(WSB Radio) The second suspect charged with dragging a Gwinnett Teen during a robbery makes his first court appearance Saturday.

Matthew Thomas Moore, 21, goes before a judge in Gwinnett after police said he and David Donnelly, 22, dragged and ran over Edward Spencer Yebra, 16, with their truck Saturday during a party in the Hamilton Mill Subdivision .

The suspects and the victim are from Dacula.

Yebra remains in the hospital in a coma. "Spencer's in a coma, and has been since Saturday night and he may never come out of it," father Edward Yebra told WSB-TV.

Police think the two were trying to rob Yebra. Witnesses say Yebra approached the truck to speak with the person. Then they heard screeching tires and saw Yebra fall off and the two run him over.

Donnelly made his first court appearance on Friday. The judge said his bond would not be set until his preliminary court appearance on Wednesday.

"I want to do everything I can," Edward Yebra said. "To make sure these guys do not get a bond and are not able to go out, even if its for a short period of time, and be free out on the streets."

Donnelly is facing several charges including robbery and hit-and-run. Police say Moore was riding with Donnelly during the robbery. He is facing similar charges.

(WSB Radio) A Cobb County woman is behind bars after allegedly buying drinks for her stepson and his Harrison High School friends.

One of them was 16-year-old Garrett Reed. He was killed in a car crash after that party on January 23rd, Cobb County police said.

Kecia Evangela Whitfield, 43, was arrested at her Powder Springs home Friday afternoon. She is charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor and reckless conduct. Both charges are misdemeanors. Whitfield bond is $10,000.

Police think alcohol and speed played a role in Reed crash. They say he drove his car the wrong way on Midway road, hitting Richard Reyes, 25, of Dallas. Reyes is in stable condition at WellStar hospital with a leg injury.

MARION, Ky. (AP) In some parts of rural Kentucky, they're getting water the old-fashioned way with pails from a creek. There's not room for one more sleeping bag on the shelter floor. The creative are flushing their toilets with melted snow.

At least 42 people have died, including 11 in Kentucky, and conditions are worsening in many places days after an ice storm knocked out power to 1.3 million customers from the Plains to the East Coast. About a million people were still without electric Friday, and with no hope that the lights will come back on soon, small communities are frantically struggling to help their residents.

One county put it bluntly: It can't.

``We're asking people to pack a suitcase and head south and find a motel if they have the means, because we can't service everybody in our shelter,'' said Crittenden County Judge-Executive Fred Brown, who oversees about 9,000 people, many of whom are sleeping in the town's elementary school.

Local officials were growing angry with what they said was a lack of help from the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In Grayson County, about 80 miles southwest of Louisville, Emergency Management Director Randell Smith said the 25 National Guardsmen who have responded have no chain saws to clear fallen trees.

``We've got people out in some areas we haven't even visited yet,'' Smith said. ``We don't even know that they're alive.''

Smith said FEMA has been a no-show so far.

``I'm not saying we can't handle it; we'll handle it,'' Smith said. ``But it would have made life a lot easier'' if FEMA had reached the county sooner, he said.

FEMA spokeswoman Mary Hudak said some FEMA personnel already are in Kentucky working in the state's emergency operations center and that more will be arriving in coming days. Hudak said FEMA also has shipped to 50 to 100 generators to the state to supply electricity to facilities like hospitals, nursing homes, and water treatment plants.

Hudak said travel is still dangerous in some areas and communications are limited.

``We have plenty of folks ready to go, but there are some limitations with roads closed and icy conditions,'' she said.

From Missouri to Ohio, thousands were bunked down in shelters, waiting for the power to return. Others are trying to tough out the power outage at home, using any means they can to get basics like drinking water, heat and food.

Lori Clarke was stuck at home in the western Kentucky town of Marion with trees blocking the road out. She trudged more than half a mile through snow and ice carrying 5-gallon buckets to bring drinking water for her horses and dogs and to flush her toilet.

``When you live out in the country, you just shift into survival mode,'' she said.

Even for those who wanted to leave, it wasn't possible. The one gas station in Marion that was up and running was able to supply gasoline to emergency vehicles only until another delivery of gasoline arrived Friday. Only half of that gas was made available to the public, and there was a $10 limit.

Linda Young, who is staying the town's shelter, said her car only had enough gas in it to get around Marion. Even if she had gas, there was nowhere to go all of her relatives in other parts of Kentucky also were hit by the ice storm.

``For right now, this is the best we can do, so this is where we're at,'' said Young, as she sat on a mattress with her 9-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter.

By midafternoon water service had been restored to the city of Marion thanks to a generator, while efforts continued to restore service to the outlying county, Police Chief Ray O'Neal said. Residents were being told to boil the water before drinking it.

Meanwhile, the death toll was rising: Since the storm began Monday, the weather is suspected in at least 11 deaths in Kentucky, nine more in Arkansas, six each in Texas and Missouri, three in Virginia, two each in Oklahoma, Indiana and West Virginia and one in Ohio, with most of them blamed on hypothermia, traffic accidents and carbon monoxide poisoning from generators.

Among the latest deaths reported were those of a man in his 60s, a woman in her 50s and a woman in her 40s who were found in a southwestern Louisville home Friday. The younger woman was found in bed; the other two were found in the garage, along with a generator, police spokesman Phil Russell said.

The fight to return power to Kentucky and other areas affected by the ice storm is difficult because of the sheer number of outages, but also because of the ice itself. Crews have joined the effort from around the country, but more than a half-million homes and businesses were still out in Kentucky on Friday, along with roughly 78,000 in Missouri and 284,000 in Arkansas. Thousands more were still in the dark in Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia.

``As ice is melting, power lines and tree limbs are springing upward and hitting other power lines,'' said Rita Alexander, spokeswoman for Gibson Electric Membership Corp. in Tennessee. ``It is just an unpleasant part of the process.''

While generators were able to bring some water pumping stations back to life Friday, thousands still didn't have access to running water, and thousands more were under boil advisories. Roughly 200,000 people across Kentucky still don't have water. In Hayti, Mo., alderwoman Lisa Green said a temporary generator was in use to run the water plant, and power was being moved around to pump wastewater through the sewage system, she said.

That wasn't enough. ``Our water plant is up and running, but people are inundating it,'' Green said. The community has received some bottled water, she said, but needs more.

A precious few had enough supplies to tough it out alone. Stephen Cates said his home was being warmed by kerosene heaters and an electric furnace powered by a generator that he waited 4.5 hours in line to purchase in Evansville, Ind.

He was flushing his toilet with melted snow, and could even watch TV.

``I'm living just like I have electricity, just about, eating hot food,'' Cates said.

.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) A lawyer for Michael Vick told a federal bankruptcy judge Friday that the imprisoned NFL star could be transferred to a halfway house in Virginia any day.

The judge presiding over Vick's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case asked about the transfer during a hearing at which he also approved procedures to sell some of the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback's property.

``He's in the process of being released to the halfway house,'' attorney Paul Campsen told Judge Frank Santoro. ``We expect it to occur any day.''

But the U.S. Bureau of Prisons has not given Vick's attorneys a specific date for the move, which Campsen said could occur with only ``a day or so'' notice.

Vick is serving a 23-month sentence at the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan., for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy. He is scheduled for release July 20 but could serve the last few months of his term at a halfway house in Newport News, his hometown.

``We believe he is ultimately going to be reinstated by the NFL,'' said another Vick bankruptcy attorney, Michael Blumenthal.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has not said whether he will lift Vick's suspension after his release. Vick once was the league's highest-paid player before his indictment and guilty plea left both his finances and his reputation in tatters. He filed for bankruptcy protection in July, claiming assets of $16 million and liabilities of $20.4 million.

Papers filed in his bankruptcy case show exceptionally poor management of Vick's fortune, including lavish and often unexplained spending and an array of questionable investments. The case has been complicated by poor record keeping and Vick's sketchy knowledge of where his money was going.

Santoro said Vick's finances could be ``charitably described as in freefall'' when he filed his bankruptcy petition.

As part of the case, Vick's lawyers had to file a financial disclosure statement along with his proposed plan for reorganization. Santoro last month rejected the statement and ordered a new one, which he rejected again on Friday.

The judge said he found no fault with Vick's lawyers' efforts to sort out a complex mess but still found the disclosure statement difficult to comprehend.

``It's clear to the court that the statement is the result of a very diligent effort to bring order out of what could accurately be described as the chaos of the debtor's financial situation,'' Santoro said.

But he said creditors who must read and understand the statement before voting on whether to confirm the bankruptcy plan probably would be confused. He gave the lawyers until Feb. 11 to draft a simplified version, including a chart to help creditors understand how Vick's assets will be handled, and set another hearing for Feb. 27.

Santoro approved the hiring of brokers to sell five boats and four cars owned by Vick.

The judge also approved Vick's plan to sell his suburban Atlanta home at auction. Blumenthal said the eight-bedroom home in a gated lake community has been shown to about 30 potential buyers, and a deal to sell the home for $3.15 million fell through at the last minute.

Now the plan is to start the bidding at $3.2 million. No date has been set for the auction.

ATLANTA (AP) Food manufacturers would have to perform ``regular testing'' to ensure food safety and requires companies to report any tests that show contamination within one business day under a proposal by a Republican lawmaker.

State Sen. John Bulloch, who chairs Georgia's Senate Agriculture Committee, said his measure also would give state inspectors access to test result records.

Few states, if any, require food manufacturers to alert state and federal inspectors to the results of their internal tests.

That issue came to light this month after the Peanut Corp. of America processor was linked to a salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds and may have contributed to eight deaths.

Federal officials say the company's records show that peanut butter had tested positive for salmonella at least 12 times in 2007 and 2008 but was distributed after it was retested and cleared.

WINDER, Ga. (AP) The Barrow County Sheriff's office says a 24-year-old Dacula man has been arrested and charged with arson in the Dec. 7, 2005 fire that damaged the New Life Deliverance Church in Winder.

Sheriff's investigator Matt Guthas said Maurice Arnold was arrested on Wednesday. They did not know if Arnold had an attorney.

Glenn Allen, spokesman for Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John Oxendine, said Arnold is a son of the church's pastor, Quincy Arnold Sr.

The church was extensively damaged in the fire, gutting the sanctuary but not heavily damaging the exterior.

Guthas said evidence had been tested at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives forensic science laboratory in Atlanta. He said analysis of the evidence determined gasoline was used to start the fire.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) Oh, the distractions. Playing a Southeastern Conference game two days after their head coach was fired will hardly be a picnic for the Georgia Bulldogs.

Alabama wouldn't know about that. The Crimson Tide has the luxury of three extra days and one sandwich game to adjust to life after Mark Gottfried, who stepped down after a decade-long reign early in the week.

The two beleaguered teams fittingly cap a rough week together Saturday night, trying to work out their frustrations on the one opponent that can best empathize with their plight.

``I know everyone's going to think of this as the interim game, and that's too bad,'' said Pete Herrmann, the Bulldogs' temporary coach. ``These are two proud schools with great traditions in athletics and in basketball.''

Georgia fired coach Dennis Felton on Thursday, the day after a 26-point loss to Florida pushed the Bulldogs (9-11) to 0-5 in the Southeastern Conference. They have lost seven straight games.

Gottfried agreed to step down on Monday, and longtime assistant Philip Pearson led the Tide (12-8, 2-4) through an 89-80 loss at Arkansas, the Tide's 15th consecutive SEC road defeat. It was his first game as a head coach.

``I was a little bit anxious and high,'' Pearson said of his debut. ``Once it got going, the game was a lot of fun. I wish the outcome had been a little different.''

This time, Pearson and his players will have the comfort and support of a home crowd.

The Tide was predicted to win the Western Division, but has so far merely captured the race to get a head start in the coaching search. The Bulldogs couldn't capitalize on the momentum from winning last season's SEC tournament.

Now, the two teams meet with hopes of salvaging their seasons.

``That's kind of ironic, they're going through the same situation we are,'' Georgia guard Zac Swansey said. ``Both teams are going through some tough times right now. It's just going to come down to who wants it more. Both teams have a lot going on with programs and are without the coaches they started the season with. We're going to see who will come out and fight and scratch and claw and try to come out with a win.''

Added Tide forward Alonzo Gee: ``We're both going through the same thing and we both want to win. We understand each other's pain.''

In Pearson's debut, freshman center JaMychal Green had a career-high 24 points. Demetrius Jemison played 15 minutes after failing to get into the Kentucky game.

``I have felt that Demetrius Jemison can be a guy that can help us,'' Pearson said. ``He's helped us some in the past. He's got some experience in the league and he's been through some wars. I felt like he's a guy that can help our basketball team.''

Point guard Anthony Brock has also been logging more playing time in the last three games.

The end result, though, was another blow for the week.

``It was pretty tough, going through all that this past week and then having to play on the road,'' Gee said. ``That was pretty tough to do. I think we adjusted to it. We're getting better and getting adjusted to (Pearson's) style of play.''

Herrmann, a former Navy head coach, said the proper mind-set will be important for both teams, especially given what they've gone through.

``We're going on the road so it's out of our comfort zone in getting ready for the game,'' he said. ``We just want to make sure our players are on the right path to preparing to compete in the SEC. That's the hardest part for the players at both schools, to look at this situation and to have a good practice and have a good preparation in getting ready to compete.''

Pearson figures there hasn't been time for either coach to make major changes to their teams.

``There could be something minor, an out-of-bounds play maybe a little quick-hitter,'' he said. ``All in all, Pete's in a situation much like I was, where he's been involved in one program for a good while. I wouldn't expect there to be wholesale changes.''

WASHINGTON (WSB Radio/AP) Federal health officials opened a criminal investigation Friday into the Georgia peanut-processing plant at the center of the national salmonella outbreak. President Barack Obama pledged stricter oversight of food safety to prevent breakdowns in inspections.

The investigation into Peanut Corp. of America follows reports of shoddy sanitation practices and inspections that found the company sold contaminated peanut products to food makers.

WSB Health correspondent Sabrina Gibbons reports at least 529 people have been sickened as a result of the outbreak, six in Georgia, and at least eight may have died because of it. More than 430 products have been recalled.

"FDA's office of criminal investigation is involved in a justice department investigation of PACA ," Steven Sundlof at the Food and Drug Administration in Washington told WSB's Pete Combs. "There is still no evidence that the major national peanut brands are contaminated."

In a statement late Friday, Peanut Corp. expressed its ``deepest and most sincere empathy for those sickened and said it was reviewing the facts to determine exactly what happened.

``Our top priority has been and will continue to be to ensure the public safety,'' it said. ``For Peanut Corporation to engage in any discussion of the facts at this point is premature.''

Until recently, federal food safety inspectors had not been to the Georgia plant since 2001. The Associated Press found that FDA interest in the facility was renewed, at least temporarily, after a shipment of peanuts from the plant was seized at the Canadian border.

The shipment, taken April 11, originated at the Peanut Corp. plant and was turned back at the border. The FDA seized the product after it was found to contain metal fragments.

The seizure was the FDA's first hint of problems with the peanut products being processed at the Georgia plant. At the FDA's request, Georgia state inspectors visited the plant on June 10 searching for the source of metal fragments. State inspectors visited again in late October, records show. Neither inspection looked for salmonella.

A few weeks later, federal health officials saw the first signs of a salmonella outbreak. But it took more investigation to identify peanut products as the cause, and the public wasn't alerted until early this month.

The June inspection focused only on the metal-fragment issue discovered in the shipment to Canada, said Domenic Veneziano, director of import operations and policy for the FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs.

``Working with the state of Georgia, at no time did we look at other issues'' during that inspection, Veneziano said. According to state inspection records, relatively minor violations were found.

Inspectors took no samples of the peanut product for testing during the June inspection or during an Oct. 23 state inspection.

The FDA reported this week that federal inspectors who visited the plant since the salmonella outbreak found roaches, mold, signs of a leaking roof and numerous other sanitation problems.

Federal officials now say the plant had a salmonella problem dating back at least to June 2007. Peanut Corp. was under no obligation to tell the FDA it was making peanut butter at the Georgia plant, the FDA said Friday.

The company shipped products that initially tested positive for salmonella after retesting and getting a negative result. The FDA's investigations branch will assist in the probe.

In another development Friday, officials urged consumers to be cautious about ``boutique brands of peanut butter, which had not previously figured in the recall.

Although national brands of peanut butter are unaffected, FDA officials warn that some smaller companies may have received peanut products from the Peanut Corp. processing plant in Georgia.

``I think the revelations have no doubt been alarming,'' said Robert Gibbs, White House press secretary. That a company which found salmonella in its own testing would continue to ship products ``is beyond disturbing for millions of parents,'' he added.

Obama plans to name a new FDA commissioner and other oversight officials in the coming days, and put in place a ``stricter regulatory structure to prevent breakdowns in food safety, Gibbs said Friday.

The peanut shipment confiscated in April was destroyed in November after back-and-forth efforts between the FDA and Peanut Corp. broke down and after the FDA rejected as ``unacceptable findings by a private lab hired by Peanut Corp. to analyze the company's peanuts.

``The shipment was refused by FDA for filth'' and destroyed, FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek wrote AP in an e-mail. ``The FDA did everything appropriately in handling the activities associated with this shipment,'' Kwisnek said.

The FDA's explanation Friday raises new questions about the adequacy of food-safety tests arranged by Peanut Corp. of its own products.

The FDA said it refused to accept the private lab analysis because of problems with the size of the sample tested, lack of information about whether experienced and trained workers conducted the test, and questions about whether the test could have detected certain types of metals.

``The new developments are disturbing and suggest that this company had extensive problems,'' said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., whose House Energy and Commerce Committee plans hearings into the company's actions and the government's response. Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, also plans oversight hearings.

The FDA, citing internal company documents, said Peanut Corp. had hired a lab that conducted at least 12 positive tests for salmonella between 2007 and 2008 at its Georgia processing plant. The FDA said the company then used a different lab to retest the products, and those tests came back negative and the product was shipped to customers.

FDA recall: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/salmonellatyph.html

ATLANTA (AP) Joe Johnson scored 29 points, leading the way as the Atlanta Hawks won the battle of high-scoring backcourts and beat the New Jersey Nets 105-88 on Friday night.

Johnson's backcourt-mate Mike Bibby added 20 points as the Hawks won for the first time in four tries against the Nets this season.

Johnson finished one point shy of reaching 10,000 for his career.

New Jersey's Devin Harris and Vince Carter form the top-scoring backcourt in the league with their combined average of 43.1 points per game, about six points better than the third-place Hawks combo. But Harris (20 points) and Carter (18) combined to make only 11 of 31 shots against the Hawks.

The Nets have lost eight of nine, including three straight.

ATLANTA (AP) It started as a family joke: Facing snowballing medical expenses for their two young disabled children, Gregg and Brittiny Peters quipped they might need to sell everything they owned to stay solvent. As the bills tipped $10,000, however, the idea was no longer funny.

So on Thursday, the Gainesville, Ga., couple accepted a winning $20,000 eBay bid for all their belongings minus their house.

It came with one catch. The winning bidders, Donnia and Keith Blair of Texas, want the family to have the money, but keep their stuff.

Seems like the perfect happy ending, but the Peters say the whole idea was to start over, not take a handout.

The decision is out of their hands, the Blairs say.

``They've worked really hard to get those things and we're in a position to help them,'' Donnia Blair told The Associated Press Friday. ``She can just act like they're my storage facility.''

The Peters' lives and finances changed dramatically last April, when their 2-year-old son Noah was diagnosed with autism and with sensory and gastrointestinal disorders. Then in the summer, doctors diagnosed their 7-year-old daughter Ayla with juvenile arthritis. They also have a 1-year-old son, Eli.

Special treatment for the two older children costs about $2,000 a month and the Peters are carrying a $1,400 mortgage on their house in a suburban area about an hour north of Atlanta, said Brittiny Peters, a stay-at-home mom whose husband runs a tennis academy for middle and high school students.

They soon began keeping a list of what they could give away a jogging stroller here, a dining table there.

``Then it kind of hit us both, let's just sell it all,'' she said, explaining the couple figured ``we will buy these things again some day.''

They listed approximately $40,000 worth of items on the popular online auction, from DVDs and leather coats, to the king-sized bed where the family had Saturday morning pillow fights, according to a Web site set up by well-wishers trying to help the couple.

The Peters spent Friday morning trying to persuade the Fort Worth family to accept their belongings, which include a 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe. They even tried to retract the couple's bid.

``They are apparently not willing to take our stuff,'' Brittiny Peters said. ``They're purchasing them to give them back to us.''

The Peters said they will accept the money from the Blairs, but want to pass along the kindness to others. They are considering making donations, including giving away their SUV.

They are also trying to figure out what to do with money raised on the Web site, www.everythingweown.org. They didn't ask for the money and their efforts to return donations have upset some people, Brittiny Peters said.

The Peters are perfectly willing to stick by the bargain. But the Blairs who wouldn't give details on how they can afford to give away $20,000 won't budge.

``We've really been blessed the last few years and we saw an opportunity to help,'' Donnia Blair said.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau)  The State House passes a measure aimed at keeping local governments from having to send out additional property tax bills this spring.

HB 143 passed 117-55 mostly along partly lines.  It would require the state to fund the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant this year but base the program in future years on state revenues.

Gov. Perdue took the $428 million earmarked for the grants out of the midyear budget saying the money isn't there to fund the program.  Local governments say without it, they'll be legally obligated to send out additional tax bills to homeowners to make up the difference.

"Make no mistake if we do not act you will be imposing a $200 to $300 tax on each and every homeowner in the state of Georgia ," bill sponsor Rep. Larry O'Neal (R-Bonaire) told House members.

But most House Democrats opposed the bill saying by basing future grants on a budget surplus, it could mean the end of the program.

"Somebody has to look out for the homeowners the people who pay the vast majority of the taxes in this state," says Rep. Winfred Dukes (D-Albany).

House leaders say they believe they've identified where the $428 million to fund the grants would come from this, but aren't ready share the details other than it will mean more cuts elsewhere.

HB 143 now heads to the Senate.

(WSB Radio) It's a chance to get a free college education and a pretty good trip, too.

The Japanese government is looking to send students from the southeast to the Far East and are offering a scholarship to do so.

"Students that are currently studying Japanese in college, looking to spend their junior or senior year abroad, in Japan," says Jessica Cork, with the Japanese Consulate General's office in Atlanta.  "They need to be majoring or minoring in Japanese language or in Asian studies with a Japanese concentration."

The Monbukagakusho, or MEXT, scholarship, is offered by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Technology.  It sounds like a prize on The Price is Right.

"In addition to tuition and school fees, you also get round trip airfare to and from Japan and a monthly stipend that would cover your room and board," Cork says.  "So, basically, it's all expenses paid."

The scholarship is being offered to college students studying in the southeastern United States, so Cork says, if you're interested, the odds are in your favor.

"In a typical year there's a relatively good chance of receiving these scholarships through the Atlanta Consulate," she says.  And it's not just students.

Teachers are also being offered an opportunity to go overseas, thanks to the government of Japan.

"Basically, K-12 teachers with 5 years experience who are interested in going to Japan for a year and a half to study Japanese educational methods," Cork says.  "They'll also work with teachers in Japan."

Applications must be received by the Japanese Consulate General's Office, in Atlanta, by 5 p.m. on February 27.

Japanese Consulate General Atlanta

(WSB Radio) The Gainesville couple that offered almost all of their possessions for auction on eBay have a buyer.

Gregg and Brittiny Peters were looking to sell their things in an effort to pay their children's medical bills.

The auction ended early Thursday morning and, at the close, a woman in Texas placed the final bid, paying $20,000 for the Peters goods.

They sold off their 2002 Chevy Tahoe, their 52 inch TV, everything they own except their house.

The Peters have three children.  Their son, Noah, is autistic and requires daily therapy.  Their 7 year old daughter, Ayla, was diagnosed with Stills Disease, an auto-immune disorder that landed her in the hospital for a stretch last year.

The couple decided that the only way they could pay off their mounting bills was be divesting in all they didn't need.  But, in the end, they decided they didn't need any of it, so off to eBay it went.

The Peters say they'll use $15,000 to pay their bills and the rest will go into an emergency fund.

(WSB Radio) The former doctor of pro wrestler Chris Benoit has changed his plea to guilty.

Dr. Phil Astin entered the new plea to a 175 count indictment in court on Thursday.

The indictment charges Astin with conspiracy and illegal distribution of prescription drugs.  The charges are not related to the 2007 of Benoit, his wife and the wrestler's son.

Benoit was taking anabolic steroids when he killed his family and then himself in their Fayette County home.

Astin's attorney portrays him as a country doctor willing to bend a few rules to try to ease his clients aches and pains.

Astin will be sentenced in May. 

(WSB Radio) A 94 year old woman is facing assault charges for allegedly attacking a fellow resident at a midtown Atlanta nursing home.

Theodora Garreau is accused of throwing a phone at another elderly resident of the Westminster Commons Home, off of Monroe Drive.  She denies it happened.

Police have cited the 80 pound woman with simple battery.  Her lawyer is vowing to contest the charges and is threatening to sue the nursing home for violating her rights.

(WSB Radio) There's finally some good news on the economy.

Chick-fil-a reports its sales for 2008 were up 12% over the year before.  The news comes at a time when dozens of businesses are cutting back or closing down.

"Over time, you get that trust factor," says Chick-fil-a spokesman Don Perry,  "loyalty and even a bit of what we like to enjoy in the raving fan category with our customers.  So you build that core relationship and, when times get a little difficult, you're going to be able to weather some storms."

It's the company's 41st consecutive year of sales gains and its 16th straight year of double digit sales growth.

This despite being open only six days a week and maintaining shorter hours than their competition.

"We say this, sort of tongue in cheek," Perry says, "but there's a recession.  We're just going to elect not to participate as much as we can."

(WSB Radio) The mother of a four year old who was killed in an accident on South Cobb Drive has been charged in her death.

Altamesa Walker was crossing the street in the morning hours in November with her four children when he daughter, Brandi Kelly, was hit by a car. 

Smyrna police have decided to charge Walker with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct in the girl's death.

They say she failed to use a crosswalk, which was within sight of the accident scene.

If convicted, Walker could receive up to a year in jail.

The driver of the car that hit the child was not cited in the incident.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) The State House today takes up its first substantial legislation so far this session with a couple of measures aimed a lowering your property taxes.

HR1 is a constitutional amendment that would let voters decide in the 2010 general election whether local governments can cap their property assessments at no more than three percent a year.

Supporters of the measure accuse local governments of raising property assessments as a back door tax increase.

House members will also consider HB 143 that would require the state to fund the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant this year but base the program in future years on state revenues.

"We believe the combination of HR 1 and the reform of the Homeowner Tax Relief Grant will for the first time bring predictability, accountability, and transparency into this process," says House Majority Leader Jerry Keen.

He says lawmakers believe they've identified where the $428 million to fund the grants  would come from, but he wasn't ready share the details.

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagel told reporters that nothing's off the table when it comes to additional cuts including more furloughs.

(WSB Radio) A second suspect has been arrested in connection with a Saturday night hit and run case that has left a Gwinnett County teenager in a coma.

21-year-old Matthew Moore of Dacula was arrested Thursday and charged with one count of robbery, one count of aggravated assault and one count of aggravated battery.  22-year-old David Donnely, also of Dacula, was arrested earlier this week.  He faces similar charges, as well as one count of felony hit and run. 

According to a Gwinnett County Police Department incident report, Donnelly and Moore attempted to rob 16-year-old Edward Spencer Yebra outside his home Saturday night on Mill Place Court in Dacula.. 

As the suspect drove away from the scene, Yebra was dragged by the pickup truck a short distance before he fell and was run over.  The victim is hospitalized in critical condition at Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville.

Donnelly and Moore are being held without bond in the Gwinnett County jail.

PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) Storm-battered residents of several states hunkered down in frigid homes and shelters Thursday, expecting to spend at least a week without power and waiting in long lines to buy generators, firewood, groceries and bottled water.

Utility companies in Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Arkansas and West Virginia warned that the estimated 1.3 million people left in the dark by an ice storm wouldn't have power back before Saturday at the earliest, and at worst, as late as mid-February.

Already, the situation was becoming dire for some communities in Kentucky, where the power outages crippled pumping stations and cut off access to water. Tracie and Jeff Augustinovich drove 15 miles from their home in the western Kentucky town of Rock Castle to buy groceries. Their home had very little running water, and though they stocked up before the storm, they weren't sure their supplies will last.

``We're buying up anything that we can eat cold,'' Tracie Augustinovich said.

In Paducah, Amber Fiers and her neighbor Miranda Brittan tried a half-dozen filling stations before finding one where they could buy kerosene. The two were in a line that swelled to 50 or more at the 13th Street Station, which began pumping kerosene after its owner set up a generator.

``We got food, but I'm just worried about staying warm,'' said, Brittan who lives in Mayfield, adding she was frustrated by the search for supplies.

``By the time you hear about a place that's open they're out when you get there,'' she said.

Utility crews found themselves up against roads blocked by ice-caked power lines, downed trees and other debris. Help from around the country was arriving in convoys to assist the states with the worst outages. But with so many homes and businesses in the dark there were more than 600,000 across Kentucky alone the effort is still expected to take days, if not weeks.

At a mall turned into a staging area in Barboursville, W.Va., crews in hard hats met alongside piles of poles, generators, wire and other supplies to find out where to go first.

``We're attacking it head on,'' said Appalachian Power spokesman Phil Moye. ``As long as the ice is still on the trees, the storm is still here.''

St. Louis-based AmerenUE said it had added 800 workers to its efforts to restore power in southeast Missouri, and another 800 were expected Friday.

``As we restore some, we're losing others. The ice is just so treacherous,'' said utility spokeswoman Susan Gallagher.

Federal officials are hauling truckloads of water, ready-to-eat meals and large generators to a staging area at Fort Campbell in southwestern Kentucky, said Mary Hudak, a spokeswoman for FEMA's southeast region. The supplies are expected to arrive Friday.

Hundreds of shelters opened their doors, and deputies in some communities went door to door to let people know where they were. Since phone service and Internet connections are spotty in many places, there wasn't another way. In Harrodsburg, Ky., where phone service was restored, residents were asked to call 911 if they needed transport to shelters, said John Trisler, the county's judge executive.

In Caruthersville, Mo., near the Tennessee border, church leaders and other volunteers knocked on the doors of the elderly and handicapped residents to make sure they were all right. A generator was in use to distribute some water in town, but Fire Chief Charlie Jones had concerns about what would happen when the temporary measure ran out.

``We're definitely worried about the community with no power, no water. Restaurants aren't open and there are no (open) fueling stations,'' he said.

In central Kentucky's Radcliff, John and Elsie Grimes lost power Monday night and needed police help to get out of their trailer and to a shelter Thursday morning set up by the local NAACP.

``I've been sitting 'round for two days, eating cold hot dogs and bologna,'' said 70-year-old John Grimes, describing what he ate at home before coming to the shelter. he uses a wheelchair, is blind in one eye, and a diabetic.

Since the storm began Monday, the weather has been blamed for at least 27 deaths, including six in Texas, four in Arkansas, three in Virginia, six in Missouri, two in Oklahoma, two in Indiana, two in West Virginia and one each in Ohio and Kentucky. Emergency officials feared that toll could rise if people stay in their homes without power for too long, because improper use of generators can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.

Some decided to tough it out anyway. As icicles began to melt from the electrical wires and crashed to the ground Thursday, Jimmy Eason of Velvet Ridge, Ark., carefully walked across his yard to his Ford F-150, which was warmer than his one-story, white house.

``I'm sleeping in a car, which is just fine,'' Eason, 74, said. ``There's nothing wrong with a car. Every couple of hours I turn it on, I let it run for 10 minutes and that keeps it pretty warm.''

Eason was trying to avoid boredom, and drove to Burger King to get a meal because he was tired of eating cold soup. ``It's kind of a chore to occupy your mind. I'm used to doing things and keeping busy. You just have to endure a couple of days and it will be all right,'' he said.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB)--The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a voluntary recall of more than 500 thousand Spa Factoryâ„¢ Aromatherapy Fountain & Bath Benefits Kits.

Pressure from the buildup of carbon dioxide in the jars of Bath Bombs/Balls or Bath Fizzies can cause the caps on the jars to blow off, posing explosion and projectile hazards. The mixtures also can contain citric acid, which can get into the eyes during an explosion, posing a risk of eye irritation.

There have been reports of 88 jars exploding and 13 injuries.

This recall involves the purple caps on jars in the Spa Factoryâ„¢ Spa Fantasy Aromatherapy Fountain and the Bath Benefitsâ„¢ Kit toys.

Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09112.html

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) As concerns continue to grow over crime and house fires in the city of Atlanta, a group of Atlanta legislative members are introducing legislation to force the city to hold a referendum so voters can decide whether to raise their own property taxes to fund more firefighters and police.

Bill sponsor Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta) says voters would decide whether to raise their taxes by one mill or $6 for the average homeowner. He says in turn it would generate between $20 million and $24 million dedicated solely for police and fire services.

"What we want is a lock box for this revenue that sets us on the course of having 2500 police officers," says Reed.

He says he's not yet discussed his legislation with city officials, but has the support of 80 percent of Atlanta's legislative members.

"We're not attempting to substitute ourselves for anyone.  We're attempting to respond as state officials to a public safety concern that involves all Georgians," says Sen. Nan Orrok (D-Atlanta).

Reed says if passed by voters, the millage increase would sunset in four years.

29 January 2009

(WSB Radio)  Dennis Felton has been fired as the University of Georgia's football coach. 

WSB's Tony Schiavone reports from Athens that Felton's ouster comes just a day after a 26-point loss at the University of Florida--the Bulldogs' seventh straight loss.  Felton will be replaced the remainder of the season by Assistant Coach Pete Hermann.

The Bulldogs are 9-11, and 0-5 in the SEC.

Felton had an 84-91 record and was in his sixth season at Georgia.  Many thought he was a goner last year, until his team surprised everyone by winning the SEC tournament.  The Dogs were knocked out of the NCAAs in the first round.  Felton coached five seasons at Western Kentucky before taking the Georgia job in 2003.

• Check out the Bulldogs Radio page for audio from the Thursday morning announcement at UGA.

(WSB Radio) -- Metro Atlanta's unemployment rate rate rose in December to 7.6 percent, according to a report released Thursday by the Georgia Department of Labor.  The rate is 3.1 percentage points higher than the same period a year ago and a seventh-tenths of a percent increase from November.

Meanwhile, the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 8.1 percent in December, the highest rate in almost 26 years. The jobless rate was up 3.6 percentage points from 4.5 percent at this same time last year. The December unemployment rate was up seven-tenths of one percentage point from a revised 7.4 percent in November.

The last time Georgia posted a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at this level was in March of 1983 when the rate was also 8.1 percent. The state rate remained above the national rate of 7.2 percent for the 11th straight month. At present, 393,168 unemployed Georgians are looking for work. Of that number, 156,719, or 40 percent, are drawing unemployment insurance benefits.

(WSB Radio) The former doctor of the late pro wrestler Chris Benoit is expected to change his plea to drug charges.

Dr. Phil Astin originally pled not guilty to a 175 count indictment accusing him of conspiracy and improperly dispensing medication from his Carrolton practice.

Benoit killed his wife, son and then himself in June 2007 after taking anabolic steroids prescribed by Astin.

The charges to which Astin is changing his plea are not directly related to the Benoit case.

(WSB Radio) A three month old girl, allegedly beaten to death by her own mother, had suffered multiple broken bones during her short life.

A Gwinnett County police detective testified in court that Aubrey Graham had a broken leg and ribs that were in the process of healing when she died on January 6 at her home on Level Creek Drive in Buford.

The autopsy found the girl died from bleeding on the brain, caused by a blow to the head.

21 year old Erica Graham has been bound over for trial in her daughter's death.

(WSB Radio) A Dacula man faces hit and run charges after allegedly dragging a Mill Creek High School student through the Hamilton mill subdivision.

16 year old Spencer Yebra is in critical condition at Gwinnett Medical Center.

Friends say Yebra was outside his home, talking to someone inside a black truck, when the truck took off.  It dragged him along the passenger side until he slipped under the wheels.

The suspect has been identified as David Donnelly, although police will not say if he was the driver of the truck.

(WSB Radio) Three people are dead following a shooting at a trailer park in east Clarke County.

A suspect is in custody and neighbors say he is related to the victims.

It happened at the Hallmark Mobile Home Park Wednesday evening.

"I thought it was firecrackers," says James Shiver, who lives next door to the victims.  "Next thing I know I've got a cop car sitting in my front yard."

Police have not released any personal details about the victims, but neighbors say the suspect has a history of mental illness.

(WSB Radio) The finish line for this year's Peachtree Road Race will be back to normal, sort of.

Last year runners finished the 6.2 mile course at Juniper and Ponce out of concern for drought damage in Piedmont Park. 

The park had been the end point for the race since 1978.

This year things will be different.  The awards stage and and sponsor tents will be moved to near the Park Tavern, but runners will collect their shirts in the meadow.

And, in a move that will make all the casual runners smile, the last half-mile of the race will not be uphill, as it was last year.

(WSB Radio) Both federal and state prosecutors are looking into filing charges against a Georgia company at the center of a nationwide salmonella outbreak.

Federal officials say it's too early to determine what action, if any, they'll take against the managers of the Blakely plant owned by Peanut Company of America.

Documents show company officials knew that peanut products at that plant were contaminated with salmonella but continued shipping them out anyway.

500 people across the country have been sickened by the illness.  Eight people have died.

"Known circulation of adulterated food can led to proceedings in criminal court," says WSB legal analyst Ron Carlson.  "With the interstate distribution of tainted products such as occurred in this case, company officials are open to federal charges for doing just that."

Carlson says that while most prosecutors don't seek jail time for companies, this case may be different because the officials knew their products were tainted.

A first test of the peanut products came back positive for salmonella.  The company then went to a second lab, which cleared the products for distribution. 

"I expect the company will try to rely on the second food test," Carlson says, "but prosecutors will argue you do not take a chance once your own test reveals salmonella."

State charges are also possible in any of the states where people were sickened or died.

Peanut Corporation expanded its recall Wednesday to all peanut products produced at the plant since January 1, 2007. The company is relatively small, but its peanut paste is an ingredient in hundreds of other food products, from ice cream, to Asian-style sauces, to dog biscuits. Major national brands of peanut butter are not affected.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau)  After a controversy last fall that almost kept the flu shot from being given in drug and grocery store chains in Georgia as well as nurses from coming into corporate businesses to administer it, Gov. Perdue now wants to clarify the law.

Both the Georgia State Board of Pharmacy and the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners issued statements in Septembers that the flu vaccination is considered a "dangerous drug" and therefore an individual prescription was needed to administer it.

Perdue stepped in at the time and said no sanctions would be imposed for those who gave the shot as usual.

He's now pushing a bill that would allow doctors to enter into agreements with up to ten pharmacists and nurses per county as well as drug and grocery store chains to order and dispense the vaccine without an individual prescription.

"Wide distribution of flu vaccinations is an important component of public health," said Perdue in a written statement. "Receiving a vaccination reduces the likelihood of a recipient becoming infected with influenza, and is especially important to vulnerable populations like children and the elderly. The legislation we introduced today will make it easier for Georgians to receive their yearly flu shot."

(WSB)--More people are opting for outpatient surgery.

The number of outpatient surgery visits in the United States increased from 20.8 million visits in 1996 to 34.7 million visits in 2006, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report, Ambulatory Surgery in the United States, 2006, contains the first data on outpatient surgery visits since 1996. The data were collected from 142 hospitals and 295 freestanding centers as part of the National Survey of Ambulatory Surgery.

The outpatient surgery visits to free standing centers increased three-fold from 1996 to 2006, whereas the rate for outpatient surgery visits to hospital centers was relatively unchanged.

The report also found that in 2006:

* An estimated 57.1 million surgical and non surgical procedures were performed during 34.7 million outpatient surgery visits in 2006.
* Females had significantly more ambulatory surgery visits (20 million) than males (14.7 million).
* The procedures performed most often during outpatient surgery visits included endoscopies of the large intestine (5.8 million) and small intestine (3.5 million) and extraction of lens for cataract surgery (3.1 million).
* The leading diagnosis for outpatient surgery visits was cataract, with three million visits, followed by benign tumor (neoplasm) with two million visits, and malignant tumor with 1.2 million visits.
* The average time spent in the operating room during an outpatient surgery visit varied from 61.7 minutes for hospital centers to 43.2 minutes for free standing centers. Time spent in surgery and recovery and overall visit time were also higher for hospital centers.
* More than half of outpatient surgery visits (53 percent) were paid by private insurance.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau)  The House Ways and Means Committee passes out a bill that would force the state to pay for property tax relief grants that it promised to local governments.

HB 143 would require the grants be paid this year but in future years beginning in 2010 they would be based on state revenue.

"(We would) take care of essentially the taxpayers, the homeowners, but only if we can afford it," says bill sponsor Rep. Larry O'Neal (R-Bonaire).

Gov. Perdue left the $428 million out of the 2009 midyear budget saying the state doesn't have the money to pay the grants.  And local governments say they will be legally obligated to send out additional tax bills to homeowners this spring without the money.

Five Democratic committee members opposed the bill afraid it could lead to the grants going away for good.

"This is a grant, it's not an entitlement.  But I think anyone who has children recognizes that a grant given over time, like an allowance to children, eventually becomes an expectation and people make their plans around it," says Rep. Stacey Abrams (D-Atlanta).

The committee also passed HR 1, a constitutional amendment by Rep. Edward Lindsey (R-Atlanta), that would cap property assessment increases at 3 percent a year.

"It slams shut the back door tax increases that we've all seen in our local communities," Lindsey told committee members.

Both bills are now headed to the House Rules Committee and could go before the full House on Friday.

(WSB Radio) Organizeres of a citywide fundraiser hope their efforts will triple the reward for information leading to the killers of a popular Grant Park bartender.

At least sixty reastaurants pledged to donate 20% of Wednesday night's receipts to the Atlanta Police Foundation's CrimeStoppers Fund for the John Henderson case during the first annual "Dine Out for a Safer Atlanta,"  The 27-year-old Maryland native was gunned down January 7th during an armed robbery at Standard Food and Spirits on Memorial Drive.  Currently, the reward stands at $22,045 dollars.

In addition to patronizing the restaurants for a good cause, many customers also signed petitions asking Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin to repeal public safety furloughs she initiated last year to help fill a $60 million dollar hole in the city's 2009 budget.  Atlanta Police Foundation president Dave Wilkinson tells Channel 2 Action News those furloughs "reduce police presence in the City of Atlanta by 10%."

For more information on the petition drive or to donate to the John Henderson/CrimeStoppers reward fund, you can go to atlantanstogether.org

The final numbers on the fundraiser should be available by Thursday afternoon.

WASHINGTON (AP) Massive deficits could force the post office to cut out one day of mail delivery, the postmaster general told Congress on Wednesday, in asking lawmakers to lift the requirement that the agency deliver mail six days a week.

If the change happens, that doesn't necessarily mean an end to Saturday mail delivery. Previous post office studies have looked at the possibility of skipping some other day when mail flow is light, such as Tuesday.

Faced with dwindling mail volume and rising costs, the post office was $2.8 billion in the red last year. ``If current trends continue, we could experience a net loss of $6 billion or more this fiscal year,'' Postmaster General John E. Potter said in testimony for a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee.

Total mail volume was 202 billion items last year, over 9 billion less than the year before, the largest single volume drop in history.

And, despite annual rate increases, Potter said 2009 could be the first year since 1946 that the actual amount of money collected by the post office declines.

``It is possible that the cost of six-day delivery may simply prove to be unaffordable,'' Potter said. ``I reluctantly request that Congress remove the annual appropriation bill rider, first added in 1983, that requires the Postal Service to deliver mail six days each week.''

``The ability to suspend delivery on the lightest delivery days, for example, could save dollars in both our delivery and our processing and distribution networks. I do not make this request lightly, but I am forced to consider every option given the severity of our challenge,'' Potter said.

That doesn't mean it would happen right away, he noted, adding that the agency is working to cut costs and any final decision on changing delivery would have to be made by the postal governing board.

If it did become necessary to go to five-day delivery, Potter said, ``we would do this by suspending delivery on the lightest volume days.''

The Postal Service raised the issue of cutting back on days of service last fall in a study it issued. At that time the agency said the six-day rule should be eliminated, giving the post office, ``the flexibility to meet future needs for delivery frequency.

A study done by George Mason University last year for the independent Postal Regulatory Commission estimated that going from six-day to five-day delivery would save the post office more than $1.9 billion annually, while a Postal Service study estimated the saving at $3.5 billion.

The next postal rate increase is scheduled for May, with the amount to be announced next month. Under current rules that would be limited to the amount of the increase in last year's consumer price index, 3.8 percent. That would round to a 2-cent increase in the current 42-cent first class rate.

The agency could request a larger increase because of the special circumstances, but Potter believes that would be counterproductive by causing mail volume to fall even more.

Dan G. Blair, chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, noted in his testimony that cutting service could also carry the risk of loss of mail volume. He suggested Congress review both delivery and restrictions it imposed on the closing of small and rural post offices.

The post office's problem is twofold, Potter explained.

``A revolution in the way people communicate has structurally changed the way America uses the mail,'' with a shift from first-class letters to the Internet for personal communications, billings, payments, statements and business correspondence.

To some extent that was made up for my growth in standard mail largely advertising but the economic meltdown has resulted in a drop there also.

Potter also asked that Congress ease the requirement that it make advance payments into a fund to cover future health benefits for retirees. Last year the post office was required to put $5.6 billion into the fund.

``We are in uncharted waters,'' Potter said. ``But we do know that mail volume and revenue and with them the health of the mail system are dependent on the length and depth of the current economic recession.''

He proposed easing the retirement pre-funding for eight years, while promising that the agency will cover the premiums for retirement health insurance.

At the same hearing the General Accounting Office agreed that the post office is facing an urgent need for help to preserve its financial strength. But the GAO suggested easing the pre-funding requirement for only two years, with Congress to determine the need for more relief later.

Potter noted that the agency has cut costs by $1 billion per year since 2002, reduced its work force by 120,000, halted construction of new facilities except in emergencies, frozen executive salaries and is in the process of reducing its headquarters work force by 15 percent.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama is thanking the House for passing a massive economic stimulus package and promising to ``continue to strengthen'' the plan as it works its way through congressional approval.

Obama issued a written statement after Wednesday night's vote in the House, in which no Republicans joined Democrats in support. He said, in his words, ``what we can't do is drag our feet or allow the same partisan differences to get in our way.''

Obama asked Congress to move ``swiftly and boldly'' to give the legislation final approval.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON (AP) In a swift victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House approved a historically huge $819 billion stimulus bill Wednesday night, filled with new spending and tax cuts at the core of the young adminstration's revival plan for the desperately ailing economy.

The vote was 244-188.

``We don't have a moment to spare,'' Obama declared at the White House as congressional allies hastened to do his bidding in the face of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The vote sent the bill to the Senate, where debate is expected to begin as early as this week on a companion measure already taking shape. Democratic leaders have pledged to have legislation ready for Obama's signature by mid-February.

A mere eight days after Inauguration Day, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday's events heralded a new era. ``The ship of state is difficult to turn,'' said the California Democrat. ``But that is what we must do. That is what President Obama called us to do in his inaugural address.''

With unemployment at its highest level in a quarter-century, the banking industry wobbling despite the infusion of staggering sums of bailout money and states struggling with budget crises, Democrats said the legislation was desperately needed.

``Another week that we delay is another 100,000 or more people unemployed. I don't think we want that on our consciences,'' said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and one of the leading architects of the legislation.

Republicans said the bill was short on tax cuts and contained too much spending, much of it wasteful and unlikely to help laid-off Americans.

The party's leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, said the measure ``won't create many jobs, but it will create plenty of programs and projects through slow-moving government spending.'' A GOP alternative, comprised almost entirely of tax cuts, was defeated, 266-170, moments before the final vote.

On the final vote, the legislation drew overwhelming support among Democrats while all but a few Republicans opposed it.

The White House-backed legislation includes an estimated $544 in federal spending and $275 billion in tax cuts for individuals and businesses.

Included is money for traditional job-creating programs such as highway construction and mass transit projects. But the measure tickets far more for unemployment benefits, health care and food stamp increases designed to aid victims of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Tens of billions of additional dollars would go to the states, which confront the prospect of deep budget cuts of their own. That money marks an attempt to ease the recession's impact on schools and law enforcement. With funding for housing weatherization and other provisions, the bill also makes a down payment on Obama's campaign promise of creating jobs that can reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.

The centerpiece tax cut calls for a $500 break for single workers and $1,000 for couples, including those who don't earn enough to owe federal income taxes.

The House vote marked merely the first of several major milestones a for the legislation, which Democratic leaders have pledged to deliver to the White House for Obama's signature by mid-February.

Already a more bipartisan and costlier measure is taking shape in the Senate, and Obama personally pledged to House and Senate Republicans in closed-door meetings on Tuesday that he is ready to accept modifications as the legislation advances.

Rahm Emanuel, a former Illinois congressman who is Obama's chief of staff, invited nearly a dozen House Republicans to the White House late Tuesday for what one participant said was a soft sales job.

This lawmaker quoted Emanuel as telling the group that polling shows roughly 80 percent support for the legislation, and that Republicans oppose it at their political peril. The lawmaker spoke on condition of anonymity, saying there was no agreement to speak publicly about the session.

In fact, though, many Republicans in the House are virtually immune from Democratic challenges because of the makeup of their districts, and have more to fear from GOP primary challenges in 2010. As a result, they have relatively little political incentive to break with conservative orthodoxy and support hundreds of billions in new federal spending.

Also, some Republican lawmakers have said in recent days they know they will have a second chance to support a bill when the final House-Senate compromise emerges in a few weeks.

That gave an air of predictability to the proceedings in the House, as Democrats defended the legislation as an appropriate response to the specter of double-digit unemployment in the near future.

Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, sought to strip out all the spending from the legislation before final passage, arguing that the entire cost of the bill would merely add to soaring federal deficits. ``Where are we going to get the money,'' he asked, but his attempt failed overwhelmingly, 302-134.

Obey had a ready retort. ``They don't look like Herbert Hoover, I guess, but there are an awful lot of people in this chamber who think like Herbert Hoover,'' he said, referring to the president whose term is forever linked in history with the Great Depression.

Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Liz Sidoti and Ben Feller contributed to this story.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio)  Fairburn police were responding to a burglary.  In the end they were hunting for one of their own cruisers.

The suspect was being chased on foot by an officer when he came upon the officer's car, keys in the ignition and the engine running.

The suspect jumped into the cruiser and sped off.  It was later found but the suspect is still at large.

The incident began when a Fairburn officer stopped a suspicious vehicle.  The two people inside the car took off on foot with the officer in pursuit.

One of the suspects doubled back to the site of the traffic stop and found the patrol car.

The stolen patrol car was found in the Summerwood subdivision near downtown Fairburn, in South Fulton County.

Police dogs were being used to search for the man suspected of stealing the patrol car.

(WSB Radio)  A Gainesville family is selling just about everything they own to pay for their son's medical bills.

Gregg and Brittiny Peters have a website, "everythingweown.org" listing all their possessions, except their home.

It's a bulk auction, with hopes of raising at least $21,000.  The money would go towards the medical expenses of their son, who is autistic, and their daughter, who suffers from Stills Disease, an auto-immune disorder.

"Nothing's more precious than the kids," says Mr. Peters.  "Not a sofa.  Not a TV.  It's as simple as that."

Seven-year-old Ayla spent months in the hospital after coming down with a mysterious illness.  Doctors eventually diagnosed the girl with Stills.

Noah, who has autism, requires daily therapy and a special diet.

Gregg Peters, who had been self employed before last year, says his family was making ends meet.  But now, with the medical bills, that's not possible.

Their possessions are being sold as a bulk lot, with a minimum bid of $21,000.  But, if that doesn't work, then the couple will sell their things individually.

"Life threw us a curve ball ," Mrs. Peters says, "so we're willing to sacrifice these things and put our children first."

(WSB Radio)  FBI agents have arrested an Atlanta man for a series of telephone bomb threats made against the Atlanta Housing Authority.

46 year old Michael Ezzard is due before a federal magistrate judge on Friday.

Police say Ezzard would call in threats to the authority's offices, forcing evacuations and police action.

Last Thursday's threat prompted police to clear the offices and close off some nearby streets for three hours.  There was no bomb.

Police are not saying why Ezzard launched the series of threats against the authority.

(WSB Radio)  If you're in the mood for a tall, skinny, decaf latte at Starbucks, you'd better be wanting one before lunch, or else you'll be waiting a bit.

Caffeine free coffee will be made-to-order after lunch, which will add about 4 minutes to the wait time.  That's according to an e-mail that Starbucks sent out on Tuesday.

"For many of our stores, the demand for decaf is greatly reduced in the afternoon," the e-mail states.  "With our current standard of continually brewing decaf after 2 p.m. regardless of demand, we have seen a high amount of waste."

Starbucks, the world's largest coffee chain, is cutting off decaf after noon in an effort to save $400 million in the next eight months.

(WSB Radio)  Atlanta police have arrested a man they think mat be behind a dozen robberies.

Sergeant Tommy Collins says it was surveillance tape from one of the robberies that led them to 43 year old Larry Davis.

"Several people called into the Crimestoppers Hotline," Rollins says.  "They said they saw the video on TV.  A couple of callers even gave his full name."

Davis is described as a career criminal. 

Collins says Davis stole well over $100,000 worth of electronic equipment.

He could get a life sentenced if he's convicted in these new cases.

(WSB Radio)  A Duluth man is busted for the rape of an extended stay motel guest last year.

Police caught 47 year old Preston Mitchell at a QT on Highway 141.

"We went to his residence to take him into custody," says Gwinnett County Sheriff's spokeswoman Stacy Bourbonnais, "observed him leaving the residence and our fugitive investigators followed him in unmarked units and took him into custody as he stopped at a QT gas station to put air in his tires."

The victim told investigators that Mitchell flashed a badge and gun before the assault at the Extended Stay Deluxe Hotel on Venture Parkway.

Mitchell is being held, without bond, at the county jail.

(WSB Radio)  Hundreds of East Point residents are without water after the owner of an apartment complex fails to pay the bill.

"The complex is responsible for paying the water bill and it has not been paid," East Point spokeswoman Mechelle Brown tells WSB.  "The situation dates back to December of 2008 and notices were posted Monday that the water would be turned off for non-payment.  Tuesday they were disconnected."

The Terraces at East Point owes the city $13,000.

Residents are livid over the disconnection, but Brown says there is nothing they can do.

"We do understand," Brown says.  "As I've said, the owner was made aware and we did post notices at the complex."

"Our policy is to post notices, notifying residents that the water would be shut off," she says.  "We're still waiting to hear from the owner."

Residents say they've tried contacting the owner of the apartments, but they've had no success.  The office door is locked and no one is answering the office phone.

"We've been beating on the door, calling the phone," says resident Meicho Saffo.  "They had the phone off one time.  The lady who came to cut the water off said they owe an excessive amount and the rental office man brought them a check that bounced."

Saffo says residents are angry and very concerned.

"What's next?" she asks.  "What happens if this apartment catches fire?  How are we going to put the fire out?"

WASHINGTON (AP) The House is expected to vote Wednesday on an $825 billion economic stimulus package.

It includes about $550 billion in spending and roughly $275 billion in tax cuts. Democrats have deleted $20 million for renovating the National Mall after Republicans criticized it as wasteful.

And a companion bill in the Senate has grown to roughly $900 billion. That includes a new tax break for upper middle-income taxpayers

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama shuttled between meetings on Capitol Hill with House and Senate Republicans trying to increase GOP support.

Obama took some heat for insisting on giving relief to wage-earners who pay Social Security taxes but do not earn enough to owe income tax. But his spokesman says the president reminded his critics that conservative hero Ronald Reagan supported the concern when he was in the White House.

ATLANTA (AP) Georgia speeders beware.

Gov. Sonny Perdue is pushing again this year for legislation that would slap excessive or repeat speeders with stiff fines. The legislation would generate about $23 million which he wants to funnel to the state's struggling trauma network.

The bill was introduced in the House Tuesday by Rep. Jim Cole, a Forsyth Republican.

The so-called super speeders legislation would add an additional $200 fine for driving over 85 mph anywhere in the state and for driving 75 mph or more on a two-lane road.

Traffic accidents on Georgia's roadways caused more than 1,600 fatalities in 2007.

This is the third year that Perdue has pushed for the legislation.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Food regulators didn't consider salmonella a threat to most peanut products before they traced an outbreak to a peanut butter plant in Georgia two years ago. Officials in the nation's top peanut-producing state promptly began checking for the bacteria during routine inspections, and everything went fine for about a year.

Then this month, investigators zeroed in on another Georgia plant while probing a second bout of salmonella that began in the fall and has sickened some 500 people in 43 states, and may have contributed to at least eight deaths.

As health officials scramble to limit the effects of the latest outbreak, food safety advocates have renewed calls for increased testing at peanut processing plants. It's a costly and time-consuming proposition for an inspection process that, as an Associated Press review of state and federal procedures shows, already suffers from a lack of manpower and transparency, and from uncertainty over how much testing is enough.

Peanut butter had long been considered a relatively low risk for salmonella because roasting the peanuts properly kills the bacteria, and because peanut butter's low moisture content makes it a less fertile breeding ground for the virus than other foods, such as poultry or lunch meats.

There is no federal law that mandates the number of inspections that must be carried out each year at peanut processing facilities. The Food and Drug Administration contracts with states to perform inspections but allows them broad discretion when it comes to how they do them. The agency asks the states to base the frequency and nature of inspections on how risky a food is considered, giving priority to high-risk foods.

The states, in turn, rely on the companies to police themselves between infrequent visits from state inspectors. And a number of leading peanut butter companies won't specify what they do to keep their products from being contaminated.

Jif maker J.M. Smucker Co., Skippy manufacturer Unilever and ConAgra Foods Inc., which makes Peter Pan, all said they have stringent food safety and quality control standards. But neither Unilever or ConAgra responded to the AP's questions about how often the plants test their finished product for foodborne illnesses or other contamination. Smucker's said it couldn't answer those questions for proprietary reasons.

None of those manufacturers is implicated in the current salmonella outbreak.

Authorities reassessed peanut butter's risk level in 2007, when salmonella was found in Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butters made at a plant operated by ConAgra in south Georgia. ConAgra officials later said jars were contaminated when moisture from a roof leak during a rainstorm and a malfunctioning sprinkler system mixed with dormant salmonella bacteria in the plant.

The FDA still considers peanut butter a low-risk food, though after the ConAgra outbreak, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin ordered state inspectors to start routinely testing peanut butter for salmonella.

This month, a facility in Blakely, a rural Georgia town that calls itself the ``Peanut Capital of the World'' and is an hour or so drive from the ConAgra plant, found itself at the center of the investigation into the deadly salmonella outbreak. Virginia-based Peanut Corp. of America, which owns the Blakely plant, distributes peanut butter to institutions such as hospitals and nursing homes. It also provides peanut paste to food companies, which use the product in cookies, cakes and other products available on supermarket shelves.

On Tuesday, federal officials said Peanut Corp. failed to tell inspectors that after samples sent to a contract lab for testing in 2007 and 2008 tested positive for salmonella, the company got a second opinion from another lab and sold the food after the secondary tests came back negative.

``Under the current regulations and laws, they are not required to share those records with state regulatory authorities or even with the FDA,'' said Oscar Garrison, Georgia's assistant agriculture commissioner, who oversees the consumer protection division.

``It's just basically a loophole that has been there,'' he said, noting that the law does prevent a company from shipping a product if it knows there is a safety risk. He also said the agriculture department plans to try to get the state law changed during the current legislative session to require companies to share those records with inspectors.

In a news release issued after federal officials discussed the positive tests, Peanut Corp. said the company has fully cooperated with the FDA during its current salmonella investigation.

``We have shared with them every record that they have asked for that is in our possession and we will continue to do so,'' the release stated.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture performed two inspections last year at the Blakely plant, including one in October a month after the first people fell ill with salmonella. They found relatively low-level violations, such as equipment that wasn't properly covered and dust buildup, but did not check for salmonella during either inspection, according to department reports obtained by the AP through an open records request.

Regulators in Georgia, Arkansas and Kentucky, where the three top commercial peanut butter brands are produced, said state employees carry out routine inspections at peanut butter plants at least once or twice a year. Officials in Arkansas and Kentucky where Skippy and Jif are produced, respectively review records kept by the companies. Samples of the finished product are not taken during routine walkthroughs unless inspectors have reason to believe there might be a violation.

Agriculture officials in Georgia, whose inspections are comparable to Arkansas' and Kentucky's, said last week that manpower and funding shortages limit the number and extent of inspections they can do. The state has 60 inspectors responsible for examining 15,000 sites, or about 250 food sources per inspector, ranging from individual ice machines to sprawling factories.

Companies should be required to do more testing on their own, said Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based nutrition advocacy group.

``Testing should be done regularly, which could mean lot by lot, or at least daily,'' Smith DeWaal said.

Good management practices established by the American Peanut Council, a trade association that represents all segments of the U.S. peanut industry, say tests ``should be done on a regular basis,'' though they do not specify how often that means. The council's president, Patrick Archer, said this is because each company must design its own inspection plan, taking into account local laws.

``Testing is costly,'' said Mike Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety. ``Companies have to be practical about it, as well as making sure they are providing the best possible protection for the consumer.''

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB State Capitol Bureau) -- A group that represents county commissioners in Georgia says property owners will be facing new tax bills this spring if lawmakers don't find money to fund the Georgia Homeowner Tax Relief Grants.

Clint Mueller with the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia tells WSB's Sandra Parrish that local governments have already sent out and collected on property taxes for 2008 and without that $428 million in tax relief grants, they're legally obligated to collect the difference.

"The taxes become delinquent and they have to collect from the homeowner because it violates... the constitution if we don't collect," says Mueller.

That could mean new bills of $200 to $300 as well as the possibility of penalties and interest in addition.

But the governor's office disagrees.  Spokesman Burt Brantley says local governments are not legally obligated to collect the additional taxes and instead should cut spending.

"If they do that, they're going to be answerable to their citizens that they weren't willing to cut spending to avoid sending out new tax bills," he says.

 A new bill introduced in the House by Rep. Larry O'Neal (R-Bonaire) is an attempt at a compromise.  It would fund the grants for this year but in the future they would be tied to the growth in state revenue. The measure would require revenues grow by at least 3 percent to continue.

(WSB Radio) -- Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond calls the current economic downturn the Great Recession.  He says the situation is worse than many people know as many companies are opting to shift full time workers to part-time leaving many making much less than they are accustomed to.

Georgia's unemployment rate continues to rise and is currently higher than the national average. In northern Georgia cities like Dalton, unemployment claims have increased 350 percent since last year.

Thurmond says people who find themselves underemployed are having trouble making ends meet. Many are working two part time jobs just to make ends meet. He says he expects the unemployment rate to continue to rise in the coming months.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rate increases compared with the previous month and the year prior period, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported.

The report marked the first time every state recorded a rise in monthly unemployment since the bureau began keeping such records in 1976.

ATLANTA (AP) Atlanta's 911 center has half the needed staff to handle the calls that come in during peak weekend and evening shifts because of the city's budget troubles, the center's director told city council members Tuesday.

The limited staffing is part of the reason residents calling about a house fire in the city's Grant Park neighborhood Saturday had trouble reaching a 911 operator, center director Miles Butler said. Just six dispatchers were answering calls that night, down from the 10 to 12 operators who would have been working before city cutbacks, he said.

It meant panicked neighbors dialing 911 as they watched Wilford Reed's house burn down got computer recordings instead of dispatchers.

``By the time the water touched my house, there was no help for it,'' Reed, 61, told the city council Tuesday during a two-hour hearing on why it took so long for fire trucks to respond to the fire. ``You feel helpless. You don't know what to do but walk up and down the sidewalk yelling 'Where is the fire department?'''

The first call about Reed's house came into the 911 center at 10:58 p.m., but the caller hung up after five seconds, Butler said. Fire officials say the first fire truck with hoses didn't arrive at the house until 17 minutes later.

In between, neighbors kept calling 911 and hanging up when they weren't able to get a dispatcher on the phone, which overloaded the computer system, Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran said. A caller finally talked to a dispatcher but gave the wrong address, sending fire trucks to a house about a mile from the fire, Cochran said.

It wasn't until someone drove to a nearby fire station to flag down help that the department got the correct address, he said. After that, firefighters were at the scene of the fire in four minutes, Cochran said.

There were no injuries in the fire, but Reed's home was destroyed and nothing inside was salvageable, he said. The fire was caused by an overloaded electrical outlet near a computer, Cochran said.

Emergency workers warned city council members Tuesday that layoffs and furloughs are putting Atlanta residents in danger.

Butler said his 150-member staff has 33 vacancies that he couldn't fill until three weeks ago because of an ongoing hiring freeze. That freeze has been lifted, but it could be months before new hires are trained and ready to be dispatchers.

It's the same story for the city's fire and police departments. The fire department had to cut 120 positions because of budget woes, which means just 950 firefighters are protecting the 500,000 residents who live in the city limits, Cochran said.

And all city workers are required to take furlough days to help reduce spending, which means shifts are covered by fewer officers and firefighters than normal.

``The public safety system in Atlanta is stressed to the point of breaking,'' Lt. Jim Daws, president of the firefighters union, said during Tuesday's meeting. ``This particular incident has shined a spotlight on it because there were a chain of failures. But this is being reproduced across the city every day.''

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) A federal judge has threatened to send Fulton County commissioners to jail if they don't come up with adequate funding for the county jail.

In a three page order, U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob told commissioners they need to provide proper funds for Sheriff Ted Jackson to operate the facility.  If they do not, Judge Shoob says fines or incarceration may follow.

The order is part of a long running case centered on the jail.  It began five years ago, amid allegations of overcrowding and understaffing.  In 2006 Judge Shoob approved a decree under which Fulton County promised to improve the jail's conditions.

Judge Shoob appointed a monitor to oversee the jail and, in a recent report, the monitor expressed concerns over the commission's decision to cut the sheriff's budget.  The cut reduces the funding from $98 million to $93.4 million.

In his order Judge Shoob writes that the 
monitor believes such a reduction will not allow Sheriff Jackson to come into compliance with the consent order.  

"The county defendants should be aware that it is their obligation to budget sufficient funds to enable the sheriff to comply with all requirements set out in the consent decree," Shoob wrote. "This obligation is unconditional."

The judge goes on to say that, if the commissioners are found in contempt, then  "possible sanctions will include not only monetary fines but possible incarceration of individual defendants."

Shoob listed the defendants as Fulton County, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and the individual commissioners.

(WSB Weather Center) -- A dense fog advisory has been posted by the National Weather Service for the Atlanta and Athens areas and south.  The advisory is in effect until 9 a.m. Tuesday, and means visibilities will frequently be reduced to less than a quarter miles.  Motorists are advised to slow down, use headlights and leave plenty of distance between other vehicles.

Stay tuned for LIVE updates from WSB meteorologist Kirk Mellish and Triple Team Traffic with Capt. Herb Emory.

(WSB Radio) -- Dekalb County police are investigating an early morning home invasion in Decatur.

The victim, Jameel Mobley, tells WSB's Jon Lewis armed intruders entered his Cherry Lane home around 3:45 a.m. Tuesday by breaking out a window.

Mobley says he hid in a closet as at least two men ransacked his house.  When he thought they had spotted him in the closet, he jumped out and yelled "don't shoot me."  They then ordered him to the floor, stole some of his clothes and left.

Although WSB has not confirmed an arrest with Dekalb police, Mobley says an officer told him one of the suspects was apprehended during a traffic stop.

Mobley was not hurt.

ATLANTA (AP) Fayette County law enforcement officials are working with the FBI to investigate two church shootings in Peachtree City and Fayetteville.

No one was reported injured. Authorities say the exteriors of the buildings were damaged.

Police say the first shooting was at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Peachtree City between 11:30 a.m. Jan 19 and 9 a.m. the next day.

The second was at Flat Rock AME Church on Jan. 21 around 6:33 p.m.

The churches are about 8 miles apart.

Peachtree City police spokeswoman Capt. Rosanna Dove says the federal agency is working with her department and the Fayette County Sheriff's Office in finding a suspect.


(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

MIAMI (AP) Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat were far from perfect offensively. Fortunately for them, the Atlanta Hawks were worse.

Much, much worse.

The NBA's leading scorer, Wade finished with 35 points on 13-for-19 shooting and the Heat held the Hawks without a field goal for nearly 13.5 minutes during one first-half stretch, beating Atlanta 95-79 on Monday night.

``An important win, a good win,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ``We'll take that.''

Atlanta set a franchise-futility record with its 27-point first half. Still, the Hawks got within seven points early in the final quarter before a quick 11-3 burst fueled by Wade and Mario Chalmers sealed it for the Heat.

``You want to have that mentality to put a team away and keep them away,'' Wade said. ``They came back ... but at the same time, I like the way we put them away after they made their run. The NBA is about that. Teams make runs. So you've got to be prepared for it, and when it's your turn, be prepared to make one.''

Daequan Cook scored 16 points and Chalmers added 12 points and six assists for Miami (24-19), which moved a season-best five games over .500. Udonis Haslem had a game-high 13 rebounds.

Miami had a season-high 12 blocked shots and allowed the Hawks seven assists the fewest by any Heat opponent this season.

Joe Johnson scored 19 points for Atlanta. Marvin Williams added 17, Josh Smith had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Flip Murray finished with 14 points for the Hawks.

``We just weren't playing hard,'' Johnson acknowledged.

One downside for Miami: Heat rookie Michael Beasley banged knees with Smith in the second quarter and didn't return.

The team called it a bruised left knee, and Miami's second-leading scorer this season spent the rest of the game on the bench with a large icepack strapped to his leg. Per team policy, Beasley wears knee pads in practice but hasn't put them on for games, something he says he'll change.

``I didn't want to change my routine. Think I'm going to have to now,'' said Beasley, who expects to play against Washington on Wednesday.

Williams' 3-pointer with 5:57 left in the first quarter gave the Hawks a 12-11 lead.

Things went downhill from there at an incredibly rapid pace for Atlanta.

The Hawks missed their next 13 shots, plus committed 10 turnovers during the drought, during which Miami went on a 22-5 run. Williams and Murray each were 0-for-3, with both having dunk attempts blocked for good measure, and Miami's halftime lead was 46-27.

At the break, Wade was 8-for-10. Atlanta was 8-for-26, matching the fewest field goals Miami has ever allowed in a first half.

``This game is played in four quarters,'' Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. ``And we didn't come to play the first two quarters.''

Still, the Hawks didn't go quietly.

Down 57-37 after Wade's jumper with 3:29 remaining in the third, Atlanta made a quick and somewhat surprising run.

Murray, who was scoreless to that point, scored 10 points in what became a 20-7 Hawks rally, and with 10:21 remaining, the Hawks were within 64-57.

But Murray forced a bad 3-pointer that missed the rim by about 3 feet with 9:36 left, and that proved to be a spark for the Heat. Miami went on an 8-2 run over the next 61 seconds capped by Wade blocking Smith's shot in the lane and setting up a three-point play by Chalmers at the other end to restore a 72-59 cushion.

Chalmers hit a 3-pointer another minute later, and the Heat eased home from there.

``We put the game in our hands, and the momentum shifted over to us,'' Wade said.
Notes: Hawks C Al Horford missed his ninth game with a bone bruise in his right knee, but hopes to practice with the team Tuesday. ... Atlanta's previous first-half franchise scoring low was 28, done five times. ... Wade played in his 43rd straight game, a new career best. ... Former Heat PG Jason Williams sat courtside, sporting a gray Florida Gators sweat suit. ... The Heat started Jamaal Magloire at center, his first start since Nov. 19, 2007. ... Miami used an 11-man rotation for the second consecutive game.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB State Capitol Bureau) -- Senate Republicans vows to find the $428 million dollars to provide property tax relief to homeowners this year.

The state is facing a $2 billion budget shortfall for 2009 and Gov. Perdue told legislative budget writers last week that he can't find the money.

"A vast number of House and Senate members have made this their top funding priority to find that money," says Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers.

He says the state promised the money to local governments which in turned has already passed along the tax relief to property owners.

"We need to do the very best to keep our word and give that money back to local governments since they've already spent it," says Rogers.

He admits it's a convoluted system that was passed several years ago and hopes lawmakers can come up with a new way to offer property tax relief to homeowners in the future.

(WSB State Capitol Bureau) -- Some 800 nurses with the Georgia Nurses Association are expected to converge upon the State Capitol today bringing their concerns with them including a lack of funding for school nurses.

In light of shrinking state revenue, Gov. Perdue is recommending cutting $30 million in the fiscal 2010 budget for school nurses.  That means local school systems will either have to find money elsewhere or layoff their nurses.

Many lawmakers and school administrators have expressed concern since nurses are responsible for treating minor accidents to administering medications for asthma and diabetes.

GNA is also looking for more funding for trauma care in Georgia as well as educational programs to reduce the nursing shortage.

(WSB Radio) -- A recent decision by the Georgia Department of Transportation could prevent the City of Atlanta from completing the 22 mile, $66 million dollar Beltline project. 

Atlanta City Council member Anne Fauver tells Channel 2 Action News the DOT has received permission from the federal government not to relinquish portions of the Decatur Rail Corridor to the city.  Fauver says "if we don't get the abandonment of the rail, we're up the creek and we don't have a paddle."

In a written statement, the DOT defended its actions, saying "the Decatur Rail Corridor is a critical infrastructure component for future high speed and passenger rail service."

Mayor Shirley Franklin is seeking help from Congressman John Lewis.  In a letter to the Atlanta Democrat, the Mayor wrote "G-DOT is jeopardizing Atlanta's ability to plan and accommodate the growth that is coming in the next several decades.

The Atlanta Beltline Network Board of Directors has called an emergency meeting for Wednesday to discuss the recent developments.

ATLANTA (AP) Of Georgia's four peanut butter plants, the one at the center of an investigation into a nationwide salmonella outbreak was the only one where samples weren't pulled last year to be tested for the potentially deadly bacteria, according to inspection records released Monday by the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

State officials did two inspections at the Peanut Corp. of America plant in Blakely last year including one on Oct. 23, more than a month after the first people were sickened but there is no indication in those reports that samples were taken for any kind of testing.

Agriculture department officials did not immediately return phone calls from The Associated Press seeking comment on why there were no records of testing samples having been taken at that plant last year. A third-party public relations firm that has been speaking for Peanut Corp. also did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has counted 501 cases of salmonella in 43 states, and the bacteria may have contributed to at least eight deaths. All the illnesses began between Sept. 3 and Jan. 6, but most of the people became sick after Oct. 1. The outbreak has also prompted the recall of some 390 products by about 80 companies.

The CDC said the number of new cases has been falling and the outbreak appears to be in decline.

Georgia agriculture officials had, until Monday, declined to release last year's inspection records for the Peanut Corp. plant, citing the ongoing investigation into the current outbreak. But they said in an e-mail Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is leading the investigation, had cleared the records for release.

Peanut butter has long been considered a relatively low-risk food for salmonella, in part because its low moisture content means it doesn't support microbial growth as well as high-risk foods, like lunch meats and poultry. For that reason, it's normal for state inspectors not to pull samples for testing, said Robert Gravani, a professor in the food science department at Cornell University.

Prior to a salmonella outbreak traced in 2007 to a peanut butter plant operated by ConAgra Foods Inc. in Sylvester, officials in Georgia didn't routinely test for salmonella. But after that outbreak, state Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin directed inspectors to start routinely testing peanut butter for salmonella.

Agriculture department inspection records show that samples were taken for salmonella testing at the Blakely plant in August 2007. Records also show that samples were taken for salmonella testing at least once a year in both 2007 and 2008 at Georgia's other three peanut butter plants.

The June 10, 2008 inspection report for the Peanut Corp. plant shows relatively minor violations, including a bulk tank scraper that was not properly covered and had no cleaning schedule and possible metal flakes from a metal scraper used to clean the outside of equipment. Both those violations were corrected before the inspector left, according to the report. The company was given until the next day to correct a third violation, dust buildup on a fan in the butter room.

The Oct. 23, 2008 report shows that tote containers had butter residue and ``black buildup.'' The report says a liner was placed inside the tote prior to filling but also says the practice would be suspended starting that day. The company was given two weeks to correct a second violation, ``mildew and possibly some static dust on ceiling of butter storage room.''

``If you only had two or three violations, and several of them could be corrected on site while an inspector is there, that doesn't seem very serious,'' said Gravani, who added his observations should be taken as speculation since he has not visited the Blakely plant.

The Peanut Corp. plant had four routine inspections in 2006 and three in 2007. No samples were taken in 2006, which was before there had been a salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter. The three samples taken in August 2007 all tested negative for salmonella and for pesticides.

Violations in 2006 included dust and grease buildup on unused equipment, prep tables and walls, some ingredient spillage and a gap under warehouse dock doors that could be an entry point for rodents. Among the violations in the 2007 reports were plastic jars stored on the floor, old food residue on a wall and, in one case, a food contact surface that was not properly cleaned and sanitized.

Mike Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety, said that last violation sounded most serious but still didn't necessarily indicate dangerous conditions. He said the other problems sounded like relatively low-level violations and that it didn't sound like there was much chance of contamination, though he said he couldn't be sure, not having visited the plant himself.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Prosecutors have little doubt Rodney Denson, an ex-assistant principal at a Fulton County middle school, shot his estranged wife six times. But a procedural error has forced Georgia's top court to reverse his conviction.

Denson was sentenced to 22 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2005 to shooting and wounding his wife, Elletta Bailey, repeatedly as her three children were getting ready for school at their home in Fairburn.

The Georgia Supreme Court's unanimous ruling Monday, though, concluded there was a flaw in Denson's court transcript: He was never advised that by pleading guilty he was waiving his right against self-incrimination.

Prosecutors now may decide to take the case to trial, or pursue another plea deal. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard's office did not immediately return phone calls, but in 2005 he declared the ``viciousness of the attack is almost hard to imagine.''

``When an individual so utterly betrays the trust inherent in marriage and family life with this kind of inexplicable violence, justice demands a sentence such as the one handed down today,'' Howard said then.

Denson, who worked at Kennedy Middle School, went to Bailey's house around 5:30 a.m. on November 22, 2004, saying he wanted to talk to her. He soon began firing two handguns, striking Bailey six times, according to county prosecutors.

He then threatened to shoot his 16-year-old stepdaughter, relenting only when she cowered on the floor begging for her life, according to court documents.

Bailey survived, but was severely injured in the attack and racked up tens of thousands of dollars in medical expenses. ``It is doubtful she will ever recover,'' read the court's ruling.

Shortly after the shootings, court records say Denson called several friends to confess. He soon pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and other charges and was sentenced in December 2005 to 22 years in prison and 13 years of probation.

Two years later, he appealed the sentence on grounds that his constitutional rights were violated when he pleaded guilty. An appeals court dismissed the motion, but the Georgia Supreme Court ruling Monday reversed that decision.

The court said it was clear he was advised of two of his rights the right to a jury and the right to confront the witnesses against him. But the court found it ``equally clear'' that Denson was not advised he was waiving his right against self-incrimination.

The court said it was relying on a 1969 Supreme Court decision that found a guilty plea must be set aside if there's no evidence the defendant ``knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily'' waived all the three rights.

``The state has pointed us to no extrinsic evidence from which we could conclude that Denson knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his right against self-incrimination, and our own thorough review of the record has uncovered none,'' read the opinion, penned by Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears.

Denson's attorney did not immediately return a phone call and an e-mail message, and calls to Bailey's home were not immediately returned.

State attorneys said they were discouraged by the decision.

``We are disappointed when someone who committed such a heinous act has their conviction and sentence tossed out,'' said Russ Willard, spokesman for the Georgia Attorney General's office.

On the Net:

www.gasupreme.us

(WSB Radio) -- Accusations of slow response times to a weekend house fire in Grant Park prompt the Atlanta Fire Department to open an internal investigation into how a multitude of 9-1-1 calls were handled. 

The fire broke out around 11 p.m. Saturday at the home of Wilford Reed on Atlanta Avenue in southeast Atlanta.  Some neighbors of the victims, including Sarah Reiner, say when they called for help, they could not get through.  "everyone out here in the street was on their cellphones on hold with 9-1-1.  Like, hadn't actually talked to a real person, just had the recording, y'know."  Reiner says from the first time a neighbor called 9-1-1 until fire units arrived was approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Atlanta Fire Captain Bill May tells Channel 2 Action News "computers went down shortly before we started receiving calls for the fire.  So, right now, we're going to have to go back and play the tapes and write down actual times to get an accurate time frame." 

Captain May says the flurry of calls into the 9-1-1 Center caused a "logjam," which prevented other calls from getting through.  Captain May says inaccurate addresses from numerous 9-1-1 callers also hindered getting crews to the scene. 

While the home was a total loss, no one was hurt.

ATLANTA (AP) Home Depot Inc. says it's cutting 7,000 jobs and closing its smaller Expo chain as the recession continues to batter the nation's housing market.

The nation's largest home improvement retailer says the cuts announced Monday morning will affect about 2 percent of its work force.

Under the plan, the Atlanta-based retailer will close its 34 Expo Design Centers, five YardBIRDS stores, two Design Center stores and a bath remodeling business that has seven locations. Those stores will close in the next two months.

Its core Home Depot stores won't be affected.

The company also plans to shed 2,000 non-store jobs and freeze the pay of its officers.

Home Depot will record a $532 million pretax charge in the fourth quarter related to the closures and layoffs.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- A man and his son were not seriously hurt during an overnight home invasion in north Fulton County.

Johns Creek Police Lt. Chris Byers tells WSB's Jon Lewis the victims called 9-1-1 just after 1 o'clock Monday morning to report they had been tied up and robbed of cash kept in their house on Buice Road, off of Autrey Mill Road.

Investigators aren't sure how many suspects entered the home and the only description they have is of armed men dressed in black with masks and gloves.

One question authorities cannot answer is how the intruders made it past a security gate with a card swipe without the homeowner's knowledge.

(WSB Radio) -- Speed and alcohol appear to be contributing factors in a weekend car crash that claimed the life of a Cobb County teenager. 

The fatality has been identified as 16-year-old Garrett Reed of Powder Springs.  He was a junior and a member of the football team at Harrison High School in Kennesaw.  His coach, David Hines, tells Channel 2 Action News "it's an awful situation anytime you lose a young one."  He added "Garrett was an intercal part of our program and our team so it's very tough for everybody to take."  

A Cobb County police accident report indicates Reed was killed around 12:30 Saturday morning when he lost control of his 1994 Lexus on Midway Road in Marietta, approaching Sylvia Drive.  Investigators believe he crossed the centerline into southbound traffic and slammed head on into another car.  That driver, 25-year-old Richard Reyes of Dallas, is in stable condition at WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta.

Funeral services for Garrett Reed are set for 2 p.m. Tuesday at First Baptist Church of Powder Springs.  Burial will follow at Kenesaw Memorial Park Cemetary in Marietta.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) The average national price of gasoline increased 7.6 cents in the past two weeks, according to a national survey released Sunday.

Oil industry analyst Trilby Lundberg says the average price of regular gasoline Friday was $1.85 a gallon. The price of mid-grade was $1.99 a gallon and the price of premium was $2.09 a gallon.

Of cities surveyed, the nation's lowest price was $1.44 in Billings, Mont. The highest price was $2.37 in Anchorage, Alaska.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

SMYRNA, Ga. (AP) Smyrna officials welcome a new city park despite hard economic times that have forced some municipal job cuts.

The city's first new park in a decade opens next month on the campus of a former psychiatric hospital on Atlanta Road.

Parks director Steve Ciaccio says the $9.2 million Taylor-Brawner Park, on the site of Brawner Hospital, is funded by a $22 million parks bond approved by voters in 2005.

The director says the city is also building four other new parks and improving 10 older parks. But he says the new park will be the city's ``flagship'' park.

Before the bond vote, the city had 21 parks on about 291 acres.

Smyrna officials have cut 31 municipal jobs to save money.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) A telltale sign America's chips are down: States are increasingly turning to gambling to plug budget holes.

Proposals to allow or expand lotteries, slots or casinos are brewing in at least 14 states, tempting legislators and governors at a time when many must decide between cutting services and raising taxes.

Gambling has hard-core detractors in every state, but resistance to it is easier to overcome when the budget-balancing alternatives lawmakers must consider include freezing employee salaries and slashing funding to crucial services or raising property and sales taxes, political analysts said.

``Who wouldn't be interested if you're a politician who needs to fund programs?'' said Bo Bernhard, director of research at the International Gaming Institute, a government-funded program, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

While gambling has not been immune from the recession, it has held up relatively well compared with states' other revenue streams, such as income and sales taxes. This helps explain why past industry growth spurts have been preceded by economic downturns, experts said.

For example, Rhode Island opened the country's first racetrack casino in 1992, and four states soon followed. More recently, states faced with sagging revenues during the 2001 recession joined multistate lotteries such as PowerBall and gave more leeway to Native American tribes seeking to expand their casinos.

Analysts say the latest round of gambling initiatives are noteworthy in volume and ambition a sign that the industry aims to capitalize on states' badly bruised economies.

``From the gambling industry's point of view, this is their big chance,'' said Earl Grinols, an economics professor at Baylor University who specializes in gambling.

Ohio's casino advocates are pushing a variety of large-scale development projects, and a Georgia a developer wants to transform a blighted section of downtown Atlanta with a 29-story hotel that would attract tourists with more than 5,500 video lottery terminals.

The developer pitching the $450 million Atlanta project, Dan O'Leary, estimates $300 million a year in revenue would come to the state, helping to pay for a popular lottery-funded scholarship that provides in-state college tuition for students with ``B'' averages.

Even Hawaii, which along with Utah is one of two states without a lottery or other form of legalized gambling, may consider a change. Aides to Gov. Linda Lingle, long an opponent of gambling, say she is open to discussing it as a way to close the state's growing budget gap.

Gambling proponents are quick to tout its bells and whistles: a $54 billion annual industry that employs more than 350,000 people, with most state gambling revenues coming from lotteries, racetracks and betting devices such as slot and video poker machines. Twelve states reap tax money from full-fledged casinos, and 23 others have casinos on Native American reservations, which generally do not pay taxes to states.

But while advocates argue that casinos will help attract jobs and revitalize downtrodden areas, religious groups and other critics fear gambling has a disproportionately negative impact on lower-income people, and does not provide long-term economic growth.

They point to research that shows casinos attract crime, foster gambling addiction problems and divert money from other businesses.

``We've got gambling in 48 states, and you'd think if it worked, you wouldn't have budget problems or education problems,'' said Tom Gray, a field director for StopPredatoryGambling.org.

Many of the gambling proposals seek to expand footholds in states that already allow limited gambling.

Kentucky's House speaker had proposed allowing video gambling terminals at the state's racetracks, and legislators in New Hampshire, New York and Texas are seeing proposals this year to allow similar gambling terminals at their tracks. Casino advocates plan to push for casino-style gambling in hurricane-ravaged Galveston, Texas, as well.

Lawmakers in other states are talking about reversing hard-fought crusades to tighten restrictions on gambling.

Nine years after South Carolina lawmakers outlawed video poker, state Sen. Robert Ford is fighting to make it legal again. He estimates it could bring in $750 million each year money needed for a budget devastated by $1 billion in cuts since July.

``Gambling ain't no blight on society,'' he said. ``Gambling is fun. People who play video poker are educated people. They got to be because you're talking about a game of skill.''

In Ohio, where voters repeatedly have rejected ballot proposals to expand gambling, Gov. Ted Strickland said he is willing to listen to proposals to help close a $7 billion shortfall in the next two-year budget.

While analysts have long considered gambling to be almost recession-proof, the economic downturn has seen layoffs, declining revenues and falling stock prices hit casinos. State-run lotteries are faring better, though: More than half of the states with lotteries have reported rising sales over the past six months.

Amid the rush to embrace gambling because of short-term budget problems, some experts say a long-term perspective is needed.

After gambling is approved and revenues are allocated, it's not something lawmakers are likely to reconsider down the road no matter how much economic conditions may improve.

``Once you have legalized a form of gambling, the moral argument draws away and gambling is looked at as a cost-benefit analysis,'' said I. Nelson Rose, a gambling law professor at Whittier Law School in Orange County, Calif. ``So many states have opened those doors now.''

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Transportation officials are considering the development of a rapid passenger rail service that would link Charlotte and Atlanta with a train that would travel at about 100 mph.

A federal study released this month found that officials could realistically develop service that travels between 90 and 110 mph without needing major changes to the existing rail corridor.

The Charlotte Observer reported that Amtrak service on the route currently has a top speed of 79 mph but still takes more than five hours to make a trip that takes less than four hours in a car.

The preliminary study assumed there would be as many as nine stops between Charlotte and Atlanta, serving passengers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Gastonia, Spartanburg, S.C., Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, Greenville, S.C., Clemson, S.C., Toccoa, Ga., Gainesville, Ga., and Atlanta. The study also looked at continuing rail service to Macon, Ga.

Officials in the three states are now preparing to conduct a more detailed study to assess ridership potential and costs.

The railway would not meet the definition of a ``high-speed'' line, which is generally reserved for those tracks that move faster than 125 mph. But trains traveling at that speed need costly track upgrades.

At 90 to 110 mph, the trains could share the same track as freight lines and would only need small changes such as sidings to allow the trains to pass. And David Foster, project manager for the corridor at the North Carolina Department of Transportation, said a train averaging 80 mph on curves and 110 mph on straightaways would offer good service.

``We are enamored with top speed,'' Foster told the Observer. ``But we get more bang for our buck bringing curves up to 80 mph than running a short straightaway for 125 mph. If you could get an average speed of 90 mph with a couple of trains a day you'd be tickled to death.''

Of course, such a project is both costly and a long way from development. Foster estimated the cost to be about $10-$12 million per mile, making the Charlotte-Atlanta corridor a $2.5 billion project.

North Carolina transportation officials expect the federal government to pay for 80 percent of construction costs, and the states are also relying on federal help for things such as environmental studies.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB State Capitol Bureau) -- A couple of bills are expected to be introduced in the State Legislature this week to go after the ever-growing crime of metal theft in Georgia.

Thieves target homes, businesses, and even ballparks for copper and any other metal they think they can resell to a recycler.

Sen. Seth Harp (R-Midland) plans to introduce one bill to seize the vehicles used in the commission of such a crime.  The other would create a registry of offenders so communities can keep track of those convicted.

A task force is also being created and modeled after one in Macon where metal thefts have significantly decreased.

The Metro Atlanta Stop Metal Theft Coalition will use the internet to quickly spread word of such thefts. Recyclers will also receive extensive information that identifies the stolen metal and possible suspect information .

(WSB Radio) An elderly Atlanta couple made it out ok.

They're old home did not suffer the same fate.

Atlanta firefighters say a fast moving fire destroyed an home off Atlanta road near Grant Park early Sunday morning.

"The house pretty much ended up being a total loss," Atlanta fire Battalion Chief David Rhodes told WSB-TV," We had to go defensive after a few minutes of an interior attack."

There is smoke, water, and fire damage throughout the home. Investigators think its accidental .

"These are around World War II era built homes," Battalion Chief Rhodes said. "A lot of big attic space. Once the fire got up to the attic space, it moved pretty quickly."

One firefighter was taken to the hospital with minor smoke inhalation . He is expected to be fine.

(WSB Radio) He was running an errand for his old man

Police have made no arrests after 19-year-old Adair Freeman is shot and killed near his dad's midtown recording studio.

"He was a good person and he didn't deserve this," sister Ashley Freeman said through her tears. "All he did was stay at home and go to the studio. He just wanted to touch people's life with his music."

Freeman was working for his dad at Hot Beats Recording studio at the corner of 14th St. and Spring St. Police said he was shot in the chest walking to the Shell gas station next door around 2 a.m Saturday.

Police think robbery is the motive, but the family isn't so sure

"I don't know if it might be more," said mother Taylora Sanders. "Right now I don't know. I actually don't know."

"I want to know who did it," sister Ashley said. "I want them to make sure they investigate because I don't believe it was random."

Witnesses say they heard four gun shots. Those at the scene got into a heated argument with police as they tried to cross caution tape to learn what happened.

No one has been arrested. Hot Beats myspace.com page shows high profile artists like Ludacris, Lil' Wayne, Nelly, and Matchbox 20 have worked with the studio.

Investigators say there was some security at the studio. They are also asking nearby business for any surveillance tape that may give them clues to help find the gunman.

(WSB Radio) It's a phrase very few laid off workers have heard these days.

You can come back to work.

Six firefighters with Fulton County are being recalled. They were among 33 laid off last fall.

"I think it's going to make a lot of them feel better," Fulton County firefighters union vice president Wayne Hines told WSB-TV. "They are ecstatic."

Fulton County's balanced budget and some retiring firefighters are the reasons for the recall. And Hines said there may be more.

"They are going through orientation . They have to go through a physical and after those six are done we will bring back at least three more."

Hines said some of the firefighters had taken up jobs with other counties but will be returning to Fulton.

They say they aren't being included in the decision making process.

Under a draft proposal, Georgia could receive $1.3-billion for transportation and infrastructure . Another $1.1 billion would go to education over the next two years.

But the top democrat in the state house says Governor Sonny Perdue and State DOT comissioner  Gena Evans are keeping state lawmakers out of the loop on how that money may be spent.

They have got to include the legislature in how these are prioritized ," House Minority leader Dubose Porter (D-Dublin) told WSB State Capitol reporter Sandra Parrish.  "There are pilot projects available, projects that we want to make sure don't just end up in one area of the state and not throughout the state."

Porter also thinks Perdue has not been aggressive enough in going after the money.

Obama is proposing an $825-billion stimulus package.

Mr. Obama met with his economic advisers Saturday after he asked Americans to support his economic package as a way to better schools, lower electricity bills and health coverage for millions who lose insurance.

The two-hour session in the Roosevelt Room focused the proposed $825 billion economic stimulus package that Congress is considering. The group also discussed the upcoming federal budget, Obama's first chance to shape the country's spending amid a recession that lost 2.6 million jobs last year, the most in a single year since World War II.

``Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity, which translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four. And we could lose a generation of potential, as more young Americans are forced to forgo college dreams or the chance to train for the jobs of the future,'' Obama said in a five-minute address released Saturday morning by radio and the Internet.

``In short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse.''

It was the latest appeal from the new president for a massive spending bill designed to inject almost $1 trillion into the economy and fulfill campaign pledges. Obama spent much of last week wooing reluctant legislators many from his own Democratic Party and weighing whether there's a need for a second economic package, which aides refused to rule out.

That sequel would be designed to assuage Democratic lawmakers who fret that too little of the money is going toward public works projects that would employ their constituents. Others aides are trying to work with Republican leaders to sustain the current bill's bipartisan flavor; the president planned to visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet privately with GOP lawmakers.

House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said his party would continue to push for immediate tax cuts ``not slow-moving government spending programs'' in the weekly GOP address.

``We let families, entrepreneurs, small businesses and the self-employed keep more of what they earn to encourage investment and create millions of new private-sector jobs,'' he said.

Republicans also proposed a tax credit for home purchases, an end of taxation of unemployment benefits and tax incentives for small businesses to invest in new equipment and hire new employees. Boehner was scheduled to make the case for the GOP plan on Sunday morning talk shows; Vice President Joe Biden and Obama economic adviser Larry Summers also planned interviews that morning.

``We cannot borrow and spend our way back to prosperity,'' Boehner said.

Both parties, though, agree something has to be done.

Manufacturing is at a 28-year low and even Obama's economists say unemployment could top 10 percent before the recession ends. One in 10 homeowners is at risk of foreclosure and the dollar continues its slide in value. On Friday, 1st Centennial Bank of Redlands, Calif., became the third U.S. bank to fail this year.

That harsh reality has dominated Obama's first days in office.

In addition to the president's speech, Obama aides released a report Saturday that outlined exactly what people could expect if Congress supported his proposed economic legislation.

Many of the ideas, such as shifting to electronic medical records and investing in preventive health care, were familiar from Obama's two-year campaign for the presidency. Other parts added specifics.

Obama's recovery package aims to:

Double within three years the amount of energy that could be produced from renewable resources. That is an ambitious goal, given the 30 years it took to reach current levels. Advisers say that could power 6 million households.

Upgrade 10,000 schools and improve learning for about 5 million students.

Save $2 billion a year by making federal buildings energy efficient.

Triple the number of undergraduate and graduate fellowships in science.

Tighten security at 90 major ports.

The plan would spend at least 75 percent of the total cost or more than $600 billion within the first 18 months, either through bricks-and-shovels projects favored by Democrats or tax cuts that Republicans have pushed.

There is heavy emphasis on public works projects, which have lagged as state budgets contracted. Governors have lobbied Obama to help them patch holes in their budgets, drained by sinking tax revenues and increased need for public assistance such as Medicaid and children's health insurance. Obama's plan would increase the federal portion of those programs so no state would have to cut any of the 20 million children whose eligibility is now at risk.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Jail Commander Danny Woods resigned after 24-year old inmate Obiel Pineda-Parado walked off a trash detail last week.

The Lawnreceville man is still at large. Authorities do not consider him dangerous. He is supposed to be behind bars on drug and immigration charges.

Woods was almost demoted to the rank of Lieutenant. Jailer Roger Green has also quit, while three others were give three days suspension without pay.

Investigators say the jailers did not follow the head count policy.

(WSB Radio) Grandma gets her wish.

"I'm not angry, I just want her home safely," Carrie Dejarnette told WSB-TV, while wondering where her granddaughter had been for nearly a week.

Hours later, 14-year old Aleshea Penn was found safe in Sandy Springs

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Gwinnett County police canceled the Mattie's call for the mentally challenged middle school student around 2:30 a.m. Sunday.

Gwinnett County police said Penn called Sandy Springs authorities to let them know she was staying with an acquittance . Penn was not hurt and police don't think there is any foul play behind her disappearance .

She is in the custody of the Department of Family and Children's service while authorities investigate.

Dejarnette said she had last seen Penn on January 19th talking to a man near the Cyber Cafe at her apartment complex off McKendree Church Road.

"The fellow, I'm sure she was talking with had a hood and a white jacket on," Dejarnette said. "He came out and he turned his face, so I wouldn't see his face and walked out. "

Gwinnett police said Penn was last seen with a 6-foot-0 black man with short dread locks .

Penn's mother moved her from Cleveland to live with her grandmother in Lawrenceville because of behavior problems. But Dejarnette said the teen was about to go back home.

"I think that someone took her because her clothes were still ready to go for Thursday, she knew her mother was coming."

According to Dejarnette, her granddaughter was excited about going back to Ohio.

"I don't think that she just left because she wouldn't do that."

Grandmother says she saw Penn with that same man after her granddaughter skipped class at Creekland Middle School last week. She found Aleshea's My Space page and thinks the two may have met online.

Luckily, Stansbury could counter with Jarvis Varnado, who is anything but a secret.

Varnado, the nation's leader in blocked shots, had 14 points and game-high totals of eight rebounds, four blocks and four steals and Mississippi State overcame Ricky McPhee's 3-point barrage to beat Georgia 67-61 on Saturday night.

Mississippi State led by 19 at 30-11 midway through the first half, but McPhee, a walk-on, made three 3-pointers in the first nine minutes of the second half to cut the lead to 47-43.

McPhee, a 6-foot-1 transfer walk-on from Gardner-Webb, added another 3 with 7:11 remaining to cut State's lead to 52-50.

Mississippi State scored the next eight points.

Even after the game, Stansbury wasn't sure about the mystery player making all the 3s for Georgia.

``One of the big reasons they got back in the game ... was that little McPherson kid or McGee, a kid who hadn't played,'' said Stansbury, referring to McPhee.

``He hadn't played,'' Stansbury insisted. ``I don't think he had one minute in SEC play. Check the stats.''

Stansbury was almost right. McPhee had played only a combined six minutes in two conference games before logging 24 minutes and making 5 of 7 3s, including four in the second half, to score a career-high 15 points.

``He came off the bench and made five 3s and those 3s in the second half got them back going and gave them some energy,'' Stansbury said. ``It got contagious.''

Georgia freshman Dustin Ware had 14 points, including a 3-pointer with 19.7 seconds left cut Mississippi State's lead to 64-61. Jeremy Price had 10 points.

Phil Turner, who had 13 points, made four free throws in the final minute.

Ravern Johnson led Mississippi State (14-6 overall, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) with 21 points, all in the first half.

``They played zone (defense) and I'm a shooter,'' Johnson explained. ``When they play zone, you've got to knock down shots.''

Georgia (9-10, 0-4) has lost six straight, but coach Dennis Felton found some cause for optimism from his team's second-half play. Georgia had 16 turnovers in the first half and only six in the final 20 minutes.

``I was pleased to be at least where we were at halftime after turning the thing over 16 times and letting Johnson get 21,'' Felton said.

Felton said Ware, who shares point-guard duties with Zac Swansey, helped Georgia set a different pace in the second half.

``I think Dustin did a really good job of facilitating a lot of that by just pushing it and pushing it and pushing it,'' Felton said. ``Obviously we got a terrific lift from Ricky scoring the ball.''

Mississippi State's answer was Varnado.

``Ravern was so hot in the first half, we weren't real conscious of getting the ball inside,'' Stansbury said. ``When you get a lead and you're on the road, you better get the ball inside some, because that 3-point shot, you can't live on that on every possession.

``I thought we had a great balance. I thought we got the ball to Jarvis. Jarvis going to work in the second half was a big difference in the game.''

Varnado, who had eight rebounds and four steals, said he was passing out to Johnson in the first half when Georgia's defense collapsed on him near the basket. Varnado had more chances when Georgia changed its defense.

``One thing about this team is you don't know who's going to step up on any given night,'' Varnado said.

Each of Varnado's four blocks came in the second half. He scored after his first block on Albert Jackson and scored eight of his team's first 11 points in the second half.

Georgia, last in the SEC in scoring (66 points per game) and field-goal percentage (42.3), continued to struggle offensively. The host Bulldogs were held to 24 points in the first half and then didn't score in the first four minutes of the second half.

Johnson, averaging 12 points per game, almost matched Georgia's first-half scoring while making five of his first six 3-pointers. He didn't attempt another 3-pointer in the game.

Sgt. Dwayne Taylor of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office says the 26-year-old Hill was arrested about 4 a.m. Saturday in the suburban Atlanta county. Taylor said Hill had apparently fallen asleep behind the wheel at a major intersection.

Taylor said officers found less than one ounce of marijuana in the vehicle. A court date has not yet been set. Hill was released after posting a $1,500 bond. Officials did not know if he has an attorney.

Hill made 84 tackles in 12 games, but missed the final four games of the season with a pinched nerve in his neck. The four-year veteran is scheduled to become a free agent next month.

Katie Stam of Indiana was crowned Miss America on Saturday night, fighting off a throat infection, laryngitis and 51 other contestants to win the 88-year-old pageant.

The 22-year-old University of Indianapolis student became the first Miss America winner from the Hoosier State. She drew loud applause for her rendition of ``Via Dolorosa'' during the talent portion of the beauty pageant at Planet Hollywood Resort Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

Stam said she had trouble sleeping one night this week while she took prescription medicine to fight the infection, but got her voice back by Thursday.

``I was feeling like myself again I will never take my health for granted,'' she said.

The Seymour native also strutted onstage in a black bikini and an off-the-shoulder, white lace evening gown. During the interview portion of the competition she decried the use of performance-enhancing drugs among professional athletes and discussed the definition of glamour.

``That beauty that you feel on the inside, it's that confidence, that radiance inside of you, that's what glamour is,'' Stam said.

Stam won a $50,000 scholarship and hopes to obtain a bachelor's degree in communications and become a television news anchor. She began competing in pageants at age 15.

Stam was crowned by reigning Miss America Kirsten Haglund of Michigan and will soon embark on a year of travel and public appearances.

She said she had one semester left in school but didn't know when she would finish and already was graduating debt-free without the $50,000 prize. Stam said she might use the money for graduate school.

The 52 young women took to the stage in blue jeans, bikinis and ballgowns following a mini-reality series on pageant prep work and a week of preliminary competition.

After an opening dance number and the traditional parade of states, judges and fans immediately trimmed the field to 15 finalists. Five more were trimmed based on swimsuit and evening gown competitions, while the remaining 10 went on to showcase their dancing, singing and other skills during the talent portion.

``This gown nearly blinds people,'' Miss Arkansas Ashlen Batson said in a video clip played as she walked onstage in a silver dress with beading. Batson was eliminated before she could play her flute in the talent competition.

Miss Hawaii Nicole Fox drew cheers as she performed a traditional Tahitian dance, wearing a huge white feathered headdress and skirt to match. After she exited, part of her skirt remained on the stage.

In a new twist, viewers of a lead-in reality show, ``Miss America: Countdown to the Crown'' voted in four of the 15 finalists, while the judges announced the other 11 during a live TLC television broadcast.

The four finalists chosen by viewers were Stam, the eventual winner, and Hardman, the first runner-up, as well as Miss South Dakota Alexandra Hoffman and Miss Alabama Amanda Tapley.

The other 11 women remaining after the opening number were: Batson, Fox, Miss Michigan Ashlee Baracy, Miss Delaware Galen Giaccone, Miss District of Columbia Kate Marie Grinold, Miss Iowa Olivia Myers, Miss New York Leigh-Taylor Smith, Miss California Jackie Geist, Miss Florida Sierra Minott, Miss Kentucky Emily Cox and Miss Tennessee Ellen Carrington.

The viewer interaction to name four contestants as ``America's choice'' was Discovery-owned TLC's attempt to stoke interest in this year's contestants. Once an American icon, the shine on Miss America's crown has been dimmed by slipping ratings and the popularity of more salacious reality shows.

The pageant was dropped from network television after the 2004 pageant drew a record low viewership. It found a home in Las Vegas after moving from its longtime location in Atlantic City, N.J., but it has struggled to get its footing on cable.

In its second year on TLC, Mario Lopez, of ``Extra,'' hosted with an assist from Clinton Kelly of TLC's ``What Not to Wear.'' Judges include actress Laura Bell Bundy, Miss America 1999 Nicole Johnson, hairstylist Ken Paves and Olympic swimmer Cullen Jones.

As always, the women competed in swimsuit, evening gown and talent competitions, as well as a short ``interview,'' in which they were asked their thoughts on a current event or hot topic. TLC has tried to dash the days of answers that declared that ``children are the future.'' Questions came from average people and were intended to put the contestants on the spot.

TLC also had some fun with the cliches of pageants past. For example, in its scorecard for home viewers posted online, it asked viewers to count the number of mentions of world peace and to name the contestant with best spray tan.

Associated Press writer Kathleen Hennessey contributed to this report.

(WSB Radio) DFACS now has to answer the question of the times.

"How can you do more with less?" asks child advocate Normer Adams," I don't know how you can do it."

The Department of Family and Child Services cuts $350 million dollars from its budget for this year and next. It's one of the ways the state is trying to make up a $2-billion budget shortfall.

"I've used furloughs to avoid sudden rapid layoffs," DFACS chief BJ Walker told WSB-TV. "We're going to maintain a case load thats just above that national standard."

"We really didn't have a lot of choices."

But those choices has some critics concerned that kids needs may not be met.

"Children will slip through the cracks," Adams said. "They'll slip through the cracks because they're not enough eyes on them. I'm afraid we are (going to see more cases of abuse). I think we're already beginning to see those numbers rise for the bad. "

Parents aren't thrilled either.

"I'm a single parent," said Taneica Lowe, while receiving aid at Fulton County Social Services. "I support two kids on my own and so this is the only place I can come to get help."

JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) Clayton County's new sheriff has taken deputies off the street and suspended his office's community relations division as he deals with a tight budget.

The sheriff, Kem Kimbrough, says it takes a minimum of 28 officers a shift to run the county jail, and he's having problems because he lacks the money to pay overtime.

``I'm short in the jail and short in the courts,'' said Kimbrough, who took office Jan. 1. ``My priority needs to be the safety of my officers and the inmates.''

The sheriff says his predecessor spent the department's $1.9 million overtime budget during the first six months of the fiscal year.

Kimbrough says he is scrutinizing the department's budget, but that he will likely have to ask the county commission for more money.

ATLANTA (AP) A federal appeals court says three Rockdale County High School football coaches cannot be held liable for alleged constitutional violations in the death of a 15-year-old player after an offseason workout session in 2006.

Tyler Davis died the morning after collapsing from the heat during the July 31 voluntary workout.

His parents sued the school system, the state of Georgia and various school employees, including coaches Lee Carter, Peter Carlson and Stacey Wilborn. U.S. District Judge G. Ernest Tidwell dismissed all defendants except the coaches.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that they are entitled to qualified immunity as public employees performing their duties.

ATLANTA (AP) After eking out a pair of wins earlier in the week, the Atlanta Hawks got a chance to enjoy themselves in this one.

Flip Murray scored a season-high 25 points, Josh Smith had 24 and the Hawks raced to their biggest victory of the season, 117-87 over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

Mike Bibby dished out 15 assists for Atlanta, which shot 56 percent from the field while winning its third in a row.

The 30-point margin easily eclipsed a pair of 18-point wins and didn't require nearly as much effort as their two previous victories, each by three points over Toronto and Chicago.

``We finished our work early tonight,'' Bibby said.

The Bucks went more than 7 minutes without a field goal over a span covering the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second. The Hawks built a 17-point lead and were up 58-47 at halftime.

Milwaukee closed to 60-55 on back-to-back 3s by Luke Ridnour and Charlie Villanueva early in the third, but the rally didn't last. Atlanta ripped off a 12-2 run, sparked by Smith's fast-break dunk off a feed from Bibby, then a putback slam by the acrobatic Smith. The Hawks stretched it out to 86-67 by the end of the third, and Milwaukee was done.

``They were so worried about Mike Bibby,'' Smith said. ``I was able to sneak my way inside and get some easy baskets.''

Bibby had 12 points and easily eclipsed his previous season high of 12 assists, even though he barely played in the final period. The Hawks emptied their bench and still managed to push the margin even higher against the listless Bucks.

``We were not settling for a lot of jump shots,'' said Joe Johnson, who was able to sit out the entire fourth quarter. ``We got to the hole a lot. The pick-and-roll worked to perfection.''

Charlie Villanueva led the Bucks with 27 points, but it was a mere afterthought in Milwaukee's most-lopsided defeat of the season.

Bucks center Andrew Bogut missed his fifth straight game with back spasms, and the Hawks sure took advantage of his absence on the inside. Atlanta had numerous dunks and easy baskets, finishing with a 50-20 edge when it came to points in the lane.

``We didn't show up in any facet of the game,'' Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles said.

The Bucks hardly looked like the same team that blew out Dallas by 34 points two nights earlier.

``It's just not acceptable,'' Villanueva said. ``We've shown how good we can play when we want to play. We've shown it. We just have to be a mature team and be more consistent.

Murray led the Atlanta reserves on 11-of-13 shooting, eclipsing his previous best of 21 points and a big improvement on his two previous games, when he combined to hit only 8-of-26 from the field. Maurice Evans added 18 points.

``I needed that,'' Murray said. ``I had to get my swagger back.''

Marvin Williams returned to the Atlanta lineup after missing two games with a concussion, chipping in with 11 points and nine rebounds. The Hawks were still without center Al Horford, who missed his seventh straight game with a bone bruise to his right knee and isn't likely to return for another week.

The Bucks couldn't make anything, their woes epitomized by a sequence in the third quarter. They took off down the court with a 3-on-1, with Atlanta's lone defender conceding the hoop. But Richard Jefferson clanked the layup, and Michael Redd missed an easy follow off the rebound.

Not long after, Villanueva decided to try his luck from farther out. He launched a 3-pointer from the top of the key that hit nothing but ... well, nothing, coming up a good foot short of the rim and landing softly out of bounds.

Two games after lighting up Sacramento for 44 points, Redd was held to 16 on 6-of-14 shooting. The Bucks finished 38 percent from the field.

``No more talk of 'We're a good team' and potential,'' Redd said. ``Just play good basketball and be consistent. We've got to bust through the ceiling of inconsistency.''
Notes: Hawks coach Mike Woodson campaigned for Johnson to make his third straight All-Star Game appearance. ``There's no doubt that Joe should be an All-Star,'' the coach said. ``His numbers are as consistent as anybody's: scoring, rebounding, assists, steals. He's done everything for us.'' ... Bucks assistant Lionel Hollins flew to Atlanta with the team, then left to talk with Memphis officials about an offer to take over as the Grizzlies' head coach. Skiles has already conceded that Hollins will leave, wishing him well in the new job and saying he's thoroughly qualified.

Reeves met with Niners coach Mike Singletary and general manager Scot McCloughan at the team's facility as the team to fill the gap created in their coaching staff by Mike Martz's firing Dec. 30.

Reeves was a head coach for 23 seasons in the NFL with Denver, the New York Giants and Atlanta. But he has been out of coaching since being replaced by Wade Phillips with three games left in the 2003 season with the Falcons.

Reeves, 65, had a 190-165-2 record as a head coach, making the postseason nine times and losing in all four trips he made to the Super Bowl.

Reeves won the AP Coach of the Year award twice in his career, getting it for his work in 1993 with the Giants and '98 with Atlanta. He spent his first 12 years of coaching in Denver.

A phone message left at Reeves' Atlanta home wasn't immediately returned.

Earlier Friday, Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks coach Hue Jackson also interviewed for the open San Francisco coordinator job.

San Francisco's next offensive coordinator will be the team's seventh in seven seasons. The 49ers offered the job to Scott Linehan earlier this month, but the former St. Louis Rams coach turned it down and took the same job with the Detroit Lions on Friday.

Singletary has interviewed former Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski, Cleveland offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski and Indianapolis receivers coach Clyde Christensen for the job. Denver assistant Rick Dennison also interviewed, but stayed on the Broncos' new coaching staff.

ATLANTA (AP) A former Forsyth County deputy and his wife have admitted keeping an illegal immigrant as an unpaid nanny in their home.

Russell and Malika Garrett of Woodstock pleaded guilty Friday to harboring an alien for private financial gain. She also admitted lying to FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents investigating the claims.

The Garretts, both 43, will be sentenced April 22. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison. She could get a maximum of 15 years.

Prosecutors say from February 2003 through June 2005, the Garretts harbored the Indian woman, who was first underpaid and later not paid at all. They said she could have left at any time but acknowledged telling her she would be deported and jailed. She finally fled with help from a neighbor.

Garrett was dismissed from the sheriff's department June 24, shortly after being arraigned along with his wife and his father, a retired Fulton County magistrate, on charges including human trafficking, alien harboring and witness tampering.

His father, William D. Garrett Jr. of Alpharetta, Ga., is scheduled for trial Feb. 23.

U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias said in June that the three conspired to lure the woman to the U.S. to work as a nanny for the younger Garretts' children. But they later made her work for up to 16 hours a day while threatening to have her jailed and deported, Nahmias said.

Defense attorney Manny Arora could not be reached for comment Friday. After the arraignment, Arora denied the charges and said the nanny was free to go at any time and even went out dancing.

``We're very disappointed that an indictment was sought in this case,'' Arora said. ``I'm certain the U.S. Attorney's Office believes it was acting in the best interest of the public, but they're wrong.''

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) Georgia's struggling public defender system, already saddled with lawsuits that claim it is failing its clients, is struggling to pay about $600,000 in outstanding bills amid another round of budget cuts.

The Public Defender Standards Council's frustrated leaders met Friday to discuss the dwindling options to pay their bills, which seemed to boil down to two choices: Pay all of its current bills now and hope the state forks over more funds to cover the next round of bills, or prioritize who should be paid now and leave scores of tabs unsettled.

The financial squeeze underscores problems that have long plagued the system. Once held up as a national model for how states can better represent indigent defendants, it is now buckling under budget cuts and a cloudy reputation among powerful lawmakers.

The system has been targeted by rounds of funding cuts since it started in 2005. Some 41 staffers were fired in the first round of cuts in May 2007, and system director Mack Crawford's decision this summer to fire four full-time attorneys and replace them with contract staff led to a lawsuit by civil rights groups.

The groups later withdrew the lawsuit, but the defenders now face another stiff challenge filed on behalf of a murder suspect who said the system failed to adequately represent him because he has been without a lawyer for eight months.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of Jamie Ryan Weis said that he has languished in jail awaiting legal counsel. Two private attorneys assigned to represent Weis were removed because the council couldn't pay them, and two public defenders objected to taking the case because they said they have heavy case loads and too few resources, the lawsuit said.

The agency was already under fire by legislators who say the agency isn't spending state funds appropriately. The case of courthouse gunman Brian Nichols, whose defense lawyers racked up a legal bill that could top $2 million, became a rallying cry for legislators looking to cut funding.

The system would likely have had to absorb budget reductions this year regardless as Georgia struggles to meet a $2.2 billion budget deficit.

Gov. Sonny Perdue's spending plan proposes cutting $4.5 million from the system's $40.4 million budget this fiscal year and another $5.5 million from the $42.1 million budget the next fiscal year. That includes freezing positions, slashing training programs and a $1.3 million cut to the programs aimed at cases involving multiple defendants.

That has prompted the system's angry leaders to threaten ways to force a showdown at the Legislature, including a failed proposal to ignore the cuts and risk running out of funds within months.

Council members say the system, which relies on court fees and not taxes, should be exempt from budget cuts. And they say that while other state agencies can stomach deep cuts, the legal system must meet strict constitutional mandates to protect the rights of defendants and preserve due process or face a legal challenge.

Friday's debate, though, hinged on more practical measures: How to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in existing bills. Board member Wyc Orr, a Gainesville attorney, suggested paying the bills for cases stalled in pretrial stages.

``I think that should be our first and primary obligation,'' he said.

But a majority of council members backed paying the bills in full now, and revisiting the pricing structure later to set standard fees and caps.

``It is absolutely indefensible to contract with people and then not pay them,'' said Don Oliver, a board member and attorney for Walker County. ``We can't defend it legally, we can't defend it morally. We need to keep our word and pay our bills.''

ATLANTA (AP) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued an opinion saying that it has the legal authority to supply metro Atlanta's drinking water from Lake Lanier.

The opinion by the corps, which manages regional water resources, was welcomed by Atlanta leaders as a federal judge prepares to decide whether Congress should parse out how the lake's water is used.

Corps attorney Earl Stockdale's opinion says that setting aside about 12 percent of the lake for drinking water would have only minor effects on the project's goals to produce hydropower, control floods and float barges.

The north Georgia reservoir is at the center of a long-running battle involving Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Alabama and Florida say more water is needed downstream to float barges and protect the fragile ecosystem.

Florida and Alabama are asking a federal court to stop the Army Corps of Engineers from supplying water to Georgia from Lake Lanier, Atlanta's main water source.

The states argue the withdrawals are illegal without congressional approval. They said they would file a motion in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville Friday to invalidate the corps' operations on the federal reservoir.

Florida and Alabama have long argued that the corps is misusing Lanier at the expense of their interests downstream. The latest motion comes two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a lower-court ruling that said the corps needed congressional approval before reaching a 2003 agreement to give Georgia even more water from Lanier in the coming decades.

Emboldened by the decision, Florida and Alabama say that rationale should also apply to Georgia's current withdrawals.

Judge Paul A. Magnuson, who is overseeing combined lawsuits involving the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basin, has said that he will take up the question of Lanier's authorized uses first

BLAKELY, Ga. (AP) A Georgia peanut butter plant at the center of a probe of a nationwide salmonella outbreak has laid off most of its roughly 50 workers.

Production is shut down at the Peanut Corp. of America plant in Blakely, which made peanut butter and peanut paste blamed for sickening at least 486 people in more than 40 states since the fall. Seven have died.

Health officials say the death of a Minnesota woman is the latests to be linked to the nationwide salmonella.

Officials say the woman was in her 80s and lived at a long-term car facility. Most of the other deaths that salmonella may have contributed to also involved the elderly.

Their exact causes of death haven't been determined, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the salmonella may have contributed.

More than 125 products from energy bars to cookies to dog biscuits have been recalled due to possible contamination.

Peanut Corp. president Stewart Parnell confirmed the layoffs Friday through a public relations firm. It's not clear when the plant will be running again and whether the workers will be brought back.

Investigators have found salmonella contamination at the plant.

(WSB Radio) A 19 year old is shot and killed near a recording studio owned by his father, Atlanta police say.

Police said Adair Freeman was shot in the chest around 2 a.m. Saturday outside a Shell Gas Station at the Corner of Spring St. at 14th St. This is near the Hot Beats recording studio.

"It's my understanding after having talked to the father," said Atlanta police Lt. Keith Meadows. "His son was actually at the recording studio for him and that he was sent next door to receive some ice and thats when the incident occurred."

Investigators think it may have been a robbery attempt. Witnesses say they heard four gun shots. Those at the scene got into a heated argument with police as they tried to cross caution tape to learn what happened.

No one has been arrested. Hot Beats myspace.com page shows high profile artists like Ludacris, Lil' Wayne, Nelly, and Matchbox 20 have worked with the studio.

Investigators say there was some security at the studio. They are also asking nearby business for any surveillance tape that may give them clues to help find the gunman.

(WSB Radio) -- The first cases of a salmonella outbreak that has been linked to peanut butter made in Georgia, have turned up in metro Atlanta. 

One case has been reported in Gwinnett and the other in DeKalb, according to officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In addition, four other cases have been reported in Georgia.

Federal health officials say the salmonella recall now involves about 31 million pounds of peanut butter and peanut paste.

That's a whole lot of peanut butter.

But consider this: The nonprofit National Peanut Board says Americans eat 700 million pounds of the gooey treat every year.

Peanut Corp. of America, the company that made the recalled products, isn't an industry giant. But its peanut paste is used by others to make dozens of goodies, from energy bars, to cakes, to dog biscuits. And the recall list keeps getting longer.

It's making the food industry nervous, although no major national brands of peanut butter are affected. Even the Girl Scouts are reassuring customers Peanut Corp. is not their supplier.

(WSB Radio) Atlanta's latest effort to battle its own budget crisis could hit you in the wallet.

If you accidentally set off your home alarm you're going to have to pay for it.

"Over $4 million in uncollected revenue from false alarms," says Atlanta City Councilwoman Ann Fauver, who says between 2000 and 2002 the city lost out on a big chunk of change.

It's estimated that 93% of all alarms are false, so now, if you live in Atlanta, you'll be paying at least $100 after the first false call.

"The ultimate is $1000," Fauver tells WSB.

Fauver estimates enforcing the measure will pay for itself, while also generating revenue.  She says it will also ease the workload of law enforcement by reducing the number of false alarms.

(WSB Radio) The Atlanta City Council wants to end public safety furloughs.  The Mayor says that's fine, if they can find the money to do so.

The council voted unanimously to back a resolution to end the 4 hour a week furloughs for police, firefighters, EMT's and corrections workers.

Mayor Shirley Franklin says the furloughs are unavoidable.

"I would wish that we were not in a deep recession, that Georgia was not experiencing a deep recession and that Atlanta was not experiencing a deep recession and something else was possible," Franklin says.  "It is not."

The Mayor says the council needs to come up with the money before she'll restore the hours to the workers.

Critics of the cutbacks say they've jeopardized public safety in the city.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau)  Georgia's university system chancellor says the teaching program at the state's colleges and universities will suffer under a budget proposal by Gov. Perdue.

Erroll Davis told legislative budget writers that of the $243 million in proposed cuts, $197 million would come from the program.

"We cannot let the urgent get in the way of the important and we do not preserve the future by eating our children," he says.

Davis complained that by making cuts now, they will not be able to meet their goal of producing 20,000 teachers in Georgia by the year 2020.

"If you believe in the future of the state, if you believe in the economy of the state then you have to make investments now," he says.

While he told lawmakers he's philosophically opposed to furloughs for employees, Davis was blasted by members because of his proposal to increase tuition by $100 a semester at the state's research universities.  Other schools would face hikes of $75 and $50 per semester.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau)  State DOT Commissioner Gena Evans is hoping a shift in Georgia's motor fuel tax will help in the immediate budget crisis.

She told legislative budget writers that by shifting the fourth penny in the motor fuel tax that currently goes into the state's general fund into transportation would help make up a $189 million budget shortfall. 

Evans says, in addition, she'd like old debt currently being repaid by her department to be shifted elsewhere within the state's budget.

"We're in deep financial trouble needless to say at the department and those two things would help us immediately," she says.

Evans says she supports the idea of either a regional or statewide sales tax for transportation that's being proposed by lawmakers, but no money would come to her department until either the amended 2012 or fiscal year 2013 budgets.

She says she's done all the cutting within her department she can right now without cutting personnel.  The DOT board voted last fall to cut road projects rather than employees.

As for help from a federal stimulus plan, Evans says they're expecting to receive $1.04 billion which is down from the original proposal of $1.09 billion.  She says the requirements on which transportation projects would be accepted keeps changing and right now some 8500 statewide have been submitted.

22 January 2009

All proceeds from the sales will go to help fund the state's dog and cat sterilization program. It's the third plate issued since the program began in 2002.

So far the fund has generated $2.9 million and has contributed to the sterilization of 41,000 dogs and cats all over Georgia.

The new tag will be available in local tag offices in March and will cost a one-time fee of $25.00.

"Hope" is a real cat that was found at a local shelter and has since been adopted.

(WSB Radio) -- The Georgia unemployment rate rose to 8.1 percent in December, the highest rate in nearly 26 years, according to the state Department of Labor.

The December unemployment rate was up seven-tenths of one percentage point from a revised 7.4 percent in November.

The last time Georgia posted a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at this level was in March of 1983 when the rate was also 8.1 percent. The state rate remained above the national rate of 7.2 percent for the 11th straight month.

Over the last year, the number of payroll jobs decreased 121,800 or 2.9 percent, according to the department.

The December report shows jobs were lost in manufacturing, construction, and trade, along with professional and business services, including temporary employment agencies. Jobs were added in health care, education, and with the federal government.

(WSB Radio) -- One suspect is in custody and a second is being sought in a violent home invasion in Roswell earlier this month.

Investigators tell WSB's Jon Lewis that James Marino, 25, of Atlanta, was being held on unrelated charges since last week.

Marino is facing charges including armed robbery, false imprisonment, battery and aggravated assault in the the Jan. 8 home invasion on Steeple Chase Point in the Horseshoe Bend subdivision.

A Sandy Springs pawn shop owner was ambushed, beaten and robbed outside his Roswell home by gunmen who then tied up the rest of his family before demanding money, police said.

Roswell police Lt. James McGee said Arthur Rappaport, 55, "evidently got ambushed."

Rappaport told officers that after arriving home from work, he went outside through the garage to walk his dogs. Two men wearing ski masks and gloves approached and pistol-whipped Rappaport, he told police.

The suspects then went inside and assaulted and tied up Rappaport's wife and two juvenile children, a boy and a girl, before fleeing with a "substantial" amount of money, McGee said.

Atlanta man Michael Checkoway, billing himself as an experienced professional in public relations, event management and production, is offering cash and vacations to anyone who helps him land a good-paying job.

He has launched a website with information including his picture, resume and details of the prize packages he'll give away once he's been employed at the new Atlanta-based gig for at least 90 days.

The bigger the salary, the bigger the prize.

"Fifty-five thousand dollars is what I'd at least like to be making for a base salary," says Checkoway, "so if somebody gives me a lead or a referral making me between $55,000 and $75,000, they'll have a choice between three different prizes."

For a job within that salary range, Checkoway offers a three-night trip to Las Vegas or a two-night trip to New York City; each package includes airfare, hotel, tickets to a show and $300 spending cash. Or, forgo the vacation for third option--$2,000 cash.

A job paying at least $75,000 lands the referral a week in Mexico or $4,000. For a job paying $100,000 base salary or more, Checkoway offers the winner a selection of two prizes--one from column A and one from column B.

A former co-worker says he's not surprised that Checkoway came up with this idea. "Mike is a great guy, very honest, and a hard worker," says 95.5 The Beat disc jockey Kenny Hamilton, who worked with Checkoway at another metro Atlanta radio station. "He's always had great ideas."

"I'm hoping that someone hears about this or sees my blog, and says, 'There's a creative, out-of-the-box thinker, a guy who knows how to go about promoting and marketing himself. Imagine what he can do for my company,'" Checkoway tells WSB.

Checkoway launched the website this month, and within a few days has received over 1,000 hits and a few leads with calls from other states--but he's still looking. He's also offering the prizes to anyone who hires him.

(WSB State Capitol Bureau) -- Gov. Perdue says he's looked at every pot of money available to fill a $2 billion shortfall in the 2009 amended budget. About $428 million of that will come from a fund used to help offset local property taxes for homeowners.

Perdue says he fully planned to fund the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant last year, but that the state's economy took a deeper hit than expected.

"It became virtually physically impossible that I saw to fund the $428 million," he told a joint hearing of Senate and House budget committee members.

Perdue is proposing more than $500 million in cuts to education in both the amended 2009 and 2010 budgets.  Among the programs taking a hit is school nurses.

"Of all the things that are being shifted and eliminated, this particular line item concerns me the most," says State School Superintendent Kathy Cox.

She says her budget submitted in August did not include school nurses as part of her ten percent in proposed cuts.

"Medically fragile children... nonmedically fragile children but who have ongoing medical issues whether it's diabetes or asthma, I think school nurses play a critical role," she says.

The program began in 2001 as part of the Tobacco Settlement money but has been funded with state dollars the last two years.

Local school systems will either have to find the money elsewhere or be forced to lay off nurses.

At least one lawmaker is suggesting furloughs for non-teaching employees as an alternative.

(WSB Radio)  The Georgia Lottery Board will meet this morning for the first time since a proposal for Underground Atlanta and gambling went public.

Developer Dan O'Leary wants to bring VLT's, or Video Lottery Terminals, to the downtown area, as a way of pumping new life, and a lot of money, into the struggling attraction.

O'Leary's plan would include a 29 story hotel on the site of the Underground, along with restaurants, shopping and, of course, gaming.

"The lottery will own the machines, they will operate the machines and they will collect the money out of the machines," O'Leary tells WSB.  That money, he says, would go a long way towards helping students in Georgia.

"The lottery, I believe, last year generated about $850 million for the HOPE scholarship,' O'Leary says.  "Our project will add an additional $300 million a year to the coffers of the HOPE scholarship."

He says the money raised by the VLT's would be treated the same as revenues raised by the state lottery.  Under his plan, the lottery would get half of the money raised by gaming at the new Underground.

O'Leary also says the project would bring thousands of jobs to the city, while also generating millions in tax revenues.

He believes the proposal does not need to go before the Georgia legislature, because the Lottery Board already has the authority to operate VLT's.  So, according to O'Leary, all that is needed is the board's approval.

If the board gives the go-ahead to the plan, O'Leary says the first phase of the project could be completed in just 12 months.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Caroline Kennedy says she is dropping out of a bid to win appointment to the U.S. Senate seat once held by her slain uncle, Bobby Kennedy.

In a statement released early Thursday, she says she told Gov. David Paterson that she is abandoning her attempt to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton for personal reasons.

Her uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy, suffered a seizure on Inauguration Day.

Spokesmen for Caroline Kennedy and for Paterson, who will make the appointment to fill the seat, wouldn't comment.

The decision capped several hours of mixed signals. Kennedy's effort began late last year with popular support that withered after she drew criticism and questions about her finances.

NEW YORK (AP) PETA has withdrawn an offer to televise an anti-dogfighting public service announcement with Michael Vick after his release from prison.

The organization said Wednesday that an agreement was reached with Vick's representatives to shoot the spot, but that Vick's attorneys sought assurance from PETA the group would support Vick's return to the NFL.

``Saying sorry and getting his ball back after being caught enjoying killing dogs in hideously cruel ways for many years doesn't cut it,'' said PETA president Ingrid E. Newkirk. ``Commissioner Goodell knows that he has an obligation to the league and to millions of fans, including children who look up to ballplayers as idols, to make sure that Michael Vick is mentally capable of remorse before he can touch, let alone wear, an NFL uniform again.''

PETA is urging that Vick undergo a brain scan and a full psychiatric evaluation.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Shane Dronett, who played 10 years in the NFL and started every game for the Atlanta Falcons' 1998 Super Bowl team, was found dead at his home on Wednesday. He was 38.

According to a statement from the Gwinnett County police department, officers were called to Dronett's home near Atlanta on Wednesday morning in response to a possible suicide. Police spokesman Illana Spellman confirmed Dronett's body was found at the residence.

The medical examiner's office was examining the body to determine the cause of death.

Dronett played at the University of Texas and was a second-round pick by Dan Reeves and the Denver Broncos in 1992.

``As a coach, your players are your extended family, and anytime you lose someone it is like losing a loved one,'' said David McWilliams, who coached Dronett at Texas and is now director of the Longhorn Letter Winners Association. ``I will always remember Shane's wry smile, his laughter, and the fact that he seemed so full of life. He was a great player, and was one of those rare guys who even liked practice.

``It is a shock and a tragedy to lose someone so young.''

As Atlanta's coach, Reeves brought Dronett to the Falcons in 1996 and said Wednesday the 6-foot-6, 300-pound defensive tackle was a key player when the Falcons made a run to Super Bowl before losing 34-19 to Denver in Miami.

``He was an integral part of our football team,'' Reeves said. ``He was really a good player. He gave us a lot of depth there. He was a happy go lucky guy. He was fun to be around, was always smiling and was the type of player you look for on a football team.''

Dronett, from Orange, Texas, is survived by his wife, Chris, and two daughters.

``My prayers go out for Chris and her two daughters,'' Reeves said. ``You hate to lose anybody at any time but when your kids are high school age or younger it makes it tough, and it's tough for Chris.''

Dronett had 48 tackles and 6.5 sacks in 1998 and again made 16 starts and recorded 6.5 sacks in 1999.

Dronett made 86 starts and had 44 sacks in 139 career games. He had 38 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 15 games in 2001, his last season as an active player. He remained on the team's roster before he was released following the 2002 season.

``The entire Atlanta Falcons family is saddened by the news of Shane Dronett's passing,'' owner Arthur Blank said. ``Our deepest condolences are with his family during this difficult time.''

Reeves said he most recently saw Dronett at a Falcons reunion this season. ``He was there and looked great,'' Reeves said.

Reeves said he also recently tried to assist Dronett in a business venture.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The list ranges from goodies like cookies and ice cream to energy bars. Even food for pooches may not be entirely safe, with a national company recalling some of its dog treats.

On Tuesday, PetSmart recalled seven kinds of its Grreat Choice dog biscuits. On Wednesday, the weight loss company NutriSystem issued a recall for peanut butter granola bars. And some Asian foods made with peanut sauces are starting to turn up on the recalls list.

To help consumers, the Food and Drug Administration has set up on its Web site a searchable database of recalled peanut products. ``We expect (the) number to continue to increase,'' said Stephen Sundlof, head of the FDA's food safety program. No major brands of peanut butter sold in jars are implicated.

Peanut butter is not normally thought of as a high-risk product for salmonella. The bacteria, a frequent source of food poisoning, is supposed to be killed off in the roasting process.

In this investigation, the common denominator is that all the products contain peanut paste or peanut butter made at a Peanut Corp. of America plant in Blakely, Ga.

Originally the problem appeared limited to peanut butter shipped in big tubs to institutional customers like nursing homes. But then peanut paste was implicated. Made from ground roasted peanuts, it is used as an ingredient in dozens of other products sold directly to consumers.

Last week, Kellogg recalled some of its Austin and Keebler brand peanut butter crackers. Salmonella was later confirmed in a package of Austin crackers.

At least 486 people in more than 40 states have gotten sick since the outbreak began in the fall. Six have died.

Investigators found salmonella contamination at the PCA plant, which has suspended production. In one of the curious twists in the investigation, the salmonella strain at the plant is not an exact match to the one that has gotten people sick, the FDA said. However, the outbreak strain has been positively identified in a sample from an unopened jar of peanut produced at the Georgia plant.

Sundlof suggested it doesn't much matter whether health authorities get a perfect match at the plant. ``Having salmonella in the plant is not supposed to happen,'' he said. ``Regardless of whether it's the outbreak strain or not, that represents a violation.''

Salmonella has been found in a floor crack and on the floor near a wall where pallets are stored, he said.

The manufacturer said it is cooperating with the investigation, but has received nothing in writing from health investigators to document their findings. ``We trust that at some point they will share this with us and PCA will respond accordingly,'' said a company statement.

Although PCA is a small company, it lists more than 70 food companies as its customers. ``Peanut paste is used in a huge variety of other foods,'' said Dr. Robert Tauxe, who is directing the investigation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A noted food safety scientist said manufacturers have to be careful that peanuts don't get contaminated after roasting. That's partly because peanut butter itself can't be heated to kill the bacteria without making it unpalatable to eat.

``Once the salmonella gets into the peanut butter, you are not going to kill it,'' said Michael Doyle, head of the University of Georgia's food safety center. ``What the processor has to rely on is the roasting process. That's a critical control point.''

After roasting, peanuts can be contaminated if they somehow come into contact with tainted water, or if birds or rodents get into the plant. They can also be cross-contaminated by equipment that is used to handle raw ingredients. Raw peanuts can harbor salmonella, just like other agricultural products.

``If there are fork lifts in the raw ingredient area, they can't go into the other part of the plant, because they could be bringing in untreated material,'' Doyle said. Federal and state officials would not discuss details of the investigation at the Georgia plant.

The FDA's Sundlof said it's rare for dogs to get salmonella illness, but that their owners can pick up the bacteria by handling tainted biscuits. If people don't wash their hands after feeding the dog, they can transfer the bacteria to human foods.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Snellville police are questioning several "persons of interest" in the weekend stabbing death of a great-grandmother. 

The body of 88-year-old Bealuh Gotwalt, who lived with her daughter, son-in-law and great-grandson on Oak Meadow Drive, was discovered Sunday morning by family members.

Snellville Police Chief Roy Whitehead tells WSB investigators have not been able to establish a motive for the murder.  He says "there's no indication of forced entry into the residence and doesn't appear that anything was taken along that line." 

Whitehead says the victim was stabbed multiple times in her bed.  She was found with a bloody pillow over her head.

(WSB Radio)  -- A New Jersey credit card payment company admits hackers have breached security and may have accessed 100 million credit or debit card payments a month.

Heartland Payment says it can not estimate the number of customers affected.  The company processes accounts for 175,000 clients.

Security experts say the breach could set a record.

"There was a piece of code that was put into the company's computers that were able to see all of the credit and debit card numbers and other relevant information that was passing through the company's network," according to ID theft expert Scott Mitic.

Robert Baldwin, Heartland's president and CFO, said in a USA TODAY interview that the intruders had access to Heartland's system for "longer than weeks" in late 2008.

Banks and other credit card suppliers are issuing replacement cards to victimized consumers.

In his first year of arbitration eligibility, outfielder Jeff Francoeur is seeking $3.95 million dollars for the 2009 season. The Braves are offering a one year deal worth $2.8 million dollars.

Last season, Francoeur made $460,000 dollars. Atlanta Journal-Constitution sports writer David O'Brien says the former Parkview High School standout set career lows in batting average (.239), home runs (11) and slugging percentage (.359).

Two others players, second baseman Kelly Johnson and first baseman Casey Kotchman, are also eligible for arbitration. Johnson is asking for $950,000 dollars more than the Braves are offering. The team and Kotchman are only $775,000 dollars apart.

Arbitration hearings are scheduled to begin next month and Major League teams can negotiate with eligible players until that time. If a salary dispute does go to arbitration, a panel will choose either the salary requested by the player or the one offered by the team.

ATLANTA (AP) David Nahmias, who attended law school with President Barack Obama, will remain U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia for the time being.

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Patrick Crosby says the 44-year-old Nahmias has been asked to remain in his position, along with all other U.S. attorneys.

Nahmias worked on the Harvard Law Review with Obama, who was the first black student to be named president of the law review.

Former President George W. Bush appointed Nahmias in 2004.

Nahmias oversaw the successful prosecution of former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell and approved a plea agreement with T.I. on federal weapons charges that gave the rapper a reduced prison term but required him to preach nonviolence to young people.

  (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Before a standing room only crowd, the Coweta County Commission announced Tuesday night it would not give a license to an adult oriented business that wants to set up shop in the Thomas Crossroads community. 

Commissioners refused to issue the license for Starship Adult Novelties and Gifts after county staff determined that more than 25% of the store's inventory would be sexually oriented merchandise. 

Most of the residents attending the meeting were from local churches that opposed Starship's plans for a store at the intersection of Highways 34 and 154.  Many opponents held signs during the meeting that read "pornography is for perverts."

No one from Starship would comment after the meeting.  The company already operates 19 stores in metro Atlanta, Athens, Columbus and Chattanooga.

WASHINGTON (AP) When it comes to favorite foods, women have a hard time saying no a much harder time than men, scientists have discovered.

Gene-Jack Wang, who chairs the medical department at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and his colleagues were trying to figure out why some people overeat and gain weight while others don't. They were surprised at the difference between the sexes in brain response to controlling food intake. The discovery may explain the higher obesity rate for women and girls. They report their findings in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In the study, 13 women and 10 men were quizzed about their favorite foods, which ranged from pizza to cinnamon buns and burgers to chocolate cake, and then were asked to fast overnight.

The next day they underwent brain scans while being presented with their favorite foods. In addition, they used a technique called cognitive inhibition, which they had been taught, to suppress thoughts of hunger and eating.

While both men and women said the inhibition technique decreased their hunger, the brain scans showed that men's brain activity actually decreased, while the part of women's brains that responds to food remained active.

``Even though the women said they were less hungry when trying to inhibit their response to the food, their brains were still firing away in the regions that control the drive to eat,'' Wang, the study's lead author, said in a telephone interview.

Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Addiction and a co-author of the paper, said the gender difference was a surprise and may be because of different nutritional needs for men and women, although she stressed that idea is speculative.

Because the traditional role of the female is to provide nutrition to children, the female brain may be hard-wired to eat when foods are available, she said. The next step is to see if female hormones are reacting directly with those specific parts of the brain.

``In our society we are being constantly being bombarded by food stimulus,'' she said in a telephone interview, so understanding the brain's response can help in developing ways to resist that stimulus.

Eric Stice, an expert on eating disorders at the Oregon Research Institute, called the findings provocative.

``I think it is very possible that the differences in hunger suppression may contribute to gender differences in eating disorders and that they are likely linked to gender differences in estrogen and related hormones,'' said Stice, who was not part of Wang's research team.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 35.3 percent of American women and 33.3 percent of men were considered obese in 2006.

Rosalyn Weller, a professor of psychology at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, said she was surprised by the results and ``thought the dissociation between subjective reports of hunger and brain activation in women but not men was very interesting.''

The results suggest that training in reducing food desires or in reacting to food cues could be effective treatments to combat obesity, said Weller, who was not part of the research team.

Weller was a co-author of a recent paper in the journal NeuroImage that studied women's brains when participants were shown pictures of food. They found that obese women had a much stronger reaction than normal-weight women in brain regions related to reward.

Wang noted that behavioral studies have shown that women have a higher tendency than men to overeat when presented with tasty food or under emotional distress.

This may result from differences in sex hormones, he said, and further research is planned to see if that is the case.

Alice H. Lichtenstein, an expert in eating behavior at Tufts University, called Wang's research ``very interesting. ... I hope to see more like it.''

But, she added, a lot of different factors figure in what and when we eat.

``As we learn more about the different factors that go into making that decision we'll be better at helping people regulate'' their eating, said Lichtenstein, who was not part of the research team.

Obesity has been increasing and Wang also suggested that another part of the reason is changes in society.

While food choices were seasonal and more limited for our ancestors, choices today are wider and the food is so tempting, he said.

``You go to the buffet, you see the food, you want it,'' Wang went on. ``Some people go to the buffet, they don't eat so much, some do. There is something different in the people.''

The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the General Clinical Research Center of Stony Brook University.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

CHICAGO (AP) Mike Bibby will always seek other options when his shot's not falling. This time, there was no need to look elsewhere.

Bibby scored nine of his season-high 31 points in the final five minutes, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Chicago Bulls 105-102 Tuesday to complete a three-game season sweep.

``I'm just trying to make things happen,'' he said.

Solid throughout the game, Bibby came up big in the end to lift the Hawks to their second win in as many nights.

The Bulls were leading 94-93 after Derrick Rose drove for a layup, but Bibby buried a jumper over Joakim Noah to start a decisive 7-0 spurt that sent the Hawks to their second win in as many nights. Flip Murray then converted a layup on a two-on-one after Chicago's Luol Deng hit the side of the backboard on a drive, and Bibby finished it with a 3-pointer that made it 100-94 with just under four minutes left.

Bibby also came up with a key steal one of five for him with 40 seconds left when he knocked the ball away as Ben Gordon tried to catch a pass near midcourt. Gordon fell to the ground and the crowd booed the non-call. Bibby then hit a jumper to make it 104-98, sending the Hawks to their first sweep over the Bulls.

``It just looked like they wanted to run a little bit, so I was hanging around,'' Bibby said. ``They didn't see me so I just made a shot in there for the ball.''

That's the sort of night it was for him. On offense and defense, Bibby rarely missed.

``He is one of those types of players that when he gets it going, it's kind of hard to stop him,'' said Josh Smith, who had 17 points and 14 rebounds. ``In clutch situations, when we needed a bucket, he was hitting big shot after big shot.''

Bibby hit 12 of 21 shots in all, 5-for-10 from 3-point range, and while he did his part to carry the Hawks, teammates were there to lend a hand.

Smith delivered his seventh double-double. Zaza Pachulia scored a season-high 18 points, and Joe Johnson added 16 for the Hawks, who have struggled this month after enjoying their best December in 21 years. After winning 11 of 15 last month, Atlanta is 4-6 in January thanks in part to injuries up front.

With Al Horford missing his sixth straight game with a bone bruise in his right knee and Marvin Williams (concussion) sitting out his second in a row, the only healthy regular up front was Josh Smith. And although the Hawks took a beating on the boards against Chicago, getting outrebounded 48-34, they still managed to hand the Bulls their third straight loss.

Gordon led Chicago with 21 points, Andres Nocioni added 15, and Deng had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Kirk Hinrich and Rose scored 13 apiece, but 18 turnovers did in the Bulls.

The Bulls didn't flinch when the Hawks jumped out to a 17-4 lead, nor did they blink when Atlanta scored 14 in a row to go up 72-61 midway through the third quarter. They again put forth the effort that's been lacking most of the year, just as they did in losing the previous two to San Antonio and New York, but got nothing to show for it.

``That's pretty much the story of our season so far,'' Gordon said. ``We get close, just not very good at closing games out.''

That's something the Bulls usually did in past seasons, when they made the playoffs. It's also something they haven't done the past two years.

``We're still fighting for a playoff spot,'' said Hinrich, who did all his scoring in the first half. ``That's our main focus right here. Obviously, we have to string something together here.''

Notes: Bulls F Drew Gooden missed sat out with a strained left groin for the second time in the past week. He also missed eight games recently with a sprained right ankle. ... Besides Horford and Williams, the Hawks also held out G Acie Law (bruised quadriceps).

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON (AP) Barack Obama is taking part in a national prayer service a tradition that dates to the inauguration of George Washington.

Obama and the first lady, Michelle Obama, were in the front pew at the soaring National Cathedral as the service began Wednesday morning. Joining them there were Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill. Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Secretary of State nominee Hillary Clinton, were also in the front row.

The service will include a prayer for the nation, scripture readings and hymns delivered by religious leaders of a variety of faiths.

The new president was not scheduled to make remarks.

AP Poll: People optimistic on Obama by 3-1 margin

WASHINGTON (AP) A new poll shows that by a 3-1 margin, the American people feel more optimistic about the country's future now that Barack Obama has been inaugurated president.

The Associated Press-Knowledge Networks poll found that 53 percent of those surveyed said they felt more optimistic, while just 15 percent said his ascendancy to the White House made them feel more pessimistic.

The poll also showed that even among Republicans, just 29 percent of those surveyed felt more pessimistic with Obama at the White House roughly the same number as the 30 percent of GOP people who said they felt more optimistic.

A smaller proportion of those who said they saw or heard his inaugural address 51 percent called it good.

The poll was conducted Tuesday and involved online interviews with 835 adults. It has a samling error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

Judge OKs 1st suspension in Gitmo cases

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) A military judge has agreed to President Barack Obama's request to suspend the Guantanamo war crimes trial of Canadian Omar Khadr.

It is the first in a series of delays sought by Obama as his administration reviews the legal system for prosecuting alleged terrorists.

The written order came Wednesday in the Khadr case. He is accused of killing an American soldier with a grenade in Afghanistan in 2002.

Army Col. Patrick Parrish, the judge in the case, issued a written order granting the 120-day suspension without a hearing.

Later, a judge is to consider suspending the case of five men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Iraq willing to see US troops leave early

BAGHDAD (AP) President Barack Obama is scheduled to discuss the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with senior commanders today, and Iraqi officials say they'll be ready if he orders a quicker withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Obama had promised during the campaign to get all combat forces out within 16 months of taking office. Yesterday, in his inaugural address, he pledged to ``responsibly leave Iraq to its people.''

The U.S. and Iraq reached a security agreement two months ago that calls for a longer timeline.

But the government-owned newspaper Al-Sabah reports today that Iraqi authorities have drafted contingency plans in case of a ``sudden'' withdrawal of all forces.

The chairman of the parliament's defense committee says he hopes Obama stick to the agreed upon timeline, but says Iraq has a ``Plan B.'' He says Iraq has the ability to deploy troops to ``any hot area'' in the country.

PHOENIX (AP) A man is in custody after opening an emergency door on a Delta Air Lines flight that landed at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Tuesday afternoon.

Phoenix police have not released the man's name.

Police spokesman Sgt. Tommy Thompson says the 37-year-old man arrived in Phoenix from Salt Lake City about 4:30 p.m.

Thompson says the flight taxied into the gate at Sky Harbor Terminal 3. As people were getting off the plane, the man opened an emergency door and walked out on the plane's wing. The man was later detained by runway personnel until police arrived.

Police and federal authorities questioned the man. Thompson says charges are pending.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Health officials say the number of people sickened in a national salmonella outbreak involving peanut butter has grown to 485 cases.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday the number has been inching up as lab tests confirm that new cases have the same genetic fingerprint as the outbreak strain. The illnesses have been reported in 43 states and Canada, and may have contributed to the deaths of six people.

The Food and Drug Administration has traced the outbreak to a Georgia plant owned by Peanut Corp. of America, which makes peanut butter and peanut paste.

The government says consumers should avoid cookies, cakes and other foods containing peanut butter pending the results of the investigation. Peanut butter sold in jars to consumers is not included.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) School kids across the country watched the inauguration of Barack Obama in their classrooms and auditoriums.  At one local school, it was one of two inaugural events.

Norcross Elementary School swore in a new student body president and vice-president in a ceremony complete with a band, red, white and blue banner, an inaugural address and students dressed as Secret Service agents.

Student body president Michael Allison compared the challenges facing the Obama administration with those of his own.

""Obama's challenge is to fix the economy.  My challenge is make our school one of the best," Allison told his fellow fifth graders.  "Obama's challenge is to end two wars.  My challenge is to get an A on a test."

The ceremony at the school mirrored the events in Washington, beginning with a patriotic song, then the swearing-in of the student body vice-president.  That was followed by Allison's oath of office, using the same words set forth in the Constitution, and then his inaugural address.  It was capped off with dancing during the inaugural ball.

When it was done, the students, teachers and invited guests watched Obama take the oath of office on projection TV's.  That led to cheers from the students.

(AP/WSB Radio)  Stepping into history, Barack Hussein Obama grasped the reins of power as America's first black president on Tuesday, saying the nation must choose "hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord'' to overcome the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

In frigid temperatures, an exuberant crowd of more than a million packed the National Mall and parade route to celebrate Obama's inauguration in a high-noon ceremony. They filled the National Mall, stretching from the inaugural platform at the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial in the distance.

With 11 million Americans out of work and trillions of dollars lost in the stock market's tumble, Obama emphasized that his biggest challenge is to repair the tattered economy left behind by outgoing President George W. Bush.

"Our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions that time has surely passed,'' Obama said in an undisguised shot at Bush administration policies. "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin the work of remaking America.''

Obama's Address:  The World

President Barack Obama is telling the world's Muslims that his administration will be looking for a "new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.''

And he's warning leaders around the globe who try to encourage conflict and "blame their society's ills on the West'' that their people will judge them on what they build, not what they destroy.

In his inaugural address, Obama also pledged broader engagement in the world. Saying the people of the world should know that America is a friend of all who seek "a future of peace and dignity,'' Obama vowed that the U.S. is "ready to lead once more.''

He's also pledging to "work alongside'' the people of poor nations to make "farms flourish and let clean waters flow.''

President Obama:  Online

At precisely 12:01 p.m. EST, the White House Web site, the online bastion of the Bush administration for the past eight years, was updated to reflect President Barack Obama's assumption of office.

"The White House.  President Barack Obama,'' reads the top of the new home page, which went online even before Obama his finished delivering his first speech.  "Welcome to the new WhiteHouse.gov. Change has come to America.''

Former President Bush:  Outgoing Tradition

George W. Bush, keeping with a White House ritual, left a note for Obama in his desk in the Oval Office, wishing him well as he takes the reins of power.

During his last moments at the White House, former President Ronald Reagan scribbled a note for his successor on a notepad with a turkey insignia that said, "Don't let the turkeys get you down.'' He, too, slipped the note in the presidential desk for his successor, the elder Bush.

Four years after that, he left a note for President Bill Clinton. And eight years after that, Clinton wrote a note for Bush, and included a copy of the message he had received from Bush's father.

The Bushes hosted the Obamas and Bidens for coffee at the White House Tuesday morning. 

From the Capitol, Bush will take a helicopter to Andrews Air Force Base, where he'll make private remarks inside a hangar.  The Bushes then will fly to Midland, Texas, on the familiar blue-and-white presidential aircraft, although it will be called Special Air Mission 28000 instead of Air Force One because Bush will no longer be president.

Thousands of well-wishers are expected to greet the Bushes at Centennial Plaza in Midland the same place the president stopped on his way to the nation's capital for his own inauguration in 2001.  While Bush was born in New Haven, Conn., he spent his childhood in Midland.

Inauguration:  Atlanta Reverend's Benediction

The Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery has thanked God for letting Barack Obama inspire the nation to believe that "yes, we can'' work together toward a "more perfect union.''


The 87-year-old Methodist is considered the dean of the civil rights movement, helping lead the Montgomery bus boycotts in the 1950s and delivering a list of demands to Alabama Gov. George Wallace during the bloody Selma-Montgomery March in 1965.  Lowery co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with his dear friend, Martin Luther King, Jr.

After being asked to deliver the benediction at Obama's inauguration, Lowery said he's long hoped that an African-American would one day become president, but didn't think he'd live long enough to see it. 

(WSB Radio) the Braves have their closer.

The team signed left-hander Mike Gonzalez to a one year, $3.45 million contract.  In doing so, they avoid arbitration with the reliever.

Gonzalez missed most of the 2007 season for ligament-transplant surgery.  He returned to the Braves in May, posting an 9-3 record, with an ERA of 4.28 in 36 appearances.  He converted 14 of 16 save opportunities and had 44 strikeouts in just 33 2/3 innings.

The signing of Gonzalez leaves three unsigned arbitration eligible players.  Jeff Francoeur, Kelly johnson and Casey Kotchman are still in  negotiations.

ATLANTA (AP) Authorities say an 8-year-old girl is recovering from a gunshot wound after four armed men burst into a DeKalb County home where she was attending another child's birthday party.

Chamblee police Chief Marc Johnson says four men burst into the home at about 12:30 Monday morning. Several shots were fired by the robbers, though none of the victims were armed. Johnson says a bullet grazed Andrea Martinez Reneaud's chest, then hit her arm.

The girl is expected to recover.

The gunmen burst through the unlocked front door demanding money, though Johnson says they left empty-handed. The chief says the house was probably a random target because it was the only home with lights still on.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Jamario Moon's key miss for Toronto set up Joe Johnson's clincher for Atlanta.

Johnson scored 28 points, including a jumper with 12.5 seconds left, Mike Bibby added 23 and the Atlanta Hawks rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 87-84 Monday despite missing two injured starters.

Josh Smith, the Hawks' only healthy regular up front, had 22 points and 14 rebounds as Atlanta sent Toronto to its sixth loss in a row.

Al Horford was out for the fifth straight game because of a bone bruise in his right knee. Marvin Williams was absent after sustaining a concussion in Friday night's loss at Golden State.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson said he didn't know when either player would return, but he was encouraged by his team's ability to win with defense.

``They made shots in the first half, but the third and fourth quarters were ours,'' Woodson said. ``It's huge. We're a little short-handed right now. We have to step up until Horford and Williams come back. ... We're not going to rush them.''

The Hawks recovered after losing five of six games, including two losses in a three-game road trip.

``Our last five games haven't been great, so to come back home and get a win is great,'' Johnson said, adding the injuries have made it ``tough right now'' on the team.

``Everybody else has to step up,'' Johnson said.

Almost all of Atlanta's scoring came from four players. Backup guard Flip Murray had 12 points. The only other player to score was Maurice Evans, who had two points while starting for Williams.

With Atlanta leading 84-83, Moon missed a 3-pointer with 33 seconds left. During a timeout, Moon heard about his questionable shot selection from Chris Bosh and other teammates.

``Just take it to the basket, man,'' Bosh said after the game. ``We can get a better shot.

``We're not in the right positions. We're not making the right passes. We shoot ourselves in the foot every game now.''

Following the timeout, Johnson's fallaway jumper pushed the Hawks' lead to three points.

Raptors coach Jay Triano called the loss ``a perfect example of how we didn't execute down the stretch at either end of the floor.''

``I think we're going to have to find a way to fight through this, and if we do I think we'll be a pretty good basketball team,'' Triano said. ``It's disappointing to lose a game like this, where we had the lead for most of the game.''

Moon, who hit a 3-pointer with 4:32 left for a 78-78 tie, defended his miss.

``I guess everybody's upset, but it was an open shot,'' Moon said. ``Anybody can miss an open shot.''

Triano said Bosh ``has every right'' to criticize the miss by Moon.

Jason Kapono missed an awkward jumper in the final seconds after the Raptors almost lost the ball on their final possession.

Bosh had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Andrea Bargnani had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The Raptors led by 11 points late in the first half before shooting only 25 percent from the field in the third quarter. Toronto managed only 33 points in the second half and made only 2 of 18 3-pointers for the game.

Toronto (16-27) fell 11 games under .500. The Raptors are 8-20 since a home win over Atlanta on Nov. 28 left them with their last winning record at 8-7.

``We're running out of time,'' Bosh said.

``We've got to do it now or we'll be watching the first round of the playoffs eating popcorn.''

There is speculation that forward-center Jermaine O'Neal, who was held out with a sore right knee, could be traded to Miami.

When asked if he believes a trade is imminent, O'Neal said ``I haven't heard that. I don't know about that.''

Bosh said a trade wouldn't be a definite cure for the team's problems.

``A trade doesn't necessarily mean a smarter player,'' Bosh said. ``You should work with what you have; that's the best thing to do.''

Anthony Parker's jumper with 2:20 left gave Toronto its last lead at 84-82.

Two free throws by Bibby gave Atlanta an 85-84 lead.

The Hawks, who have struggled defensively without Horford, also seemed to be off their offensive game. Five Atlanta players launched air balls: Smith, Bibby, Johnson, Maurice Evans and Thomas Gardner.
Notes: Gardner made only his second appearance of the season for Atlanta. He has been on the inactive list in 35 games. ... Hawks G Acie Law sustained a bruised quadriceps in the second quarter and did not return. ... Toronto G Jose Calderon (right hamstring strain) did not play. ... Parker had 12 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and two blocked shots.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

SNELLVILLE, Ga. (AP) Police say a 61-year-old woman has died from injuries received in a traffic accident involving a Gwinnett County police officer.

A preliminary police investigation Monday shows that the woman, driving an older model Dodge Intrepid, turned in front of the officer's vehicle in Snellville just outside Atlanta.

The officer and the woman were not immediately identified.

The officer, a two-and-a-half year veteran of the department, was taken to Gwinnett Medical Center with minor injuries. The woman, who lived in the Snellville area, had serious injuries and was taken to Emory Eastside Medical Center, where she died from her injuries.

Police say both drivers were wearing seat belts.

The accident is under investigation. There was no immediate indication that speed was a factor.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

MILWAUKEE (AP) Kellogg Co. said Monday federal authorities have confirmed that salmonella was found in a single package of its peanut butter crackers, as two grocers and General Mills Corp. recalled some of their products because of the scare.

Kellogg had recalled 16 products last week because of the possibility of salmonella contamination.

On Monday, the company based in Battle Creek, Mich., said the Food and Drug Administration confirmed contamination in a single package of Austin Quality Foods Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter.

Food companies and retailers have been recalling products with peanut butter in them because of suspicion of contamination amid a salmonella outbreak that has killed at least six people and sickened more than 470 others in 43 states. At least 90 people have been hospitalized.

Also Monday, Midwestern grocer and retailer Meijer Inc. said it was recalling two types of crackers and two varieties of ice cream because of the possibility of salmonella contamination: Meijer brand Cheese and Peanut Butter and Toasty Peanut Butter sandwich crackers, and Peanut Butter and Jelly and Peanut Butter Cup ice cream.

Golden Valley, Minn.-based General Mills said in a news release Monday afternoon that it was recalling two flavors of snack bars: LARABAR Peanut Butter Cookie snack bars and JamFrakas Peanut Butter Blisscrisp snack bars. The company said the recall affected 15,000 cases and no illnesses have been reported. General Mills said the recall did not affect any other products it makes.

It was not immediately clear how many packages of Kellogg crackers had been tested, if more tests were being made on other products or if some had already been found not have salmonella, Kellogg spokeswoman Kris Charles said. A spokesman for the FDA said the agency was not providing any new information Monday, a federal holiday.

The government on Saturday had advised consumers to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream and other foods containing peanut butter until health officials learn more about the contamination.

Most peanut butter sold in jars at supermarkets appears to be safe, officials said.

Officials have been focusing on peanut paste and peanut butter made at Peanut Corp. of America's plant in Blakely, Ga.

On Sunday, Peanut Corp. expanded its own recall to all peanut butter and peanut paste produced at the Blakely plant since July 1.

The company's peanut butter is not sold directly to consumers but it is distributed to institutions and food companies. The peanut paste, made from roasted peanuts, is an ingredient in cookies, cakes and other products sold to consumers.

Meijer, based in Grand Rapids, said in a news release Monday it was issuing its recall because makers of its products had announced possible contamination. The products are sold in Meijer stores and gas stations in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.

Late Monday, grocer Kroger Co. recalled Private Selection Peanut Butter Passion Ice Cream sold in select stores, also because of the possibility of contamination. The Cincinnati-based company said the product was sold at stores named City Market, Fred Meyer, Fry's, King Scoopers, QFC and Smith's in 11 states, primarily in the West. The company said the ice cream was not sold in its namesake Kroger stores or any other retailers it operates. No illnesses have been reported.

The recall last week by Kellogg, the world's largest cereal maker, affected products including Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies, Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Cheese Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers. Charles said the recall affected more than 7 million cases of its products.

Kellogg Chief Executive David Mackay said the company would evaluate its processes ``to ensure we take necessary actions to reassure consumers and rebuild confidence in these products.''

Salmonella, a bacteria, is the most common cause of food poisoning in the U.S., causing diarrhea, cramping and fever.

Also on Monday, Abbott Nutrition recalled three products because of the possibility of salmonella contamination: ZonePerfect Chocolate Peanut Butter bars, ZonePerfect Peanut Toffee bars and NutriPals Peanut Butter Chocolate nutrition bars. The Columbus, Ohio-based company said the items were sold in the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore.

Over the weekend, Little Debbie maker McKee Foods Corp. of Collegedale, Tenn., issued a voluntary recall of its peanut butter crackers because of possible contamination.

Other companies issuing recalls recently include Midwest supermarket chain Hy-Vee Inc. of West Des Moines, Iowa, Perry's Ice Cream Co. of Akron, N.Y., and the South Bend Chocolate Co. in Indiana. Ralcorp Frozen Bakery Products, a division of St. Louis-based Ralcorp, recalled several brands of peanut butter cookies it sells through Wal-Mart stores.

Some companies were quick to assure their customers their products were fine and they were not involved in the investigation. Russell Stover Candies Inc., maker of Russell Stover and Whitman's, said Monday it does not use ingredients from Peanut Corp. ConAgra Foods Inc., maker of Peter Pan peanut butter, said Saturday it was not involved in the investigation and neither the Omaha, Neb.-based company nor its suppliers use ingredients from Peanut Corp.

Peter Pan and other peanut butter produced by ConAgra were linked in 2007 to a salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 625 people in 47 states. The company traced the contamination to a leaky roof and faulty sprinkler head at its Georgia plant.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) The family of a woman listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's second-oldest person says she has died at 113 years old.

Beatrice Farve died Monday in Brunswick, Ga. She became the second-oldest person earlier this month with the death of 115-year-old Maria de Jesus of Portugal. Robert Young, a senior gerontology consultant for Guinness, says the oldest person is 114-year-old Gertrude Baines of Los Angeles.

He says he talked to Farve's family who confirmed Farve's death.

Farve was born Beatrice Scarlett in Camden County, Ga. Her family says she sold beauty products until she was 100.

She married Dennis Farve in 1921 and had five children. Her family says they are all still living.

Beverly Lewis, owner of Brunswick Funeral Home, confirmed Farve's death and said funeral arrangements had not yet been made.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON (AP) On the eve of becoming president, a relaxed and upbeat Barack Obama has called for a new spirit of bipartisanship.

Obama dashed to three black-tie dinners Monday night. One honored Sen. John McCain, the Republican he defeated in November. Another honored Colin Powell, who was secretary of state under President George W. Bush.

Obama called McCain and Powell American heroes who set standards of patriotism and bipartisanship for all to follow.

The third dinner was for Joe Biden, who will take the vice presidential oath of office before Obama becomes president on the Capitol steps Tuesday.

Throughout the day, Obama showed no hints of nervousness about becoming president within hours.

<b>Crowds gather ahead of inauguration</b>

WASHINGTON (AP) The mood is a festive one as crowds jam Washington, D.C. in advance of Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama.

On the National Mall, amid a light snowfall, small groups gathered around large-screen TVs showing reruns of Sunday afternoon's concert. And on the specially-built inaugural stands outside the Capitol, musicians Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman rehearsed for their role in the ceremonies.

On a corner near the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, the Boy's Choir of Kenya performed an impromptu selection for the crowd.

A student from the University of Washington, Donald Butler, says ``everybody's excited.'' Butler says he ``just had to be'' in Washington to see history made.

But there are also signs of the heavy security that will be in place. Uniformed military personnel are stationed at street corners.

(WSB Radio) New York is expected to lose more jobs than any other American city in 2009.  Atlanta isn't predicted to do much better.

The report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors paints a grim picture for almost all of the country's metropolitan areas.  In fact, only 5 cities are predicted to break even when in comes to jobs.

New York leads the list with an expected loss of 181,000 workers.  Los Angeles placed second worst, followed by Chicago, Miami, Boston, Phoenix and then Atlanta.

The prediction from the Conference says the metro area will lose 51,000 jobs in 2009, or 2.1% of its workforce.  Unemployment for metro Atlanta is expected to increase from 6.9% to 8.2%.

McAllen, Texas, Anchorage, Alaska, and St. George are the only American cities expected to add jobs.  Fairbanks, Alaska and Ithaca, New York, are predicted to remain steady, with 0% change.

The report looked at 563 metropolitan areas in the U.S.

(WSB Radio)  It was a defective heating pipe that was responsible for what happened during Sunday services at a northeast Atlanta church.

People sitting in the back of the New Supreme Church of God in Christ, on Wesley Avenue, started passing out.

"The children started going to sleep, a lot of the smaller ones," says parishioner Sherman Walker.  "So we started taking them out.  Eventually we just closed the church."

At least a dozen people were taken to the hospital for treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The problem is being repaired.

BUFORD, Ga. (AP) Construction on a new ballpark in Gwinnett County for the minor-league Braves is about 70 percent complete. A recession forcing county job cuts hasn't slowed plans for the stadium. Neither has the price tag.

The original price tag of $40 million now stands at $64 million. So far, county commissioners have committed $31 million in taxpayer money for the project.

The project's chief proponent, County Commissioner Bert Nasuti, says the board of commissioners still supports the stadium.

It's too late to back out of the financing for the ballpark. The county's development authority issued $33 million in bonds for it last year.

County Attorney Karen Thomas says Gwinnett is legally required to spend the proceeds from those bonds on the stadium.

Gwinnett's stadium debt will total more than $77 million over 30 years.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON (AP) The company that sells Little Debbie snacks announced a recall Sunday of peanut butter crackers because of a potential link to a deadly salmonella outbreak.

The voluntary recall came one day after the government advised consumers to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream and other foods with peanut butter until health officials learn more about the contamination.

The announcement by McKee Foods Corp. of Collegedale, Tenn., about two kinds of Little Debbie products was another in a string of voluntary recalls following the most recent guidance by health officials.

The South Bend Chocolate Co. in Indiana said Sunday it too was recalling various candies containing peanut butter from Peanut Corp. of America. In suburban Chicago, Ralcorp Frozen Bakery Products recalled several brands of peanut butter cookies it sells through Wal-Mart stores.

Peanut Corp. expanded its recall Sunday to all peanut butter and all peanut paste produced at its Blakely, Ga., plant since July 1.

McKee said it had not received any complaints about illnesses from people who ate any size peanut butter toasty sandwich crackers or peanut butter cheese sandwich crackers. The recall covers crackers produced on or after July 1.

Officials are focusing on peanut paste, as well as peanut butter, produced at Peanut Corp.'s Georgia facility. Its peanut butter is not sold directly to consumers but distributed to institutions and food companies. But the peanut paste, made from roasted peanuts, is an ingredient in cookies, cakes and other products that people buy in the supermarket.

So far, more than 470 people have gotten sick in 43 states, and at least 90 had to be hospitalized. At least six deaths are being blamed on the outbreak. Salmonella is a bacteria and the most common source of food poisoning in the U.S., causing diarrhea, cramping and fever.

Also Sunday, the maker of Peter Pan peanut butter said none of its products are associated with the outbreak. Peter Pan and other peanut butter produced by ConAgra Foods Inc. were linked in 2007 to a salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 625 people in 47 states.

The company recalled all its peanut butter and eventually traced the contamination to a leaky roof and faulty sprinkler head at its Georgia plant. In a statement, ConAgra said it does not buy any ingredients from Peanut Corp.

The Kellogg Co., which listed Peanut Corp. as one of its suppliers, has recalled 16 products. McKee said Kellogg manufactured the Little Debbie crackers covered by the recall.

The Kellogg products recalled include Austin and Keebler branded peanut butter sandwich crackers, and some snack-size packs of Famous Amos peanut butter cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle peanut butter cookies.

Late Saturday, the Midwest supermarket chain Hy-Vee Inc. of West Des Moines, Iowa, said it was voluntarily recalling products made in its bakery departments with peanut butter because they had the potential to be contaminated with salmonella. The recall covered seven states: Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota.

Perry's Ice Cream Co., based in Akron, N.Y., said it was recalling select ice cream products containing peanut butter because of the PCA investigation. Its recall covered New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.

Most peanut butter sold in jars at supermarkets appears to be safe, the Food and Drug Administration said Saturday.

Health officials are focusing on 30 companies out of a total of 85 that received peanut products from the Georgia plant.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB State Capitol Bureau) -- An renewed effort is underway to bring back Milton County.  It merged with Fulton County during the depression to avoid bankrupty .

Rep. Jan Jones (R-Alpharetta) tells WSB 's Sandra Parrish she's reintroducing a constitutional amendment to allow the re-creation of a previously existing county which was merged into another county.

If passed by the General Assembly, voters would then decide the issue in the 2010 general election. A local referendum would then be held among the affected residents.

"For them it is still about having more control and more elected influence," says Jones.

She says if recreated, Milton would be the fifth largest county in Georgia.

But many members of the Fulton County legislative delegation remain opposed to the idea.

Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D- Atlanta) says the costs of starting a new government should be considered especially after the creation of five new cities in metro Atlanta.

"How much more money will it take to finance the operation of these governments," he says.

Jones has the support of members representing the northern end of the county.

(WSB Radio/AP) -- The South Cobb High School marching band, which will represent Georgia in the parade for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration, is enjoying its time in the nation's capital.

On Sunday, the student musicians visited the Smithsonian Air and Space Musuem and received a guided tour of the Capitol from Cobb County Congressman Phil Gingrey.  He tells Channel 2 Action News "I hope this will stimuluate some of them to consider, as they go off to college, to think about maybe political science and going into a political career of their own some day." 

On Tuesday, the Austell high school will march with school groups from across the country and members of the military from the Capitol to the White House following Obama's swearing in ceremony.

They were chosen from nearly 1,400 applicants by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

WASHINGTON (AP) President-elect Barack Obama says ``Anything is possible in America.''

He addressed tens of thousands at a pre-inauguration concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday.

Obama says the challenges facing the country will not be easy and will likely take many years to turn around. But he says he's as hopeful as ever that the country will endure and that the dreams of the founders will live on in our time.

Harking back to Martin Luther King Jr's ``I Have a Dream'' speech, Obama noted the pool that ``still reflects the dream of a King, and the glory of a people who marched and bled so that their children might be judged by their character's content.''

And with a bow to Abraham Lincoln, he said ``behind me, watching over the union he saved, sits the man who in so many ways made this day possible.''

Looking in front of him to the Washington Monument, he spoke of George Washington who ``led a small band of farmers and shopkeepers in revolution against the army of an Empire.''

Wright: Obama shows blacks shouldn't accept limits

WASHINGTON (AP) Barack Obama's controversial former pastor says the lesson in Obama's rise to the White House is that black people shouldn't limit themselves -- or allow others to limit them.

In a sermon at Howard University in Washington D.C. on Sunday, The Rev. Jeremiah Wright urged those listening to follow Obama's example and shrug off the negativity of others.

He said Obama would not be the president-elect had he listened to the voices of those who doubted whether he could win the caucuses in mostly white Iowa, the Democratic presidential nomination and the presidency itself.

Wright said Obama had freed himself from -- quote -- ``other people trying to put him in a prison, defining him as they saw him.''

Wright had been Obama's longtime pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago before Obama quit the church and ended the relationship with Wright during the presidential campaign.

Obama acted after the uproar over some of Wright's videotaped sermons, in which he blamed the U.S. for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, among other things.

Her and 140 other Metro Atlantans crammed in three buses Saturday night. Inauguration or bust.

"I'm feeling very excited about it," Johnson told WSB-TV. "I'm very excited about it now. Just sensational, just a good feeling."

Her and the rest of the caravan left DeKalb County around 8 p.m. Saturday. They were expected to arrive in Washington ahead Sunday for Tuesday's historic inauguration .

While Johnson was on her way, Elizabeth Hendricks and her family piled in their car and made the trip Friday night.

"I to have my father and mother witness something they never thought would happen is really something," Hendricks said. "We are just glad to be here."

Corey Chester also crammed in that car.

"You're in the middle of history," he said. "Its history in the making. Its a good moment, a remarkable moment."

The Associated Press and WSB-TV contributed to this report.

Police have charged 28 year old Ron Courtney Caesar with murder. 3-month old Aliyah Caesar was found dead on Thursday night at a home on Brunswick Circle in Stockbridge.

"We never knew, until the autopsy was reveled to us last night," mother Valerie Kelly told WSB-TV. "Shaken baby syndrome."

Kelly, a mother of seven, left Aliyah with her boyfriend to go grocery shopping.

"I feel that he's being portrayed right now as a murderer, a killer of a child," Kelly said. "He's been at combat, in the Iraq war. Since coming back he's had a hard time finding employment."

Police arrested Caesar after performing an autopsy. It showed a number of current and old injuries.

With light snow and sleet falling in Metro Atlanta and North Georgia Saturday night, Georgia's Department of Transportation started to go into winter weather mode.

"If you must travel in North Georgia," DOT Spokesman Mark McKinnon said in a statement, "Please use extreme caution."

There were reports of ice on some bridges and overpasses in Hall County early Sunday morning. The National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory in preparation for frozen precipitation in the North Georgia mountains.

McKinnon said they've had to throw salt down on roads north of a line from Rome to Athens.

"The bridges and overpasses are going to generally ice up before the road does," Garrett Townsend with AAA told WSB-TV. "You definitely want to make sure you slow down, and slow down before you get to an overpass just incase you do run over an ice patch."

WSB Meteorologist Kirk Mellish doesn't expect much in the way of winter weather in Metro Atlanta for Sunday. But he forecast calls for more precipitation on Monday or Tuesday.

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) Gwinnett County deputies found more than $1 million in cash in a car they had stopped for a traffic violation.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Stacey Bourbonnais said Santiago Valdovinos-Moreno was stopped Friday after deputies noticed he was swerving in and out of lanes. While speaking to him, Valdovinos-Moreno allegedly pushed a deputy and fled on foot. He was captured and charged with obstruction of a law enforcement officer.

The deputies then searched the vehicle and found the money, which was seized, in a duffel bag.

ATLANTA (AP) Georgia officials working to whack $2 billion in spending from the state's recession ravaged state budget are drooling over a federal stimulus plan loaded with cash.

Working closely with President-elect Barack Obama, Democrats in the U.S. House this week unveiled an $825 billion plan that would pump money into Medicaid, school districts and road projects.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican, said he isn't counting on any federal funds to balance Georgia's budget. The package's fate on Capitol Hill is far from certain. Still, state officials are keeping a close eye on Washington, just in case.

While conservative Republicans nationally and in Georgia have expressed ambivalence about the costly stimulus plan, Democrats are by and large on board. And after years out in the cold, it could fall to state's out-of-power Democrats to flex their political muscle in Washington with the incoming Obama administration.

At the state Capitol, Democrats say it's a nice change of pace in a Legislature dominated by Republicans since 2004.

``Several of my more pragmatic Republican colleagues have approached me,'' state Sen. Doug Stoner, an early Obama backer from Smyrna said. ``There is definitely a sense that we'll be more in demand.''

State Rep. Calvin Smyre, a veteran Democratic lawmaker from Columbus, had a 45-minute meeting on Monday with Perdue to talk about ways Smyre could help with the Obama administration. As president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, Smyre has ties to the Obama transition team.

``Calvin obviously has connections into some of the personalities in the transition team and the new administration and I believe he's sincere in using those relationships for the benefit of Georgia,'' Perdue said.

Smyre said he's determined to see that Georgia gets its due from any stimulus package that moves in Washington.

``My message is, let's not miss this opportunity,'' Smyre said. ``This would close some of the holes we have in our budget.''

In Washington, Democratic U.S. Rep. David Scott echoed that thought.

``I'll be doing everything we can to make sure Georgia gets its fair share of this stimulus package,'' Scott said.

A Perdue aide acknowledged the state's Democrats will be helpful but insisted the governor still has some power of his own.

``It overstates it to say that the new administration won't take Georgia's phone call because we have a Republican governor,'' Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said.

Some Republicans were openly skeptical of the Democrats' claims of newfound clout.

``None of these Democratic back benchers has actually met with the president-elect and a lot of them backed the other candidates,'' said Perdue's former communications director Dan McLagan, a GOP consultant.

Smyre was an early supporter of New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary. In recent weeks, however, he's had several meetings with officials from the Obama transition team.

He said he's determined to help alleviate the pain of Georgia's budget cuts.

Perdue's budget plan avoided steep cuts to Medicaid, the health program for the poor, by proposing a new fee on hospitals and health insurance plans. Conservative Republicans have pledged to fight the fee. An infusion of federal cash for Medicaid could help state lawmakers avoid a bruising political brawl.

In 2003, during another economic downturn, the state's Medicaid program was rescued by about $500 million in federal cash for Medicaid.

Georgia school districts likewise have been hit hard by years of cuts to the state's funding formula that pays for day-to-day operating expenses. Those cuts have only intensified as the state's budget woes have worsened. The Democrats plan would funnel $100 billion to districts around the country.

And road and other infrastructure projects could get a boost from billions of dollars in proposed federal road money. That would be a huge boost for Georgia, with its backlog of road projects.

``It doesn't matter what party you're in if you're sitting in traffic,'' state Rep. Vance Smith, the Republican chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said. ``We'll take the help where it comes from.''

Republican state Sen. Jack Hill, chairman of the state Senate Appropriations Committee, said the federal stimulus plan would be a lifesaver in this tough budget year. But Washington being Washington he said he'll start counting on that money only after it arrives in state coffers.

``Would it help? Yes. Will it happen?'' he shrugged.

WASHINGTON (AP) Federal health authorities on Saturday urged consumers to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream and other foods that contain peanut butter until authorities can learn more about a deadly outbreak of salmonella contamination.

Most peanut butter sold in jars at supermarkets appears to be safe, said Stephen Sundlof, head of the Food and Drug Administration's food safety center.

``As of now, there is no indication that the major national name-brand jars of peanut butter sold in retails stores are linked to the recall,'' Sundlof told reporters in a conference call.

Officials are focusing on peanut paste, as well as peanut butter, produced at a Blakely, Ga., facility owned by Peanut Corp. of America. Its peanut butter is not sold directly to consumers but distributed to institutions and food companies. But the peanut paste, made from roasted peanuts, is an ingredient in cookies, cakes and other products that people buy in the supermarket.

``This is an excellent illustration of an ingredient-driven outbreak,'' said Dr. Robert Tauxe, who oversees foodborne illness investigations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So far, more than 470 people have gotten sick in 43 states, and at least 90 had to be hospitalized. At least six deaths are being blamed on the outbreak. Salmonella is a bacteria and the most common source of food poisoning in the U.S., causing diarrhea, cramping and fever.

Officials said new illnesses are still being reported in the outbreak investigation.

The Kellogg Co., which listed Peanut Corp. as one of its suppliers, has recalled 16 products. They include Austin and Keebler branded Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, and some snack-size packs of Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies. Health officials said consumers who have bought any of those products should throw them away.

Peanut Corp. has recalled all peanut butter produced at the Georgia plant since Aug. 8 and all peanut paste produced since Sept. 26. The plant passed its last state inspection this summer, but recent tests have found salmonella.

Health officials are focusing on 30 companies out of a total of 85 that received peanut products from the Georgia plant. Sundlof said Peanut Corp. is a relatively small supplier on the national scene.

The Midwest supermaket chain Hy-Vee Inc. of West Des Moines, Iowa, said Saturday it was voluntarily recalling products made in its bakery departments with peanut butter because they had the potential to be contaminated with salmonella. The recall covered seven states: Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota.

Perry's Ice Cream Co., based in Akron, N.Y., said it was recalling select ice cream products containing peanut butter because of the PCA investigation. Its recall covered New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.

The outbreak has triggered a congressional inquiry and renewed calls for reform of food safety laws. For example, the FDA lacks authority to order a recall, and instead must ask companies to voluntarily withdraw products.

``Given the numerous food-borne illness outbreaks over the past several years, it is becoming painfully clear that the current regulatory structure is antiquated and ill-equipped to handle these extensive investigations,'' said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who chairs a panel that oversees the FDA budget.

Seattle-area lawyer William Marler, who specializes in food safety cases, said the government shouldn't wait for the results of more tests to request recalls.

``At least 30 companies purchased peanut butter or paste from a facility with a documented link to a nationwide salmonella outbreak,'' said Marler. ``The FDA has the authority actually, the mandate to request recalls if the public health is threatened. Instead, the FDA has asked the companies to test their products and consider voluntary recalls. It is just not enough.''

Health officials in Minnesota and Virginia have linked two deaths each to the outbreak and Idaho has reported one. Four of those five were elderly people, and all had salmonella when they died, although their exact causes of death have not been determined. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the salmonella may have contributed.

An elderly North Carolina man died in November from the same strain of salmonella that's causing the outbreak, officials in that state said Friday.

The CDC said the bacteria behind the outbreak typhimurium is common and not an unusually dangerous strain but that the elderly or those with weakened immune systems are more at risk.

ATLANTA (AP) Mere days before Barack Obama is set to make history as the nation's first black president, the woman who battled him for the Democratic nomination was honored by a leading civil rights organization.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. senator from New York and secretary of state designee, received the ``Salute to Greatness'' award at a fundraiser Saturday night for the King Center in Atlanta. The event came just before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, marking what would have been the slain civil right's leader's 80th birthday.

Clinton echoed King's theme of service and called on Americans to rally behind Obama, the man who defeated her for the Democratic nomination for the White House.

``This is an all hands on deck moment for America,'' Clinton said.

She praised Obama as ``a young man of such enormous promise'' and said his election brought King's dream within reach.

``The election of Barack Obama is a big step closer to the realization of that dream but that doesn't let us off the hook does it?'' Clinton said.

She said the nation still faces challenges in providing health care and economic opportunity to all.

And she recalled being transfixed when at age 13 she heard King speak on a chilly January evening in Chicago.

Clinton was introduced Saturday night by former Atlanta mayor and United Nations ambassador Andrew Young.

He said she has worked throughout her career to fulfill King's ideals.

``She has symbolized and epitomized throughout her life the things that he spoke about and dreamed about and prophesied about,'' Young said.

He also called Clinton ``the only product of the South'' in Obama's cabinet, stemming from her years in Arkansas.

``She has lived the a majority of her life dealing with the issues of Southern racism and Southern poverty,'' Young said.

Clinton has enjoyed a close relationship with the black community that was tested in the presidential primary where she dueled with Obama. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, angered black voters when he compared Obama's primary win over Clinton in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson's years earlier. The comment was viewed by some as equating Barack Obama with Jackson, who many saw as unelectable.

But there were no signs of hard feelings Saturday night as Clinton was greeted warmly.

Obama has tapped the former first lady as his nominee for secretary of state.

But King Center President and Chief Executive Officer Isaac Newton Farris Jr. said he hoped Clinton would still make history as the nation's first woman president. The remark was met with applause and Clinton grinned broadly.

Chik-fil-A founder Truett Cathy was also honored by the King Center Saturday night with its corporate ``Salute to Greatness'' award for his philanthropic work. Cathy was in Piedmont Hospital suffering from gallbladder problems and his son, Dan Cathy accepted the award on his behalf.

Clinton said she knew quite a bit about the chain's signature chicken sandwiches.

``My husband is one of his biggest customers,'' she quipped.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Maybe the Nashville Predators should've kept Rich Peverley.

Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and an assist, and the Atlanta Thrashers routed the Predators 7-2 Saturday night for their second win in two nights. But Peverley, claimed by Atlanta off waivers a week ago, was a big key in both of those wins as he had the overtime goal with two assists Friday night and added three more assists against his old team.

Peverley credited Atlanta coach John Anderson with giving him a great chance to play, and he's been on a line with Kovalchuk.

``I'm just really happy with the opportunity to not only play with great players, but I get to play penalty kill and power play so it's been good,'' Peverley said.

Anderson said he has seen in Peverley what he saw when he was with the Chicago Wolves and Peverley played for the Predators' AHL affiliate in Milwaukee.

``He's got tremendous vision, and he can really pass the puck. ... All the things we hoped he'd be, so far he's been,'' Anderson said.

Zach Bogosian also had a goal and an assist, and Eric Perrin, Colby Armstrong, Bryan Little, Matthieu Schneider and Jim Slater added a goal apiece. It was the most goals Atlanta has scored in a game since a 6-1 win at Toronto on Nov. 25. The Thrashers won 4-3 in overtime Friday night over Toronto after trailing 3-0.

Nashville coach Barry Trotz said he told Peverley not to have any sympathy against his former team when they met again.

``He looks like he's got more umph to his game, and I knew that was a dangerous type of thing. Some players, sometimes the change of scenery ... first time he's been really ... put on waivers, he ended up having success with Kovalchuk. They clicked, and he's scoring points. All those things you're seeing in Rich Peverley are starting to come out now,'' Trotz said.

Jordin Tootoo and Shea Weber each scored for Nashville on a night the Predators allowed the most goals since a 7-6 loss at Calgary on Nov. 6. The Predators lost their second straight and third in four games despite getting back captain Jason Arnott and Weber from injuries.

``It's embarrassing,'' Arnott said. ``A sellout crowd for us tonight, and we put on a performance like that. I'm surprised they didn't leave after the first period, to be honest. We had a talk in here. We know what's got to happen, and now is the time to do it.''

Perrin got Atlanta off to a fast start with the first of the Thrashers' four first-period goals. He grabbed a loose puck near the Nashville bench, skated up and slapped it past Dan Ellis.

Armstrong scored at 6:48 with a one-timer off the faceoff and Kovalchuk made it three goals in four shots when he skated up the slot alone and beat Ellis at 10:48. That was enough for Trotz, who replaced Ellis with Pekka Rinne. He received a nice cheer from fans when he stopped the first shot he faced.

The Predators didn't help themselves offensively, either. They had an early power play trailing 2-0 but didn't get a shot on net. Fans grew so frustrated they started yelling for someone to shoot only to watch the Predators lose a puck out of the zone.

Little made it 4-0 at 18:44 of the first when he skated around the net and flipped the puck inside the post, catching Rinne leaning back too late.

Bogosian, the third overall pick in the 2008 draft, scored his first NHL goal in his 12th game on a slap shot at 1:51 of the third, making it 6-1.

Peverley got his third assist of the game on Slater's short-handed goal at 11:46 in the third.

``As long as we can keep going like that, I think things are going to go pretty good here,'' Peverley said.
Notes: Thrashers center Todd White had an assist to extend his points streak to six games. He has two goals and seven assists in that stretch. ... Arnott had missed four straight games with a lower body injury. Weber was wearing a walking boot Friday. ... It's the fifth time this season Nashville has allowed at least six goals. ... Tootoo's goal was his first since Nov. 21.

(WSB Radio)  They are literally on the road to history.

South Cobb Marching band left Austell last night, beginning its bus trip up to Washington for the inauguration of Barack Obama. The school will represent Georgia during Tuesday's parade.

"Now that we are leaving, I was a wreck all day at school," One bad member to WSB's Pete Combs. "I was just so nervous all day."

"Im so excited I got to say focused," said another excited Blue Eagle Marching band member.

The Austell community and the high school throwing the band a huge send off Friday night before they boarded up and drove up to D.C.

It will be the culmination of a wild ride to the inauguration . One that's seen the band beat the odds to be selected, while the community has raised twice as much as the $71-thousand needed to send them.

Said band director Zag Cogdill, "It was more about teaching the students you can hope and you can believe."

"When the community finally came together and we became a family," said another band member." We finally said 'yes we can, we can really do this."

ATLANTA (AP) Derek Lowe is eager to accept the responsibility of returning the Atlanta Braves to the playoffs for contenders.

``I hope people expect a lot out of me,'' Lowe said Friday, a day after finalizing a $60 million, four-year contract. ``I hope people look at you when you face a (Johan) Santana or a (Cole) Hamels and you don't have success, I want people to be upset about that. That's a pressure I've always enjoyed.''

A shell of the team that made 14 consecutive playoff appearances, Atlanta finished fourth in the NL East last year behind the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies, the big-spending New York Mets and the Florida Marlins. The Braves' 72-90 record was their poorest since 1990, the year before the great run began.

Unable to acquire Jake Peavy in a trade or lure A.J. Burnett as a free agent, Braves general manager Frank Wren acquired Javier Vazquez from the Chicago White Sox, then signed Japanese all-star Kenshin Kawakami as free agents.

Lowe, who went 54-48 with a 3.58 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers over the last four years, also had been sought by the Mets.

``We like our club a lot,'' Wren said with a smile. ``You've got to start off with your starting pitching.''

Wren thinks Atlanta has reduced some of the burden on Jair Jurrjens, who went 13-10 with a 3.68 ERA as a rookie. Jurrjens doesn't turn 22 until later this month.

``It's been a long offseason,'' Wren said. ``Over the last 10 days, it's really turned around, getting Kawakami and now getting Derek Lowe to top that all off. It's been a very fruitful offseason, and we feel very comfortable.''

Atlanta foundered last year as John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Tim Hudson all had season-ending operations and Mike Hampton returned only in late July to end a 1,072-day layoff.

Lowe has remained essentially injury free for more than a decade.

``Yes, but I don't look at it as a badge of honor,'' he said. ``I work hard and I believe in adjusting your workouts throughout your career. I take great pride in the work I do in between starts.''

Lowe spent a long time studying the Braves. He talked with Greg Maddux, his former Dodgers teammate, about what it is like to play for manager Bobby Cox.

He had lengthy conversations with third baseman Chipper Jones, catcher Brian McCann and pitching coach Roger McDowell.

``I just knew I was going to pitch in this division,'' Lowe said. ``I think every place had its pros and cons, but until I actually physically came here and sat down, I think that made all the difference in the world.''

Lowe told his agent, Scott Boras, that Atlanta was his first choice. It didn't hurt that the Braves guaranteed a fourth year, easily topping the Mets' $36 million, three-year bid.

``This is a place I feel extremely comfortable going to,'' Lowe said. ``I think that's why you saw things happen so fast is because there was a commitment on both sides.''

After pitching all but 12 of his 533 career games for highly scrutinized teams such as the Red Sox and Dodgers, Lowe believes he's ready for the challenge in helping revive the Braves.

``You learn how to lose, and what I mean by that is, you learn how to take criticism,'' Lowe said. ``You learn how to get booed. I think a lot of people don't know how to deal with it. I think it's a positive learning experience in so many ways. But no matter where you go, there's always pressure. There's no different pressure here.''

ATLANTA (AP) A court order shows that the personal doctor to a pro wrestler who killed himself, his wife and their 7-year-old son is scheduled to change his plea in a drug case against him.

Dr. Phil Astin pleaded not guilty in June to a 175-count indictment charging him with conspiracy and improperly dispensing drugs. His change of plea hearing is set for Jan. 29.

Attorneys for Astin did not immediately return calls seeking comment Friday.

The indictment against Astin involves 17 patients. He was a doctor for World Wrestling Entertainment's Chris Benoit.

Authorities say Benoit strangled his wife and son, then hanged himself in their home in June 2007. They've said Astin prescribed him anabolic steroids. A medical examiner couldn't say whether steroids played a role.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) Federal prosecutors said Friday they would seek the death penalty against one of two men charged in the fatal shooting of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student body president Eve Carson.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey approved prosecutors' request to seek the execution of Demario Atwater, 22, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Greensboro. Officials declined to comment further on the case.

Atwater has pleaded not guilty to four federal charges, including carjacking resulting in death, and his trial is scheduled to begin in November. A message left for Atwater's attorney, Jonathan Broun, wasn't returned Friday.

Atwater also is facing the death penalty on several state charges in Orange County, where a capital murder case hasn't resulted in an execution in more than 60 years. Like Atwater, co-defendant Laurence Lovette is facing state first-degree murder and kidnapping charges but isn't eligible for the death penalty because he was under 18 when Carson was killed.

The Department of Justice has authorized 441 cases for death sentences nationwide since 1988, but only three federal defendants have been executed since then. Another 56 people wait on death row.

Authorities have said Atwater and Lovette, each with an extensive criminal history and on probation, were out looking for someone to rob when they spotted 22-year-old Carson through a front window at her Chapel Hill home in the early morning of March 5, 2008.

Prosecutors believe Carson was taken from her home and watched from the back seat of her own sport utility vehicle as the suspects withdrew hundreds of dollars from her bank account at several ATMs.

The Athens, Ga., native was found dead a few hours later in the middle of a residential street in Chapel Hill. She had been shot five times, including once in the head. An autopsy report said her wounds indicated she tried to shield herself from the gunfire.

North Carolina has had an unofficial moratorium on executions since early 2007, resulting from the struggle by several courts to address the state's use of lethal injection.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Stephen Jackson showed coach Don Nelson his bothersome right hamstring was no longer an issue, hitting a key 3-pointer late in the game against Atlanta right in front of the home bench.

``I bumped my knee and that hurt more than the hamstring,'' Jackson said. ``If I can walk and spit at the same time, I know I'm going to play 40 minutes.''

Jackson, who missed four games with a right hamstring strain, had 24 points to help the Golden State Warriors beat the Hawks 119-114 on Friday night.

Jamal Crawford scored 29 points, including the go-ahead basket in the final three minutes, and Corey Maggette had 24 points and a season-high 16 rebounds for the Warriors.

``It was good to see Jack back,'' Nelson said. ``I thought he had a sensational game and did a commendable job on defense. Jamal got hot in the second half, which we really needed.''

Joe Johnson scored 25 points for the Hawks, who lost for the fifth time in six games. Maurice Evans added 21 points and Michael Bibby had 20.

Atlanta forward Marvin Williams was taken to a hospital after hitting his head on the court during a play in the second quarter and may not make the trip home with the team.

``Marvin's a big part of what we're doing,'' Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. ``Right now he's still being evaluated for a head injury. We just wish him well and a speedy recovery. We don't even know if he's going to make the trip back, so we'll just have to see.''

Williams was fouled hard by Warriors' Ronny Turiaf going up for a short jumper. He made one of two free throws and tried to stay in the game before wobbling off a few seconds later.

Bibby hit consecutive 3-pointers as Atlanta turned a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit into a four-point lead with 3:24 remaining. Crawford hit back-to-back jumpers to tie it and then give the Warriors the lead for good with 2:11 left.

``It was a game that we really needed but we let it slip away,'' Bibby said. ``We finally got over the hump but we gave up two layups after that and it went back to where it was.''

The same day the Warriors learned Jackson would return to action, C.J. Watson's turf toe worsened to the point he had trouble walking.

Jackson helped spark the Warriors, who led 100-88 early in the final quarter before the Hawks went on an 18-2 run.

``The biggest thing is to stay positive,'' Jackson said. ``As we get guys back we'll keep improving. Corey is somebody to learn from. He doesn't worry about starting; he's just a professional. We're going to be tough to beat when everybody is clicking.''

Atlanta snapped a four-game losing streak, and a three-game road losing streak, in their last contest. The Hawks opened the season with four consecutive road victories but has gone 4-12 away from home since.

After winning nine of their last 10 games in December, the Hawks have lost six of eight.

``We're not playing great,'' Woodson said. ``We're fighting and scraping. We're in games. Tonight it was just a shootout and we just didn't make the plays we needed.''

Crawford's late jumper put the Warriors ahead 85-81 at the end of the third quarter, and his blocked shot of Zaza Pachulia at the buzzer helped carry the momentum into the final period.

Turiaf, Crawford and Maggette each scored in the first 1:30 of the fourth as Golden State opened a 10-point advantage, prompting Woodson to call a timeout.

The Warriors led 56-51 at halftime.
Notes: An MRI exam on Watson revealed inflammation in his left big toe. He's listed as day-to-day. ... Pachulia's first field goal of the game gave him 1,000 for his career. ... The Warriors had at least five players reach double figures in scoring for the 27th time. ... Johnson scored 13 points in the second quarter on 5-of-8 shooting. ... The game featured 15 lead changes and 11 ties. ... The Warriors and their opponents have scored at least 100 points in each of the past 10 games. ... The Warriors shot over 82 percent from the foul line two days after a 61 percent performance.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Miserable, lung-burning, face-numbing temperatures are one thing in the Midwest and Northeast. But the Deep South?

Temperatures plummeted Friday across the Midwest and eastern U.S., and delivered a stinging slap to Southerners unaccustomed to the frigid weather. Schools were closed in a dozen states and homeless shelters were overcrowded. Those that did venture outside bundled up and made quick trips.

In an odd twist, Alabama was colder than Alaska.

``I never thought I'd see weather like this, not at all,'' said Maya Morgan, a 20-year-old Christian missionary from Barbados, who is on a fellowship at the Atlanta University complex. ``And so that's why I like have, literally, six jackets on. Sometimes it's too cold to keep your eyes open.''

Forecasters said temperatures in the upper Midwest could turn into the coldest in years as Arctic air keeps spilling southward from Canada. The cold snap has claimed at least six lives and contributed to dozens of traffic accidents. One death involved a man in a wheelchair who was found in subzero temperatures stuck in the snow, a shovel in his hand, outside his home in Des Moines, Iowa. He died at a hospital.

The cold weather has gripped the Midwest and Northeast for days, but as it crept farther South, some were growing worried.

``We're afraid people will die in this kind of weather,'' said Anita Beaty, who works with the homeless in Atlanta, where temperatures dropped below the teens, some 20 degrees below normal lows in January. About 900 men packed a shelter that normally houses 700.

Freezing temperatures threatened to kill picturesque Spanish moss hanging from Gulf Coast trees. Wind and choppy seas frustrated efforts to free an endangered right whale tangled in fishing gear off the Southeastern coast. And it was too cold to bet on dogs in West Virginia: A greyhound track shut down because of a predicted high of 7 degrees.

Then again, the cold was testing even the heartiest winter-weather states. On Friday morning, it was minus 10 in Cleveland, minus 6 in Detroit and minus 11 in Chicago. In upstate New York, areas near Lake Erie received up to 2 inches of snow per hour.

Quentin Masters wore two coats and long underwear to mail a gift at the post office in downtown Syracuse.

``It was almost too cold to come down here today but it's a birthday present for my sister in Buffalo,'' said Masters, 28. ``It's on Monday and I don't want it to be late.''

It was so cold in Milwaukee that ice thawed at skating rinks. The subzero temperatures froze the ammonia tank needed to make ice at the indoor Pettit National Ice Center. Workers fixed the problem and two hockey rinks and the Olympic oval were expected to be ready for skaters later in the day.

Some in Illinois and Ohio lost power for several hours while Charleston, W.Va.-based Appalachian Power, which delivers electricity to more than 1 million customers Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, had a record for electricity demand as businesses and homes cranked up the heat.

The National Weather Service predicted the frigid temperatures would persist into the weekend. Wind chill warnings were in effect and forecasters said the cold and strong winds could lead to hypothermia, frostbite and death.

To Southerners, who rarely see temperatures so cold, the icebox-like weather was the most jarring. Construction worker Allen Johnson wore a gray beanie, flannel shirt, long johns and boots as he stopped for morning coffee in Montgomery, where the overnight low was 22 degrees.

``No matter how bad it is, it could be worse we could be in Anchorage, Alaska,'' Johnson said. Actually, the temperature was about 20 degrees warmer in Anchorage.

Second-grader Abbey Roberts waited for the school bus as the temperature hovered at 12 degrees in suburban Birmingham.

``I stood out there for a couple of minutes and my nose turned red. I was so cold I thought I was going to turn to an ice cube,'' Roberts said.

In western Georgia, about 15,000 students got a day off in Carroll County; the temperature only made it to 25 degrees by lunchtime.

``You know us Southerners,'' said schools spokeswoman Elena Schulenburg. ``We might have the gloves and scarves, but we might not consider pulling them out. We may not consider how cold it is.''

ATLANTA (AP) A spokesman for Kathryn Johnston's family says he's disappointed with an appeals court decision overturning the state conviction of a former Atlanta police officer sentenced to prison for lying to FBI agents about the killing.

But the Rev. Markel Hutchins said Friday he is pleased that the federal government prosecuted Officer Arthur Tesler on federal charges. Hutchins said during a news conference that the majority of the crimes that led to Johnston's death were federal offenses.

Hutchins referred to a Georgia Court of Appeals decision on Thursday that threw out Tesler's conviction on state charges. Tesler has pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard issued a statement saying he was disappointed that the verdict had been overturned but pleased that the court affirmed that the evidence in the case was sound.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Weather Center) -- Bone-chilling cold has settled in north Georgia, as the wind chill made it feel like near zero in metro Atlanta early Friday.  The cold has driven people to pile on layers upon layers if they had to go out, and keeping some children home from school.  WSB meteorologist Kirk Mellish says high temperatures on Friday will only be in the low 30's.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau)  The state commission charged with establishing a statewide trauma network in Georgia says it's plans are moving forward.

Members of the Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission met at the State Capitol hoping lawmakers will again be able to provide funding.  The $60 million it received last year saved the existing 15 hospitals.

"If funding had not come through last year you would have seen a mass exodus from the trauma system, we might have gone down to four or five trauma centers in the state," says commission chair Dr. Dennis Ashley.

He says among the goals now is to expand the system by turning more hospitals into trauma centers.

"We're still with that amount of funding struggling to get centers to come one... but for the first time we've had significant interest from other hospitals and medical staffs coming on board," he tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.

Another goal of the commission is to establish a regional EMS system in order to get critically injured patients to the trauma centers.  A call transfer system is also needed to make sure patients are sent to the correct facility based on their injuries.

Ashley is hoping lawmakers will pass some sort of sustainable funding for trauma care in order for the commission to meet all of it goals in the next three to five years.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) In these tough economic times, Gov. Perdue is recommending more than $400 million in cuts to education. 

In order to give school systems more flexibility in how to spend the funds they have, he's no longer mandating they use a program he's credited with starting and one that's credited with raising graduation rates in Georgia.

Beginning next school year, school systems will have the flexibility to use funds once designated for graduation coaches for other programs if needed.

"After you've invested in something you call your own... I think it's very bold of the Governor to say 'this is my program but I'm going to let you decide if it's working for you and if you keep it in these tight budget times'," says State School Superintendent Kathy Cox.

She says she doesn't believe it will have a negative affect on student achievement.

"You know I think the data is speaking for itself... our gradation rate is up, we're seeing fewer and fewer kids drop out of school, we're seeing more of our kids successfully transitioning to post-secondary," Cox says.

Since the inception of the graduation coaches program under Perdue, graduation rates are at an all time high at 75 percent.

(WSB Radio) It's not known when the judge will rule again in the long running squabble over trash collection in Gwinnett County.

Two rival trash haulers claim Waste-Pro has failed to comply with a previous court order, after the county's proposed trash pickup plan for unincorporated Gwinnett was tossed out.

"It's a tough subject matter," says Commission chairman Charles Bannister.  "But we're getting there.  And the people will be better for it and they'll like it in the end."

Some customers have complained that Waste-Pro has not been telling people that they actually have a choice of trash companies.

(WSB Radio)  More drama in Clayton County as the chairman of the county commission is suing his fellow commissioners.

Eldrin Bell filed the suit after the other board members hired a chief of staff.

Bell wants a judge to declare the position unconstitutional.  He contends he's the only one allowed to make such a hire and, he says, the job description conflicts with his own.

Commissioners contend they acted lawfully in making the hire.

There's no word on when the case might make it to court.

Six Flags and White Water will host a job fair Saturday, with plans to hire more than 2,400 seasonal staffers to help run gthe two amusement parks.

The job fair that kicks off the hiring season will be held at the Six Flags Over Georgia Crystal Pistol on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Before attending the job fair, applicants must fill out and online application. Those who have not completed an online application will not be able to participate in the Jan. 17 job fair, but may return to the employment office to apply at a later date.

 MILWAUKEE (AP) Even the brewing industry is starting to go flat in the worldwide economic slump.

SABMiller PLC, the London-based brewer of Grolsch, Miller Genuine Draft and Peroni Nastro Azzurro lagers, said on Thursday its beer shipments fell unexpectedly in the third quarter as consumers pulled back on their demand.

Carlsberg A/S, the Copenhagen-based maker of Carlsberg beer, said it was cutting 274 jobs to save on costs due to a future ``where we face more uncertainties and risks,'' the company said in a statement.

Beer usually holds up better than other categories during tough economic times, said Benj Steinman, editor of trade publication Beer Marketer's Insights, and that trend had been holding true during this recession for some segments of the industry. But the latest figures show the market is trending downward, perhaps accelerating as global economies continue to sputter, and relief seems uncertain.

Beer is ``recession-resistant, not recession-proof,'' Steinman said.

SABMiller said lager volumes fell 1 percent in the three-month period that ended Dec. 31, compared with the same period a year earlier, because of the economy.

``Consumer demand has been affected by the current global economic slowdown, and has continued to weaken in many of the group's markets,'' the company said in releasing its quarterly trading update, which does not provide financials.

The company said, however, that its financial performance remained in line with expectations ``notwithstanding the relative strength of the U.S. dollar against the group's major currencies.''

The rise in the U.S. dollar also has hurt businesses with overseas interests.

SABMiller is the world's second-largest brewer by volume after losing the top spot to Anheuser-Busch Inbev NV after InBev's $52 billion acquisition of Anheuser-Busch last year. In November, SABMiller said it was scaling back investment in the face of continued cost pressures and slowing demand for beer worldwide.

With the latest numbers, it appears demand has been hit hardest in the U.S. and Europe.

In the U.S., SABMiller and rival Molson Coors Brewing Co. saved costs last summer with a domestic joint venture called MillerCoors.

But MillerCoors sales are falling too. Domestic sales to retailers fell 2.3 percent over the third quarter, with flagship Miller Lite's sales falling 7.5 percent. Coors Light continued its momentum, posting a 1 percent sales increase, according to the company. But that was slower than in previous quarters, Steinman noted.

He said the Miller Lite number should be cause for concern about the brand. The fact that Coors Light's 1 percent growth was slower than in previous quarters could signal that the overall beer market is getting weaker, he said.

The U.S. beer market typically grows about 1 percent a year, over a ten-year average. In the past few years it had been growing ahead of that. But in 2008 sales rose about half a percentage point, he said.

MillerCoors said its premium light brand volumes were down 2.4 percent, with particular softness in restaurants and bars, where consumers are cutting back as they try to stretch their budgets. But MGD 64, a 64-calorie version of Miller Genuine Draft, kept growing after its launch last year, SABMiller said, and craft and imports rose 1.6 percent, led by a double-digit performance from Blue Moon.

In Europe, where consumers are also hurting, lager volume fell 1 percent, including a 22 percent drop in Russia. But MillerCoors volume grew 2 percent in Poland, where the company gained market share. In Romania, the volume growth rate slowed to 11 percent, while the Czech Republic's domestic volumes dropped 1 percent.

SABMiller also said volume in developing countries, which produce around 80 percent of its profits, is slowing as the credit crunch deepens.

Third-quarter shipments rose 2 percent in Latin America, stymied by a 6 percent decline in Colombia, the company's biggest market in the region. In Africa and Asia, organic lager volumes increased 2 percent, with growth in China flat.

Carlsberg, citing an uncertain future, said in its news release Thursday that it was accelerating its restructuring plan to improve on efficiencies. In Denmark, the company said it was starting Thursday to negotiate with unions to cut 150 jobs.

Carlsberg Baltic started restructuring its business in late 2008 and will now accelerate that by cutting 124 jobs, in addition to the 80 layoffs announced in November.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) With two minutes left and his team leading by 46 points, Georgia coach Andy Landers was still coaching.

It's a big reason he's won 800 games in 33 years on the bench.

The Bulldogs routed Savannah State 74-28 on Thursday night, giving Landers the milestone. He's won 718 games in 30 years at Georgia, with his first 82 wins in the 1970s coming at Roane State Community College in Harriman, Tenn.

``I'm happy that we won, but I am not happy we won it for me,'' Landers said afterward. ``As a coach, I saw a lot of things that need to get better. I don't ever go into a game thinking anything other than those kinds of things. I was coaching our walk-ons pretty hard with two minutes to go because they were making mistakes.''

Landers' career record is 800-252 in 33-plus seasons. He posted a 33-1 record against four-year schools during his tenure at Roane State.

On Sunday, North Carolina's Sylvia Hatchell became the fourth women's coach to record her 800th win joining Tennessee' Pat Summitt, Rutgers' Vivian Stringer and Jody Conradt, who retired from Texas in March 2007.

Angel Robinson scored 18 points for the Bulldogs (11-6), while Ashley Houts added 17.

Crissa Jackson led Savannah State (3-14) with eight points.

The Tigers' 28 points were the fewest by a Georgia opponent since the Lady Dogs beat Georgia Tech 77-22 on Jan. 10, 1976 three years before Landers became Georgia's first full-time coach.

``I am glad I helped Coach Landers back in the day with about a hundred of these,'' said former Georgia All-American Teresa Edwards, watching from the stands.

``I wish this was his thousandth and he already had an NCAA championship under his belt. That is how much I love him. I want nothing but the best for him.''

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) A Georgia man is accused of bilking investors out of about $25 million through a foreign currency Ponzi scheme.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington announced Thursday that it charged James Ossie of Dawsonville and his company, CRE Capital Corp. of Alpharetta. The CFTC said neither has ever registered with the agency.

The complaint said Ossie promised pool participants a 10 percent return within 30 days by trading U.S. Japanese currency pairs, but since June 18 lost about $4.4 million rather than making money. The CFTC said CRE ``profits'' were actually paid from the principal of subsequent pool participants.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Some peanut butter at a Georgia plant shows signs of contamination, but officials said Thursday they don't know if it's linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds and prompted Kellogg to pull crackers from store shelves.

Samples of the microbes found at the Peanut Corp. of America plant in Blakely will be tested for salmonella, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin said. If it proves to be the food-borne bacteria, further tests would determine whether it is the same strain that has sickened more than 450 people in 43 states and may have contributed to five deaths.

``We do not have a positive confirmation for salmonella,'' Irvin said in a statement. ``However, results of two tests completed so far mean that we cannot eliminate salmonella as a possibility.''

Peanut Corp. has recalled 21 lots of peanut butter made at the plant since July 1 because of possible salmonella contamination. Peanut Corp. said in a news release Thursday that it has also temporarily suspended peanut butter processing at the Blakely plant but work on other products there was continuing.

Kellogg Co., which gets some of its peanut paste from the company, asked stores late Wednesday to stop selling some of its peanut butter sandwich crackers until the company can ensure the paste is OK for people to eat.

FDA compliance officer Sandra Williams said Kellogg's move is known as a stop-sale order and isn't as serious as a recall. The company, based in Battle Creek, Mich., said it hasn't found problems or received complaints about the products.

``We are taking these voluntary actions out of an abundance of caution,'' Kellogg CEO David Mackay said in a news release.

The products being removed include Austin and Keebler toasted peanut butter sandwich crackers, peanut butter and jelly sandwich crackers, cheese and peanut butter sandwich crackers, and peanut butter-chocolate sandwich crackers.

Peanut Corp. has said none of its recalled peanut butter is sold through retail stores, but is distributed to institutions, food service industries and private label food companies. It is sold under the brand name Parnell's Pride and by the King Nut Co. as King Nut.

Peanut Corp. said in a release that it was working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ``to identify customers and recall the product as part of this ongoing investigation.'' But the company declined interviews.

Health officials in Minnesota and Virginia have linked two deaths each to the outbreak and Idaho has reported one. Four of the five were elderly people, and all had salmonella when they died, though their exact causes of death haven't been determined. But the CDC said the salmonella may have contributed.

The family of a 72-year-old Minnesota woman who died says it is pursuing a lawsuit against Peanut Corp. but hasn't yet filed it.

The CDC said the bacteria behind the outbreak typhimurium is common and not an unusually dangerous strain but that the elderly or those with weakened immune systems are more at risk.

``Those are the ones likely to have the worst time,'' said Dr. Robert Tauxe from the CDC.

Salmonella is the nation's leading cause of food poisoning, with common symptoms being diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. About 40,000 cases are reported each year, although more than 1 million people are likely infected and about 500 deaths a year are salmonella-related, health officials said.

Nationally, all the latest illnesses began between Sept. 3 and Dec. 29, but most were sickened after Oct. 1.

This peanut butter contamination comes almost two years after ConAgra recalled its Peter Pan brand, which was eventually linked to at least 625 salmonella cases in 47 states.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) An appeals court on Thursday overturned the conviction of a former Atlanta police officer sentenced to prison for lying to FBI agents about the killing of a 92-year-old woman during a botched drug raid.

In tossing out Arthur Tesler's conviction on the state charges, the Georgia Court of Appeals said Fulton County prosecutors failed to prove where the lying took place.

``Its admitted failure requires us to reverse Tesler's conviction,'' Chief Judge Yvette Miller wrote.

A Fulton County Superior Court judge sentenced Tesler to 4 1/2 years in prison and six months probation last May. Tesler has also pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges.

Kathryn Johnston was killed by a barrage of bullets fired by officers who stormed into her home in November 2006 with a no-knock warrant.

Police originally said officers had gone to Kathryn Johnston's northwest Atlanta home in 2006 after an informant bought drugs there. But after finding none, officers tried to cover up the mistake by planting baggies of marijuana, prosecutors said.

Two other officers, Jason R. Smith and Gregg Junnier, pleaded guilty to state and federal charges. Tesler, who did not fire a shot, faces sentencing next month after pleading guilty to a charge of conspiracy to violate civil rights resulting in death.

Tesler was in Johnston's backyard when plainclothes officers burst in through the front door the night of Nov. 21, 2006, using a special ``no-knock'' warrant to search for drugs. Johnston fired a single shot from a rusty revolver at the intruders, but hit no one, and officers fired 39 bullets, hitting the woman five or six times, prosecutors said.

Tesler's lawyer, William McKenney, called Thursday's ruling ``terrific news'' and told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he hopes it will help at Tesler's federal sentencing.

McKenney also said that because the court found the evidence supported the jury's finding that Tesler lied to federal agents, there is a possibility of a retrial on the state charges.

A message left seeking comment from the prosecutor by The Associated Press wasn't immediately returned.

The Rev. Markel Hutchins, a spokesman for the Johnston family, issued a statement calling Thursday's ruling a minor setback.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio)  Tolls on I-75?  It's possible .

The state Transportation Board is considering toll lanes on parts of the interstate in Cobb and Cherokee Counties.

Under the plan, which was taken into consideration at the board's meeting on Wednesday, one regular lane in each direction would be converted into a toll lane.

The proposal, one of two being discussed, would have lanes from the Perimeter to I-575 affected.

There would be two congestion-priced lanes, one of them a converted regular lane and one a newly built lane.

The GDOT currently bans the conversion of a regular lane into a toll lane, but board members believe that policy may need reconsideration.

Under the plan, the cost of driving in the congestion-priced lanes would depend on the amount of traffic on the highway. 

The second proposal before the board would involve reversible lanes.  Drivers would still have toll lanes on 75 to 575.  But the lanes would be reversible, with cars heading southbound in the morning and northbound during the afternoons.

The first proposal carries a pricetag estimated at about $1.4 billion.  The second plan would run about $1.045 billion.

(WSB Radio) Former Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill has now run afoul of the Feds.

The new sheriff says Hill may have absconded with department equipment, leading to a new inquiry.

Federal marshals have placed a lien on Hill's Riverdale home, while the new investigation commences.

The lien is in response to a massive amount of legal debts Hill has accumulated.

The former sheriff filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2008.

The feds are investigating because Hill did not turn in an inventory list of assets at the end of his term, as is required.  New Clayton County Sheriff Kim Kimbrough says all kinds of equipment is now missing.

Clayton County is also investigating Hill for possible credit card abuse, after he paid for a junket to Las Vegas last month with a county card

(WSB Radio) The jobless picture in Georgia got worse in December.  Much worse.

The Georgia Department of Labor says claims for unemployment insurance skyrocketed from December of 2007 to last month.  The department reports a 174 percent increase.

Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond describes the jump in jobless claims as "stunning and sobering."

In all, 128, 625 laid off workers filed first time claims for unemployment in December.

Atlanta's jobless claims rose by 134 percent in December of 2008, compared to December a year before.

The department reports the biggest increases were found in Rome and Dalton, with claims in both cities up 350 percent.  Gainesville saw a jump of 216 percent.

The smallest jobless increase in Georgia was found in Hinesville, at 92 percent.  Macon reported a 116 percent rise, while Augusta's jobless claims jumped 119 percent. 

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau)  Georgia's Trauma Care Commission takes its plea for more funding to the State Capitol today.

The Trauma Care Network received $60 million from lawmakers last year, but that was only enough to sustain the existing 15 trauma centers, not bring more hospitals into the network.

Gov. Perdue will again push for legislation to charge super speeders excessive fines in an effort to generate another $60 million.

But Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Atlanta) doubts that will work.

"I don't think fees alone on super speeders are sufficient to fund the kind of trauma system we need for Georgia," she says.

There are huge gaps that exist in the southern and northeastern part of the state that do not have trauma centers.  The commission says a statewide network of trauma hospitals could save up to 600 lives per year.

Other funding ideas have been floated in the past including adding a $10 fee to car tag renewals and additional charges on the 911 portion of phone bills.

"We have to find some resources for trauma services and trauma systems... I think our Georgia citizens deserve that," says Oliver.

(WSB Radio) How bad does the economy have to get before one of Atlanta's more stable employers starts offering buyouts?  Well, right now will do.

Georgia Power is offering 400 workers buyouts in order to cut their budget.  If the employees accept the offer, they'll get a year's salary in return.

"We are basically seeing a reduction in our revenues, because of the economic downturn," Georgia Power's Lynn Wallace tells WSB.  "Projections indicate the trend is going to continue in 2009."

Wallace says the buyouts are not unprecedented for the utility, but are rare.

The 400 jobs being cut represent just a fraction of Georgia Power's 9000 person workforce.

(WSB Radio) By a vote of 3-2, the Marietta City Council approves a rate hike for electricity customers of the Marietta Board of Lights and Water.

The increase, which takes effect February 1st, was requested because the city owned utility is having to pay more to buy its power.

BLW general manager Bob Lewis tells Channel 2 Action News "we have not adjusted our rates in five years, basically."  He says the utility "still has the lowest rates around."

Under the plan approved Wednesday night, residential customers will see their power bills go up between 6% and 8.25%.  Bills for commercial accounts will increase between 5% and 12%.

The Marietta Board of Lights and Water has roughly 42,000 electric power accounts.  Just over 26,000 of those accounts are within the Marietta city limits.

(WSB Radio) -- A body found overnight in a dumpster in DeKalb County has been taken to the GBI Crime Lab for an autopsy.

Clarkston police received a 9-1-1 call just after Midnight Thursday morning from someone who saw a man put something in a dumpster on Smith Street.

Around 2 a.m., homicide detectives detained two people for questioning, but did not arrest them.

Investigators will not say if the victim is male or female.  A motive has not been determined.

(WSB Radio) --  Atlanta police are calling a deadly overnight shooting a case of self defense.

APD Sgt. Lisa Keyes tells Channel 2 Action News a suspected carjacker was shot and killed just after Midnight Thursday morning as he attempted to steal a car from outside the Graveyard Tavern on Glenwood Avenue in southeast Atlanta.

When confronted by the suspect, Keyes says the car owner "pulled his own weapon and shot the suspect five to six times."

Southeast Atlanta resident Edward Gilgor blames public safety furloughs and lack of officers on the street for the crime in his neighborhood.  He tells Channel 2 Action News "I have no doubt in my mind that as long as the city of Atlanta chooses to not properly defend its citizens, incidents will occur, all over the entire city, just like this."

Atlanta police do not plan to file any charges against the unidentified victim.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) The Vanderbilt Commodores got back 6-foot-11 center A.J. Ogilvy on Wednesday night. That, and their stingy defense, proved more than enough against Georgia.

Ogilvy scored 18 points as Vanderbilt beat Georgia 50-40 in the lowest scoring game for both teams this season. The preseason All-Southeastern Conference player had missed two of the past three games for Vanderbilt with a bone bruise in his right heal, including the Commodores' SEC opener last weekend in Kentucky.

``It felt a lot better being out there contributing to the team like that rather than watching from the sideline,'' Ogilvy said.

He started, played 29 minutes and blocked two shots and also came up with four steals in helping Vanderbilt (12-4, 1-1) win for the seventh time in eight games as the Commodores opened league play at home.

``Ogilvy carried them tonight obviously,'' Georgia coach Dennis Felton said.

Georgia (9-8, 0-2) lost its fourth straight overall. The Bulldogs had leads in each of the previous three games, blowing big leads in the second half of two of those including last weekend's loss to Tennessee. This time, they led only briefly in the opening minutes.

Terrance Woodbury scored 10 points for the Bulldogs.

Vanderbilt now has won four straight in this series.

The Commodores came in tied for first nationally in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 36.1 shooting. Georgia did even worse, hitting just 33.3 percent (18 of 54).

The defense helped on a night when Vanderbilt scored its fewest points in any win since 1985 when the Commodores beat Princeton 49-44, and fewest in an SEC win since 1982 when they beat Florida 47-46 in overtime at the SEC tournament

``I didn't even know I could coach a team to defend like this to be honest with you,'' Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. ``They're doing great, and there's going to be nights for us this year we're going to have to because there are going to be some nights we struggle to score, maybe more than I hope.''

Georgia scored the first six points and led 12-4 before Ogilvy started a 6-0 spurt, and Darshawn McClellan's jumper put Vanderbilt ahead to stay at 14-12 with 7:31 left in the first half. Georgia then missed seven straight shots and hit only three of its final 15.

Vanderbilt started cold, hitting just three of their first 13 shots and missing all eight attempts from 3-point range in the half for the first time since going 0 of 9 at Tennessee last season. The Commodores still led 26-18 at halftime.

The Bulldogs pulled within four twice within the final 6 minutes, the last on a bucket by Albert Jackson with 3:04 left at 44-40. Brad Tinsley hit two free throws, and Ogilvy drove the lane for a layup to push the lead back to 48-40. Ogilvy added another bucket with 91 seconds to go as the Commodores dribbled out the clock in the final seconds.

It was Georgia's lowest scoring game by two, edging out the 42 points the Bulldogs scored in a loss to Illinois on Dec. 6.

Vanderbilt's previous low had been 51 points in a loss to Georgia Tech, also on Dec. 6. Commodores junior guard Jermaine Beal said that's what happens in conference play.

``Everybody's intensity increases a little bit. At the same time, we had open shots folks usually make and the shots weren't falling today. But our defense picked us up,'' Beal said.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Derrick Favors, one of the nation's top high school basketball prospects, announced Wednesday he will play at Georgia Tech next season.

The 6-foot-9 center picked the Yellow Jackets over Georgia and North Carolina State, though his decision won't be official until the next signing period in April.

Favors attended Wednesday night's game against No. 3 Duke and received a rousing ovation when shown on the video board during the second half.

``It's close to home and I want my friends to come see me,'' said Favors, who is averaging more than 28 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots for South Atlanta High School.

The commitment by Favors completes a hugely successful recruiting class for Georgia Tech, which already signed 6-4 shooting guard Glen Rice Jr., 6-7 power forward Kammeon Holsey, 6-2 point guard Mfon Udofia and 6-4 small forward Brian Oliver.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) An oft-challenged Georgia law that requires voters to show photo identification before they cast their ballots was again upheld Wednesday, this time by a federal appeals panel.

The three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected critics' attempt to block the law, concluding that concerns about the new requirements are ``outweighed by the interests of Georgia in safeguarding the right to vote.''

It comes after a series of federal and state judges have upheld the voter ID law or refused to stop it from taking effect.

The Georgia Democratic Party has long tried to block the law, claiming it places an undue burden on the poor, disabled people and minorities. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which filed this challenge, also claims the state never proved a valid reason for the new requirements.

State elections officials say the law helps prevent voter fraud and are quick to note that some 5 million residents cast ballots this year with the new restrictions in place.

The law, first enacted at the urging of Republican leaders in 2005, has been in effect since a federal judge in September 2007 said it passed constitutional muster. The U.S. Supreme Court has since upheld a similar photo ID law in Indiana.

Democrats and other critics filed a flurry of lawsuits challenging the requirements in the run-up to the November election, but judges refused to block the law from taking effect.

The federal challenge was filed by Eugene Taylor and Bertha Barrett Young, Georgia residents who don't have driver's licenses. They claimed the law treats them unfairly because it would force them to make a special trip to the county registrar's to get a photo ID.

The NAACP said that between 289,000 and 505,000 voters lacked a driver's license and argued it was ``implausible'' that all of them would have another form of approved ID.

But the panel of U.S. Court of Appeals Judges Stanley Birch and William Pryor and U.S. District Judge Lyle Strom said the argument fails, mainly because both the plaintiffs testified they could get free photo identification ``with little difficulty.''

``The NAACP and voters, despite their best efforts, failed to identify a single individual who would be unable to vote because of the Georgia statute or who would face an undue burden to obtain a free voter identification card,'' the court concluded.

Edward DuBose, president of the NAACP's Georgia chapter, did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

Secretary of State Karen Handel issued a statement praising the decision as the ``latest confirmation of Georgia's common-sense photo ID requirement.''

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

CHATTAHOOCHEE, Fla. (AP) A daredevil money manager whose run from ruin was halted when investigators interrupted his suicide attempt at a Florida campground found his legal problems compounded Wednesday as authorities filed federal charges against him in the three-day ordeal.

U.S. Marshals tracked Marcus Schrenker, 38, to a north Florida campground late Tuesday night, peeling back the flap to his one-man tent to discover him in clouded consciousness with blood-soaked arms, muttering the word ``die.'' The capture ended a multi-state scramble to find him after he allegedly staged a plane crash and parachuted out over Alabama, then fled.

Scott Wilson, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Northern District of Florida, said Schrenker was charged with intentionally wrecking his aircraft and faking a distress call, causing the Coast Guard to launch a search to save his life when it wasn't necessary. Schrenker was resting in a heavily guarded hospital room Wednesday, but was expected to appear first in a Florida court before returning to his home state of Indiana, Wilson said.

How U.S. Marshals were able to track Schrenker to the campsite remained a mystery, but he gave them ample opportunity: Officials said he drove a flashy red motorcycle, approached local police after allegedly jumping out of the plane and even sent an e-mail to a friend saying the whole situation was a misunderstanding.

``It's certainly something right out of Hollywood. Someone parachuting out of a plane to avoid capture as a fugitive. It's certainly not the run of the mill case for us,'' Wilson said.

The campground's owners said he rode into the tree-lined site on the red bike Monday night, wearing a brown leather jacket. He didn't give a name but handed over $25.75 in cash for a tent site, and bought some firewood and a six-pack of Bud Light Lime. They gave him a password for the site's wireless internet connection, said owner Caroline Hastings.

``He said he was going across the country with some buddies. He wanted to stop. He didn't know if they would,'' said Hastings, 32, who operates the campsite with her husband, Troy.

The next day, the couple grew suspicious when he hadn't checked out by 5 p.m., and had only paid for one night. Hastings' husband went to his tent and saw a red stain on one of the outer flaps.

``Are you OK? Planning to spend another night?'' he called out.

Schrenker said he was, he'd be by later to pay. He didn't come.

Later, the Hastings were making dinner when the sheriff called and asked if anything odd was going on. Troy Hastings mentioned the camper, and the sheriff asked if they could come identify him. Caroline Hastings didn't need to look at a picture long to know it was him and soon, authorities swarmed onto the grounds and found him bloodied and barely conscious.

Schrenker will likely face a parade of legal proceedings in the coming months. Already, he has been charged with acting as a financial manager even though his license had expired in Indiana. State regulators also have filed complaints against him that he unfairly charged seven investors some $250,000 in exorbitant fees he didn't tell them about when they switched annuities.

It wasn't clear if Schrenker had obtained an attorney, and no one answered the door Wednesday at his Indiana home.

When Schrenker took off on his ill-fated flight, he already faced some $9 million or more in potential and actual court judgments and legal claims, according to a review of court documents by The Associated Press. And according to a letter he wrote in early December, he was planning to file for bankruptcy.

``It needs to be known that I am financially insolvent,'' Schrenker, with two personal bankruptcies already behind him, wrote in a letter in early December. ``I am intending on filing bankruptcy in 2009 should my financial conditions continue to deteriorate.''

Things did get worse, and investigators say that's when Schrenker took another way out by apparently trying to stage his death.

On top of his other debts, Schrenker could be forced to pay $5,100 and possibly much more for the cost of Coast Guard boats and helicopters used in the search.

``I have personally lost all hope,'' Schrenker wrote to his attorney in December, regarding an Alabama case in which a man sued him claiming he unknowingly purchased a damaged aircraft from Schrenker in 2002. ``I don't think that there is a good person left in this world.''

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) A peanut butter maker that sells bulk supplies to institutions issued a nationwide recall as officials on Wednesday reported two more deaths associated with a salmonella outbreak. Its client Kellogg Co. later asked stores to stop selling a variety of peanut butter crackers.

Lynchburg-based Peanut Corp. of America issued the recall late Tuesday for 21 lots of peanut butter made since July 1 at its plant in Blakely, Ga., because of possible salmonella contamination. The company supplies peanut paste to Kellogg, which on Wednesday asked stores nationwide to pull peanut butter crackers sold under the Austin and Keebler brands.

Kellogg, based in Battle Creek, Mich., said it hasn't found problems or received complaints about those products.

``We are taking these voluntary actions out of an abundance of caution,'' Kellogg CEO David Mackay said in a release.

The national salmonella outbreak has sickened more than 430 people in 43 states. Health officials in Minnesota and Idaho reported Wednesday that one death in each state had been linked to the outbreak. Another death in Minnesota and two in Virginia were confirmed Tuesday.

All five were adults who had salmonella when they died, though their causes of death haven't been determined. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the salmonella outbreak may have contributed.

Peanut Corp. of America said none of the peanut butter being recalled is sold through retail stores. Its peanut butter is made for distribution to institutions, food service industries and private label food companies. The company said the peanut butter is sold under the brand name Parnell's Pride and by the King Nut Co. as King Nut.

However, the products being pulled from shelves by Kellogg are sold directly to consumers. They include Austin and Keebler toasted peanut butter sandwich crackers, peanut butter and jelly sandwich crackers, cheese and peanut butter sandwich crackers, and peanut butter-chocolate sandwich crackers. Customers and stores are asked to hold onto the Kellogg products, but not eat them, until an investigation is complete.

FDA compliance officer Sandra Williams said Kellogg's move is known as a stop-sale order and isn't as serious as a recall. Neither Williams nor a Kellogg spokesman could say how many units were involved, but Williams said, ``It's a very large volume.''

Kellogg spokesman Darryl Riley said federal investigators visited company facilities this week.

The Peanut Corp. recall was issued after an open container of King Nut peanut butter in a long-term care facility in Minnesota was found to contain a strain of salmonella. Health officials had recommended nursing homes, hospitals, schools, universities and restaurants discard containers of peanut butter linked to the outbreak. The peanut butter was in containers between 5 and 50 pounds.

``We deeply regret that this has happened,'' Stewart Parnell, owner and president of Peanut Corp. of America, said in a news release. ``Out of an abundance of caution, we are voluntarily withdrawing this produce and contacting our customers.''

Customers were notified by phone and in writing, the company said.

Kellogg said it gets peanut paste from several suppliers.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture so far has found nothing in samples tested from Peanut Corp.'s Blakely plant, spokesman Arty Schronce said Wednesday, but added the testing process can take several days.

Authorities have declined to identify the five people who died. But Virginia Health Department spokesman Phil Giaramita said Wednesday the cases there involved an adult over 65 in southwestern Virginia and a younger adult in the northwestern part of the state.

Health officials said a man in his 70s who had numerous underlying health conditions was the second person to die in Minnesota, where 13 people have been hospitalized. The Idaho death occurred in the fall.

The CDC said it appears most people became ill between Sept. 3 and Dec. 31 but mainly after Oct. 1.

King Nut recalled the peanut butter over the weekend in the seven states where it distributed it. King Nut president Martin Kanan had said he didn't want to wait for Peanut Corp. to act. He did not immediately return a message Wednesday seeking comment on the wider recall.

Besides the Georgia plant, Peanut Corp. of America has plants in Suffolk, Va., and Plainview, Texas.

Georgia agriculture officials have one to three inspectors at the Blakely plant and more people working on the case at the department's Atlanta headquarters, Schronce said. He said peanut butter plants in the state are inspected once or twice a year and more frequently if problems are found.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- A juvenile armed robbery suspect is dead and two others are in custody following a high speed chase with Alpharetta police. 

Officer George Gordon tells WSB's Mark Alewine the trio of accused thieves were spotted around 11 p.m. Wednesday in the parking lot of the Toys'R'Us on North Point Parkway.

When officers attempted to question the suspects about the crime in Roswell, Gordon says "the driver took off at a high rate of speed." 

During the pursuit, the driver lost control on North Point Parkway and flipped the vehicle.  The back seat passenger, believed to be between the ages of 12 and 15 years old, was pronounced dead at the scene.  The driver and front seat passenger were treated for serious injuries and are being held without bond in the Fulton County jail. 

Both men face armed robbery charges in Roswell.  Alpharetta police plan to charge the suspects with obstruction, fleeing and attempting to elude.  Gordon says Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard will also have to decide if the surviving suspects will face felony murder charges because a death occurred during the commission of a crime.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) The cold wave that stunned the nation's midsection expanded into the Northeast on Wednesday with subzero temperatures and biting wind that kept even some winter sports fans at home.

The wind chill hit 33 below zero during the night at Massena, N.Y., and the National Weather Service predicted actual temperatures nearly that low in parts of the region by Thursday night. The weather service said Flint, Mich., set a record low early Wednesday at 19 degrees below zero.

Forecasters also issued a lake effect snow warning Wednesday night for southwest Michigan, where a foot of snow or more could fall.

Winter-hardened people across northern New England bundled up amid warnings about how fast exposed skin can freeze.

``Anyone who sends their kid out today is out of the running for parent of the year,'' said Eric Friedman, a spokesman for Mad River Glen ski area in Fayston, Vt. A frostbite caution sign was posted at the ticket office, but few skiers were there to see it because of the 5-below-zero cold, Friedman said.

Schools from Iowa to North Carolina opened late so kids would not have to be out in the coldest part of the morning. Some schools closed altogether.

``Awful,'' said University of Dayton student Lauren Weining, who put on two pairs of pants and three sweaters under her coat for a 10-minute walk to her job on the Ohio school's campus. ``It's the longest 10 minutes I ever had this year.''

Snowy conditions led to at least two fatal highway crashes in Ohio, both on Interstate 75. A truck that slowed to avoid a pile-up slammed into a car, killing the car's 55-year-old driver, said Tipp City patrolman Greg Adkins. Another person was killed in a three-vehicle crash involving a snowplow.

Also on Wednesday, two men died in a 20-vehicle pileup in near-blizzard conditions on the Indiana Toll Road.

A day earlier, a Wisconsin man died of exposure after wandering from his home; relatives said he was prone to sleepwalking. Poor visibility in blowing snow was blamed for a 20-car pileup that killed two people Wednesday in Indiana.

Snow also cut visibility in Chicago, where airlines canceled around 250 flights Wednesday afternoon at O'Hare International Airport.

In New York, where light snow was forecast and overnight lows Thursday near Albany were expected to be around minus 10, the frigid conditions caused complications for highway managers because road salt doesn't melt ice in subzero temperatures.

``Once we get into minus 10, minus 20, in some cases we have to go to just straight sand, a light dusting of sand, on the highway to get some grit, provide some traction,'' said Mike Flick of the state Transportation Department in Pamelia.

Mercifully, no major precipitation was forecast for New England. Parts of the region are still recovering from a Dec. 11 ice storm that tore down trees and power lines, cutting electricity to about 1 million homes and businesses in the Northeast some for more than a week.

This was just arctic cold, the kind that numbs the face, kills car batteries and freezes unguarded water pipes. Residents of Ironwood, Mich., were told to keep faucets running to prevent freeze-ups after a major break left the city without water, said Gogebic County emergency services coordinator Jim Loeper.

``It slows you down a little bit. Your body doesn't move as fast as it should,'' said Shane West, 35, a roofer working on a house in Montpelier in 2-below cold. ``Even for us, it can become a problem sometimes,'' he said, referring to Vermonters accustomed to cold weather.

A temperature around zero didn't faze truck driver Gary Jacobs, 49, of Barre, Vt., bundled in five layers T-shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, hooded sweatshirt and coat, in addition to snowpants, boots and a knit cap.

``People in Arizona say `It's a dry heat.' This is a fresh cold,'' Jacobs said.

But people who had a choice stayed inside even skiers.

Vermont's Bolton Valley ski resort, where it was 10 below Wednesday morning, canceled night skiing through Friday night for fear that skiers could freeze if they were marooned on a malfunctioning ski lift.

A couple of ski areas in northern Minnesota closed for the day because of temperatures that reached 38 below zero at International Falls, with the wind chill during the night estimated at 50 below.

Homeless shelters were busy.

``We don't want anyone out there,'' said Kathryn Paquette, homeless outreach specialist of Southern New Hampshire Services in Nashua, N.H., which found rooms at rooming houses, motels and shelters for dozens.

Honda Motor Co. canceled two shifts at three Ohio plants so their roughly 5,000 workers wouldn't have to risk the cold and slippery roads, spokesman Ron Lietzke said.

Maine residents braced for nighttime readings down to 40 below zero. And in the Midwest, Iowans were warned that temperatures could drop as far as 27 below zero during the night, matching a Jan. 15 record set in 1972.

Temperatures on Thursday were expected to range from 10 below zero in the far north to the low teens in southern coastal areas.

Farther south, morning temperatures were in the 20s from Texas to Georgia, and along the Gulf Coast the weather service reported a low of just 28 at Mobile, Ala.

Even northern Georgia and Kentucky could see single-digit lows by Friday, with zero possible at Lexington, Ky., the weather service warned. Kentucky hasn't been that cold since December 2004.

Farmworkers in Florida, where the service forecast Thursday night lows in the teens to lower 20s, plucked ripened berries early as a precaution. Strawberry growers near Tampa and blueberry growers around Gainesville checked irrigation pumps, ready to spray fruit with water to create a protective ice coating if needed.

But as the Gulf Coast city of Pensacola, Fla., fell to 40 degrees, Brazilian tourist Vitor Rocha wore shorts and sandals for a stroll with a friend.

``We are not disappointed in the weather today, this is something unusual for us,'' he said.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) --  The Clayton State University lockdown has been lifted. 

The school tells News/Talk 750 WSB that just before 5pm, a couple of students saw what they thought was a  man carrying a handgun on campus outside the Baker University Center.

"After thorough search, we are comfortable that the campus is now safe, and the all clear message has been disseminated. We appreciate everyone's cooperation and apologize for any disruption that this investigation may have caused," says Bobby Hamil, Clayton State University chief of police.

Lt. James McGee tells WSB's Jennifer Griffies several leads led to the latest information.

McGee says it appears that Arthur and Lisa Rappaport did not know the suspects and they were targeted because they own a very well-known pawn shop in Sandy Springs.

"We're working on a premise that since the owner of the Happy Hocker shop down in Sandy Springs - it's well known that they usually carry cash on them, large amounts of cash," said McGee.

On January 8th, two men approached Arthur Rappaport while he was walking his dog in the Horseshoe Bend Subdivision and forced him back inside his home on Steeple Pointe Drive.  Once there, Rappaport, his wife Lisa, and their two children, were tied up and he was severely pistol whipped  before the suspects took off with an undetermined amount of money. 

McGee says although the suspects are not believed to be responsible for similar crimes in Roswell, they have alerted other agencies in the metro Atlanta area.

The other suspect is described as a black male in his early 20's, with a medium build.

Police are considering offering a reward in the case.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Roswell Police Department at 770-640-4432 or Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS.

January 14, 2009

"Don't hear me dismissing the scope or severity of this downturn, but more importantly don't leave failing to hear the message that we need to look beyond this downturn," said Perdue.

He proposed a slimmed-down budget that slashes spending to close a $2.2 billion budget hole. But he also wants to boost borrowing to stimulate the state's economy by creating 20,000 jobs for construction.

"These projects touch every corner of our state and include new construction at our universities, technical schools and libraries... harbor deepening at Savannah and needed improvements at state facilities," he said.

As part of the Democratic response, House Minority Leader DuBose Porter (D-Dublin) dismissed the idea.

"The Governor has said he wants to borrow our way out of this crisis... to put our good credit on the line.  But we cannot borrow our way out of debt," he said.

Perdue's speech did not include pay raises for teachers and other state employees.  He's proposing to cut a nearly $500 billion from education in the midyear budget.

"We know that Georgia's in an economic crisis however the need to educate Georgia's 1.7 million students in our public schools is still not going to go away," said Jeff Hubbard , President of the Georgia Association of Educators.

Perdue is proposing a $19.2 billion amended budget for the current fiscal year, down from $21.2 billion, and a $20.2 billion spending plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

To avoid deep cuts to the Medicaid program for the state's poorest residents, Perdue said he wants hospitals and health insurance plans to pay a 1.6 percent fee on their total revenues.

The proposal faces stiff opposition from the health care industry, a powerful lobbying force at the state Capitol, as well as some conservative Republicans, who've pledged not to raise taxes or fees to plug the budget hole. Health officials argue it could boost the cost of insurance and discourage the sick from seeking treatment if the costs are passed along.

But Perdue defended the proposal.

``Please do not rush into a shortsighted cuts that would have long-term consequences for Georgia's most needy,'' Perdue told lawmakers.

Perdue promised to again push for ``super speeder'' legislation to funnel $60 million to the state's struggling trauma care network. He first began pushing in 2007 to increase fines for people caught driving over 85 mph on any Georgia highways, a plan that has failed to win legislative approval. Perdue has argued that reckless drivers are causing accidents that are clogging the state's emergency rooms.

Perdue would close the budget gap, in part, by eliminating Homeowner Tax Relief Grants the state pays to local governments, which are then passed along to homeowners as tax credits. They average about $200 to $300 per household. Their loss could mean homeowners could see their property taxes rise.

"What this amounts to now is the biggest property tax increase on homes in Georgia's history," said Porter.

Lawmakers begins budget hearings next week.

14 January 2009

HARPERSVILLE, Ala. (AP) With his world crumbling around him, investment adviser Marcus Schrenker opted for a bailout. However, his plan to escape personal turmoil was short-lived.

In a feat reminiscent of a James Bond movie, the 38-year-old businessman and amateur daredevil pilot apparently tried to fake his death in a plane crash, secretly parachuting to the ground and speeding away on a motorcycle he had stashed away in the pine barrens of central Alabama.

But the captivating three-day saga came to an end when authorities finally caught up to Schrenker at a North Florida campground where he had apparently tried to take his own life, said Alabama-based U.S. Marshals spokesman Michael Richards.

Schrenker was taken into custody around 10 p.m. EST after officers from the U.S. Marshal's office in Tallahassee, Fla., found him inside a tent at a campground in nearby Quincy, Richards said.

``He had cut one of his wrists, but he is still alive,'' Richards said.

The missing pilot was tracked down after investigators developed leads that he might be in Florida and forwarded to U.S. Marshals officers there, Richards said.

Schrenker was on the run not only from the law but from divorce, a state investigation of his businesses and angry investors who accuse him of stealing potentially millions in savings they entrusted to him.

``We've learned over time that he's a pathological liar you don't believe a single word that comes out of his mouth,'' said Charles Kinney, a 49-year-old airline pilot from Atlanta who alleges Schrenker pocketed at least $135,000 of his parents' retirement fund.

The events of the past few days appeared to be a last, desperate gambit by a man who had fallen from great heights and was about to hit bottom.

On Sunday two days after burying his beloved stepfather and suffering a half-million-dollar loss in federal court the same day Schrenker was flying his single-engine Piper Malibu to Florida from his Indiana home when he radioed from 2,000 feet that he was in trouble. He told the tower the windshield had imploded, and that his face was plastered with blood.

Then his radio went silent.

Military jets tried to intercept the plane and found the door open, the cockpit dark. The pilots followed until the aircraft crashed in a Florida Panhandle bayou surrounded by homes. There was no sign of Schrenker's body. They now know they should never have expected to find one.

More than 220 miles to the north, at a convenience store in Childersburg, Ala., police picked up a man using Schrenker's Indiana driver's license and carrying a pair of what appeared to be pilot's goggles. The man, who was wet from the knees down, told the officers he'd been in a canoe accident.

After officers gave him a lift to a nearby motel, Schrenker apparently made his way to a storage unit he'd rented just the day before his flight. He climbed aboard a red racing motorcycle with full saddlebags, and sped off into the countryside.

At 38, Schrenker was at the head of an impressive slate of businesses. Through his Heritage Wealth Management Inc., Heritage Insurance Services Inc. and Icon Wealth Management, he was responsible for providing financial advice and managing portfolios worth millions.

And by outward appearances, he was doing quite well.

He collected luxury automobiles, owned two airplanes and lived in a 10,000-square-foot house in an upscale neighborhood known as ``Cocktail Cove,'' where affluent boaters often socialize with cocktails in hand. In May 2000, he wowed onlookers by flying a special airplane at 270 mph, 10 feet above the water and under two bridges in Nassau, Bahamas.

``This stunt should not be attempted by any pilot that wishes to stay alive,'' read the caption on a self-made video of the flight posted on YouTube.

He'd come a long way from his humble beginnings in northwest Indiana, where he and his two brothers were raised after their parents' divorce by their mother and stepfather, a Vietnam veteran who worked at U.S. Steel Corp.

But officials now say Schrenker's enterprise was ready to topple.

Authorities in Indiana have been investigating Schrenker's businesses on allegations that he sold clients annuities and charged them exorbitant fees they weren't aware they would face.

State Insurance Commissioner Jim Atterholt said Schrenker would close the investors out of one annuity and move them to another while charging them especially high ``surrender charges'' in one case costing a retired couple $135,000 of their original $900,000 investment.

The tangled web of Schrenker's financial affairs began to unravel more than two years ago.

The aviation buff had convinced dozens of active and retired Delta Air Lines pilots including Kinney to allow him to manage their retirement accounts. But some of the pilots stopped investing with him after a court case raised questions about his past.

In 2006, with Delta in federal bankruptcy proceedings, he convinced a group of pilots opposed to Delta's move to terminate their pension plan to let him help.

``He had a way about him you trusted the guy,'' says David M. Smith, one of the retired pilots. ``He was very credible. He talked a good story. So, we entrusted him with a task he never produced.''

Two days before the Sept. 1, 2006, hearing at which Schrenker was supposed to testify about an analysis he had done on the pension plan's viability, he suddenly withdrew from the case.

``It happened very fast,'' Smith recalled. ``He literally was a no-show. He literally just disappeared. We were shocked at the whole thing.''

The retired pilots were unsuccessful in stopping Delta from terminating the pension plan, and the group accepted a small settlement from the airline.

Smith believes Schrenker may have been running from a past unknown to many of his clients at the time, a past that was disclosed just days earlier in a deposition of him by a Delta lawyer.

``They uncovered things that literally made your jaw open,'' said Smith, adding that he and other pilots stopped letting Schrenker manage money for them after the deposition. ``I believe he was scared to death that Delta was going to expose him.''

According to the 156-page deposition obtained by The Associated Press, a judge in a 2003 bankruptcy reported being ``deeply concerned'' that Schrenker was not disclosing thousands of dollars in monthly income to the court and not reporting the income on his tax returns.

``It is obvious to the court that the debtor has access to a significant cash flow that he is using for his personal benefit that has not been disclosed in this bankruptcy filing and in his personal tax returns,'' one document reads.

Kinney said he and his parents had invested hundreds of thousands with Schrenker, but considered him more like a family friend than a financial consultant.

Schrenker, his wife and three children vacationed twice at Kinney's parent's lake house on northern Georgia's Lake Lanier. But a few years ago, cracks began to surface in the relationship.

Kinney's brother discovered $60,000 was inexplicably missing from his 85-year-old father-in-law's investment with Schrenker. Schrenker told the family not to worry, that the money was still there in complex financial statements.

``It's still the most disgusting thing I've been a part of to know that someone let you hold their new baby on one side and was basically stealing you from on the other,'' Kinney said.

In recent weeks, Schrenker's life began to spin out of control. According to documents in a lawsuit filed in Indianapolis, Schrenker sent a frantic e-mail to plaintiffs on Dec. 16.

``I walked out on my job about 30 minutes ago,'' it read. ``My career is over ... over one letter in a trade error. One letter!! ... I've had so many people yelling at me today that I couldn't figure out what was up or down. I still can't figure it out.''

It's unclear to what ``error'' he is referring. In another e-mail to a neighbor following his disappearance, Schrenker made reference to having ``just made a 2 million dollar mistake.'' But it appeared he was hoping to work things out.

``I'd rather lose everything than screw a person out of a dime,'' he wrote to the plaintiffs in the Indianapolis case.

But things were now out of his hands.

On Dec. 31, officers searched Schrenker's home, seizing the Schrenkers' passports, $6,036 in cash, the title to a Lexus and deposit slips for bank accounts in Michelle Schrenker's name, as well as six computers and nine large plastic tubs filled with various financial and corporate documents.

In the supporting affidavit, investigators suggested Schrenker might have access to at least $665,000 in the offshore accounts of a client.

But it wasn't just his finances that were in turmoil.

Just a day before, Michelle Schrenker had filed for divorce. She told the people searching the house that her husband had been having an affair and had moved into a condominium a week earlier.

Schrenker's mother is just happy to know that he is alive. She hopes whoever finds him will treat him well and give him a chance to explain what he did and why.

``Sometimes we just all have too many problems,'' Marcia Galoozis said at her home outside Gary, Ind. ``And I don't know what all his problems are, but sometimes we just don't think straight, get our heads twisted on wrong.''

Hours after Schrenker vanished, neighbor Tom Britt received what he believes is an e-mail from Schrenker.

Despite the fact that no blood was found in the plane, Schrenker suggests in the note that the crash was truly an accident and blamed oxygen deprivation.

``Hypoxia can cause people to make terrible decisions and I simply put on my parachute and survival gear and bailed out,'' the e-mail reads.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio)  Charges of sexual harrassment at the Fulton County jail may end up costing taxpayers millions ...

Four women have filed suit in federal court ... three more have filed their intent to sue.  Attorney Marvin Devlin tells Channel 2 Action News he's heard from more than a dozen women ....

The seven cases accuse five different male officers of everything from making sexually explicit comments to inappropriate touching - all on the job.

Miriam Taylor says she and others complained, but nothing was done.  The new sheriff's chief jailer, Riley Taylor, says that behavior will no longer be tolerated. 

The department is promising mandatory training and an end to the retaliation some women say they suffered.

(WSB Radio) Thieves use sledgehammers to break through the back wall of Atlanta Pro Audio on the Northeast Expressway, walking away with high end recording equipment and other electronics.

Business owner Chick Cusick says the break in occurred just after Midnight Wednesday morning.  In fact, his Dekalb County store has been burglarized six times over the last twelve months.

Cusick tells Channel 2 Action News "they used to come in through the front of the store, but we put up steel curtains to stop that."

Dekalb police investigators have yet to identify any suspects.

(WSB Radio) Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin wants more cops.

The Mayor is proposing a tax hike to pay for hiring another 400 police officers for the city.

The Franklin Administration has been receiving harsh criticism in recent weeks for budget cuts that have impacted public safety.

The murder of a bartender at a popular night spot in Grant Park has increased the call for more police and patrols.

Mayor Franklin estimates the city would have to invest $40 million in training and equipment to hire 400 more officers.  She's proposing a property tax hike to cover the costs. 

Atlanta currently employs 1623 sworn officers.

Members of the Atlanta City Council are proposing ending furloughs for the city's cops and firefighters.  They'll vote on the measure next week.

(WSB Radio) Support seems to be building for bringing a casino to Underground Atlanta.

Business and political leaders believe gambling would revitalize Underground, which has struggled since it was developed in the 1980's.

Now, developer Dan O'Leary, who holds a 50 year lease on Underground, is looking at a casino, restaurant and a hotel.  He thinks such a project would bring in $600 million annually for the city.

O'Leary also thinks a casino and upscale hotel would bring in more, and better, retail shops and restaurants.

To bring casino gambling to Underground Atlanta would necessitate a change in the state law.  In past years, support in the legislature has been virtually non-existent .  However, given the current economic climate, O'Leary and other supporters of the idea hope they have a chance.

(WSB Radio) -- Angry investors in metro Atlanta are accusing investment adviser Marcus Schrenker of stealing potentially millions in savings they entrusted to him.

Schrenker is facing personal and financial ruin and is in custody, three days after he bailed out of his plane, which then crashed in Florida.

Authorities allege he tried to fake his own death. Schrenker was found at an isolated Florida campground with a cut wrist.

"We've learned over time that he's a pathological liar you don't believe a single word that comes out of his mouth,'' said Charles Kinney, a 49-year-old airline pilot from Roswell who alleges Schrenker pocketed at least $135,000 of his parents' retirement fund.

The aviation buff had convinced dozens of active and retired Delta Air Lines pilots including Kinney to allow him to manage their retirement accounts. But some of the pilots stopped investing with him after a court case raised questions about his past.

In 2006, with Delta in federal bankruptcy proceedings, he convinced a group of pilots opposed to Delta's move to terminate their pension plan to let him help.

Kinney said he and his parents had invested hundreds of thousands with Schrenker, but considered him more like a family friend than a financial consultant.

Schrenker, his wife and three children vacationed twice at Kinney's parent's lake house on northern Georgia's Lake Lanier. But a few years ago, cracks began to surface in the relationship.

Kinney's brother discovered $60,000 was inexplicably missing from his 85-year-old father-in-law's investment with Schrenker. Schrenker told the family not to worry, that the money was still there in complex financial statements.

``It's still the most disgusting thing I've been a part of to know that someone let you hold their new baby on one side and was basically stealing you from on the other,'' Kinney said.

(WSB State Capitol Bureau)  -- Gov. Perdue is recommending a couple of proposals to curtail frivolous lawsuits in Georgia.

The first plan would require parties that bring a suit against a company or individual which is then dismissed due to lack of merit to pay the attorney's fee of the other party.

"The bill will make sure the costly discovery process will not begin until the legal merits of a complaint have been tested," Perdue told a crowd at the annual Eggs and Issues Breakfast hosted by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

He's also proposing a measure that would protect Georgia companies from litigation if their products have been approved by the Federal Drug Administration.

"This will free up our courts to pursue justice and cases with merit, protect our existing businesses that provide jobs for Georgians and attract new investment," says Perdue.

But Bill Clark with the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association calls both proposals irresponsible.

"There are ample remedies in our legal system now to hammer anyone who would bring a frivolous lawsuit," he tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.

He says the measures further take away the constitutional rights of Georgians.

"It would be interesting if the Governor were interested in curtailing some of the frivolous defenses that used in litigation, but apparently that's not on his agenda," says Clark.

(WSB Radio) -- Sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise.

The annual report on sexually transmitted diseases from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds the persistent heavy burden of three STDs - chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis - especially among women and minorities. STDs often occur without symptoms and may go untreated. Without treatment, chlamydia and gonorrhea infections can result in pelvic inflammatory disease - a condition that causes as many as 50,000 women to become infertile each year.

Chlamydia and gonorrhea are the two most commonly reported infectious diseases in the U.S. and together accounted for almost 1.5 million reported cases in 2007.

Chlamydia cases exceeded 1 million in 2007, and CDC estimates more than half of all new chlamydia infections (2.8 annually) remain undiagnosed.

Gonorrhea, the second most commonly reported infectious disease remains under reported and often goes undiagnosed.

 Racial disparities in STDs remain stark, and African-Americans are most affected. Blacks make up 12 percent of the U.S. population, but account for the vast majority of gonorrhea cases and almost half of chlamydia syphilis cases.

In 2007, syphilis - a disease close to being eliminated as a public health threat less than a decade ago - increased for the seventh consecutive year, driven largely by cases among gay and bisexual men, but also due to concerning increases among women and infants.

Police Spokeswoman Bettina Durant tells WSB's Jennifer Griffies 13-year-old Andrea Lois Key was last seen at her home at 1930 Audubon Drive on December 10th.

"After reaching out to family, friends, and acquaintances officers are asking for the public's help in locating this missing juvenile," said Durant.

Police would not say if foul play is suspected or if they girl had ever run away from home.

Durant says although several leads have turned up nothing, the investigation remains active.

Police say the teen had been talking an unknown male online and fear she may have run away.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the DeKalb County Police Department's Special Victim's Unit at 770-724-7710.

January 13, 2009

Sen. Seth Harp (R-Midland) has reintroduced the legislation that failed to make it out of the Senate last year.

It would allow counties and cities the ability to bring a referendum before voters on whether to allow the sale of beer and wine on Sundays.

"No sales would occur unless first local commissions voted to put it on the ballot and then a majority of people in that jurisdiction would have to approve it," says Jim Tudor, President of the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores.

He says Georgia remains only one of three states that don't allow the sale of alcohol on Sundays.

"For retailers that are seeking to compete in  today's very tough economic times, the ability to compete on a level playing field is certainly a priority for us," Tudors says.

13 January 2009

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau)  Gov. Perdue says he wants the state to move to a merit-based system for principals and teachers in order to improve education.

He told the crowd at the annual Eggs and Issues Breakfast that high school principals whose schools show an improvement in graduation rates and test scores for three years should receive a $10,000 bonus.

"That's where we find our biggest challenge is in high schools and we frankly have better objective measurements... the end of course testing, SAT, and graduation rates on which to judge the merit there and student achievement," he says.

He says the bonus system would cost the state about $10 million and wouldn't begin until 2011.

"Even in times of budget cuts, this is the beginning of a long term culture change," says Perdue.

He also wants exceptional teachers who are willing to serve as instructional leaders and mentors in their schools to be eligible to receive pay raises of 10 to 15 percent.

His final proposal would allow new math and science teachers to receive the same pay as new fully-certified fifth year teachers in an effort to encourage more students to choose to major in those subjects.

13 January 2009