We are living in a day when societal acceptance of gambling is beyond anything we would have ever thought possible in our lifetime.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia state senators want prison guards and school nurses to get larger raises and want to set aside a big chunk of money to cover the state's share of an upcoming federal transportation program.

MACON, Ga. – Georgia Baptist pastors were challenged in a series of sermons on Sunday and Monday to ramp up their efforts to share the gospel, preaching more evangelistically than ever in the perilous times the world is facing today.

MOSCOW (AP) — Ordinary Russians faced the prospect of higher prices and crimped foreign travel as Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine sent the ruble plummeting, leading uneasy people to line up at banks and ATMs on Monday in a country that has seen more than one currency disaster in the post-Soviet era.

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Major League Baseball negotiations to end the lockout are extending to the limit. Management says a deal must be reached by the end of Monday's negotiations to salvage a …

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) — The president of Columbus State University is retiring.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. for the first time has approved the direct delivery of Stinger missiles to Ukraine as part of a package approved by the White House on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin put his nuclear forces on increased alert on Sunday in an unprecedented escalation of tensions with the West. Russia’s massive conventional military assault on Ukraine entered its fourth day with fighting in the streets of the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union plans to close its airspace to Russian airlines, fund weapons purchase to Ukraine and ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets in its latest response to Russia’s invasion, European Commission officials said Sunday.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — In a dramatic escalation of East-West tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces put on high alert Sunday in response to what he called “aggressive statements” by leading NATO powers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and European nations agreed Saturday to impose the most potentially crippling financial penalties yet on Russia over its unrelenting invasion of Ukraine, going after the central bank reserves that underpin the Russian economy and severing some Russian banks from a vital global financial network.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia unleashed a wave of attacks on Ukraine targeting airfields and fuel facilities in what appeared to be the next phase of an invasion that has been slowed by fierce resistance. The U.S. and EU responded with weapons and ammunition for the outnumbered Ukrainians and powerful sanctions intended to further isolate Moscow.

LVIV, Ukraine (SWBTS) — “We need a miracle from God,” Yaroslav Pyzh, president of the Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary in Lviv, Ukraine, said from his western Ukraine home in a Zoom interview with Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s news staff on the evening of Feb. 26. As he prays for the miracle, Pyzh is marshaling the people and resources of his school to help refugees of the war.

ATLANTA (AP) — Metro Atlanta is getting its fifth area code beginning March 15, with phone companies beginning to issue numbers that begin with 943.

MEDYKA, Poland (AP) — Dragging suitcases and carrying children, tens of thousands of Ukrainians rushed to the borders Saturday as invading Russian troops pressed their advance into Ukraine, moving toward the country's capital of Kyiv.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Kyiv residents braced Saturday for another night sheltering underground, as Russian troops closed in on Ukraine's capital and skirmishes were reported on the outskirts. Ukraine’s leader, meanwhile, vowed to continue fighting the Russian assault as he appealed for more outside help.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Yurii Zhyhanov woke to his mother’s screaming and found himself covered in dust. Before dawn on the second day of Russia's invasion, their residential building had been struck by shelling on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — It has been a long time since the threat of using nuclear weapons has been brandished so openly by a world leader, but Vladimir Putin has just done it, warning in a speech that he has the weapons available if anyone dares to use military means to try to stop Russia's takeover of Ukraine.

ATLANTA – Pro-gambling lawmakers continue to push for a constitutional amendment in Georgia that would lift a longstanding ban on horse racing, potentially opening the door to the kind of gargantuan gambling terminals that are popping up in Kentucky and other states that allow pari-mutuel wagering.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The executive in charge of Georgia's seaports called Thursday for an aggressive expansion that would grow the Port of Savannah's capacity for cargo shipped in containers by 58% over the next three years.

ATLANTA (AP) — Gov. Brian Kemp's plan to pay $1.6 billion worth of state income tax refunds is advancing, with lawmakers looking to help the Republican governor fulfill his promise to give some of Georgia's historic surplus back to taxpayers as both Kemp and legislators seek reelection.

MACON, Ga. – More than 1,000 people have registered for this year’s multi-site Georgia Baptist Evangelism Conference, which kicks off Sunday in Macon.

ATHENS, Ga. – A fledgling initiative that pairs young church leaders with seasoned veterans is proving successful a month into its launch. The Young Leaders initiative already has enlisted 220 people.

"Considering the environment and the times in which they issued a statement, it was a bold statement . . . But these ministers were more courageous than white ministers generally are today.” – Civil Rights leader Rev. Joseph Lowery reflecting on the white ministers who published the 1957 Atlanta Ministers' Manifesto.

The letters "wh ch” were written in ink on the palm of my hand.  It was something important I needed to remember … today.  I just couldn’t figure out what it was.