CORDOVA, Tenn. — The pastor search committee at Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova has unanimously recommended that Ben Mandrell, CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, become the church’s next senior pastor. Mandrell will preach in view of a call on July 13. The congregation will vote on the committee’s choice after a 10 a.m. service. 

ATLANTA — Dwan Maurice Hewlett must have thought he was about to make a lucrative deal when he drove to an Athens gas station. His car was filled with fentanyl and other drugs, in baggies ready to go. Instead, he wound up sprinting down the road, in a hapless attempt to evade police officers.

ATLANTA — During the 78-hour Independence Day holiday travel period, Georgia State Patrol (GSP) Troopers investigated eight fatal traffic crashes, while local law enforcement agencies investigated an additional five, resulting in a total of 13 traffic-related deaths statewide.

VALDOSTA, Ga. — The year was 1986. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in what was then the Soviet Union, exploded, killing 31 people and sending radioactive contamination across Europe. The space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven crew members. Barry Bonds made his Major League Baseball debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  After a $50 million facelift, Carnegie Hall reopened. IBM released its first laptop computer.

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Hope of finding survivors of the catastrophic flooding in Texas dimmed Tuesday, a day after the death toll surpassed 100, and crews kept up the search for people missing in the aftermath.

For the first time in almost 20 years, travelers may no longer be required to take off their shoes during security screenings at certain U.S. airports.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Republican Burt Jones made his long-telegraphed entry into the 2026 governor's race on Tuesday, touting his ties with President Donald Trump and pledging to eliminate Georgia's state income tax in a campaign video.

NASHVILLE (BP) – For distributing the Bible and sharing the gospel in the Soviet Union, Aleksei Kharlamov’s great-grandfather was sent to Siberia and never heard from again. His grandfather and father both were persecuted for being Baptist pastors. Growing up in post-Soviet Moscow, Kharlamov was called a cult member for being a Baptist.

KERRVILLE, Texas (BP) – On most days, it’s easy to see why families have flocked to this area for generations. The typically low, tranquil Guadalupe River backdrops activities like swimming, fishing, tubing, and kayaking. The hills bring winding roads loved by motorcyclists and trails popular with hikers.   

David Englehart, the campus director of New Mexico State University’s Christian Challenge, was moved with emotion as he recalled a quiet, but stunning moment in his life some 30 years earlier during a trip to Central Asia.  

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Five Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack in Gaza, the Israeli military said Tuesday.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen's Houthi terrorists continued an hourslong attack Tuesday targeting a Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea, authorities said, after the group claimed to have sunk another vessel in an assault that threatens to renew combat across the vital waterway.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said Monday he raised another $1.25 million for his 2026 gubernatorial bid from Feb. 1 to June 30. The Republican announced the fundraising totals to The Associated Press on Monday, although he hasn’t yet filed an official report with the state Ethics Commission. Those reports are due Tuesday.

David encountered many difficult circumstances throughout his life. Psalm 18 — the fourth longest psalm in the Book of Psalms — expresses David’s praise for God repeatedly delivering him from his enemies.

While in my third year of college, my girlfriend (now my wife), Amy, and I were driving to the campus when we were forced to take an alternate route due to a car crash. While waiting to make a turn off the highway onto a small county road, Amy screamed. I had just enough time to look in my rearview mirror and see a red sports car slamming on its brakes and smoke billowing from its tires.

Is church a waste of time? Is it a waste of time for you to refuel your car? If you do not stop occasionally at the convenience store or fueling station, your car will just be a piece of metal beside the road. Your automobile requires gasoline or charging to keep going. 

KERRVILLE, Texas —Southern Baptists of Texas Disaster Relief teams are on the scene ministering in the Texas Hill Country, where catastrophic flooding over the past few days has claimed the lives of more than 80 people—including dozens of children attending a Christian camp. An unknown number of people are still missing.

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Camp Mystic says it is “grieving the loss” of 27 campers and counselors as the search continued Monday for victims of catastrophic Texas flooding over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

FORST WORTH, Texas — The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary campus welcomed 80 high school students in early June for the Texas Baptist College Student Worship Camp, where faculty and students helped attendees fine-tune their musical skills and study the theology of worship and how to serve their church in that area.

For the small number of believers at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, the transition from one military chaplain to another can bring with it a degree of trepidation and uncertainty. However, in January 2024 things looked different.

What do you get when you blend high energy, enthusiasm, determination, patriotism, persistence, tight security, and a ton of fun in the summer heat? The 56th running of the Atlanta July 4th Peachtree Road Race.

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart but it doesn’t always show on my face these days. Gravity and age tug at the sides of my mouth lately causing a frown/scowl. (Try not to picture Cinderella’s stepmother.)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel’s military launched airstrikes early Monday targeting ports and facilities held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, with the rebels responding with missile fire targeting Israel.

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Families sifted through waterlogged debris Sunday and stepped inside empty cabins at Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp ripped apart by flash floods that washed homes off their foundations and killed at least 82 people in central Texas.

A small-town grandmother who disappeared on her way to work. A beloved director of a Texas summer camp for girls. An Alabama elementary student away from home. These are a few of the dozens of victims lost in devastating flooding in Texas.