Behind the Investigation with Atlanta News First

State lawmakers could soon ban a controversial method used to teach children to read in Georgia for decades.

This Atlanta family's seven-year fight for justice has made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the court's ruling will impact law enforcement nationwide for years to come.

The 2024 Safe at Home Act was aimed at improving renters rights, but housing attorneys say Georgia has a long way to go with safe, affordable living.

For years, unpaid medical debt in collection hit consumers’ credit scores like a bulldozer, making it harder for them to secure loans, housing and even employment. Now, new protections set to go into effect March 1, 2025, are on pause.  Award-winning consumer investigator Harry Samler of Better Call Harry talks with patient advocate Cindy Gatton and Atlanta News First Investigates Execu...

This timeshare owner's case sheds light on a broader issue within the timeshare industry, particularly concerning third-party exit companies. Many consumers face similar challenges when trying to exit their contracts as this owner did.

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 in...

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.

After Amelia Roberts Lewis’ husband passed away, she sold her timeshare at Tahoe Beach and Ski Club in Lake Tahoe, California, in 2019, through a third-party timeshare exit company.  But despite having official records of the sale, the timeshare company continued billing her for annual fees for the next five years, totaling nearly $6,000. An Atlanta News First investigation uncovered a...

Award-winning consumer reporter Harry Samler - also known as Better Call Harry - has launched his own series of podcasts. In episode one, Harry talks with Jason Wiggam, a veteran metro Atlanta tax attorney, about everything you need to know when filing your taxes ... and even how to get them done for free.

School districts across Georgia are scrambling to meet a July deadline to train thousands of teachers in a new set of curricula intended to help improve literacy rates. 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 proficient...

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...

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.'

Families who’ve had their food benefits stolen this month are now finding out there’s no money left to replace them after federal funds to reimburse stolen benefits ended in December, but the fraud is increasing at an alarming rate. An  Atlanta News First   investigation found thieves are swiping millions in federal taxpayer dollars, while families across the country go hungr...

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 o...

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 state’s highest court will soon decide whether a man convicted of killing his infant son more than 20 years ago will get a new trial. 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 forc...

Loris Sinanian is a deacon at St. Francis of Assisi’s in north Georgia’s town of Blairsville. At age 93, he still leads mass, but these days, he needs his faith more than ever. A few months ago, Sinanian lost his wife, Peggy. Just before that, he lost his life savings to an internet scam. “Somehow, they got into my computer,” Sinanian said. “When they got into my computer, they also got into my ba...

 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...

A rural county south of Atlanta has become a target for scammers trying to make tens of thousands of dollars off people’s vacant property through local real estate agents. 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 liv...

While metro Atlanta didn’t see widespread damage from Hurricane Helene, some Woodstock, homeowners filed insurance claims for significant wind damage. But not everyone’s insurance is paying for new roofs. More than a dozen homeowners in the Oakhurst neighborhood filed claims for roof damage with a very specific type of construction shingle that roofers say cannot be “fixed” without a full replacem...

A Clayton County hospital is accused in a lawsuit of putting vulnerable patients at risk. Darryl Lynn Fussell II was having a mental health crisis and escaped the Southern Regional Medical Center, even though he was on an involuntary 1013 hold. Our Atlanta News First investigation found 44 patients have been reported missing from the location in the last three years.    Read the full investigation...

Jamming and spoofing of navigation and timing signals threaten the American economy, according to experts. Developed half a century ago for the military, GPS is now used daily by more than seven billion devices worldwide. It’s inside your phone; inside your car; and in the cockpit of every airliner.