Georgia
Pope asks young people to join him in prayers for victims of Georgia landslide – Vatican News

Pope Francis asks for prayers for all those affected by a deadly landslide in Georgia and expresses closeness to Georgian Patriarch Ilia II in this tragic circumstance.
By Vatican News
Pope Francis appealed to all the young people gathered in Lisbon for the final World Youth Day Mass to join him in prayers for all those affected by a landslide in Georgia that killed at least 17 people, while rescue efforts continue with 18 people still missing.
The landslide struck the mountain resort town of Shovi in Georgia’s Racha region struck on Friday, 4 August. Drone footage of the landslide showed mud, tree trunks and other debris partly covering the lush green valley.
Speaking during the Angelus, the Pope asked those present to join him in praying together “for the victims of the tragic avalanche that occurred two days ago in the Racha region of Georgia.”
He also expressed his closeness to the families of the victims and his support for the work of the search and rescue teams.
Finally, he said, “I am close to my brother,” Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia.

Georgia
Georgia man arrested in connection with multiple residential, vehicle burglaries in Doral

DORAL, Fla. – A 27-year-old Georgia man appeared in Miami-Dade bond court Saturday after being arrested in connection with a string of residential and vehicle burglaries in Doral, authorities said.
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Doral police said Lawrence Trevonne Young, of Fayetteville, is accused of stealing a vehicle and breaking into multiple homes and cars in the Doral Landings East community on Thursday.
According to investigators, Young entered a home through a garage door left open, while the residents were asleep, and took credit cards, personal documents, vehicle keys, laptops and other valuables.
Police also said that he stole a 2023 Kia Sportage valued at $21,000.
They said surveillance footage showed a man matching Young’s description walking through the neighborhood around 1:25 a.m., opening car doors and entering several properties.
Investigators said stolen credit cards were later used at stores including CVS and Target, with purchases totaling more than $1,000. Store surveillance and witness statements, including from an Uber driver, helped police identify Young.
Doral police confirmed the arrest of Young on Friday. At the time of his arrest, they said he was found with five credit cards belonging to two of the victims.
Jail records show Young faces charges in two separate cases, including burglary of an occupied dwelling, grand theft, and multiple counts of fraudulent use of credit cards and personal identification.
His total bond was set at $80,500 after a judge found probable cause for all charges.
The judge also issued a stay-away order, prohibiting Young from contacting five victims in connection with the incidents. He was also banned from entering the Doral Landings East community.
He is due back in court later this month.
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Georgia
Obituary for Georgia Lea Couch Butler at Southern Funeral Home Winnfield

Georgia
Why Barry Odom dismissed 1 Purdue football player, added Georgia transfers with driving arrests
Purdue football coach Barry Odom on roster building philosophy
Barry Odom now has the roster he’ll take into fall camp. How did Purdue build its 2025 roster and what’s next for the Boilermakers?
Purdue Athletics Communications
- Two incoming Purdue football transfers from Georgia were suspended for driving arrests before entering their names in the portal.
- Purdue football brought in 26 transfers in the spring portal after bringing in 29 last winter.
- Odom explained how he and his staff vetted players before accepting them, and how he views second chances.
Barry Odom emphasized discipline as a bedrock principle for his Purdue football tenure.
He established it with expectations for attention and attendance at his first Boilermaker team meetings. He reinforced it with the “Winning Edge” program — grueling, up-tempo offseason workouts designed to enhance mental toughness as much or more than physical skills.
When freshman safety Antonio Parker was arrested on drug charges and other infractions weeks after arriving on campus, Odom dismissed him from the team. It sent a message about standards and expectations.
It did not, though, establish a blanket zero-tolerance policy toward players with run-ins with law enforcement.
The recent vehicle-related infractions of Georgia transfers NiTareon “Nitro” Tuggle and Marques Easley do not belong in the same legal conversation as Parker’s crime. Yet they illustrated the sometimes murky waters into which coaches must wade when rebuilding a roster via the transfer portal.
Relationships with high school recruits are built over months or years. In the portal, they sometimes come together in a matter of days. Odom said his staff does what it can to build a network of sources for all incoming players on that truncated timeline.
Our book on Purdue men’s basketball’s Final Four run makes the perfect Father’s Day gift
“We’ve all made mistakes, or I certainly know I have,” Odom said in a Thursday video interview with local media. “I think there’s education pieces that I’m responsible for. … You’ve got to decide No. 1, did he make a mistake? OK, why did he make it? Has he learned from it? Are we willing enough to have him in our program because he was issued a citation?
“I’m not the only one making those decisions. There’s a number of people that go into stamping yes or no. But we also feel like the culture, the surrounding people that we have that are part of our organization, that we’re in a position that it becomes the DNA of who we are on doing the right things and protecting the team and becoming great student-athletes at Purdue.”
Tuggle and Easley came to Purdue from a Georgia program notorious for vehicle-related legal issues.
Tuggle, a wide receiver, was arrested for speeding and reckless driving on March 19. The police report asserted he was driving 107 mph in a 65 mile-per-hour zone. In a plea deal, Tuggle pleaded guilty to speeding in exchange for dismissal of the reckless driving.
Easley, an offensive lineman, was charged with three counts of reckless conduct and one count of reckless driving after crashing his vehicle into the front of an apartment complex on March 22. According to the Athens Banner-Herald, investigating troopers said in the crash report they found evidence of “laying drag” — intentionally skidding the car.
Per online court records, Easley’s case has not reached resolution. At the time he and Tuggle entered the portal, both players had been suspended by Georgia.
According to the Banner-Herald, Georgia players or support staff members have been charged with speeding, reckless driving or racing in 32 incidents since Jan. 15, 2023. That’s the date football player Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy were killed in a high-speed crash.
Odom said his staff scrutinizes every incoming player, not merely those with a public incident in their past. They look for evidence of a love for the game. They make sure the players know the academic commitment at Purdue exceeds that expected at many other institutions.
“If all of those things align, then we know structurally they will thrive in our system,” Odom said.
Another incoming player, safety Myles Slusher, was suspended by Arkansas after a 2022 arrest for disorderly conduct. He served a one-game suspension and left the program soon after. That’s three players with public brushes with the law out of the 26 signed in the spring window.
Transferring to Purdue provided both Tuggle and Easley a chance to move closer to home, and further from Athens. Tuggle played at Northwood, located southeast of South Bend. Easley grew up in Peoria, Illinois, and played at Kankakee (Illinois) High School, located south of Chicago and about 90 minutes from Ross-Ade Stadium.
Odom said both players could make an impact quickly. The Boilermakers need playmakers, and Tuggle was a four-star, borderline top-100 prospect out of high school. The 6-foot-5, 325-pound Easley was also a four-star prospect, ranked in the top 200 per some services.
He retains four years of eligibility, while Tuggle comes with three. Odom said he’s been impressed with Tuggle’s linear speed and ability to change directions. Easley has “transformed his body” to better use his “exceptional feet.”
Those attributes show up on film. Recent events meant Odom and his staff had to be sure about their evaluation in other areas, too.
“Any time you’re going to try to recruit a young man to your campus you make sure they’re a fit in every single area,” Odom said. “And if they’re not, it doesn’t matter how good of a player you think they are. It’ll never work.”
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