Augusta Search Engine

ajc.com —  48+ min ago

...The average retirement age in Georgia at 63, which is more than three to four years short of the age needed to receive full Social Security benefits. However, retirees in Georgia don't pay tax on Social Security benefits and pay below average on sales and property taxes....

ajc.com —  3+ hour, 39+ min ago

...The Smyrna-based retail giant earlier this week reported $43.8 billion in sales and net earnings of $5.2 billion in its second fiscal quarter, which ended July 31. A company filing said Home Depot finished the quarter with $1.3 billion in cash on hand.... ...Decker has been chief executive and president since earlier this year, filling the position that had been occupied by Craig Menear....

ajc.com —  6+ hour, 34+ min ago

...Fulton County prosecutors pushed back Friday against U.S. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who is seeking to delay his testimony before the special purpose grand jury studying interference in Georgia's 2020 elections as he appeals a recent ruling from a federal judge.... ...District Court Judge Leigh Martin May to block the senator's testimony, currently scheduled for Aug. 23, until his appeal is considered by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals....

ajc.com —  4+ hour ago

...The Supreme Court ruled that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta erred in its decision last week to allow November's vote to go forward after a lower court judge ruled statewide elections for PSC members discriminate against Black voters.... ...The high court said the appeals court should review the case through the lens of a different legal framework and reconsider whether a stay, which would allow this fall's elections to continue as planned, is appropriate....

ajc.com —  23+ hour, 26+ min ago

...The youth, whose name is not being released, was charged as a juvenile with involuntary manslaughter Thursday, the GBI said in a news release. The charge comes more than a week after a boy died at the Waycross Regional Youth Detention Center on Aug. 9, the state agency said.... ...According to the GBI, Hicks allowed youths at the Waycross detention center to participate in a fighting game while he was present. His charges also include two counts of second-degree cruelty to children and one count of violating his oath of office....

ajc.com —  5+ hour, 28+ min ago

...Despite the summer heat, July is often the month when metro Atlanta's housing market goes from spring's full boil to a simmer.... ...But the average 30-year mortgage rate peaked at 5.81% in late June and dipped in July, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., which backs millions of loans....

ajc.com —  21+ hour, 30+ min ago

...Boulee late Thursday rejected a request for a preliminary injunction overturning the restrictions contained in the election law the Republican-led General Assembly passed last year. In a 74-page order, he found that it was too close to the November election to make a change.... ...Senate runoffs. Boulee ruled that the voting rights groups had failed to demonstrate the ban on food and drink within the 150-foot zone is unconstitutional....

ajc.com —  10+ hour, 12+ min ago

...GBI is investigating the collection of election data in Coffee County. An Atlanta tech firm, under the direction of an attorney for Donald Trump, helped copy numerous sensitive Georgia election files in Coffee County, according to documents produced in response to subpoenas.... ...Text messages indicate that local officials who helped in the effort included election board member Eric Chaney, former county Election Director Misty Hampton and former county Republican Party Chairwoman Cathy Latham, who also attempted to cast Georgia's Electoral College votes for Trump...

ajc.com —  10+ hour, 57+ min ago

...My friend Jerry Hightower has been a park ranger/naturalist at the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA) since its inception in 1978. Over the years, he has been a keen observer of the park's flora and fauna.... ...A 2006 Duke University study found that poison ivy exposed to higher atmospheric levels of CO2 grows faster and larger, and the urushiol in them becomes more allergenic. The study was led by ecologist Jacqueline Mohan, now at the University of Georgia....

ajc.com —  10+ hour, 40+ min ago

...Fulton County Schools" full-time employees, including teachers, will receive a 2% raise in January. The board of education on Thursday approved a budget adjustment that includes roughly $10 million to cover the cost of the salary bump.... ...The board on Thursday also agreed to distribute an additional $3 million to schools, to be allocated based on student enrollment. District leaders are asking schools to spend that money on safety measures. Vanessa McCray writes about Atlanta and Fulton County schools. ...