PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — The Washington chattering class, often unsure what to make of outsiders, dubbed Rosalynn Carter the “Steel Magnolia” when she arrived as first lady. A devout Baptist and mother of four, she was diminutive and outwardly shy, with a soft smile and softer Southern accent. That was the “magnolia.” She also was a force behind Jimmy Carter’s rise from peanut farmer to winner of the 1976 presidential election. That was the “steel.”

DAWSON, Ga. — Between wavering crop prices and high production costs, financially, farmers are dealing with a lot right now. Now, many in Georgia and other farming states are raising the alarm about white-tailed deer, which can cause millions of dollars' worth of damage to the state’s most profitable crops. “This year has been, by far, worse than I've ever seen,” said farmer Neil Lee, who lives and works in Dawson.

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter is in hospice care at home in Plains, Georgia, joining former President Jimmy Carter, who has been receiving end-of-life care since February, their family announced Friday.

ATLANTA (AP) — The National Park Service announced Thursday that it has delivered to Congress its long-awaited study on whether the Ocmulgee River corridor in central Georgia meets the criteria to be managed as a national park and preserve. The answer: Not quite, not yet.

FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) — Four family members were found dead inside a home at Fort Stewart in southeast Georgia, the U.S. Army said Thursday. Military police discovered the bodies of a soldier, her husband and their two children Wednesday afternoon after members of the soldier’s unit requested a welfare check, according to the statement from Fort Stewart officials.

ATLANTA – Georgia’s unemployment rate remained unchanged last month at 3.4%, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday. The Peach State’s jobless rate was half of a percentage point below the national unemployment rate.

MACON, Ga. (AP) — Federal prosecutors have filed new charges against one of four men who escaped from a central Georgia jail last month and a woman accused of helping him. Johnifer Dernard Barnwell was arrested Sunday after authorities said they found him in a home where police also found large quantities of drugs.

THOMASVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A 61-year-old woman died after a driver being chased by sheriff's deputies lost control and slammed into her car at a stop sign in rural south Georgia, authorities said. Jennifer Ferrell was stopped at an intersection near downtown Thomasville when the fleeing vehicle struck her car with enough force to flip it upside down.

PENDERGRASS, Ga. (AP) — A Toyota-linked maker of auto parts will build a third factory northeast of Atlanta to build electrical converters for hybrid vehicles. Toyota Industries Electric Systems North America said it will invest $69 million to build the plant just off Interstate 85 in Pendergrass, with plans to hire more than 250 new employees.

ATLANTA — Georgia pastor, evangelist and broadcaster Michael Youssef preached the gospel to more than 17,500 people at an event in his native Egypt, reporting Monday that more than 7,850 of the attendees put their faith in Christ. “This is an uncertain and frightening time for people in Egypt and across the Middle East as they watch neighboring Israel at war with Hamas,” said Youssef, a familiar figure among Christians in the U.S. where he is seen and heard daily on his Leading the Way television and radio broadcasts. “With threats of potential escalation, many are asking why this is happening and will peace ever be possible in this region of the world.”

ATLANTA (AP) — Police used tear gas and flash-bang grenades Monday to halt a march against building an Atlanta-area police and firefighter training center that opponents call “Cop City.”

ATLANTA – State and local economic development officials have closed on the bonds issued to help finance the $5 billion Rivian electric vehicles plant to be built near Interstate 20 east of Atlanta.

ATLANTA – U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick has closed his district office in Cumming after receiving what he characterized as serious threats of violence to his staff. “I take the safety of my team seriously,” McCormick, R-Suwanee, wrote in a statement posted to the former Twitter website now known as X. “These threats have been reported to Capitol Police and will be investigated fully.”

ATLANTA (AP) — People in Georgia will keep paying no state taxes on gasoline and diesel, at least until state lawmakers start a special legislative session. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday extended the fuel tax rollback of 31.2 cents per gallon of gasoline and 35 cents per gallon of diesel until Nov. 29.

ATLANTA – Georgia tax collections fell an adjusted 5.7% last month compared to October of last year, the state Department of Revenue reported Tuesday. That decline does not take into account the revenues from Georgia’s sales tax on gasoline and other motor fuels the state collected last month.

ATLANTA – Four Northwest Georgia counties have been declared natural disaster areas due to weeks of severe drought conditions. The declaration will allow farmers in Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, and Walker counties to receive emergency credit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.

ATLANTA – Georgia’s film industry tax incentive generated $8.55 billion in economic impact in fiscal 2022, according to a new study. The study, conducted by Olsberg SPI, a London-based consulting firm, found the film tax break is responsible for nearly 60,000 jobs and produces a return on investment of $6.30 for every $1 the tax incentive costs Georgia in lost tax revenue.

ATLANTA (AP) — Nearly five dozen people indicted on racketeering charges related to protests against a planned police and firefighter training facility near Atlanta appeared in court on Monday as their supporters rallied outside the courthouse. Protests against the proposed training center — dubbed “Cop City by opponents — have been going on for more than two years. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr obtained a sweeping indictment in August, using the state's anti-racketeering law to target the protesters and characterizing them as ”militant anarchists."

ATLANTA – More than $262 million in planned improvements at the Port of Brunswick are coming just in time to accommodate a significant growth in auto and machinery business. The Colonel’s Island Terminal in Brunswick handled 70,645 units of Roll-on/Roll-off cargo in September, an increase of 61% over September of last year.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia state School Superintendent Richard Woods is calling on Gov. Brian Kemp and lawmakers to give teachers a $3,000 raise next year. Woods, a Republican elected statewide, made the proposal Thursday in an opinion column that he co-authored with 2024 Georgia Teacher of the Year Christy Todd, a music technology teacher at Rising Starr Middle School in suburban Atlanta's Fayette County.

Delta Air Lines says the pilot accused of threatening to shoot the plane's captain during a flight no longer works for the airline, and federal officials say his authority to carry a gun on board was revoked. Jonathan J. Dunn was indicted Oct. 18 and charged with interfering with a flight crew over an incident that occurred during a flight in August 2022. The Transportation Department's inspector general says Dunn, who was the first officer or co-pilot, threatened to shoot the captain after a disagreement over diverting the flight to take care of a passenger with a medical issue.

DUBLIN, Ga. (AP) — Another South Korean auto parts company is set to build a plant in Georgia, investing more than $176 million and hiring more than 460 employees. Hwashin Co. said Tuesday that it would build a plant in the middle of the state in the town of Dublin, planning to start production in 2025.

ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp urged members of Georgia’s congressional delegation Monday to support a request by the Georgia Ports Authority for a study of the economic and environmental impacts of another deepening of Savannah Harbor. The $1 billion Savannah Harbor Expansion Project completed in March of last year was designed to accommodate containerized-cargo ships with capacities of up to 8,200 twenty-foot equivalent units.

ATLANTA – A four-hour Georgia House committee hearing Monday pitted primary sellers of tickets to concerts and sporting events against secondary sellers. Legislation introduced in the House this year would remove restrictions in current state law that prohibit ticket purchasers from reselling their tickets.

CUMMING, Ga. (AP) — Eleven people were arrested in Georgia on a variety of charges connected to online solicitation of juveniles for sex, and five other suspects were being sought, authorities said Monday. The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office said the list of those arrested included a 33-year-old man with a Lawrenceville address who allegedly claimed to be a missionary from Guatemala selling bibles.