TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran launched a rocket with a satellite carrier bearing three devices into space, authorities announced Thursday, without saying whether any of the objects had entered Earth's orbit.

Bruce Michael Schmidt, 66, was born on December 22, 1954 in Portsmouth, VA. He passed over into Heaven at 4:45 AM on Sunday, December 19, 2021.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Wednesday that the state will spend $100 million to boost hospital staffing and deploy 200 National Guard troops to help at coronavirus testing sites and hospitals amid an explosion of new infections in the state.

NASHVILLE (BP) – After a tumultuous 2020, many were hoping for a calmer 2021. But this year has been anything but calm.

My heart was heavy as I opened my Bible this morning,  I’m not ready for the Christmas story to be over. 

ALBANY, Ga. -- For artist Courtenay Puckett, worship is by no means confined to church sanctuaries. She  uses her talent to bring worship into homes, offices and, most recently, into one of Albany's premier art venues.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Georgia officials are shutting down shrimp season after a strong year.

They both carved out sterling reputations as military and political leaders over years of public service. But both also saw their legacies tarnished by their actions in the long, bloody war in Iraq. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are among the many noteworthy people who died in 2021.

COLUMBUS, Ga. – Billy Duncan vividly recalls the parade of international missionaries who spoke at his home church every year as he was growing up. Most of their words have long since been forgotten, but not their passion for reaching the world with the gospel.

ROSARIO, Argentina (AP) — The loud noise from the opening of an iron door marks Jorge Anguilante’s exit from the Pinero prison every Saturday. He heads home for 24 hours to minister at a small evangelical church he started in a garage in Argentina’s most violent city.

FORT GORDON, Ga. (AP) — A major development project outside an east Georgia Army base is in the planning states.

This basketball season is starting to feel a lot like the last one. Games are being postponed or canceled seemingly by the minute. Schedulers are scrambling to find replacements. Dozens of teams …

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials on Monday cut isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Blowing snow in mountains of Northern California and Nevada closed key highways over the weekend, while an arctic blast brought frigid temperatures to the Pacific Northwest, and unusually warm weather settled over parts of Texas and the Southeast.

SEATTLE (AP) — Emergency warming shelters were opened throughout western Washington and Oregon as temperatures plunged into the teens and forecasters said an arctic blast would last for several days.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Crews wrapping up the removal Monday of a giant pedestal that once held a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond found what appeared to be a second and long-sought-after time capsule, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The bitter cold of Afghanistan’s winter has small children huddled beneath blankets in makeshift camps. Sick babies in hospitals lie wrapped in their mothers' all-enveloping burqas. Long lines at food distribution centers have become overwhelming as Afghanistan sinks deeper into desperate times.

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators have stepped up a series of investigations into engine fires that have plagued Hyundai and Kia vehicles for more than six years.

CUMMING, Ga. – A growing number of Georgia churches are recognizing the value of music education as a way to reach unchurches families.

NEW YORK (AP) — The presidential election, pandemic and racial reckoning were stories that drove intense interest and engagement to news outlets in 2020. To a large degree, 2021 represented the …

BANGKOK (AP) — Two members of the international humanitarian group Save the Children were missing Saturday after Myanmar government troops rounded up villagers, some believed to be women and children, fatally shot more than 30 and burned the bodies, according to a witness and other reports.

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)—John William “Jack” MacGorman, long-time professor of New Testament at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and namesake for its MacGorman Chapel, died today at the age of 100, two days shy of his 101st birthday. 

IOSCO TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — At the Shining Star Ranch in Iosco Township, every day is Christmas. The Walsh family has eight reindeer at their farm – the perfect number for Santa’s sleigh …

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — When Ron Binkney and Lucky found a pretty seashell near a lone cedar tree while walking the beaches of St. Simons Island, the spirit of Christmas was still a distant …

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladeshi authorities buried 23 unclaimed bodies on Saturday after a day-long search failed to recover more victims or survivors of a massive fire on a crowded river …