Baby In Woods, Best Schools, Cardi B: Top GA News Stories Of 2019

GEORGIA — It's hard to believe 2019, and the decade, is already coming to an end due to how much happened this year, especially in the Atlanta metro and throughout the state. Certain moments during 2019 showed Georgians at their worst, while several other moments showed Georgians at their very best. Whether it was a tragedy that tested our strength, a person or event that helped restore our faith in humanity, or something strange that left us not knowing whether to laugh, or sigh (or both), it's hard to believe how much happened around us this year.

Which ones did Patch readers find the most interesting? Patch has rounded up the top 20 most-read stories in Georgia during 2019.

1. More Than 160 Arrested In Super Bowl Human Trafficking Operation: In Februrary, nine juveniles and nine adults were rescued during an 11-day federal, state and local take down.
2. WATCH: Pickup Almost Hits Kid Getting Onto Bus, Driver Caught: A Bartow County bus driver saw a pickup speeding past the bus stop sign in August and alerted the student who likely would have been hit otherwise.
3. Donor Sought After Father Kills Boy's Mom And Kidney Match: A 13-year-old boy from Woodstock needed a kidney in November after his father shot and killed his mother, who was planning to give one of hers. Thankfully, he received a donor in December.
4. Georgia's Best School Districts 2020: New Rankings Released: A new ranking of Georgia's best school districts was released in August. See the top school districts here.
5. Cardi B Buys Atlanta Mansion With Indoor Gun Range, Wine Cellar: Cardi B shared on Instagram that she and husband, Offset, have purchased a five-bedroom home in Buckhead that even has an indoor gun range.
6. Former Braves Pitcher John Smoltz's $5.2M Milton Estate For Sale: Take a peek inside the former home of the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame pitcher in North Fulton County. It can be yours for $5.2 million, and went on sale in October.
7. Deadly 'Superbug' Case Confirmed In Georgia: CDC: A drug-resistant fungal infection was confirmed in November in Georgia that can live in hospitals and the CDC calls it a "global health threat."
8. FBI Operation Locates More Than 200 Missing/Exploited Children: From May 1 to May 24, the FBI said 231 missing and/or exploited children were located in Georgia.
9. Billionaire Robert F. Smith To Pay Off Morehouse Student Loans: Robert F. Smith, a billionaire investor, told the Morehouse graduating class of 2019 in May that he is creating a grant to pay off their loans.
10. 50 Safest Georgia Cities 2019 Ranked Using Crime, Survey Data: SafeWise ranked Georgia's 50 safest cities using FBI crime data in June. See the top 20 cities on the list for 2019.
11. Mom Says Security Camera Footage Shows Son; He Died 2 Years Ago: Jennifer Hodge was watching TV with her daughter in January when her security camera alerted her. She couldn't believe what - or who - she saw next.
12. DeKalb Teen Wins Doodle For Google, $30K Scholarship: Lithonia's Arantza Peña Popo also won a $50,000 technology award for her school, Arabia Mountain High, in August. She plans to attend USC this fall.
13. Georgia Loses First Productions Over New Abortion Law: Hollywood's outcry over Georgia's new Heartbeat Bill is beginning to build after Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill into law in May.
14. New Marriage Age, Medical Marijuana Laws Take Effect: Several new laws went into effect on July 1, and two of them deal with Georgia's minimum marriage age and medical marijuana.
15. Douglasville Teen Stuns 'The Voice' Judges In Duet Performance: The New Manchester High School freshman joined with her counterpart in September to wow the judges of the performance show.
16. Motorcycle Driver Arrested For Going 163 MPH On Ga. 400: Police: A 30-year-old man was arrested in August for driving 163 MPH on Ga. 400 on his motorcycle, Alpharetta police say.
17. Rapper Arrested As $300K In Drugs Tossed From Atlanta High-Rise: More than $250,000 worth of meth and 13 pounds of marijuana, valued at more than $60,000, were recovered and a rapper arrested in a raid in July.
18. Hurricane Dorian: State Of Emergency Declared For GA Coast: Ahead of Hurricane Dorian, a state of emergency was declared for coastal areas of Georgia in August.
19. Confrontation Between Black Female Lawmaker, White Man Goes Viral: Erica Thomas said in July that Eric Sparkes told her to "go back where she came from," then backtracked. Sparkes is now considering a lawsuit.
20. 'She's So Precious': Video Shows Baby Found In Forsyth Woods: The Forsyth Sheriff's Office released an emotional video in June of deputies finding a newborn baby in the woods, cooing "It's alright, I got you."