Have you ever had that heavy feeling internally - like your heart is hurting? I can think of several times in my life when I have felt that way. The one that stands out the most is the days after we had to place our daughter with autism into residential care. It was heavy and my heart was hurting.

WAYNESBORO, Ga. — One of Georgia’s oldest churches, founded in 1773, was vandalized on Sunday morning, Aug. 4, several hours before the church’s regular Bible study hour and worship service. Broken beer bottles were found inside Botsford Baptist Church. Shards of glass were embedded in multiple cushioned chairs. Bullet holes were found in the windows, and .22 caliber cartridges were scattered around the church grounds.

Working to advance international religious freedom and combat persecution not only reflects American values, but also advances the nation’s interests, international human rights lawyer H. Knox Thames said. When people are “free to pursue truth as their conscience leads,” societies are more stable and less subject to violent extremism, said Thames.

During the final week of June, Super Summer Ohio welcomed 450 students and adult leaders to Cedarville University for a week of leadership training and development. Super Summer Ohio is the SCBO Student Leadership Program for students entering eighth grade through the beginning of the sophomore year of college.

ONTARIO, Calif. — R. Lucas Stamps, professor of Christian theology at Anderson University’s Clamp Divinity School, will join the Gateway Ph.D. faculty as an affiliate faculty member beginning in the 2024-2025 academic year.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday described a Ukrainian incursion into the country's southwestern Kursk region as a “large-scale provocation” as his officials asserted that they were fighting off cross-border raids for a second day. Ukrainian officials remained silent about the scope of the operation.

PARIS — As the Olympic Games took place in Paris, volunteers and staff from the International Mission Board spread out through the city to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

PARIS — As the Summer Olympic games are impacting the City of Light, while Christians are sharing the light of the gospel. Eric and Su-Jeong Kuykendall are International Mission Board missionaries who serve Chinese churches in Paris. Paris is home to 600,000 Chinese, and less than 5% are professing Christians.

PARIS (AP) — Israel's Olympic team said some athletes have received threats as they compete in Paris amid larger tensions over the war in Gaza and the threat of a wider regional conflict in the Middle East.

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — When a deadly wildfire tore through Lahaina on Maui last August, the wall of flames scorched the 151-year-old banyan tree along the historic town's Front Street. But the sprawling tree survived the blaze, and thanks to the efforts of arborists and dedicated volunteers, parts of it are growing back — and even thriving.

BERLIN (AP) — Part of a hotel in a winemaking town on the Mosel River in western Germany collapsed, leaving two people dead and trapping seven others in the wreckage overnight, authorities said. By Wednesday afternoon, all but one had been rescued.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — No one will be allowed to fish out any of the nearly 100 bottles of 19th-century Champagne and mineral water nestled in a shipwreck off southern Sweden without proper authorization, officials said Wednesday.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Tropical Storm Debby drenched coastal cities in Georgia and South Carolina, stirred up tornadoes and submerged streets with waist-high floodwaters Tuesday, just the beginning of a prolonged storm that could dump staggering rain totals of up to 25 inches.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pakistani man alleged to have ties to Iran has been charged in a plot to carry out political assassinations on U.S. soil, including potentially of former President Donald Trump.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will head Bangladesh's interim government after longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country amid a mass uprising that left hundreds of people dead and pushed the South Asian nation to the brink of chaos.

BEIRUT (AP) — Hamas on Tuesday named Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza who masterminded the deadly Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, as its new leader after his predecessor was killed in a presumed Israeli strike in Iran.

PARIS (AP) — A test run to allow Olympic athletes to familiarize themselves with the marathon swimming course in the Seine River will go ahead Wednesday. The decision was made after Tuesday's swim test was canceled over concerns about water quality in the Paris waterway.

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.

Microsoft is joining cybersecurity software firm CrowdStrike in fighting back against Delta Air Lines, which blames the companies for causing several thousand canceled flights following a technology outage last month.

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.

ATLANTA (AP) — Willy Adames hit a pair of two-run homers and the Milwaukee Brewers routed the Atlanta Braves 10-0, handing them their third straight loss Tuesday night.

NEW YORK (AP) — A rising tide swept stocks higher, and calm returned to Wall Street after Japan’s market soared earlier Tuesday to claw back much of the losses from its worst day since 1987. The S&P 500 climbed 1% to break a brutal three-day losing streak.

Most U.S. adults believe human beings came about because of divine intervention, but there’s disagreement over what that involvement looked like.

The College at Southeastern is excited to announce the launch of a new house to its House System: Its name is Elliott. Elliott is the updated name for Judson House, one of the original four houses designed to foster vibrant on-campus community.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Tropical Storm Debby has moved menacingly into some of America’s most historic Southern cities, bringing prolonged downpours and flooding Tuesday after slamming into Florida and prompting the rescue of hundreds from flooded homes.