We have officially reached Crossover Day, the deadline for Senate bills to move to the House in order to remain eligible for consideration this year.

https://www.covnews.com/opinion/strickland-crossover-week-under-the-gold-dome2026/

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In year one under head coach Rod Baker, the Eastside Lady Eagles appeared to not miss a beat. The team tallied 14 wins and returned to the Class AAAA playoffs as a No. 4 seed. Although the Lady Eagles’ season ended in the first round in a close loss to Wayne County, Baker did not shy away from evaluating the successes of the season.

https://www.covnews.com/sports/eastside/rod-baker-reflects-on-first-season-as-lady-eagles-head-coach/

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Whatever the Democrats are paying their political strategists, well, they need to get their money back. That was my initial thought after watching the behavior of the left during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address last Tuesday night.

https://www.covnews.com/opinion/graham-when-they-show-where-they-stand-or-dont-believe-them/

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In anticipation of the implementation of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Social Circle, the city received a visit from U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.Warnock, a Democrat who has represented Georgia in the U.S. Senate since 2021, met with Social Circle Mayor David Keener and Social Circle City Manager Eric Taylor to take a guided tour through the city’s drinking water and wastewater treatment sites. The group then viewed the proposed ICE facility from a distance as unmarked cars guarded the entrances.

https://www.covnews.com/news/cities/sen-raphael-warnock-visits-social-circle-to-voice-opposition-to-ice-facility/

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The Covington Police Department announced that 25-year CPD veteran Gene Nuqui will serve as the next assistant chief of police.

https://www.covnews.com/news/cities/gene-nuqui-named-cpd-assistant-chief/

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There is no better start to region play than 1-0.Social Circle did just that with wins of 58-48 and 46-24 over McNair on the Redskins’ home court on Tuesday.The first varsity matchup of the day saw the Lady Redskins break out of a five-game skid with a statement win over the Lady Mustangs.

https://www.covnews.com/sports/social-circle/redskins-sweep-mcnair-start-region-play-perfect-home/

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Georgia State Representative and Covington native Sharon Henderson was arrested on Monday morning after federal prosecutors alleged she collected false unemployment benefits.According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Henderson allegedly applied for federal pandemic unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. with claims that she was employed by Henry County Schools as a substitute teacher. However, prosecutors claim that Henderson had not worked for the school system since 2018.

https://www.covnews.com/news/crime/sharon-henderson-arrested-federal-pandemic-unemployment-fraud-charges/

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I got a lot of mail encouraging me to take the job as Duke of York, which I appreciated. I thought long and hard about it but decided to take my name out of the running. I hope you aren’t disappointed with me but looking back on it, I believe it was the right decision.

https://www.covnews.com/opinion/yarbrough-turning-down-all-those-york-dukedoms-was-saving-grace/

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COVINGTON, Ga. — The Georgia Recovers Bus Tour stopped by the Covington Square on Sept. 11 as it made its way across the state to spread support for addiction recovery.

https://www.covnews.com/news/county/georgia-recovers-bus-tour-makes-covington-stop/

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The Eastside Lady Eagles broke away late to stay perfect in 2025 as they took down Walnut Grove 14-6 on the road on Thursday.The game was 6-6 in the bottom of the fifth after a big rally from the Lady Warriors, but Eastside responded with an even bigger rally to earn the win.

https://www.covnews.com/sports/eastside/lady-eagles-rally-late-down-walnut-grove-remain-undefeated/

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The Eastside Eagles football team will look totally different from last year’s team who ended up in the GHSA AAAA state playoffs quarterfinals and losing to the Creekside Seminoles. Now, senior Xavier Joseph will be a familiar face who will return for a dominant season on the defensive side of the ball for the Eagles in the 2025 season. For the past few years, the Eagles defense was led by Bailey Benson and Christian Gass who are playing college football at NC State University and University of Tennessee, respectively.

https://www.covnews.com/sports/eastside/game-changers-defensive-dominance-eastsides-xavier-joseph/

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In true small-town fashion, community members lined Emory Street for Oxford’s annual 4th of July parade and festival following.

https://www.covnews.com/news/cities/city-oxford-hosts-4th-july-parade-and-festival/

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As she gears up for her final season, Leilani Garcia looks to have a bigger role both in the dugout and on the diamond in 2025.Garcia has served as the Lady Rams’ everyday catcher for most of her career, and she is coming off back-to-back quality seasons.

https://www.covnews.com/sports/newton/offseason-player-spotlight-leilani-garcia/

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The beginning of March marked the end of the Newton County 2024-25 4-H District Project Achievement (Public Speaking) program.

https://www.covnews.com/community/newton-county-4-h-wraps-2024-25-public-speaking-program/

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Luke Cross prefers to go about his day-to-day business without much fanfare, often leaving the spotlight to other members of the Social Circle High School baseball team. Even so, he has made a profound impact on those around him through steady, unassuming leadership.

https://www.covnews.com/sports/social-circle/cross-emerging-leader-redskins-his-senior-season/

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NEWTON COUNTY – Police have identified the body discovered Tuesday afternoon in a wooded area near a construction site on Access Road in Covington.

https://www.covnews.com/news/body-found-near-access-road-identified-missing-rockdale-man/

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Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, liberal or conservative, there is one thing that should unite one and all – how government spends your tax dollars. In Georgia, the best way to know that is through the state’s Open Records Law.

https://www.covnews.com/opinion/columnists/yarbrough-its-no-secret-cognia-is-disregarding-open-records-law/

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The Black Swarm defense led the charge for the Alcovy Tigers (3-5, 2-3 Region 3 AAAAAA) as they defeated the Forest Park Panthers 47-0 at Hines Ward Field at Tara Stadium.

https://www.covnews.com/sports/alcovy/black-swarm-leads-tigers-defensive-battle/

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COVINGTON, Ga. — With its 81-62 victory over Alcovy on Tuesday night, the Social Circle boys basketball team not only remains unbeaten overall, but it also earns the Redskins a season sweep over the Tigers.

https://www.covnews.com/sports/social-circle/prep-basketball-perfect-skins-down-alcovy/

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COVINGTON, Ga. — Over the offseason, Newton Rams head wrestling coach Tommy Gregory had his team focusing on the mental aspect of the sport. There is one player who really took that message to heart. Malachi Riley is a sophomore wrestler for the Rams.

https://www.covnews.com/sports/newton/malachi-riley-becomes-student-of-the-game-for-newton-rams-wrestling/

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With the season behind us, it is now time to announce the 2023 All-Cov News softball team. The awards and teams are filled with Newton county-area players who had strong seasons.There are 26 players among Alcovy, Eastside, Newton and Social Circle that received All-Cov honors along with 29 players that received All-Region honors.The staff at The News took all of the 2023 accomplishments from each player and selected a team. Leading the team are five special awards: Most Valuable Player, Newcomer of the Year, Slugger of the Year, Reliable Player of the Year and Coach of the Year.

https://www.covnews.com/sports/2023-all-cov-news-softball-team/

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The Alcovy Lady Tigers ended a two-game skid with a 11-5 victory over Newton in game one of Diamond Day.The Lady Tigers competed against the Lady Rams and Eastside Lady Eagles on Saturday’s Diamond Day for a chance to claim the Newton Cup.

https://www.covnews.com/sports/alcovy-lady-tigers-down-lady-rams-game-one-diamond-day/

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The Highway 213 bridge over the Alcovy River is closed "until further notice," the Newton County Sheriff's Office says.

https://www.covnews.com/news/just-hwy-213-bridge-over-alcovy-river-closed-until-further-notice/

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David McMullen remembers his mother intuitively knowing his brother died in the Vietnam War’s “last battle” — even before military officials visited their Oxford home at 2 in the morning.

https://www.covnews.com/living/oxford-airman-gave-his-life-way-saving-others-vietnam-war/

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The Newton Rams decided to celebrate Halloween 10 days early with all the trick plays they dished out against Parkview.

https://www.covnews.com/sports/newton/newton-rams-football-stuns-parkview-halloween-style-first-region-win/

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Covington Police were still awaiting word this week from state forensics investigators about the identity of two people killed when the small plane in which they were traveling crashed and exploded on impact in a parking area near a manufacturing plant in northeast Covington.

https://www.covnews.com/news/covington-police-await-ids-crash-victims-state-investigators/

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