KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his first visit Thursday to the border area where his forces launched their surprise offensive into Russia, saying that Kyiv's military had taken control of another Russian village and captured more prisoners of war.

A suspect arrested in Guatemala has been charged with helping coordinate the 2022 smuggling attempt that ended in the deaths of 53 migrants in Texas, the Justice Department announced Thursday, marking what U.S. officials called a significant expansion of their investigation into the horrific discovery inside an abandoned tractor-trailer on a back road.

For someone as traveled as DJ Uiagalelei, this is his first time out of the country. Uiagalelei will make his debut with his third college on Saturday when No. 10 Florida State takes on Georgia Tech at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons signed cornerback A.J. Terrell Jr. to a four-year contract extension for a reported $81 million on Thursday.

SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. — Soon after Steve Freeman accepted his first pastorate more than 20 years ago at Slayden Baptist Church in Cumberland Furnace, he realized after a few months that he was in over his head, he recalled.

Baptist General Convention of Texas and North American Mission Board representatives met at the Texas Baptists’ offices last week on Aug. 15. The meeting followed up the exchange between Dustin Slaton, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Round Rock, and North American Mission Board President Kevil Ezell at the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Indianapolis.

The portable baptismal pool had been brought out of storage, filled with water, and placed in the sun. We were on the ballcourt at the jail, an enclosed space with wire overhead. This was our sanctuary for the afternoon.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn — Not only are churchgoers watching Christian movies, but some find them useful as an evangelistic and discipleship tool.

ROME, Ga. — Evan Wyatt, a Shorter University Music Education Major, won second place and $500 in the Floride Dean Scholarship Competition sponsored by the Georgia Federation of Music Clubs. This is a state-wide competition in which students submit a video of themselves performing two contrasting pieces, one of which must be by an American composer.

​It’s time for Friday Night Lights! Cheerleaders cheering, the crowd roaring, the thud of helmets and pads colliding, the ref’s shrill whistle piercing the air, the laughter and silliness in the student section, the electric atmosphere...

We received some disappointing news this week. After 19 months of waiting, we received word that Wayne's disability claim was denied.

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil will begin imposing restrictions on the entry of some foreign citizens from Asia who are seeking refuge in the South American nation as a means to migrate to the United States and Canada, the justice ministry’s press office said Wednesday.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Summer heat scorched Texas and the Southwest on Wednesday, pushing Phoenix to nearly 90 consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures and putting millions of people under excessive heat warnings.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A former babysitter pleaded guilty to manslaughter Wednesday for the 2019 death of a man she was accused of disabling as an infant 40 years ago and was sentenced to three years in prison, finally admitting that she hit him numerous times.

ATLANTA (AP) — In sports, there's a mantra that everyone falls back on when the inevitable injuries strike. Next man up.

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.

CHULA, Ga. — C.S. Lewis, in his book Miracles, defines a “miracle” as being the opposite of an “ordinary.” It is something so unexpected that it speaks to divine intervention. In recent years, a miracle takes place each July in the small South Georgia community of Chula, and BCM Send Me Now Mission Teams are some of the instruments that God has used to make it happen.

A woman’s right to reproductive freedom is being championed by politicians, Planned Parenthood, The Brigid Alliance, Reproductive Freedom for All (formally NARAL), the National Abortion Federation, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Democratic Socialists of America, the Democratic Party, Republicans for Choice, Party for Socialism and Liberation, The Libertarian Party, the Green Party of the U. S., Joy of Satan Ministries and many other political, professional and religious organizations.

DALLAS (BP) – Preparations are underway for the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting. The volunteer group preparing the way for Southern Baptists is holding a kickoff rally Thursday, Aug. 22, in Fort Worth.

DAVIS, Okla. — For more than 1,700 college students and collegiate ministry leaders, the beginning of the month marked a launching point for a school year full of gospel conversations and ministry on campuses throughout North America and the world.

In Indonesia, there’s a healthcare triad affecting more than the region of East Java. The network includes a Baptist hospital, rural clinic and nursing college and reaches far beyond the island’s, and even the country’s, borders. Together, Southern Baptists and medical professionals are investing in patients and students who are receiving and spreading the gospel to the nations. 

JEFFERSON CITY. Mo. — When God called Rhonda Schrage to leave a traditional career and build a new one where “faith and art intertwine,” some thought she was crazy, but she stepped out in obedience and found the Lord walking with her every step of the way.

WAKE FOREST, N.C. — This week Southeastern Seminary welcomed pastors and associational leaders from across nine states for its sixth annual Associational Mission Strategist (AMS) Conference. On August 13 and 14, over 60 leaders gathered to learn from key speakers and engage in breakout sessions centering around the theme of missional vitality.

The Georgia Baptist Mission Board kicked off its series of SPARK church-strengthening conferences earlier this month with gatherings in Cornelia and Columbus. Initial attendance numbers are very encouraging, says Scott Sullivan, the board’s discipleship catalyst.

CHICAGO (AP) — More than a dozen pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested Tuesday during a protest that began outside the Israeli consulate and spilled out onto the surrounding streets on the second night of the Democratic National Convention.