Augusta | featured news

 
In a microcosm of its season this far, Washington-Wilkes overcame a dreadful start with a nearly flawless second half to beat Aquinas 43-19 and snap the Irish’s 23-game winning streak in Region 7-A.
Trailing 12-0 at halftime after a series of crushing penalties and turnovers, Washington-Wilkes opened the second half with a 94-yard drive, returned two interceptions and a kickoff for touchdowns and piled up a season-high in points that left Aquinas gasping without answers for the first time in four years.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. - A Georgia man swapped sexual text messages with a teenage girl while his toddler son sat forgotten and dying in the back seat of the father's sweltering SUV, his young texting partner testified in court Friday.
Justin Ross Harris, 34, is charged with murder in the death of his 22-month-old son, Cooper. He's also charged with sending graphic, sexual text messages and photos of his penis to a girl for a period of several months when she was 16 and 17.

ATLANTA - A federal judge in Atlanta says Georgia doesn't have to reveal information about its execution drug to two Mississippi death row inmates.
U.S. District Judge J. Clay Fuller ruled Thursday that Georgia law prohibits the release of that information. Georgia uses the barbiturate pentobarbital made by an undisclosed compounding pharmacy to carry out executions.
Mississippi death row inmates Richard Jordan and Ricky Chase sought the information as part of a legal challenge to Mississippi's three-drug execution method.

Cyberattacks on a key internet firm repeatedly disrupted the availability of popular websites across the United States Friday, according to analysts and company officials. The White House described the disruption as malicious.
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PERRY, Ga.  — Two teenagers are under arrest after authorities found the body of a Perry teen who had been missing since last week.
Perry police Chief Steve Lynn said at a news conference Thursday that a 17-year-old boy and 18-year-old Brandon Warren have both charged with murder in the death of 18-year-old Sam Poss.
Poss' body was found in the woods in the Lake Joy area Wednesday night.
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MACON, Ga.  — Deputies say 37-year-old Macon man has been killed by two masked men who broke into his home.
The Bibb County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that Marcus Braswell was fatally shot three times early Thursday, including once in the face. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities have not released a description of the suspects or whether anything was stolen.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the sheriff's office at 478-751-7500 or Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 877-68-CRIME.

Police said a man used a hatchet to break into a south Augusta restaurant early Wednesday and steal cash.
Richmond County sheriff's deputies were called to Sub Station II, 2518 Peach Orchard Road, about 6:15 a.m. after someone discovered a burglary at the business.
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An Augusta woman won $50,000 while playing the Super Crossword Crash game online, Georgia Lottery officials said.
Shay Fritz, 32, was playing the Georgia Lottery Diggi Games online while speaking to her husband on the phone. When she realized she had won, she was so thrilled that she accidentally hung up on him.
"I kept playing, and the prize kept getting higher and higher," she said.
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The Richmond County Sheriff's Office is seeking your unused, unwanted and expired medications.
The sheriff's office holds events to collect prescription and over-the-counter medications to assist the public in proper disposal of the drugs, eliminating the risk of the drugs contaminating water supplies or getting into the wrong hands. Another event is scheduled for Saturday at CVS locations at 1520 Walton Way and 2902 Peach Orchard Road. The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The service is free and anonymous.

DECATUR, Ga.  — The U.S. Postal Service has launched an investigation after a metro Atlanta resident says she filmed a worker dumping hundreds of pieces of mail in the woods.
Kellie Campbell of DeKalb County tells WSB-TV  she recorded the postal worker walking near a fence and dumping several bins of mail into a ditch.
Campbell called the Postal Service, which sent workers to collect and deliver the mail.
In a statement, the Postal Service condemned the unlawful disposal of mail and said it was investigating the incident.