A.M. ATL: Willis lets it rip

Morning, y’all! Now that the penny’s out of circulation, my husband and I have started offering each other a nickel for our thoughts. However, some pennies are worth more than others: The last ones to be produced sold for millions at auction. That’s a lot of thoughts.

Let’s get to it.

FANI WILLIS GOES ALL IN

On Tuesday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis did nothing to tamp down expectations when asked about her impending testimony.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will testify before the Senate Special Committee on Investigations today, and she’s promised it’ll be like “Christmas.”

• The committee was specifically created to investigate Willis’ actions in the criminal case she brought against Donald Trump and 18 others related to the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
• Willis was removed from the politically divisive case earlier this year over claims of an inappropriate relationship, and the case subsequently fell apart.
• The state committee is stocked with Georgia Republicans holding big political ambitions, including several lieutenant governor candidates.
• Willis has defied subpoenas from the panel in the past but will testify under oath. When asked about her testimony on Tuesday, she spoke (without naming names) about threats of political violence and abuses of power. “We are in a country that has leaders that don’t know how to lead,” she said.

She also threw down the gauntlet for today’s proceedings:

“Tomorrow, you’ll get Christmas.”

What does it mean? We’ll find out soon.

🔎 READ MORE: Who’s who at the Fani Willis testimony

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COLLEGE ACCREDITATION CONTROVERSY

If you’re not a regular subscriber to College Accreditation News Monthly, now is the time to pay attention:

• Georgia and five other states recently formed the Commission for Public Higher Education, an accreditation agency positioned as a conservative alternative to so-called “woke” higher education accreditors.
• College accreditation is important because it’s how schools access federal funds. Of course, they must meet an agency’s academic standards. The Trump Administration has made much ado about challenging these standards.
• Now, Columbus State and Georgia Southern have both volunteered to submit to accreditation through the new conservative agency. They join eight other schools in the effort.

🔎 READ MORE: Here’s a great explainer on what it all means

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

🩺 Georgians have more time to sign up for health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. The national deadline for 2026 plans was Monday, but Georgia residents have until Jan. 15 to sign up for coverage that begins in February.

⚡ DeKalb County has extended a moratorium on the development or expansion of data centers for six months after hearing from residents who are fiercely opposed to the facilities. The moratorium could still be made moot, but it shows how both residents and politicians are weighing data centers’ risks.

ELF ON THE SHELF IS FROM GEORGIA?!

Christa Pitts (left) and Chanda Bell, sisters and co-CEOs of The Lumistella Co., which produces Elf on the Shelf, pose for a portrait at Lumistella headquarters in Atlanta in October.

How did I not know THE Elf on the Shelf was born right here in Georgia? I’ve slandered that strange little imp in the past, but that’s because I don’t have children and am averse to whimsy. It’s still super cool to know it’s a Peach State creation.

• Today’s Must Read dives into the hometown lore of the Christmas creature, which turns 20 this year but sprung ageless from the imagination of a Marietta family. Some highlights:
• The tradition began with metro Atlantans Carol Aebersold and her twin daughters, Chanda Bell and Christa Pitts. In the 1970s, Aebersold used a vintage elf figurine she named “Fisbee” and added some loosely adapted Scandinavian folklore to create something fun for her daughters.
• Since 2005, more than 30 million Elf beings have been “adopted” by families all over the world.

🔎 READ MORE: The moment the family knew the Elf had made it

NEWS BITES

These metro Atlanta restaurants are open on Christmas Day

Because not everyone celebrates, after all.

Jane Austen acolytes (yours truly included) celebrate the author’s 250th birthday

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that she is the forever GOAT.

How to handle holiday regression and hometown anxiety

We all have our methods, but they’re probably not printable.

Is Pantone’s Cloud Dancer White actually the color of the moment?

[annoying art pedant voice] White isn’t a color; it’s a shade.

ON THIS DATE

Dec. 17, 1961

Albany police arrest Dr. King, 266 others… demonstrators … were jailed here Saturday night after a “freedom march” led by Dr. King on City Hall. The march came on the heels of an announcement by the city ending negotiations for a settlement of racial dispute. More mass demonstrations loomed as a strong possibility next week, particularly with Dr. King in jail. He told a newsman he did not plan to post bond.

The Albany Movement is considered a critical early fight in the Civil Rights Movement. (The “racial dispute” here refers to attempts to desegregate the community.) While MLK’s name draws the eye, the movement was a good example of grassroots organization and peaceful resistance by local activists. Albany’s Black community and their non-Black allies painstakingly built support, cultural capital and voting power. Not two years after this incident, all segregation statutes were struck from Albany’s books.