Augusta, GA
Augusta family flees Middle East as U.S. launches Operation Epic Fury
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – An Augusta couple returned home from Israel and Egypt just as the U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury Saturday.
This happened hours before the State Department issued an urgent warning urging Americans in 14 Middle Eastern countries to “depart now” due to “serious safety risks.”
Diego and Maile Sprague had been staying with a host family in Jerusalem, south of the West Bank. The host family provides self-defense training to women and children living in the West Bank.
“We moved to Jerusalem just south of the West Bank and stayed with a host family that provides self-defense training to women and children that live on the West Bank,” Maile Sprague said. “Sometimes those places aren’t the safest.”
Couple tours Egypt as operation launches
The Spragues left their host family Friday morning to tour Egypt. By Saturday morning, the U.S. and Israel had rolled out Operation Epic Fury.
The couple said their host family was forced to flee their home after two nearby Arab-developed areas were attacked.
“We got word he and his wife had to leave their home because where they live there are two Arab developed areas… and they were attacked, so he and his wife had to flee their home,” Diego Sprague said.
Maile Sprague said the host family is now sheltering with neighbors.
“They are staying in their bomb shelter because there has been constant red alerts, so they’re sharing their bomb shelter with their neighbors,” she said.
Tourism industry shuts down in Egypt
While in Egypt, the Spragues said they witnessed the country’s tourism industry — its largest — coming to a halt.
“Everything that has to do with the tourism industry was closing down. Tourists were trying to leave, and all the buses were being routed to the border for Israel to pick people up from,” Maile Sprague said.
The couple had planned to return to their host family in Israel but instead made the decision to return home to Augusta. They landed in Atlanta hours before the State Department issued its “depart now” warning Monday.
The Spragues said they are safe. Their host family remains in a bomb shelter.
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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Democratic candidate for Georgia governor Olu Brown visited Augusta on Friday evening, stopping near the Sand Hills Community Center as early voting continues.
Brown is one of six candidates in the Democratic primary.
Campaign priorities
Brown said his vision as governor would focus on three main areas.
“One, it’s affordability around health care and making sure we expand Medicaid and expand Peach Care and make sure we continue to make our rural health care systems healthy and vital,” Brown said. “Number two, we’ve got to address education in all of Georgia, making sure every kid in Georgia gets an excellent education, and we’re paying our teachers more. And number 3, we’re protecting the rights of all women. Folks in the Gold Dome shouldn’t be making decisions about their bodies or the choices that they make.”
Brown is running against Amanda Duffy, Derrick Jackson, Geoff Duncan, Jason Esteves, Keisha Lance Bottoms and Mike Thurmond.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – An Augusta Prep student was arrested on a charge of terroristic threats over a picture of a LEGO gun he posted on social media.
It happened Wednesday, according to an incident report from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
Eric Hedinger, the principal of Augusta Preparatory Day School, told deputies a student had uploaded a picture to Snapchat of a “pistol” with the caption “shooting up the school so I don`t have to take the stats exam tomorrow. Don`t come yall!”
The principal said he spoke to the student and his father about the photo.
The principal also provided deputies with the student’s address in Grovetown.
A deputy went there and was told by the student that the “pistol” was a LEGO set that he had built.
He also said the comment he made was supposed to be a joke because he was not looking forward to taking his Advanced Placement statistics test this week.
The student showed the deputy the box that the LEGO set came in, and how the set was already disassembled.
The deputy also looked in the boy’s room to make sure he was not in possession of any weapons.
The mother advised that there was one firearm in the residence but it was locked up.
The deputy contacted Judge Leslie Morgan and she issued a warrant for terroristic threats.
The student, age 18, was taken into custody and transported to the Columbia County Detention Center.
News 12 is not reporting his name or publishing his photo since the LEGO gun could not have actually harmed anyone.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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