Friday for all
Dec. 12 — Time Magazine named the “Architects of AI” its 2025 Person of the Year, saying this was the year artificial intelligence fully broke into mainstream life, reshaping work, wealth, geopolitics, and daily routines, with no real option to slow down or opt out. The magazine’s tradition dates back to 1927, when aviator Charles Lindbergh was recognized.
☀️ Sunny and warmer today with a high of 61°. The weekend is looking like more of the same, but temperatures will plunge into the 20s on Sunday night.
📉 Economists have offered a “sobering” forecast for 2026, marking the second consecutive year of slowed growth across the U.S. and Georgia.
🗣️ DeKalb County Schools officials will meet with principals concerning ICE raids after community members voiced concerns about immigration protocols.
💰 The Fulton County Commission rejected Commissioner Dana Barrett’s $1 million women’s health grant funding proposal during its December meeting.
💼 Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens appointed Marquetta J. Bryan as city attorney and Vanessa Manley as executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Constituent Services.
📰 The AJC’s immersive “Headline House” pop-up is at Krog Street Market today through Sunday, featuring marquee conversations, multimedia installations, and food.
ELSEWHERE
❌ Indiana’s GOP-controlled Senate rejected a congressional map that would have dismantled the state’s two Democratic districts, rebuffing intense pressure from the president.
⚕️ The U.S. Senate on Thursday rejected a pair of competing healthcare bills as tax credits are set to end Dec. 31, and trigger big premium hikes for millions of Americans.
🤳 Tourists from 42 countries would have to submit five years of social media history to enter the U.S. under a new plan proposed by the White House.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• Dining out for Christmas• Movie Review: ‘Hamnet’
• Sandy Springs @ 20
• The Sports Section
AND
• Top Stories of the Week
Have a good weekend!
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1. Atlanta restaurants offering dine-in and takeout for Christmas
🍗 Planning to dine out on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
Several restaurants around Atlanta will serve special holiday menus on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. For people gathering at home, let a local restaurant do the cooking, from just the entrees to whole family feasts.
Check out OpenTable and Resy for more comprehensive lists of metro Atlanta restaurants open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Wrap Up a Year Full of Surprises
SPONSORED BY FERNBANK MEMBERSHIP
🎁 Looking for a meaningful gift?
A Fernbank Membership offers a full year of discovery with unlimited daytime general admission to exhibits, films, and outdoor adventures.
🌲 It’s a gift that inspires curiosity and connection. Members explore 75 acres of nature in WildWoods and Fernbank Forest, featuring seasonal programs, canopy walks, and a nature play area – plus three floors of immersive science exhibits indoors.
And exciting news: Fernbank is launching new museum experiences soon, beginning with “Our Place in the Cosmos“ in late 2025.
✨ Look for our Holiday 2025 sale running Dec. 18-25.
2. ‘Hamnet’ and the act of creation as communion
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW | BY SAMMIE PURCELL
🎭 From the moment Agnes (Jessie Buckley) and Will (Paul Mescal) – more commonly known as William Shakespeare – first meet, a particular dynamic arises. Her emotions come easy, raw, and unfiltered, while he finds it necessary to process his through art.
“Hamnet,” Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel of the same name, dramatizes that dynamic in connection with the death of the couple’s 11-year-old son Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe), which in turn inspires perhaps Shakespeare’s most famous play, “Hamlet.” (The film begins by telling us that those two names would have been interchangeable at the time.)
While a bit clunky in its narrative setup, “Hamnet” slowly nestles into your heart, evolving into a beautifully considered meditation on art and legacy, but not necessarily in the way you expect a movie that’s, at least in part, about William Shakespeare, to be. Although “Hamnet” is unmistakably about grief, it feels trite to pin its considerations down to just the process of dealing with unimaginable loss. Instead, “Hamnet” is also about the pain and joy of creation, both in parenthood and art. It’s about two people in a constant dance with each other and the world, reckoning with their pasts in an attempt to build something stronger together.
🌲 Read Sammie’s full review here.
🍿 Stay in the picture with Scene by Rough Draft, our weekly newsletter about Georgia’s film industry. Subscribe for free.
3. Sandy Springs @ 20: Founders look back
SPONSORED BY MWT WINDOWS
🎉 As Sandy Springs celebrates its 20th anniversary, Rough Draft Atlanta has compiled a series of stories celebrating its journey and looking towards the future.
Today, we hear from Sandy Springs Reporter founder Steve Levene on why local journalism remains important, and city founders remember Eva Galambos (pictured), the mother and inaugural mayor of Sandy Springs.
Online coverage of Sandy Springs @ 20 is sponsored by MWT Windows. Get a free consultation today!
4. Falcons win; GHSA Football Championships
BY SAMANTHA GARDELLA | SPONSORED BY NYO
🏈 Days after they were formally eliminated from the playoffs, the Falcons engineered a late comeback to beat the Buccaneers 29-28, capped by Kirk Cousins’ three-TD night and a walk-off field goal.
🏀 The Hawks are in Detroit tonight for a 6 p.m. game followed by a home game against Philadelphia on Sunday at 6 p.m. (FanDuel Sports; 92.9 FM).
⚽ Atlanta United signed Santiago Pita to a Homegrown contract for the 2026 season, with club options through 2029.
🤯 A group of European football fans has accused FIFA of betraying World Cup traditions after ticket prices for group matches up to $700 and finals nearing $9,000, far above earlier promises of affordable seats.
🏈 Here is the latest update on local college football playoffs:
- No. 3 Georgia’s next game is the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
- Georgia Tech is heading to the Pop-Tarts Bowl against BYU on Dec. 27.
- Kennesaw State plays in the Myrtle Beach Bowl against Western Michigan on Dec. 19.
🏀 Here are this weekend’s local college basketball games:
- Georgia men are playing in the Holiday Hoopsgiving against Cincinnati at State Farm Arena tomorrow at 2 p.m. (ESPNU).
- Georgia women host North Carolina A&T on Monday at 11 a.m. (ESPN; 92.9).
- Georgia Tech women @ Wake Forest on Sunday at 2 p.m. (ACC Network Extra; 93.7 FM).
- Georgia Tech men host Marist on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (ACC Network Extra, 93.7 FM).
- Georgia State women host local rival Kennesaw State on Sunday at 2 p.m. (97.5 FM).
- Georgia State men host Jacksonville State tomorrow at 2 p.m. (97.5 FM).
- Morehouse @ Lane College at 4 p.m.
🏈 Here is an overview of the Georgia High School Football Championship games set for Dec. 15-17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium:
- Class 6A: Buford vs Carrollton
- Class 5A: Gainesville vs Thomas County Central
- Class 4A: Creekside vs Benedictine
- Class 3A: Jefferson vs Sandy Creek
- Class 2A: Hapeville Charter vs Carter
- Class A Div I: Toombs County vs Worth County
- Class A Div. II: Bowden vs Lincoln County
- Class Private: Calvary Day vs Hebron Christian
🏈 The GHSA lifted the postseason ban it placed on Brunswick High School after their head coach, Garrett Grady, stepped down earlier this week.
🚨 The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Greene County High School football coach Darius Terrell Robinson was arrested and accused of assaulting multiple players.
☕ Indulge your sweet tooth at Livable Buckhead’s Hot Chocolate Crawl this Sat., Dec. 13! Enjoy hot chocolate and specialty cocktails while strolling through Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza, and Peachtree Road. Local musicians and visits from Santa add to the festive fun. Admission is free!
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5. Top stories of the Week
A look back at this week’s most-read stories from our website. Follow @RoughDraftATL on Instagram for regular updates.
① Raffensperger announces full-scale investigation of worker accused of scanning multiple ballots
② New lane to open on I-285 westbound to ease traffic flow
③ DeKalb board votes to name expanded Dunwoody High School stadium after Ryan Seacrest and his family (pictured)
④ After 45 years on Roswell Road, El Azteca is all in on Sandy Springs
⑤ Democrat Eric Gisler wins in Northeast Georgia House special election
☕ Indulge your sweet tooth at Livable Buckhead’s Hot Chocolate Crawl this Sat., Dec. 13! Enjoy hot chocolate and specialty cocktails while strolling through Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza and Peachtree Road. Local musicians and visits from Santa add to the festive fun. Admission is free! SPONSOR MESSAGE
💭 Test your knowledge of the week’s news in tomorrow’s News Quiz. Keep an eye out for our email at 8 a.m. or bookmark this page!
🔤 Don’t miss News Word Atlanta, our daily word game.
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