DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — The Georgia sun scorched the slab of concrete beneath Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano’s body when nurses found him in a puddle of his own excrement, vomiting, according to a complaint.

Norfolk Southern got a boost during the second quarter from insurance payments related to last year's disastrous East Palestine derailment, but it also made progress in reducing its expenses and getting more efficient.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Grady Jarrett achieved his goal by returning to the field for the Atlanta Falcons' first training camp practice on Thursday. For new coach Raheem Morris, having Jarrett taking snaps at defensive tackle for the first time since suffering a knee injury that ended his 2023 season was the perfect way to open camp.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A strong typhoon made landfall on China's southeastern coast on Thursday evening after sweeping across the nearby island of Taiwan, where it caused landslides and flooding in low-lying areas and left three dead.

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — A former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer who was part of the slow law enforcement response to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School pleaded not guilty during a court appearance Thursday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific delivered 7% growth in its second-quarter profit even though the number of shipments it hauled remained essentially flat because it was able to continue streamlining its operations.

Southwest Airlines plans to drop its tradition of more than 50 years and start assigning seats and selling premium seating for customers who want more legroom. The airline said Thursday that it has been studying seating options and is making the changes because passenger preferences have shifted. The moves could also generate revenue and boost financial performance.

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia judge has denied a preliminary challenge to block a commission created to discipline and remove state prosecutors, finding that it doesn't violate the U.S. or state constitution.

This story has a little of everything. It’s a love story, with a suspected demon possession among a people group of firework makers. The plot twist — a people group believed to be unengaged and unreached already had two churches meeting among them.  

Kesevan Balasingham knows firsthand that he doesn’t have to look far from his Toronto home to find a mission field. It’s because he was once part of the mission field.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — When churchgoers show up to their church’s worship service, they’re often hoping to have a guest with them. A Lifeway Research study of U.S. Protestant churchgoers finds 3 in 5 (60%) say they have extended at least one invitation in the past six months for someone to attend their church, including 19% who have made one invitation, 21% with two invitations and 20% with three or more invitations.

It’s Bible School week. One sip of strawberry Kool-Aid takes me back to VBS snacks on the creek bank behind Belfry Baptist Church in the early 70s. We lined up outside, the girls wearing dresses, then marched in to “Onward Christian Soldiers.” We said pledges to the American flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible.

I was getting ready for work Monday morning and I went to put on my favorite necklace. It has two necklaces joined together, one shorter than the other. One of the strands has a heart on it, and I love hearts. That is why this is one of my favorite necklaces. When I got it out of my jewelry drawer, it had a knot in it.

Sergio Ramos is joining Texas Baptists to develop further and direct the emerging network of Great Commission and Great Commandment, or GC2, churches and ministries in Texas and beyond.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Powerful winds and hundreds of lightning strikes from thunderstorms rattled eastern Oregon and Idaho Wednesday afternoon, cutting power and stoking fires, including one in Oregon that is already the largest active blaze in the nation.

PARIS (BP) – With the Olympic Games opening in Paris later this week, Southern Baptists have already been working in and around the city, capitalizing on the event as a bridge to spread the Gospel.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A plane crashed Wednesday just after taking off from Nepal’s capital, killing 18 people and injuring a pilot who was the lone survivor. All the people aboard the Saurya Airlines flight including the co-pilot were Nepali except for one passenger, who was a Yemeni national, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A man who severely injured author Salman Rushdie in a frenzied knife attack in western New York was motivated by a Hezbollah leader's endorsement of a fatwa calling for Rushdie's death, prosecutors said Wednesday in announcing new terrorism charges.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “total victory” against Hamas on Wednesday in a speech to Congress boycotted by dozens of Democratic lawmakers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters converged on Washington on Wednesday to condemn Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit, marching toward the Capitol before police deployed pepper spray on some in the crowd.

NEW YORK (AP) — A wipeout on Wednesday sent U.S. stock indexes to their worst losses since 2022 after profit reports from Tesla and Alphabet helped suck momentum from Wall Street’s frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A surprise eruption of steam in a Yellowstone National Park geyser basin that sent people scrambling for safety as basketball-sized rocks flew overhead has highlighted a little-known hazard that scientists hope to be able to predict someday.

ATLANTA (AP) — Spencer Steer drove in three runs with three extra-base hits, Elly De La Cruz also had three hits, including a home run, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the slumping Atlanta Braves 9-4 on Wednesday in the first game of a split doubleheader.

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Hawks rookie guard/forward Nikola Djurisic of Serbia has had surgery on his left foot and is out until at least November.