Georgia
South Georgia 11-year-old is overcoming a rare eating disorder
LEESBURG, Ga. (WALB) – Weston Brown, 11, is a brave young boy who loves to golf, hunt and fish.
Unfortunately, Weston’s selective appetite was taking him away from the activities he loves. His mom, Lacey Brown, noticed her child would not eat a variety of foods starting at two years old.
“[Weston] would eat baby foods, but he wouldn’t eat a lot of table foods,” Lacey Brown said.
Brown said her son’s fear of food got so severe that Weston would only eat crispy things like chips and fries. No meat, fruits or vegetables. When she reported this to doctors, they told her Weston was fine. Her gut told her something else.
“I just wanted to know what is going on with my child,” Brown said.
Weston’s severe fear of food is known as ARFID or Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. Kristin Hathaway, a psychologist with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, said ARFID can cause patients to avoid foods with interesting textures, smells and tastes.
“There’s usually a negative health consequence. You have a nutritional deficiency. You’re losing weight and you need formula to grow. There are these intense associations with trying new foods or eating,” Hathaway said.
For help with this diagnosis, the Browns turned to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). After 8 weeks in the feeding therapy program, a child that would not eat much of anything before is trying new foods and enjoying them.
“I am just absolutely grateful for CHOA and the way they treated us. They gave him a new way of living life,” Lacey said.
Weston will have to follow up with therapy for a year, but Lacey said he’s taking huge steps in the right direction.
Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.
To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook and X (Twitter). For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Copyright 2025 WALB. All rights reserved.
Georgia
Co-owner of Yurezz Home Center in Greeneville arrested in Georgia
APPLING COUNTY, Ga. (WCYB) — The co-owner of Yurezz Home Center in Greeneville has been arrested in Georgia, according to a report obtained by News 5.
Earlier this week, News 5 told you about the dealership in Greeneville that abruptly shut down last month.
This has left homeowners with partially built homes and employees without jobs.
It is not yet clear why Richard Altman was taken into custody.
This is a developing story.
Georgia
Georgia Supreme Court upholds convictions of men in deadly shooting during gas station carjacking
Two men found guilty of murdering a man while he was pumping air into his tires at a Georgia gas station will remain in prison, the Georgia Supreme Court has ruled.
Miles Chatezal Collins and Josiah Hughley, Jr. had appealed to the state’s highest court after they were found guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, violating Georgia’s Street Gang, Terrorism and Prevention Act, and hijacking a motor vehicle, among other charges in 2025.
The men’s charges stem from a shooting on July 10, 2022, at a QuickTrip gas station in Peachtree Corners. According to the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office, 30-year-old Bradley Lamar Coleman had stopped at the gas station to fill up his tires when Collins, Hughley, and a third man pulled up beside him and tried to steal his Dodge Charger.
When Coleman tried to stop the men, officials say they shot him and fled the scene.
Authorities say the three men were members of the Blood gang and had tried to steal the car to increase their status.
While their first trial ended in a mistrial due to a comment by the prosecution, a jury found Collins, Hughley, and their co-defendant, David Jarrad Booker, guilty of more than a dozen charges in 2025. They were each sentenced to life plus 145 years in prison.
In Collins and Hughley’s appeal to the state Supreme Court, they argued that there was insufficient evidence to support some of the charges and that the judge in the case improperly admitted certain evidence and committed errors in instructing the jurors.
The justices’ rulings disagreed, finding that their attorneys failed to object to the supposed errors and that the two men’s claims were insufficient.
The judges also found that a claim by Hughley that his counsel failed him by not asserting that a statement made to law enforcement should have been suppressed. With those findings, the Supreme Court chose not to overrule the case, letting the convictions and sentences stand.
“We are grateful for this affirmation from the Georgia Supreme Court,” Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. “Thanks to the incredible work of our team of trial and appellate prosecutors, and all of the staff that assisted with defending these convictions, two dangerous criminals will remain in prison.”
Booker’s appeal remains pending.
Georgia
Trooper injured in chain-reaction crash on Georgia 400
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. – A Georgia State Patrol trooper sustained injuries Tuesday afternoon after striking the rear of a stopped vehicle on Georgia 400, triggering a three-vehicle chain-reaction crash.
What we know:
The collision happened around 3:43 p.m. on the northbound lanes just south of Abernathy Road.
A trooper was traveling north on Georgia 400 when traffic in front of the cruiser came to a sudden stop. The trooper was unable to halt in time and struck the rear of a second vehicle, which then slammed into a third vehicle.
All three vehicles sustained enough damage to be towed from the scene, according to the state patrol report. The trooper had visible injuries and received treatment onsite, while medics transported the second driver to a local hospital. The driver of the third car complained of injuries but refused medical treatment at the scene.
What we don’t know:
Officials have not yet confirmed the current medical conditions of the hospitalized driver or the injured trooper. It remains unclear what caused traffic to come to a sudden halt before the chain-reaction collision occurred.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Lt. E. Starling of the Georgia State Patrol DPS Public Information Office, who provided the preliminary crash details in an official statement.
-
Business4 minutes ago
Commentary: Trump wants to let companies make fewer disclosures, thus keeping investors in the dark
-
Entertainment11 minutes agoJustin Baldoni and wife break silence after ‘It Ends With Us’ legal battle with Blake Lively
-
Lifestyle14 minutes agoA meal with an animated Mona Lisa? Immersive dining goes high tech — but will L.A. eat it up?
-
Politics19 minutes agoNexstar launches its first digital subscription service with The Hill Insider, aimed at political junkies
-
Science26 minutes ago
Not everyone is leaving California. A new commercial battery maker just landed in Sacramento
-
Sports29 minutes agoMookie Betts’ eighth-inning single gives Dodgers the win over the Rockies
-
World41 minutes ago
From sewers to swimming sites: how Europe's cities reclaim their rivers
-
News1 hour agoThree more people charged with damaging Reflecting Pool after Trump’s multimillion-dollar restoration | CNN Politics