(WSB Radio) The Southern Regional Health System is getting support from an unexpected source.

Clayton County Commissioner Michael Edmondson says he is confident the county can bail out the financially strapped system.

Edmondson, who has voted against helping the hospital, met with officials from Southern Regional and SunTrust Bank.

The county commission votes on January 6 on whether to support a $40 million bond for the hospital in Riverdale.

SunTrust has given the health system until that date to find the $40 million or else risk defaulting on their loan.  Hospital officials say such a default could force them to shut down.

Edmondson was one of three commissioners who voted against the hospital bailout earlier this month.

(WSB Radio) Atlanta home prices plummeted in the past year, evidence of how bad the economy has been in the metro area.

According to a report out on 20 cities, Atlanta home values fell an average of 10.5% in the year ending in October. 

Atlanta is one of 14 cities to experience a double-digit decline.

For seven months in a row, no city in the survey saw home prices increase and six metro areas recorded their worst monthly price decline on record .

In addition to Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, Charlotte, Tampa and Washington, D.C., had record drops.

Dallas did best in the survey, with an annual decline of just 3%.

Phoenix posted the worst decline of any city in the survey.  Homes prices there fell 32.7%.

(WSB Radio) DeKalb County police are hunting for a man who attempted to rob two BB&T banks.

Police say the suspect got cold feet during the attempts.

The first was at the BB&T branch on LaVista Road.

"According to witnesses, a man walked in, handed a note to the teller and said that he was armed," says police spokeswoman Mekka Parish.  "He then fled that location without incident."

Parish tells WSB, 15 minutes later the same man walked into another branch just a few miles away.

"At 3333 Lawrenceville Highway," Parish says.  "Again he pulled out a note, handed it to a teller and demanded money."

Like the first attempt, the man ran from the bank before getting any cash.

He's described as a black man, approximately 20-30 years old, about 6', thin build, with a moustache. 

Police are not sure if the man was carrying a gun.

There were no injuries reported from either incident.

(WSB Radio) Police think they may have identified a man suspected of stealing from a Cobb County fitness center and others in metro Atlanta.

Derrick Jones Ivey matches the photos of a man caught on surveillance at the L.A. Fitness on Cobb Parkway.

Doctor Andy Andrews came back from working out at the club to discover his locker had been cut and his wallet had been stolen.

"He had maybe one hour, but he managed to get to Sears and buy a TV for $1200," Andrews says, "went by a Chevron a couple of times and got a couple of tankfuls of gas.  Even after it was canceled, he tried to charge something at McDonald's the next day."

Ivey, who is not a member of the club, is suspected in similar crimes in Conyers.  He has a long criminal history for same type crimes. 

Ivey is still at large.

(WSB Radio) Despite a 12th consecutive sellout, organizers of Wednesday night's Chick-Fil-A Bowl between Georgia Tech and LSU are predicting a decrease this year in the game's economic impact on the city. 

Atlanta Sports Council president Gary Stokan says the annual showdown between the ACC and the SEC at the Georgia Dome is expected to bring in fewer tourist dollars because Georgia Tech fans will simply come to the game and go back home.

With two teams from out of town, Stokan says the Chick-Fil-A Bowl usually has an economic impact of $30 to $35 million dollars.  But, with only LSU fans filling local hotel rooms, dining and shopping, this year's take will be closer to $25 million dollars.

The Atlanta Sports Council is predicting a big 2009 as athletic events in the city, including the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament, are expected to pump up to $130 million dollars into the local economy.

Citing figures obtained from the Atlanta Convention and Visitors' Bureau, Stokan says sporting events annually account for five of the city's top ten conventions.

(WSB Radio) Next time Cynthia McKinney wants to go to Gaza, she should probably get permission from the Israelis first.

The former Georgia congresswoman was on board a boat trying to take supplies to Gaza when it was intercepted by an Israeli ship.  There are reports McKinney's yacht was rammed.

The S.S. Dignity left Cyprus on Monday, carrying 16 people and about three tons of supplies. 

"What happened to us last night was a direct threat to our mission but not our cause," McKinney said Tuesday.

The Dignity's captain says he was ordered to turn around by Israeli officials, who accused him of carrying out terrorist activities. 

CNN reporter Karl Penhaul was aboard the Dignity and says the Israeli ship deliberately rammed them, damaging the Dignity's motor.  Penhaul reports the Israelis pursured them for about thirty minutes before the collision.

A spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry denies it was an intentional act.  He says the Dignity was trying to outmaneuver the Israeli boat when it was struck.

The collision was in international waters and the Dignity reportedly went to Lebanon for repairs after it was struck.

Before leaving Cyprus, McKinney said, "There is a need for the medical supplies that is on this boat; there is a need for international attention and perhaps most importantly, there is a need for the people in the United States to understand that every piece of rubble that is there on this strip of land is caused by US weapons."

(WSB Radio) Panhandling is no longer just a problem for downtown Atlanta.

Gwinnett County is experiencing the same problems that have plagued the city for years and some communities are taking action.

The Evermore Community Improvement District, along with the cities of Grayson and Sugar Hill have hire Plaza Security to help with patrols.  The idea is to leave police to handle more important concerns.

The problem is growing.

"We've had a few incidents," says Robin Kline, general manager of the Snellville Diner.  "As recently as Saturday, we had a gentleman that needed to be escorted out."

Kline says one panhandler went as far as to ask to sleep in one of her booths.

"With these kinds of things in the area, it's nice to know (Plaza Security) is here and they're looking out for us," she says.

"Due to the economy, we've noticed an increase in it," says Matthew Davy, operations manager for Plaza Security.  He says petty crimes are also on the increase.

"You'll notice a lot more entering autos, some burglaries going on, because, when they get desperate they'll start moving around, looking for food or some loose change, something they can pawn," he says.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) Power has been restored to downtown Savannah after an underground electrical explosion rocked the city.

Georgia Power spokesman Jeff Wilson said the company is still investigating the cause of the Monday morning blast. He said it could take a few weeks to determine what happened.

The explosion blew off manhole covers and knocked power out for hours to many stores and homes. No injuries were reported and there was only minimal property damage.

The affected area included River Street, the site of many of Savannah's tourist attractions, shops and restaurants.

Georgia Power is in the second year of a $50 million five-year upgrade in the underground power network downtown.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) Dunwoody's first budget has been approved, to the dismay of some city residents.

By a 5-0 vote, the city council passed the first budget for the new city.  But some residents are expressing disappointment.

"I think the total amount is low," says resident Ken Thompson.  "I think it's going to cost more to run the city.  I think the police are going to be underfunded for awhile."

The budget totals $14.5 million, with $5.2 million, or 42%, going to fund the police department.  It's scheduled to begin patrols on April 1.

Residents , like Thompson, believe more money will need to come from taxpayers.

City manager Warren Hutmacher says not only will Dunwoody collect enough money to fund the budget, but they'll have about a million dollars left over.

(WSB Radio) A state lawmaker plans to reintroduce a bill that would offer more legislative oversight of the Georgia lottery board.

Rep. Bill Hembree (R-Winston), chair of the House Higher Education Committee, tells WSB's Sandra Parrish he's disappointed that the board decided to issue more than $2 million in  bonuses to lottery executives at a time when state government is facing a financial crisis.

"You know we're in a difficult economic condition here in the state and we're dealing with budget cuts across the board for all the state agencies... and I do consider the Lottery Corporation as part of state government," he says.

His bill would add two House and Senate members to the ten member lottery board which is currently made up of citizens appointed by the governor.  

"As a legislator and a lawmaker, I feel like I need to have oversight, and at this time we have no oversight," he says.

The Georgia Lottery Corporation says it had an outstanding year, exceeding $3.5 billion in revenues, the highest sales volume in the lottery's 15-year history.  It says every dollar of revenue received by the corporation and paid to it employees is derived from lottery sales, not taxes.

ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) Football and men's basketball players are averaging hundreds of points lower on their college entrance exams than their classmates, according to a newspaper's study of 54 public universities.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution review found the biggest gap between football players and students occurred at the University of Florida, where players scored 346 points lower than the school's overall student body.

Nationwide, football players average 220 points lower on the SAT than their classmates and men's basketball players average seven points less than football players, the paper reported.

Georgia Tech's football players had the nation's best average SAT score, 1028 of a possible 1600, and best average high school GPA, 3.39 of a possible 4.0 in the core curriculum.

But Tech's football players still scored 315 SAT points lower on average than their classmates.

``If you're going to mount a competitive program in Division I-A, and our institution is committed to do that, some flexibility in admissions of athletes is going to take place,'' said Tom Lifka, chairman of the committee that handles athlete admissions at the University of California, Los Angeles. ``Every institution I know in the country operates in the same way. It may or may not be a good thing, but that's the way it is.''

UCLA has won more NCAA championships in all sports than any other school and had the biggest gap between the average SAT scores of athletes in all sports and its overall student body, at 247 points.

Critics say athletes who arrive on campus unprepared to compete academically get shuffled off to easy majors and unchallenging courses and don't receive much of an education.

``The problem is there's a huge world of Mickey Mouse courses and special curriculums that athletes are steered into,'' said Murray Sperber, a visiting professor in the University of California's graduate school of education. ``The problem is there are many athletes graduating from schools who are semiliterate.''

The Journal-Constitution obtained the test scores and other academic data from reports each major college athletics department is required to file with the NCAA. That governing body considers the reports confidential but the Journal-Constitution obtained them under state public record laws.

The reports are required once every decade and the Journal-Constitution requested the data from the most recent report filed by each school.

Many schools routinely used a special admissions process to admit athletes who did not meet the normal entrance requirements. More than half of scholarship athletes at the University of Georgia, the University of Wisconsin, Clemson University, UCLA, Rutgers University, Texas A University and Louisiana State University were special admits.

``If the university says they'd help us meet team needs, that's as important as finding an oboist for the orchestra,'' said Nancy McDuff, the University of Georgia's associate vice president for admissions and enrollment management.

NCAA President Myles Brand said the question isn't whether athletes are as qualified when they enroll but their potential for success.

``What you are really looking for is whether the student-athletes who are being accepted have the capability of graduating from that institution with the academic support they have available,'' Brand said.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) The Reverend Joseph Lowery says he is thrilled about being asked to deliver the benediction at the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.

Lowery told members of the Antioch North Baptist Church on Sunday how much it meant to see a black man elected president.

"I saw that he had reverence for the past and a vision for the future," Lowery says.

He also shared with the congregation the moment the president-elect called him and asked him to speak.

"I was talking person to person, face to face, cell to cell, with the 44th president of the United States," he says.  Then he exclaimed, "Oh Lord!!!"

The inauguration is set for January 20th.

(WSB Radio) A weekend crash in Cherokee County claims the life of a Woodstock High School senior. 

18-year-old Victoria Hyle was killed just after Midnight Sunday morning when she lost control of her Jeep Wrangler in the northbound lanes of I-575 near Towne Lake Parkway.

The Georgia State Patrol's Tim Lowe tells Channel 2 Action News the victim was not wearing a seatbelt and was partially ejected when the SUV ran off the road, hit a guardrail and overturned. 

Blood tests will determine if alcohol or drugs played a role in the accident.

Victoria Hyle was one of 24 people in Georgia who lost their lives in holiday accidents.  Statistics released by the State Patrol show 15 of the highway fatalities were recorded in metro Atlanta.

Between 6pm Wednesday night and Midnight Sunday, troopers investigated 3,325 accidents.  The 24 deaths exceeded the Department of Public Safety's prediction of 19 traffic fatalities.

(WSB Radio) Two young boys and an adult male were attacked by a pit bull mix in Lithonia on Saturday, DeKalb County police said.

"He was biting the three year old in the head, mauling him in the head." Sherie Harris, one of the victim's relatives, told WSB-TV. "One of the boys tried to get the dog off of him, stomped the dog, the dog bit him. At that time, my brother came out of his downstairs bedroom to try and help the baby.

The two young boys, one is 3-years old, were taken to Egleston Children's Hospital with minor lacerations. The man went to DeKalb Hillendale. He was later released with unknown injuries.

"Our cruelty investigation team is investigating to determine if the dog was provoked prior to biting the children and the adult." DeKalb police spokeswoman Bettina Durant told WSB.

The attack happened at 2168 Poplar Falls Avenue around 2 p.m. Saturday.

The dog has been quarantined by the owner's vet.

Harris said her brother is promising legal action if the dog is not put to sleep.

The dog's owner said he was sorry about what happened.

ATLANTA (AP) Joe Johnson scored a season-high 41 points, Josh Smith also set a season high with 24, and the Atlanta Hawks withstood Ben Gordon's 3-point barrage to beat the Chicago Bulls 129-117 on Saturday night.

Johnson finished one point shy of his career high. The Hawks, who normally prefer a lower-scoring pace, topped their previous season best by 10 points.

Gordon scored 33 points and was 6-of-8 behind the arc to pass Scottie Pippen and become the Bulls' career leader in 3-pointers. Rookie Derrick Rose added a career-high 27 points.

The Bulls matched their season high for points and shot 54 percent from the field but still were not close at the end.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) With an unexpected prize already in hand, the Atlanta Falcons have even more within grasp when they meet the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

The Falcons (10-5) can't wait for the playoffs after clinching their spot in the postseason last week, quite an achievement for a team that finished 4-12 in 2007.

``It's huge for us,'' said guard Justin Blalock. ``To come from the beginning of this year, the negative expectations, the negative talk around our camp, it feels pretty good to be here.''

Everything fell into place for the Falcons to clinch their playoff spot last weekend: Atlanta won at Minnesota while NFC rivals Dallas, Tampa Bay and Carolina all lost.

There is more at stake this week. If Atlanta beats St. Louis and Carolina loses at New Orleans, the Falcons will win the NFC South and earn a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Falcons coach Mike Smith says his players won't be celebrating their playoff berth when there is more to gain this week.

``I don't think our guys will be complacent,'' Smith said. ``I think they understand this will be a 16-game regular season. I think the guys will be up for the challenge. They know if we play well and get the outcome we desire, there's a lot out there that can change.''

The end of the season is relief for the 2-13 Rams.

The Rams' nine-game losing streak is the longest for the franchise since its move to St. Louis in 1995.

But the Rams can look to the Falcons as a reason to envision better times in 2009. The Falcons were similarly dreadful only a year ago, finishing last in the NFC South in a season packed with controversy: Michael Vick's incarceration, Bobb Petrino's desertion. But rookie quarterback Matt Ryan has been the new figurehead for a brilliant turnaround.

Almost everything has come faster than expected for Atlanta, including the development and maturation of Ryan, who has passed for 3,280 yards with 15 touchdowns despite leading an offense that emphasizes the run.

``He is competitive, loves to compete, and goes hard,'' said receiver Roddy White, who has 85 catches for 1,334 yards as Ryan's top target. ``He does everything to be great, and has been a great player this year.''

White could pass Alfred Jenkins' team record of 1,358 yards receiving set in 1981.

Michael Turner, a full-time starter for the first time in his first season in Atlanta, has 1,491 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns. Turner already has the fourth-highest rushing total in team history.

The Falcons, who haven't lost back-to-back games all season, have won six of eight.

Smith and new general manager Thomas Dimitroff talked so much of the long-term building process that they seemed almost reluctant to embrace the idea of making the playoffs this season.

``It's been accelerated,'' Smith said of his team's stunning rush to the playoffs. ``I'm very excited about the direction this football team is going and the way this team has worked.''

Jim Haslett, who replaced Scott Linehan as coach after the Rams' 0-4 start, says evidence of his team's refusal to quit has come in close losses the last two weeks.

The Rams fell 23-20 to Seattle on Dec. 13 before last week's 17-16 loss to San Francisco.

``We are what we are, but I will say this, they played their hearts out, every single guy on that team,'' Haslett said. ``I didn't see one guy not playing hard to try to win the game.''

Haslett said other teams near the bottom of the league ``aren't playing like that with this record in the condition that we're in.''

``I commend them on that,'' he said. ``I think that is something that you can take to the future, but obviously you have to have better players in certain areas for us to win games. Trying hard and doing that is commendable, but you still have to win games.''

The two recent close games were preceded by a long line of lopsided losses. So how bad are the Rams? Only the winless Lions have fewer victories. Only Cincinnati has scored fewer points. Only Detroit has allowed more points.

Haslett acknowledged nine straight losses have made it more difficult to achieve a win in the team's final game.

``Obviously, winning some games and playing well helps,'' he said, ``but when you're struggling like we are right now it's hard to believe that you're going to win a game.''

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Morris Brown College officials raised $60,000 during a four-hour rally Saturday to help pay a massive water bill that is threatening to shutter the embattled institution.

The city of Atlanta turned off the school's water on Dec. 15 because the historically black institution owes $380,000. Unless the bill is paid in full, the school will not reopen when classes are scheduled to resume on Jan. 9.

School officials say they will continue to hold rallies and other events until they have raised the full amount. Morris Brown acting President Stanley Pritchett said Saturday he is appealing to Atlanta-based celebrities to donate money to the school.

Morris Brown is rebounding from an embezzlement scandal that brought it to the brink of extinction a few years ago.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) Authorities said a Georgia State Patrol officer shot and killed a man during a traffic stop in southwest Atlanta after the suspect tried to ram the trooper with his car.

"(Troopers) got the vehicle stopped," State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright tells WSB's Charley O'Brian. "One of the troopers in front, one behind. As the trooper in front got out of the car to approach the driver, the driver attempted to ram him while he was outside. The trooper fired a shot at the driver fatally wounding him."

The shooting took place about 4 p.m. Saturday.

"There was a brief pursuit. The trooper initially stopped the vehicle on a tag violation," Wright said."

The chase lasted about three minutes on Bagwell Drive.  The shooting victim was not identified.

"They came flying around the house and I seen them flying  the around the corner," Witness Karen Bradley told WSB-TV. "Shortly after that I heard gun shots."

The incident is being reviewed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) The U.N. Security Council early Sunday expressed serious concern at the escalating situation in Gaza and called on Israel and the Palestinians to immediately halt all violence and military activities.

The U.N.'s most powerful body issued a statement after more than four hours of emergency consultations that began Saturday night that also stressed the need for a cease-fire to be restored between Israel and Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers.

The Security Council also called for the opening of border crossings into Gaza ``to address the serious humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza'' and ensure a continuous supply of food and fuel as well as medical treatment.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) Gazans cowered in their homes Sunday as Israeli warplanes pressing one of Israel's deadliest assaults ever on Palestinian militants unleashed missiles on weapons warehouses, a police station, the homes of militant field commanders and dozens of other targets across the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

More than 270 Palestinians most of them militants have been killed and more than 600 people wounded since Israel's campaign to quash rocket barrages from Gaza began midday Saturday. Israeli military spokesman Avi Benayahu said some 250 attacks were carried out since the offensive began.

Militants, unbowed, kept up the pressure on Israel, firing dozens more rockets and mortars at Israeli border communities early Sunday.

One rocket struck close to the largest city in southern Israel, Ashdod, some 23 miles from Gaza. It reached almost twice as deep into Israeli territory as ever before and confirmed security officials' concerns that militants are capable of putting major cities within rocket range.

In New York, the U.N. Security Council expressed serious concern about the escalating situation in Gaza and called on Israel and the Palestinians to immediately halt all violence and military activities. The U.N.'s most powerful body called for a new cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and for the opening of border crossings into Gaza to enable humanitarian supplies to reach the territory.

Many of Israel's Western allies urged restraint on both sides, though the U.S. blamed Hamas for the fighting.

The offensive began eight days after a six-month truce between Israel and the militants expired. The Israeli army says Palestinian militants have fired more than 300 rockets and mortars at Israeli targets over the past week, and 10 times that number over the past year.

On Sunday, Gaza rockets and missiles hit in several locations in southern Israel.

In Ashkelon, a city of 120,000 people about 11 miles from Gaza, bustling streets immediately emptied after a rocket fell downtown. Since the campaign began, more than 110 rockets and mortars have bombarded southern Israel, according to the military's count.

Aircraft on Sunday targeted a Gaza tanker truck carrying smuggled fuel, touching off a blaze that raged out of control and spread to about a dozen nearby houses, sending acrid plumes of black smoke towering above southern Gaza, witnesses and firefighters reported. Palestinians said Israeli bombs destroyed a mosque outside Gaza's main hospital in Gaza City; the military called it a ``base for terrorist activities.''

One of the main medicine warehouses supplying local pharmacies in southern Gaza was attacked in another sortie.

``This is going to make us unable to supply any of the local families that depend on us,'' warehouse owner Dr. Hussam Abu Hashem told local Hamas radio. ``It's a war against human beings.''

Local residents said the tanker and the warehouse contained supplies that had been smuggled in from Gaza through underground tunnels with Egypt, suggesting that Israel was widening its offensive to go after businesses that are a source of income for Hamas.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved the opening of a cargo crossing with Gaza to allow in deliveries of food and medicine, defense officials said.

Warplanes attacked the headquarters of the local Hamas television station early Sunday, but it continued to broadcast from a mobile unit. The initial waves of attacks Saturday focused on key Hamas security installations and rocket-launching pads.

Benayahu said the objective was to cripple the militants' motivation to assault Israel. ``To change the situation, we don't have to go after the last of the rocket launchers,'' Benayahu told Army Radio.

Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said that in the face of constant rocket attacks, Israel had ``no choice but to go on a military operation and the only party to blame is the Hamas.''

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, Israel's closest ally on the Security Council, said ``the key issue here was not point a finger at Israel. The key issue was to urge all parties to end the violence and address the humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza.''

The rocket assault close to Ashdod hit some 23 miles from Gaza. Regional police spokeswoman Sarit Philipson told Israel Army Radio that she saw a large explosion and a plume of smoke.

Gaza's Hamas rulers have been stockpiling weapons in recent months, including medium-range missiles. Until Sunday, the deepest targets inside Israel had been the city of Ashkelon and the town of Netivot, which are about 12 miles from Gaza.

Benayahu had no information about a possible ground invasion. On Saturday, Barak vowed to expand the operation if necessary. He did not expressly mention a ground invasion, but infantry and armored forces were headed for the border with Gaza on Saturday.

Gazans hunkered down at home, afraid to venture out on the streets. Only a few cars broke the eerie silence that reigned on Gaza's streets and most of the few businesses that opened were food vendors. Schools were shut because of a three-day mourning period declared by the Gaza government for the campaign's dead.

Hamas police kept a low profile, wearing jackets over their dark blue uniforms and walking close to walls where they could be less easily seen by Israeli aircrafts above.

The Western-backed government of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas' bitter rival, called a one-day mourning period. The Palestine Liberation Organization, dominated by Abbas' Fatah movement, called a one-day commercial strike through the West Bank and urged Palestinians to take to the streets in peaceful protests.

Israel's military was on alert for possible disturbances in the West Bank. The campaign has inflamed public opinion across the Arab world, which has responded with protests and condemnations.

Additional reporting by Aron Heller in Ashkelon, Amy Teibel in Jerusalem and Edie Lederer in New York.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) Five suspects are now in custody in connection with a home invasion and double murder in Carrollton.

Police arrested an Ohio man Friday morning, bringing the total number in custody to five.

Tony Ray Smith was arrested while waiting at a bus station in Beaufort County, South Carolina.  That's where three other suspects were arrested on Christmas Day.  The fifth suspect, a woman, was taken into custody Thursday night in Carrollton.

All are charged in the home invasion on Wednesday morning on Molette Street. 

Police say the gunmen shot and wounded 27 year old Reginald Nixon. Then, police say, they shot and killed Nixon's 53 year old father, David, while he was in bed, and murdered 26 year old Michael Deon Cruver, who had been visiting the Nixons.

Police have not yet determined the motive for the shootings.

Three suspects, 23 year old Robert Robinson, 20 year old Lance Thomas and 20 year old Jarrell Washington, were apprehended in the town of St. Helena, South Carolina.

Carrollton police had notified the Beaufort County sheriff's department that Robinson had ties along Folly Street, in St. Helena.  Shortly after that deputies spotted his white sedan and caught all three men.

They have waived extradition and could be back in Georgia by early next week.

(WSB Radio) No water -- no class.

Morris Brown College holds a rally today to raise money to pay its overdue water bill. The city of Atlanta cut off the water last week because the school owes $380-thousand.

"I would hate to see this place close," Graduate Lisa Chester told WSB-TV. "I really, really would."

"Every little bit helps, if everybody gave one dollar," said supporter Anthony McKinney.

The school needs lots of dollars and needs them fast. Administrators said if they can't get the water turned back on before January 9th, they won't be able to start the semester.

The school also needs more than $1.5-million to meet day-to-day operating costs.

Morris Brown lost its accreditation in 2002 because of a finance scandal. That means the school can't get help from the Federal government.

Administrators are asking alumni to help out. A mass email was sent to 7,000 former students and area churches asking for donations last week. They can be made on the school's website.  The school is also taking donations on campus today.

The water bill is only a drop in the bucket of the money needed to keep the 1881 institution open. The school is working on plans to restructure its $30-million debt.

ATLANTA (AP) Authorities say a man accused in the beating death of his girlfriend's 2-year-old son was rushed to a hospital on Friday after apparently trying to hang himself in jail.

Fulton County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Nikita Hightower said 20-year-old Mario Cunningham was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. He was being held without bond and is charged with murder and child cruelty in the death of Elijah Singleton.

According to authorities, Cunningham first told them Elijah drowned in a tub after he left the child unsupervised in the middle of bathing him on Friday, but an autopsy determined the toddler was beaten to death.

The mother, 23-year-old Gloria Singleton, has been charged with child cruelty.

Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Eric Staal scored three goals in 4:31 span of the third period to overshadow Bryan Little's first career hat trick in the Carolina Hurricanes' 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday night.

Staal's sixth career hat trick, and second in 17 games, helped Carolina win for the second time in three games and fourth in six.

After Staal tie it at 3 on a power play with 12:33 remaining, Little answered with his third goal of the game, redirecting Niclas Havelid's wrister for his fifth goal in two games and 17th this season.

Staal tied it again at 9:18, firing a shot off the left post and behind Johan Hedberg. The Carolina star made it 5-4 barely a minute later, easily skating around Thrashers defenseman Nathan Oystrick and beating Hedberg.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) A new prosecutor in Colorado says he plans to take a fresh look at one of the country's most high-profile cold cases the slaying a dozen years ago of JonBenet Ramsey.

Incoming Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said he'll decide what to do with the investigation in his first 30 days on the job, which he starts Jan. 13. His predecessor, Mary Lacy, publicly exonerated the Ramsey family this year in the Dec. 26, 1996, murder.

Garnett said he might send the case back to the police. The DA's office took over the investigation in 2002 because of criticism of the police department's handling of it.

JonBenet, a 6-year-old beauty pageant contestant, was found bludgeoned and strangled in the basement of her parents' home. She and her mother, Patsy, are buried in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta.

Patsy Ramsey died of cancer in 2006.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Federal Aviation Administration officials say a brief outage of the ground radar at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday caused delays of about an hour on arriving and departing flights.

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the radar that allows air traffic controllers to see planes on the runways went down about 10:25 a.m. Bergen said the radar started working again about 11:10 a.m.

The equipment failure coupled with low-sitting clouds meant many flights were delayed at the world's busiest airport. According to the FAA Web site, flights to Chicago experienced delays of up to 2 hours because of snow and ice there.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) Three men, wanted in a fatal home invasion in Carrollton on Wednesday morning, have been apprehended thanks to some good old-fashioned police work.

Carrollton police knew that one suspect, 23 year old Robert Robinson, had ties to Folly Street, in St. Helena, South Carolina.  So they alerted the Beaufort County Sheriff's Department to be on the lookout for Robinson's white sedan.

On Thursday, deputies spotted the car, on Folly Street, in the town of St. Helena.

Inside were the three suspects.  Robinson, who was driving, made a run for it but was quickly caught.  The other suspects, 20 year old Lance Thomas and 20 year old Jarrell Washington, never made it out of the car.

Police say the suspects entered the home on Molette Street early Wednesday morning. 

They shot and wounded 27 year old Reginald Nixon.  Then, police say, they shot and killed Nixon's 53 year old father, David, while he was in bed, and murdered 26 year old Michael Deon Cruver, who had been visiting the Nixons.

Police have not yet determined the motive for the shootings.

The three are now being held in the Beaufort County Jail and are awaiting extradition back to Georgia.

(WSB Radio)  A rally is set for Saturday to try and help Morris Brown College.

The event, to be held on campus, is designed to help the financially strapped school pay its water bill.

Service has been shut off by the city of Atlanta for non-payment of $380,000.

School is out of session and, if the water service is not restored by the time students return to class, then the 400 student school might be forced to close down.

The historically black college is about $30 million in debt.

(WSB Radio) Atlanta has lost another fire station.

Despite protest from neighborhood residents, Fire Station #23 has been shut down.

The station, off of Howell Mill Road, fell victim to the city's financial troubles.  It's disheartening to residents like Michael Wagoner.

"I feel it's a sad day for the city of Atlanta," he says.  "For the protection and the safety of the citizens of the city."

The station will be closed until at least June 30.

In the meantime, Wagoner and his neighbors will have to hope for the best.

"If you have multiple fires and you have the added response time, it's just a disaster waiting to happen."

(WSB Radio) A teenager is recovering after being shot at a Christmas party at a Decatur nightclub.

DeKalb police are hunting for the gunman who shot the 15 year old in the chest.  Witnesses say he ran from Club Inferno, on Snapfinger Woods Drive.

A car was found abandoned in some woods a short distance away, but police do not know if it's related to the shooting.

The victim was taken to the hospital, where he is expected to survive.

(WSB Radio) A 19 year old woman is dead and another woman hospitalized after their vehicle was struck by a possible drunk driver being chased by the police.

Brittany Weiss was leaving a movie theater with Kassandra Carman, 19, after meeting with some co-workers from a near by Provino's restaurant.

"We were just talking," said Josh Harris, a friend of the victims," We had all left and said bye and were getting in the car. I remember getting in my car and I see them drive off."

"My family had went to the movies also and actually passed the chase on the way," said Provino's general manager Dan Clifford. "Brittany was a great girl and we are all going to miss her very, very much."

The two women were crossing the intersection of Riverstone Parkway and Reinhardt College Parkway when Stephen Patrick Wauschek, 24, ran a red slight and hit their white van.

"We had a lookout referencing a possible drunk driver," says Corporal Stacey Bailey with the Canton Police Department.  "The officer actually attempted to make a traffic stop.  In the middle of that it turned into a chase and (the suspect) struck another vehicle."

Wauschek suffered only minor injuries and is in police custody.  Police say he was driving on a suspended Michigan license. He was put on hold Friday night. Wauschek is on probation from a previous DUI

Carman was taken to Kennestone Hospital in serious condition. 

That's what gets you the most is just thinking about the what ifs," Harris told WSB-TV. "If I had talked to her (longer), any number of things could have happened."

Police say Wauschek was in the car by himself.

Bailey tells WSB that Wauschek is facing numerous charges, including 1st-degree vehicular homicide.

(WSB Radio) Carrollton police are investigating an overnight shooting that left two people dead and a third wounded.

Police were called to the home on Molette Street just before two o'clock this morning and discovered the victims.  They tried interviewing the wounded man, but had little success.

"We talked to him a little bit, but, obviously, he's in a lot of pain," Captain Jami Sailors tells WSB.  "They're having to treat him so we couldn't get a lot or talk to him a long time."

Police have talked to neighbors and might have gotten a lead.

"We had reports they saw two black males running from the scene," Sailors says, "and jump into a white vehicle."

The wounded man is hospitalized in stable condition.

Police have not yet determined a motive for the shootings.  The names of the dead have not been released.

(WSB Radio)  Atlanta's Cyclorama is feeling the pinch of the slumping economy.

The tourist attraction is cutting back its hours to try and save money.

The Atlanta Department of Cultural Affairs is reducing operating hours by one hour per day, while also freezing four positions, including that of the Cyclorama's longtime director.

Cultural Affairs Commissioner Diane Harnell says the Cyclorama is an enterprise unit, meaning it does not receive money from the city's general fund.  It depends solely on the number of visitors it gets each year, and that number is down sharply.

In response, the department is cutting back on hours and on staffing.

The Cyclorama will remain open six days a week.

City officials stress the cutbacks will not affect the efforts to preserve the painting.

(WSB Radio)  A Fayette County woman says she was sexually attacked in her home by a technician installing her DirecTV service.

"He just kept staring at my face," she says, "with his private parts out, trying to get me to look."

The woman did not want to be identified.

"When he went to go to the door, I went behind where I could lock it and he turned around and he grabbed my breast and put his hands on my face," she says.

41 year old Jose Quinteros was arrested.  He's out on bail and facing sexually battery and solicitation of sodomy charges.

The woman says Quinteros apologized repeatedly after the incident.

(WSB Radio)  If the Falcons are looking to move out of the Georgia Dome could they have their eyes on Doraville?

Papers obtained by Channel 2 indicate the team might be considering building a new stadium at the site of the recently closed General Motors plant.

Doraville Mayor Ray Jenkins says it'd be a good spot for it.

"This location is so prime to everything," Jenkins says.  "No matter what goes in there.  Mixed use.  Stadium.  Whatever."

The paperwork, obtained from the city, shows Sembler Developers, who are bidding on the land, wants to offer it to the team for a new stadium.

Sembler, in a proposal for the Doraville City Council, is suggesting a 90 acre, retractable roof stadium for the site.  It would cost close to $1 billion.

The rest of the GM site would be used for restaurants, condos and hotels.

The Falcons have a lease with the Georgia Dome through 2020, but the team has been looking for a new stadium and has suggested their willingness to buy out of the remainder of that contract.

Falcons President Rich McKay confirms to Channel 2 that the team has been contacted by Sembler.  But McKay says they will wait until GM decides who will get the property before taking any action.

The Georgia Dome opened in 1992.

(WSB Radio)  The Brian Nicjols defense team isn't showing anyone their bill.

The court sealed those documents, but now the judge in the case wants a closer look.

Defense attorneys say releasing those documents could jeopardize an appeal or a federal trial.

The bills are said to be in the millions of dollars.

"Usually people don't want to know the grand total," attorney Chris Adams tells Channel 2.  "Usually they want an itemized expense account."

Adams used to direct the Georgia Capital Defenders Officer and not involved in the Nichols case.

"When you do that, you start leading them to witnesses you've talked to, who you may or may not have called to the witness stand," he says.

Nichols was convicted of four murders in connection with the Fulton County courthouse shootings on March 11, 2005.

Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Brandau and Fulton County Sheriff's Sergeant Hoyt Teasley were shot to death at the courthouse.  U.S. Customs Agent David Wilhelm was murdered outside of a home he was renovating in Atlanta.

The jury could not agree on a sentence for Nichols and he was given life in prison without parole.

Fulton County prosecutors have been in discussions with the U.S. Attorney's office about possibly trying Nichols on federal charges for Wilhelm's death.

(WSB Radio)  His parents weren't home, but he was with an adult.  That didn't stop a 4 year old Riverdale boy from finding his father's gun.

The child is at Egleston Children's hospital after police say he shot himself in the face Tuesday night.

The boy's parents were out for the evening, but cops say he was being cared for by another adult.

It's not known how the boy got his hands on the gun.  The investigation is continuing.

There's no word on the boy's condition or on possible charges.

(WSB Radio)  Alpharetta police have uncovered a huge case of credit card theft and fraud after a two-month undercover investigation.

WSB's Richard Sangster reports there are hundreds of victims, and hundreds of thousands of dollars taken.  The scammers ripped off unsuspecting customers at an Alpharetta BP gas station, where a clerk set up a credit card skimmer to steal card numbers and PINs.

"This is the largest credit card fraud case in the history of the Alpharetta Dept. of Public Safety," said spokesman George Gordon in an e-mail.  Three people were arrested, and a fourth is being sought.  Gordon says the suspects are all Russian immigrants who relocated to Alpharetta from Los Angeles.

A raid on a unit at the Alara apartment complex yielded cash, heroin, bank statements, hundreds of phony credit and debit cards, remote cameras and more skimmers.  

The three suspects were booked into the Fulton County jail.

(WSB Radio) It was a night of terror for four employees of a McDonald's in Clayton County.

Two masked gunmen entered the restaurant at about 2 o'clock.  They held guns to the employees heads, threatening to kill them.

The employees were then locked in an office while the robbers raided the cash registers.

Police arrived and surrounded the McDonald's on Highway 138, near I-675 in Stockbridge.  Somehow, despite the dragnet, the gunmen were able to escape.

"We're working on investigations right now, video and everything else," says Clayton County Police Captain Joe Woodall.  "We'll be conducting interviews (with the employees) as well."

None of the workers was hurt during the hold-up.

(WSB Radio) Residents of Virginia Highland are on the lookout for two men who have mugged four women in recent days.

The muggings have happened at night, when victims have been walking to or from their cars.

Two of the crimes have taken place within the past week.

Property managers at nearby apartments have sent letters to residents, warning them.

the only description of the suspects is that they are younger men. 

(WSB Radio) A two year old boy is dead and his mother and her boyfriend are under arrest.

Atlanta police were notified of a "suspicious death" by the ER staff at South Fulton Medical Center.  When officers arrived they were told the boy was brought in at about 8 o'clock and was soaking wet, as if he had been in the bath.

Investigators were told the boy had been with his mother and her boyfriend at the Travelodge Motel on Forest Hills Drive.

After questioning both adults and talking with hospital staff, 23 year old Gloria Singleton was arrested and charged with cruelty to children.

The mother's boyfriend, 20 year old Mario Cunningham, was arrested on three charges, including cruelty to children and felony murder.

The pair are being held in the Fulton County jail.

The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

(WSB Radio) -- For the first time since a construction accident left one dead and injured 18 others, the Atlanta Botanical Garden reopened on Monday. 

Garden Executive Director Mary Pat Matheson announced the reopening and said a fund has been created to help the victims of Friday accident.

Matheson and Bill Pinto, president of Hardin Construction, said admissions money through Dec. 31 will go to victims via the Jonquil Fund. In addition to admissions proceeds, donors can contribute through Wachovia Bank, they said.

WSB's Richard Sangster reports inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration also return to the garden Monday to continue their effort to find out what caused part of the elevated walkway to collapse.

Construction worker Angel Chupin, 66, died in the accident. The injured were sent to local hospitals. Grady Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Denise Simpson says 10 workers remain hospitalized, including six in the intensive care unit.

The garden had been closed since Friday morning, when part of a new skywalk attraction collapsed.

The Canopy Walk is part of a $55 million makeover at the Piedmont Road botanical garden. Billed as the "longest pathway of its kind in the country," the 600-foot-long walkway will rise to 45 feet, allowing walkers a view of the treetops in the forest next to Midtown's Piedmont Park.

(WSB Radio) For the third time in a week a metro area suspect has been shot dead by police.

APD officials say an officer shot and killed a robbery suspect at a Dollar General store, but that another suspect managed to escape.

The second man is still at large.

Police say the men away after the officer walked in and interrupted the Sunday night robbery at the store on Campbellton Road and County Line, in southwest Atlanta. Police say the store had been robbed the night before.

The dead man, who was not identified, died of a gunshot wound to the head at Grady Memorial Hospital.

The officer will be placed on administrative leave until the Georgia Bureau of Investigation reviews the case.

Last week, police in the metro area were involved in two fatal shootings.

In Henry County, a man who stole a motorcycle in a Walmart parking lot was killed after he crashed and ran into wodds, with police in pursuit.  As they were closing in, he aimed a gun at officers who shot him.

On Friday, along Cheshire Bridge Road, in Atlanta, a man was killed after police stopped him on suspicion of an armed kidnapping. 

(WSB Radio) Winter officially began on Sunday.  Residents around Atlanta know it all too well.

Temperatures dropped sharply, accompanied by high winds.

3000 Georgia Power customers were left in the dark as the winds snapped tree branches and knocked down power lines.

Forecasters predict the cold will stay with us through Monday, but then temperatures will rise back again.

Overnight temperatures, however, were brutal.  And, with the wind chill, in some areas it felt as if it were in single digits.

(WSB Radio) Does anyone have a water bottle?

The water is off at Morris Brown College.

The city of Atlanta turned off the spigot because the school owes more than $300,000 on its water bill.

"We've been in a crisis for the last five years," School president Dr. Stanley Pritchett said. " But this crisis of losing basic services takes it to another level because it keeps you from operating if you can't provide basic services."

The school could be forced to close if it doesn't get $1.5 million by January .

Students are set to return on January 12th. The school is already cash-strapped. It ranks 16th among Atlanta's top 25 delinquent water and sewer counts.

"We continue to have discussions with the city of Atlanta water department and the mayor's office," Dr. Pritchett said. "They are continuing to communicate with us as a result of challenges that the college has been faced with."

Morris Brown lost its accreditation in 2002 because of a finance scandal. That means the school can't get help from the Federal government.

Administrators are now asking alumni to help out. A mass email was sent to 7,000 former students and area churches asking for donations. They can be made on the school's website.

The water bill is only a drop in the bucket of the money needed to keep the 1881 institution open. The school is working on plans to  restructure its debt.

The school could turn away students in January.

(WSB Radio) A Lithonia man is in custody, charged in the shooting death of another man at a Gwinnett County gas station.

LaGrarian LaKeith Hannah, 24, was arrested and charged with murder.

Police say the shooting, at a BP station in Duluth, followed an argument between the two men.

The suspect, described as a black male in his 20's, has not been identified.

Hannah is being held in the Gwinnett County jail without bond.

ATLANTA (AP) Oglethorpe University has again been warned it could lose its accreditation after a review showed its financial stability is still a concern.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accredits degree-granting institutions in 11 Southern states and Latin America. Belle Wheelan, president of the agency's commission on colleges, said Oglethorpe has been given time to review its financial position and that the agency would review its progress again next year.

The agency had warned the 1,200-student private school last year that its deficiencies could lead to the loss of accreditation. That status will continue, the agency said.

Oglethorpe President Lawrence M. Schall said in a statement Saturday that the Atlanta school was disappointed that the agency continued its warning. However, the school is fully accredited now and officials have made significant progress in addressing the underlying causes of the financial concerns, he said.

That includes record fundraising over four years and a positive $500,000 cash flow at the end of the fiscal year in June.

``While a number of issues flagged last year have been resolved, we have been asked to continue to demonstrate a history of financial strength,'' Schall said.

Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) The president and chief executive officer of Clayton County's hospital has resigned.

Southern Regional Health System head Edward Bonn's resignation came just hours after creditors granted the struggling hospital more time to find the funds to keep operating.

Bonn has spent eight years as the hospital's head. His resignation is effective Dec. 31.

The Clayton County board of commissioners had voted Tuesday not to back a $40 million bond to help the 331-bed Riverdale hospital avoid defaulting on loans at the end of the month but is now reconsidering.

A possible reprieve came Friday as SunTrust gave the hospital a couple of weeks extension to pay off a $40 million debt.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) The Minnesota Vikings fully expected to be in the middle of the playoff picture, though they may have taken an unexpected route to this position.

The Atlanta Falcons? It was just about this time last year that their coach abandoned them and their star quarterback was incarcerated for dogfighting.

Nevertheless, when the Falcons (9-5) travel to the Metrodome to face the Vikings (9-5) on Sunday afternoon, there will be plenty on the line as this season draws to a close.

With a win or a Chicago loss in the last two weeks, the Vikings will clinch their first division title since 2000. And Minnesota still has a shot at the NFC's second seed and the first-round bye that comes with it.

``It's right here and right in front of our face,'' receiver Bobby Wade said. ``We talk about having control over our own destiny and right now we definitely have control over that with a win.''

After starting the season 1-3, the Vikings have won four in a row to jump to the top of the NFC North, where many preseason prognosticators put them after the additions of defensive end Jared Allen, receiver Bernard Berrian and safety Madieu Williams in the offseason.

``I think the excitement is that we're finally playing the way we know we can play,'' linebacker Chad Greenway said. ``The way everybody thought we could play when they gave us those high praises at the start of the season.''

For Wade, it feels eerily similar to last year when they got off to a 2-5 start, but won five in a row and needed to beat Washington in Week 16 to all but sew up a wild-card spot.

But the Vikings lost to the Redskins at home, then dropped the season finale at Denver to miss the playoffs for the third straight year.

``I think every guy that was on this team last year ramped it up for this week to treat it as a must-win situation for us,'' Wade said. ``We know that's not the end of everything, but for us it is. So we need to take care of our business this weekend.''

The Vikings will give Tarvaris Jackson his second straight start at quarterback. He filled in superbly when Gus Frerotte went down with a lower back injury two weeks ago and wants to finish stronger this season than last.

Jackson has added motivation because he threw two costly interceptions in the first half of the loss last year to the Redskins and wants to lead a stronger finish this time around.

``I thought about that,'' Jackson said. ``Same scenario. We want to make sure that we go out and take care of business.''

The Falcons are tied with Dallas and Tampa Bay in the wild-card chase, with Chicago (8-6) one game behind. The stunning success of rookie quarterback Matt Ryan and workhorse running back Michael Turner have thrown Atlanta's rebuilding plan into overdrive.

Bobby Petrino bolted for Arkansas with three games to go last year and Michael Vick was jailed on dogfighting charges, throwing Atlanta into complete chaos. Owner Arthur Blank hired Tom Dimitroff away from New England to be the GM and then replaced Petrino with Mike Smith.

The two drafted Ryan with the No. 3 overall pick and the stabilizing force provided by all three has helped make the Falcons one of the surprise teams in the league.

``Really it's been a process and we really haven't looked at where we are going or where we have been,'' Smith said. ``We are just kind of taking it game by game and we've set milestones and we have been able to reach them.''

Their first goal was to never lose back-to-back games this season. So far, they have accomplished that, a remarkable level of consistency for such a young team.

``We knew that if we could do those things and not put back-to-back losses together, that as you got into December you are going to look up and say, 'Gosh, we are in a pretty good position right now, and that is kind of how we've approached this,'' Smith said. ``We are very encouraged by what this football team has done in 2008.''

And here they are.

The Falcons finish with the game at Minnesota and at home against St. Louis. If the playoffs started today, Atlanta would be left out because Dallas and Tampa Bay have better conference records.

``Hopefully that highlight is still to come,'' Ryan said when asked if there was one particular moment that has stood out during this impressive run this season. ``I think that is the focus of everybody right now.''

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Kari Lehtonen's first few minutes on the ice after missing seven weeks with a sore back didn't go well: Two shots faced, two goals allowed.

Lehtonen made a quick recovery. He didn't let another puck get past him until late in the Atlanta Thrashers' 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.

``After that, I found my game,'' Lehtonen said.

Lehtonen may have played his best in the third period despite giving up the second of two goals by Martin St. Louis. The goalie protected the lead even as Tampa Bay outshot the Thrashers 24-6 in the period.

``He sure picked it up in the third period,'' said Atlanta coach John Anderson, who winced when he saw the disparity in shots on goal in the final period.

``Yikes,'' Anderson said.

Lehtonen stopped 36 shots overall, including 31 in a row after Tampa Bay's two goals in the first 8:15.

``It ended up being a good game,'' Lehtonen said. ``The start wasn't the way I wanted it. The first two shots went in. I didn't give up. ... It was great to see the guys respond. Hopefully, I can help this team win games.''

Lehtonen made his first start since Oct. 30 to help lift Atlanta to its fourth win in 16 games.

Slava Kozlov, Eric Perrin, Todd White and Joey Crabb scored for the Thrashers.

St. Louis had two power-play goals for Tampa Bay, including a shot with 2:32 left in the third period that cut Atlanta's lead to 4-3.

St. Louis didn't have enough help as the Lightning fell to 4-15 in one-goal games.

``It's frustrating,'' St. Louis said. ``I don't think there are enough guys that really want to win.''

The last-place Lightning have lost 17 of 19.

``When you're six or seven games above .500, everything is rosy,'' St. Louis said. ``... When you're in our situation, it's plain and simple embarrassing.''

Added Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith, who stopped 26 shots: ``This is an all-time low. It's embarrassing. It makes me sick to my stomach.''

Tampa Bay coach Rick Tocchet said his team may have relaxed after the two early goals by Adam Hall and St. Louis.

``Some guys thought it was going to be easy,'' Tocchet said. ``They weren't respecting the opponent.

``The coaching staff is running out of answers. We roll up our sleeves and give them the information to play good. To see the way they played the first two periods was disheartening. I feel bad for our fans.''

Kozlov's unassisted goal gave the Thrashers a 1-0 lead 18 seconds in before Tampa Bay ended an 0-for-27 power-play drought on the first goal by St. Louis.

The Lightning took a 2-1 lead when Jussi Jokinen took the puck behind Atlanta's net and set up Hall's shot past Lehtonen.

Atlanta took some pressure off Lehtonen by closing the first period with two more goals. Perrin's rebound of Boris Valabik's shot tied it 2-2. The Thrashers took a 3-2 lead on White's power-play goal off a pass from Bryan Little with 1:37 left in the period.

Atlanta stretched its lead to 4-2 with the rookie Crabb's second NHL goal about 4 minutes into the third period.

The Thrashers ended a seven-game losing streak at home, including two defeats in overtime.
Notes: Tampa Bay had only a combined 15 shots in the first two periods. ... Thrashers D Martin Schneider returned after missing eight games because of a shoulder injury, but D Garnet Exelby was scratched after learning he has been playing for two weeks with a hairline fracture in his lower right leg. ... Atlanta won at home for the first time since beating Carolina 3-2 on Nov. 14.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) Nikolai Valuev likely ended Evander Holyfield's last chance at winning a fifth heavyweight title, narrowly defending his WBA title by majority decision on Saturday night.

The 46-year-old American, attempting to become the oldest heavyweight to win a major belt, started the fight by moving around the ring to neutralize Valuev's long reach advantage.

The 7-foot Russian, the tallest and heaviest champion ever, struggled to close down Holyfield early but began asserting his jab as Holyfield tired.

One judged scored the bout a draw, while the others had Valuev winning 116-112 and 115-114.

``Of course I am disappointed,'' Holyfield said. ``I thought I had done enough to get the win. Now I have to go home and think about my future.''

Holyfield (42-10-2) had not fought since losing a one-sided decision to then-WBO champion Sultan Ibragimov over a year ago, and was much criticized for this latest comeback attempt. Some critics suggested he was putting his health at risk by fighting at such an advanced age.

Still, the ``Real Deal'' appeared in great shape for the fight and was never seriously hurt by Valuev (51-1), who has avoided the top heavyweights and did little to improve his standing in the division. He was vulnerable to Holyfield's right hooks, many of which landed, even if the Russian also was never stunned.

``He made me work very hard for the win,'' said Valuev, the overwhelming favorite and underwhelming winner. ``Holyfield was unbelievable with his speed. The fight was fought at a great tempo for the whole 12 rounds.''

Later rounds were largely uneventful, with the Atlanta native dancing and looking for the rare opportunity to attack in combinations. The Russian, who carried a weight advantage of almost 100 pounds, planted himself in the center of the ring and rarely unleashed power punches.

``His hands are not as slow as everyone thinks they are,'' Holyfield said.

For Valuev, it was the biggest win on a weak resume. He has so far refused to fight either of the Klitschko brothers, who hold the other major belts and are considered the top two heavyweights in the world.

Holyfield has refused to say if he would retire should he lose or draw against Valuev. Struggling with financial problems, Holyfield may try to use the better-than-expected result to score a big payday against another champion or Riddick Bowe, who has recently made a similarly worrisome comeback.

Holyfield won one of three epic battles against Bowe in the 1990s, when he beat Buster Douglas, George Foreman and Mike Tyson twice to become a dominating figure in the sport.

This fight was put on in front of 12,500 largely pro-Holyfield fans in Zurich's Hallenstadion. Holyfield entered to a standing ovation, wearing a red robe fit for a king.

Valuev was booed, and there were even scattered whistles while the Russian national anthem played. The fans similarly showed their displeasure when the judges' scorecards were read.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) Zac Swansey will remember his 20th birthday.

So will Wofford.

In a reprise from a win over Kentucky in last year's Southeastern Conference tournament when Swansey hit a game-winner as time expired, the player whose teammates call ``Big Shot Z'' made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Georgia to a 74-73 overtime victory over Wofford on Saturday.

``I envisioned him doing exactly what he did ... until the shot went up.'' Georgia coach Dennis Felton said. ``He took it so fast and he was pressured, and he kind of twisted his body. I thought, 'Oh well, it is good to be hopeful.' ``

``Coach should know better than that,'' Swansey said. ``I hit one in front of him in the SEC tournament last year.''

Swansey scored 11 points, but was only 4 of 12 from the field. He hit two 3-pointers, both in the last 15 seconds of the game.

He hit a shot with 14.7 seconds to play to tie the score at 71, but Wofford's Brad Loesing raced down the floor to make a layup with 5.8 seconds to play to give the Terriers a lead.

Trey Thompkins threw the inbound pass away, forcing Georgia to foul. The Bulldogs put Tim Johnson on the line, and he missed both shots. This time Swansey got the outlet pass cleanly and hit the winner.

``I was just trying to find a way to get an open shot for myself or a teammate,'' Swansey said. ``I had a decent look. I was kind of fading to the right. I could see the rim a little. This was a good birthday gift.''

Thompkins led Georgia (7-3) with 15 points and Jeremy Price scored 12. Junior Salters led Wofford (4-4) with 20 points. Johnson added 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The teams had not played since 2004, when the Terriers took the Bulldogs into overtime before Georgia won 93-89.

``I have been watching scores around the country and seeing games like this where teams are coming off finals,'' Felton said. ``I was hoping we were not going to be one of those teams that went down. It didn't look that way early, but we found ourselves in a battle with a well-coached team that played well.''

Noah Dahlman's pair of free throws put Wofford ahead 60-59 with 50.8 seconds to play in regulation. Thompkins hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 25.2 seconds to play to put the Bulldogs ahead. Loesing was fouled on a drive to the basket and made both free throws with 8.6 seconds to go, forcing overtime.

``Our team is down in the mouth right now,'' Wofford coach Mike Young said. ``As they should be. It was a tough loss. But going on the road and playing the way we did is encouraging. This game proves that things are going to be very exciting for the Terriers in the near future.''

Georgia led by as many as 15 points in the first half, the last time on Swansey's 3-point play with 6:33 remaining before halftime, giving the Bulldogs a 29-14 lead. But with Thompkins on the bench with two fouls, Georgia failed to score another field goal in the first half.

Meanwhile, Johnson scored eight straight points during a 10-0 run. By halftime, Wofford whittled the lead to 34-30.

Thompkins scored two quick baskets to start the second half, and Georgia surged ahead 40-32 on Albert Jackson's hook.

But when Thompkins went to the bench again, Wofford mounted another 10-0 run. Bookend 3-pointers by Salters started and finished the run, which boosted the Terriers to a 42-40 lead, their first since the game's initial basket.

Georgia put together an 8-0 run midway through the second half to build a 54-48 lead on Jeremy Price's basket with 8:22 to play.

Georgia played without leading scorer Terrence Woodbury, sidelined with an ankle injury. The Bulldogs got surprising production from walk-on Ricky McPhee, who scored 11 points in 23 minutes.

``No doubt about it, Ricky gave us a major, major lift off the bench,'' Felton said. ``He was tough inside, and he made some shots.''

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Federal investigators were working through the weekend to start determining what caused a pedestrian bridge being built high above an Atlanta park to collapse, killing one man and leaving 11 other workers hospitalized, seven in intensive care.

Contractors were pouring concrete on the ``canopy walk'' at the Atlanta Botanical Garden when it crumbled Friday morning, sending workers hurtling up to 40 feet to the forest below. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration was investigating Saturday, but spokesman Mike Wald said it could take months to determine what happened.

The 30-acre garden, which is adjacent to Atlanta's popular Piedmont Park north of downtown, will stay closed through the weekend out of respect for the workers and their families, according to a statement on the Garden's Web site. It is set to reopen Monday.

The Web site describes the collapsed skyway as the ``only canopy level pathway of its kind in the U.S.'' Rising to four stories high, it was to be supported by a system of cable wires ``designed to hold the structure firm and steady without impacting tree roots.''

Meanwhile, Hardin Construction, the contractor for the project, has held meetings about how and if the bridge building would continue, said company spokeswoman Barkley Russell.

``Our focus continues to be with the workers and their families and we are offering continuing support and assistance,'' Russell said in an e-mailed statement.

Killed in the collapse was 66-year-old Angel Chupin of Marietta, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office. Eighteen men were injured. Of the 16 treated at Grady Memorial Hospital, five had been discharged by midday Saturday. Two others were treated and released at another hospital.

Grady spokeswoman Frankie Smith declined to release the conditions of the 11 still hospitalized, but some had suffered serious head and spinal injuries. Smith said the remaining patients and their families did not want to do any media interviews over the weekend.

Hardin's spokeswoman Russell also addressed media reports that Hardin had received three OSHA safety citations.

``The three citations mentioned in the media span a 10-year period in which Hardin has completed over 50 million square feet of space and over 250 projects,'' the statement says.

The statement said all contractors on the garden project attend weekly safety meetings.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) The man killed in Friday's bridge collapse at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens had concerns about the bridge's scaffolding, his family said.

Angel Chupin, 66, of Marietta was the only person killed in the collapse. He told his son that the scaffolding should have been six feet apart, not stretched to 12-feet.

"Why you put that scaffold every 12-feet?" said Raul Chupin, Angel's son. "My father, he's dead."

18 people were hurt in the accident. Seven people were released from Grady hospital on Saturday. Many still being treated have brian and spine injuries.

OSHA will return to the site on Monday. The Gardens are closed this weekend out of respect for the victims.

"He all the time, play." Raul said of his father. " He loved that."

Chupin worked for SDC, a Kennesaw subcontractor. No one with the company was available for comment.

Chupin had 11 kids, 6 of which lived with his wife in Mexico. He had planned to go back to visit this week.

"He promised my sister," Raul said. "He'd back to Mexico together, this Christmas."

Raul said he's dad worked in construction for 18 years. No word on funeral arrangements .

(WSB Radio) The canopy walk was supposed to be the centerpiece of the new Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

Officials said it was going to give visitors an amazing view of the beauty below.

It wasn't supposed to collapse.

The skywalk was a $55 million bridge that stretched 600-feet long. At its peak it was 45- feet hight.

All of that collapsed on Friday morning, killing one construction worker and leaving 18 injured.

"The Garden is devastated by this accident," said Atlanta Botanical Gardens director Mary Pat Matheson. "We are most concerns for the families and the victims of this accident and for the loss of life that was experienced here today."

Matheson sent out a fund-raising letter in October said bridge would be the "most amazing new feature" of the New Seasons Campaign. She said, "will be the longest pathway of its kind in the country."

In another fund-rasing letter campaign co-chairs Jane and Dameron Black called it "the thrilling centerpiece of the new Atlanta Botanical Garden... certain to become an icon for the city of Atlanta."

The walk was supposed to open in the spring. The Garden is closed Saturday.

(WSB Radio) An 11-day-old infant has been found dead in Winder.

Authorities said the child was left with a sitter and other family members while the father was at work. The mother had an appointment.

"When the mother and father arrived back at the home, at around the same time, thats when they discovered the child cold and unresponsive," Cpt. Dennis Dorsey with the Winder Police department told WSB's Jennifer Griffies. "The parents started CPR on the child, EMS was called, they continued CPR."

The child was pronounced dead at the hospital .

The Winder Police department is now investigating, Cpt. Dorsey says its policy to look into the death of a young child.

"Anytime you deal with a death," Cpt. Dorsey said." It brings out emotions differently in people. But when you talk about the death of child, especially an infant, everyone is a little emotional.

ATLANTA (AP) The FBI says suspects in a series of bank robberies in metro Atlanta have been arrested, including three in Mississippi.

Gregory Jones, head of the FBI in Atlanta, says 22-year-old Shantavia Glass of Lithonia, Ga., surrendered to DeKalb County police after widespread distribution of photographs following Wednesday's holdup of a Bank of America in Lithonia.

McComb, Miss., police arrested 18-year-old William Berk Harrold of Lithonia, accompanied by a 20-year-old woman, after a traffic stop about 4 a.m. Friday. That led to arrests of 20-year-old Zachery Antonio Harris of Ellenwood, Ga., and a 16-year-old Duluth, Ga., male suspect at a McComb hotel.

They are wanted in four DeKalb and Gwinnett County robberies over the past two weeks.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) The medical arsenal against the flu just got weaker.

Government health officials said Friday that a leading flu medicine, Tamiflu, might not work against all cases of the flu this year. The most common flu bug right now is overwhelmingly resistant to Tamiflu, they said.

The alert is ``an early heads-up'' for doctors. If current trends continue, they may need to change how they treat patients this flu season, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials say they aren't too worried, for several reasons. First, it's early in the flu season, and it's not clear this strain will dominate through the next several months. Second, not many people take antiviral medications for the flu.

Third, the flu vaccine the primary weapon against flu seems well matched against the circulating bugs.

But doctors need to take it seriously, said William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University infectious diseases expert.

``Each influenza seasons provides a bit of a surprise and we got our (surprise) a little early this year,'' he added.

The flu causes 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths annually, according to official estimates. The elderly, young children and people with chronic illnesses are considered at greatest risk.

For the public, the best course of action is vaccination, health officials said. Only about 30 percent of U.S. adults had gotten a flu vaccination this flu season, according to an online survey conducted by the RAND Corporation in November. A flu shot is recommended for those 50 and older, children from 6 months to 18 years, pregnant women, nursing home patients and those with certain medical conditions or who care for people with those conditions.

For people who get the flu, the two most commonly used antivirals are Tamiflu, a pill also known as oseltamivir, and Relenza, an inhaled drug also called zanamivir. The drugs are most effective if taken within two days of getting sick but most people don't see a doctor that quickly.

Early tests indicate that 49 of 50 samples of the main flu virus circulating this year H1N1 were resistant to Tamiflu. The samples came mainly from Hawaii, Texas and ten other states. Widespread flu has not yet been reported in most of the country.

``It could fizzle out,'' or H1N1 could become the dominant strain, Gerberding said.

A spokesman for Tamiflu's manufacturer Roche, a Swiss company said it's too early to draw strong conclusions about the drug's usefulness this flu season. The basis of the CDC's alert ``is a small sample in a limited number of states, and Tamiflu is showing good activity against other circulating viruses,'' said spokesman Terry Hurley.

For those sick with the flu, doctors cannot simply choose Relenza instead of Tamiflu. That treatment is not approved for children younger than 7 or people who have asthma or certain other breathing problems. GlaxoSmithKline PLC, which makes Relenza, said Friday it has enough to meet the demands of the current flu season.

An option for some patients, Gerberding said, may be a combination of Tamiflu and rimantadine, another antiviral medication that works against H1N1 but lost effectiveness against another kind of flu virus.

However, it's not clear how well that combination will work, Schaffner said.

``This is a 'best advice with our back against the wall' kind of thing,'' he said.

On the Net:

The CDC flu report: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON (AP) The South may have inched toward Democrats in November, but that progress isn't showing in President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet selections.

Obama hasn't nominated a single Southerner among his 15 Cabinet secretaries. So far, Obama's only pick from the region is a borderline Southerner in a relatively low-profile position: former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk for U.S. trade representative.

The disparity isn't an accident critics already are calling it a snub and that perception could slow the pace of recent electoral gains Democrats have made below the Mason-Dixon line.

``Southerners need not apply,'' said Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga. ``It's hard to believe that there wasn't anybody qualified for something from the South.''

The South accounted for nearly half of the 22 states Obama lost to Republican John McCain on Election Day. Still, Obama won surprise victories in North Carolina and Virginia. Democrats also won key congressional races in other Southern states, including Alabama and Mississippi, renewing hopes that the party can spread its success if it pays closer attention to the region.

Obama's most recent Democratic predecessor, Bill Clinton of Arkansas, did that in part by littering his Cabinet with fellow Southerners and mobilizing them to promote the party's agenda in the region.

Obama's appointments could leave him without a high-profile Southern surrogate, not just for his own re-election bid but also the midterm elections in 2010, which could prove critical for his agenda.

Dan Carter, a political historian at the University of South Carolina, said the shortage of Southerners among top White House aides is highly unusual and could invite criticism. Presidents dating back to at least Dwight Eisenhower have had at least one Cabinet secretary from the South.

``I'm sure some people will say that despite all the talk of trying to appeal to the South and running a 50-state strategy, (Obama's) certainly not rewarding it,'' Carter said.

Instead, Carter said, Obama is looking to areas where his party has greater potential, such as the West, which is seen as an emerging Democratic stronghold.

Among Obama's more high-profile choices, he has picked Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to run the Department of Homeland Security, Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado for Interior, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for Commerce.

Most of his other nominees have come from the Democrat-rich Northeast, with a couple from his home state of Illinois.

Obama officials declined to directly discuss the dearth of Southerners among his top aides, reiterating statements that Obama's staff will be one of the most diverse and qualified in history.

They did point out that one very prominent Southern voice in the administration will be his press secretary, Robert Gibbs, an Alabama native who has worked for several Southern Democrats on Capitol Hill.

They also note that New Jersey environmental chief Lisa Jackson, Obama's choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, grew up in New Orleans. But she has arguably lost her Southern identity at least publicly by spending much of her career in New Jersey and New York.

Then there's Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama's pick for secretary of state, who could be considered Southern thanks to her roots as former first lady of Arkansas. But she grew up in Illinois and probably relinquished any Southern credibility by making New York her adopted home.

Robert Gates, President Bush's defense secretary who Obama is keeping on board, also lived in Texas recently. But he has mostly worked in Washington and is a native Midwesterner who now calls the Pacific Northwest home.

``It'll be interesting,'' Kingston said. ``Southern Democrats have been afraid to have (Democratic House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi come down and campaign for them. I'll be interested to see if they'll have Obama come down, but a good way to get around that would be to have his secretary of energy or secretary of agriculture come down and say he's a local boy ... and they won't be able to do that.''

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) The Braves will have a Niekro throwing a knuckleball.

Lance Niekro, 30, will try to make a comeback in the family business.

The former Giants first baseman has signed a minor-league deal as a pitcher.

"I'm going to give it my all," Lance Niekro told the AJC. "I'm thankful the Braves are giving me the opportunity. They have nothing to lose, and I have nothing to lose."

Lance is nephew of Braves legend Phil Niekro.

Meanwhile, Greg Norton and the Braves agreed Friday to an $800,000, one-year contract, a deal that keeps the pinch-hit specialist in Atlanta.

The 36-year-old Norton led the major leagues with three homers, 18 RBIs and 17 walks as a pinch-hitter last season. A switch-hitter, he ranked second with 18 pinch hits.

Norton was acquired from Seattle in May and played first base, left field and right field with the Braves. He hit .262 with seven homers and 35 RBIs in 117 games with Atlanta and Seattle, including .323 with five homers after the All-Star break.

Norton ranks second among active players with 85 career pinch hits.

In addition to his salary, Norton can earn about $300,000 more in performance bonuses.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) A federal grand jury has accused a former Jefferson police captain of possession of a hand grenade and possession of a firearm while being a drug user.

Dennis Lamar Thomas was arraigned Friday before U.S. Magistrate Susan S. Cole in Gainesville. He was held without bond.

The 49-year-old Thomas, who was fired in 2007, faces similar state charges.

Authorities say he violated a protective order Oct. 7 by going to his estranged wife's home and demanding that he be allowed to enter. Officers were called and allegedly found Thomas in possession of a Smith Wesson handgun, as well as a crack pipe with cocaine residue.

Officers said they found a hand grenade inside a City of Jefferson police bag in his personal vehicle.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

MARIETTA (AP) A man who stabbed his ex-girlfriend through the heart with a 3-foot sword has been sentenced to life in prison.

Superior Court Judge Robert Flournoy also sentenced Eliot Jeffers to 50 years Friday for crimes including aggravated assault and weapons charges. Those sentences are to run consecutively with the life sentence.

Jeffers stabbed Jocilyn Williams inside a restaurant Oct. 30, 2006, slashing a restaurant manager who tried to stop the attack.

A jury convicted him last month.

ATLANTA (AP) A $400 million lawsuit claiming New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg libeled a Georgia sporting goods store by calling it one of several ``rogue gun dealers'' must be returned to the state court where it originated, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

The decision by a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was the latest development in a two-year legal battle that began when Bloomberg sued 15 firearms brokers in five states, including Georgia. The suit said they were selling weapons that ended up in the hands of New York criminals.

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, a National Rifle Association board member representing Adventure Outdoor Sports in Smyrna, Ga., argued before the appeals court in September that the libel suit against Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly should be returned to state Superior Court in Cobb County, where he originally filed it.

Bloomberg's lawyers wanted the case dismissed or to remain in federal court, because it applies to whether the gun stores violated federal laws.

The mayor's lawyer, Peter Canfield, argued that the mayor has immunity under New York law for remarks made in his capacity as an elected official. But Barr countered that even though the comments were made at a news conference in New York, a weaker Georgia law on immunity should apply.

A federal judge had concluded that a Georgia law meant to discourage lawsuits aimed at stifling legitimate public discourse did not apply. New York officials appealed.

The panel instructed the lower court to ``to remand this case to the state court from which it was removed.''

Bloomberg's 2006 lawsuit cracking down on gun dealers eventually grew to include 27 shops. Many have settled with the city. Four have shut down and three have persuaded the city to drop them as defendants.

The owner of a South Carolina gun store also claimed slander but later dropped the suit.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

One worker was killed Friday morning and at least 18 others were injured.

Mike Alsip, a forensic investigator with the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office, identified the man killed as 66-year-old Angel Chupin of Marietta.

Contractors were pouring concrete on the ``canopy walk,'' which climbed as high as 40 feet, when it gave way. Witnesses described a frenzied scene as dozens of workers tumbled to the ground.

Electrical worker Juan Padilla said he and another worker had just started a break after installing wires under the bridge when he heard a deafening boom.

Atlanta Fire Battalion Chief Ken Byers said all the injured workers were on the bridge when it collapsed. Nearby Piedmont Park was filled with joggers and others visitors.

Authorities have few details of what caused the collapse. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says four federal investigators are looking into it.

Sixteen of those injured were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, which was teeming with family and friends of the victims anxiously awaiting updates.

WSB's Richard Sangster reports crews were pouring concrete when part of an elevated pedestrian walkway collapsed, shortly after 9 a.m.

About a dozen ambulances were on the scene at the park in Midtown Atlanta. Atlanta Fire Capt. Gregory Shinkle said some injured workers were taken out of the accident area on backboards.

Shinkle says most of the people injured had fractures.

Emmakate Young, home for the holidays at her parents' Park Lane residence near the Botanical Garden, was getting dressed when she heard a loud and prolonged crash.

"It sounded like when they are doing construction on a building and they throw garbage off the top. It was like ... they were dumping huge material off a building and it echoed in a dumpster. It lasted for about 15 seconds."

Young told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that she opened her window overlooking the garden and saw construction workers running and yelling for help. She soon heard ambulances and saw one person on a stretcher who was sitting up and talking.

Gary Dixon, also of Park Lane, said he also heard a "loud thud," then sirens.

"It was just so terrible," he said.

Dixon said construction of the bridge has been a controversial issue in his neighborhood and he expects the accident will fuel more debate.

WASHINGTON (AP) Citing danger to the national economy, the Bush administration came to the rescue of the U.S. auto industry Friday, offering $17.4 billion in emergency loans in exchange for concessions from the deeply troubled carmakers and their workers.

At the same time, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Congress should authorize the use of the second $350 billion from the financial rescue fund that it approved in October to rescue huge financial institutions.

President Bush said, ``Allowing the auto companies to collapse is not a responsible course of action.'' Bankruptcy, he said, would deal ``an unacceptably painful blow to hardworking Americans'' across the economy.

One official said $13.4 billion of the money would be available this month and next, $9.4 billion for General Motors Corp. and $4 billion for Chrysler LLC. Both companies have said they soon might be unable to pay their bills without federal help. Ford Motor Co. has said it does not need immediate help.

Bush said the rescue package demanded concessions similar to those outlined in a bailout plan that was approved by the House but rejected by the Senate a week ago. It would give the automakers three months to come up with restructuring plans to become viable companies.

If they fail to produce a plan by March 31, the automakers will be required to repay the loans, which they would find very difficult.

``The time to make hard decisions to become viable is now, or the only option will be bankruptcy,'' Bush said. ``The automakers and unions must understand what is at stake and make hard decisions necessary to reform.''

Bush's plan is designed to keep the auto industry running in the short term, passing the longer-range problem on to the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama.

The White House package is the lifeline desperately sought by U.S. automakers, who warned they were running out of money as the economy fell deeper into recession, car loans became scarce and consumers stopped shopping for cars.

The carmakers have announced extended holiday shutdowns. Chrysler is closing all 30 of its North American manufacturing plants for four weeks because of slumping sales; Ford will shut 10 North American assembly plants for an extra week in January, and General Motors will temporarily close 20 factories many for the entire month of January to cut vehicle production.

Bush said the auto manufactures have faced serious challenges for many years: burdensome costs, a shrinking share of the market and plunging profits. ``In recent months, the global financial crisis has made these challenges even more severe,'' he said.

The president said that on the one hand, the government has a responsibility not to undermine the private enterprise system, yet on the other hand, it must safeguard the broader health and stability of the U.S. economy.

``If we were to allow the free market to take its course now, it would almost certainly lead to disorderly bankruptcy and liquidation for the automakers,'' he said.

``Under ordinary economic circumstances, I would say this is the price that failed companies must pay,'' the president said. ``And I would not favor intervening to prevent the automakers from going out of business. But these are not ordinary circumstances.

``In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the U.S. auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action.''

Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli thanked the administration for its help.

In a statement Friday morning, Nardelli said the initial injection of capital will help the company get through its cash crisis and help eventually return to profitability. He said Chrysler was committed to meeting the conditions set by Bush in exchange for the money.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) State human services officials are partnering with a Seattle-based foundation to get more would-be foster children into permanent homes.

The Georgia Department of Human Resources Division of Family and Children Services and Casey Family Programs will partner to invest several million dollars over the next few years to strengthen DFCS' ability to find permanent homes for some of its most difficult child welfare cases.

Those include older children and those with emotional problems.

Georgia is working with the Seattle group to conduct case reviews to determine the specific barriers a particular child faces to a permanent home solution.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) A yellow Corvette chased by a state trooper careened off an exit ramp Thursday, killing both occupants in a fiery crash that brought traffic to a standstill on the main interstate thoroughfare through downtown Atlanta.

The trooper spotted the 2008 Corvette speeding and making an abrupt lane change on Interstate 20 just southwest of downtown about 2 p.m., Georgia State Patrol spokesman Lt. Paul Cosper said.

The trooper chased the car with its lights flashing as it exited onto the I-85/I-75 Connector and headed north through the heart of the city.

The Corvette raced across several lanes of traffic onto an HOV exit ramp at Piedmont Avenue, went over a wall and fell into southbound exit lanes below, Cosper said.

``The trooper was unable to safely get over to the HOV lane, (then) gets over to the right and sees a plume of smoke coming up to his left,'' he said.

Investigators were trying to identify the two occupants and determine if the Corvette was stolen.

Bryan Gunter, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said the northbound and southbound exit ramps were closed just as the afternoon rush hour was about to begin.

The ramps were reopened by 5 p.m. after being judged safe by DOT maintenance personnel, Gunter said, but rush-hour traffic continued to be slowed, especially southbound.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin supplied goalie Marc-Andre Fleury with plenty of offensive support after his five-week absence caused by a groin strain.

Malkin had two goals and two assists as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Atlanta Thrashers 6-3 on Thursday night behind Fleury's 28 saves.

The Penguins had lost four of five and were 5-6-2 since Fleury last played on Nov. 15 in a victory over Buffalo. He showed little rust against Atlanta, which held a 31-19 shots advantage.

``He was phenomenal,'' Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. ``He made key save after key save. I'm more than pleased with his performance.''

Once Fleury settled down and was given a cushion by the offense, he felt much better, too. He even put the injury out of his mind.

``I was a little nervous, but after a couple of shots, I was OK,'' Fleury said. ``I was relieved when we got the first two goals. After that, I didn't think about it much.''

Malkin, who has 53 points, helped take the pressure off. He netted his 13th goal in the first period, added his 38th and 39th assist in the second period, and scored into an empty net with 26.2 seconds left. He has 14 points during a seven-game scoring streak.

``Malkin played an outstanding game,'' Therrien said.

The big story, though, was Fleury's successful return.

``He was sharp, especially after being off a month,'' Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said.

Crosby has gone eight games without a goal, but had two assists to raise his point total to 46 second in the NHL to Malkin. He passed up an open-net chance and gave the puck to Malkin in the closing seconds.

``As nice as goals are and as nice as empty nets are, you just have to trust your instincts,'' Crosby said. ``I saw him open and made a play.''

Matt Cooke, Jordan Staal, Miroslav Satan and Phillippe Boucher also scored for Pittsburgh. Marty Reasoner, Bryan Little and Colby Armstrong had Atlanta's goals.

Staal and Satan scored on Pittsburgh's first two power plays early in the second period and Atlanta rookie goalie Ondrej Pavelec was pulled after Boucher scored at even strength to make it a three-goal game at 8:04 of the period. The rookie stopped just eight of 13 shots before being replaced by Johan Hedberg.

Staal's power-play goal came at 3:30, then Satan scored his 12th goal at 5:54. Little cut Pittsburgh's lead back to two goals with his 12th on a power play at 7:32. But Boucher scored just 32 seconds later for the Penguins.

Armstrong, traded last season to Atlanta by the Penguins in the Marian Hossa deal, scored an unassisted goal with 5:05 left.

``We can't let any mistakes creep into our game or else we pay for it,'' Atlanta coach John Anderson said. ``We get so far behind that we can't catch up.''

Pittsburgh scored on two of its first four shots, with Cooke and Malkin getting goals at 5:32 and 9:40 of the opening period.

Atlanta cut Pittsburgh's lead to 2-1 with 39 seconds left in the first period. Ilya Kovalchuk's slap shot deflected off Reasoner and past Fleury into the net. A melee followed the goal, with Crosby giving Atlanta a power play by drawing the third roughing penalty.

``I threw one (punch), but I didn't land it,'' Crosby said.
Notes: D Scott Lehman, called up by Atlanta from Chicago (AHL), made his NHL debut. He replaced D Garnet Exelby, who is out with a lower body injury. ... Pittsburgh played forwards Jeff Taffe and Ryan Stone in place of Maxime Talbot and Michael Zigomanis, who are sidelined by injuries. Taffe and Stone were promoted from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL). ... Pittsburgh started a stretch of four games in six days.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Georgia Tech first-year coach Paul Johnson was given a new 7-year, $17.7 million contract on Thursday.

The school said Johnson, who led a team picked to finish near the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference to a 9-3 record and its first win in eight years over rival Georgia, will receive $2.3 million for 2009, plus incentives.

Johnson was voted ACC Coach of the Year. The Yellow Jackets are ranked No. 15 in the AP poll and will meet LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Dec. 31.

``The future of Georgia Tech football has never been brighter,'' athletic director Dan Radakovich said, ``and we are thrilled that Paul Johnson will be leading our program for a long time.''

Georgia Tech, a preseason pick to finish fourth in the Coastal Division, surged above expectations to go 3-1 against ranked teams. The Yellow Jackets beat Clemson, Miami and Florida State en route to a 9-3 record in the conference, tying Virginia Tech for the division title.

In their final game of the regular season, the Yellow Jackets beat Georgia for the first time since 2000.

Johnson won more games than any other first-year coach in Georgia Tech history and has the fourth-most wins by a first-year coach in ACC history.

``I look forward to continue being a part of the Georgia Tech family for years to come,'' he said.

Georgia Tech flourished under the spread offense that Johnson brought with him from Navy and Georgia Southern. He changed the terminology, dropping ``tailbacks'' and ``fullbacks'' for ``A-backs'' and ``B-backs.''

It certainly helped Jonathan Dwyer, who ended up being the ACC player of the year and was the league's top rusher. He averaged 110.7 yards on the ground each game and was the only player in the league to average 100 yards rushing.

The Yellow Jackets led the league in both total offense and rushing offense while finishing third nationally in the run game with an average of 282.3 yards.

Johnson, hired in December last year, now has a 116-42 record during six seasons as a coach at Georgia Tech, Navy and Georgia Southern.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- The downturn in the economy is forcing a homeless shelter that's served metro Atlanta families for 26 years to shut its doors next month.

The Nicholas House shelter located behind St. Bartholomews Episcopal Church on LaVista Road began as a mission of the church in 1982.

"It just crushes me now that it's not going to keep going because of funding," says church member Kenneth Herman.

When it first opened, Herman says the shelter housed five families in converted Sunday School rooms and operated overnight only.

"None of us knew anything about how to run a shelter and we realized after a short while that folks needed more than just a place to stay overnight and get a warm meal and go out the next day.  They needed a place to be able to get their roots down again and become self-sufficient," Herman tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.

And that's just what the Nicholas House now does. The shelter houses 12 families including 44 children and that many more at a second location in Grant Park.  The program also subsidizes apartments for families being helped by the organization.

The program includes job training, financial counseling, daycare and after school programs. And unlike most shelters, the Nicholas House will take families that include one or both parents.  Each family gets its own room and shares a common area and dining room.

"The mission of Nicholas House is to help homeless families become self-sufficient by offering a temporary place to stay but more importantly addressing the cause of homelessness so the family never becomes homeless again," says executive director Dennis Bowman.

He says the typical family is brought in by job loss, foreclosure, or divorce and usually stays between six and nine months in an effort to get back on their feet.

Like other non-profit organizations this year, the shelter has faced decreased donations and its major grants have dropped off.  Bowman says it made more economical sense to keep open the Grant Park location which has more funding from both Fulton County and the City of Atlanta.

"It's very sad to close the original location of the Nicholas House.  But the reality is in order to maintain the mission of the organization long term... the difficult choice has to be made," says Bowman.

All the families in the LaVista location will be moved to the other location next month.

(WSB Radio) -- Gwinnett County's controversial trash disposal program will not start as scheduled next month. 

On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Michael Clark ruled the plan, which authorized Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful to administer the county's waste program, violated state law by delegating governmental functions to a private entity. 

The injunction granted by Clark means Gwinnett County's eight private trash haulers can continue serving some 180,000 customers in unincorporated parts of the county.

Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful is studying the ruling and considering legal alternatives.

(WSB Radio) -- In hopes of stabilizing the county's finances for the current fiscal year, the Cobb County Commission voted Thursday night to adopt nearly $14 million dollars in budget cuts.

The reductions include eliminating merit raises for county employees, delaying some capital purchases and removing 32 vacant full-time positions from county departments. 

Commissioner Joe Thompson tells Channel 2 Action News "we're not even thinking about laying off anyone, or closing a fire station or anything like that.  He adds "we're not even thinking about raising millage or any other kind of tax."

An $8.5 million dollar decline in tax revenues prompted the commissioners to vote on the cuts during their final meeting of the year.

(WSB Radio) -- Georgia's unemployment rate has risen to a 25 year high.

The Georgia Department of Labor reports the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 7.5 percent in November.  The rate is up from 4.5 percent for the same month last year.

"Job losses are accelerating throughout most of the state's economic sectors, with the exception of healthcare, education, and the federal government," State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said.

The last time Georgia posted a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at this level was in July of 1983 when the rate was also 7.5 percent. The state rate remained above the national rate of 6.7 percent for the 10th straight month.

ATLANTA (AP) Georgia's slumping economy could breathe new life into an effort to permit alcohol sales on Sunday in the state, supporters said.

State Sen. Seth Harp said he will reintroduce the Sunday sales measure in the legislative session set to begin Jan. 12.

``I can think of millions of reasons why it would be attractive this year,'' the Republican from Midland said, referring to the millions of dollars in additional tax revenues supporters estimate Sunday sales would yield in Georgia.

That argument could prove persuasive in a year where the state is grappling with a budget deficit that could top $2 billion. The state excise tax on alcoholic beverages is one of the few taxes where revenues have continued to climb even as the economy has worsened. For the fiscal year that began July 1, the alcohol excise tax that stores pay to wholesalers rose by 1.8 percent even as most other revenue sources plummeted.

The Sunday sales measure has failed to win approval for the past two years in the Georgia Legislature. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, a teetotaler and Christian conservative, has said he opposes allowing stores to sell alcohol on the Sabbath.

Grocery and convenience stores have been pushing for the change, saying their customers are clamoring for it.

Georgia is one of only three states that that ban stores from selling any kind of alcohol on Sundays. The other two are Connecticut and Indiana.

The bill would give local governments the option on whether to permit Sunday alcohol sales. Voters in those areas would then have to approve the change at the ballot box.

Opponents promised a vigorous fight against the proposal again this year.

Jim Beck, executive director of the Georgia Christian Coalition, said he was unmoved by the fiscal argument.

``Would the senator be willing to legalize prostitution and tax that, too?'' Beck asked. ``I think there are greater issues at stake here than just a quick buck.''

There was no precise figure on how much additional sales tax revenue Sunday sales would bring in, because it would depend on which communities opt in.

But a spokesman for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said that allowing liquor sales statewide would bring up to $4.8 million in increased taxes.

An official with Publix, one of Georgia's largest supermarket chains, said the sale of beer and wine at grocery stores on Sunday would result in $1.4 million in extra excise taxes and at least $3.3 million in new sales tax revenue.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Prior to Wednesday's armed hold up of a Bank of America branch on Panola Road in Lithonia, the three masked men's faces were captured by the security system of a nearby business.

During Wednesday's robbery, as was the case in the other crimes, two of the suspects trained their guns on customers in the lobby while a third man jumped the counter and took cash from the teller windows. As they made their getaway, the trio exchanged gunfire with an off-duty police officer, who was not hurt.

The previous robberies occurred on December 15th at the Sun Trust on Club Drive in Duluth; December 10th at the Wachovia on Flat Shoals Road in Decatur and December 8th at the Wachovia on Covington Highway in Lithonia.

Wachovia is offering a $25,000 dollar reward for information that leads to the prosecution of the suspects.

ATLANTA (AP) The Boston Celtics looked to Kevin Garnett in the fourth quarter.

Garnett scored 10 of his 18 points in the final quarter, and Atlanta's Joe Johnson missed a late free throw that would have tied it, helping the Celtics beat the Hawks 88-85 on Wednesday night for their 16th straight victory.

After Johnson missed the second of two free throws with 2.7 seconds, Ray Allen made a pair of free throws with 0.7 seconds left for the defending NBA champion Celtics, who have a franchise-best 24-2 record. It was only the second loss in 10 home games for the Hawks.

``I told KG to take us home down the stretch,'' Celtics guard Rajon Rondo said. ``I said make something happen. He said no problem.''

Garnett, quiet for much of the game, was 5-for-5 from the field in the fourth quarter after opening 2-for-10.

``It means we're playing well. We want to play championship basketball. That's what we're building up to. Our goal is to win a championship,'' said Garnett.

``You play your role around here. You do your job. You do what you're supposed to,'' he said.

``We got a lot of great shots within the last few minutes of the game. Kevin hit two unbelievable shots,'' said Boston coach Doc Rivers.

In the only other game this season between the two, the Celtics beat Atlanta 103-102 on Nov. 12 in Boston on Paul Pierce's last-second basket.

Pierce added 18 points, and Allen had 16 for the Celtics.

The Celtics are 10-1 on the road and 14-1 at home.

``Sometimes it seems as though it's a burden. That monkey grows. It's a good monkey though,'' Allen said. ``I've never been on a streak like this. It's great to be a part of our winning here. I think our winning is based on our preparation.''

Johnson led Atlanta with 20 points, 10 in the final period. He was 7-of-7 from the line before the miss. Marvin Williams added 16 points, and Josh Smith and Mike Bibby had 14 each for the Hawks.

``I had a chance to get us into overtime and missed the second free throw. I made the first one and some of the pressure was off,'' Johnson said.

``We drew the play up, and Joe got to the line, and the player that has carried this team the last four years went to the line,'' said Atlanta coach Mike Woodson. ``You could not ask for anything different.''

The Celtics took the lead for good at 85-84 on Garnett's basket with 30.8 seconds left. Rondo, who had 15 points, then made one of two free throws to make it 86-84 lead with 9.1 seconds left.

Atlanta had won 12 of 13 at Philips Arena dating to last season's playoffs when Atlanta made the postseason for the first time since 1998-98 with a 37-45 record and beat Boston in all three games at home but lost all four in Boston.

Atlanta snapped Cleveland's 11-game winning streak with a 97-92 victory Saturday night and beat Charlotte 83-79 on Monday night in the second of eight straight home games.
Notes: The best start in NBA history with two losses is 26-2, set by the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers and matched by the '69-70 Knicks. ... The longest winning streak in Celtics history is 18, set during the 1981-82 season. ... The Celtics only road loss was 95-79 at Indiana on Nov. 1. Their only loss at home was against Denver on Nov. 14. ... The crowd of 18,729 was Atlanta's fourth sellout.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Rejected by Rafael Furcal and unwilling to meet San Diego's asking price for Jake Peavy, the Atlanta Braves still believe they can improve their lineup and pitching staff before voluntary winter workouts begin next month.

``We still think there are players out there who can help us put the team together,'' Braves general manager Frank Wren said Wednesday night. ``Obviously, we began the offseason thinking about acquiring a power bat in the outfield, but when we had a chance to get a dynamic leadoff hitter and a solid fielder like Furcal, we took a very hard look at it.''

Furcal was the latest big-ticket player on Wren's horizon before the former Atlanta shortstop rejected the Braves' three-year, $30 million offer to stay with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-year contract worth at least $30 million.

Last month, Wren pulled out of trade talks to acquire Peavy, the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner, because the Padres wanted a package in return that included top pitching prospect Tommy Hanson.

Wren hoped to lure A.J. Burnett, who led the AL and finished second in the majors with 231 strikeouts, as a free agent, but the former Toronto starter instead agreed to a five-year, $82.5 million contract last week with the New York Yankees.

According to Wren, the Braves are still waiting to hear from free agent pitchers John Smoltz and Tom Glavine after arm operations prematurely ended their 2008 seasons.

Smoltz, the first major leaguer ever to post 200 career wins and 150 saves, last year became the 16th pitcher to record 3,000 strikeouts. He still wants to pitch and at 41 hopes to remain with Atlanta, his team since 1987, but Wren indicated that the Braves are uncertain of Smoltz's health after he underwent reconstructive shoulder surgery.

Glavine, a 300-game winner, said in late September following elbow surgery that he would return in 2009 only if the Braves offered him a contract.

Atlanta, though, is uncertain of Glavine's status, and doesn't know if Smoltz would return as a starter or a closer.

``We're still monitoring both situations,'' Wren said. ``As we said from the beginning regarding both of their situations, there is no set timetable. We're just monitoring until we know further.''

The Braves finished last season 72-90 and the NL East's fourth-place team. Missing the playoffs for the second straight year, Atlanta was 20 games behind eventual World Series champion Philadelphia.

Though the Braves are unlikely to initiate another round of trade talks for Peavy, Wren hopes to add another starter or two to complement a rotation nucleus of Jair Jurrjens, Jorge Campillo and newly acquired Javier Vazquez.

Kansas City's Zack Greinke could become available in a trade. Left-handers Randy Wolf and Oliver Perez are potential free-agent acquisitions, and so is right-hander Kenshin Kawakami of Japan.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- The GBI is investigating a deadly police shooting in Henry County.

A man suspected of carjacking a motorcycle from the parking lot of the Wal-Mart on Highway 138 in Stockbridge was shot and killed around 11 o'clock Wednesday night as he attempted to avoid being taken into custody by Henry County police.

Captain Jason Bolton tells WSB's Mark Alewine the armed man fired one shot at the carjacking victim before he drove away on the stolen motorcycle. 

After driving a short distance along Highway 138, the suspect wrecked the motorcycle and fleed into some nearby woods.

Authorities arrived on the scene and quickly established a perimeter.  The suspect was surrounded by several officers when he opened fire.  The officers returned fire, killing the unidentified man..

Captain Bolton says the officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

ATLANTA (AP) A man prosecutors call a ``senior member'' of the Black Mafia Family has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for cocaine conspiracy.

Fleming Daniels of Roswell, Ga., also was fined $10,000 for participating in the violent drug gang, the focus of federal prosecution in Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Louisville, Ky., Orlando, Fla., and elsewhere.

The 35-year-old Daniels is the first of 16 defendants indicted in Atlanta to go to trial. Eleven entered guilty pleas. Three others are in custody and one is a fugitive.

Evidence showed that during 2003-2004, the gang moved hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into Atlanta, Detroit, and other points. Prosecutors say Daniels was responsible for distributing over 50 kilograms valued at more than $1 million.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Atlanta-based UPS tells WSB this is the busiest day of the year for shipping.

Karen Cole with UPS says it's hard to say how many packages they'll handle today given the current economy. Last year, UPS, the world's largest shipping carrier, delivered more than 22 million packages on its peak shipping day.

UPS trucks will be delivering on Christmas Eve. If you want a package to arrive by Christmas, it needs to send it out by December 23rd, said Cole.

(WSB Radio) The Gwinnett County school board has approved a controversial plan that changes the way they handle their students and teachers.

The new plan has come under fire in recent weeks by parents who say they did not have enough information. 

This morning, at a meeting at Peachtree Ridge High School, the board officially adopted the proposal, which does not follow several state mandates.

The vote was unanimous.

The idea behind the "IE Squared" plan, short for Investing in Educational Excellence is to allow more local governance.  It would grant the Gwinnett County board control over class size and teacher pay.

Some parents and teachers are concerned the plan will mean larger class sizes, along with pay changes for school employees.  Teachers were further angered when, they say, they were left out of the discussions about the proposal.

The proposal will now go to the state Board of Education for consideration.  The state board will have to approve the plan for it to take effect.  It would be the first of its kind in Georgia.

The Gwinnett County school system would still be bound to meet certain progress goals under the federal No Child Left Behind program.

Board members say the new "flexibility contract" would give them the tools needs to meet those federal standards.

The school board wants a five year flexibility contract with the state, allowing them to control not only class sizes and pay but school budgets and teacher certification.

The Gwinnett Board says that, in exchange for more control, it will deliver results or else face penalties from the state for failing to do so.

(WSB Radio) DeKalb County police are early into an investigation of a fatal shooting from this morning.

The shooting was in Decatur, at a home on the 2200 block of Mark Trail.

Police have cordoned off the home, and the street, and are actively hunting for the gunman.

There's no word on the circumstances surrounding the shooting.  The victim's identity has not yet been released.  The investigation is underway.

(WSB Radio) Two top name companies have announced job cuts in Georgia, with hundreds of workers losing their jobs.

Newell Rubbermaid is cutting its global workforce and that means layoffs at its headquarters in Sandy Springs.

"We've had to reduce our workforce by approximately 8 to 10%, which translates to about 800 to 1000 employees worldwide," company spokesman David Doolittle tells WSB.  "Here in Atlanta, we're estimating 45 to 55 employees will be impacted."

That represents about 10% of the workers at Rubbermaid's headquarters.

The layoffs come at a time when the company is actually expanding its operations in metro Atlanta.

"We're still growing our headquarters here in Atlanta by bringing other businesses that are located in other places here to Atlanta," Doolittle says.  So, while Rubbermaid is cutting back, it's also growing through its subsidiaries.

The picture is more grim in Albany, where the Cooper Tire plant is shutting down.

The company decided to cut production at one of its four U.S. plants, due to a decline in demand.  After weighing their options, Cooper Tire opted to keep its plants in Findlay, Ohio, Texarkana, Arkansas, and Tupelo, Mississippi.

The Albany plant employs about 1300 people, but local officials say another 600 to 800 people have jobs in support of the plant.

(WSB Radio) -- A vote by the Clayton County Commission to deny funding to Southern Regional Medical Center could push the financially troubled hospital one step closer to shutting its doors.

On Tuesday night, a sharply divided commission voted 3-2 to reject a request by the hospital for the county to back a $40 million dollar bond.  The commissioners told hospital officials to go back to the drawing board and come back to them with more options.

With the county facing funding problems of its own, Commission chairman Eldrin Bell told Channel 2 Action News "I can't back someone else if I don't know where we are."  Bell added "if I knew where we were and what our plans were toward the future, then I could consider backing them."

The Riverdale healthcare facility is facing a December 31st deadline to pay $40 million dollars to its creditors, or risk defaulting on the loans.  Southern Regional president and CEO Ed Bonn told the commission the hospital could write a $40 million dollar check off its reserves, but that would leave the non-profit with only $8 million dollars in the bank.

Last year, Southern Regional recorded a $7 million dollar loss, more than half of that was from operations. 

In advising the commission to vote against the hospital's proposal, county attorney Michael Smith wrote "if the hospital falls behind after you approve the bond issue, taxpayers could be left paying the debt."

(WSB Radio) Acworth police are looking for the men who held up a family in front of their own home.

Officers say the owners of the Bamboo Garden Restaurant, on Baker Road, had just closed when two men attacked them.

The suspects took the woman's purse at gunpoint during the robbery.

Acworth police have interviewed the family and are talking to neighbors.

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to contact the police.

(WSB Radio) Atlanta police are trying to determine why a man who was being pulled over for a simple traffic violation sped off, leading them on a chase through a quiet neighborhood.

The man was being stopped for having an expired license plate, and for an HOV violation, when he drove off, led police on the chase, crashed into a patrol car, dumped his vehicle and jumped a wall in northwest Atlanta, in the Collier Hills area.

Police say the car was not stolen and the search for the suspect is continuing.

As for residents of Collier Hills, this was a first.

"We get some foot traffic, but nothing major," one woman says.  "We have security officers who patrol the neighborhood so, in general, I feel very safe."

And as for the police chase?

"It's kind of crazy," she says.

(WSB Radio) While Atlantans enjoyed some rather warm weather Tuesday evening, the rest of the country was being battered by winter.

Those storms have caused problems nationwide, as people try to fly for the holidays. 

It's no different at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where there have been delays and more are expected.

The icy weather that hit the midwest and northeast has had a ripple effect on the nation's airport system.

Chicago is reporting blizzard conditions, power outages are widespread in New England and even northern Texas has roads glazed over with ice.

Hartsfield officials and the major airlines all say passengers should check on their flight status before making the trip to the airport.

Nationally, the winter weather is being blamed for at least 20 deaths.

(WSB Radio)  Police in Gwinnett County are hunting for two armed robbers after they were caught on videotape holding up an employee of a video store.

Surveillance cameras at the Play-N-Trade, on Scenic Highway in Snellville, captured the robbery.

The suspects were wearing ski masks and baggy clothing.

They pointed a gun at the head of an employee, but eventually fled with just a few video games.

They may have been driving a silver SUV.

Police in Suwanee are trying to determine if the suspects are responsible for a hold up at a Play-N-Trade there, as well.

(WSB Radio)  This is a fish story of the good kind.

The biggest bass fishing competition in the country is the Forest Wood Cup, and Georgia's reeled it in.

Governor Perdue has announced the tournament will be coming to Lake Lanier beginning in 2010 and will be run out of the mega ramp currently under construction at Laurel Park.

It's the type of event, the governor says, the state needs right now.

"When you see the million dollar winner announced here, it's going to bring some excitement," Perdue says. 

So how much is it worth to Georgia? 

"Probably, initially, $25-30 million of direct economic activity during that week."

(WSB Radio)  Paulding County authorities say at least 30 people are victims of a credit card fraud.

Law enforcement says the victims were all customers, at one time, of the Fiesta Azteca restaurant, on Ridge Road.  But, authorities say , the business isn't to blame.

"The investigation revealed that the internet service they used to scan credit cards was breached," Paulding County Sheriff's Corporal Brandon Gurley tells WSB.  "Someone was able to hack into that information from the outside to obtain that information."

Gurley says the thieves have spent more than $15,000 so far, using stolen credit card numbers in Spain and in Florida.

"This type of case, it's not uncommon to go without an arrest or to go without charges," Gurley says.  "Because of computers and this new age of technology, people who know what they're doing can make it very hard on law enforcement to track them down."

ATLANTA (AP) Shortstop Rafael Furcal is close to accepting a $30 million, three-year offer to return to the Atlanta Braves.

The 31-year-old began his major league career with Atlanta, playing for the Braves from 2000-05. He spent the last three seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

``He liked the idea of coming back to Atlanta, but there hasn't been any formal agreement,'' Furcal's agent, Paul Kinzer, said Tuesday. ``Everything is preliminary. The whole thing with coming back home intrigued him. He still has a house here in Atlanta.''

His deal would contain an option for 2012 that could become guaranteed.

Furcal hit .357 last season with five homers and 16 RBIs but had back surgery July 3 and was limited to 36 games and 143 at-bats. He returned to the lineup Sept. 24 and played in four games during the final week of the season.

``It's pretty close,'' Kinzer said. ``The A's are out. My last thing to him was sleep on it.''

Furcal was 16 and still living in his native Dominican Republic when the Braves signed him to his first contract on Nov. 9, 1996. He was a fixture at the top of the lineup from 2000-05, winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2000 and making 2003 the All-Star team.

After hitting .300 with 15 homers, 63 RBIs and 37 stolen bases in his first year with the Dodgers, Furcal had ankle and back injuries the last two seasons.

Braves general manager Frank Wren did not immediately return telephone and e-mail messages.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON (AP) Small cars, which have become more popular with the fluctuation in gas prices, are becoming better equipped to protect motorists in serious crashes, according to tests by the insurance industry.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave top scores on front-end crash tests for several 2009 small cars released Wednesday. Three vehicles the Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix, which share the same underpinnings and are considered corporate twins, and the Suzuki SX4 also received top scores in side protection.

Only one vehicle tested, the 2009 Chrysler PT Cruiser, received the lowest mark of poor in side protection and rear protection.

Two other 2009 small cars, the Ford Focus and the Chevrolet HHR, got top marks in front-end tests and received the second-highest score of acceptable in side protection.

``Automakers have made big improvements to small cars to better protect people in frontal crashes,'' said Joe Nolan, an Institute senior vice president. ``They've also added stronger structures and standard head-protecting side air bags to help in side crashes, which are tougher on smaller, lighter cars.''

Sales of the entire U.S. vehicle market have declined by more than 16 percent through the end of November, according to Autodata Corp. But sales of small cars have increased more than 1 percent over the year as gas prices surpassed $4 per gallon and then fell by more than half. Small cars have grabbed a larger share of the domestic market this year, accounting for more than a third of new vehicle sales.

Nolan noted that 11 of the 21 current small cars rated by the Insurance Institute earned top scores in side protection. Only two years ago, he said, three of 19 vehicle models earned the top score.

He cautioned that no car can overcome the laws of physics smaller cars typically provide less crash protection than larger, heavier vehicles. But the improvements in the small cars have been attributed to the growing installation of side air bags as standard equipment instead of making it an option for car buyers.

Among other new cars tested, the 2009 Hyundai Elantra and 2009 Saturn Astra received the top score of good in front-end tests and the second-lowest rating of marginal in side testing.

GM spokeswoman Carolyn Markey said the Saturn Astra and Chevrolet HHR both performed well in the government's crash tests and the vehicles ``meet or exceed all federal safety standards.''

During tests on the Chrysler PT Cruiser, the institute found that measurements on the driver dummy showed rib fractures and internal organ injuries would have been likely in a similar crash. Test results showed the rear passenger could have suffered serious neck injuries and a fractured pelvis in a similar accident.

``The PT Cruiser doesn't offer the same crash protection level as other small cars,'' Nolan said.

Chrysler said in a statement that the vehicle has performed well in government tests and the PT Cruiser is equipped with standard front and side air bags. Chrysler said a vehicle's overall safety performance can't be determined by a single test and the IIHS results are reviewed by the company to make improvements.

``Our priority continues to be designing vehicles that perform safely for our customers and their families in everyday driving conditions,'' Chrysler said.

The institute also recommends car buyers find vehicles with anti-rollover technology called electronic stability control. Among the vehicles tested, ESC is standard equipment on the HHR and the Vibe and it's offered as an option on the SX4, Matrix, Focus, Elantra and Astra. Stability control is not available on the PT Cruiser.

``Cars aren't involved in rollovers as often as SUVs and pickups, but when they do roll the consequences can be deadly,'' Nolan said.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Smoking is linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

Although tobacco was responsible for approximately 5.4 million deaths in 2005, there are still an estimated 1.3 billion smokers in the world.

WSB Health Reporter Sabrina Gibbons reports that while a number of cancers are attributable to smoking, the link between cigarette smoking and colorectal cancer  has been inconsistent among studies.

The researchers identified 106 observational studies, and the meta-analysis was based on a total of nearly 40,000 new cases of CRC. For the analysis on incidence, smoking was associated with an 18 percent increased risk of CRC. The researchers also found a statistically significant dose-relationship with an increasing number of pack-years (number of packs of cigarettes smoked/day, multiplied by years of consumption) and cigarettes per day. However, the association was statistically significant only after 30 years of smoking.

Seventeen studies were included in the analysis of mortality, which indicated that smokers have a 25 percent increased risk of dying from CRC than people who have never smoked. There also was an increase in risk of CRC death with increasing number of cigarettes per day smoked and for longer duration of smoking. For both incidence and death, the association was stronger for cancer of the rectum than of the colon.

(WSB Radio)  The jurors in the Brian Nichols trial who held out against the death penalty had "already had their minds made up" before deliberations began.

So says one juror, who spoke with the Atlanta Journal Constitution about what went on in the jury room during deliberations.

Last week the jury deadlocked, 9-3, leading to Nichols' sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Tijuana Wade says she was against the death penalty when she was chosen as a juror and was surprised she was picked.

However, she says as the trial moved along and the evidence against Nichols mounted, her mindset changed.

She says she ended up supporting a death sentence for Nichols after seeing him as conniving and remorseless, a ruthless man who would stop at nothing to escape again.

"Everything he said he'd try to do, he did," said Wade.  She says she was "wishy-washy. I didn't want to kill anyone.  But I was worried he'd get out."

Wade says the three jurors who held out asked the other nine jurors for reasons as to why they should change their minds.  And, despite the best efforts of the others, nothing worked.

"They kept saying, 'Show me something. Show me something.' But nothing we said made a difference.

"They'd keep saying, 'He had a bad childhood.' But everyone has had something happen to them in their lives.

"The two women kept saying, 'Mental illness, mental illness. Maybe he didn't show remorse because of mental illness,' " she said.

"They said, 'We have to sleep with ourselves.' Well, we all have to sleep with ourselves."

The same jury convicted Nichols of four murders, stemming from the shootings at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 11, 2005.

Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Brandau and Sheriff's Sergeant Hoyt Teasley were murdered after Nichols escaped custody. U.S. Customs Agent David Wilhelm was gunned down later that day while working at a house he was renovating in Atlanta.

Fulton County prosecutors are expected to meet with the U.S. Attorney in Atlanta to decide whether to try Nichols in federal court for the murder of Agent Wilhelm.

(WSB Radio)  A Georgia Tech student is under investigation on accusations he misused funds.

22 year old Ronald Burgos has been suspended now that he's been suspected of misusing more than $40,000 from a student activities fund.

Burgos was captain of the Tech paintball team in 2005 and 2006, the same time period that the money went unaccounted for.

Burgos' attorney says he's confident his client will be completely cleared.

(WSB Radio)  A long feud between two Rockdale County neighbors ends in death.

A county man is facing charges of murder and aggravated assault after fatally shooting his neighbor.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Bobby Frank Gordon for the Monday morning murder of Arthur James Threat.

Authorities say they'd been called to the Conyers neighborhood many times in the past to settle fights between the two men.

(WSB Radio)  Late December means the dash towards tax deductions.  The ads are everywhere; donate your old car, or boat, and get the deduction.

In the case of a Sandy Springs family, they thought they were doing a good thing by giving their $11,000 boat to charity.  Until they found out just how much of their donation was not going towards helping others.

"I gave a boat to charity worth in excess of $11,000," Steve Rabren says.  "The charity got $300.  You have to draw your own conclusions as to where the rest of the money went."

The charity sent the boat to a liquidator in Dawsonville.  So how much is the liquidator taking off the top before the charity gets its money?

"A lot of these boats, we have mechanics who work on them, trying to bring them back,"  says a man who works for Lanier Liquidators.  "I don't know why the guy's complaining."

On average, the charity receives about 25% of the price of the donated item.  But not in this case.

"My wife and I just wanted to give back," Rabren says.

(WSB Radio)  The parents of a 12 year old Oconee County boy are in custody after authorities say they shot him with pellet guns and handcuffed him in a closet for hours.

County Sheriff Scott Berry saus they found out about the abuse after the boy's six year old brother told a teacher what was going on.

"One of the reasons he was punished, he said, was because he took a can of corn for something to eat," Berry tells Channel 2. 

The boy's mother, Damita Peak, reportedly got pepper spray and handcuffs from Walton County, where she was a jailer.  His stepfather, Norris Walker, has also been arrested.

"I don't if he'll have long term physical scars," the sheriff says.  "I'm sure he'll have long term emotional scarring."

(WSB Radio)  A Bartow County man is under arrest, charged with neglecting his horses.

State officials say the man could no longer afford to feed the animals.  One horse died and six others suffered from extreme starvation. 

The horses have been confiscated by the state.

Agriculture officials and private animal caretakers say they're now handling the largest number of distressed animals they've ever seen.

"When you're talking about larger animals, it's really a stressful situation," says Dr. Michael Good, of the Homeless Pets Foundation.  "We've seen a lot more requests because of the economy."

WASHINGTON (AP) The push for paperless prescriptions is about to get a boost: Starting in January, doctors who e-prescribe can get bonus pay from Medicare.

For patients, the benefits are obvious from shorter drugstore waits to increased safety, as pharmacists no longer squint to decipher doctors' messy handwriting.

But persuading U.S. doctors to ditch their prescription pads for electronic prescribing so far has been a long, uphill battle. Only about 10 percent of doctors are taking the plunge like Dr. Ted Epperly in Boise, Idaho, who's adopting the technology now.

Still, the movement is gaining steam as Medicare warns that its bonus payments are for a short time only: Holdouts still sticking to paper in 2012 will find their Medicare payments cut.

And continuing the push for medical information technology is a key part of President-elect Barack Obama's health-reform plans, in hopes that moving to computerized records not just prescriptions, but all those troublesome paper charts that contribute to medical errors and wasted care ultimately could save millions of dollars a year.

``We'd never go back,'' says Epperly, also president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Patients ``recognize that, 'Hey, Dr. Epperly's in the information age, and my safety is better and the quality of care is better.'''

What's a paperless prescription? When the doctor writes it by computer and sends it directly to the drugstore by computer, no little piece of paper to get lost or stolen anywhere along that trail.

Some doctors do write prescriptions via computer but then hand the patient a printout, or it arrives at the drugstore as a fax. Those don't count as true electronic prescribing.

In December 2007, 35,000 doctors were writing at least some paperless prescriptions, according to SureScripts-RxHub, which tracks the drugstore network.

The 2008 count isn't finished yet, but SureScripts estimates that number has doubled to more than 70,000. Moreover, the volume of prescriptions filled electronically grew about 15 percent a month since August, faster than the 5 percent to 8 percent monthly increase seen earlier in the year presumably as doctors geared up for the Medicare incentive.

The biggest reason for the paperless push is to improve safety. More than 1.5 million Americans are injured every year by medication mistakes. Deciphering doctors' chicken-scratch was that 100 milligrams or 100 micrograms? does play a role. But perhaps more important, electronic prescribing systems can flash an alert if the dose seems wrong or patient records show use of another drug that can dangerously interact.

By avoiding unnecessary medication injuries, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt has estimated that widespread e-prescribing could save as much as $156 million over five years.

It can save patients cash, too. Most insurance plans divide their formularies into tiers with escalating co-pays, and e-prescribing can let doctors debating which drug to recommend can take patient cost into account. A study published last week found that Massachusetts doctors increased use of the cheapest drugs by 6.6 percent during their first year of e-prescribing.

Patients appreciate that price discussion, says Dr. Joe Heyman, chairman of the American Medical Association's trustees and a longtime e-prescriber. An obstetrician/gynecologist, he regularly discusses big contraceptive price differences.

While some patients may need Brand X instead of Generic Y, ``in general any of the birth-control pills will do the job,'' Heyman says. ``If when you e-prescribe, it tells you this is a Tier 3 drug and will cost the patient $50 instead of $10, somehow that can be more persuasive'' than the ad the woman saw for a pricier version.

So why haven't more doctors joined?

There's definitely some upfront pain, as the office staff enters patient information into electronic prescription programs that can cost $3,000 per doctor. The Medicare incentive an extra 2 percent in reimbursement rates in 2009 and 2010, and smaller bonuses the next three years could offset the investment by earning the doctor an extra $1,000 to $1,500 a year, Epperly estimates.

A bigger barrier: Narcotic painkillers and other controlled substances that account for 20 percent of all prescriptions are banned from electronic prescribing. The Drug Enforcement Administration is working on rules to allow that switch.

Then there's the drugstore link. While almost all pharmacy chains are part of a national e-prescription network, smaller ones may not be only 27 percent of independent pharmacies were in 2007 and doctors also must use software recognized by the network. In Boise, Epperly says more drugstores still receive his e-prescriptions as a fax than as fully paperless, his biggest frustration.

``Change itself was a bit of a barrier,'' he says.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Federal authorities say Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents in Atlanta seized $250,000 worth of counterfeit shoes, handbags, clothes and other goods.

Agency spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez in Miami says some 13,000 items bearing brand names including Coach, Gucci and Nike were confiscated when four search warrants were executed at different locations last week after a 16-month investigation.

The investigation began in August 2007 when ICE learned counterfeit goods, believed to have been made in China, were being stored for sale in metro Atlanta.

The agents also seized a van and a truck linked to illegal proceeds. Gonzalez says no arrests have been made, but the investigation continues.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Managers of Atlanta's public transit authority said Monday they could raise fares, add parking fees, reduce services and lay off workers if they are unable to avoid a ``transportation meltdown'' stemming from a $60 million budget shortfall that is expected to swell in coming months.

The Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, known by its acronym MARTA, is grappling with falling revenues that were being predicted even before the U.S. economic downturn that is walloping transit authorities nationwide.

At its board meeting on Monday, the agency voted to approve budget cuts including nixing annual raises for managers, supervisors and general administrative employees and cutting back on discretionary spending moves intended to save the agency $11 million over the next fiscal year.

The agency estimates it will be down another $30 million by the end of its fiscal year in July. Local sales taxes account for more than half of MARTA's operating budget.

Last month, leaders from 11 transit agencies, including MARTA, warned Congress that despite soaring ridership for rail and bus systems, they could face at least $2 billion in payments in coming months if hundreds of long-term financing deals the agencies have with investors collapse amid the global credit crisis.

MARTA's ridership was up 5 percent in October from the same time last year, officials said.

MARTA's general manager, Beverly Scott, asked the board of directors on Monday to make cuts. In the upcoming legislative session, MARTA officials plan to ask state lawmakers to get rid of restrictions on how it can use its sales tax and investment earnings, and to allow eating and drinking at rail stations as a potential moneymaking opportunity.

Board chairman Michael Walls said the economy is only part of MARTA's financial woes, as the agency has failed to invest enough in infrastructure over the past two decades.

``We have fallen seriously behind our peers, and it has caught up with us,'' Walls said. ``We need to do everything that we can to favorably position MARTA ... for the national stimulus package being developed in Washington.''

A Georgia State University economic report estimates MARTA could see a decline of more than $633 million in sales tax revenue in the next 10 years. Local sales taxes account for more than half of MARTA's operating budget.

``If we do not immediately receive a significant infusion of funding from the state or another outside source, MARTA will have to take extremely drastic measures to survive our next fiscal year,'' Scott said in a statement.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) The FBI says Wachovia Bank is offering a $25,000 reward for a three-man robbery crew that has hit three metro Atlanta banks at gunpoint over the past week.

The trio struck a Suntrust Bank branch in Duluth on Monday, following the same pattern as two holdups last week. While two controlled customers in the lobby, the third jumped the counter and took cash from teller stations.

Gregory Jones, head of the FBI in Atlanta, says the same crew is believed to have robbed Wachovia branches in Lithonia on Dec. 8 and in Decatur on Wednesday. In the last robbery, one of the men fired a shot, but it did not hit anyone.

Any information on the robberies can be phoned to the FBI at (404) 679-9000.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- A Forest Park store owner turned the tables on a pair of would-be robbers, opening fire and hitting on of the crooks.

Investigators say that when the thieves entered the Metro PCS store at 4047 Jonesboro Rd. on Monday night, the owner exchanged gunfire with the bandits. One robber was wounded, the second fled the scene.

Police say the store had surveillance cameras and are hopeful that will lead them to the second suspect.

"I haven't watched the video, so I'm not exactly sure what's on it," says Forest Park police spokesman Nathan Adams.  "Detectives are reviewing that now."

The wounded suspect was taken to the hospital, where he's recovering.

The second suspect fled to scene in a white truck.

The store owner was not hurt.

NEW YORK (AP)--The Arena Football League canceled its 2009 season Monday pending an agreement with its players union. The decision throws the future of the 22-year-old league into question just days after it said next season had not been suspended.

The AFL's owners voted against playing next year during a conference call Sunday night. It was unclear what had changed since the league issued a statement Wednesday night that said the 2009 season had not been suspended "despite rumors and reports to the contrary."

The league said in Monday's statement it was "developing a long-term plan to improve its economic model."

"Every owner in the AFL is strongly committed to the league, the game, and, most importantly, the fans," acting commissioner Ed Policy said in a statement. "Owners, however, recognize that, especially in light of the current unprecedented economic climate, the AFL, as a business enterprise, needs to be restructured if it is to continue to provide its unique brand of this affordable, fan-friendly sport."

Last week's statement came after a meeting of the league's board of directors and did not say the AFL definitely would play next year.

The AFL's woes come at a time when the world of sports, once thought to be largely recession-proof, has felt the economic chill. The NFL has said it would cut 150 jobs, while the NBA and NASCAR also have laid off dozens of workers. The NHL is in a hiring freeze while the Internet operation for Major League Baseball also has trimmed positions.

The AFL had been in limbo for weeks. With rumors swirling about its viability, the 16-team league delayed indefinitely the start of free agency, the release of next season's schedule and a dispersal draft to award players from the defunct New Orleans Voodoo.

The AFL has not selected a permanent replacement for longtime commissioner David Baker, who abruptly resigned from the 22-year-old league two days before the ArenaBowl in July.

"These are trying economic times," rocker Jon Bon Jovi, co-owner of the ArenaBowl champion Philadelphia Soul, said in a statement. "The revamping will ensure that the AFL continues to provide value to its fans and not only survives but thrives in the years to come."

Jim Renacci, the Columbus Destroyers' co-owner and vice chairman of the AFL executive committee, will lead the restructuring process.

Since November 2007, the AFL's board of directors has been looking into various ways to bolster the league's finances.

"Although it is disappointing to suspend the 2009 season, the Arena Football League and its owners feel it is essential to reevaluate the current business model to ensure the livelihood of the AFL in the future," Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, co-owner of the Colorado Crush, said in a statement.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) Presidential electors in Atlanta cast historic votes that formally elect Barack Obama president of the United States.

It's mostly ceremonial, but a necessary proceedure mandated by the US constitution. Georgia's 15 electorial votes went to John McCain.

It's a scene duplicated across the country and in Atlanta, today's vote officially closes the book on the 2008 election.

Obama won the election with 365 electoral votes to John McCain's 173.  McCain did win Georgia's 15 votes, after winning the state, 52% to 47%.

(WSB Radio) Brian Nichols might face a federal murder trial and, ultimately, a federal death sentence.  But can he?

Fulton County prosecutors are expected to meet with the U.S. Attorney in Atlanta to discuss whether to try the convicted Fulton County Courthouse killer on federal charges. 

If you're wondering about the 5th Amendment, and double jeopardy, it doesn't apply.  What does come into play is the Justice Department's "Petit Policy," where they take into consideration whether someone's been convicted for a similar crime in the state.  So, while double jeopardy wouldn't apply, this policy of justice would.

"Usually the Justice Department will allow a prosecution to go forward if there's a different element to the offense," says former U.S. Attorney Kent Alexander.  "In this case, Agent (David) Wilhelm was a federal agent, horribly murdered, and, if that statute applies, then they might sign off on it.  There's just a question as to whether that statute would apply."

But that's not the main issue facing federal prosecutors would might want to get a shot a trying, and condemning, Nichols.  Alexander says the key element is just who David Wilhelm was when he was murdered.

"If this was a random killing and not a killing because Agent Wilhelm was a federal officer, then it becomes an uphill battle for the U.S. Attorney's office to go after this case as a prosecution and as a death penalty case," Alexander tells WSB.

Nichols was convicted on state charges of murdering four people during the shootings that began at the courthouse on March 11, 2005.

Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Brandau and Sheriff's Sergeant Hoyt Teasley were murdered at the courthouse.  Wilhelm was shot to death while working outside his Atlanta home later that day.

The jury is Nichols' trial could not reach a unanimous decision on his sentence, with nine jurors voting for the death penalty and three holding out.  Judge James Bodiford sentenced Nichols to life without parole after the jury deadlocked.

Now Fulton County District Attorney Paul howard is expected to ask the federal government to try Nichols in order to get a death sentence.

Even if those efforts aren't successful, Alexander says the public shouldn't think Nichols got off easy.

"Spending the rest of your life in Supermax isn't getting away with anything," Alexander says.  "I've heard Eric Robert Rudolph, who's serving his sentence there, says the place is driving him crazy."

(WSB Radio)  It was no joyride for a half dozen alleged carjackers in East Point.

They're all in the hospital after a crash that followed a police chase that ended in Douglas County.

The car was taken at gunpoint, leading to the chase along Interstate 20.

A pursuing officer used a pit maneuver on the stolen car that sent it spinning out.  It went from the westbound lanes of I-20 to the eastbound lanes and into a guardrail.

Five of the suspects were thrown from the car when it hit the rail.  The sixth suspect was trapped inside the wreck.  The car was demolished

Police believe the suspects are all gang members. 

(WSB Radio)  Police have identified the man killed in a crash on I-285 near Roswell Road.

Investigators say 38 year old Reinaldo Flores-Ordonez, of Marietta, had stopped to help another driver who had been in an earlier crash when he was hit by a truck.

The crash shut down the interstate for hours on Sunday morning.

Two other people were injured in the accident.

(WSB Radio)  Police in Forest Park have recovered a stolen ATM and now are hunting the thieves who took it.

Investigators say the machine was taken from a Bank of America, ripped from its foundation by a forklift that had been stolen from Cobb County.

Police have few leads, but are looking at surveillance video, taken at the bank, in hopes of identifying the suspects.

(WSB Radio) An Atlanta woman faces a felony charge over a fire she allegedly set at St. Joseph's Hospital, but the motive remains a mystery.

43 year old Sonia Strong is accused of setting the fire in a 5th floor ladies room at St. Joe's. She'd asked to spend the night after outpatient treatment the day before, left, then returned the next day. State Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John Oxendine tells WSB's Bob Coxe investigators went looking for her at her home on Bouldercliff Way: "It did appear that there had been some fires in her house; we really can't say if those are fires that she had set."

She was arrested Friday evening when she returned to St. Joe's for treatment of another injury.

(WSB)--Are the toys your kids are playing with safe?

The Keenan Kids Foundation, a child safety advocate group, is out with its list of the 10 most dangerous toys of the year.

Since the beginning of the year more than 72 separate toy recalls have occurred leading to over 17 million recalled toys. That's one toy recall every 5 days! Recalls have included dangers from lead paint to deadly magnets.

The complete list of available at www.keenanskidsfoundation.com.

(WSB Radio) There's good news and bad news for MARTA.

First, the good; more people are riding their trains and buses these days.  The bad news?  Revenues are falling fast.

MARTA's budget gap has grown to $60 million, something the agency has known would happen.

So far this year, MARTA has cut 180 mostly unfilled positions out of a staff of 5000.

It's expected that MARTA will need to tap into its $90 million reserve fund to cover the budget deficit.

Transit agencies nationwide are reporting an increase in commuters. 

ATLANTA (AP) Church officials cited ``inappropriate sexual behavior'' for the resignation of Trinity Chapel founding pastor Jim Bolin.

The congregation of the 7,000-member church in Powder Springs were told of the resignation Sunday during an emotional 90-minute service. But no details about Bolin's behavior were released.

The announcement was made from the pulpit by Donald M. Walker, the state administrative bishop for the Church of God.

Church officials said the 56-year-old Bolin, who did not attend Sunday's service, will be inactive in the ministry while undergoing counseling.

Bolin's 32-year-old son, Jason Bolin, will take over as head pastor, assisted by his wife Sarah Bolin.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Jeremy Buttell got a rare start and made the most of it.

Scott Vandermeer scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and Josh Mayo added 11 of his 17 points in the closing minutes to lead Illinois-Chicago to a 66-60 win over Georgia Tech on Sunday.

Buttell, however, hit the biggest shot of the game, on a 3-point basket with 42 seconds left to break a tie and give Illinois-Chicago a 60-57 lead that the Flames never gave up. It also gave the the Flames (6-2) their fifth straight win.

Buttell, a 6-foot-7 junior, started for only the second time this season. He took only four shots all 3-pointers and hit three of them for a season-high nine points. He had been averaging 1.6 points a game and 10 minutes playing time. He played 23 minutes Sunday.

``He got more playing time, and we talked to him,'' coach Jimmy Collins said. ``We told him that no matter what, don't be afraid to shoot the basketball. He has to shoot if he's open, and if he misses then he misses.

``I haven't seen anybody yet that makes every shot he takes.''

Georgia Tech (5-2) was led by Zach Peacock with 14 points and Gani Lawal added 11 points. The Yellow Jackets' 60 points was a season low.

``I thought we were pretty good defensively overall, but just missed too many open looks around the basket early on and we started to press a little bit after that,'' Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said.

``Bottom line we just need to get to work. There really is no secret formula,'' he said. ``I liked what we did defensively. I didn't like all of the offensive boards we gave up (14) and the 17 second-chance points, but that's just something we need to clean up.''

Mayo scored his 11 points in the final 5:21 of the game, including a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left for a 62-57 lead before Georgia Tech's Nick Foreman hit a 3-pointer to get within 62-60 with 14.7 seconds left. Vandermeer, however, added two free throws less than two seconds later and Mayo finished the scoring with a layup at the final buzzer.

Vandermeer, only 1-for-5 in the opening half, hit on 7 of 10 field goals in the second half. Mayo, meanwhile, scored only six points in the opening half and had none until 5:21 remained in the game.

Tech took its last lead at 49-48 on a basket by Lawal, the Yellow Jackets' leading scorer (19.8 per game). Lawal had only two points in the first half, and sat out more than eight minutes in the second after getting his third foul 4 seconds into the second half.

Georgia Tech led 32-30 at the half with Peacock scoring 10 points.

Mayo, Illinois-Chicago's leading scorer (21.0), had hit on 75 percent 3-pointers (18 of 24) in his previous three games and 54 percent overall (27 of 50). He was 1-for-5 on 3-pointers and 6-for-14 overall.

Collins won his 200th game in his 13th season at Chicago-Illinois.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Michael Turner kept battering the Bucs. John Abraham ran right through them.

With those two dominating Tampa Bay, the Atlanta Falcons managed to overcome their mistakes.

Turner ran for 152 yards, Abraham had three sacks, and the Falcons finished off a sloppy performance with Jason Elam's 34-yard field goal in overtime Sunday, pulling out a crucial 13-10 victory over the Buccaneers to tighten up the NFC playoff race.

``To win a game like this, when you're not hitting on all cylinders, is huge,'' said Mike Smith, Atlanta's rookie coach.

Two guys deserved the bulk of the credit. Turner carried a career-high 32 times, including a couple of big runs on the winning drive. Abraham kept coming at Tampa Bay from all directions, including a possession-ending sack in overtime that caused Bucs tackle Jeremy Trueblood to throw up his hands in frustration.

On Abraham's first sack, he shoved a Tampa Bay lineman into Brian Griese. On the second, he crawled under tackle Donald Penn to get at the fill-in quarterback.

``This will be a fun game to sit down and watch on film,'' said Abraham, who had his third three-sack game of the season, giving him 15.5 overall.

Atlanta (9-5) twice turned it over near the Tampa Bay end zone and had a huge breakdown on special teams late in the fourth quarter, allowing the Bucs to block a punt that set up Matt Bryant's tying field goal with 48 seconds left in regulation.

But the Falcons stuffed Tampa Bay's only possession of overtime, then drove 55 yards for Elam's winning kick.

The Bucs (9-5) have back-to-back losses for the first time this season and missed a chance to possibly clinch their playoff berth. They were hampered by 11 penalties for 76 yards.

``I'm not going to take any credit away from Atlanta, but I don't feel like they were the better team,'' said Tampa Bay receiver Antonio Bryant, who had eight catches for 108 yards and got into a brief confrontation with Smith on the Falcons' sideline.

The Falcons pulled even with Tampa Bay in the NFC South behind first-place Carolina, ensuring their first winning season since 2004.

Turner had his seventh 100-yard rushing game of the season against a Tampa Bay defense that was looking for redemption after giving up 299 yards on the ground in a loss to Carolina. The Bucs surrendered 175 yard to the Falcons, most of them piled up by their bull of a running back.

Turner had a 1-yard touchdown early on that gave Atlanta a 10-0 lead. He was running just as hard at the end, breaking off runs of 17 and 9 yards in OT, the latter setting up Elam's winning kick.

``As the game wore on, he got stronger and stronger,'' Smith said.

The rookie coach laughed off his staredown with Bryant, who had given cornerback Domonique Foxworth a shove in front of the Atlanta bench.

``Antonio was on our sideline and I politely asked him to go back over to his sideline,'' Smith quipped.

The Bucs had to go without starting quarterback Jeff Garcia, sidelined by a calf injury. Griese completed 26 of 37 for 269 yards, hooking up with Bryant on a 20-yard touchdown with 11 seconds left in the first half.

But Griese also threw an interception and was sacked four times in all. The Bucs converted just 3-of-14 chances on third down.

``We shot ourselves in the foot on offense,'' he said.

Atlanta overcame a subpar game by Matt Ryan, who threw two interceptions and fumbled twice. But he hit Roddy White with a 14-yard pass on the winning drive.

Late in the fourth, with the Falcons leading 10-7, Brian Clark got around a blocker just enough to get his right hand on Michael Koenen's punt. The Bucs returned the loose ball to the Atlanta 22 and looked to win it, but Abraham put them in a hole by sacking Griese.

Bryant, who earlier in the quarter had missed from 53 yards, kicked a 38-yarder to send the game to overtime.

The Falcons jumped ahead 10-0 in the first quarter, but two turnovers deep in Tampa Bay territory kept the Bucs in the game. Ryan got greedy and went for the touchdown on second-and-8 from the Tampa Bay 34. The pass was underthrown and Aqib Talib picked it off at the 1.

In the third quarter, Ryan found Jason Rader alone down the right sideline, and the backup tight end hauled in the pass and headed for a touchdown. Bucs safety Jermaine Phillips stripped the ball from behind just as Rader was going in, and Phillip Buchanan scooped it up in the end zone.

The officials initially ruled TD, but referee Terry McAulay overturned the call after Tampa Bay challenged, even though replays from several angles looked inconclusive.
Notes: NFC South teams are now 11-0 at home in division games. ... Turner broke Jamal Anderson's franchise record with his 15th rushing touchdown of the season. ... Former Falcons RB Warrick Dunn rushed for 40 yards and caught seven passes for 50 yards in his return to the Georgia Dome. ... Elam had the 17th game-winning kick of his career in the final 2 minutes of regulation or overtime.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Johns Creek is rolling back last call by two hours for the north Fulton city's three late night bars. 

Beginning Monday morning, the Derby Sports Bar, the Equity Sports Bar and Grill and the American Ale House served their last drinks at 2 a.m. and the doors closed at 2:30. 

Derby general manager Beverly Paris tells Channel 2 Action News much of her profit comes from late night crowds who work in the hospitality and entertainment industries.

The Johns Creek City Council adopted the new operating hours as a way to improve public safety.  Since the Johns Creek Police Department hit the streets on April 1st, officers have made 157 DUI arrests, a third of those took place between 2 and 4 a.m.  In addition, more than half of those stopped did not live in Johns Creek.

(WSB Radio) -- In the wake of the Brian Nichols trial, a west Georgia lawmaker plans to introduce legislation next month that would change the way juries reach a verdict in death penalty cases. 

Republican State Representative Tim Bearden of Villa Rica says he'd like to see Georgia law allow a death sentence with only ten of twelve jurors in agreement.  Bearden tells Channel 2 Action News "we just want to make sure that justice is fully served."

Nichols received life without parole after three members of a Fulton County jury refused to vote for death by lethal injection.

Bearden introduced a similar bill during the 2008 General Assembly.  The measure passed the House but never came up for a vote in the Senate.

ATLANTA (AP) Kyle Karempelis scored three touchdowns as Wesleyan won its first Georgia High School Association football title with a 33-21 victory over defending Class A champion Emanuel County Institute on Saturday.

Karempelis had a 41-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, a 27-yarder in the third quarter and scored the clinching TD in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard pass from Conor Welton.

The victory snapped ECI's 29-game winning streak dating to last season and was Wesleyans 12th in a row after starting the season 1-2.

Washun Ealey, who holds the GHSA records for touchdowns in a season and in a career, had TD runs of 4, 2 and 4 yards, plus a two-point conversion. Ealey, who has committed to the University of Georgia, finished with 98 yards 21 carries.

ECI (14-1) had hope when Ealey scored his second touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter and added the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 26-15. But Wesleyan (13-2) marched down the field and Karempelis scored his third TD on a pass from Welton.

Karempelis had 135 yards on 18 rushes and caught four passes for 46 yards. Welton was 12 of 16 passing for 134 yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Anderson Porter for Wesleyans first TD from 27 yards out.

Ahead 14-7 at halftime, Wesleyan started the second half with a defensive TD as Merritt Hall caused a fumble and Carter Garrison ran 41 yards for the score.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Angelo Pease passed for two touchdowns and ran for another as Cairo won the Georgia High School Association Class AAA football championship by beating Flowery Branch 28-14 on Saturday.

Pease gave the Syrupmakers the lead for good with 8:15 remaining on a 17-yard pass to James Wilcox. Reginald Bryant iced the victory when he scored on a 2-yard smash with just 2:32 to play.

Cairo (14-0) won the title a year after losing a 16-13 heartbreaker to Carver-Columbus in the championship game. The Syrupmakers also won state titles in 1946 and 1990.

Pease carried 18 times for 100 yards the bulk coming on a 79-yard run in the third quarter and connected on 8 of 14 passes for 93 yards. Bryant had 138 yards rushing on 20 carries.

After Pease raced untouched after a fake to Bryant midway in the third quarter for Cairo's second touchdown, Flowery Branch didn't waste any time tying the game. Connor Shaw hit Chris Lipscomb for a 72-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage after the kickoff and then connected with Rodriguez Frazier for a two-point conversion.

Billy Thompson put Flowery Branch (12-3) ahead early, kicking a 21-yard field goal in the first quarter and adding a 43-yarder in the second quarter. But Cairo came back to take a 7-6 lead at halftime on Pease's 17-yard touchdown pass to Dewayne Isom and the first of Logan Gainous four extra points.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) A jury's inability to condemn courthouse gunman Brian Nichols to death has re-energized efforts by Georgia lawmakers to allow a judge to consider capital punishment even if there's no unanimous verdict, as a growing chorus of officials says it's time to give the policy another look.

Nichols was sentenced Saturday to life in prison without parole after a jury failed to deliver a unanimous death sentence for the murders of four people. Minutes after the sentencing, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard became among the first to call for a revived effort to tweak the death penalty rules.

``There should be some consideration of non-unanimous verdicts so that the minority of people that don't consider death won't get a chance to decide the outcome,'' he said at an emotional post-trial news conference.

He and other policymakers say the Nichols case could become a rallying cry for legislation aimed at preventing a ``rogue'' death penalty opponent on a jury from sabotaging a capital case.

``Without question you'll see that bill come back,'' said state Rep. David Ralston, who chairs a key House judiciary committee. ``People are very concerned whether jurors are being truthful about their feelings about the death penalty, and whether they are really committed to following the law.''

Twice in the last two years, the House passed proposals to allow judges to impose a death sentence if one or two jurors vote against it. Both times the plan was defeated in the Senate, where it faced fierce opposition from GOP attorneys who warned it would put life-or-death decisions in the hands of a judge instead of a jury.

Yet some opponents are now saying changes to the death penalty rules are worth another look.

``This case has rocked Georgia's criminal justice system. When you have a case where this much money is spent, this much time, it does beg the question if the system is operating properly,'' said state Sen. Preston Smith, a Rome Republican who voted against the bill in March. ``I think we're going to take a hard look at it.''

Smith, who chairs the Senate's judiciary committee, added: ``This case has been a poster child for why there needs to be reform in the system.''

Georgia law has long required that death sentences can only be returned by unanimous jury verdicts.

If even one of the 12 jurors will not support a sentence of death, a judge must decide whether to sentence a defendant to life in prison, with or without the possibility of parole.

Superior Court Judge James Bodiford was forced to make that choice Saturday after the Nichols jury deadlocked at 9-3, with nine in favor of the death penalty and the other three in favor of life without parole.

After the sentencing, the prosecutor said jurors had told him the three holdouts refused to deliberate and were adamantly against the death penalty.

``They came in with the belief the death penalty would never be just,'' said Howard, who supports changing the law to allow the death penalty if up to three jurors vote against it.

Critics worry that changing the rules would lead to longer, costlier appeals and upend centuries of established legal tradition.

``We can't change the rules every time something happened that people didn't like,'' said Stephen Bright, a prominent death penalty opponent who heads the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights.

``If you have to convince everyone, the dynamic is that everybody has to listen to everybody. If you have less than unanimous juries, then you just take a vote,'' he said. ``One of the beauties of the system is it requires everybody to respond.''

State Rep. Barry Fleming, a Harlem Republican who sponsored the two failed efforts to change the unanimity requirement, said the Nichols case shows that state laws must keep up with a changing society.

``We're in a day and age when people get on a jury and they'll say they will vote for a death penalty, but simply won't do it. That has to be accounted for,'' he said. ``To give the judge the option in these terrible cases is the right thing to do. There ought to be a safety valve.''

(WSB Radio) Forest Park Police are investigating an ATM robbery.

Someone ran off, not only with cash, but the actual machine itself.

Police said, around 4 a.m. Sunday someone stole an fork lift from an unknown location in Cobb County. The suspects then used that fork lift to pick the  ATM off the concrete at a Bank of America branch at 1099 Main Street.

The suspects left the fork lift at the scene. Police don't know what vehicle the suspects drove off in.

Police are looking at the bank's surveillance film to determine who the suspects are.

(WSB Radio) One person is killed and another person injured after a shooting in College Park.

Police said, someone opened fire at the two men in a parking lot near the El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant on Old National Highway near I-285. It happened at 12:45 a.m. Sunday.

Police think the two were going to a club when they may have been robbed.

The wounded victim is in serious condition at Grady Hospital.

Police have not released any suspects.

ATLANTA (AP) Mike Bibby scored 24 points, Marvin Williams hit the clinching free throws, and the Atlanta Hawks snapped the Cleveland Cavaliers' 11-game winning streak with a 97-92 victory Saturday night.

LeBron James had 33 points and nine assists for the Cavs, who overcame a 14-point deficit in the third quarter to take a 70-68 lead early in the fourth on Mo Williams' layup.

The deficit was Cleveland's first in the second half since its last loss, a 96-89 defeat at Detroit on Nov. 19. The Cavs were trying for the first 12-game winning streak in franchise history, having won 11 in a row four times, the last time in 1994-95.

After eight lead changes over a 6-minute span in the fourth quarter, Atlanta never trailed after Bibby made it 84-83 with a 10-footer with 4:40 remaining.

Williams finished with 26 points for Cleveland, the only NBA team to rank in the top 10 in both scoring and points allowed.

Cleveland was playing its second straight game without injured starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Anderson Varejao's 11 points and eight rebounds weren't enough to compensate on the front line with Ben Wallace going scoreless on just two shots from the field.

Atlanta has won two straight after dropping three consecutive road games at Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.
Notes: Josh Smith's one block came in the final minute when Delonte West tried to launch a 3 in front of the Hawks' bench. The ball was less than 10 feet from West when Smith slapped it into the crowd. ... James scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. ... Bibby and Joe Johnson combined for 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the final period. ... Atlanta entertainer Ludacris announced the pregame lineups.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) The Falcons have one of the best rushing games in the NFL. They sure liked what they saw when they tuned in to ``Monday Night Football.''

There was Carolina, which had one running back pounding away on the inside, while another got loose to the outside with his speed.

Sound familiar? The Falcons have their own version of Thunder (Michael Turner) and Lightning (Jerious Norwood), and they're getting ready to face the same team that couldn't stop the Panthers' duo of Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were shredded for 299 yards on the ground in a prime-time, 38-23 loss to Carolina the second-most in franchise history. Now, they've got to face the Falcons, who have the league's second-leading rusher in Turner and a speedy understudy in Norwood.

``That gives you a lot of hope when somebody goes out there and rushes for nearly 300 yards on a team,'' Falcons receiver Roddy White said. ``Especially with our running game. We've had a lot of success this year.''

Turner already has rushed for a career-best 1,269 yards and tied the team record with 14 touchdowns. Norwood doesn't get nearly as many carries, but he's still managed to run for 430 yards and catch 31 passes.

Can they do to the Bucs what the Panthers did?

``Physically, they kind of beat those guys up,'' White said. ``They ran the ball right at 'em. I guess that's the thing to do against a defense that can run like that. Everybody on the Tampa defense runs well, so you've got to run the ball right at 'em.''

Of course, trends rarely hold up for long in the NFL (unless you're the Detroit Lions). The Bucs had been one of the league's toughest teams to run against, surrendering only one rushing TD through their first 12 games. After giving up four to Carolina, they'll certainly be out to prove that was just a bad day and not a symptom of a defense in decline.

``We were humbled,'' Tampa Bay linebacker Derrick Brooks said. ``It happens to the best of us.''

He thought back to a similar scenario in 2002, when visiting Pittsburgh beat up the Bucs in a late-season game. Tampa Bay bounced back the following week with a shutout and went on to claim its first Super Bowl championship.

``The most important thing is that we bury it and move on and not let it drag on,'' Brooks said.

Rather than worrying about the state of their defense, the Bucs (9-4) should probably be more concerned about where they'll be playing Sunday. Tampa Bay is on the road in the NFC South, a division where the four teams have put up a collective home record of 24-2.

``I've never seen anything like that,'' Falcons cornerback Erik Coleman said. ``It's just a credit to the fans. When we play at home, the fans come out to support us. They're the loudest fans in the whole country. I think we have a lot of team spirit down here, down South. It's great to see.''

With just three weeks left in the regular season, this game has huge playoff implications. Tampa Bay can clinch at least a wild-card spot with a win over the Falcons and a loss by either Dallas or Philadelphia. Atlanta (8-5) is just a win away from pulling even with the Bucs.

It's been quite a turnaround for the Falcons, who went 4-12 in 2007 while dealing with the loss of star quarterback Michael Vick before training camp even started and the defection of first-year coach Bobby Petrino at this exact point of the season three weeks left.

``It definitely feels a lot better around here than it did last year,'' defensive end John Abraham said. ``We were kind of planning for the offseason last year at this time. This year, everybody is planning on moving on to the playoffs.''

The Falcons would have been in a lot better shape if not for a 29-25 loss at New Orleans, just their second defeat in the last six weeks. Still, they'll likely claim a spot in the postseason by winning out, which is certainly not out of reach with two home games remaining, sandwiched around a trip to Minnesota.

One more victory will ensure their first winning season since 2004, when the Falcons made it all the way to the NFC championship game before losing in frigid Philadelphia. That seems like a lifetime ago in these parts, a year when Vick appeared ready to lead a largely downtrodden franchise into an unprecedented era of success.

``Everyone is excited about the chance to make the playoffs,'' said Turner, who played in the AFC title game a year ago with San Diego. ``That's something some of these guys have never done. It's a whole different feeling, a whole different ballgame.''

The Bucs won their first meeting against the Falcons, though it's hard to put much stock in that 24-9 victory in Week 2. For one, it's hard to imagine Atlanta's rookie quarterback, Matt Ryan, having another 13-of-33, two-interception day his worst showing as a pro.

Ryan has matured into one of the league's most effective quarterbacks and is coming off a career-best performance in New Orleans, where he completed 24-of-33 for 315 yards.

Tampa Bay looks a lot different, too. Jeff Garcia is back at quarterback Brian Griese played in the first game against the Falcons and Carnell ``Cadillac'' Williams took over at running back in place of Earnest Graham, out with a season-ending injury.

Beyond the evolving guys on the field, the Bucs' remaining schedule might be their biggest strength. After Sunday's game, they close with home game against San Diego and Oakland, a combined 8-18.

``We can't afford to look in the rearview mirror,'' Garcia said. ``It's about moving forward.''

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) Brian Nichols may get the death penalty after all.

"I would expect the U.S. attorney's office to strongly consider filling a death case against Nichols," said WSB Legal Analyst and UGA professor Ron Carlson, "There's nothing jurisdictionally wrong with the Feds filling a charge against Nichols and applying to at least give him the death penalty. Will that shoe fall, time will tell."

Nichols can face federal charges for killing off-duty U.S. Customs agent David Wilhelm.

"Brian Nichols parents raised an extremely evil person," said widow Candee Wilhelm after the sentencing on Saturday.

Fulton County D.A. Paul Howard said he and U.S. Attorney David Nahmias spoke Saturday. They will talk more about a death penalty case this week.

"As in the state case in Fulton County," Howard said. "The punishment for that case is also death."

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office told WSB's Sandra Parrish, they are looking at bringing charges against Nichols.

(WSB Radio) Clayton County's school crisis also means a budget crisis.

The school system, which lost its accreditation this summer, has already lost 3,000 students. That exodus has created a $23 million budget deficit.

School system staff members and about 40 local politicians are asking Congressman David Scott for help. They lobbied him Saturday. But Scott said there isn't much he can do. The school system can't get federal money because it's not accredited.

Rep. Scott has offered to help ROTC students get scholarships and schools get anti-gang grants worth about $150,000.

The school system, which lost its accreditation this summer, has already lost 3,000 students. That exodus has created a $23 million budget deficit.

School staff members and about 40 local politicians have lobbied Congressman David Scott. But he can't help. The school can't get federal money because it's not accredited.

Rep. Scott has offered to help ROTC students land scholarships and schools get anti-gang grants worth about $150,000.

(WSB Radio) The only smoke detector in an West Atlanta home wasn't on the ceiling.

It was in an 8-year-old's bed.

Ashley Mayfield woke up about 5 a.m. Saturday morning to the smell of smoke. She was staying with her aunt, Candy Hill.

"The kitchen caught on fire, Hill said. "When my niece woke me up we were in two separate rooms. She was in her room and I was in my room, she came and ran into my room and woke me up and said the house was on fire. We ran out the door."

Firefighters arrived and put out the fire, caused by food on the stove.

"She woke up and she was in a rage. She said 'we were about to die' because the house was on fire," Hill said.

"It was just a miracle really that she woke up," Atlanta Fire Captain Bill May said. "There were no smoke alarms in the home which just reinforces the need to have a working smoke alarm."

The two got out ok. Cpt. May said there is damage to the kitchen of the home at 645 Commercial Ave. The Red Cross has put the two in a hotel.

"She saved my life," said Hill. "I'm a hard sleeper and she ran in there and woke me up."

Hill said they will have to start over from scratch. But Santa Claus will have a little under the tree for Ashley.  

ATLANTA (AP) A judge on Saturday sentenced the man who killed four people in a brazen courthouse escape to multiple life sentences with no chance of parole and hundreds more years on more than fifty charges.

Brian Nichols, 37, was found guilty last month of murder and dozens of other counts for the March 2005 rampage that led from a downtown courthouse to an Atlanta neighborhood and ended with his capture the next day in a suburban county.

He will likely die in prison after Superior Court Judge James Bodiford handed down the maximum sentence on each charge, to run consecutively.

``If there was any more I could give you, I would,'' the judge said.

Nichols was spared multiple death sentences when his jury failed to reach a unanimous decision recommending the punishment, as required by Georgia law.

The sentence caps more than three years of efforts to bring Nichols to justice since his arrest that were repeatedly bogged down by legal complications, frustrating victims' relatives and angering state legislators over the costs.

Nichols was being escorted to his trial for rape when he beat a deputy guarding him and stole her gun. He burst into the courtroom and shot and killed Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Ann Brandau and Deputy Hoyt Teasley.

He fled downtown Atlanta and managed to evade hundreds of police officers searching for him overnight. In Atlanta's posh Buckhead neighborhood, he shot and killed federal agent David Wilhelm at a house the agent was renovating.

Nichols was captured the next day in suburban Gwinnett County after a woman he took hostage, Ashley Smith Robinson, alerted police to his whereabouts. Smith Robinson was credited with bringing a peaceful ending to the rampage by appealing to Nichols' religious beliefs and giving him illegal drugs.

Nichols, who was raised in Baltimore, confessed to the killings but claimed he was legally insane and that he believed he was a slave rebelling against his masters. Prosecutors argued that he concocted the delusions to avoid the death penalty.

In closing arguments Monday, prosecutors asked the jury for a death sentence while defense lawyers urged jurors to avoid vengeance.

``That's the kind of vengeful, recriminative response that begets more violence,'' defense attorney Henderson Hill said.

Prosecutor Clint Rucker called Nichols an ``extremely dangerous'' killer who would try to escape again if sent to prison for life.

Nichols' rampage prompted attorneys and judges to question their safety and law enforcement around the state to re-examine courthouse security measures.

NEW YORK (AP) The New York Yankees reeled in another pitcher with a rich offer, reaching agreement with free agent A.J. Burnett on $82.5 million, five-year contract Friday.

CC Sabathia and the Yankees made a deal for $161 million over seven years on Wednesday during the winter meetings. After missing the playoffs following a 13-year run, the Yankees again showed they were more than willing to shell out big bucks for pitching.

Burnett's agreement, which averages $16.5 million annually, was confirmed by the office of his agent, Darek Braunecker. The pitcher still needs to take a physical before the deal is completed.

``I can sense the excitement and the confidence that's spreading around the entire organization about what we're getting done and what we may get done still,'' Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner said earlier Friday, before Burnett's decision became known. ``A rising tide lifts all boats, and the confidence and the excitement right now among the team and the organization is contagious.''

Burnett joins a rotation that also includes holders Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain. New York is hoping to re-sign Andy Pettitte and has looked at Ben Sheets as an alternative.

``I think it has the makings of a great offseason, and clearly our players do, too,'' Steinbrenner said.

Burnett won 10 of his last 12 decisions and finished 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA for Toronto. He set career highs in wins, strikeouts (231) and innings (221 1-3).

After the season, the 31-year-old righty opted out of his $55 million, five-year contract with the Blue Jays and became a free agent. He had two years and $24 million left on his deal with Toronto.

Burnett has done especially well against AL East rivals Boston and the Yankees. He went 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA in five starts against the Yankees this year; he is 5-0 lifetime vs. the Red Sox.

Burnett, however, has been plagued by injuries over the years and has made several trips to the disabled list with elbow and shoulder troubles. He was fine this season and made a career-best 35 starts.

Atlanta was among the teams that also pursued Burnett. With the Yankees and their $1 billion-plus new ballpark, he would join a rotation that includes Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain.

Wang was hurt for most of this season and Mike Mussina retired after winning 20 games. Andy Pettitte remains in the mix, if he and the Yankees want to work out a deal for him to return. Ben Sheets and Jake Peavy were among the other aces that drew interest from the Yankees.

Burnett began his major league career with Florida in 1999 and joined Toronto as a free agent for the 2006 season. He is 87-76 overall with a 3.81 ERA.
Notes: The Yankees failed to offer 2009 contracts to RHP Chris Britton and OF Justin Christian, making them free agents.

AP freelance writer Mark Didtler in Tampa, Fla., contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) One man is arrested in Gwinett County after lying about an elaborate kidnapping scheme, police said.

Hector Rivera-Condado, 31, told police a gunman barged into his Lawrenceville home and kidnapped a tenant who was staying there. He called 911 after he claimed to have found the gunman and victim in his attic.

"We attempted to look for any evidence of the claim of the kidnapping ," Gwinnett police Cpl. David Schiralli told WSB's Jennifer Griffies. "We were unsuccessful in that. (Police) did however locate a small amount of cocaine that belonged to Mr. Rivera."

Rivera was arrested then and charged with possession of a controlled substance.

"We dont know why he stated this, we are still looking into that," Cpl. Schiralli said.

The case is still being investigated.

(WSB Radio) A Clayton County man gets life in prison for beating a baby to death in 2005.

Philanders Lamont Bowie, 27, was convicted of felony murder and child cruelty on Friday for the death of Makala Denise Valley when she was 17 months old. He was then sentenced to mandatory life in prison. He has the possibility of parole in about 14 years.

"Made me a lot stronger, a lot tougher" Candance Jakes, Valley's mother, told WSB-TV. "Just trying to be heard and getting justice. The citizens of Clayton County, they gave justice today."

Bowie was arrested after he told police he had "tossed" Valley into a rocker. He said he was frustrated the child wouldn't stop crying.

"When I seen the pictures of how my daughter looked," Jakes said. "Two days after she died, I knew he either had something to do with it or knew everything about it."

Bowie was Jakes boyfriend at the time and was babysitting Valley while Jakes worked at Delta airlines. Valley would have been five years old last week.

Chief Executive Richard Anderson and President Ed Bastian said in a memo to employees that the program is similar to one earlier this year that Delta used to trim about 4,000 jobs. Northwest previously trimmed jobs of its own before being acquired by Delta on Oct. 29.

The executives said the cuts are necessary because Delta will be reducing systemwide capacity in 2009 by 6 percent to 8 percent because the weak economy has eroded demand for seats on airplanes.

``These capacity reductions will reduce the number of people needed to operate the airline,'' the executives said. ``Consistent with how we have managed headcount reductions in the past, we again will offer voluntary programs to Delta employees including those who have joined from Northwest.''

While the company did not say how many jobs it is seeking to cut, it said its goal is to achieve all necessary reductions through attrition, limited hiring and the introduction of the voluntary severance programs. Spokeswoman Betsy Talton said the majority of mainline employees are eligible to apply for the severance payouts, though she could not provide a specific number.

Delta and Northwest's mainline operations include 75,000 employees. The entire company, including regional subsidiaries Comair, Mesaba and Compass, has about 85,000 employees. The 12,000 pilots of Delta and Northwest and certain management and administrative employees are not eligible for the voluntary severance programs.

The voluntary severance programs, to be offered in January, include one for employees with 10 or more completed years of service, whose completed years of age and service add up to at least 55. The second program is an early-out program that will be offered to those employees who do not qualify for the first program but who are frontline/contract ground and flight attendant employees with five or more years of service and merit/salaried employees hired before the first of next year.

Delta hinted Dec. 2 at an investor conference that more job cuts could be on the way as it disclosed its capacity reduction plans for 2009. Domestic capacity in 2009 will be reduced 8 percent to 10 percent compared to 2008, while international capacity will be reduced 3 percent to 5 percent next year compared to this year.

Shares of Delta added 53 cents, or 5.3 percent, to close at $10.50.

ATLANTA (AP) Cody Getz ran for 239 yards on 21 carries and four touchdowns to lead defending champion Buford to a 45-21 victory over Calhoun in the Georgia High School Association state championship in Class AA on Friday night.

Storm Johnson added 86 rushing yards and a score for the Wolves (15-0), who claimed their second crown in a row and sixth title overall. They had previously won championships in Class A (1978 and 2001) and won consecutive titles in Class AA (2002 and 2003) before winning last year.

Buford took a 28-14 lead in the third quarter on Storm Johnson's 32-yard touchdown.

Dustin Christian scored on a 59-yard run to cut the Yellow Jackets' (12-3) deficit to 28-21 in the third.

The Wolves put the game away when Daniel Villafuerte made a 21-yard field goal and Getz scored on a 30-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Brian Nichols faces life in prison.  The question is will he be eligible for parole. 

Judge James Bodiford will sentence Nichols Saturday after the jury deadlocked 9-3 on whether to sentence the convicted Fulton County Courthouse killer to death.  Nine jurors favored death.  Three voted for life in prison.

Said Bodiford to the jury, "You were faced with the hardest decision the judicial system will ever ask anybody to make." "Everyone in Atlanta will have a comment on what you have done. ... They have not sat in those chairs. They have not filled your shoes."

Bodiford had cautioned family members of Nichols victims against outbursts of emotion.  They and Nichols family sat expressionless in the courtroom.

Prosecutors had argued the jury should be sent home asked to return Saturday, receive an final instructions from Judge Bodiford and resume deliberations.  Attorneys for Nichols argue the jury is hung and should be dismissed.

Georgia law requires a jury reach a unanimous verdict to impose the death sentence on a defendant.  If the jury is unable to reach a unanimous decision, then the judge would sentence Nichols automatically to life in prison.  Whether the sentence is life with or without parole is up to the judge's discretion.

Late Friday afternoon, the jury sent a short two paragraph note to the judge saying they remained deadlocked and that further deliberations would change no juror's position.  The note also said that the jury would deliberate as long as the court asked.

At 6pm the judge brought the jury back into the courtroom, and issued the Allen charge which asks jurors to re-examine their positions and attempt to reach a unanimous verdict.  Bodiford asked the jury if they wanted to work into the evening or return Saturday morning.

The jury chose to work an additional two hours Friday evening.

The jury indicated it is deadlocked 9-3 on Friday, the same split as Thursday. Jurors have not said which way they are leaning.

The jury convicted Nichols last month of murder and dozens of other counts in the 2005 killings. He was on trial for rape when he grabbed a guard's gun and began his fatal rampage.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

(WSB Radio)  Gwinnett County Police are trying to figure out why a man concocted an elaborate kidnapping scheme that turned out to be bogus.

"When officers arrived, the homeowner, Hector Rivera-Condado, stated to us that during sometime during the night, a gunman forced their way into the home with guns and kidnapped one of his tenants that was living at the residence," said Corporal David Schiralli.

He says the 31-year-old called 9-1-1 after he said he later found the gunman and the victim in the attic.

"When uniform officers got there, they attempted to make contact with persons inside the home but were unsuccessful.   That's when we decided to activate our SWAT unit," said Schiralli.

After no one answered the door, they went inside where they found nothing.

"They attempted to look for any evidence to support Mr. Rivera's claim of the kidnapping, but were unsuccessful in that.   They did however, locate a small amount of cocaine that belonged to Mr. Rivera and he was taken into custody and charged with possession of a controlled substance," said Schiralli.

Additional charges against Rivera, including false report of a crime, are possible.

December 12, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) It may now be up to the Bush administration to cast a lifeline to the auto industry.

It appears there's not going to be any help from Congress this year. Bipartisan talks on the $14 billion dollar auto rescue broke down in the Senate.

The United Auto Workers rejected Republican demands that the union agree to steep wage cuts by 2009 to bring their pay into line with Japanese carmakers. The UAW refused to do so until the current contract expires in 2011.

Majority Leader Harry Reid calls the bill's collapse ``a loss for the country.'' He predicted Friday's Wall Street session ``is not going to be a pleasant sight.'' Reid says he hopes President George W. Bush will tap the $700 billion Wall Street bailout fund for emergency aid to the automakers.

The Bush administration calls the demise of the legislation ``disappointing'' and says it's evaluating its options in light of the breakdown.

(WSB Radio) Members of the Mount Carmel Christian Church in Stone Mountain spent weeks constructing the nativity display.  Vandals took just one morning to destroy it.

Police say the vandals struck Wednesday morning, smashing the eight elaborate scenes and backdrops the parishioners had put up.

Damage is estimated at about $2000, but that does not include the time church members spent.

They hope to have the display at least partially rebuilt by Friday evening.

(WSB Radio) People facing the prospect of eviction are getting a reprieve for the holidays in Fulton County.

The county is suspending all evictions until the new year.

Marshals have been told not to serve eviction notices between December 19 and January 5. 

Over the first three-quarters of the year Fulton County marshals have served nearly 5500 notices.  Another 9000 were settled before the marshals showed up.

DeKalb County plans short term reprieves right around Christmas and New Year's.  County marshals will not be working on those holidays, anyway.

(WSB Radio) Gwinnett County police have one suspect in custody and are hunting the second member of a female bank robbing duo.

Cops say the woman allegedly held up a string of Wachovia and SunTrust bank branches over the past month and a half.

Police caught up with 18 year old Janiah White, of Lawrenceville, after Wednesday's robbery at the Wachovia on Buford Highway, in Norcross.

Her alleged accomplice, 21 year old Kayla Morrison, of Duluth, got away and remains at large.

Investigators say, during the robberies, Morrison would often disguise herself as a man.

(WSB Radio) There's no school today at West Hall High School in Oakwood, but it's not due to the weather.

The main transformer that supplies power to the building malfunctioned overnight and started an electrical fire.

A crew from Jackson County EMC will be at the school today to tear out he old transformer and put in a new one.

School officials expect things to be back to normal by Monday.

(WSB Radio)  A magician wanted on porn charges is in stable condition after attempting to commit suicide.

37 year old Jeffrey Wasley was arrested in July for taking pictures of young boys in the restrooms of department stores. 

Cobb County police say he refused to come out of his house where he was going to be arrested again, this time on federal charges.

"Mr. Wasley fled through the basement and began to cut himself up pretty good," says Cobb County Police Officer Nathan McCready.  "He did attempt a suicide."

Wasley, who was known professionally as Magic Jeff, performed for schools and youth groups before his arrest.

He is recovering from his suicide attempt at Kennestone Hospital.

(WSB Radio)  Santa's coming to the Bill Lucas YMCA Child Care center today ... but his bag of toys won't be as full as it's supposed to be.

Thieves broke into the center Thursday morning ... leaving 2 broken windows and taking with them 600-dollars worth of toys.

"How can you destroy a child's Christmas when we're just trying to give," says Paulette Gates, the center's child care director.  "We had dolls, we had books, we had puzzles.  Anything that was educational."

Parents of kids in the center - like Tekesia Shields - are rallying friends and co-workers to collect what could be a child's only toy.

"You don't take from kids like that," Shields says.  "And I was hurt."

The center, on Pryor Street in Southwest Atlanta, could use much, much more.  Shields says it's needed, especially now.

"We're in a real low income community, and it's a recession.  We just want to make sure everybody smiles.  If they just receive one thing, it's a smile."

(WSB Radio) Governor Perdue is being asked to reel in his "Go Fish" program.

Critics say construction of the $23 million facility now is not appropriate, since the state is in the midst of a budget crisis. 

"I don't think it's a very wise investment," says State Senator Robert Brown.  "The economy is going in the direction to suggest that we're going to have less leisure dollars to spend."

The state is looking at a budget shortfall of close to $1.6 billion.

The Governor, however, disagrees with his critics.

"This money was done in '07, so it has nothing to do with this budget," Governor Perdue says.  "We can't recover any of that money, at this point in time.  So those people who talk about "Go Fish" while we're having to constrain our cash budget are just trying to make political hay."

The center, which will be located in Perry, is slated to open in 2010.

(WSB Radio) Beginning next month, consumers in Georgia get a tax break when they fill up.

The Georgia Department of Revenue recalculates the tax rate every six months and because prices have fallen rapidly over the last two months, the state motor fuel tax will drop by 4 cents on January 1st, from 18.5 cents a gallon to 14.6 cents.

This is the second reduction in the fuel tax this year.  Back in June when gasoline was $4.00 dollars a gallon or more, Governor Sonny Perdue signed an executive order that froze the tax at 18.5 cents, instead of allowing it to rise to 21.4 cents.

Department of Revenue figures show the Governor's decision saved motorists more than $60 million dollars through November.  The tax freeze and a decrease in the amount of gas being sold in Georgia combined to reduce tax collections by $22 million dollars, about 5% since the fiscal year began on July 1st.

(WSB Radio) -- A controversial school flexibility plan being considered by the Gwinnett County School System drew sharp criticism Thursday night from parents, teachers and community leaders.

During a standing room only meeting at Board of Education headquarters in Suwanee, more than a dozen people voiced their concerns about a new state law that created the "Investing in Educational Excellence Partnership Contract for Improving School Achievement."

Known as IE2, the program developed by the state Board of Education allows loca school systems to trade accountability at the elementary, middle school and high school levels for flexibilities in twelve areas of state mandates, including the ability to bypass education laws on funding, class size and teacher pay.

Closed door negotiations between the state and Gwinnett County appear to be the biggest concern for those opposed to the plan.  One teacher told the school board "you give us little bits of information, it's cloaked in secrecy, and yet we're not supposed to come here and ask questions?"

According to Gwinnett Schools' spokeswoman Sloan Roach, one example of the contract helping local schools involves leniency on how many students can be in one classroom.  Roach told Channel 2 Action News "if we were able to add just one student to every class, it would save this district over $30 million dollars a year."  An outraged parent told the school board "$30 million dollars is not a big deal for a billion dollar school system."

Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks defended the school board's handling of the contract negotiations.  He told the crowd public input on the proposal will be included once the state approves the county's request.  Wilbanks believes the contract will be sent to the Georgia Board of Education for consideration at their January meeting.  There is no firm timetable for actually implementing the IE2 program.

(WSB Radio) -- Budget shortfalls in state government and the city of Atlanta prompt Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts to rekindle his call for casino gambling in Georgia.

Pitts, who's lobbying state lawmakers and Governor Perdue for a casino at Underground Atlanta, says "the timing could not be better, we're talking money and jobs."

Pitts told Channel 2 Action News "I think that if the people of the state of Georgia ever have the opportunity to vote, the legislation will pass with about 65% of Georgians, because Georgians love to gamble."

Pitts is not alone in his fight.  State Represenative Roger Bruce (D-Atlanta) plans to introduce legislation in the General Assembly next month that would allow Georgia cities to vote via referendum on gaming in their communities.

Some Republicans say any plan for casino gambling in Georgia would most definitely meet with huge opposition from religious groups.

 ATLANTA(AP) Suspicious white powder found Thursday at Georgia's Capitol does not appear to be toxic, authorities said.

An envelope containing the powder arrived at a state Capitol office that processes mail from constituents to state officials. It was not immediately clear Thursday to whom the envelope was addressed.

``We tested the substance and did not find anything to indicate it was toxic,'' Atlanta fire Capt. Bill May said.

Eighteen state workers who were in and around the room when the powder was found were being evaluated but showed no immediate health effects, May said.

Georgia is the latest in a string of states that have received powder-laced packages in the mail. Envelopes containing suspicious powder have been received this week by governor's offices in Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Texas.

In Georgia, fire trucks and emergency workers in biohazard suits swarmed a street outside the state Capitol soon after the powder was detected at 12:11 p.m. The first floor office where the substance was found was sealed off but the building was never evacuated.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue was in the Capitol at the time and did not leave, his spokesman Bert Brantley said,

``What we know right now is that it has all the same characteristics of the other ones that we've seen, which have all been false alarms,'' Brantley said.

Officials said the FBI's Dallas field office would head the investigation.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Clayton County is among 32 school districts in Georgia that do not have a state approved security plan according to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

While Clayton's director of school safety says the system does have an approved plan, GEMA spokesman Buzz Weiss says it does not.

"We are working very actively with most of those that are not approved in order to get the situation up to speed," Weiss tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.

The plans range from severe weather to safety issues.

"There are no penalties for not complying... the law was passed in context with the school systems to enhance safety within their schools," he says.

He says school systems should want to comply because it's the law.

Sixteen percent of Georgia's residents experience persistent problems staying awake during the day, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, only 10 percent of the people in the study reported having been diagnosed with a sleep disorder.

The study also found that in addition to problems staying awake:

• 35 percent of Georgians wake up in the morning feeling unrefreshed

• 33 percent report that they snore

• 31 percent cannot sleep through the night

• 25 percent complain that they have problems falling asleep

  The CDC's Michael Decker tells WSB Health Reporter Sabrina Gibbons that because the study reflects Georgians in urban and rural areas, there is a probability that the findings can be generalized to the rest of the United States, but further studies would be needed to confirm it.

(WSB Radio) -- The jury in the Brian Nichols penalty phase has announced it is deadlocked 9-3 as to whether to sentence Nichols to life in prison or death. Judge James Bodiford ordered the jury to try again.

Late Thursday jurors asked to hear a phone call between Nichols and his brother. Despite defense objections, Bodiford allowed the jury to listen to the tape again.

Deliberations will resume at 8:40 am Friday.

Bodiford told attorneys for both sides that jurors informed him they were split. The judge did not ask whether the majority favored sentencing Nichols to death or life in prison.

"I am going to make it very plain to them that I don't want to know if it is for the death penalty, life without parole or what," Bodiford told lawyers.

Nichols was convicted of four counts of murder for the March 11, 2005 killings that began at the Fulton County Courthouse.

Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Brandau and Sheriff's Sergeant Hoyt Teasley were shot to death at the courthouse.  U.S. Customs Agent David Wilhelm was murdered later that day outside of his Atlanta home.

The jurors who are deciding Nichols' fate are the same who found him guilty of the murders on November 7. 

(WSB Radio) -- It took a Fulton County Sheriff's deputy with a to break up a fight at the courthouse Thursday.

A bit of a brawl broke out between the family members of a murder victim and the accused. Four people were arrested at a preliminary hearing for 19 year old Jacquavious Tisinger. He's charged in the fatal shooting on November 9th of Joshua Richards.

The 17 year old Riverdale High School student was shot and killed outside of a nightclub on Jonesboro road.

Sheriff's deputies had to fire their taser guns to restore order.  Fulton County Court Spokesman Don Plummer did not release the names of the four persons arrested.  The magistrate closed the courtroom to the public and ordered additional security.

Tisinger has been bound over to Superior Court. His bond was at 35-thousand dollars.

2008-12-11

------

as the 19 year old murder suspect appeared in court ... spokesman don plummer says the familes of the victim and the suspect got into a shouting match that escaladed so that sherrif's deputies had to use tasers to break it up .. no one was hurt, but four people have been arrested.  the defendant -  charged in the shooting death of a 17 year old riverdale high school student outside a nightclub on jonesboro road last month was ordered held on 35 thousand dollars bond

(WSB Radio)  Authorities are investigating a suspicious envelope received at the State Capitol today that contained a white powdery substance.

It's the 14th such letter received this week at governors offices across the country.

"We definitely knew that some other states had received letters like this, so when we saw this one it certainly made sense and fit the profile of the some of the other ones," says governor spokesman Bert Brantley.

He says the building was never evacuated and Gov. Perdue continued his work.

But Brantley tells WSB's Sandra Parrish they don't take such incidents lightly.

"We can't assume that it's not a threat... so they're going to do all the same procedures and just make sure that it is similar to the other ones that have been received," he says.

ATLANTA (AP) The Georgia Department of Labor says first-time claims for unemployment insurance benefits in November rose to 74,480, a 54.7 percent increase over November of 2007.

During the first 11 months of this year, 613,863 initial claims for unemployment insurance have been filed, an increase of 44.1 percent over the 425,942 initial claims filed during the same period last year.

The department said the areas with the highest percentage of increase in claims are Dalton, Rome, and Warner Robins. The areas with the smallest increase in claims are Augusta, Albany, and Valdosta.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) First Greg Maddux left the Braves, then Tom Glavine.  Could John Smoltz be next?

The Boston Globe reports the pitcher is considering trying to extend his career with a move, possibly to either the Red Sox, Mets or Tigers.

Braves General Manager Frank Wren says he's not concerned about it.

"We'll kind of watch over the winter as John goes into his rehab," Wren tells WSB,  "and make a determination when we think the time is appropriate based on how far along he's come.

"If he can pitch we'd like to have him back," Wren says, "We'll evaluate how we go about it later."

Boston and New York would offer Smoltz the opportunity to pitch for two contenders.  Detroit is the right hander's hometown.

(WSB Radio) The South Cobb High School band seems well on the their way to Washington, and Barack Obama's inauguration.

In just one day the band raised more than half of the $71,000 needed to make the trip.

The Blue Eagles are the only Georgia high school marching band invited to perform in the inaugural parade, but they have to get there first.

Feeder elementary schools are offering to sponsor students and an Atlanta radio station raised money.  Performers from Usher to Ed Roland of "Collective Soul" have pledged donations.

Roland is giving $4000 to represent the time he spent in the marching band when he was a high school student in Stockbridge.

(WSB Radio) Has the recent rain helped Georgia's lake levels?

A little.

Some residents along Lake Lanier say they'll take anything they can get.

"We've had just brief showers, basically all summer long, and nothing like substantial rain," Josh Anderson tells Channel 2.  "So this is welcome news and we're extremely happy to see it."

"I think it's going to help, definitely," says Lake Lanier resident Reed Bethel.  "I don't know how much it's going to bring the lake up, but it's going to help."

The Army Corps of Engineers expected to set a record low level this weekend, but Wednesday's rainfall may delay the record until early next month.

(WSB Radio) Atlanta water bills are due and some of the top water customers might be getting a phone call from a high place.

"They're going to start hearing from me personally," says Mayor Shirley Franklin.  The Mayor plans on contacting the top 25 customers who owe the city money. 

Other water customers tell Channel 2 Action News it's about time.

"They need to do a better job," one woman says.  "If they're going to cut off the little man's water then they need to cut of the big man's water.  That's the only way he's going to pay."

Water department head Rob Hunter says he's tried to get companies and even some city departments to pay up.

"We get asked sometimes, 'why don't you just shut the water off?'", Hunter says.  "I think in the past year I've been cautioned by a judge a few times that, if I cut the water off again, they will lock me up."

Larger customers use their lawyers and the courts to drag out the process and city departments have been settling up once per year.  Now, they'll start paying monthly.

(WSB Radio) The economy is providing some difficult times for Georgia residents and for the state's charities.

The United Way of Atlanta is reeling under the strain of massive and unexpected demand, coupled with dwindling donations.

"80% of the non-profits are saying they're seeing an increase in demand," says United Way president Milton Little, "but only 24% are in a position to meet those demands."

The agency hopes to raise $82 million in its upcoming national drive, a million dollars more than last year.

Little, who oversees the charity locally, says it's going to be tough in this economy.

"The needs that people are having for emergency food assistance, emergency bill paying assistance and eviction prevention are going through the roof, frankly," says Little.

"We probably have about half of what we need," says Dorothy Chandler, executive director of the Midtown Assistance Center.  "This is the first time this has happened."

Chandler says as times get more difficult, the stress level rises on both sides of the equation.

"The people calling here for assistance are very frustrated and the staff gets frustrated too," she tells WSB.  "You have people who are disgruntled because we can't help them.  And there's generally nobody else that can help them.  So it's just very stressful for everyone."

(WSB Radio) The FBI is asking for the public's help in identifying three men wanted in at least two bank robberies during the past three days.

The first was Monday at the Wachovia on Covington Highway in Lithonia.  The second happened Wednesday at the Wachovia on Flat Shoals Road, in Decatur.

"During both of the robberies they came into bank," says FBI Special Agent Steve Lazarus.  "Two of the robbers took control of the employees and the bank customers in the lobby.  The other one jumped the counter and took cash from the teller's stations."

Lazarus says in the latest robbery one of the suspects fired a gun as they were leaving.

"No one was struck, as far as we know," Lazarus tells WSB.  "There were no bank employees struck.  There were no customers struck by that round."

Agents are looking into whether these robbers might be responsible for other hold ups.

"This is the only where we can say, with pretty near certainty, that we're looking for the same three men," says Lazarus.

(WSB Radio) DeKalb County police are talking to a possible witness in a deadly hit and run accident along Buford Highway.

Police received the call at about 7:45 Wednesday night of the fatality, at the intersection of Drew Valley Road.

"An officer was driving along Buford Highway and noticed the body in the road," says police spokeswoman Mekka Parish.

"We do know that a Hispanic female was struck and killed by a car that left the scene," Parish tells WSB.  "Our officers are talking to at least one potential witness to determine what, if anything, they saw."

The identity of the victim has not been released.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) Sometimes Manu Ginobili enjoys the thought of coming off the bench. It looks as if Wednesday was one of those nights.

Ginobili scored 27 points in a return to his sixth-man role to help the San Antonio Spurs beat Atlanta 95-89 for their fourth straight victory.

Ginobili, the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year last season, scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. He started for the Spurs (13-8) in the previous four games, including a demanding double-overtime victory Tuesday night in Dallas that was followed by the de-icing of the team's plane and a return home past 2 a.m.

``It was a tough back-to-back,'' Ginobili said. ``He (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) was thinking about it. So I said, 'Go ahead.' As I told you, sometimes I prefer coming from the bench, so no big deal.''

Tim Duncan, playing in his 1,000th NBA game in the regular season and playoffs, added 19 points and 11 rebounds. Joe Johnson led Atlanta (12-9) with 29 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the floor.

Ginobili was 8-of-12, including 5-of-7 from the 3-point line, and made six free throws without a miss.

Ginobili hit two free throws with 3:27 remaining after Mike Bibby and Al Horford were called for technical fouls for arguing Horford's foul call when the Hawks had cut the Spurs' lead to three points.

Referee Pat Fraher whistled the techs, and once Ginobili made the foul shots and the Spurs kept possession, Duncan made a short bank shot to expand that three-point lead before the techs to 83-76 after them with 3:13 left in the game.

``I didn't really say anything,'' Bibby said. ``If saying 'Come on, man,' deserves a tech, then I deserved the tech. I've heard a lot worse get told to people and (they've) not got a tech.''

Once Bibby got the technical, Horford got whistled scant seconds later.

``I said 'What happened?' to Mike because I didn't know what was going on,'' Horford said. ``You've got a tight game going on a great game and you're going to blow it up doing that?''

Ginobili hit a 3-pointer with 1:53 to go. Then, after the Hawks cut it to two on Johnson's short jumper with 54 seconds left, Ginobili cut through the lane for a wide-open layup that gave the Spurs an 89-85 with 32 seconds remaining.

``Ginobili made a great play,'' Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. ``Overall, they made the plays when they had to.''

Ginobili made four free throws in the final 20 seconds to seal the win.

``Manu carried it for us,'' Duncan said. ``He hit some big shots obviously free throws down the stretch. He loves games like that. He loves situations like that.''

The Spurs led by as much as 15 points with 3:05 left in the third quarter. San Antonio was up by 11 with 9:53 left in the game before Atlanta outscored the Spurs 27-18 to cut it to two points with less than a minute to play.

Matt Bonner had 13 rebounds and the Spurs outrebounded Atlanta 52-27.

``Bonner came out and established himself off the bat, and then it was a long night for in terms of rebounding,'' Woodson said.

San Antonio has won seven of the last nine at home.

The Hawks stumbled through their trip in Texas 0-3. Atlanta has lost eight of the last nine on the road.

The Spurs didn't look like the tired team to start the game.

But the Spurs jumped out to a 20-8 lead over an Atlanta team that lost in regulation on Tuesday night in Houston. San Antonio had the 12-point advantage on Ginobili's 3-pointer 8:17 into the game, and the Spurs went up by 14 points with 1:12 left in the quarter.

San Antonio had a 20-8 rebounding advantage in the first quarter. Bonner, starting his fifth straight game, had four offensive rebounds and led the Spurs to a 9-2 start in second-chance points.

Bonner had seven rebounds in the first quarter, and Duncan was 4-of-5 for eight points in as many minutes.

The Spurs still led by 14 with 7 minutes left in the first half on another Ginobili 3-point shot.

Ginobili scored 11 points in 11 first-half minutes and was 3-of-5 from the 3-point line. But the Hawks scored the next seven to cut the lead in half and got as close as five after Johnson's bank shot made it 38-33 with 1:32 before halftime.
Notes: Roger Mason got his first start since Nov. 29. ... After starting the season 4-0 on the road, the Hawks are 5-8 away from home. ... The Spurs have won 11 straight home games against the Hawks, not losing since a February 1997 game at the Alamodome.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Gwinnett County Police are looking for a Peeping Tom caught peering in a window at a subdivision off of Bostonian Way in Lawrenceville.

Corporal Illana Spellman tells WSB's Jennifer Griffies the voyeur was spotted a man, taking out an empty pizza box.

"The homeowner stated that he was going out to the trashcan behind his house when he discovered a suspect that was peering in, trying to look through the blinds that his wife and daughter that were in the bathroom," said Spellman.

The suspect, a white man, 5'10", 170 pounds with black hair, a goatee, wearing blue jeans and a blue jacket, took off.

"They do believe he was in a truck, but they don't know exactly for sure.  Apparently, one of the homeowners saw a white Ford Ranger pickup that was driving away," said Spellman.

The truck was speeding and did not have its headlights on.

There have been no other reports of similar crimes in the area.

(WSB Radio) -- A map designed to redistrict 3,000 students between several north Fulton elementary schools is receiving mixed reviews from parents who don't want their children to attend schools miles from their homes.

More than 100 people attended a public meeting Wednesday night at the Milton Auditorium to get one final look at a map that has caused quite a bit of controversy.

Some residents of the Coventry, Gatewood and Rhodes Plantation subdivisions want their kids to continue their education at Cogburn Woods Elementary, which is centrally located between the three neighborhoods and is connected to them by sidewalks.

Under the plan being reviewed by the Fulton County Board of Education, the opening of a new elementary school next August will require many children to be bused to schools that are not close to home. 

Coventry resident Thomas Bose told the Alpharetta/Roswell Review & News "this plan will increase traffic with cars and buses, making walking to school impossible and break up existing communities." 

Scott Funk approves of the new attendance map.  He told Channel 2 Action News "this is the best plan that will have the least effect on taxpayers in the future and make best use of our taxpayer money."

Since the redistricting plan was introduced earlier this year, the school system has received more than 4,000 e-mails on it.  In addition, three public hearings on the issue drew crowds totaling nearly 2,000 people.

Fulton County Schools' spokeswoman Susan Hale said "you can't always make everyone happy, but this is a process that gathers input from the very beginning all the way to the very end so parents feel like they've been a part of the plan."

The school board will receive a final draft of the redistricting map in January.  A vote on the proposal is tentatively set for March of next year.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) An accountant who was the last person to see a missing South Carolina couple alive bought drop cloths large enough to be body bags and turned off his cell phone for 12 hours after meeting with his wealthy clients nine months ago, police said Wednesday.

Authorities also revealed the contents of accountant Dennis Gerwing's suicide note, yet another piece of evidence that suggests he played a role in the couple's disappearance.

``I have acted completely alone in all actions committed,'' Gerwing wrote in the note, discovered in an apartment where his body was found about a week after the couple vanished. ``I knew the risk of this happening and believe taking myself out of the game is the best way to move everyone as quickly as possible past all events. All anger should be directed towards me.''

Gerwing, who killed himself after police questioned him in the disappearance of John and Elizabeth Calvert, could have disposed of their bodies hundreds of miles from Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner told reporters. That would have given Gerwing, 54, time to drive several hours away, possibly along a dirt road somewhere, Tanner said.

``It's the best theory that we've got right now,'' said Tanner. ``Circumstantially he is a suspect. But if he were alive and well today, there is not enough to bring about charges.''

The couple, who split their time between a yacht on Hilton Head Island and an Atlanta home, met with Gerwing on March 3. He committed suicide by slashing his neck and legs with a steak knife on March 11.

Searches on the resort island, its harbor and in Georgia have been fruitless. The note Gerwing left behind did not mention the Calverts.

Gerwing's employer said he embezzled $2.1 million from the couple and seven other companies. He bought three heavyweight drop cloths and a box of latex gloves after the meeting, police said. None of the items have been found.

Authorities are waiting on an analysis of dirt found in Gerwing's kitchen, evidence Tanner hopes may reveal where the Calverts were taken.

``Quite frankly, you cannot rule anything out,'' the sheriff said. ``It looks more like there is some dirt road somewhere, hidden from most homes a shallow grave-type scenario.''

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will reduce its circulation area to 27 counties around metro Atlanta and cut 156 jobs in its third cost-cutting move since early 2007.

The newspaper said Wednesday that effective Jan. 11 it will eliminate distribution in 22 counties: Banks, Butts, Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Greene, Habersham, Haralson, Heard, Jackson, Lumpkin, Morgan, Pickens, Rabun, Spalding, Towns, Troup, Union, and White in Georgia, and Cherokee, Clay and Macon in North Carolina.

The move will reduce daily and Sunday circulation about 5 percent.

The company offered 215 employees severance packages under restructuring of the circulation department, but they may apply for 59 jobs created by the changes. The net reduction is 56 full-time and 100 part-time positions.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) Authorities are investigating how a 6-year-old kindergarten pupil got a .22-caliber pistol taken to an Augusta school.

Wilkinson Gardens Elementary School principal Rickey Lumpkin said a teacher heard students talking about a weapon Wednesday morning. The pupil who took the unloaded pistol to school was given a short-term suspsension.

Lumpkin said there was no attempt to harm anyone.


(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) Gwinnett County police are apologizing after drug investigators forced entry into the wrong house while serving a ``no-knock'' warrant.

Police spokeswoman Cpl. Illana Spellman says one of mistakenly pointed out a neighboring house when they went to serve the warrant in Lawrenceville Wednesday morning. Once the officers forced entry to the house, they briefly detained a male and female resident before determining they were in the wrong place.

Spellman says the search was halted immediately, and the department is paying to repair the front door.

Police say they then went to the right house, arrested a 31-year-old man and seized $24,000 in cash.

Spellman says houses in the neighborhood are on small lots and are very close together.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON (AP) New death sentences in the United States were at or near a three-decade low this year and the number of people executed will be the lowest since 1994, according to a new report.

The nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center reports 37 executions in 2008, with no more expected for the remainder of the year. That's down 12 percent from 42 in 2007 and a 30 percent drop from 2006.

The center estimates the total number of death sentences this year at 111. That is on par with the 115 death sentences imposed in 2007 that represented a 30-year low. It is more than a 60 percent drop from 1998, reflecting a steady decline over the last decade.

The report from DPIC, which opposes the death penalty, also indicates that executions in the U.S. have essentially become a regional phenomenon. All but four of the 37 executions this year occurred in the South and Texas, with Ohio and Oklahoma providing the exceptions. Half of the executions occurred in Texas, where 18 inmates were put to death.

Virginia executed four prisoners. Georgia and South Carolina executed three each; Florida, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Ohio each executed two and Kentucky executed one.

All of the executions in 2008 occurred after April 16, when a U.S. Supreme Court decision on the use of lethal injections ended what had been a de facto moratorium in place for almost seven months.

Experts differed on the moratorium's effect. Richard Dieter, the DPIC's executive director, had feared the numbers would spike in 2008 as states rushed to implement executions that had been on hold.

The fact that there wasn't a spike, he said, demonstrates the inherent problems with the death penalty, including the struggle to ensure a fair appeal process on issues like DNA evidence and inadequate lawyering.

But Richard Bonnie, a law professor at the University of Virginia and an expert on capital punishment, said it was expected that it would take some time after the moratorium was lifted for the normal pace of executions to resume, and he does not consider the drop in executions in 2008 as proof of a long-term decline.

What is more important, Bonnie said, is the drop in death sentences. That data is unaffected by the moratorium, which banned only executions, not death sentences handed down by judges and juries.

Death sentences have been on the decline more a decade. Bonnie said that while a majority of Americans still favor the death penalty, their fervor for it was waned as violent crime rates have receded.

Dieter also said that recent death-row exonerations prompted by DNA evidence have planted seeds of doubt in the public's mind about carrying out an irrevocable punishment.

On a state level, changes in the law have also made a difference. In Texas, for instance, a 2005 law gives juries the option of imposing a life sentence without parole. Before then, any sentence short of execution carried the possibility of parole after 40 years in prison, said Kristen Houle, executive director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

As a result, Texas has imposed only 10 death sentences in 2008, according to Houle's organization, the fewest since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976.

Other states have made changes -- North Carolina and other states have made it easier for prosecutors to seek a life sentence instead of a death penalty. New Jersey abolished the death penalty at the end of 2007. Maryland's legislature is expected to consider abolition in 2009.

Bonnie said he believes that public attitudes have softened on the death penalty in the last decade as the violent crime rate has receded.

``The real test will be what happens when violent crime goes back up again, if that will lead to a reversal of these trends,'' Bonnie said.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) A night of unseasonably warm weather generated torrential rains and tornadoes that damaged two schools and dozens of homes in the South, where snow began to fall in some areas Wednesday after temperatures dropped.

At least one person was injured in south Mississippi when a car on Interstate 59 struck a tree downed by the wave of storms that raked the region starting Tuesday night, authorities said. At least 39 houses and mobile homes were damaged in Mississippi as well as three businesses.

Classes were canceled when an apparent tornado ripped off part of the roof of an elementary school in Walker County, Ala., northwest of Birmingham. The storm also damaged more than a dozen homes there.

There were reports of damaged homes and trees on roadways across Mississippi and reports of large hail.

Meanwhile, light snow was falling late Wednesday in western Louisiana, the National Weather Service said. Heavier precipitation was expected to the east, and forecasters predicted as much as 3-5 inches of snow in central Mississippi beginning early Thursday, said National Weather Service forecaster Lynn Burse. Mississippi averages around 2 inches of snow a year.

Heavy rain caused minor flooding in western Tennessee and 3.44 inches had fallen in Jackson by Wednesday morning, with another 3.5 inches in Memphis and 2.21 inches at Dyersburg, the National Weather Service reported. Heavy rain and possible high winds were predicted across north Georgia Wednesday and into the day on Thursday.

Such heavy storms develop about once in the region this time of year, said Mike Leary, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City.

``You get a big influx of Gulf moisture that's really quite warm,'' he said. ``That sets up instability in combination with the cold front coming down.''

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON (AP) A plan to throw U.S. automakers a $14-billion lifeline has cleared the House but is still in jeopardy in the Senate. A vote there could come Thursday.

The House approved the rescue package 237-170 tonight. It would provide loans to GM and Chrysler almost immediately. Ford would also be eligible for government help, although it says it's OK for now.

Backers argue the loan infusion is needed to avoid an industry collapse which would deliver another crushing blow to the national economy. But Senate Republicans are setting up speed bumps. They're demanding that any federal help be contingent on specific actions to restructure, including steep wage cuts and debt restructuring.

As is, the plan would create a presidentially appointed ``car czar'' to monitor the automakers' commitments to overhaul themselves.

(WSB Radio) -- Authorities in South Carolina believe they may know what happened to a metro Atlanta couple who disappeared in March.

Police believe John and Elizabeth Calvert may have died at the hands of their accountant Dennis Gerwing.  Gerwing killed himself shortly after being named a person of interest in the case.

Although the Calverts' bodies have never been found evidence released Wednesday by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office shows Gerwing was the last to see the Calverts alive and that he lied to detectives about his actions immediately after they disappeared.

Gerwing bought latex gloves, used a shovel to dig a hole and lied about a cut on his hand. While Gerwing can no loner answer questions, the evidence strongly suggests he scammed the Calverts out of more than a million dollars.

When the couple asked questions police say it very much looks like he killed them and buried the bodies.

2008-12-10

(WSB Radio) Gwinnett County Police are looking for a Peeping Tom caught peering in a window at a subdivision off of Bostonian Way in Lawrenceville.

Corporal Illana Spellman tells WSB's Jennifer Griffies the voyeur was spotted a man, taking out an empty pizza box.

"The homeowner stated that he was going out to the trashcan behind his house when he discovered a suspect that was peering in, trying to look through the blinds that his wife and daughter that were in the bathroom," said Spellman.

The suspect, a white man, 5'10", 170 pounds with black hair, a goatee, wearing blue jeans and a blue jacket, took off.

"They do believe he was in a truck, but they don't know exactly for sure.  Apparently, one of the homeowners saw a white Ford Ranger pickup that was driving away," said Spellman.

The truck was speeding and did not have its headlights on.

There have been no other reports of similar crimes in the area.

December 10, 2008

(WSB Radio) -- It was a clever idea.

A New Jersey man is charged with trying to smuggle cocaine throught Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in hollowed out wooden clothes hangers.

Julio Alejandro Almonte, 28, was arrested and charged with felony drug trafficking after U.S. Customs agents at the airport's international terminal noticed something unusual in one of his bags.

A set of wooden hangers was lying on top of his clothes, Clayton County police spokeswoman Sonja Sanchez said.

"Any red flag would definitely stick out if you have clothes hangers in luggage without the clothes on them," Sanchez told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Customs did a second check of the hangers with an X-ray machine and found they had been hollowed out and filled with a white powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine, Sanchez said.

Almonte, who lives in Union City, N.J., had flown into Atlanta from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. en route to LaGuardia International Airport in New York City.

He was turned over to the Clayton Police drug task force, and is being held at the Clayton County Jail in Jonesboro.

(WSB Radio) Someone could be having a very merry Christmas and really, REALLY prosperous New Year, thanks to MegaMillions.

No one matched all six numbers on Tuesday night, meaning the jackpot rolls over until Friday, when it will be worth an estimated $207 million.

There were 18 second-prize winners from Tuesday night's drawing, matching all five lotto numbers but not the Mega Ball number to win $250,000 each. Also, 89 tickets matched four of the five lotto numbers, plus the Mega Ball number. Those tickets are each worth $10,000.

The winning numbers from Tuesday's drawing were: 11, 12, 26, 31, and 33. The Mega Ball number was 27.

(WSB Radio) The baseball winter meetings are in full swing, and the hot stove is heating up.  But don't believe everything you hear.

The Atlanta Braves are dispelling a rumor that they are looking to trade outfielder Jeff Francoeur to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher Zack Greinke.

Braves General Manager Frank Wren and Royals GM Dayton Moore say they've never talked about a trade involving Francoeur.

Moore told the Kansas City Star that the rumor was false.  Wren concurred.

The Braves apparently did inquire about acquiring Greinke, but not in exchange for Francoeur.  The Royals have said they're not looking to move Greinke.

Greinke, 25, went 13-10 with a 3.47 ERA and 183 strikeouts in 202-1/3 innings in 2008.

The Braves are still looking for starting pitching and still have their eyes on free agent A.J. Burnett.

.Last week they offered Burnett a four-year, $60 million contract with a fifth-year option. The Yankees are expected to offer $64 million for four years to Burnett.

(WSB Radio) A Riverdale man is in jail, charged with the murder of his wife.  But it was his text messaging that was his downfall.

Police say 33 year old Montay Merritt texted his sister and told her about the killing.

Investigators say Merritt and his 38 year old wife, Alesha, had been drinking on Friday night at their home on Green Valley Lane. 

The two got into an argument about him impregnating another woman.  Merritt claims he went to bed and, when he woke up the next morning, his wife was dead on the floor.

But, police say, Merritt's sister received a text message from him saying he had choked her.

Merritt is being held in the Clayton County jail.

(WSB Radio) Clayton County's only hospital may be forced to shut its doors by the end of the year if it doesn't get an infusion of cash.

The hospital is looking for $40 million to refinance its debt.

The CEO of the Southern Regional Health System is pleading with county commissioners to back a bond so the hospital can stay in business.

If the hospital defaults, the county would be on the hook and Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell fears the county's finances are too shaky to absorb that risk.

Commissioners will vote on the bond proposal next week.

(WSB Radio) Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill came into office firing people and, apparently, he's leaving office doing the same.

Hill's Chief Deputy, John Gibson, says he was fired because he refused to secretly record the Sheriff-elect during a meeting Hill ordered him to attend.

"It was against my morals," Gibson tells Channel 2 Action News.  "I think it's illegal and it's unethical."

Incoming Sheriff Ken Kimbrough apparently set up the meeting with Hill to clear the air, but Hill made Gibson attend. 

"I said 'if you're going to fire me for not secretly recording Sheriff-elect Kimbrough, then fire me,'" Gibson says.  "I thought he was kidding."

Papers indicate Gibson was fired for failure to meet probation, which he doesn't understand because he's been working 16 hour shifts while the sheriff has been away from the office.

Hill is in Las Vegas for a training seminar.

Gibson says Hill has "lost it," saying he didn't care if inmates escape, if the jail is dirty or if the sheriff's department staff is unhappy.

"The Sheriff is out of control," Gibson says.  "Somebody has got to do something."

(WSB Radio) It's a popular roadway and residents say it's just too dangerous.

Some Gwinnett County residents want something done about a portion of Sugarloaf Parkway, between Old Norcross Road and Highway 29.

There have been 25 serious accidents along the stretch of road in just the past three years and residents say it's enough already.

"For a period of time there, there was one just about every month and sometimes two a month," says Ron Childress, "and, in the case of last week, there was two in two days."

The county department of transportation has put up two warning signs and repaved the southbound lanes to increase traction.  But residents say more is needed.

"They came out and repaved it and said that was going to fix the problem," says Childress, "but weekly I hear cars sliding and I hear them hit the center divider."

"Sooner or later, it's going to be deadly."

(WSB Radio)  The search is on for two thieves who've been hitting cell phone stores across metro Atlanta.

Johns Creek Police Captain Brian Weaver tells WSB's Jennifer Griffies the suspects hit a T-Mobile on Medlock Bridge Road and another on Holcomb Bridge Road.

"We also found out that these same individuals have also broken into the Norcross store and also another store in Gwinnett County, and also one in Conyers," said Weaver.

The two are also suspected of burglarizing a store in Peachtree City in May.

Weaver says the two hit the stores in the early morning hours and leave with bags of cell phones and other merchandise.

"They're easy to sell on the street.  You know it's a hot item.  It's just like laptop computers and cell phones - easy access and believe it or not - people buy them right off the street," said Weaver.

The two are believed to be driving a smaller SUV-type vehicle, dark in color, possibly a Jeep Liberty.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Johns Creek Police Department at 678-474-1600.

(WSB Radio) Would a new toll road in Cobb County be worth the money it would take to build it?

The county commission is paying $30,000 for a study to see if a new exit ramp into I-75 that would benefit Cobb, Bartow and Paulding Counties would be worth the $80 million it would cost for construction.

"The state DOT has said if you want to have a likelihood of us supporting it, it would have to be a toll road," says Cobb County Commission Chairman Sam Olen.

The ramp would be located near Third Army Road and is still years away, if approved.

(WSB Radio)  You've been paying less at the pumps for gas in Georgia and you didn't even know it.  Gov. Perdue says he suspended an automatic increase in the sales tax on gasoline back in June when prices were soaring.

"It meant a couple of cents a gallon, which gallon by gallon doesn't add up to much.  But as a whole over the last half of this year, it's going to amount to $60 million," he says.

Perdue says he made the decision by executive order which must still be ratified by state lawmakers next month.

He did the same thing following Hurricane Katrina when gas prices soared then as well, but this time without all the fanfare.

The gas tax is reset every six months based on the price of gasoline.  It's scheduled to drop again in January due to the low price of gasoline now.

(WSB Radio) The Atlanta Department of Watershed Management says it could be sometime Wednesday morning before service is restored to homes and businesses in the 3000 block of Benjamin E. Mays Drive in southwest Atlanta. 

On Tuesday, a city contractor installing a water meter accidently ruptured a 10 inch line, flooding nearby streets with thousands of gallons of water.

Even after the pipe is repaired, it could still be up to 24 hours before the water is safe for drinking and cooking.

Until then, the city is offering free jugs of water to residents of the affected area.

ATLANTA (AP) Jurors will return Wednesday to continue deliberating whether to condemn gunman Brian Nichols to death or sentence him to life behind bars for murdering a judge and three other people in violence that began at a downtown Atlanta courthouse.

The jury reached no decision Tuesday on the fate of Nichols after spending much of the day considering the case.

Nichols, 36, was found guilty last month of murder and dozens of other charges for killing the judge, a court reporter and a sheriff's deputy at the courthouse and a federal agent in an Atlanta neighborhood on March 11, 2005. He could be sentenced to death or to life in prison with or without the possibility of parole.

Nichols confessed to the killings but claimed he was legally insane and that he believed he was a slave rebelling against his masters. Prosecutors argued that he concocted the delusions to avoid the death penalty.

In closing arguments Monday, prosecutors asked the jury for a death sentence while defense lawyers urged jurors to avoid vengeance.

``That's the kind of vengeful, recriminative response that begets more violence,'' said defense attorney Henderson Hill.

Prosecutor Clint Rucker called Nichols an ``extremely dangerous'' killer who would try to escape again if sent to prison for life.

``With your help, brick-by-brick, we will rebuild the wall of justice that has been torn down by this defendant,'' Rucker said.

Nichols was being escorted to his trial for rape when he beat a deputy guarding him, stole her gun and went on a shooting spree. He killed Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Ann Brandau and Deputy Hoyt Teasley.

He fled downtown Atlanta and managed to evade hundreds of police officers searching for him overnight. In Atlanta's posh Buckhead neighborhood, he shot and killed federal agent David Wilhelm at a house the agent was renovating.

Nichols was captured the next day in suburban Gwinnett County after a woman he took hostage, Ashley Smith Robinson, alerted police to his whereabouts. Smith Robinson was credited with bringing a peaceful ending to the rampage by appealing to Nichols' religious beliefs and giving him illegal drugs.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

O.C. Welch, who owns a dealership near Savannah in Hardeeville, S.C., began airing the minute-long ad on a dozen stations in the area over the weekend. The ad sounds more like a talk-radio tirade than a sales pitch.

``All you people that buy all your Toyotas and send that money to Japan, you know, when you don't have a job to make your Toyota car payment, don't come crying to me,'' Welch says in the ad. ``All those cars are rice ready. They're not road ready.''

Floyd Mori, executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League, said Welch's remarks evoke anti-Asian sentiments often aimed at Japanese and Chinese immigrants to the U.S. from the 1930s through World War II. He also noted many Japanese automakers' cars are manufactured in America.

``It's a blatant, ignorant, racist remark from somebody who should know better,'' Mori said.

Toyota spokesman Xavier Dominicis said the company's cars consistently receive high marks for quality. The automaker employs 36,600 Americans, he said, and about 60 percent of Toyota vehicles sold in the U.S. were manufactured here.

``How do you tell a worker in Kentucky who's producing a Toyota that his job is worth less than another American autoworker's?'' Dominicis said.

The car dealer, though, said Tuesday he had received more positive calls than negative ones. His dealership sold 15 new cars Saturday half of them to people drawn to the lot by the ad, he said.

Welch said he's mostly mad at politicians, blasting them in his ad as only being good for ``slinging mud and spending our tax dollars.'' He said the government should offer tax incentives for consumers to buy new cars rather than spend money bailing out Ford, General Motors and Chrysler.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Turner Broadcasting System should pay $316 million to a Texas businessman who claims the major cable network operator breached a contract that he was negotiating to buy the city's pro basketball and hockey teams, a jury ruled Tuesday.

The verdict in favor of David McDavid does not affect the NBA Hawks and NHL Thrashers, both of which are now owned by an eight-man group known as Atlanta Spirit.

McDavid signed a letter of intent with Turner, a unit of Time Warner Inc., to purchase the two teams in April 2003. The proposed deal also included operating rights to Philips Arena, home of both the Hawks and Thrashers.

McDavid's exclusive negotiating rights expired 45 days later, but the two sides continued to talk. Then, in September 2003, Turner announced it was selling the teams and the arena rights to the Spirit.

The spurned bidder filed a $450 million lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court, accusing executives of sharing his confidential financial information with the group that now owns the teams.

``We're just very glad to have our day in court,'' McDavid told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in the courtroom immediately after the verdict. ``It's been five long years. We're glad that a jury of 12 Georgians saw the validity of our claim. To us, it was never about the money, it was about the principle.''

Misty Skedgell, a Turner spokeswoman, said the company was considering an appeal.

``We are disappointed with the decision of the court and the jury's interpretation of the facts in what was a complex business transaction,'' she said. ``We will carefully consider all options, including appeal, and will announce any plans at the appropriate time.''

The jury said McDavid was due $281 million for breach of contract and $35 million for additional violations. However, the panel also ruled that Turner did not share confidential information and did not commit fraud.

McDavid was seeking the difference between the contract price and the value of the teams and the arena rights when Turner allegedly breached the contract. He also sought punitive damages, interest and an amount equal to McDavid's projection of the teams' value had the deal not collapsed, according to documents.

McDavid's lawyers claimed the sale to the Spirit was an ``inside job,'' meant to benefit a group that included the son and son-in-law of media pioneer Ted Turner, founder of the Atlanta-based company. Turner is a cable company that includes CNN, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies and truTV. It was acquired by Time Warner in 1996.

Turner company once owned three of the city's four major professional teams, but has since sold them all. Last year, Liberty Media Corp. purchased baseball's Braves from Turner in a deal that valued the franchise at $450 million.

During the trial, McDavid introduced evidence that he claimed was proof of a deal for the Hawks and Thrashers, including a letter from Turner to Time Warner's board asking for approval to sell the teams to McDavid, a draft press release announcing the deal with McDavid, and reams of documents that represented a purchase-and-sale agreement.

Turner's attorneys said the company memos and press releases were routine during the course of negotiations and that none of the documents between the company and McDavid were ever signed. Also, Turner executives and several Spirit investors testified they never spoke about the deal with Ted Turner, who no longer has an active role with the company.

The Spirit is involved in a separate legal battle between co-owner Steve Belkin and the remaining members of the group for control of the teams. At dispute is how much the franchises are worth and how much Belkin should receive for selling his 30 percent stake.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) A judge has halted a criminal case against a woman accused of screaming at a woman passenger on an Atlanta commuter train, an event seen more than 600,000 times on YouTube.

DeKalb County State Court Judge Barbara Mobley said Tuesday she would place the case against 26-year-old Nifiza Ziyad on a ``dead docket'' and refer her to a pretrial diversion program for the mentally ill.

DeKalb Solicitor General Robert James said he might appeal Mobleys decision, which came after Ziyad read a poem about her struggles with bipolar disorder.

Ziyad was captured on video March 10 in a loud and obscene tirade, in which she described herself as a rapper, sang, jumped about and menaced a 65-year-old woman.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) Albert Jackson ignored the pain in his ankle long enough to give Georgia's frontcourt a commanding presence under the basket.

``They had been containing me all game,'' he said, ``but I knew that I was big enough and strong enough and athletic enough, and it went in for me.''

Jackson scored the game-winning basket with 28.3 seconds remaining and grabbed a critical rebound with 0.5 left to help Georgia beat Virginia Tech 67-66 on Tuesday night.

Georgia (6-3) recovered from its worst defeat in four years, a 76-42 setback to Illinois Saturday in Chicago, by holding Virginia Tech scoreless after Cheick Diakite's two free throws gave the Hokies their final lead with 57.1 seconds remaining.

``Albert has been coming back the last several games,'' Bulldogs coach Dennis Felton said regarding the ankle injury Jackson suffered Nov. 18. ``He is getting healthy, and his ankle is doing better and better each day.''

A.D. Vassallo scored 23 points to lead Virginia Tech (5-4), which has dropped two of three and four of six games. Malcolm Delaney finished with 11 points.

The Hokies were accustomed to close outcomes after playing seven games that were decided by an average of 4.7 points this season.

``This is the fourth really close loss that we've had,'' Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg said after watching his team fail to score a field goal in the final 3:42. ``We are so close to finishing these games. You can look at one play in a game that can make a difference in these type of games.''

Corey Butler and Chris Barnes each scored 11 points for the Bulldogs, who made just 10 of 21 free throws.

Jackson was underneath the basket when he muscled in the game-winner over Diakite, but the 6-foot-11, 265-pound junior Bulldog never thought the shot would be his.

``I was mad at Corey Butler for a second there because he didn't take the shot and he was wide open,'' Jackson said. ``So when he didn't take the shot, I just stepped in front of my man.''

Greenberg called a timeout with 11 seconds remaining to draw up what he hoped would be a game-winning play. Instead, point guard Hank Thorns dribbled hard into the lane in hopes of either drawing a foul or passing the ball to a big man underneath.

Thorns' options closed quickly, though, and he could only shoot a wild runner that Jeff Allen rebounded for the Hokies. After Allen missed both putbacks, Jackson grabbed the second rebound.

When Allen essentially tackled him with 0.5 remaining, Jackson knew the Bulldogs had won the game even though he missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Allen's reaction was unquestionably aggressive, but Jackson wasn't upset because the two played against each other at rival Virginia prep schools and became friends three years ago.

``I was just laughing because I know Jeff,'' Jackson said. ``I wasn't mad at all.''

Georgia's embarrassing effort against Illinois could be an unexpected benefit if the Bulldogs continue to hustle as hard as they did Tuesday. Not only did Virginia Tech shoot just 32 percent from the field (8 of 25) in the second half, Georgia starting guards Zac Swansey and Butler also combined for five assists, four steals and just two turnovers.

``We did execute very well,'' Felton said. ``We didn't turn the ball over, and we got the shots that were critical to our success.''

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio)  As the state of Georgia awaits funding that may or may not come from a federal stimulus package, Gov. Perdue says he's working on his own stimulus plan.

Addressing lawmakers at the Biennial Institute luncheon in Athens, Perdue says he's prepared to seek a bond package to fund construction, education and other projects to create jobs.

"We'll have an agressive bond package this year that meets the needs of growing communities whether it be education , K-12, technical college or the university system and other types of needs," he says.

Perdue says he's not ready to give a dollar amount yet.  He says if the federal government gives the state money it will be put to use. But he's not  willing to wait around.

(WSB Radio/AP)  -- Brace yourself.  Atlanta's due a couple of days of heavy weather, and a flake or two of snow may fall.

WSB Meteorologist Kirk Mellish is forecasting heavy rain over the next 48 to 72 hours.  He expects creek and lake levels to rise, and with our lingering drought, Kirk says strong winds may lead to falling trees. 

Mellish says there continues to be a remote chance of some snow Thursday night into Friday morning, mainly north of a line from Gainesville to Dallas.  Snow is not in his forecast now, but Mellish adds, "the situation bears watching."

Mass celebrating Kavanagh's life will be said on Friday, December 12, 2008 at 10:30am at Saint Brigid Catholic Church, 3400 Old Alabama, Rd., Johns Creek, GA 30022. A reception will follow at 11:30am.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to either FODAC -Friends of Disabled Adults and Children Clark Howard's Christmas Kids-DHR Secret Santa Program c/o News/Talk 750 WSB or Hosea Williams Feed the Hungry.

Listeners may also send a card or note to:

Kavanagh Family

c/o News/Talk 750 WSB

1601 West Peachtree Street