Behind the Investigation with Atlanta News First

The DeKalb County School District paid more than $34,000 in taxpayer funds for former Superintendent Devon Horton – now under federal indictments - to attend conferences, seminars, and meetings across the country during his two-year tenure. 

More than a dozen Georgia homeowners are accusing D.R. Horton, one of the nation’s largest home builders, of selling them houses with defective plumbing that has repeatedly failed and caused water damage, according to a pending arbitration complaint reviewed by Atlanta News First Investigates.

Clayton County police detectives are investigating a woman for allegedly impersonating a state housing employee.

Anastassia Olmos, investigative reporter with Atlanta News First, talks with the IRS about what pyramid and Ponzi schemes are all about, and how to avoid them.

Atlanta News First investigative reporter Anastassia Olmos talks with the IRS about what to watch out for in some of today's common healthcare scams.

Anastassia Olmos, investigative reporter with Atlanta News First, talks with the IRS about what you need to know about the day after April 15.

The most comprehensive homeowners association oversight bill in Georgia history is on its way to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk, and lawmakers credit Atlanta News First Investigates’ series, HOA Nightmares, for uncovering the lack of oversight for HOAs across the state.  But at the same time, controversies over HOAs remain, especially in this one community where a $5.1 million water bill remains unpaid, along with a $24,000 trash bill.

A Griffin, Georgia, police officer was arrested on Christmas Eve after being pulled over by another law enforcement agency while driving his patrol car home, according to body camera video and arrest warrants obtained by Atlanta News First Investigates.

An Atlanta actress is asking to be removed from an upcoming film after claiming the production company filmed her nude without her permission, allegedly violating her contract that specified only implied nudity.

Across the country, fire departments are waiting years for new trucks. The trucks they already have are breaking down with no replacement parts available. Communities are losing fire protection entirely, and the price of a single fire engine has risen 64% in four years. The shortage is real. It is national. And it is getting worse.

Disabled passengers say transportation lifeline is broken while data shows success.

A metro Atlanta renter says her apartment has rats eating the floorboards, sewage spewing fecal matter in the backyard, and no heat as winter continues in Georgia.

As myopia rates surge in children, Georgia lawmakers are pushing a vision screening bill.

Lawmakers may soon pass a second consecutive bill tackling the state’s low literacy rates. Full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2026...

A metro Atlanta single mother said background check errors cost her a six-figure job and now she’s at risk of losing her home. Full investigation here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2026/02/05/single-mom-loses-six-figure-job-after-alleged-background-check-errors/

A new study reveals Georgia is among the states hit hard by pediatric hospital care decline. Full investigation here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2026/01/15/nearly-40-georgia-counties-now-have-no-pediatrician/

One in four adults in the U.S. are caregiving for a loved one, according to data from the National Alliance for Caregiving. Full investigation here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2026/01/15/federal-budget-cuts-threaten-dementia-research-georgia-families-struggle-with-care-costs/

A metro Atlanta woman paid thousands of dollars to a debt relief company, only to discover most of her money went toward fees rather than paying down her debt. The woman, who asked not to be identified by name, paid $7,700 to Chicago-based Turnbull Law Group over several months. Of that amount, the firm collected around $6,600 as fees, according to invoices reviewed by Atlanta News First Investigates. Harry Samler, better known as Better Call Harry, talks about his investigation with fellow investigative reporter Ciara Cummings. Full investigation here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/12/30/metro-atlanta-woman-pays-thousands-debt-relief-law-firm/

An Atlanta News First investigation into HOA practices led to an outpouring of community support for a metro Atlanta woman whose homeowners association garnished her bank account while she was undergoing cancer treatment. Full investigation here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/12/23/cancer-patient-receives-help-after-hoa-drains-bank-account/

A metro Atlanta renter recently found out her heater has been blowing fecal matter into her home, after battling with her landlord over a sewage back-up for more than a year. “We shouldn’t be living like this,” Tiarra Logan said.  Full investigation here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/12/12/metro-atlanta-renter-discovers-heater-blowing-fecal-matter-into-home/

AT&T has leveled six sunken manhole covers on Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard in southwest Atlanta and reimbursed a bicyclist for damages following an Atlanta News First investigation, but similar hazards remain on newly paved city streets.

Atlanta News First Chief Investigator Brendan Keefe takes you behind his investigation into a shocking case of alleged burglary and stalking on the campus of the University of Georgia. Watch and read his full investigation here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2026/02/05/uga-students-living-fear-after-maintenance-worker-arrested-burglary-stalking/

“Be governed accordingly!” is the haunting message Marietta homeowner Danielle Reyes received from the lawyer representing her community’s homeowner’s association.

A federal wrongful death lawsuit filed against DeKalb County jail personnel, the county’s former medical provider, and others allege an inmate died from hypothermia after jail staff repeatedly ignored his pleas for help.

Senior citizens thought they were buying their forever homes in a retirement community in Conyers, but now claim the builder broke promises and refused to let them take control of their HOA. 

 Three family members who tested positive for drugs in a Georgia child custody case allege the state’s drug screening process produced false results, and they have independent tests to prove their claims.

A Kennesaw homeowner discovered someone filed a fraudulent insurance claim for fire damage on her renovated home, sparking a months-long battle to clear her record and avoid higher premiums. Full investigation here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/12/04/is-there-fire-false-insurance-claim-sparks-battle-clear-homeowners-record/

Georgia education officials are studying Mississippi’s dramatic literacy transformation as 70 percent of the Peach State’s 4th graders cannot read proficiently, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Full investigation here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/12/22/georgia-looks-mississippi-help-children-learn-read-yes-mississippi/

A metro Atlanta police officer resigned from the department after he arrested a wheelchair-bound man on accusations he kicked in someone else's door.

Award-winning consumer reporter Harry Samler talks with FBI Special Agent Dan Polk on how scammers are using AI to create fake ads that mimic popular brands and retailers.

'Stolen Sobriety’ shows how drug-free parents are failing drug screens in Georgia. The project began when a mom reached out to Atlanta News First Investigates, saying she'd been wrongfully accused of being on drugs while trying to gain custody of her children. Our investigation uncovered the two labs contracted to perform the drug screens on behalf of Georgia's child welfare system have their own credibility issues. Watch and listen to our full investigation here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/news/investigate/stolen-sobriety/

The former president of one metro Atlanta homeowners association said boards abusing their power are giving responsible associations a bad reputation. “I see all these Facebook posts for Karen’s and Darren’s and HOA presidents harassing people,” Jan Keen said. “Gosh people, get a life!”

A metro school teacher has been left without his vehicle for months after he said Atlanta police lost his car key during an arrest, forcing him to spend hundreds of dollars on ride-sharing services just to get to work.

A Douglasville woman said she is finally getting relief after her water and sewage bill skyrocketed to $1,500 following three leaking toilets that she said her property management company failed to repair promptly.

A 77-year-old Kennesaw resident is fighting foreclosure after his homeowners association (HOA) accumulated more than $9,000 in fines and legal fees.

A special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate a north Georgia sheriff after an Atlanta News First Investigates report prompted Gov. Brian Kemp to order an inquiry.

A Gwinnett County family endured more than two months without their mother’s death certificate, not because of medical examiner backlogs, but due to a doctor’s failure to sign the required document. Watch and listen to the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/09/04/gwinnett-county-family-waits-months-mothers-death-certificate/

A Fairburn woman recovering from chemotherapy treatment discovered her homeowner’s association had cleared out her bank account after she fell behind on HOA dues due to her cancer diagnosis.

A Cherokee County mother has been cleared by child welfare officials after false positive drug test results nearly separated her from her children.

With the upcoming University of Georgia game sold out, fans are turning to aftermarket platforms and private Facebook groups to secure tickets while avoiding inflated prices and excessive fees. Austin Lang, founder of The Real Georgia Bulldog, talks with Atlanta News First consumer reporter Harry Samler (of Better Call Harry fame) on what you need to know when securing last-minute tickets to Saturday's game.

Measles cases in Georgia and the U.S. surged to levels in 2025 that haven’t been seen in three decades, fueled by declining childhood vaccinations and misinformation. Public health officials say the trend mirrors a tragedy that unfolded in 2019 on the island nation of Samoa, when false claims about vaccine safety helped trigger a deadly outbreak that killed 83 people, most of them children. Atlanta News First Investigates traveled to the south Pacific island nation to learn what happened and how Georgia and the U.S. can learn from it. Experts warn the U.S. is on a similar path, with vaccine skepticism growing, amplified by social media and mixed messages from the nation’s top health official, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

Ken White and his wife were watching television, having just gotten a call from their son, Patrick, around 5 p.m. “I asked him how he was doing,” Ken White recalled, “He said, ‘I’m gonna shoot up the CDC,’ and then he hung up.” The couple changed their television channel to a local newscast, where Ken White saw the unmistakable image of his car at the scene of the Aug. 8, 2025, deadly shooting near the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control that would claim the life of a DeKalb County police officer. The family’s horror would only increase as the hours unfolded. Law enforcement has determined Patrick Joseph White, 30, was the shooter in an incident that claimed the life of a DeKalb County police officer. Patrick White himself took his own life in the aftermath. In an exclusive interview with Atlanta News First Investigative Reporter Andy Pierrotti, Ken White describes his family’s anguish over the death of their son and David Rose, the officer killed in the shooting.

Measles cases in Georgia and the U.S. surged to levels in 2025 that haven’t been seen in three decades, fueled by declining childhood vaccinations and misinformation. Public health officials say the trend mirrors a tragedy that unfolded in 2019 on the island nation of Samoa, when false claims about vaccine safety helped trigger a deadly outbreak that killed 83 people, most of them children.  Atlanta News First investigative reporter Andy Pierrotti spoke with two leading vaccine experts about the facts and myths regarding the MMR vaccine.

A historic bloom of sargassum seaweed, 38 million metric tons, continues to pile up along coastlines in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. It’s also reaching the shores of south Florida and the Keys. Harry Samler - known as Better Call Harry - talks with Dr. Steven Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach, about what you need to know before planning that next beach vacation.

The mother of an autistic teenage boy who was at the center of a SWAT standoff in Atlanta is outraged over the lack of consequences her son is facing. "If he comes home, I’m not going to be able to stop him,” she says. Full story here.   

Locking your keys inside your house or car can, at times, put you in a dangerous situation. While locksmiths are often called to solve the problem, how do you know that the locksmith you found online is reputable and trustworthy? Full story here.

Homeowners in one metro Atlanta neighborhood say stormwater runoff is flooding their yards—and they’re calling on the city to take responsibility. What looks like harmless puddles has turned into a costly problem. https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/07/16/atlanta-homeowners-find-old-stormwater-pipe-flooding-their-yards-city-says-not-our-problem/

Customers say they paid for yard work that never happened — now the landscaper, Grant Frerking, is facing legal trouble and promising to pay up.

If someone in your family depends on electricity to stay alive, the protections some customers get may not apply — and that’s exactly what happened to a Griffin woman whose power was cut, even with a heart pump keeping her alive. She was still in the back of an ambulance when a city collections manager called, demanding payment.

A Cherokee County family was reunited last week after being separated for years because of Daydrianna Hefner’s alleged drug use. But independent drug tests proved the mother was sober, tests that came after a yearlong Atlanta News First investigation uncovered some of Georgia’s subcontracted labs have a history of false positive drug screens. “Don’t give up until the miracle happens,” Hefner said, after a Cherokee County juvenile judge closed the child welfare case against her. That allowed Hefner to be reunited with her two daughters who had been in foster care for three years.