🌱 Parents Charged In Son's Murder + Lidl Coming To Memorial Drive

Hello there, Atlanta. I'm here in your inbox per usual to tell you everything you need to know about what's going on in town.

First, today's weather:

Humid with clouds and sun. High: 90 Low: 72.

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Here are the top five stories today in Atlanta:

1. A man was found shot near a northeast Atlanta Shell gas station yesterday. As of Friday evening, it was unclear what led to the shooting, and the investigation was ongoing. The victim was observed being transported by ambulance to a local hospital. (CBS 46 News)
2. As part of Georgia Credit Union's partnership with HOPE Atlanta, the Smart Lunch, Smart Kid campaign has distributed 1,800 meals to metro Atlanta students. The campaign aims to provide meals to food insecure students in the area. (CBS 46 News)
3. Atlanta parents Robert Williams and Makaylee Nevils were charged for the murder of their two-month-old son on Wednesday. The infant was found unresponsive in September 2020 and cocaine was found in the baby's system, police said. The parents have been charged with cruelty to children in addition to the murder charge. (Atlanta Patch)
4. Lidl, the German discount grocer, is opening a store on Memorial Drive in the Parkview Station shopping center. The grand opening is set for Aug. 17. The news comes two years after the DeKalb County Commission approved the opening of the 30,000-square-foot store. (Reporter Newspapers)
5. Statistics show some states are more effective at having residents get the COVID-19 vaccine than others. Georgia's vaccination rate of 56 percent is lower than the national average of 68 percent. As of Jul. 11, Georgia has only administered about 67 percent of the total vaccination doses they have received. (Patch)

Today in Atlanta:

• Eid Al-Adha At Children’s Museum of Atlanta (9:30 AM)
• Reptile Day At Fernbank! At Fernbank Museum of Natural History (10:00 AM)
• BiteLines Food And Art Tour Of The Atlanta BeltLine At Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail (11:00 AM)
• Sad Summer Festival - Atlanta At Coca-Cola Roxy (12:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Zoo Atlanta is mourning the loss of Larry Bird, their African grey parrot, who passed away Thursday night. You can read more about Larry Bird here. (ZooATL via Twitter)
• Are you looking for somewhere special for date night this weekend? Discover Atlanta has you covered with The Best Date Night Restaurants in Atlanta here. (DiscoverAtlanta via Twitter)
• Atlanta Parks and Recreation is celebrating all of the great things that happened this week in the city. Check out the highlight video on Instagram. (atlparksandrec via Instagram)

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Alrighty, you're all caught up for today! I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow morning with your next update.

— Danielle Fallon-O'Leary

About me: Danielle Fallon-O’Leary is a senior writer with content creation agency Lightning Media Partners and assists Patch.com with community newsletter curation. Danielle also holds a Master’s Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and works part-time as a pediatric speech therapist.