Morning, y’all. It’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together, provided everyone’s wearing T-shirts. Temps in the city could reach 70 degrees on Christmas Day.
Let’s get to it.
PARENTS CALL FOR CHANGE AFTER SCHOOL ABUSE CLAIMS
Parents of students in the Rockdale County school district are sounding the alarm over what they say have been several incidents where teachers have physically harmed students.
At least two confirmed incidents
- A teacher at Conyers Middle School was fired this month after beating a 13-year-old boy in a classroom. The boy told his mother, video footage confirmed the assault and the teacher was arrested.
- In 2023, an autistic boy was assaulted by a paraprofessional. The teaching assistant was fired and arrested, but the boy’s mother said she’s still in a legal battle with the district.
More alleged incidents
- Kianna Chennault, an attorney for one of the parents, says her firm has seen four cases of alleged abuse from teachers in Rockdale County schools in the past two years. Three of the four students involved have special needs.
Parents demand change, the district responds
- Chennault says parents want more than reactive responses from the district. “We don’t want more of the same. We really want them to not just offer money, but to address some of these systematic patterns that we’ve noticed.”
- Rockdale County Public Schools released a statement saying they’ve invested in security cameras and systems in their schools, and respond quickly to allegations of abuse.
- “Rockdale County Public Schools takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and will not tolerate any behavior that harms children,” the statement read.
🔎 READ MORE: What parents want from the district
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GEORGIA POWER GETS OK FOR BIG DATA CENTER PLAN
Georgia’s Public Service Commission approved Georgia Power’s historic $16 billion power fleet expansion to serve the rapid encroachment of data centers in the state.
- Georgia Power says it will keep rates lower for customers, but critics say it’s a lose-lose in the long run for both customers and the environment.
- The plan includes construction of new power resources, and the final price tag could soar to $50 billion or $60 billion.
- The PSC’s five members unanimously voted for the plan despite calls from activists and experts to delay the vote and let two new commission members, elected in November, take their seats.
🔎 READ MORE: How much power can $16B buy?
MAN FOUND SHOT AT ATLANTA AIRPORT
An investigation is underway after a man was found shot yesterday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, officials said.
Around 3:30 p.m., Atlanta police were called to the South Terminal and found a man suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to airport spokesperson Herschel Grangent Jr.
“APD arrived on the scene and secured the firearm,” Grangent said in a statement. “The individual was transported to a local hospital, and no one else was injured.”
🔎 READ MORE: Latest updates on the investigation and potential charges.
ATLANTA’S 2025 MEDIA YEAR IN REVIEW
I still can’t decide if media news is interesting to anyone who isn’t in the media. Assuming it is, the AJC’s Rodney Ho recapped everything that happened in Atlanta’s media scene this year. Just a few big stories:
- The Bert Show ended, as did Christian pop station 104.7 The Fish.
- CNN and Warner Bros. Discovery went to the auction block once again.
- One hit Georgia-based TV show came to a close, but a historic new soap opera began.
🎙️ READ MORE: Notable ATL media deaths, challenges and new beginnings
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
📂 The Justice Department released just a fraction of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case despite a congressionally mandated deadline for a full release. Trump admin leaders say it’s to protect the privacy of victims. Supporters of the release have cried foul, saying it smells like a cover-up. Victims who have come forward have expressed unease with the partial, heavily redacted release.
🌊 Could 2026 be the year of Georgia’s great blue flip? After some blows in 2025, it’s a question on every state Republican’s mind.
⚖️ The Georgia State Election Board is still trying to get their hands on Fulton County ballots and other documents from the 2020 election. A Fulton County judge’s latest ruling keeps the request alive.
🍪 The 2025 Cookie and Coal Awards: The AJC politics team weighs the good, the bad and the aaaaaahh!!! aggghh … eeuughh!!! from the year in Georgia politics.
SANTACON! SANTACON!
The Little 5 Points SantaCon swung into town this weekend, bringing zany music from local marching band icon Seed & Feed and dozens of candy cane-toting revelers in tow.
- The merry band, dressed in Santa hats and every conceivable flavor of holiday garb, made their way around several L5P watering holes and riled up crowds with favorites like “Feliz Navidad” and “Jingle Bell Rock.”
- SantaCon has been a rollicking Atlanta tradition for nearly 20 years. The AJC’s Danielle Charbonneau was on the scene to talk history, costumes and the thousands the event raises for local charities each year. (And the photos are amazing.)
🎺 READ MORE: How far SantaCon has come and what it means to locals
NEWS BITES
How do you know someone’s an SEC fan? They call hot toddies “hotty toddies” without even thinking about it.
Buford High School Football wins national championship title, ranked No. 1 in the country
Wolves on top! Congratulations, gentlemen!
Brush up on your festive facts: How Christmas became a global holiday
I was going to make some joke about the Holy Roman Empire, but this is actually a really cool, well-researched read.
NORAD continues decades-long tradition of tracking Santa Claus’ journey
Even Santa can’t escape our surveillance culture.
ON THIS DATE
Dec. 22, 1968
$400,000 of ransom reportedly recovered: Buried girl’s thumping draws FBI. The dramatic story of the end of the search for kidnapped Barbara Jane Mackle was told Saturday by sources close to the investigation. FBI agents, presumably following directions from the kidnapper, were making a careful sweep through a wooded area of Gwinnett County. One of the agents heard a thumping noise, noticed two vents protruding from the ground almost beneath his feet and, minutes later, Miss Mackle was freed from her plywood coffin.
A literal Christmas miracle: Mackle, an Emory University student, was buried for three entire days before being found.
ONE MORE THING
Since we’re nearing the end of the year, I’m thinking about my personal “best of” lists. If you have a “best” you enjoyed this year, let me know! Maybe the best book you read or the best Georgia restaurant you tried. You get the idea. Remember to include your name and where you live, so we know you’re a real person. (Are we, though? I’ll never tell.)
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.
About the Author
AJ Willingham is an National Emmy, NABJ and Webby award-winning journalist who loves talking culture, religion, sports, social justice, infrastructure and the arts. She lives in beautiful Smyrna-Mableton and went to Syracuse University.
