Atlanta Hawks begin Post-Trae era with road trip

Friday honors

Jan. 9 — It’s Peach Bowl time! The No. 5 Oregon Ducks take on the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Mercedes-Benz Stadium (ESPN).

☔ Showers and 68° today. A repeat for Saturday, but Sunday is looking mostly sunny with temperatures dropping into the 40s.

🗳 With affordability a top concern heading into the elections this year, Georgia’s Senate Republicans are proposing billions of dollars in cuts to the state income tax.

🗣️ Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett, a Democrat, abandoned a run for commission chair and launched a bid for Georgia secretary of state.

💸 Despite the state’s historic $14 billion budget surplus, the Georgia foster care system is facing a $85 million deficit, forcing immediate service cuts and halts on placements.

ELSEWHERE

🚨 Two people were wounded in Portland, OR, when a Border Patrol agent opened fire during a vehicle stop, a day after an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. Here’s the latest.

🇻🇪 In an overnight social media post, President Donald Trump said he canceled a planned second wave of attacks on Venezuela.

🩺 The House revived Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years, sending the Senate a bill that GOP leaders there said they plan to scale back.

🏆 The Golden Globes are at 8 p.m. on Sunday on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:

• 20 Under 20 honorees• Film Review: ‘Primate’

• The Sports Section• TrustDALE

AND

• Top Stories of the Week

🎼 Be immersed in old-world elegance with Prague Philharmonia, led by Emmanuel Villaume, Sat., Jan. 23 at Sandy Springs PAC. Hear an early Mozart violin concerto, Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, and Dvořák’s bright, lyrical Symphony No. 8. Get tickets. SPONSOR MESSAGE

1. Meet our 20 Under 20 honorees for 2026

🏆 Rough Draft presents our 17th annual 20 Under 20 honorees for 2026. As in past years, we are in awe of these students’ abilities to excel academically while giving back to the community in such meaningful ways.

Again, this year’s nominations were impressive, with more than 100 entries received. From creating nonprofits and fundraising for cancer research and other worthy causes, this year’s honorees have gone above and beyond to bring positivity and leadership to the community.

While narrowing down this year’s honorees and runners-up was the toughest ever, we think these students will inspire and motivate you to give back to your communities.

➳ Meet all the honorees here.

Teach your old fur new tricks!

SPONSORED BY RESTYLE YOUR FUR

❤️ Do you have a sentimental fur, stole, jacket, or coat hanging in your closet, collecting dust and not being worn? Let Restyle Your Fur perform an unforgettable “trans-fur-mation.”

Restyle Your Fur is a division of Labelle Furs, an Orlando 5th-generation family business since 1919, and one of the few premier furriers in the U.S.

Come visit our event at Magnolia Moon in Alpharetta City Center on Thurs., Jan. 15, and Fri., Jan. 16, from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. during our recycle fur and mink restyling event.

➡ Learn more here.

2. Practical effects save the day in ‘Primate’

WEEKLY FILM REVIEW | BY SAMMIE PURCELL

🙉 Michael Myers. Freddy Krueger. Ghostface. All iconic slasher villains who made their mark by hunting and killing terrified teens. Now, with the film “Primate,” a new name has joined their ranks: Ben.

As you probably guessed, Ben is the titular chimpanzee at the center of Johannes Roberts’ new horror film (is Ben kind of a dumb name for a chimp? Yes, but let’s forget about that for now). Ben, once a kind and loving animal, was adopted by a family in Hawaii to live alongside them as a strange mix of brother and pet. But when he’s bitten by a rabid mongoose, he turns into a psychotic killer with intelligence to rival Hannibal Lecter (or perhaps his victims are just stupid – who’s to say?).

Ben is the true calling card of “Primate,” which otherwise is a fairly standard slasher, filled with forgettable performances, but with some truly gnarly gore and practical effects. Ben himself is the most impressive of those practical effects, and luckily, Ben is the real star of “Primate.” Because when the killer chimp isn’t on screen – pounding his chest or engaging in a little light face-ripping – the movie suffers for it.

🍌 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. Hawks begin Post-Trae era; Miami advances

BY SAMANTHA GARDELLA | SPONSORED BY NYO

🏈 In the College Football Playoffs:

No. 10 Miami advanced to the National Championship after beating No. 6 Ole Miss with a last-minute touchdown at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl last night.
No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 5 Oregon in tonight’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

🏈 The NFL Playoffs begin tomorrow afternoon with the Panthers vs. the Rams at 4:30 p.m. (FOX), followed by the Bears at the Packers at 8:30 p.m. (Prime Video).

🏀 After trading Trae Young to the Washington Wizards, the Hawks begin a week-long road trip starting in Denver tonight at 9 p.m. (FanDuel Sports; 92.9 FM).

🏈 The Falcons are searching for a new President of Football, a position that will have final decision-making authority for the organization.

🏐 The Atlanta Vibe lost their season opener 1-3 to the Columbus Fury last night. Their next game is against Grand Rapids on Sunday at 4 p.m. at Gas South Arena (CBS Sports).⛳️ Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s company, TMRW Sports, announced a partnership with the LPGA to a new women’s golf league with matches beginning next winter.

🏀 Here are this weekend’s local college basketball games:

Georgia men and women are in Columbia, SC this weekend on Saturday (2 p.m. men) and Sunday (2 p.m. women) against the Gamecocks (ESPN2; 95.5 FM).
Georgia Tech men are in Coral Gables to play Miami tomorrow at noon (ESPN2, 93.7 FM).
Georgia Tech women host Clemson on Sunday at 4 p.m. (ACC Network; 93.7 FM).
Georgia State men host Marshall tomorrow at 4 p.m. (97.5 FM).
Georgia State women host James Madison tomorrow at 1 p.m. (ESPN+).
Emory men and women are in Rochester for a doubleheader tomorrow afternoon (FloCollege).
Kennesaw men host Jacksonville State tomorrow at 5 p.m. (ESPN+).
Kennesaw women are playing Florida International tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Miami (ESPN+).

4. Why smart renovations do not start in January

TOGETHER WITH TRUSTDALE

🏚️ Trust Dale is setting the record straight on some of your more lofty New Year’s resolutions.

They’re not telling you anything you don’t know, but the new year has a way of pressuring homeowners into action. Fresh calendars and clean slates just feel good, right? All those empty dates make it seem like the right moment to start major home projects is “right now”!

But you need to take a comfy seat and a deep breath. The hard truth is that January is rarely the best time to begin construction, renovations, or repairs. It is, however, the perfect time to prepare for them.

➡️ More on that here from TrustDALE.