Hydrate
Friday, July 3 — Today is the state and federal observance of tomorrow’s Fourth of July holiday, so the banks, post offices, and stock market are all closed.
🌤️ Partly cloudy and 92° today, with a stray afternoon shower possible. This weekend will also see temperatures in the 90s, with scattered thunderstorms on Sunday.👀 Nearly 40 restaurants and bars opened for business around Atlanta in June.
🏠 The historic Martin Luther King Jr. Birth Home will reopen to visitors on July 4 after more than two years of renovations.
🌳 A documentary from James Schroeder about Atlanta’s tree canopy caught the attention of lawmakers in Brookhaven.
🎀 OaksATL Community Development recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion and grand opening of 880 North on the Westside.
ELSEWHERE
💼 U.S. employers added just 57,000 jobs in June, well below forecasts, while unemployment ticked down to 4.2% as the labor force participation rate hit a four-year low.
🗣️ President Donald Trump defended his family’s business dealings during a CNBC interview after his 2025 financial disclosure revealed he made more than $2 billion.
⚖️ Olympic canoeist David Hearn faces felony charges for allegedly damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool with his bare hands.
🌡️ Record-breaking heat will continue to grip the eastern U.S. over the weekend, forcing cities to cancel or reschedule Independence Day festivities.
💍 Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce hosted a rehearsal dinner for about 100 guests at Madison Square Garden last night, ahead of a larger 1,000-person wedding tonight.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• Kyle Pease @ Peachtree Road Race
• The Sports Section
• Movie Review: ‘Minions & Monsters’
• COSM
• Upcoming Events
AND
• Top Stories of the Week
⚽ When the matches end, the dining begins. After cheering on your favorite teams across Atlanta, savor the city’s best tables during Buckhead Restaurant Week, July 27-Aug. 1. More than 50 restaurants serve exclusive prix-fixe menus. Learn more here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. The Kyle Pease Foundation push teams tackle the Peachtree
VIA THE RESET, A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER ABOUT HEALTH AND WELLNESS | SUBSCRIBE —
NOTE: 🥵 Due to extreme heat and humidity forecasted for July 4, the Peachtree Road Race will begin under “red” flag conditions. —
🦽 Nearly 60,000 runners, walkers, and wheelchair racers will line up in Buckhead early tomorrow morning for the annual Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race, the country’s largest 10K.
Push teams from The Kyle Pease Foundation (KPF), a local nonprofit dedicated to providing inclusive sports opportunities for people with disabilities, will be among the athletes taking on the hot, humid, and hilly Atlanta course covering 6.2 miles down Peachtree from Buckhead to Piedmont Park in Midtown.
Founded by brothers Kyle and Brent Pease after they finished their first triathlon in 2011, KPF now provides inclusive racing opportunities for more than 150 athletes each year. They are fixtures, cheering and wheeling along Atlanta’s biggest race courses, like the Publix Atlanta Half Marathon, as well as at other national race events.
🇺🇸 Learn more about the foundation here.
You can hear the fireworks. Can you hear your friends?
SPONSORED BY CLEARWORKS AUDIOLOGY
🎆 The Fourth of July fills the air with booms, crackles, and laughter – but for the 1 in 5 adults with hearing loss, the conversation is often the hardest part to follow.
Hearing loss doesn’t just affect what you hear. It affects how connected you feel. Straining to keep up in a crowd, nodding along, quietly withdrawing – it chips away at the moments that matter most.
You deserve to be fully present with the people you love.
ClearWorks Audiology is Sandy Springs’ and Atlanta’s trusted choice for hearing care – let’s get you back in the conversation.
➞ Visit our website to learn more.
2. More on the Peachtree; World Cup fixtures
SPONSORED BY COSM ATLANTA
🎽 The 57th Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race is tomorrow, running from Lenox Square to Piedmont Park. This year’s running looks to be one of the hottest on record – and will begin under “red” flag conditions – so if you’re running, drink lots of water, and if you’re watching, consider a water in between each beer or mimosa.
News & Notes
- If you haven’t picked up your number yet, you have until 6 p.m. to get it at the race expo at Lenox Square.
- The Peachtree Junior is today from 9-11:30 a.m., also at Lenox.
- Wheelchair athletes begin at 6:12 a.m. tomorrow, with the elite men starting at 6:43 a.m., followed immediately by the elite women and then the masses.
FIFA WORLD CUP
⚽ Spain, Portugal and Switzerland advanced to the Round of 16 with wins yesterday.
📺 Watch these upcoming FIFA World Cup™ matches at Cosm:
Round of 32
- Australia vs. Egypt – Today @ 2 p.m.
- Argentina vs. Cabo Verde – Today @ 6 p.m.
- Colombia vs. Ghana – Today @ 9:30 p.m.
Round of 16
- Canada vs. Morocco – Tomorrow @ 1 p.m.
- Paraguay vs. France – Tomorrow @ 5 p.m.
- Brazil vs. Norway – Sun., July 5, @ 4 p.m.
- Mexico vs. England – Sun., July 5, @ 8 p.m.
- Portugal vs. Spain – Mon., July 6, @ 3 p.m.
- USA vs. Belgium – Mon., July 6, @ 8 p.m.
- TBD – Tues., July 7, @ 12 p.m.
- Switzerland v TBD – Tues., July 7, @ 4 p.m.
Quarterfinals
- TBD – Thurs., July 9, @ 4 p.m.
🏀 The Dream are tied for first place in the Eastern Conference with New York after falling to Washington last night. Atlanta hosts Golden State tomorrow at 1 p.m.
🏀 Dream forward Angel Reese said it was “disrespectful” that no Atlanta players were named WNBA All-Star starters, despite ranking among the league’s top vote-getters.
⚾ The Braves’ bullpen, which leads the league in ERA, surrendered seven runs in the seventh inning as the Cardinals rallied for an 11-5 win last night. The Mets come to town for a weekend series beginning tonight at 7:15 p.m. (Braves.TV; 93.7 FM).
3. ‘Minions & Monsters’ is for cinephiles with kids – and no one else
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW | BY SAMMIE PURCELL
📽️ About halfway through Pierre Coffin’s “Minions & Monsters,” we see an old-timey newsreel. The film is set in the 1920s, and the newsreel tells us a few important things about the time we find ourselves in: the economy is thriving, everyone is happier than ever, and the minions are the biggest draws the box office has ever seen.
Most of this does not apply to the world we actually live in. Still, the minions are a huge financial success. Combined with “Despicable Me,” the “Minions” franchise has made about $5.6 billion globally – and that doesn’t include the hundreds of millions in merchandise they’ve sold.
“Minions & Monsters” feels like the type of movie you only get to make when you have those kinds of numbers to back you up. The results may vary, depending on who you are. But “cinephiles with kids” feels like the core demographic – and for the most part, “Minions & Monsters” hits that mark.
👾 Click here to read Sammie’s review. You can also read her review of John Early’s film “Maddie’s Secret” here.
🍿 Stay in the picture with Scene by Rough Draft, our weekly newsletter about Georgia’s film industry. Subscribe for free.
4. FIFA World Cup™ Comes Alive at Cosm Atlanta
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COSM ATLANTA
⚽ The world is coming to Cosm Atlanta. The excitement of the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ reaches new levels as fans are transported pitchside in Shared Reality.
When countries from around the globe compete to be crowned world champions, there’s one way to witness it all pitchside without leaving Atlanta. The massive, ultra-high-definition dome inside Cosm Atlanta puts fans inside the stadiums for the biggest event in the world.
🍑 PeachFest is back! PeachFest returns July 12 to Underground Atlanta for an unforgettable celebration of Georgia peaches. Enjoy chef-crafted dishes, creative cocktails, live music and experiences from Atlanta’s top chefs, bartenders, artisans and farmers. Bring your friends. Learn more and buy tickets today. SPONSOR MESSAGE
5. Upcoming events
🎹 Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan at Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park tonight at 7:30 p.m.
🤣 Best of Atlanta Comedy Showcase at Laughing Skull Lounge, tomorrow at 5:30, 8, and 10:30 p.m.
📚 After closing four years ago, Barnes & Noble will reopen at Edgewood Retail District on July 8 at 10 a.m.
📖 Local author Emily Giffin will discuss her new book, “Love You More,” at the Atlanta History Center on July 10.
6. 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 Dunwoody City Council to consider rezoning for 24-home community with three homes in the city
② Driver accused of DUI, killing 50-year-old woman in Downtown Atlanta
③ Atlanta Pride announces 2026 Grand Marshals
④ Furkids opens new non-traditional dog shelter
⑤ With Baltic Deli, a Roswell couple brings a taste of Poland to Metro Atlanta (Pictured)
➡️ Experience Etienne Jackson’s Inward: A Meditation on Memory & Presence, the second annual South Fulton County Invitational exhibition at ArtsXchange’s Jack Sinclair Gallery. This abstract work explores ancestry and transformation through wood, metal, and mixed media. Artist Talk & Closing: 3-5 p.m. July 11. Free. Details here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
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