Wildfires Sparked Across State 

Windy and dry conditions led to 490 wildfires across a combined 6,200 acres last week, most of them started by outdoor burning, fire officials said. No injuries were reported.

“Just don’t burn outdoors. Save it for another day. Those leaves and limbs will be there in a week or a month, whenever it becomes safe to burn them,” forestry spokesperson Wendy Burnett said.

A brush fire in Peachtree City forced the evacuation of Braelinn Golf Club.

On Saturday, a car fire on Covington Highway in metro Atlanta ignited a grass fire that damaged a tire shop, storage facility, and two residential buildings.

  Bill Filed to Legalize Sports Betting

State Rep. Marcus Wiedower, R-Watkinsville, introduced a measure to seek voter approval for legalized sports betting in Georgia, ahead of this week’s key legislative deadline.

Thursday marks the legislature’s “crossover day,” when bills approved in one of the state’s legislative bodies are forwarded to the other legislative body for its consideration.

“We know from polling that Georgians overwhelmingly support legalization to increase education funding, and they deserve a say on the issue,” Wiedower said.

Last year, a measure to legalize sports betting failed to advance due to legislative in-fighting over how the state’s cut should be spent.

Driverless Van Debuts 

May Mobility began offering public rides in its fully driverless Toyota Sienna minivan, believed to be a first for the state. The van runs an eight-stop route in Peachtree Corners in Gwinnett County.

The van uses artificial intelligence, cameras, sensors and Lidar radar to consider “thousands and thousands of scenarios in a second,” May Mobility representative Daisy Wall said.

The van runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays, and the public can book a reservation by calling May Mobility as they would with any other rideshare.

May Mobility offers similar “driver-out” services in Sun City, Ariz., and Ann Arbor, Mich.

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➤ Statewide: Georgia could face severe storms Tuesday night into Wednesday morning with the potential for hail, damaging winds up to 80 mph, and tornadoes. (More)

➤ Troup County: Four people died after a Nissan Altima ran a red light and collided with a GMC Sierra. The four were passengers in the Nissan. (More)

➤ Atlanta: Former Falcons wide receiver Devin Hester treated six Atlanta high school students to a Pro Football Hall of Fame trip in Canton, Ohio. (More)

➤ Lake Oconee: Regular search efforts have been suspended in the search for Atlanta educator Gary Jones. The U.S. Secret Service is working to unlock his fiancée’s phone for clues. (More)

➤ Paulding County: Police fatally shot a woman in Hiram after she allegedly stabbed a man to death. Tasers failed to stop the woman as she approached officers with a knife. (More)

➤ Washington County: Two suspects from Stone Mountain were arrested for trying to use a drone to smuggle drugs into a prison. (More)

➤ Atlanta Braves star catcher Sean Murphy will miss the beginning of the season due to a cracked rib. (More)

➤ Georgia Bulldogs safety Malaki Starks met with Atlanta during the NFL combine, a step in his potentially becoming the first Bulldog selected by the Falcons in the first round of the NFL draft in team history. (More)

➤ The high school basketball state championships begin tomorrow at 1 p.m. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s results: NBA | NHL | NCAAM | NCAAW | NCAAB | Soccer 

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➤ Atlanta’s data center market led the country in leasing activity in 2024, surpassing Northern Virginia for the first time. (More)

➤ A Georgia bill that would prohibit liquor stores from selling consumable hemp products is expected to come before a legislative committee this week. (More) 

➤ USAID reinstated contracts with Fitzgerald-based MANA Nutrition, which supplies peanut butter paste for malnourished children. Elon Musk intervened after reports surfaced that the contract was terminated as a part of foreign aid cuts. (More) 

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➤ The Gwinnett County Animal Shelter has posted its adoptable pets of the week pictures, showcasing cats and dogs up for adoption in Lawrenceville. (See Photos)

➤ Dahlonega’s annual Chocolate Crawl continues through Sunday. The event features more than a dozen businesses offering chocolate items for sale. (More)

➤ Georgia ranks 12th in the nation for how many square feet of home $300,000 gets you. The mark of $177 per square foot gives Georgia a 79.2 cost-of-living index score. (More)

Would you ride in a driverless car?  

1. Yes
2. No
3. Unsure

Yesterday’s Results:

Have you ever witnessed a tornado in person?

1. Yes: 47%
2. No: 53%

What Georgia city was the site of one of the first major gold rushes in the United States?

Show me the answer