Full-on Friday
June 27 — Witnesses across four states saw and heard a fireball streak across the sky on Thursday afternoon, identified as a “bolide” meteor by the American Meteor Society. A fragment fell through a home in Henry County.
🌩️ Scattered thunderstorms and a high of 89° today. The weekend looks like a carbon copy.
📻 Lois Reitzes signed off yesterday after 45 years at WABE with a special edition of “City Lights.” “My heart is full of gratitude for this career and all it has provided,” Reitzes said.
🗣️ Tucker residents offered feedback on road and trail improvements at a Wednesday open house.
💉 New members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will review its current guidelines for childhood vaccines and Hepatitis B shots.
🏳️🌈 All Stripes, Atlanta United’s LGBTQ+ supporters’ group, is closing out Pride month with Drag Bingo tomorrow.
ELSEWHERE
➡ The Supreme Court ruled that individual Medicaid recipients cannot sue states for removing Planned Parenthood from government-funded health insurance programs.
🏛️ Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, her husband, and their golden retriever will lie in state Friday before a private funeral Saturday after being killed by a gunman.
👠 Influential American Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is stepping down after 37 years in the role.
🎗️ Bill Moyers, who chronicled American life for over three decades on PBS, died at 91 on the same day his final film won an Emmy.
🕖 In today’s Rough Draft:
• Bottle Rocket moves
• Film Review: ‘F1’
• The Sports Section
AND
• Top Stories of the Week
✨ Help provide life-changing mental health support to kids and families across metro Atlanta by attending CHRIS 180’s 25th anniversary CHRIStal Ball on Aug. 16! Get tickets here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. Bottle Rocket moving to South Downtown
🍣 Bottle Rocket, a longtime Castleberry Hill bar and restaurant known for its sushi, burgers, and cocktails, is pulling up stakes this fall after nearly a decade and relocating a half mile away to South Downtown.
A popular spot for Castleberry Hill residents and gameday patrons alike, Bottle Rocket will remain open at its present Walker Street location until closer to the opening on Mitchell Street later this year.
Located between Tyde Tate Thai Kitchen and Spiller Park Coffee along historic Hotel Row, Bottle Rocket will reside on the ground floor of a renovated, early 20th-century storefront.
➳ Read more of Beth McKibben’s exclusive report here.
MORE DINING NEWS
🍻 Women’s sports bar Jolene Jolene is taking over the Brick and Mortar space at Pullman Yards in Kirkwood starting July 4.
How to help calm your dog during fireworks and thunderstorms
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2. ‘F1’ is about teamwork, and also Brad Pitt
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW | BY SAMMIE PURCELL
🏎️ “It’s not about the money.” In Joseph Kosinski’s “F1,” retired and semi-disgraced racecar driver Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) repeats this line often – usually in reference to questions about why he feels the need to cram himself into a metal box and drive in circles at speeds of over 200 mph.
So, what is it about then? For Sonny, it’s about that feeling you get when you drive, the one that makes you feel like you’re flying. The movie itself – a bang-up, invigorating summer blockbuster – tries to give us that same feeling. For the most part, it excels, particularly when it comes to Kosinski’s ability to tell a story within an action sequence.
But the film would also like you to believe that it’s about teamwork, and finding middle ground, and coming together to achieve a common goal – and that’s where “F1” butts up against its star and his persona in rather interesting ways.
💨 Click here to read Sammie’s review.
🍿 Stay in the picture with Scene by Rough Draft, our weekly newsletter about Georgia’s film industry. Subscribe for free.
3. Messi and PSG in Atlanta; Peachtree in one week
BY HANNAH MUCH
⚽ Decatur FC takes on Chattanooga FC for their final game of the season tonight at 7 p.m. at Decatur High School, looking to close out an undefeated season.
⚽ Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosts Inter Miami vs. Paris Saint-Germain in a FIFA Club World Cup Round of 16 match Sunday at noon.
⚾ The Mets shut out the Braves last night as the teams split a four-game series in Atlanta. Los Bravos host the Phillies for a weekend series starting tonight at 7:15 p.m.
🏀 The Hawks made several trades during draft week, landing Atlanta native and UGA star Asa Newell in the first round, while also acquiring a 2026 first-round pick and Boston center Kristaps Porzingis.
🏀 The Atlanta Dream hosts the first-place Minnesota Lynx tonight at Gateway Center Arena at 7:30 p.m. The New York Liberty visits Atlanta on Sunday at 3 p.m.
🎾 Wimbledon starts Monday, with Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka as the men’s and women’s top seeds, respectively.
🇰🇪 Kenyan Faith Kipyegon fell short of breaking the four-minute mile but set a new world record of 4:06.42 in Paris yesterday.
🍑 The Peachtree Road Race returns on July 4, bringing over 50,000 runners and many fans for the world’s largest 10K race.
✨ Help provide life-changing mental health support to kids and families across metro Atlanta by attending CHRIS 180’s 25th anniversary CHRIStal Ball on Aug. 16! Get tickets here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
4. 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 Kroger shoppers in Brookhaven face uncertainty after store closure
② Opening of new Beltline segment creates 6.8 miles of continuous Westside Trail (pictured)
③ Dunwoody Homeowners Association will not support controversial low-income housing proposal
④ Brookhaven City Centre project hit with color mismatch issue
⑤ Hate crime charges pending for suspects who cut up Pride flags in Midtown
✨ Help provide life-changing mental health support to kids and families across metro Atlanta by attending CHRIS 180’s 25th anniversary CHRIStal Ball on Aug. 16! Get tickets here. 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 new, daily word game – Presented by Oglethorpe University, Atlanta’s premier undergraduate learning experience.
