Trump visit to Marietta; The World Cup's final weekend; Rick Jackson Rally

Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson campaigned on his similarities to President Donald Trump in the primary election, but last night in his first rally of the general election, he didn't mention the president's name. GPB's Sarah Callis reports. Jackson focused his speech on his background growing up in foster care and bringing down the cost of living by reducing property and income taxes. As governor, I will treat affordability like a crisis. Because for too many families, it already is. He also attacked his opponent, Democratic nominee, and former Atlanta mayor, Keachlanz Scott Bottoms. Scott Bottoms, meanwhile, has focused on reducing the cost of living and her campaign stops and has held two joint rallies with Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff. The election is on November 3rd. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Callis in Cleveland. President Trump is expected to visit a Georgia high school next week. The president is scheduled to visit Wheeler High School in Marietta on Wednesday. He is expected to highlight policies aimed at affordability.

Argentina and Spain will face off in the FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday for the chance to be named Soccer's World Champions. The South Americans, led by Leonel Messi, rallied to beat England in the semifinal in Atlanta on Wednesday. That match was the last of eight that the city hosted over the past month as more than a half million fans claim to watch the world's best play in Atlanta. But it's not the last thing we have to talk about with GPB's John Nelson. He joins us now to preview the tournament's final weekend. John, it's great to talk with you again. As always, my friend, great to see you. I know that you've gotten more sleep than I have over the last six weeks. It was a lack of sleep for a great thing. It was great soccer played. Let's talk with you about the final, the defending champions versus the odds-on favorite. What does each team bring to the match? Oh, boy. With Spain, you have a suffocating defense and some great stars on offense. For Argentina, you have the aura of a defending champion. You have a team that does not quit. And I was discussing this with my wife, actually. We were talking about Argentina, and one of our favorite documentaries is the documentary of North Carolina State when they won the national championship in college basketball 40 years ago. And their point guard, Derek Wittenberg, was always talking about in the documentary that they were trailing and they were always coming from behind. It's like they were comfortable there when they were down. And that's what you ended up with, Argentina, 18, that... did not quit. And there were some issues obviously with England and they're defending and doing it entirely too early. And Argentina took advantage of it. And that's why they're playing for back to back. And Spain? Spain, like I said, it's just suffocating defensively. And when you've got an offense like what you have with Laminia Mall and Mikhail Oigathobel, it is going to be an interesting clash of styles when it comes to this match. How does Spain approach it? Do they just go pedal down? Do they try and suffocate Argentina like England tried and did so unsuccessfully? I'm intrigued and me and about a billion other folks will be just as intrigued. As we noted earlier in the program, Sunday is the 30th anniversary of the 1996 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Atlanta. Once World Cup 2026 ends, how do you think its legacy will hold up in light of the Olympic legacy? Wow. I think that if you look at it by the numbers. 544,000 people went to go see all eight matches total at Atlanta Stadium, as we call it then. Then you had the fan festival that had another half a million folks, 27,000 guests each day. You had all the media coming from 82 countries. You had MARTA moving two and a half million people, which is usually, I think it's 200% increase as to what they're used to doing. And so I think it's just another mark for the city of Atlanta and for the southeastern United States.

United States about what Atlanta brings to the table as the home for soccer in the United States. Well, I'll remember all the jersey wearing fans walking around my neighborhood. And I live two miles away. I mean, I'm like, that's just, I mean, that's the cool part of this. And it wasn't, and it was, it wasn't just the nations that were playing on that day. It was a chance for anyone who was a fan of insert country here to show their support. It was a chance for me to empty out my wallet and get gear from Uzbekistan and Kabul Verde and DR Congo, and the boss has already claimed it all. So, I mean, it's a way to remember and reinforce what's good about us as a people and what sport can do as a unifier. Thank you so much for your expertise. We appreciate it. Anytime, my friend, it's always great to talk about the beautiful game. Sunday will mark 30 years since the opening ceremony at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. It comes as the city wraps up another milestone, serving as a host city in the FIFA World Cup. Soccer fans and brothers, Marcus and John Maycar, were at the city's last World Cup match on Wednesday. and remember the 96 games. I had an international, a hostel out in Decatur, and we had a restaurant, so it was just work all the time, but it was a lot of fun. It was great. Were you around? No. You were too young. I came in. Three guys from my high school in Tulsa Oklahoma were in the Olympics that year. GPB celebrates the Olympic anniversary with the documentary The Games in Black and White. The film highlights the key friendship between Ambassador Andrew Young and Olympic CEO Billy Payne. Who would have thought that today, this story? from 30 years, 35 years ago would have the kind of social relevance and meaning and importance, a critical message for our time. If you want to learn more about the history of how the Olympics came to Atlanta, you can watch the documentary The Games in Black and White on our website. Go to gpb.org and search for the games in black and white to watch on demand. It's also on the GPB app and will air on GPB television. on July 27th at 9.30 p.m. And in Atlanta, tomorrow afternoon, a special screening featuring the film's director, producer, and writer will take place at the Terra Theater at 1.30. The organizers of the 35-year-old Savannah Bridge Run have canceled this year's event because of what they're calling circumstances beyond their control. About 5,000 runners and walkers race across the city's iconic and relatively steep Talmadge Memorial Bridge each December in what organizers call the South's toughest bridge run. It's also the only time pedestrians are allowed on the bridge. Organizers wrote in an email sent yesterday,

that the 2026 run is canceled because of upcoming bridge renovations. A Georgia Department of Transportation spokesperson says the agency is planning to shorten the bridge's cables later this year as part of a project to raise the bridge's deck between 15 to 20 feet to allow larger ships to pass underneath the bridge. That project is expected to close lanes on the bridge. An artificial intelligence data center company is expanding in Columbus with a five-year $111 million agreement. Florida-based Duos Edge AI announced the contract with an undisclosed company yesterday. Choose Columbus, the Local Development Authority's marketing arm, says it's not connected to the controversial Project Ruby Data Center project. Outdoor lifestyle brand L.L. Bean plans to open its first location in Georgia. National retail developer Edens said on Wednesday that L.L. Bean will anchor a new mixed-use destination, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Hills, going into the site of the former North DeKalb Mall in Decatur. And in Georgia Sports, the Atlanta Hawks have announced Atlanta-based gray media as their broadcast partner for all non-nationally televised regular season games. The announcement yesterday secures Hawks broadcasts across the state following the closure of Main Street Sports Group, which also impacted Atlanta Braves broadcasts. And finally today, Alan Walden, one of the key figures in the city of Macon's rise to international musical fame has died. Walden and his brother Phil had their first taste of success managing soul music artists like Otis Redding. After Redding's death, they and a third partner started the Capricorn studio and label, home to the Allman Brothers Band in Macon. In a 2018 interview with GPB, Alan Walden said he gave up his share of the Capricorn business for a chance to go out on his own and manage bands his brother passed on like Leonard Skinner. I gave all that up for $9,000 and an IBM typewriter in the roller days. That's all I asked for. In my kettle. Walden managed Leonard Skinnerd while they enjoyed their biggest hit Sweet Home Alabama. Alan Walden was 83 years old. And that's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. Hit subscribe on this podcast to stay current with us in your feed. Send us feedback to Georgia Today at gpb.org. And as always, visit gpb.org slash news for many of the stories that you hear on this podcast and others. That's it for me this week. It's been a pleasure filling in for Peter Beello this week. He'll be back again on Monday for another edition of Georgia Today.