STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) — Federal prosecutors have indicted 23 people, most of them current and former inmates, in what authorities said Wednesday were schemes to smuggle drugs and cellphones into Georgia state prisons using drones.

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) — A sheriff's deputy is in critical condition after being shot Tuesday morning in west Georgia, authorities said. The Carroll County Sheriff's Office said the deputy was shot while serving a Georgia Bureau of Investigation warrant in a neighborhood in Carrollton.

SOPERTON, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia police officer has been criminally charged after investigators say he pulled a gun on three people while responding to a call about an assault, officials said Tuesday.

ATLANTA – The federal government has given Georgia the go-ahead to launch a state-based health insurance exchange proponents say will give Georgians better health coverage and offer health care providers higher reimbursements.

HIRAM, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia sheriff's deputy was shot and killed while responding to a reported domestic dispute in what police said was an ambush on officers by a suspect who took his own life.

THOMSON, Ga. (AP) — The mayor of a small Georgia town has been indicted on charges that he illegally left a bottle of gin in a ditch for a state prison work crew. Thomson Mayor Benjamin “Benji” Cary Cranford was indicted on Wednesday and arrested by Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents. He faces felony charges of furnishing prohibited items to inmates and attempt to commit a felony.

ATLANTA – Georgia’s unemployment rate increased slightly to 3.4% last month, up from 3.3% in July, even as the state continued to set records in several jobs categories. The state’s labor force was up 13,947 to more than 5.4 million, an all-time high, while the number of jobs rose by 2,600 to nearly 5 million, also a record.

ATLANTA – The University System of Georgia produced an economic impact of $21.9 billion during fiscal 2023, a 9% increase over the previous year, according to a study released Wednesday. The system’s institutions also generated 163,332 full- and part-time jobs across the state during that same period, the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business reported.

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A motorcyclist pleaded guilty Wednesday to vehicular homicide in the death of a Georgia state trooper during a car chase, and was sentenced to 17 years in prison, news outlets reported.

ATLANTA (AP) — Three independent and third-party candidates got one step closer to appearing on Georgia's presidential ballot on Tuesday. But legal challenges still loom.

FOREST PARK, Ga. (AP) — Celery was used to conceal more than 2,300 pounds of methamphetamines that federal agents discovered in a truck at a farmers market outside Atlanta, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said.

ATLANTA – A transformer fire at Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle caused the Atlanta-based utility to declare an “alert” at noon Tuesday, which was terminated shortly after 2:30 p.m. when the fire was extinguished. “Plant conditions DID NOT threaten public safety,” the company wrote in a news release issued at 3:10 p.m.

ATLANTA – The state began a new fiscal year on a positive note last month, with July tax collections increasing 2.7% over July of last year. The Georgia Department of Revenue brought in $2.56 billion in taxes last month, up $66.3 million over July 2023.

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia state lawmaker accused of driving under the influence after state troopers say he collided with a bicyclist in the bike lane of an Atlanta street says he was not drunk.

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Police in Athens, Georgia, shot and killed a man Sunday after responding to a report he was waving a gun, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Six University of Georgia students arrested during a pro-Palestinian protest on April 29 will remain suspended through the fall semester, the university's Office of Student Conduct announced Monday.

POOLER, Ga. (AP) — The water began seeping into Keon Johnson's house late Monday night after Tropical Storm Debby had been dumping rain nearly nonstop throughout the day. By Tuesday morning, Johnson's street was underwater and flooding inside his home was ankle deep.

ATLANTA (AP) — A hearing on Tuesday raised questions about a railroad company’s use of eminent domain in one of Georgia’s poorest areas. After three days of hearings in November, an officer for the Georgia Public Service Commission granted Sandersville Railroad Co.'s request to legally condemn nine properties in Sparta, Georgia.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's State Election Board voted Tuesday to require county election officials to make a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying election results to the state. Supporters say the measure is needed because members of county election boards must swear statements that results are accurate and need to be able to adequately assure themselves that the totals are correct before doing so.

TUCKER, Ga. — As Hurricane Debby makes landfall as a Category 1 storm on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Georgia’s Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs) stand ready for its impact. 

ATLANTA — As Hurricane Debby strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, Georgia Power continued preparation to respond to potential damage and power outages. While the exact track and intensity of the hurricane are still uncertain, the company has resources in place and will adjust its plans as the hurricane nears the state to ensure a safe and effective response.

ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp has activated up to 2,000 Georgia National Guard troops to aid the response to Hurricane Debby, which made landfall Monday morning in the Big Bend region of Florida as a Category 1 storm.

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Attorneys for a man accused of killing a nursing student whose body was found on the University of Georgia campus have asked a judge to move the case to another county. The killing immediately became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration because Ibarra, who is from Venezuela, entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A deadly Osprey aircraft crash last November off Japan was caused by cracks in a metal gear and the pilot’s decision to keep flying, instead of heeding multiple warnings that he should land, according to an Air Force investigation released Thursday.

ATLANTA (AP) — The teenage brother of a U.S. Air Force airman who was shot and killed in his home by a Florida sheriff's deputy in May has been killed in a shooting in the Atlanta area, police said. Andre Fortson, Senior Airman Roger Fortson's 16-year-old brother, was killed this week in DeKalb County, near Atlanta's east side, DeKalb County police said in an update on the slaying.