Georgia
Georgia Tech innovator develops home cervical cancer screening device for women
Student wins award for new cervical cancer screening
A DeKalb County native studying at Georgia Tech has a bright idea that many women will have interest in. An early detection of cervical cancer has saved many lives, but many women will tell you getting tested is not fun. The student looks to help with that.
ATLANTA – A Georgia Tech student is hoping to change the way women experience cervical cancer screenings with a new device designed to be more comfortable and accessible than traditional Pap smears.
Rakeb Tesfatsellassie, a junior at Georgia Tech and native of DeKalb County, is developing a home screening test for cervical cancer that she says could encourage more women to get tested. The idea was born from a personal motivation and a desire to improve outdated medical tools.
Cervical cancer home screening test
What they’re saying:
“It’s really an uncomfortable situation to be in,” Tesfatsellassie said. “My partner and I are around the same age, and we both said the same thing — we don’t want to do this. Hopefully by the time we start doing Pap smears, we would want to see new innovation.”
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 4,000 women in the U.S. are expected to die from cervical cancer this year. Tesfatsellassie’s prototype aims to make early detection more appealing by creating a test women can use at home.
“You can insert it yourself,” she said. “It should be softer silicone, not harder. You would be able to grab it and it’s comfortable to insert it in and out.”
The design is described as simple and intuitive.
“It’s similar looking to a tampon,” Tesfatsellassie said.
Doctors typically do not recommend Pap smears until age 21, but Tesfatsellassie began working on the concept at 20. She said her passion for early detection came after losing a close family member to cancer.
“I know how important it is to have early detection,” she said.
Georgia Tech student Rakeb Tesfatsellassie’s accolades
What we know:
Tesfatsellassie’s idea won last year’s Community College Innovation Challenge while she was enrolled at Georgia State’s Perimeter College. After transferring to Georgia Tech, she joined the university’s Create-X program, which supports student startups and innovations. The project has already received a provisional patent, and Tesfatsellassie and her team have formed a limited liability company.
What’s next:
“It’s not where you start,” she said. “It’s where you want to go.”
The Source: FOX 5’s Kevyn Stewart spoke with Rakeb Tesfatsellassie, a junior at Georgia Tech and native of DeKalb County, about developing a home screening test for cervical cancer.
The Georgia Public Service Commission this week approved a plan expected to reduce utility bills for Georgia Power customers by a few dollars a month.
The commission said the change will generate about $285 million in total annual savings for Georgia Power customers, or roughly $50 per year — about $4.04 per month — for the average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month.
The Georgia PSC voted Thursday to lower overall rates as part of the approved plan.
Georgia Power Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Tyler Cook said the decision will provide “real savings for Georgia families and businesses as the heat of summer begins and energy use increases.”
“At Georgia Power, our teams work every day to run our business efficiently and keep reliable and affordable energy flowing to our customers,” Cook said.
Cook said the outcome followed months of work between Georgia Power and PSC staff, including reviews, public hearings and input from residents and intervenors.
The approved plan is tied to a stipulated agreement reached earlier this month involving two cases filed with the PSC in February, the Fuel Cost Recovery case and the Storm Cost Recovery case. Those cases addressed recovering fuel costs used to generate electricity and expenses tied to restoring power after storms.
Georgia Power said its rates remain, on average, about 15% below the national average and that it is still on track to provide additional annual savings of about $102 per year for typical residential customers beginning in 2029.
ATLANTA – The Georgia Public Service Commission approved a stipulated agreement on Thursday to lower utility rates for Georgia Power customers starting June 1.
The regulatory body voted to pass the deal without changes, establishing how the utility can bill for fuel costs and storm damage restoration expenses.
State regulators approve rate cuts
What we know:
The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) voted 3-2 to reject several utility cost amendments before ultimately passing the overall deal. Under the approved agreement, a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month will see monthly bills decrease by roughly $4.03 to $4.04. Total annual savings across all 2.8 million Georgia Power customers are projected to reach approximately $285 million.
The deal reduces how much money the utility can recover from its customer base for storm expenses by nearly 60%, dropping the revenue requirement from $270 million down to $109 million. The agreement also extends the amortization of storm recovery costs, largely tied to Hurricane Helene in 2024, to 67 months, caps natural gas advance purchases at 20% over a 36-month window, and cuts $13 million from the company’s original fuel recovery estimates.
Accountability questions remain unresolved
What we don’t know:
While the PSC agreed to launch a separate investigation into how fuel costs are allocated, officials have not yet confirmed how much large industrial operations will be forced to pay in future rate cases. Consumer advocacy groups argue that massive data center companies are driving up fuel costs for everyday ratepayers without paying for the infrastructure upgrades they require. Critics note that it remains unclear if a future utility asset structure will successfully shift financial burdens away from residential homes.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from official press releases issued by the Georgia Public Service Commission and Georgia Power, as well as previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting.
Georgia
St Louis CITY2 Goalkeeper Lucas McPartlin Called Up to U.S. U-19 MNT Domestic Training Camp in Fayetteville, Georgia | St. Louis SC
St Louis CITY2 goalkeeper Lucas McPartlin has been called up to the U.S. U-19 Men’s National Team for their upcoming domestic training camp in Fayetteville, Georgia from June 1-10, led by head coach Gonzalo Segares. McPartlin will be representing the U.S. for the first time in his youth national team career. McPartlin is the first CITY SC goalkeeper in club’s history to get a national team call up.
The U.S. U-19’s will face Argentina in back-to-back matches on June 5 and 7, then close out their final match against Japan on June 9.
McPartlin has been a member of St Louis CITY2 since 2025 and made his professional debut against Sporting KC II in August 2025, earning his first professional clean sheet in a 3-0 win. The Missouri Native has made seven starts and appearances for CITY2 this season, earning three clean sheets and making 24 total saves, with a 3-1-3 record. McPartlin spent time with CITY SC in both preseason camps this year and has been a regular in first team training this year.
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