Behind the Investigation with Atlanta News First

These Brookhaven homeowners' ordeal is a critical reminder for others. Here are a few key takeaways to prevent a similar situation

A pending lawsuit claims a publishing giant sold defective instructional material to school districts for decades, allegedly hurting childrens' ability to read. An Atlanta News First investigation uncovered the same publisher sold its curriculum in metro Atlanta, including Gwinnett County, the state’s largest school district. Now, the mother of an autistic son is fearful these instructional materials may have affected his mental health.

Atlanta News First Investigates has found in 2024 when kids entered state custody, “abandonment” was considered a factor at least 539 times. In 2023, that number was 464 times. Here is the story of a Fulton County mom who is facing the termination of her parental rights after her autistic son was arrested by police, and who is now fighting to get him the care she said he needs.

Atlanta News First Investigates discovered sophisticated thieves are able to generate realistic VINs that properly decode to the correct make, model, and year of the stolen vehicle. They then use forged documents to obtain real car titles from state and county tag offices nationwide.

The mandate is connected to a new law passed by the state legislature in 2023 intended to overhaul how children learn to read to address a state-wide education crisis: By fourth grade, only one in three children can read proficiently in Georgia, according to a state assessment.

A Georgia lawmaker is trying to pump the brakes on a long-time police practice that generates millions for small cities off the backs of drivers. The proposed legislation follows a series of Atlanta News First investigations published over the past year entitled Taxation through Citation that uncovered at least 17 municipalities relying on 25 percent or more of their revenue from fines and forfeitures.

North Georgia residents are one step closer to getting answers about how chemical contamination in their drinking water may have impacted their health. Emory University's pilot study is in direct response to a 2023 Atlanta News First investigation which tested 11 Rome residents for PFAS and other 'forever chemicals.'

An Atlanta News First investigation found thieves are swiping millions in federal taxpayer dollars, while families across the country go hungry, and there’s no mandatory plan in place to make the cards more secure.

According to the Georgia Department of Education , 19,888 of Atlanta Public School students missed more than 15 days of class in 2023. A child is considered chronically absent when they’ve missed 10 percent of their school year.

An analysis by Atlanta News First Investigates revealed this school system saw metro Atlanta’s highest rate of absenteeism in 2023, 35 percent. Here is one family's story of their fight for education.

Businesses and insurance experts argue state law is driving businesses out of high-crime areas and Georgia altogether, as well as making insurance coverage more expensive, if it can be obtained at all. 

Two drug testing labs contracted by the state of Georgia to conduct drug tests are under fire for allegedly returning false positive reports. 

The case involves the controversial medical diagnosis, shaken baby syndrome. In 2003, a Gwinnett County jury convicted Danyel Smith of murdering his two-month-old son, Chandler. The state’s medical examiner ruled the boy’s death a homicide, caused by blunt force trauma. Prosecutors told the jury it was a “shaken baby” case.

In April 2024, Smith pleaded with Gwinnett County Superior Court Judge Ronnie Batchelor to grant him a new trial following nearly two weeks of testimony from medical experts who testified the child’s death points to biological issues.

“I asked myself if I could live with that decision for the rest of my life and the answer is no,” Smith told the court. “Only a guilty man would plead out.

“Not every tragedy is a crime,” Smith said. “I’m not a murderer. I did not kill my son."

Read the full story here:  https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/01/16/georgias-highest-court-hear-case-dad-convicted-killing-infant-son/

 When Patricia Miele’s family moved her into Greenwood Place Assisted Living and Memory Care in Marietta this past October, they trusted the 89-year-old was in good hands, adding the facility came highly recommended.

Miele moved from Connecticut to Georgia years ago to be closer to her family and two grandchildren. The former schoolteacher and devout Catholic lived by her routines, which involved prayer and meals. She didn’t even have a television in her room.

“Pat was a voracious reader and had a deep faith and understanding of her place in the world,” said son-in-law Garrett Phillips.

Miele’s daughter, Karen Phillips, said the facility should have known her mother’s mental health was on the decline. According to her, Miele once mistook a fire alarm for an elevator button while living at Greenwood Place. Then there was the time when she accidentally locked herself in her room.

Karen Phillips also remembers a nurse called to share her mother repeatedly expressed fear of getting lost. “She didn’t know where she was going and needed help,” she said. They knew that.”

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/01/08/dont-lose-our-mother-i-family-missing-woman-found-dead-speak-out/

Atlanta News First Investigates discovered a growing issue of sham sellers near Barnesville, where a significant amount of growth is taking place. Real estate agents say the scammers are all impersonating property owners who live out of state. 
READ MORE: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/12/19/scammers-target-rural-georgia-county-with-property-fraud/

Eminent domain, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is defined as the right of a government or its agent to appropriate private property for public use, with payment of compensation. In Georgia, the process starts by first condemning the site.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/12/04/railroaded-georgia-family-farm-fights-land-seizure-claims-eminent-domain-abuse/

For the past 30 years, Georgia State University has run a program for experienced teachers to learn a curriculum called Reading Recovery, which is intended to help children learn how to read.

Reading Recovery is one-on-one instruction in the classroom for the lowest performing students in first grade struggling to read. School districts in Georgia and across the country used its teaching methods for decades.

Once hailed as one of the most effective intervention models, a study published in the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness in 2023 raises questions about its effectiveness. While the results show the short-term impact to students “largely positive,” researchers say the results completely flipped once the children reach third and fourth grade.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/12/10/georgia-state-university-accused-teaching-debunked-reading-methods/

The allegations are part of a pending lawsuit filed by Mohawk Industries, based in Dalton, Georgia, against 3M and other chemical manufacturers.

The lawsuit claims the chemical companies “concealed and misrepresented material information regarding the environmental and health risks of PFAS chemicals” when it sold “treatment products” to Mohawk for decades.

On Monday, the city of Dalton itself filed a lawsuit against Shaw Industries, claiming one of the city’s largest employers contaminated its sewage system with PFAS chemicals. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia in Rome.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/12/10/erin-brockovich-you-have-pfas-contamination-its-big-one/