Friday chills
Dec. 6 — The suspect wanted in the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday may have traveled by Greyhound bus from Atlanta to New York, law enforcement sources told CNN last night.
☀️ Sunny and cold today with a high of only 45°. The weekend will be a mix of sun and clouds with highs in the upper 50s.
🔎 The GBI is investigating the officer-involved fatal shooting of a man on interstate I-75 who stabbed a bus passenger on Thursday morning.
🇨🇳 President-Elect Donald Trump has named former Georgia Sen. David Perdue as ambassador to China.
🌳 Sandy Springs lost more than 80 acres of tree canopy due to the Transform 285/400 improvement project, according to a new report.
🏢 Portman has completed work on Ten Twenty Spring, a new office tower in the Spring Quarter mixed-use development in Midtown.
🍗 Mothers Best Fried Chicken is opening in Decatur today with a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m.
📬 The U.S. Postal Service has failed to deliver on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s pledge to restore on-time mail delivery in Georgia, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff said Thursday.
🎸 R&B legends Boyz II Men and alternative rock darlings O.A.R. will headline the 2025 Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival on March 29-30.
🎭 Horizon Theatre’s beloved holiday production of “Madeline’s Christmas” opens this weekend.
ELSEWHERE
➡ A 7.0 magnitude earthquake rattled Northern California yesterday, causing a tsunami warning, power outages, and disrupting San Francisco’s subway system.
🎨 Miami’s annual Art Basel event begins today.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• December food guide
• Pattie Baker’s epic journey
• Film review: ‘Queer’
• The Sports Section
AND
• Top Stories of the Week
Have a good weekend,
Collin & Sammie
🎼 Celebrate the season with the ASO & Chorus as they perform timeless carols, Thurs., Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. Then start the new year with Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Fri., Jan. 10 at 3 p.m. and Sun., Jan. 12 at 3 p.m. Get tickets here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. 15 food and drink events to attend around Atlanta in December
🎁 Welcome to December! It’s time to learn what’s going on food and drink-wise in your neighborhood this month.
We have a roundup of holiday bars to check out, as well as seasonal dinners, high teas, and other festive events to attend. No matter how you’re looking to celebrate this year, our December events roundup is loaded with food-related things to do.
❄️ Check out the full list here.
The secret to a fresh smelling pet is….
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2. Pattie Baker’s epic journey: five months, 10,000 miles, and a duck
🚴 Bicyclist Pattie Baker is a familiar sight as she tools around Dunwoody with a rainbow-colored rubber duck on her handlebar and a pool noodle on the back of her rig to ensure a safe distance for oncoming and passing vehicles.
Baker has not only used her bicycle as her primary mode of transportation in Dunwoody, but also around the world.
Her latest book, “Round America with a Duck,” chronicles her five-month, 10,000-mile trip across the United States on her foldable bike. She traveled between cities using public transit and used her bike while exploring the area around each stop.
🦆 Read more about Baker’s journey here.
3. Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Queer’ is bold, baffling, and beautiful
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW | BY SAMMIE PURCELL
🇲🇽 “Queer,” based on the William S. Burroughs novella of the same name, is the work of a director who seems acutely aware of the way he and his work are perceived.
It’s the older, weirder, smellier cousin of something like director Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me By Your Name,” still beautifully rendered but with darkness rearing its ugly head. Repressed desire, desperation for human connection, vicious cycles that repeat themselves again and again – these are all themes that appear in both works. But in “Queer,” Guadagnino approaches them through a more mature, experimental lens. It’s a film that, while sometimes baffling, is endlessly fascinating in its construction, with two perfectly pitched performances at its center.
🐍 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.
4. Dawgs face Texas in SEC Championship; Hawks on five-game win streak
By: JIM BASS
♂️ The Sports Section is Sponsored by Gameday Men’s Health Buckhead, offering testosterone, weight loss, peptide, and ED therapies so you can get back in the game. Learn more today!
🏈 No. 5 Georgia takes on No. 2 Texas for the SEC Championship tomorrow at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta at 4 p.m. The game is a rematch of earlier this season when the Bulldogs beat the Longhorns 30-15 in October (ABC; 95.5 FM).
🏀 The Hawks host the Lakers tonight at 7:30 p.m. Atlanta enters the matchup with a five-game winning streak (FanDuel Sports Network; 92.9 FM).
🏈 The Falcons play the Vikings in Minneapolis on Sunday at 1 p.m. (FOX; 92.9 FM). The team looks to end a three-game losing streak as quarterback Kirk Cousins makes his return to Minnesota to play his former team.
🏀 Georgia State hosts Kennesaw State tonight at the GSU Convocation Center in Atlanta at 7 p.m. (ESPN+; 88.5 FM).
🏈 Mercer hosts Rhode Island for the second round of the FCS playoffs tomorrow at 2 p.m. (ESPN+).
🏈 The Drive for the GHSA State Title continues tonight with a Class 5A semifinal matchup between undefeated Lee County and undefeated Milton, live on the Peachtree Sports Network at 7:30 p.m. Stream the show here.
⚽ The Los Angeles Galaxy plays the New York Red Bulls in the MLS Cup Finals tomorrow at 4 p.m. (Fox).
🤺 Atlanta is set to host a fencing tournament this weekend at the Georgia International Convention Center. The event begins today and will feature over 1,300 teenage fencers and parafencers from across the U.S.
🏐 The Atlanta Vibe volleyball team is gearing up for its second season with the first open practice being held at Seckinger High School on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Vibe’s first game of the season is on Jan. 10 against Omaha.
🎄 Don’t miss this weekend’s Miracle on Peachtree festivities! Saturday kicks off with wreath decorating, then a hot chocolate crawl in Buckhead Village, ending with the Georgia Boy Choir performing at the tree lighting ceremony in Charlie Loudermilk Park. Get details and join the fun! SPONSOR MESSAGE
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 State releases list of low-performing schools eligible for voucher program
② Veteran Atlanta stage actor Chris Kayser dead at 75 (pictured)
③ Eshé Collins wins Atlanta City Council seat in runoff
④ MARTA train back on track after derailment causes havoc for commuters
⑤ Helen Harden, founder of legendary Westside restaurant Bankhead Seafood, has died
💭 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!
📧 Today’s newsletter was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
🔤 Don’t miss our new, daily word game – you have six chances to guess a five-letter word connected to a news story.
