May 25, 2022
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Gunman kills at least 19 children at Texas elementary school

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — An 18-year-old gunman opened fire at a Texas elementary school, killing at least 19 children as he went from classroom to classroom. The assailant also killed two adults before he was killed by law enforcement.
Trending stories
 New Bethel’s door-knocking campaign leads to 50-plus salvation decisions so far
CARNESVILLE, Ga. – Anyone living within a 7-mile radius of New Bethel Baptist Church has either already had a personal visit from the congregation or soon will. Pastor Joey Gilbert is convinced knocking on doors remains the best way to reach people, especially in the rural South where hospitality almost always assures a warm welcome and an invitation to sit a spell. Gilbert and his congregation are about three-fourths of the way through an initiative to visit every home in their sparsely populated section of northeast Georgia.
Guidepost investigation prompts recommendations for reform
NASHVILLE (BP) – The report containing the findings of Guidepost Solutions’ investigation into the alleged mishandling of sexual abuse claims by the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee was released Sunday and included a variety of recommendations for the SBC to reform the way it deals with sexual abuse.
Sex Abuse Task Force report shows EC pattern of resistance to addressing abuse claims
NASHVILLE (BP) – Months of work by the Sexual Abuse Task Force and Guidepost Solutions concerning the alleged mishandling of sexual abuse claims by the SBC Executive Committee (EC) resulted in a 288-page report released publicly Sunday.
International Mission Board appoints 56 new missionaries
ORLANDO, Fla. -  International Mission Board trustees approved 56 new fully funded missionaries for appointment during their meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Orlando, Fla. The meeting was conducted in conjunction with the Celebration of Emeriti event held every five years to recognize retiring missionaries who have completed their service with the IMB. New missionaries approved for appointment will be recognized during a Sending Celebration at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Anaheim, California
Number of salvation decisions now at 38 in Tugalo Baptist Association's learning centers
EASTANOLLEE, Ga. – Eight more students made professions of faith during the past week in the Tugalo Baptist Association where churches have opened off-campus Christian learning centers near schools to teach Bible classes. That brought the total number of salvation decisions to 38 since August at the learning centers in Stevens and Banks counties, said Associational Missions Strategist Mike Blount.
Baptist Life

South Korean believers worry about secularization of America, pray for spiritual awakening

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Concerned about the growing secularization of America, hundreds of South Korean believers will be arriving in the U.S. next month to pray for another spiritual awakening for the nation that brought them the gospel. “It’s time for us to repay the spiritual debt South Korea owes to America,” said Nam Soo Choi, president of the World School of Prayer, a missionary organization in Seoul.

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State-level leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention have expressed strong emotions, including grief  and heartbreak, in the wake of an independent investigation that found the denomination’s Executive Committee tried to cover up instances of sexual abuse. Here are responses from some state Baptist leaders:
ONTARIO, Calif. – During spring commencement services on May 20, Gateway Seminary President Jeff Iorg bid graduates to obey the Great Commission regardless of hindrances.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (BP) – As Buffalo mourns the murder of 10 African Americans in a racially motivated supermarket massacre, Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee Interim President and CEO Willie McLaurin is conducting a ministry of presence.
NASHVILLE (BP) – The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee rebuked a 2006 statement by a former staff member discrediting the worth of communication between the EC and sexual abuse survivors, pledging to release a previously undisclosed list of alleged and convicted abusers.
Georgia

Kemp wins Republican primary, will face Abrams this fall

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp won the state’s Republican primary for governor on Tuesday and will face Democrat Stacey Abrams this fall in what will be one of the nation’s most closely watched governor’s races.

Georgia US Senate race will pit Warnock against Walker

ATLANTA (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock will face Republican football legend Herschel Walker for a coveted Senate seat in Georgia after both handily defeated primary challengers to set up a historic, high-stakes showdown.

US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wins GOP primary in Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has defeated five Republican challengers in the Georgia primary. Greene advances to the November election, where she will face the winner of a three-candidate Democratic primary in northwest Georgia’s 14th District.

Acquitted of murder, man sentenced for hiding teacher's body

OCILLA, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for hiding the death of a popular high school teacher whose disappearance remained a mystery for more than decade. A judge sentenced Ryan Alexander Duke on Monday, just three days after a jury acquitted Duke of murder in the 2005 death of Tara Grinstead.

More Georgia news

Nation

Official: All those killed at Texas school were in 1 room

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — A law enforcement official says all those killed at a Texas elementary school were in the same classroom. Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Christopher Olivarez tells CNN that all victims were in the same fourth-grade classroom at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

Stock market slump unsettling Americans eyeing retirement

Americans on the cusp of retiring are facing a tough choice as they watch their nest eggs shrink: Stay the course or keep working. A stock market slump this year has taken a big bite out of investors’ portfolios, including retirement plans like 401(k)s.

US births rose last year but still less than before pandemic

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. births bumped up last year, but the number of babies born was still lower than before the coronavirus pandemic. The modest 1% increase was a bit of a rebound from 2020. The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic witnessed the largest one-year drop in births in nearly a half-century.

Economy bigger priority than punishing Russia: AP-NORC poll

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are becoming less supportive of punishing Russia for launching its invasion of Ukraine if it comes at the expense of the U.S. economy, a sign of rising anxiety over inflation and other challenges. That's according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

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World

UK's Johnson 'humbled' but wants to move on from 'partygate'

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has responded to an investigative report on government parties that took place during coronavirus lockdowns by saying he takes “full responsibility for everything that took place.” But while the report published on Wednesday said the blame for rule-breaking lies at the top of government. Johnson insisted again that he did not knowingly break any rules.

Beijing extends work-from-home order as COVID-19 cases rise

BEIJING (AP) — Beijing has extended orders for workers and students to stay home and ordered additional mass testing as cases of COVID-19 again rise in the city. Numerous residential compounds have restricted movement in and out, although conditions remain far less severe than in Shanghai, where millions of citizens have been under varying degrees of lockdown for two months.

More turn to UK food banks as food and fuel bills soar

LONDON (AP) — Across Britain, food banks and community food hubs that helped struggling families, older people and the homeless during the pandemic are now seeing soaring demand. Skyrocketing energy and food bills are pushing millions deeper into financial hardship, and increasing numbers cannot afford to buy groceries.

200 bodies found in Mariupol as war rages in Ukraine's east

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities say that workers digging through rubble found 200 bodies in Mariupol. That's another grim discovery in the ruined port city that has seen some of the worst suffering of the 3-month-old war.

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Perspectives
From the American Revolution, Georgia Baptist have served as military chaplains and at times of war organized and sponsored ministries to the military/industrial complex.
More than 170 Spanish-speaking leaders from 20 churches attended a pair of training sessions for hosting Spanish-language VBS events.
In a week-long event in Orlando, Fla., the International Mission Board brought missionary emeriti together for recognition and encouragement. Close to 800 former missionaries gathered with trustees, IMB leadership and support staff for the event held every five years.
Ecclesiastes, one of the great wisdom books in the Old Testament, contains a familiar passage ascribing times for everything and seasons for every activity under the heavens. Among them, there are times to weep, to mourn, to search and to uproot. 
Sometimes I’m asked why I write. I was always stronger in language arts than math and science. I never could understand algebra. Geometry was worse. No matter how hard I tried, I just “couldn’t get it.”  On one trip home to Milledgeville, I pulled out my report cards for some random reason, taking a walk down memory lane, and noticed my high school geometry teacher had the gall to write in the comment section after one grading period, “I think you could do better if you tried harder.”

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Business

Wall Street points lower as investors hunker down

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. markets pointed toward more losses before the open on Wednesday, as investor pessimism becomes increasingly entrenched due to both macro global events and gloomy financial reports from governments and companies.

Wall Street ends higher following 7 straight weeks of losses

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Monday following seven weeks of declines that nearly ended the bull market that began in March 2020. The S&P 500 rose 1.9%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2% and the Nasdaq rose 1.6%.

US stocks open higher following 7 straight weeks of losses

NEW YORK (AP) — Major indexes are opening broadly higher on Wall Street Monday following seven weeks of declines that nearly ended the bull market that began in March 2020.

Final-hour rally yanks Wall Street from maw of bear market

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street rumbled to the edge of a bear market Friday after another drop for stocks briefly sent the S&P 500 more than 20% below its peak set early this year.

US stocks edge higher at the end of another bruising week

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Friday, but are still headed for another week of declines following a massive pullback two days ago.

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Sports

Contreras gets first walk-off hit, Braves edge Phillies 6-5

ATLANTA (AP) — William Contreras singled home Ronald Acuña Jr. in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Atlanta Braves a 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Autopsy: Steelers QB Haskins was drunk when fatally struck

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — An autopsy report shows that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was legally drunk when he was fatally struck by a dump truck on a Florida highway last month. The Broward County Medical Examiner said in its report released Monday that Haskins' blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal level for driving when he was struck April 9.

Wheeler's arm, Hoskins' bat power Phillies past Braves, 7-3

ATLANTA (AP) — Zack Wheeler pitched 6 2/3 strong innings with a season-high 10 strikeouts, Rhys Hoskins knocked in three runs with an early double and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 7-3.

Scott Dixon blazes to Indy 500 pole in record 234 mph run

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Scott Dixon used a breathtaking run of more than 234 mph to post the fastest Indianapolis 500 pole run in history. The New Zealander will lead the field to green in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” for the fifth time in his career.

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