1. Man who lost family in fire: 'I hope to God they were asleep.'
Brent Patterson was home with his wife, Kathy, and their daughters, Madelyn, 9, and Kayla, 12, Tuesday night. When he heard an odd noise, Patterson, who was the only one downstairs, went to check it out. "When I opened the front door, the house exploded," he said. Patterson made it out of the burning house, surviving with burns to his hands and leg. His wife and two daughters did not. The air still smelled smoky outside the Tucker home where Patterson returned Wednesday evening, still in shock. Read more.
2. At Atlanta rally, Franklin Graham condemns same-sex marriage.
Evangelist Franklin Graham condemned secularism and same-sex marriage at a prayer rally attended by thousands in downtown Atlanta Wednesday. He was speaking across the street from the state Capitol where law makers were engaged in a contentious debate over "religious liberty" legislation. Graham didn't mention any of the legislative measures. He decried political correctness and the push for transgender rights. But he didn't have to — the House Rules Committee had just scheduled the first of those bills, House Bill 757, dubbed the Pastor Protection Act, for a floor vote Thursday. Read more.
3. Teachers would be judged less by tests under Gold Dome proposals.
Lawmakers are pushing two bills that would significantly reduce the relevance of testing to teacher evaluations. In one, tests would count for 30 percent of an overall review and in the other, 10 percent. The current mandate for evaluations, adopted by the General Assembly in 2013, requires student "growth" on tests to count for at least half of each teacher's evaluations. Teachers say the measure isn't fair because test performance is incluenced by factors outside their control, such as instability in a student's home life. "Morale is low and it is driving teachers from the profession," said Margaret Ciccarelli, a lobbyist with the largest teacher advocacy group in the state, the Professional Association of Georgia Educators. Read more.
4. Lisa Borders named WNBA president.
Lisa Borders helped establish Atlanta's women's basketball team the Dream in 2008 and has attended most of its home games ever since. She'll now have a chance to do a lot more. On Wednesday, Borders was named president of the WNBA. Borders brings more than 25 years of experience in the private, public and non-profit sectors to the job. "Now, I get to cheer for all 12 teams," she said. "I'm thrilled to have that opportunity." Read more.
5. Bills on religion and athlete uniforms move through General Assembly.
If high school athletes ever get to personalize their uniforms in Georgia, then they'll be able to include their religious views, under legislation that passed through the state House Wednesday. Rep. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, the lead co-sponsor of HB 870, said the legislation was aimed at the possibility of discrimination. If the Georgia High School Association, the private organization that oversees athletic competition for most public high schools and some private ones, ever undoes its ban on individual expression on team uniforms, he said, the bill would prohibit discrimination against the religious kind. Read more.
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