‘Mad As Hell’: Federal Judge Hears Arbery's Parents, Rejects Deal

Good morning! It’s Tuesday, Feb. 1. We’re already a month into 2022 — and if you’re reading this from the office, you have two months to complete your first-quarter goals.

Here are three fast facts to start your day:

• Your morning obsession — the internet phenomenon Wordle — has been sold to The New York Times in a deal that’s said to be in the “low millions” of dollars.
• Free coronavirus testing? Not so quickly. Some Americans are getting surprise medical bills with COVID-19 testing.
• Moderna received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, though millions of Americans already have gotten the drugmaker’s COVID-19 vaccines since they became available last year.

‘Mad As Hell’: No Deal

A federal judge refused to accept a plea bargain agreement the white father and son who killed Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, as he jogged through his neighborhood in Georgia in 2020.

Arbery’s father told reporters he was “mad as hell” about the deal, which would have allowed Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael, to serve the first 30 years of their first-degree murder sentences in a federal rather than state prison, where conditions are tougher.

“Ahmaud is a kid you cannot replace,” Marcus Arbery said. “He was killed racially, and we want 100 percent justice, not no half justice.” » Judge Rejects Plea Deal In Arbery Killers’ Federal Trial, via Atlanta Patch

Tom Brady: In Or Out?

If you follow the NFL with more than a passing interest, you’ve probably got a feeling one way or another about Tom Brady, who has the most career wins of any quarterback in the league. Monday night, Brady broke his silence amid conflicting reports of his retirement. » Brady Breaks His Silence On Retirement, via Foxborough, Massachusetts, Patch

DA Asks FBI For Protection

Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis is asking the FBI for protection after she said Donald Trump made veiled threats against her and other DAs and urged supporters this weekend to demonstrate against any of the multiple state prosecutors considering charges against him. » Trump Speech Raises Security Concerns For DAs, via Atlanta Patch

Patch Readers Say …

We asked, and you answered. More than 1,000 of you told us what the Washington Football Team’s new name should be. » Top Choices For Washington Football Team Name: Survey, via Washington, D.C., Patch

Around ‘The Patch’

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Held 'Hostage' At JFK: Some JetBlue travelers said they were on the tarmac for hours, others were delayed 10-plus times, via Queens, New York, Patch.

Passengers Help Deliver Baby: Passengers converted the business class section of an overseas flight bound for Dulles Airport to help a woman in labor deliver her baby, via Herndon, Virginia, Patch.

Political Aide And A Hit Man: Even by the standards of New Jersey politics, observers were stunned when a Democratic political consultant pleaded guilty to hiring hit men in 2014 to kill a fellow consultant — reportedly, a state senator's son whose mysterious death had never been solved, via Jersey City, New Jersey, Patch.

Pittsburgh Bridge Collapse: The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating Friday's collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge, via Pittsburgh Patch.

Ex-Miss USA Dies: Cheslie Kryst, 30-year-old winner of the 2019 Miss USA pageant, is being mourned after a fatal plunge from her 42nd Street building, via Midtown-Hell’s Kitchen, New York, Patch.

NeNe Leakes Sells Georgia Mansion: "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star NeNe Leakes sold the 10,000-square-foot estate for a little more than $2.6 million, via Duluth, Georgia, Patch.

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