HIAWASSEE, Ga. - Macedonia Baptist Church is a church on a mission. Actually, many missions. Pastor Wade Lott, spurred by the vision he believed God would have him share with the church, challenged his congregation to engage in local, regional, national, and international outreach. And the church has responded.

BANGKOK (AP) — China’s response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was anything but subtle — dispatching warships and military aircraft to all sides of the self-governing island democracy, and firing ballistic missiles into the waters nearby. The dust has still not settled, with Taiwan now conducting drills of its own and Beijing announcing it has more maneuvers planned, but experts say a lot can already be gleaned from what China has done, and has not done, so far.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dire consequences could result if states, cities and farms across the American West cannot agree on how to cut the amount of water they draw from the Colorado River. Hydroelectric turbines may stop turning. Las Vegas and Phoenix may be forced to restrict water usage or growth. Farmers may have to stop planting some crops. Yet for years, seven states that depend on the river have allowed more water to be taken from it than nature can replenish.

CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — It's an increasingly familiar sight in U.S. cities and suburbs: workers in gloves and masks, spraying yards for mosquitoes. More Americans are resorting to the booming industry of professional extermination. But the chemical bombardment worries scientists who fear over-use of pesticides is harming pollinators and worsening a growing threat to birds that eat insects.

ZOLOCHIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s health care system already was struggling due to corruption, mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic. But the war with Russia has only made things worse, with facilities damaged or destroyed, medical staff relocating to safer places and many drugs unavailable or in short supply. Care is being provided in the hardest-hit areas by doctors who have refused to evacuate or have rushed in as volunteers, putting themselves at great risk.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple has disclosed serious security vulnerabilities for iPhones, iPads and Macs. The software flaws could potentially allow attackers to take complete control of these devices, Apple said Wednesday. The company said in a security statement that it is “aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.” Security experts have advised users to update affected devices — the iPhone6S and later models, newer iPads and Mac computers running MacOS Monterey.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The school board in North Dakota’s most populous city has reversed course on its decision to stop reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at its monthly meetings. The group decided to reconsider at a special meeting Thursday following complaints from lawmakers and widespread bashing from citizens.

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Police are trying to determine a motive in three seemingly random shootings along an interstate highway in Alabama and Georgia that left a motorist critically wounded. A suspect was arrested without incident with more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition and a large number of weapons in his white Cadillac Fleetwood.

ATLANTA (AP) — Max Fried outpitched Jacob deGrom, ever so slightly, in a matchup of aces and rookie Michael Harris II bounced a go-ahead double in the seventh inning that sent the Atlanta Braves over the New York Mets 3-2. Braves rookie Vaughn Grissom scored from first base on Harris’ grounder to shallow center field.

NASHVILLE (BP) – The capacity for help from Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is high. In fact, one key disaster relief leader says it ranks right up there with the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army in resources available to people in crisis. Still, that’s not what sets it apart among relief organizations. Coy Webb, the crisis response director for Send Relief, says it’s the intentional Gospel focus that makes Southern Baptist Disaster Relief stand out.

NASHVILLE (BP) – This week’s Bible study is adapted from the Explore the Bible curriculum, and will focus on 2 Kings 19:10-19, 32-34.

ATLANTA (AP) — Jared Bernhardt has traded in his stick for the pigskin. Just two years after being honored as the nation’s top college lacrosse player, Bernhardt is trying to make it as an NFL receiver with the Atlanta Falcons.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s Supreme Court is keeping the state’s near-total abortion ban in effect. The high court says the state's ban will remain in place while it reviews arguments by abortion clinics challenging the state law. It was the latest legal setback for the two remaining abortion clinics in Kentucky — both in Louisville.

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Deshaun Watson has reached a settlement with the NFL and will serve an 11-game suspension and pay a $5 million fine rather than risk missing his first season as quarterback of the Cleveland Browns following accusations of sexual misconduct. Watson was accused of sexual assault and harassment by two dozen women while he played for the Houston Texans.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific has already lost three lawsuits over the way it removes employees with health conditions because of safety concerns, and the prospect of hundreds more lawsuits looms over the railroad. The lawsuits were originally going to be part of a class-action case before a federal appeals court decided the cases must be pursued individually.

ALONG THE JORDAN RIVER — For the thousands of Georgians who take pilgrimages to the Holy Land each year, one of the highlights is visiting the Jordan River. They may not realize that water usage is up and the water level is down. The environmental group EcoPeace Middle East is sounding the alarm that decades of water diversions for agriculture and domestic use are taking a toll on the river.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates came back down slightly this week after the key 30-year loan rate jumped nearly a quarter point last week. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reports that the 30-year rate fell to 5.13% from 5.22% last week. The rate stood at 2.86% a year ago. The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, popular among those looking to refinance their homes, inched down to 4.55% last week.

“Partnership is a beautiful word when churches and associations work together in reaching people for Christ!” said Tony Gray, Associational Missionary for the Habersham Baptist …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed for the sixth consecutive month in July, deepening the housing market’s slowdown from a high-flying pace at the start of this year. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that existing home sales fell 5.9% last month from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Slightly fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the labor market continues to be the strongest segment of the U.S. economy. Applications for jobless aid for the week ending August 13 fell by 2,000 to 250,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s unemployment rate hit a new record low of 2.8% in July. That's the third month in a row that the state posted a new record low jobless rate. Unemployment was 2.9% in June and 3.9% in July 2021. More than 5.1 million Georgians say they were working in May, while 150,000 were unemployed.

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — Thundering gas-powered muscle cars will be closing in on their final Saturday-night cruises in the coming years. That's because automakers are replacing the vehicles with super-fast cars that run on batteries. Stellantis’ Dodge brand has long been the performance flag-bearer of the company formerly known as Fiat Chrysler. Now it is officially moving toward electricity.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kimi Raikkonen will take a break from his retirement to return to racing this weekend in the NASCAR race at Watkins Glen International in upstate New York. The 2007 Formula One world champion will drive for TrackHouse Racing and its Project91, which is a program to give top international drivers exposure to NASCAR.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. investigator says contemporary forms of slavery are widely practiced around the world, including forced labor for China’s Uyghur minority. Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Tomoya Obokata also cites bonded labor for the lowest caste Dalits in South Asia, domestic servitude in Gulf countries, Brazil and Colombia — and traditional enslavement, especially of minorities, in Mauritania, Mali and Niger.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal judge in North Carolina reinstated a 20-week abortion ban, with exceptions for urgent medical emergencies. U.S. District Judge William Osteen said the June U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade erased the legal foundation for his 2019 ruling that placed an injunction on the 1973 state law.