Breaker one
Monday, Aug. 10 — A new election committee made up of mostly Republican legislators held its first meeting on Friday to end the use of QR codes and move Georgia back to hand-marked ballots for the 2028 election cycle.
🌤️ Scattered thunderstorms and a high of 89° today.
🎗️ Ben Jones, who played mechanic Cooter Davenport on “The Dukes of Hazzard” and later served two terms in Congress representing Georgia’s Fourth District, died yesterday. He was 84.
📻 Cumulus Media’s recent layoffs included several on-air staffers from 99X’s revived “Morning X” show, including host Steve Barnes, who called radio “a brutal business.”
🏭 Siemens announced plans for a $185 million manufacturing plant near Pendergrass, GA, bringing more than 1,400 jobs to Jackson County.
🚒 Melvin K. Carter, a 26-year department veteran and lifelong county resident, is the new chief of DeKalb County Fire Rescue.
🛍️ Trademark Property Company assumed management, leasing, and operations of Atlantic Station.
📚 A fundraiser to support the 2026 Decatur Book Festival is scheduled for Thurs., Aug. 13 at Wild Heaven Beer in Avondale Estates.
ELSEWHERE
🏦 The White House revived its effort to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook, a Milledgeville, GA native, giving her three weeks to respond to unproven mortgage fraud allegations the Supreme Court left unresolved in June.
🏜️ Lake Mead fell to its lowest level in roughly 90 years, deepening the Colorado River’s crisis. Officials said the reservoir was projected to keep dropping through the year.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• High school football preview
• Georgian Corner restaurant
• Global Headlines
AND
• Look & Listen
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1. High school football preview
🏈 High school football kicks off this week with the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic.
Rough Draft has partnered with Score Atlanta, one of the state’s largest producers of television and digital broadcasts of Georgia high school sports, for our annual High School Football Preview.
Hear What Matters
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2. Georgian Corner brings dishes from the country of Georgia to Roswell
🇬🇪 Georgian Corner is a triple-threat in Roswell, providing the north Atlanta suburb with a bakery and cafe, Eastern European market, and full-service restaurant under one roof. It’s also the only restaurant in Metro Atlanta, and likely the state, dedicating its entire menu to Georgian food.
Married couple Nina Armstrong and Gocha Gelashvili opened Georgian Corner on Crabapple Road in November 2025. A few months later, they opened a quick-service cafe next door, adding a robust grocery section to create a market selling Georgian and Eastern European items.
🥟 Read Sarra’s story on the Georgian restaurant here.
MORE DINING NEWS
🍕 Washington, D.C.-based &pizza, known for its oblong pizzas, will open a location at The Interlock on Northside Drive in September.
🍖 The second annual Youth Pitmaster Competition returned to the back fields of the Midway Recreation Center last Saturday, where youth aged 12-24 competed for cash prizes and the coveted title of DeKalb County’s Best Youth Pitmaster.
3. Upcoming Events
⚾️ Mets vs. Braves at Truist Park; Tonight at 7:15 p.m. (also Tuesday and Wednesday).
🎭 The 2026 Essential Theatre Play Festival tonight at 8 p.m. at 7 Stages Theatre.
🪩 Barry Manilow at Gas South Arena tomorrow at 7 p.m.
🎤 Local authors are encouraged to bring short fiction and poetry to read at the Literary Open Mic on Wed., Aug. 12, at 7 p.m. at Wild Aster Books in Chamblee.
📚 Lit Atlanta: Books, Booze & Beats, a night of literary karaoke where participants read from classic texts, Thurs., Aug. 13, at 6:30 p.m. at Monday Night Brewing.
4. Netanyahu rebukes Trump plan for Gaza; Puerto Rico faces severe drought
🇺🇸🇮🇷 Iran struck a vessel owned by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the Strait of Hormuz Saturday, as Tehran said the waterway wouldn’t reopen until the U.S. “corrects” its behavior.
🇸🇦🇾🇪 Houthi rebelsstruck Saudi-backed military targets in Yemen, killing two people. The U.N. warned Yemen faced its greatest risk of renewed conflict since a 2022 truce.
🇮🇱🇵🇸 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected President Donald Trump’s15-point Gaza peace plan, insisting Israeli forces would not withdraw until Hamas achieved “genuine” disarmament.
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico began mandatory water rationing on Friday amid a severe drought, with San Juan officials warning outages could stretch up to 72 hours at a time.
🇷🇺🇺🇦 Russia intensified missile and drone attacks across Ukraine over the weekend, killing at least 13 people, while a Ukrainian drone strike killed 13 people and wounded 38at an oil refining hub inside Russia today.
🇪🇸 Spain is expected to offer the world’s best view of Wednesday’s total solar eclipse as the Moon’s shadow sweeps across Europe, Iceland, Greenland and the North Atlantic.
🇨🇳 Typhoon Dolphin slammed into eastern China on Sunday, forcing the evacuation of more than 300,000 residents and grounding over 1,300 flights.
🇨🇦 A state of emergency was declared in British Columbia as a fast-moving wildfire forced more than 20,000 people to evacuate.
🇨🇮 A sacred talking drum looted by French colonial troops in 1916 returned to its home village in the Ivory Coast.
🇫🇷 Dutch rider Demi Vollering won her secondWomen’s Tour de France.
🗓️ How does Congress shape America’s role in the world? Join the World Affairs Council of Atlanta for a conversation with former U.S. Senator and Ambassador Jeff Flake as he explores the critical role Congress plays in U.S. foreign policy. Ambassador Flake will offer insights into the relationship between Congress and the executive branch, the forces shaping American engagement abroad, and what is at stake for U.S. leadership in a rapidly changing global landscape. Register today.
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5. Streaming suggestions
Executive Editor Collin Kelley is back with some streaming suggestions for August, including thrillers, sci-fi, and a nostalgic documentary.
🔎 Netflix’s adaptation of Harlan Coben’s“I Will Find You” is a thrilling, twisty tale of a father imprisoned for murdering his son, only to find out he’s still alive. Totally improbable, highly bingeable.
💼 The second season of the Paramount+ thriller“Lioness,” about female CIA operatives fighting the war on terror, is back with its impeccable all-star cast led by Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, and Zoe Saldaña.
🧬 Pluto TV is streaming all five seasons of the mind-bending, whip-smart sci-fi series “Fringe,” about an elite FBI team investigating threats from a parallel universe.
📺 The HBO documentary “Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story” time-warps back to pre-internet days for a look at the NYC public access television icon’s long-running – and often naughty – call-in talk show.
🤝 Community starts with connection. Meet Rosemary Watts and Nikki Washington and discover how they’re helping shape Perimeter through connection, placemaking, and community in the Heart of Perimeter video series. SPONSOR MESSAGE
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