Morning, y’all! I survived a Dec. 22 Target run. I deserve a medal, or a nap. As we wrap up the final festive/hectic days of the year, remember to carve out a moment of peace for yourself. You not only deserve it, your nerves need it. Also, I’d avoid Target if you can.
Let’s get to it.
SO THAT’S WHO (PROBABLY) BOUGHT THAT HOUSE ...
Earlier this month, a stunning seaside estate on Georgia’s Sea Island sold for $30 million, believed to be the state’s most expensive home sale.
We now have a good guess at who the mystery buyers are: Wealthy Georgia political couple Kelly Loeffler and Jeffrey Sprecher.
- Loeffler, a former U.S. senator, is a member of the President Donald Trump’s cabinet. She heads the Small Business Administration. Her husband is the CEO of financial giant Intercontinental Exchange.
- Using public records, the AJC connected the LLC listed as the estate’s buyer to other entities controlled by the couple.
Let’s talk about the house: This is no new-build McMansion. The jaw-dropping home was designed by famed Atlanta architect John Portman. Oh, and it was a personal project for him, so he got to be as Portman-y as he wanted. It’s an architecture lover’s dream.
🏡 READ MORE: The trail of groups and names that led to the likely buyers
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GROUP STILL FACES BIG REVIEW BACKLOG OF POLICE VIOLENCE CASES
The Atlanta Citizen Review Board, which investigates deaths and serious injuries in Atlanta police custody, didn’t make a lot of progress this year.
- The board opened a few investigations, and two are nearly complete, but a growing backlog of about 50 cases still awaits.
- This is an ongoing issue. At the beginning of 2025, an AJC investigation showed the board neglected to investigate about 40 cases between 2020 and 2024.
- The investigations aren’t just about police accountability. The group’s findings provide answers for families of victims, as well as recommendations for officer discipline and ways to prevent similar incidents in the future.
🔎 READ MORE: Leaders respond to ongoing backlog
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🗳️ A top Georgia Republican Party official will join the dysfunctional State Election Board by the appointment of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. The group has revived efforts to find fraud in the 2020 election.
💬 What will Trump’s influence be in Georgia’s 2026 elections? A presidential endorsement doesn’t go quite as far as it used to, but it’s still one of many ways Trump could use his voice and his sway. AJC political reporters discuss.
BORN IN ATLANTA, BOUND FOR THE WORLD
Hometown Coca-Cola has long been a marketing powerhouse, from Super Bowl spots to classic holiday ads featuring Santa Claus and polar bears.
But Coca-Cola’s first ad was far more modest:
- About the size of two postage stamps, it was tucked inside The Atlanta Journal on a Saturday afternoon in 1886 (which we featured in a May edition of AM ATL).
- The novel drink was pitched as “Delicious! Refreshing! Exhilarating! Invigorating!”
- From those humble beginnings, Coca-Cola grew into a global brand sold in more than 200 countries and now spends about $5 billion a year on advertising, according to its 2024 annual report.
“For decades, the Journal and the Constitution documented our company — and Atlanta — as both grew together,” said Sarah Rice, Coca-Cola’s senior director of archives.
🎅 READ MORE: How the beverage giant built iconic ads and even shaped Santa’s modern look
NEWS BITES
What stores are open and closed on Christmas
Save yourself the frantic last-minute Google search.
The biggest pop culture stories of 2025
Some of these feel like they happened five years ago.
Want to read more in 2026? Here’s how to fall back in love with books
Don’t worry, books never stopped loving you. Sure, books have self-respect. They’re not going to throw themselves at you. They know what they’re worth. But they knew you’d be back. At least, they hoped. The fact is, your life is simply better with them in it, as theirs is with you. Books won’t forgive, because there’s nothing to forgive. Books are just happy to spend time with you again.
ON THIS DATE
Dec. 23, 1987
Georgians who saved 3 children, woman get Carnegie Award. The incident sounds like a script for a television rescue show: a woman and three young children are trapped in a burning car. As the last victim is safely removed, the car explodes into flames and the credits run. For Robert B. Grubbs of Newnan and Joel C. Clark of Buchanan, the credits have just rolled. The two were among 19 heroes honored by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission for risking their lives trying to save others.
“Man, that show sucked!” — the woman and children who had to be rescued from a burning car, probably said.
ONE MORE THING
My husband and I love a good Lifetime Christmas movie. We just watched “Christmas on the Alpaca Farm,” and in addition to the alpacas, the film is an unironically passionate love letter to the fiber arts. One of the emotional climaxes hinges on, and I am not making this up, synthetic wool blends. 10/10
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.
