOs including Delta Air Lines&#x27; Ed Bastain have called on Congress to end the shutdown.

Georgia moves to cut income taxes again

The slice could cost $870 million. Lawmakers are eyeing deeper reductions in the years ahead.

Money

Your total annual tax bill depends on where you live, with state income taxes varying from nonexistent all the way up to nearly 14% for some especially high earners.Why it matters: Some states with low (Georgia) or no (Florida) individual income tax are <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="attracting lots of new residents" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/01/05/fastest-growing-us-counties-population" data-vars-content-id="8ff2e1ff-7211-43c1-a2a5-aa7e7dd74cf9" data-vars-headline="Georgia moves to cut income taxes again" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/01/05/fastest-growing-us-counties-population" target="_self">attracting lots of new residents</a>. But they <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="could find themselves in trouble" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/03/13/fema-state-funding-trump-executive-order" data-vars-content-id="8ff2e1ff-7211-43c1-a2a5-aa7e7dd74cf9" data-vars-headline="Georgia moves to cut income taxes again" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/03/13/fema-state-funding-trump-executive-order" target="_self">could find themselves in trouble</a> in a world with less federal financial aid.

Trump's Georgia voter base relies on spending Musk's DOGE might cut

The Georgia counties most reliant on government transfer payments were Quitman (47%), Calhoun (44%), Clay (43%), Telfair (43%), Johnson (43%) and Hancock (43%).

The incoming administration will face stark fiscal arithmetic: Most federal dollars go to direct transfers to Americans, disproportionately located in the very places that propelled President-elect Trump back to the White House.Why it matters: If the Elon Musk/Vivek Ramaswany-led <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Department of Government Efficiency" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2024/11/13/trump-musk-doge-efficiency-commission" data-vars-content-id="b1487aad-66e2-43d3-af35-05403ed53a36" data-vars-headline="Trump&#x27;s Georgia voter base relies on spending Musk&#x27;s DOGE might cut" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/11/13/trump-musk-doge-efficiency-commission" target="_self">Department of Government Efficiency</a> is to achieve anything approaching the $2 trillion in annual cost savings they&#x27;ve floated, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="slashing bureaucrats from the federal payroll" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2024/11/22/musk-ramaswamy-federal-employee-cuts" data-vars-content-id="b1487aad-66e2-43d3-af35-05403ed53a36" data-vars-headline="Trump&#x27;s Georgia voter base relies on spending Musk&#x27;s DOGE might cut" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2024/11/22/musk-ramaswamy-federal-employee-cuts" target="_self">slashing bureaucrats from the federal payroll</a> or payments to well-heeled contractors wouldn&#x27;t be enough.<ul><li>Rather, that would require cuts to programs on which the counties that backed Trump heavily depend.</li><li>Big-ticket transfer programs operated by the federal government include Social Security ($1.3 trillion in outlays in 2023), Medicare ($1 trillion), Medicaid ($616 billion), income security programs like unemployment benefits and food stamps ($448 billion), and federal employee pensions ($197 billion).</li><li>Mandatory programs like those added up to 69% of non-interest federal spending in 2023. Their combined $3.75 trillion in spending was more than twice as much as defense and non-defense discretionary spending combined ($1.7 trillion).</li></ul>By the numbers: Researchers at the Economic Innovation Group <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="analyzed county-level data" data-vars-click-url="https://eig.org/great-transfermation/" data-vars-content-id="b1487aad-66e2-43d3-af35-05403ed53a36" data-vars-headline="Trump&#x27;s Georgia voter base relies on spending Musk&#x27;s DOGE might cut" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://eig.org/great-transfermation/" target="_blank">analyzed county-level data</a> on how much personal income was driven by those federal transfer programs in 2022, as opposed to income earned from wages, investments, and the like.The big picture: Overall, in the counties most reliant on transfer payments — where they account for more than 25% of all income — Trump won 63% of the vote.<ul><li>In those counties least reliant on transfers, accounting for 15% or less of total income, Vice President Harris won 56% of the vote, according to an <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="analysis" data-vars-click-url="https://agglomerations.substack.com/p/the-economic-geography-of-the-2024" data-vars-content-id="b1487aad-66e2-43d3-af35-05403ed53a36" data-vars-headline="Trump&#x27;s Georgia voter base relies on spending Musk&#x27;s DOGE might cut" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://agglomerations.substack.com/p/the-economic-geography-of-the-2024" target="_blank">analysis</a> by Sarah Eckhardt, Connor O&#x27;Brien and Ben Glasner of EIG.</li></ul>Zoom in: In Georgia, counties closer to metro Atlanta saw the lowest reliance on transfer payments while central and south Georgia counties reported higher amounts.<ul><li>The counties most reliant on those payments were Quitman, where 47% of income was from government transfers, followed by Calhoun (44%), Clay (43%), Telfair (43%), Johnson (43%) and Hancock (43%).</li><li>The bulk of government transfer payments were Medicaid and Medicare, followed by Social Security. </li><li>Half of those counties voted for Trump, while the other half (Calhoun, Clay and Hancock, which are all majority Black) voted for Harris. </li><li>Quitman, Clay and Hancock also had higher percentages of people who are age 65 or older.</li></ul>Meanwhile, Forsyth (7%) was the least reliant, followed by Fulton (8.3%), Oconee (10%), Cobb (12%) and Cherokee (13%).<ul><li>The share of people in those counties who are over age 65 was much lower than in the counties more reliant on transfer payments.</li></ul>Context: There are multiple types of counties with high rates of transfer payments. Some, for example, are prosperous places that are popular among retirees receiving Social Security and Medicare.<ul><li>Others are more economically distressed, resulting in a greater reliance on Medicaid and income support benefits. In some of these communities, federal transfers account for a massive share of all income.</li></ul>Zoom out: Owsley County in Kentucky led the nation with 63% of personal income from transfer payments, and it topped 50% in 13 other Kentucky counties. Trump carried the state by almost 31 points.Reality check: The administrative cost of these programs tends to be a small fraction of the money spent; the overwhelming cost is the benefits themselves. For Social Security, for example, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="administrative overhead" data-vars-click-url="https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/admin.html" data-vars-content-id="b1487aad-66e2-43d3-af35-05403ed53a36" data-vars-headline="Trump&#x27;s Georgia voter base relies on spending Musk&#x27;s DOGE might cut" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/admin.html" target="_blank">administrative overhead</a> is about 0.5% of total spending.<ul><li>That added up to $7.2 billion in 2023 — meaning even if you replaced federal employees with AI customer service bots, the savings would be trivial in the scheme of the whole federal budget.</li></ul>The bottom line: &quot;The primary drivers of greater transfer spending are an aging society and rising health care costs, not wasteful programs or a radically more generous welfare state,&quot; EIG president John Lettieri tells Axios.<ul><li>&quot;Therefore, if we want to reverse this trend, we need the nation as a whole to look more like the places that are relatively less dependent on transfers today — areas with strong population and economic growth alike.&quot;</li></ul>

EarnIn: The way to drop the debt and gain financial freedom

Debt is the biggest barrier to financial freedom  — that’s why EarnIn abolished $10.6 million of consumer debt in Atlanta. 🤑

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="EarnIn" data-vars-click-url="https://www.earnin.com/?utm_source=axios&amp;utm_medium=pr&amp;utm_campaign=Axios_BRAND_Web_Broad_CPM_oCPM_S1_DebtRelief_ForgiveCo_20240604" data-vars-content-id="ee70e38a-f0a5-4316-b1c5-9417e9b6ec91" data-vars-headline="EarnIn: The way to drop the debt and gain financial freedom" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.earnin.com/?utm_source=axios&amp;utm_medium=pr&amp;utm_campaign=Axios_BRAND_Web_Broad_CPM_oCPM_S1_DebtRelief_ForgiveCo_20240604" target="_blank">EarnIn</a> has abolished $10.6 million worth of consumer debt for Atlanta residents, impacting more than 8,800 locals across the Atlanta metro area.Why it&#x27;s important: Georgia residents hold $6,265 on average in credit card debt — and the state ranks the eighth-highest in the country for personal debt.

Downtown Atlanta offices can be used for housing, study says

28% of offices in Downtown Atlanta are vacant

Converting <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="vacant offices" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2024/01/30/atlanta-office-apartments-housing" data-vars-content-id="6f4ec34f-7593-4913-8e7f-2e399e6aa784" data-vars-headline="Downtown Atlanta offices can be used for housing, study says" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2024/01/30/atlanta-office-apartments-housing" target="_self">vacant offices</a> into housing could generate 1,500 affordable homes in Downtown Atlanta, research shows.<ul><li>But it would require a $48 million public subsidy.</li></ul>Why it matters: 28% of offices in Downtown are vacant, largely due to the rise in <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="remote work" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2024/01/16/ceo-return-to-office-wars" data-vars-content-id="6f4ec34f-7593-4913-8e7f-2e399e6aa784" data-vars-headline="Downtown Atlanta offices can be used for housing, study says" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/01/16/ceo-return-to-office-wars" target="_self">remote work</a>. Converting some of those properties could bring more people into the neighborhood, add more transit-adjacent housing and breathe new life into a struggling neighborhood.

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