(WSB Radio) The American Association of Retired People is warning the elderly beware of the free lunch!

The AARP says a common setting for fraudsters to engage their victims is through a free lunch or dinner offer, by which an individual is solicited to attend and learn more about investing in retirement. Many of these invitees have received 10 or more invitations to these "free" events.

Once at the seminar, half of attendees surveyed said the presenter asked for personal information, such as contact or financial information, and nearly 46 percent reported that the presenter attempted to make a follow-up appointment at their home.

According to a new survey from AARP, 78 percent of surveyed Americans age 55 and older indicated they are very or somewhat concerned about financial scams affecting them or someone they know.

http://www.aarp.org/

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) The holidays may not be so sweet this year.

Nestle which sells nearly all the canned pumpkin in the U.S. says poor weather hurt its harvest, creating a potential shortage of its Libby's pumpkin pie products through the holidays.

The company said heavy rains made it nearly impossible to pick its pumpkins during this year's harvest. The longer the pumpkins sit in the muddy fields, the more they deteriorate. As a result, the company announced this week that it would not pack any more pumpkins for the season which means it may be hard to find its canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie filling product until next year's harvest.

``Mother Nature had other plans for us,'' the company said in an open apology to customers online.

Nestle is the largest national brand for canned pumpkin products, with 80 to 90 percent of the market, the company said.

It plants a special strain of pumpkin at a farm in Morton, Ill., which provides nearly all its supply. Nestle estimates if you turned all the pumpkins it grows on the farm to pie, it would total 90 million pies.

``There are a lot of beautiful pumpkins out there that we just can't rescue,'' said Nestle spokeswoman Roz O'Hearn.

The company had a wet harvest last year, too, which meant it didn't have a surplus to carry over into this year and led to spotty shortages in late summer and early fall. The harvest started in August and it began getting products on its shelves soon after, but it won't be able to meet its normal demand.

``We hope everyone understands that Mother Nature was a little difficult this year and hope she's a little bit kinder to us next year,'' O'Hearn said.

Nestle said it has seen the popularity of pumpkin grow recently as more people have become aware of its health benefits, but Thanksgiving is still the company's peak season.

Pie makers can still use fresh pumpkin or other brands.

Trader Joe's said it has its store brand pumpkin in stock but said it couldn't predict what would happen to supplies in the future.

Whole Foods Market Inc. said that while it is aware of lower pumpkin yields in parts of the country, the company was able to get enough pumpkin for its store brand product and actually shipped more product to stores this year than ever before.

Farmers Market Organic, the country's largest provider of organic canned pumpkin, said it didn't experience the same issues with fungus and mold at its farm that big growers in the Midwest suffered this year and last.

And the company, based in Corvallis, Ore., said it increased its capacity and has shipped millions more cans of its product this year.

``Pumpkin pie is something people just won't do without, it's pretty sacred,'' said Tracy Miedema, national sales and marketing manager for Farmers Market. ``They are willing to switch out of a previous brand but they aren't willing to switch out of pumpkin pie.''

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

(WSB Radio) -- An hour apart and a mile away.

Atlanta police are investigating the overnight thefts of three big-screen TVs in a pair of smash-and-grab burglaries at downtown bars just a mile apart.

Investigators were comparing security video from the Rise Sushi Lounge on Marietta Street and The Original Chocolate Bar on Trinity Avenue to see if the two burglaries were related.

WSB's Richard Sangster reports the first incident happened just after 2 a.m. at the sushi bar, about a block west of CNN Center on Marietta Street.

Less than an hour later, police received an alarm call from the Chocolate Bar a mile away on Trinity Avenue.

There, thieves tossed a cinder block through the front door, then stole two 40-inch flat screens.

(WSB Radio) -- A suspicious package found outside The Temple synagogue Friday morning turned out to be harmless.

"It was a black plastic bag with newspapers inside," Atlanta police spokesman Eric Schwartz said.

The package caused some tense moments outside the synagogue just south of the Brookwood Amtrak station.

WSB's Jon Lewis says the package was reported at about 6:30 a.m.

Fire Capt. Rick Perdue said a caretaker discovered the package, about a foot and a half long and six inches wide in a driveway.

Two lanes of the busy street in Atlanta's midtown area were blocked by fire trucks and police cars.

A dynamite blast blew a hole in the side of The Temple in 1958. No one was injured in the blast, and no one was ever convicted in the case.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) When an ambulance brought Daniel Webb home from the hospital after he hurt his knee in March, paramedics warned the then 550-pound man he probably wouldn't be able to get up from his recliner if they put him there, his wife said.

Webb told them to leave him there anyway. He would sit in that recliner, slowly dying, for the next eight months. Finally, paramedics were called back to his Greenwood home on Wednesday because he was in a lot of pain.

Webb's body was physically stuck to the power recliner and firefighters had to cut him from the chair to take him to the hospital. He died a few hours later, his body covered with sores and a ``very bad odor,'' according to a police report.

Webb, 33, didn't ask for help for all those months, because he was ashamed and didn't have health insurance, said his wife, Ada. He slept and used the bathroom in his chair and she cleaned it every day. The former preacher would post sermons online from the chair, and it wasn't long before he decided he was ready to go home to the Lord, she said.

``After he sat there in that one spot for a week, he was embarrassed. It was like he already knew what was going to happen,'' Ada Webb said.

Webb's mother was the one who placed the final call to paramedics. Not only did crews have to cut apart the chair, but they had to cut a hole in the wall of the couple's mobile home about 70 miles west of Columbia to get him out. A police report said he weighed about 800 pounds, but his wife said he was closer to 500 pounds.

The hospital told Daniel Webb's wife he died from a heart attack, she said. The coroner's office isn't investigating the death and referred all questions to Greenwood County deputies, who sent their report, but didn't respond to a phone message.

Webb died on the couple's second anniversary. They met four years ago on MySpace, and Ada Webb said she didn't see a man who weighed more than 500 pounds, but instead saw a guy who loved the Lord and had a big heart.

``I had the worst anniversary yesterday I ever had, but I know he had the best one he ever had because he's with Jesus now,'' she said.

Daniel Webb drove school buses for nearly 15 years, until his weight made it impossible. His health kept getting worse, and Ada Webb said she begged hospital officials to keep him after doctors treated his knee injury in March. But the couple had no way to pay and were sent home.

For his first few weeks home, Daniel Webb was open to the idea of seeing someone. Getting to them was the problem.

``Everybody kept telling us, if you get here, we'll help you. We didn't have no way of getting him up, and nobody was willing to come help us,'' Ada Webb said. ``He just kind of said, 'it's in God's hands' at that point.''

Daniel Webb spent the rest of his days playing with his four dogs and talking about religion to other people on the Internet.

``I did all I could for him. He loved me with a passion,'' his wife said. ``The only reason he held on to life here was for his family because he wanted to go home and be with the Lord.''

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

WASHINGTON (AP) Most women in their 20s can have a Pap smear every two years instead of annually, say new guidelines that conclude that's enough to catch slow-growing cervical cancer.

The change by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists comes amid a completely separate debate over when regular mammograms to detect breast cancer should begin. The timing of the Pap guidelines is coincidence, said ACOG, which began reviewing its recommendations in late 2007 and published the update Friday in the journal Obstetrics Gynecology.

The guidelines also say:

Routine Paps should start at age 21. Previously, ACOG had urged a first Pap either within three years of first sexual intercourse or at age 21.

Women 30 and older should wait three years between Paps once they've had three consecutive clear tests. Other national guidelines have long recommended the three-year interval; ACOG had previously backed a two- to three-year wait.

Women with HIV, other immune-weakening conditions or previous cervical abnormalities may need more frequent screening.

Paps can spot pre-cancerous changes in the cervix in time to prevent invasive cancer, and widespread use has halved cervical cancer rates in the U.S. in recent decades. About 11,270 new cases will be diagnosed this year, and about 4,070 women will die from it, according to American Cancer Society estimates. Half of women diagnosed with cervical cancer have never had a Pap, and another 10 percent haven't had one in five years.

Cervical cancer is caused by certain strains of the extremely common sexually transmitted virus called HPV, for human papillomavirus. There is a new HPV vaccine that should cut cervical cancer in the future; ACOG's guidelines say for now vaccinated women should follow the same Pap guidelines as the unvaccinated.

But the updated guidelines reflect better understanding of HPV. Infection is high among sexually active teens and young adults. Women's bodies very often fight off an HPV infection on their own without lasting harm, although it can take a year or two. The younger the woman, the more likely that HPV is going to be transient.

Moreover, ACOG cited studies showing no increased risk of cancer developing in women in their 20s if they extended Pap screening from every year to every two years.

As for adolescents, ACOG said cervical cancer in teens is rare one or two cases per million 15- to 19-year-olds while HPV-caused cervical abnormalities usually go away on their own, and unnecessary treatment increases the girls' risk of premature labor years later.

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

(WSB Radio) -- He strikes just before noon.

Or are there six different men who simply look similar?

Seven banks from northwest Atlanta to Dunwoody describe this lunchtime bandit striking often just before noon, wearing a variety of baseball caps pulled low on his face, making off with untold amounts of cash, and eventually driving away in a burgundy or maroon Chevrolet Tahoe missing a rear hub cap.

Or maybe seven different guys with uncanny resemblance have managed to pull separate bank heists -- twice at the same bank, and three out of the last four Fridays -- and escaped in eerily similar getaway SUVs.

Federal and local authorities and area bank security officials are calling this mystery suspect a serial bank robber.

"It's very plausible that if he's hitting one bank (in an area), he could be responsible for others nearby," FBI spokesman Special Agent Stephen Emmett told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The man's M.O. changes slightly from one incident to the next. He usually strikes at or just before noon, but there have been afternoon and early morning robberies. He shows no obvious appearance of a weapon to reinforce the demand for money, but he has appeared on occasion to have shoved his hand into his pocket, creating the facade of an armed robbery.

Sometimes he uses a demand note, sometimes not.

Sunglasses, or ball cap pulled down low, never looking up to the camera.

A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of this robber.

CHICAGO (AP) ``The Oprah Winfrey Show,'' an iconic broadcast that grew over two decades into a daytime television powerhouse and the foundation of a multibillion-dollar media empire, will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air, Winfrey's production company said Thursday night.

Winfrey plans to announce the final date for her show during a live broadcast on Friday, Harpo Productions Inc. said, bringing an end to what has been television's top-rated talk show for more than two decades, airing in 145 countries worldwide and watched by an estimated 42 million viewers a week in the U.S. alone.

A Harpo spokeswoman declined to comment Thursday on Winfrey's future plans except to say that ``The Oprah Winfrey Show'' will not move to cable television.

Winfrey, 55, is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is expected to debut in 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 74 million homes. An OWN spokeswoman declined comment Thursday.

CBS Television Distribution, which distributes ``The Oprah Winfrey Show'' to more than 200 markets blanketing the United States, held out hope that it could continue doing business with Winfrey, perhaps producing a new show out of its studios in Los Angeles.

``We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success,'' the unit of CBS Corp. said in a statement. ``We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterwards as well.''

Winfrey's 24th season opened earlier this year with a bang, as she drew more than 20,000 fans to Chicago's Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue for a block party with the Black Eyed Peas.

She followed up with a series of blockbuster interviews Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, exclusives with singer Whitney Houston and ESPN's Erin Andrews, and just this week, former Alaska governor, GOP vice presidential candidate and best-selling author Sarah Palin.

Over the years, ``The Oprah Winfrey Show'' grew from a newcomer that chipped away at talk king Phil Donahue's dominance into a program that turned inspirational. The show covered a gamut that ranged from interviews with the world's most famous celebrities to an honest discussion about her weight struggles.

``As that show evolved, it really kind of dressed up the neighborhood of the daytime talk show,'' said Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University. ``There was a seriousness to it, as though what she was doing was a calling and not just a television show.''

In 1986, pianist-showman Liberace gave his final TV interview to Winfrey, just six weeks before he died. In a widely viewed prime-time special aired in 1993, Michael Jackson revealed he suffered from a skin condition that produces depigmentation.

Tom Cruise enthusiastically declared his affection for the much-younger Katie Holmes on the program in 2005 and jumped on the couch to prove it.

In 2004, Winfrey unveiled her most famous giveaway, when nearly 300 members of the studio audience opened a gift box to find the keys to a new car inside. The stunt became a classic show moment as much for Oprah's reaction ``You get a car! You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!'' as its $7 million price tag.

The show also became a launching pad for Oprah's Book Club, and authors whose books were selected became best-sellers. The titles ranged from ``Song of Solomon'' and ``Paradise'' by Toni Morrison to Wally Lamb's ``She's Come Undone'' and Elie Wiesel's ``Night.''

For others, the selection backfired. ``A Million Little Pieces'' exploded in sales after Winfrey chose the James Frey memoir in fall 2005. Soon after, it was revealed as a fabricated tale of addiction and recovery, and Winfrey later chewed out Frey on her show.

``She's been a great inspiration, a great support for all the shifts in politics and social consciousness and consciousness in general,'' said hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. ``I call her 'Queen of the New Consciousness' because she did so many things to change lives, the books that she promoted.''

The loss of ``The Oprah Winfrey Show'' would be a blow to CBS Corp. because it earns a percentage of hefty licensing fees from TV stations that use it; the show is largely seen on ABC affiliates. On a conference call with analysts two weeks ago, CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said the contract with the show runs through most of 2011 and ``if there's a negative impact, it wouldn't hit us until '12.''

``Oprah's been a force of media and there's really no person you can look to out there who you could say, `That's the heir apparent,''' said Larry Gerbrandt, an analyst for the firm Media Valuation Partners in Los Angeles. Gerbrandt noted many stations built their schedules around Winfrey's show and used it to promote other shows.

``It's a big loss, but not as huge as it would have been 10 years ago,'' he said. ``However, it still commands the biggest audience and ABC station competitors are licking their chops.''

Talk of the show's end often has accompanied impending contract negotiations for Winfrey. Before she signed her current contract in 2004, she had talked about quitting after the 2005-2006 season. As far back as 1995, she had called continuing ``a difficult and important decision.''

CBS continues to sell several top shows into syndication, including ``Wheel of Fortune'' and ``Jeopardy.'' But many TV stations are struggling with falling advertising revenue and were unlikely to pay the same fees as in the past for Winfrey's show, which has seen ratings slip 7 percent from a year ago and saw its average viewership slip below 7 million last season.

Winfrey started her broadcasting career as a teenager in Nashville, Tenn., reading the news at WVOL. Two years later, Winfrey started co-anchoring news broadcasts on WTVF-TV in Nashville. In 1976 she moved to Baltimore to anchor newscasts at WJZ-TV before becoming host of the local talk show ``People Are Talking.''

In 1984, she relocated to Chicago to host WLS-TV's morning talk show ``A.M. Chicago'' the show was became ``The Oprah Winfrey Show'' one year later. She set up Harpo the following year and her talk show went into syndication.

Powered by the show's staggering success, Winfrey built a wide-ranging media empire. Harpo Studios produces shows hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw and celebrity chef Rachael Ray, and O, The Oprah Magazine was the nation's 7th most popular magazine in the first half of 2009.

``I came from nothing,'' Winfrey wrote in the 1998 book ``Journey to Beloved.'' ``No power. No money. Not even my thoughts were my own. I had no free will. No voice. Now, I have the freedom, power, and will to speak to millions every day having come from nowhere.''

Earlier this year, Forbes scored Winfrey's net worth at $2.7 billion, even as the magazine knocked her from atop its list of the world's most powerful celebrities. The honor went to Angelina Jolie, but Winfrey was still No. 2 on the annual Celebrity 100 list and the top earner at $275 million.

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

(WSB Radio) -- Two men are hospitalized and Gwinnett County police are looking for the suspects who allegedly shot them outside an apartment complex in Norcross. 

Gwinnett Police Corporal David Schiralli tells WSB's Mark Alewine the victims asked for help just before 10 Thursday night at the intersection of Jimmy Carter Boulevard and Buford Highway.  Schiralli says "One of our officers happened to be in the area when the victims rolled up upon him, at which point they flagged him down, where then he summoned for medical assistance."

The unidentified men were taken to a local hospital, but their conditions are unknown.

The victims were shot in a car parked at the Valiencia Park Apartment on Peachtree Corners Circle.  Investigators are talking to witnesses and residents of the complex trying to determine a motive and identify potential suspects.

ATHENS, Ga. - The University of Georgia football team made final preparations for its upcoming Southeastern Conference Eastern Division clash with Kentucky by working out for 90-minutes at the Woodruff Practice Fields on Thursday.

Georgia started the dress rehearsal at approximately 6:40 p.m., which is a little over an hour and a half later than the Bulldogs' normal Thursday routine. Head coach Mark Richt explained that the practice schedule was altered to accommodate a Swahili class function in which several players were involved.

"We had probably up to as many as 20 players involved in the class," Richt stated. "They had an event this afternoon, and that's why we actually met with our players this morning at 6:20 and finished about 7:30 a.m. just in time for them to go to class or study hall. We waited until the event was over and gave them about an hour to make sure they could eat and get dressed."

Under the lights, Georgia (6-4, 4-3 SEC) finalized the game plan for its final SEC contest of the 2009 season against Kentucky (6-4, 2-4 SEC). With a win on Saturday, the Bulldogs can lock up second place in the Eastern Division. Both teams will enter the contest coming off of wins last week that made them bowl eligible. Georgia rallied past 25th-ranked Auburn, 31-24, in Athens while Kentucky posted a 24-13 road win over Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs and Wildcats each erased halftime deficits in their respective victories as UGA trailed 14-7 and UK was behind 13-10.

Saturday's game will mark the 63rd time Georgia and Kentucky have met dating back to 1939, and the Bulldogs hold a 49-11-2 advantage.

Richt also expressed his sorrow for the loss of Georgia mascot Uga VII, who died unexpectedly Thursday morning in Savannah.

"I was very shocked and sad to hear about Uga VII," Richt said. "I got a chance to talk to (Frank W.) Sonny (Seiler) today actually and hear a little bit about it. You never think something like that can happen that quickly, but it certainly did. I'm sad we won't have him on the sidelines anymore.

"I don't know if it's unprecedented or not," Richt added about not having a live mascot at Georgia's game on Saturday. "Ever since Uga I there's probably been a game or two where there hasn't been a mascot at all, but this ball game there won't be one which will be kind of different."

The WSB Tailgate Show at 3:45 p.m.; Kickoff at 7:45 p.m.

(WSB Radio) -- The Church of Scientology is one step closer to relocating its Georgia headquarters from Dunwoody to Sandy Springs.

On Thursday night, the city's planning commission recommended approval of a rezoning request that will allow the religious group to renovate a vacant office building on the corner of Roswell Road and Glenridge Drive. 

The approval, which will be forwarded to the Sandy Springs City Council for a vote on December 15th, was granted after an attorney for the Scientologists submitted a renovation plan that did not add square footage to the building, placed a maximum occupancy for the building at 170 and included restriping and repaving of the parking lot to create 111 parking spaces.

Fearing increased traffic and noise in the mostly residential area, more than 700 people who oppose the rezoning have signed a petition asking the City Council to vote no on the Church of Scientology's request.  The petition drive is also supported by the boards of directors of sixteen Sandy Springs' neighborhood associations.

ATLANTA (AP) The first county-by-county survey of obesity reflects past studies that show the rate of obesity is highest in the Southeast and Appalachia.

High rates of obesity and diabetes were reported in more than 80 percent of counties in the Appalachian region that includes Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia, according to the new research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The same problem was seen in about 75 percent of counties in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia and South Carolina.

The five counties with the highest rates were Greene and Dallas counties in Alabama and Holmes, Humphreys and Jefferson counties in Mississippi. All are small, rural counties in the west central areas of each state, and each reported obesity rates of around 44 or 43 percent. The national adult obesity rate is roughly 26 percent.

The statistics are estimates for the year 2007 based on surveys, census figures and other information for that and other years and include a margin of error. The obesity rates in many counties were about the same, so it's difficult to say any county or counties was clearly the single most obese county, CDC officials said.

The CDC also released Thursday county-specific data for diabetes Type 2 is closely tied to obesity. Counties with the lowest rates of both obesity and diabetes were out west Boulder County, Colo., Santa Fe County, N.M., and Summit County, Utah, were at the top of each list.

Just under 13 percent of people in those counties were obese, and only about 4 percent reported diabetes, the CDC found.

There are a range of possible explanations for counties in the South and Appalachia have the highest rates of obesity and diabetes, experts said. A culture that embraces fatty, unhealthy foods and shuns exercise may be one. Genetics may be another. Income and education probably have a lot to do with it, too people living in poor communities may not have the money to eat healthier, more expensive foods or may not have access to gyms or safe jogging trails, they said.

The Alabama counties at the top of the list are low-income, mostly African-American communities that probably ended up high on the list because the estimates assumed higher rates of obesity and diabetes in counties with those demographics, said Dr. Jim McVay, director of the health promotion and chronic disease for the Alabama Department of Public Health.

``I can't say that those are accurate,'' he said of the CDC estimates.

Some experts said they hope the county estimates will highlight the problem and persuade local officials to focus more attention on combating the problems.

``In the end, it comes down to those that have to direct resources at the local level,'' said Dr. Miriam Vos, assistant professor of pediatrics at Atlanta's Emory School of Medicine. ``It's not something that can change as easily at the federal level.''

McVay said local efforts are important, but ultimately obesity comes down to individual behavior and trying to change that. ``How do you influence people to make lifestyle changes? That's the question,'' he said.

The study was published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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

(WSB Radio) -- The computers which manage flight plans are talking to each other once again as airlines work to catch up after a glitch this morning a glitch caused widespread flight delays nationwide.

It's the second time in 15 months that there has been a problem.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said the country's aviation system is ``in shambles'' and the FAA needs more resources to prevent such problems from continuing.

``If we don't deliver the resources, manpower, and technology the FAA it needs to upgrade the system, these technical glitches that cause cascading delays and chaos across the country are going to become a very regular occurrence,'' he said in a statement.

The telecomm router which failed is part of the modernization of the air traffic control system and was installed less than two years ago.   

The Federal Aviation Administration said the problem was fixed around 10 a.m., but it was unclear how long flights would continue to be affected. Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Union, said controllers were still entering flight plans manually in some locations.

FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto said the problem started between 5:15 and 5:30 a.m. and affected mostly flight plans but also traffic management, such as ground stops and ground delays.

Airplane dispatchers had to send plans to controllers, who entered them into computers by hand.

``It's slowing everything down,'' Takemoto said.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest, has been particularly affected. Chicago and Washington, D.C., metro airports also reported delays due to the glitch.

Mary Rulo, an educator from Atlanta, was trying to get to Philadelphia for a conference. She said her 9 a.m. flight was delayed until 3 p.m. and AirTran was not able to help with other arrangements.

``This is really going to affect my conference schedule,'' she said. ``It's really frustrating.''

AirTran canceled at least 22 flights and dozens more flights were delayed as of 8 a.m. Delta Air Lines was also affected.

Passengers were asked to check the status of their flights online before going to airports.

Only minor delays were reported at metropolitan New York City area airports, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Delays were also minimal at Logan International Airport in Boston. Orlando International Airport, Florida's busiest, reported about a dozen delays due to the chain reaction around the country, and flights in Tampa, Fla., were also delayed.

Flight plans are collected by the FAA for traffic nationwide at two centers one in the Salt Lake City area and the other in the Atlanta area. FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said she did not know which center was affected Thursday. Church said the computer failure involved both centers.

Victor Santore, the National Air Traffic Controllers Union southern region vice president, said he began getting e-mail messages from air traffic controllers around 7 a.m. EST Thursday that the Atlanta-area computers had stopped processing flight plans.

Santore said some controllers were pulled away from their normal duties talking to airplanes or pulled off breaks to help enter the flight plans.

``When something crazy like this happens, we'll pull everybody onto the floor,'' Santore said. ``Every airport at some point some will be affected ... (The delays) are going to ripple through the entire system.''

In August 2008, a software malfunction delayed hundreds of flights around the country.

In that episode, the Northeast was hardest hit by the delays because of a glitch at the Hampton, Ga., facility that processes flight plans for the eastern half of the U.S.

The FAA said at that time the source of the computer software malfunction was a ``packet switch'' that ``failed due to a database mismatch.''

ATLANTA (AP) A problem with the FAA system that collects airline flight plans caused widespread flight cancellations and delays nationwide Thursday, the second time in 15 months that a glitch created such problems.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the problem was fixed around 10 a.m., but it was unclear how long flights would continue to be affected. Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Union, said controllers were still entering flight plans manually in some locations.

FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto said the problem started between 5:15 and 5:30 a.m. and affected mostly flight plans but also traffic management, such as ground stops and ground delays.

Airplane dispatchers had to send plans to controllers, who entered them into computers by hand.

``It's slowing everything down,'' Takemoto said.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest, has been particularly affected. Chicago and Washington, D.C., metro airports also reported delays due to the glitch.

Mary Rulo, an educator from Atlanta, was trying to get to Philadelphia for a conference. She said her 9 a.m. flight was delayed until 3 p.m. and AirTran was not able to help with other arrangements.

``This is really going to affect my conference schedule,'' she said. ``It's really frustrating.''

AirTran canceled at least 22 flights and dozens more flights were delayed as of 8 a.m. Delta Air Lines was also affected.

Passengers were asked to check the status of their flights online before going to airports.

Only minor delays were reported at metropolitan New York City area airports, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Delays were also minimal at Logan International Airport in Boston. Orlando International Airport, Florida's busiest, reported about a dozen delays due to the chain reaction around the country, and flights in Tampa, Fla., were also delayed.

Flight plans are collected by the FAA for traffic nationwide at two centers one in the Salt Lake City area and the other in the Atlanta area. FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said she did not know which center was affected Thursday. Church said the computer failure involved both centers.

Victor Santore, the National Air Traffic Controllers Union southern region vice president, said he began getting e-mail messages from air traffic controllers around 7 a.m. EST Thursday that the Atlanta-area computers had stopped processing flight plans.

Santore said some controllers were pulled away from their normal duties talking to airplanes or pulled off breaks to help enter the flight plans.

``When something crazy like this happens, we'll pull everybody onto the floor,'' Santore said. ``Every airport at some point some will be affected ... (The delays) are going to ripple through the entire system.''

In August 2008, a software malfunction delayed hundreds of flights around the country.

In that episode, the Northeast was hardest hit by the delays because of a glitch at the Hampton, Ga., facility that processes flight plans for the eastern half of the U.S.

The FAA said at that time the source of the computer software malfunction was a ``packet switch'' that ``failed due to a database mismatch.''

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

ATLANTA (AP) Georgia's recession continues.

That's the word from the director of Georgia State University's Economic Forecasting Center. Rajeev Dhawan said job losses continue to plague the Peach State. The third quarter of 2009 saw more than 50,000 jobs lost in Georgia, the fourth dismal quarter in a row.

Tax collections in the state also continue to plummet. Dhawan said that's because unemployed Georgians are spending less.

Dhawan says that hospitality and airline industries will continue to suffer from cutbacks in business travel and other corporate belt-tightening. But the Kia plant opening in west Georgia is good news for the state.

Dhawan said he sees the state's fiscal picture should improve in 2011.

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

(WSB Radio) -- The tight economy is renewing calls to legalize betting on horse racing in Georgia.

"It would generate revenue and jo for the state," Rep. Harry Geisinger (R-Roswell), the chairman of the Special Equine Study Committee, told WSB.

Support for pari-mutuel gambling is not known, but proposals to amend the constitution to allow pari-mutuel betting was last introduced in 2005.

"Every time there is an economic slow down someone saddles up the idea of horse racing," Jerry Luquire, the president of the Georgia Christian Coalition, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Horse racing in Georgia is a bad idea, that will not make it to the starting gate this session."

But Geisinger argues the state already has a lottery.  "The lottery doesn't take any brains at all .. just buy your ticket and pick some lucky numbers .. fortunately that money goes towards education," said Geisinger.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) The federal government could be vulnerable to billions of dollars in claims after a judge ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers' failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in Hurricane Katrina.

U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval on Wednesday awarded seven plaintiffs $720,000, but the government could eventually be forced to pay much more. The ruling should give more than 100,000 other individuals, businesses and government entities a better shot at claiming damages.

Duval sided with six residents and one business who argued the Army Corps' shoddy oversight of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet led to the flooding of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward and neighboring St. Bernard Parish. He said, however, the corps couldn't be held liable for the flooding of eastern New Orleans, where two of the plaintiffs lived.

The ruling is also emotionally resonant for south Louisiana. Many in New Orleans have argued that the flooding in the aftermath of Katrina, which struck the region Aug. 29, 2005, was a manmade disaster caused by the Army Corps' failure to maintain the levee system protecting the city.

``Total devastation could possibly have been avoided if something had been done,'' said Tanya Smith, one of the plaintiffs. ``A lot of this stuff was preventable and they turned a deaf ear to it.''

The 36-year-old registered nurse anesthetist lived in Chalmette close to the channel when Katrina hit. She was awarded $317,000 in property damages, the most of any of the plaintiffs.

Duval referred to the corps' approach to maintaining the channel as ``monumental negligence.''

Joe Bruno, one of the lead lawyers for the plaintiffs, said the ruling underscored the Army Corps' long history of not properly protecting the New Orleans region.

``It's high time we look at the way these guys do business and do a full re-evaluation of the way it does business,'' Bruno said.

He said he expected the government to appeal.

The corps referred calls seeking comment to the Justice Department. Spokesman Charles Miller said the government would review the judge's ruling before making any decision on how to proceed.

During trial testimony, government lawyers and experts argued the levee system was overwhelmed by the massive storm, and levee breaches couldn't solely be blamed on the shipping channel dug in the 1960s as a short-cut between the Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans.

The corps had also unsuccessfully argued that it is immune from liability because the channel is part of New Orleans' flood control system.

In his 156-page ruling, Duval said he was ``utterly convinced'' that the corps' failure to shore up the channel ``doomed the channel to grow to two to three times its design width'' and that ``created a more forceful frontal wave attack on the levee'' that protected St. Bernard and the Lower 9th Ward.

``The Corps had an opportunity to take a myriad of actions to alleviate this deterioration or rehabilitate this deterioration and failed to do so,'' Duval said. ``Clearly the expression 'talk is cheap' applies here.''

Ahead of Duval's ruling, experts had said it would likely have consequences for the way the Army Corps does business nationwide.

Pierce O'Donnell, another lead plaintiffs lawyer, said the ruling was the ``first time ever the Army Corps has been held liable for damages for a major catastrophe that it caused.''

The plaintiffs lawyers would like Congress to set up a compensation fund to speed up payments to the thousands of others whose claims must still be heard in court.

At a one-month trial in May, experts clashed over the causes of flooding and the channel's contribution to it.

Government experts argued the levees and floodwalls would have failed regardless of whether the channel had been dug.

By contrast, the plaintiffs' team of experts said the outlet became a ``hurricane highway'' that funneled storm surge into New Orleans. They said that without the channel, the flooding would have been minimal.

The lawsuit was the first major case against the federal government over Katrina flooding to go to trial. A decision rested with Duval because a jury cannot try a case against the federal government.

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

WASHINGTON (AP) Women should continue getting regular mammograms starting at age 40, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday, moving to douse confusion caused by a task-force recommendation two days earlier.

Sebelius issued her statement following a government panel's recommendation on Monday, that said most women don't need mammograms in their 40s and should get one every two years starting at 50.

That recommendation was a break with the American Cancer Society's long-standing position that women should get screening mammograms starting at age 40.

The task force does ``not set federal policy and they don't determine what services are covered by the federal government,'' Sebelius said.

Medicare, which covers older Americans and some younger ones who are disabled, provides women on Medicare coverage for an annual mammogram at age 40 and older.

Sebelius noted that there has been debate about the age at which routine mammograms should begin, and how often they should be given.

``The task force has presented some new evidence for consideration but our policies remain unchanged,'' she said. ``Indeed, I would be very surprised if any private insurance company changed its mammography coverage decisions as a result of this action.''

``My message to women is simple. Mammograms have always been an important lifesaving tool in the fight against breast cancer and they still are today. Keep doing what you have been doing for years talk to your doctor about your individual history, ask questions and make the decision that is right for you,'' Sebelius said.

In the meantime, she added, it is clear that more research is needed into ways to help women prevent and fight breast cancer.

The recommendations from the task force have left women across the country confused about which advice to take. It also quickly led to charges from opponents of changing health care policy that it is an example of what could be expected from government-managed care.

In its report the panel of doctors and scientists concluded that such early and frequent screenings often lead to false alarms and unneeded biopsies, without substantially improving women's odds of survival.

But their recommendation was loudly criticized by breast cancer survivors who were diagnosed at a young age.

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

ATLANTA - The Georgia Department of Labor reported today that the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose slightly to 10.2 percent in October, up one-tenth of a percentage point from a revised 10.1 percent in September.

The October jobless rate was up 3.3 percentage points from 6.9 percent at this same time last year. Georgia's unemployment rate matched the national rate of 10.2 percent for the first time in two years. Since October of 2007, when a jobless rate of 4.8 percent was recorded by both the state and the nation, Georgia's rate has exceeded the national rate.

"The recession will not end for the thousands of jobless Georgians until more employers start hiring again," said State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond. "Georgia's public and private leaders must work together to develop a bi-partisan recovery strategy that focuses on three critical elements: protecting vulnerable citizens, including children, the elderly, and the sick; preserving our health, safety and educational institutions; and encouraging economic development and job creation."

The number of payroll jobs in October decreased 227,700 or 5.6 percent, from October of 2008. The metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of job losses during the same period are Dalton, down 8.1 percent; Atlanta, down 5.7 percent; and Macon, down 5.2 percent. The metropolitan areas with the smallest percentage of job losses are Athens, down 1.2 percent; Hinesville, down 1.5 percent; Brunswick, down 1.6 percent, and Columbus, down 1.8 percent. The over-the-year losses came in manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, professional and business services, and construction. On a positive note, educational and health services added 13,200 jobs over the year. Also, from September to October, a total of 5,200 jobs were added in retail trade, public and private education, and health care.

The state's labor force decreased 139,015, or 2.9 percent, from 4,859,703 in October 2008 to 4,720,688 in October 2009. The number of jobless workers receiving regular state unemployment benefits increased 32,282 or 32.8 percent, from 98,530 in October 2008 to 130,812 in October 2009. Another 146,000 received federal Extended Unemployment Compensation.

(WSB Radio) -- Two WSB-TV reporters are recovering from minor injuries they received when their news truck touched power lines and caused an explosion.

Reporter Tom Jones and photographer Leonard Raglin were driving away after doing a live shot at the Fulton County jail Wednesday afternoon when the truck's telescoping pole hit power lines.

The mast is supposed to be lowered if the truck is in motion.

The resulting explosion left the truck heavily damaged and blew apart the road underneath.

Fire singed the front of the truck and the explosion left the side-view mirrors dangling off the vehicle. Jones and Raglin were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital to be checked.

WSB-TV General Manager Bill Hoffman said there were no apparent injuries aside from minor bumps, bruises and burns. He said the men are very lucky.

(WSB Radio) -- Cobb County Police are asking for the public's help in catching the burglars who have targeted businesses all over east Cobb.  Sgt. Dana Pierce tells WSB for the most part, they get in by breaking in through the roof.

"At least 18 business burglaries have happened since November 1st of this year.   We believe in at least two-thirds of these business burglaries, the method of operation of the suspect has been the same," said Pierce.

Pierce says they have stepped up patrols in Johnson Ferry, Roswell Road, and the Lower Roswell Road areas.  "All these roads are fairly heavily traveled roadways, and any activity past midnight, or even after darkness hours, should be very suspicious to people," said Pierce.

Sports bars and gas stations appear to be have been the primary targets.  Pierce encourages business owners to not only install security cameras, but to leave a light on.

"If an officer or a citizen is driving by and they see movement inside of the business, they can immediately dial 9-1-1," said Pierce.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Cobb County Police Department.

(WSB Radio) -- DeKalb County police are using K-9 units and ground patrols to search for two home invasion suspects who are accused of terrorizing a man and his son.

The suspects, described as black males between the ages of 17 and 19, allegedly approached the victim in the driveway of his home on Big Valley Road in Stone Mountain.

After forcing the man inside at gunpoint, one suspect stayed with the man and his 11-year-old son in the kitchen while the second suspect rummaged through the house.

At one point, the boy tried to run for help, but was grabbed by one of the suspects and thrown on the kitchen floor.

Neither victim was hurt and the suspects got away with $450 dollars in cash, a cell phone and a video game system.

A DeKalb officer arrived as the suspects were leaving the house.  They ran in different directions and the officer fired his service revolver at one suspect who made a threatening gesture toward him.

The home invasion occurred around 6pm Wednesday.

(WSB Radio) -- Despite the threat of a lawsuit, the Lilburn City Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to deny a rezoning request that would have allowed an existing mosque on Lawrenceville Highway to expand on 8 acres of property owned by Lilburn Mayor Diane Preston. 

The Muslim congregation of Dar-E-Abbas wanted to build a 20,000 square foot mosque, a gymnasium, 200 parking spaces and a one acre cemetary on 8 acres of land at the corner of Lawrenceville Highway and Hood Road.  About 90 families already worship in two 2,000 square foot buildings on the property.  They have done so for the last 11 years.

Prior to the vote, the council listened to speakers on both sides of the proposal.  One opponent told them "To me, this is not a religious issue or an issue of racism as some would portray it.  It's a land use, rezoning issue."  

Mosque attorney Doug Dillard also addressed the council.  He said "They're asking that they be allowed to expand as other churches, as other religious institutions have been allowed to expand in your community.  To deny them this right is unlawful."

After the denial was approved, Dillard notified the city he would be filing suit in federal court on the grounds that the vote violated his client's First Amendment rights.

(WSB Radio) Cobb County Police are asking for the public's help in catching the burglars who've targeted businesses all over east Cobb.  Sgt. Dana Pierce tells WSB for the most part, they get in by breaking in through the roof.

"At least 18 business burglaries have happened since November 1st of this year.   We believe in at least two-thirds of these business burglaries, the method of operation of the suspect has been the same," said Pierce.

Pierce says they have stepped up patrols in Johnson Ferry, Roswell Road, and the Lower Roswell Road areas.  "All these roads are fairly heavily traveled roadways, and any activity past midnight, or even after darkness hours, should be very suspicious to people," said Pierce.

Sports bars and gas stations appear to be have been the primary targets.  Pierce encourages business owners to not only install security cameras, but to leave a light on.

"If an officer or a citizen is driving by and they see movement inside of the business, they can immediately dial 9-1-1," said Pierce.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Cobb County Police Department.

11/18/09

(WSB Radio)  Car break ins are down across Atlanta, but not in some neighborhoods.  And, police say, the thefts are becoming more and more hazardous because of what is being taken.

Automobile larcenies have increased 250% in Atlanta's Zone 5 precinct, which includes Midtown, downtown and Atlantic Station. 

During a three week period in October, more than 500 such break ins were reported on cars parked in Zone 5.  In a typical week, police in Zone 5 handle 66 car larcenies. 

Police believe the bulk of the crimes are being carried out by career criminals, many of whom have prior arrests for similar crimes.

And cops say these crooks are not after the typical items that are taken in car break ins, such as sunglasses, laptops or CDs.

Thus far in 2009, 120 handguns have been reported stolen from cars that were parked in Zone 5.

Police say more than half of the Zone 5 larcenies were in midtown, with most of those taking place in parking lots near commercial areas.

The APD has increased patrols, and has put plainclothes officers on the streets, but the effect has been minimal.  During one recent weekend, three cars were broken into along the same block of Ponce de Leon Avenue.

The break ins go against the trend for the rest of Atlanta.  Citywide, auto larcenies are actually down in 2009 compared to 2008. 

(WSB Radio) -- Atlanta has the world's busiest airport and several interstates, so getting here isn't the problem.

The issue is what to do when you get here.

Metropoll, an every two-year survey of meeting planner attitudes about 40 U.S. and Canadian convention cities, gave Georgia's capital top marks for accessibility, friendliness, and hotel and dining value. But the city was below average among its peers when it comes to safety, prestige and romance, the 2009 survey found.

"Atlanta continues to have a strong, albeit mixed, profile as a travel destination," Metropoll leaders noted in their data assessment. "Atlanta fares particularly well in the logistical attributes, ranking in the 'Top 10' on five out of eight attributes.

"Atlanta does not fare quite as well with respect to recreational attitudes," Metropoll said.

Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO William Pate cautioned that the survey reflects the opinions of meeting planners that have been here in the last 10 years as well as those that haven't. He said the goal is to get meeting planners who haven't been to Atlanta in while to the city to show off the product.

"It's like trying to explain the (Georgia) aquarium to someone who has never been there," he said. On the surface, Atlanta, like the world's largest fish tank, sounds impressive, but it's not until you visit that the "wow" is evident, he said.

WASHINGTON (AP) Ford, Subaru and Volkswagen sit atop the insurance industry's annual list of the safest new vehicles, according to a closely watched assessment used by car companies to lure safety-conscious consumers to showrooms.

The Virginia-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awarded its ``top safety pick'' on Wednesday to 19 passenger cars and eight sport utility vehicles for the 2010 model year. The institute substantially reduced the number of awards compared with 2009, because of tougher requirements for roof strength.

Ford Motor Co. and its Volvo unit received the most awards with six, followed by five awards apiece for Japanese automaker Subaru and German automaker Volkswagen AG and its Audi unit.

Chrysler Group LLC received four awards followed by two each for Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Co.

Toyota Motor Corp., BMW AG, Mazda Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. were shut out in the annual IIHS review.

Ford's recipients include the Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS passenger cars and the Volvo S80 and C30 passenger cars and the XC60 and XC90 SUVs.

Ford said in a statement it is ``committed to providing customers with safe vehicles for a broad range of real-world crash conditions.''

Subaru recorded winners with the Subaru Legacy, Outback and Impreza cars and Tribeca and Forester SUVs. Subaru was the only automaker with an IIHS winner in all four vehicle classes in which it competes.

The automaker, which has bucked the brutal U.S. sales market with a 13 percent increase during the first 10 months of 2009, attributed its safety success to a unique engine design that sits low in the vehicle chassis and moves down and under occupants in a frontal collision.

Tom Doll, executive vice president and COO of Subaru of America, said the awards were a ``tribute to the engineering that goes into Subaru products.''

Volkswagen scored with the 4-door versions of the Jetta, Passat and Golf, the Audi A3 and the Volkswagen Tiguan, a small SUV. Mark Barnes, Volkswagen of America's chief operating officer, said the ``safety of our cars is of the utmost concern, from the initial design stages all the way through the maintenance procedures at dealerships.''

Chrysler won the award for the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger sedans equipped with optional electronic stability control, the Dodge Journey midsize SUV and the Jeep Patriot with optional side thorax air bags.

Scott Kunselman, Chrysler's senior vice president-engineering, said the awards underscore the Auburn Hills, Mich., automaker's ``engineering capability and leadership in occupant protection.''

General Motors Co. and Honda Motor Co. both received two awards. GM was recognized for the Buick LaCrosse and the Chevrolet Malibu while Honda won for 4-door versions of the Civic with optional electronic stability control and the Honda Element.

Other winners included the Nissan Cube, the Kia Soul and the Mercedes C Class.

The vehicles are selected for best protecting motorists in front, side and rear crash tests based on Institute evaluations during the year. The vehicles are required to have electronic stability control, or ESC, to qualify for the award. Earlier this year, the Institute said vehicles would need to receive its highest score in its roof strength evaluation to qualify the safety pick designation.

``With the addition of our roof strength evaluation, our crash test results now cover all four of the most common kinds of crashes,'' said Institute president Adrian Lund. ``Consumers can use this list to zero in on the vehicles that are on the top rung for safety.''

The Institute awarded its top prize to 94 vehicles in 2009 and attributed the decline in awards this year to the roof strength requirement. The Honda Accord and the Ford Fusion both dropped off the list because 2010 versions didn't earn high enough scores on the roof test.

The Toyota Camry would have made the list, the Institute said, if it had received the highest rating in rear crash protection. The Institute said the Camry's seats and head restraints were rated marginal for protection against whiplash injuries.

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

WASHINGTON (AP) Soldier suicides this year are almost sure to top last year's grim totals, but a recent decline in the pace of such incidents could mean the Army is starting to make progress in stemming them, officials said Tuesday.

Army Vice Chief of Staff General Peter Chiarelli said that as of Monday, 140 active duty soldiers were believed to have died of self-inflicted wounds so far in 2009. That's the same as were confirmed for all of 2008.

``We are almost certainly going to end the year higher than last year ... this is horrible, and I do not want to downplay the significance of these numbers in any way,'' he said.

But Chiarelli said there has been a tapering off in recent months from large surges in suspected suicides in January and February.

``Our goal since the beginning has been to reduce the overall incidence of suicide and I do believe we are finally beginning to see progress being made,'' Chiarelli told a Pentagon press conference.

He attributed those hints of progress to some unprecedented efforts the Army has made since February to educate soldiers and leaders about the issue.

Officials are still stumped about what is driving the historically high rates across the military force. When asked whether the rates reflect unprecedented high stress from long and repeated deployments to provide manpower for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Chiarelli said he didn't know.

``The reality is there is no simple answer,'' he said. ``Each suicide is as unique as the individuals themselves.''

The rising suicide rate is not unique to the Army. Marine Corps suicides also are higher again this year there were 42 reported as of Oct. 31 compared with 42 for all of 2008, 33 in 2007 and 25 in 2006.

Though the two ground forces have borne most of the fighting in the two current wars, both the Army and Marines have found that about a third of the self-inflicted deaths were among troops that had never deployed to the battles.

Chiarelli said that on top of the 140 suicides reported from the active duty Army force, there were another 71 suicides by troops in the National Guard and Reserve.

All of the numbers are preliminary in that investigations into some of the deaths are still ongoing. Of the 140 so far this year among active duty troops, 90 have been confirmed as suicides and 50 are suspected but the probes are not yet finished.

Each year, nearly all suspected suicides are eventually confirmed. For instance in 2008, there were 143 suspected and 140 were eventually confirmed.

Chiarelli said officials will continue to focus on things that are symptoms of high-risk individuals such as undiagnosed brain injuries like concussions; on Post-Traumatic Stress, and on risky behavior such as poor diet and sleep habits as well as more serious behaviors such as drug and alcohol abuse.

The Army widened its suicide prevention in March in an attempt to make rapid improvements. In October, the service introduced its Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, which Chiarelli called ``the biggest step ... taken to enhance wellness in the entire force through prevention rather than treatment.''

The program aims to put the same emphasis on mental and emotion strength as the military traditionally has on physical strength. Basic training now includes anti-stress programs as part of a broader effort to help soldiers deal with the aftereffects of combat and prevent suicides.

Also last month, the Army started using a new screening questionnaire to try to determine preexisting or current mental health issues among troops as part of the enlistment process.

Despite those campaigns, another jump in suicide figures for 2009 would make it the fifth straight year that such deaths have set a record within the military. Last year's 140 record erased a high 115 in 2007 and 102 in 2006.

Chiarelli said officials are concerned with increases this year at Fort Campbell, Fort Stewart and Schofield Barracks and are trying to learn why suicides rates are down at Fort Hood, Fort Bragg and Fort Drum.

At Fort Campbell in Kentucky there were 18, while at Fort Bragg, N.C., which has almost double the population, there have been six all year.

Using some bases as examples of the trend downward, Chiarelli said that of the 18 suicides reported this year at Fort Campbell, 11 of those were in the first four months of the year. At Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, there were seven all year so far five in the first five months of the year and only two since.

The numbers kept by the service branches don't show the whole picture of war-related suicides because they don't include deaths after people have left the military. The Department of Veterans Affairs tracks those numbers and says there were 144 suicides among the nearly 500,000 service members who left the military from 2002-2005 after fighting in at least one of the wars.

The true incidence of suicide among military veterans is not known, according to a report last year by the Congressional Research Service. Based on numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the VA estimates that 18 veterans a day or 6,500 a year take their lives, but that number includes vets from all previous wars.

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

(WSB Radio) -- The Flood of 2009 caused a nationwide shortage of Eggo frozen waffles. 

The Kellogg Company says flood damage at its bakery on Bucknell Drive in Atlanta led to production delays that could put the popular breakfast item in short supply through the middle of next year. 

The Eggo manufacturing plant, which is off of Thornton Road, south of I-20, temporarily shutdown in September after flood waters damaged some equipment.

A statement from the company, based in Battle Creek, Michigan, says production has resumed in Atlanta, but Kellogg spokesman Kris Charles says "We are working around the clock to restore Eggo storm inventories to normal levels as quickly as possible."

Although Kellogg does not release sales figures for individual brand names, the company has confirmed that the temporary supply disruption contributed to a 3 percent sales decline in the North American frozen and specialty channels unit last quarter.

WASHINGTON (AP) Federal health officials said Tuesday a popular variety of heartburn medications can interfere with the blood thinner Plavix, a drug taken by millions of Americans to reduce risks of heart attack and stroke.

The Food and Drug Administration said the stomach-soothing drugs Prilosec and Nexium cut in half the blood-thinning effect of Plavix, known generically as clopidogrel.

Regulators said the key ingredient in the heartburn medications blocks an enzyme the body needs to break down Plavix, muting the drug's full effect. Procter Gamble's Prilosec OTC is available over-the-counter, while AstraZeneca's Nexium is only available with a prescription.

``Patients at risk for heart attacks or strokes who use clopidogrel to prevent blood clots will not get the full effect of this medicine,'' the agency said in a statement.

Plavix is marketed by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb. With global sales of $8.6 billion last year, it's the world's second-best selling drug behind Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor.

Because Plavix can upset the stomach, it is often prescribed with stomach acid-blocking drugs.

The FDA says patients who need to reduce their acid should take drugs from the H-2 blocker family, which include Johnson Johnson's Mylanta and Boehringer Ingelheim's Zantac. FDA scientists say there is no evidence those drugs interfere with Plavix's anti-blood clotting action.

Nexium and Prilosec are part of a class of drugs known as proton pump inhibitors, but FDA regulators said they don't have enough information to say whether other drugs in that class shouldn't be used with Plavix.

``There's not enough data to tell us how those drugs interact with,'' the enzyme that activates Plavix, said Mary Ross Southworth, FDA's deputy director for safety of cardiovascular products. ``There are ongoing studies looking at those other drugs.''

The FDA said the warnings on Plavix have been strengthened based on a 150-patient study submitted by Sanofi over the summer.

But some consumer advocates said the agency's action fell short, arguing that regulators should have placed the information in a ``black box'' warning label, the most serious available.

``This information still has not risen to as prominent a level of warning as it should have,'' said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of health research at the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.

Information about the drug interaction between Plavix and other medications is not new. Researchers at pharmacy benefit manager Medco Health Solutions reported last year that taking Plavix with Nexium significantly increased patients' chances of being hospitalized for a heart attack, stroke or chest pain.

In May, Sanofi and Bristol-Myers updated Plavix's labeling to advise against using it in combination with certain heartburn drugs.

A Sanofi spokeswoman said Tuesday that the company has bolstered that language labeling.

``We've strengthened the label to say that these drugs should be avoided altogether, not just discouraged,'' said Noelle Boyd, Sanofi's senior communications director.

WBB Securities analyst Steven Brozak said the news would put pressure on Paris-based Sanofi and New York-based Bristol-Myers to provide more safety data on their best-selling product.

``This is going to create a chain reaction as patients start calling their physicians, and they are forced to make a spot decision on limited information,'' said Brozak. ``That's not gonna help either company's bottom line.''

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

The maps were unveiled in October with the opening of five new schools next fall. School officials received more than a thousand comments from parents since that time.

Spokesperson Sloan Roach says they've incorporated many of those suggestions and made changes to four of the five new maps.

"Some of them are minor changes and then some of them are things that we had heard from multiple parents and citizens. We were able to look at the maps and look at the numbers and find ways to balance it in a way that we hope will make this change easier for everybody," she tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.

Roach says parents will get one final opportunity to voice concerns at a public hearing Thursday at 7 p.m. at the school systems main offices in Suwanee.

The Gwinnett school board is expected to vote on the final recommendations at its December 10th meeting.

(WSB Radio)  -- The Lilburn City Council is set to vote tonight on a controversial rezoning request that would allow a mosque, gymnasium, and cemetary to be built on eight acres of land at Lawrenceville Hwy. and Hood Road. 

The Lilburn Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend denial of the rezoning request.

"It took into consideration our future land use plan and certainly parking and traffic played a factor in that as well," City Manager Bill Johnsa tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.

For the past 11 years, about 90 families in the Muslim congregation of Dar-E-Abbas have worshiped in two 2,000 square foot buildings on the property partly owned by Mayor Diana Preston. She will recuse herself from the meeting and vote.

Attorney Doug Dillard who represents the congregation says the planning commission's actions may have violated his clients constitutional rights and he has already notified the city that a denial by the city council will result in litigation.

Tonight's 7:30 meeting will be held at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center due to the large crowds expected. Public comment will be limited to 30 minutes for each side before the vote is taken.

(WSB Radio) -- University of Georgia Police are investigating claims by an 18-year-old Clemson University student who says he was beaten up in the basement of a fraternity house.

Chief Jimmy Williamson tells WSB while Stephen Spaseff's statements were credible, several details remain foggy.

"He had been consuming alcohol and that's what's making this a little more difficult.  Some of the details are a little fuzzy, but we find this fairly frequently with incidents like this," said Williamson.

Spaseff flagged down police about a block from the Ki Phi house, where he said the assault occurred.

"He said that he got into an altercation and at some point in time he ended up in the basement area of a fraternity house where he was beat on by numerous individuals," said Williamson.

Williamson said Spaseff did have injuries that would give the impression that he had been beaten up.  They weren't life-threatening or required any type of extensive medical treatment.

Williamson says they're still trying to figure out exactly what happened and if anyone from the fraternity was involved.

"We're in the process of retracing the events of that night, interviewing possible witnesses of people who may have been in the area.  We're checking for other surveillance cameras in the area to try and confirm what happened," said Williamson.

(WSB Radio) -- A Cherokee County middle school student has been arrested for bringing a gun to school.

School System Spokesman Mike McGowan tells WSB when another student at Dean Rusk Middle School realized the 12-year-old boy had a .22-caliber pistol on him, he immediately notified personnel.

Several rounds of ammunition were found in his locker and he was charged with  felony possession of a firearm on school property.

"I have heard that there weren't any specific threats or hit lists or any reason to believe that the student had anything on his mind other than making a really stupid decision to bring a firearm to school," said McGowan.

(WSB Radio) -- The search is on for a serial bank robber who has hit seven north-Metro banks in three weeks.

Dunwoody Police Sgt. Mike Carlson tells Channel 2 Action News the latest robbery happened Friday at a Wachovia on Riverwood Parkway in Cobb County.    He hit the Wachovia on Ashford-Dunwoody Road twice.

"He's very bold right now to hit seven banks in that amount of time," said Carlson.

The suspect, who usually wears a hat, polo, and khaki gloves, always uses a note.

 "We don't want this to escalate.  He has not been violent yet; however, he's very consistent .  He usually hits the banks toward the end of the week, the latter part of the week.  We want to catch this individual before he takes any extremely drastic measures," said Carlson.

The suspect, who has also hit banks in Alpharetta, Sandy Springs, and Roswell, drives a burgundy Tahoe.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dunwoody Police.  Wachovia is offering up to a $5,000 reward.

(WSB Radio) -- A Naval reservist fresh back from a tour of duty in Bahrain returned to her Clayton County home to find it had been burglarized. 

Petty Officer Karen Ray of Rex told WSB-TV someone broke out a window on the backside of her house on New Dale Road, stole two lap tops and ransacked her closets and drawers.

Ray discovered the break in following a 16 hour flight from the U.S. Military base in Bahrain to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.  She tells Channel 2 Action News "I'm exhausted with jet lag and I can't go to bed because I've got to clean up all this stuff."

Ray's neighbors told police several homes in the Oak Trail subdivision had been broken into recently.  Investigators don't know if Ray was targeted because she is in the military.

TOKYO (AP) Delta Air Lines and its alliance partners said Wednesday they are making a billion dollar offer intended to lure loss-making Japan Airlines from its affiliation with American Airlines.

Delta is ``by far the strongest partner for Japan Airlines,'' company president Edward Bastian told reporters in Tokyo.

The offer from Delta and the SkyTeam alliance includes a $500 million capital investment, $300 million in short-term revenue guarantees, and $200 million in asset-backed financing for JAL.

SkyTeam would also cover the entire cost for JAL to transfer from the oneworld alliance, estimated by Delta to total $20 million.

The airline, Asia's largest, is seen as a valuable partner because of its routes in China and Japan. Bastian said he hopes JAL can serve as the Atlanta-based carrier's ``face of Asia.''

But its business is struggling. The Tokyo airline said last week it booked $1.5 billion in losses for the first half of the current fiscal year and was seeking government help in dealing with its creditors. Its interest-bearing debt totals nearly $10 billion.

Hit by a collapse in travel brought on by the tepid global economy and the swine flu outbreak, the company has been approved for a government-run turnaround. It is mulling large job cuts after already lowering its staff mainly through attrition as well as taking other measures such as cutting unprofitable routes.

Japan Airlines spokesman Sze Hunn Yap said the company is aware of Delta's offer but could not comment.

Bastian said JAL's relationship with the oneworld alliance has hurt the airline, with flights between North America and Japan decreasing in recent years.

In contrast, joining SkyTeam would offer JAL access to the 3.7 million Delta customers that fly every year from the U.S. to Japan. That represents a more than threefold increase from American's current passenger traffic out of the U.S. and $400 million in higher annual revenue, Bastian said.

``Continuing its current partnership threatens JAL's long-term international competitiveness,'' he said. ``Only through a partnership with SkyTeam and Delta will JAL have the strength it needs to regain a position of international leadership in Japan, Asia and across the globe.''

The Japanese company has been American's partner since the mid-1990s. They sell tickets for each others' routes as well as sharing revenue and customer frequent-flier bonuses.

American Airlines and Texas-based private investment firm TPG Inc. issued a statement Wednesday reiterating their commitment to JAL, saying that sticking with oneworld would be its best path toward recovery and future growth.

``American and its partner, TPG, stand ready to deliver significant value to JAL through a strengthened commercial relationship that will be part of a comprehensive recovery plan if invited, welcome and deemed appropriate by JAL and the Government of Japan,'' they said.

The Nikkei financial daily reported Wednesday that TPG is looking to invest 100 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in JAL as part of a coordinated effort with American Airlines.

JAL president Haruka Nishimatsu has said he wants to make a decision on any capital tie-ups by the end of the year.

The SkyTeam alliance includes Delta, Air France KLM, Aeroflot, AeroMexico, Alitalia, China Southern Airlines, Czech Airlines and Korean Air.

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

(WSB Radio) University of Georgia Police are investigating claims by an 18-year-old Clemson University student who says he was beaten up in the basement of a fraternity house.

Chief Jimmy Williamson tells WSB while Stephen Spaseff's statements were credible, several details remain foggy.

"He had been consuming alcohol and that's what's making this a little more difficult.  Some of the details are a little fuzzy, but we find this fairly frequently with incidents like this," said Williamson.

Spaseff flagged down police about a block from the Ki Phi house, where he said the assault occurred.

"He said that he got into an altercation and at some point in time he ended up in the basement area of a fraternity house where he was beat on by numerous individuals," said Williamson.

Williamson said Spaseff did have injuries that would give the impression that he had been beaten up.  They weren't life-threatening or required any type of extensive medical treatment.

Williamson says they're still trying to figure out exactly what happened and if anyone from the fraternity was involved.

"We're in the process of retracing the events of that night, interviewing possible witnesses of people who may have been in the area.  We're checking for other surveillance cameras in the area to try and confirm what happened," said Williamson.

11/17/09

(WSB Radio)  The Gwinnett County School System has made changes to its proposed redistricting map after taking the suggestions of some parents who voiced concerns.

The maps were unveiled in October with the opening of five new schools next fall.  School officials received more than a thousand comments from parents since that time.

Spokesperson Sloan Roach says they've incorporated many of those suggestions and made changes to four of the five new maps.

"Some of them are minor changes and then some of them are things that we had heard from multiple parents and citizens.  We were able to look at the maps and look at the numbers and find ways to balance it in a way that we hope will make this change easier for everybody," she tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.

Roach says parents will get one final opportunity to voice concerns at a public hearing Thursday at 7pm at the school systems main offices in Suwanee.

The Gwinnett school board is expected to vote on the final recommendations at its December 10th meeting.

The state Board of Regents approved an increase Tuesday that doubles special fees enacted last year when the state began withholding money from departments and agencies. Students will pay between $50 and $100 more than they did this year, depending on where they go to school.

At research universities like the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech, students will pay $200 per semester starting in January 2010. Regents spokesman John Millsaps says the fee will raise about $24 million.

The state's 35 colleges and universities may have to turn to more furlough days and layoffs to make up the $163 million in cuts from the state this fiscal year.

On the Net:

Georgia Board of Regents: http://www.usg.edu

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

(WSB Radio)  The man wanted in the murder of a repo man in Fulton County is in custody, caught by U.S. Marshals.

Justin Moore. 29. was wanted for the shooting death of 27 year old Brandon Thomas, of Kennesaw.

Marshals arrested Moore just after 9 o'clock Tuesday morning on the 3900 block of Flat Shoals Parkway, in DeKalb County. 

The marshals, along with a Fulton County police officer, spotted Moore riding as a passenger in a Lexus.  Moore saw the officers and, while his car was still moving, bailed out, running into a nearby creek.   A brief chase followed and Moore was arrested in the creek.

Police say Thomas and another man were trying to repossess Moore's 2004 Ford Mustang last Thursday morning. 

They had hitched the car up to their tow truck and were driving off when, according to police, Moore gave chase and shot the two men.  Thomas was killed and his partner, 36 year old Willie Thackston was wounded and is recovering at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Thomas leaves behind a wife and two children.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) An Army cook and single mom may face criminal charges after she skipped her deployment flight to Afghanistan because, she said, no one was available to care for her infant son while she was overseas.

Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, 21, claims she had no choice but to refuse deployment orders because the only family she had to care for her 10-month-old son her mother was overwhelmed by the task, already caring for three other relatives with health problems.

Her civilian attorney, Rai Sue Sussman, said Monday that one of Hutchinson's superiors told her she would have to deploy anyway and place the child in foster care.

``For her it was like, 'I couldn't abandon my child,''' Sussman said. ``She was really afraid of what would happen, that if she showed up they would send her to Afghanistan anyway and put her son with child protective services.''

Hutchinson, who is from Oakland, Calif., remained confined Monday to the boundaries of Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, 10 days after military police arrested her for skipping her unit's flight. No charges have been filed, but a spokesman for the Army post said commanders were investigating.

Kevin Larson, a spokesman for Hunter Army Airfield, said he didn't know what Hutchinson was told by her commanders, but he said the Army would not deploy a single parent who had nobody to care for his or her child.

``I don't know what transpired and the investigation will get to the bottom of it,'' Larson said. ``If she would have come to the deployment terminal with her child, there's no question she would not have been deployed.''

Hutchinson's son, Kamani, was placed into custody overnight with a daycare provider on the Army post after she was arrested and jailed briefly, Larson said. Hutchinson's mother picked up the child a week ago and took him back to her home in California.

Hutchinson, who's assigned to the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, joined the Army in 2007 and had no previous deployments, Sussman said. She said Hutchinson is no longer in a relationship with the father.

The Army requires all single-parent soldiers to submit a care plan for dependent children before they can deploy to a combat zone.

Hutchinson had such a plan her mother, Angelique Hughes, had agreed to care for the boy. Hughes said Monday she kept the boy for about two weeks in October before deciding she couldn't keep him for a full year.

Hughes said she's already having to care for her ailing mother and sister, as well as a daughter with special needs. She also runs a daycare center at her home, keeping about 14 children during the day.

``This is an infant, and they require 24-hour care,'' Hughes said. ``It was very, very stressful, just too much for me to deal with.''

Hughes said she returned Kamani to his mother in Georgia a few days before her scheduled deployment Nov. 5.

She said they told her daughter's commanders they needed more time to find another family member or close friend to help Hughes care for the boy, but Hutchinson was ordered to deploy on schedule.

Larson, the Army post spokesman, said officials planned to keep Hutchinson in Georgia as investigators gathered facts about the case.

``Spc. Hutchinson's deployment is halted,'' Larson said. ``There will be no deployment while this situation is ongoing.''

Russ Bynum has covered the military based in Georgia since 2001.

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

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Costco says it is no longer carrying Coca-Cola products in its stores nationwide due to a pricing dispute with the beverage maker.

The Issaquah, Wash.-based wholesale club operator would not discuss the matter further. But a Costco executive confirmed Monday that the company is no longer carrying products from the world's largest soft drink maker.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. says it won't comment on on-going negotiations but said Costco is an important customer that it is committed to working with ``in a spirit of fairness.''

Costco Wholesale Corp. operates about 560 warehouses in the U.S. and abroad.

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

WASHINGTON (AP) The Federal Reserve on Monday proposed new rules to protect consumers from unexpected costs or restrictions on gift cards.

More than 95 percent of Americans have received or purchased gift cards, the Fed said.

Under the proposed rule, consumers must have at least five years to use the gift cards before they expire. The Fed also said service or inactivity fees can be imposed only under certain conditions.

Such fees can be charged if the consumer hasn't used the card for at least a year, if the consumer is given clear disclosures about them and no more than one fee is charged a month, the Fed said.

The Fed was directed to take the action under a law Congress passed in May.

``Consumers who do not use the value of the card within a short period of time may be surprised to find that the card has expired or that dormancy or service fees have reduced the value of the card,'' the Fed explained. ``Even where fees or terms are disclosed on or with the card, the disclosures may not be clear and conspicuous.''

The public, industry groups and other interested parties can comment on the Fed's proposal, which could be revised before a final rule is adopted.

The Fed said the new provisions are slated to take effect on Aug. 22.

``These rules are the right step, but it would be far better for them to take effect in time for this holiday shopping season,'' said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who championed the gift card crackdown in Congress. ``We will continue to push the Fed to speed up the effective data so that we end abuses by gift card issuers as soon as possible.''

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

MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) Some parents of Cobb County students have joined a petition drive opposing changes in the school system's calendar.

The calendar approved last week by the county school board will shorten summer break for students by two weeks.

Cobb County students will have a week off in September and February and a full week at Thanksgiving. Students will begin classes during the first week in August and finish the Friday before Memorial Day.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that an e-mail petition circulating on the Internet shows the group says it has collected the names of 300 parents against the new calendar.

The calendar was approved by a 4-3 vote by the county school board.

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

(WSB Radio) -- Budget cuts and reductions in service are on the way in Fulton County - all because the county does not have the money to make ends meet.

Tax revenue is down 14-percent.  As a result the 2010 county budget will reflect some $130 million in cutbacks.

For now, property tax increases are off the table. 

"I am not going to be pushing or promoting raising any taxes," said Commission Chairman John Eaves.

However, jobs may be at risk - as many as 300 county workers could be pink slipped.  Union President Greg Fann hopes commissioners will consider furloughs before firings.

"People need their jobs, but these are tough economic times and we know there are tough decisions to be made," said Fann.  "We believe they're working in good faith with us to make sure people keep their jobs and are gainfully employed."

(WSB Radio) -- An Atlanta City Councilman is floating a controversial idea he hopes will generate more revenue. 

Kwanza Hall has introduced a resolution that calls for a study of extending last call at city bars and restaurants from 2:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.  Last call in Atlanta was rolled back to 2:30 a.m. in December of 2003.

Hall tells Channel 2 Action News "We need to figure out additional sources of revenue, but we're really not sure what the trade off is on public safety."  Hall believes sales taxes generated by extending the hours for the sale of alcoholic beverages could fund public safety improvements.

City Council President Lisa Borders calls Hall's proposal irresponsible.  She says "We don't have enough police officers to handle the crime we have in the city today, particularly property crime, so why would you introduce something that would make the problem worse?"

After Hall filed the legislation, Borders sent it to the City Council's Finance/Executive committee for further discussion.  When asked about the future of Hall's proposal, committee chairman Howard Shook told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution "This will be dead on arrival."

Buckhead Coalition President and former Mayor Sam Massell told the Atlanta newspaper the possible revenue from an additional 90 minutes for party-goers to drink is not worth the potential trouble.

Hall's resolution is non-binding.  There is no timetable on when, or if, the measure will come up for a vote before the full council.

ATLANTA (AP) House Speaker Glenn Richardson took sleeping pills in a failed attempt to kill himself and then called his mother to tell her he loved her, according to a recording of the 911 call released on Monday.

It was his mother, Merty Richardson, who called 911 on the evening of Nov. 8. A recording of the 911 call was released by the Paulding County Sheriff's Department on Monday in response to an open records request.

``It's my son, Glenn Richardson, the speaker of the House of Representatives,'' a distraught-sounding Merty Richardson told the 911 dispatcher.

Richardson's mother said her son had taken sleeping pills on purpose.

``He had gotten very, very upset,'' she said. ``He called to tell us that he loved us and that it was too late to do anything.''

Sheriffs deputies arrived at Richardson's Hiram home and found the Republican lawmaker on the edge of the bathtub in his master bathroom with a gun nearby. There was also a suicide note and ``another note related to the suicide.'' The contents of the notes were not revealed.

Authorities said he was semiconscious and was taken to the hospital.

In a statement released late Friday, Richardson revealed the suicide attempt and said he has struggled with depression for 2 1/2 years, since his separation and divorce from his wife, Susan. He said he is under a physician's care and is taking prescription medication.

On Monday Richardson's spokesman, Marshall Guest, told The Associated Press that Richardson ``intends to continue on as speaker.''

He was heading to a fundraiser Monday night in Southwest Georgia for Republican Rep. Ed Rynders.

``He wants to support his caucus members and plans to keep a limited schedule,'' Guest said.

Rynders said that he was ``honored'' to have the speaker at his event, which was organized long before recent events put Richardson in the spotlight.

``The response here in southwest Georgia has been overwhelmingly compassionate,'' Rynders said.

``This is an illness that can affect anyone and I think people here recognize that and wish him well.''

Christina Owens, area director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Metro Atlanta, praised Richardson for coming forward.

``Unfortunately, suicide and mental disorders such as depression are surrounded by stigma and misconceptions which prevent many people from seeking the help they desperately need,'' Owens said in a statement.

News of Richardson's suicide try continued to reverberate on Monday among state leaders.

Gov. Sonny Perdue told WSB-TV a decision about his fate as the leader of the Georgia House is up to the 180 legislators in the chamber.

``His health is more important than any political decision,'' Perdue said while in Dubai on a trade mission. ``While he's currently broken he has a great ability to come back.''

The combative Richardson survived a coup attempt in 2008 from state Rep. David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, who had questioned the speaker's temperament.

``I will be the first to tell you I have made mistakes along the way. But I will tell you this also, I have learned from the mistakes,'' Richardson told caucus members who voted to let him keep his gavel.

At the end of the 2008 legislative session, Richardson angrily called for the ouster of Casey Cagle after the lieutenant governor helped kill his tax cut plan. He called on Cagle ``to stand up and be a man.'' In 2007, Richardson accused Perdue of showing his ``backside'' after a feud with the governor over tax cuts.

This year Richardson kept a low profile and avoided any outbursts.

Richardson helped engineer the GOP takeover of the House in 2004 and won the speaker's post soon afterward. He's the first Republican to lead the chamber since Reconstruction.

Associated Press Writer Greg Bluestein contributed to this report.

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

JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) Clayton County Schools officials are investigating claims that a special education teacher threatened a student.

Spokesman Charles White said Monday that Mundy's Mill High School teacher Randolph Forde remains on administrative leave with pay following his arrest last month.

Forde was charged with making terroristic threats against a 16-year-old student and was released on a $10,000 bond. He is scheduled to attend an employment hearing on Tuesday on possible disciplinary action.

Attorney Terance Madden represents the student and said Forde pulled him from class and asked if he was gay. He said the teacher also threatened to hit him in the mouth and asked another student to put a hit on his client.

Forde's attorney, Borquaye Thomas, said students said Forde often plays around with them and everyone knew he joking about the reference to a hit.

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

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) The mayor-elect of a Georgia town has been arrested for drunken driving in South Carolina.

Multiple media outlets reported Monday that Jennifer Sudderth was arrested in Greenville early Saturday. The 36-year-old was elected mayor of Hartwell, Ga., earlier this month and is expected to take office in January.

Hartwell is approximately 62 miles southwest of Greenville.

A police report says Sudderth was stopped because her car swerved over the white lines. She told the arresting officer she was trying to get home after leaving a friend's house but was lost and needed gas. The report says she failed a field sobriety test.

Sudderth told WLHR-FM the incident is a misunderstanding that will be cleared up this week. The Hart County middle school teacher declined to explain, but said she'd hired an attorney.

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

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) Athens-Clarke police say they made 23 underage drinking arrests during and after the Georgia-Auburn football game.

The Athens Banner-Herald reports Monday that most approached the officers first, had an open-container or had passed out downtown.

Police used an ammonia capsule to wake a drunken 20-year-old who passed out in the bathroom of Five Guys Burgers and Fries. The man had two IDs in his pockets, one real and one fake.

It was the second time in a week that a drunken man passed out in the restaurant bathroom.

Police say another man was arrested after he asked officers for help finding his friends and they asked for ID because he smelled of alcohol.

The man gave the officer his ID and then ran away and tried to escape by crawling under a parked car.

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

NEW YORK (AP) Most women don't need a mammogram in their 40s and should get one every two years starting at 50, a government task force said Monday. It's a major reversal that conflicts with the American Cancer Society's long-standing position.

Also, the task force said breast self-exams do no good and women shouldn't be taught to do them.

For most of the past two decades, the cancer society has been recommending annual mammograms beginning at 40.

But the government panel of doctors and scientists concluded that getting screened for breast cancer so early and so often leads to too many false alarms and unneeded biopsies without substantially improving women's odds of survival.

``The benefits are less and the harms are greater when screening starts in the 40s,'' said Dr. Diana Petitti, vice chair of the panel.

The new guidelines were issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, whose stance influences coverage of screening tests by Medicare and many insurance companies.

But Susan Pisano, a spokeswoman for America's Health Insurance Plans, an industry group, said insurance coverage isn't likely to change because of the new guidelines. No changes are planned in Medicare coverage either, said Dori Salcido, spokeswoman for the Health and Human Services department.

Experts expect the task force revisions to be hotly debated, and to cause confusion for women and their doctors.

``Our concern is that as a result of that confusion, women may elect not to get screened at all. And that, to me, would be a serious problem,'' said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, the cancer society's deputy chief medical officer.

The guidelines are for the general population, not those at high risk of breast cancer because of family history or gene mutations that would justify having mammograms sooner or more often.

The new advice says:

Most women in their 40s should not routinely get mammograms.

Women 50 to 74 should get a mammogram every other year until they turn 75, after which the risks and benefits are unknown. (The task force's previous guidelines had no upper limit and called for exams every year or two.)

The value of breast exams by doctors is unknown. And breast self-exams are of no value.

Medical groups such as the cancer society have been backing off promoting breast self-exams in recent years because of scant evidence of their effectiveness. Decades ago, the practice was so heavily promoted that organizations distributed cards that could be hung in the shower demonstrating the circular motion women should use to feel for lumps in their breasts.

The guidelines and research supporting them were released Monday and are being published in Tuesday's issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The new advice was sharply challenged by the cancer society.

``This is one screening test I recommend unequivocally, and would recommend to any woman 40 and over,'' the society's chief medical officer, Dr. Otis Brawley, said in a statement.

The task force advice is based on its conclusion that screening 1,300 women in their 50s to save one life is worth it, but that screening 1,900 women in their 40s to save a life is not, Brawley wrote.

That stance ``is essentially telling women that mammography at age 40 to 49 saves lives, just not enough of them,'' he said. The cancer society feels the benefits outweigh the harms for women in both groups.

International guidelines also call for screening to start at age 50; the World Health Organization recommends the test every two years, Britain says every three years.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American women. More than 192,000 new cases and 40,000 deaths from the disease are expected in the U.S. this year.

Mammograms can find cancer early, and two-thirds of women over 40 report having had the test in the previous two years. But how much they cut the risk of dying of the disease, and at what cost in terms of unneeded biopsies, expense and worry, have been debated.

In most women, tumors are slow-growing, and that likelihood increases with age. So there is little risk by extending the time between mammograms, some researchers say. Even for the minority of women with aggressive, fast-growing tumors, annual screening will make little difference in survival odds.

The new guidelines balance these risks and benefits, scientists say.

The probability of dying of breast cancer after age 40 is 3 percent, they calculate. Getting a mammogram every other year from ages 50 to 69 lowers that risk by about 16 percent.

``It's an average of five lives saved per thousand women screened,'' said Georgetown University researcher Dr. Jeanne Mandelblatt.

Starting at age 40 would prevent one additional death but also lead to 470 false alarms for every 1,000 women screened. Continuing mammograms through age 79 prevents three additional deaths but raises the number of women treated for breast cancers that would not threaten their lives.

``You save more lives because breast cancer is more common, but you diagnose tumors in women who were destined to die of something else. The overdiagnosis increases in older women,'' Mandelblatt said.

She led six teams around the world who used federal data on cancer and mammography to develop mathematical models of what would happen if women were screened at different ages and time intervals. Their conclusions helped shape the new guidelines.

Several medical groups say they are sticking to their guidelines that call for routine screening starting at 40.

``Screening isn't perfect. But it's the best thing we have. And it works,'' said Dr. Carol Lee, a spokeswoman for the American College of Radiology. She suggested that cutting health care costs may have played a role in the decision, but Petitti said the task force does not consider cost or insurance in its review.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also has qualms. The organization's Dr. Hal Lawrence said there is still significant benefit to women in their 40s, adding: ``We think that women deserve that benefit.''

But Dr. Amy Abernethy of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center agreed with the task force's changes.

``Overall, I think it really took courage for them to do this,'' she said. ``It does ask us as doctors to change what we do and how we communicate with patients. That's no small undertaking.''

Abernethy, who is 41, said she got her first mammogram the day after her 40th birthday, even though she wasn't convinced it was needed. Now she doesn't plan to have another mammogram until she is 50.

Barbara Brenner, executive director of the San Francisco-based Breast Cancer Action, said the group was ``thrilled'' with the revisions. The advocacy group doesn't support screening before menopause, and will be changing its suggested interval from yearly to every two years, she said.

Mammograms, like all medical interventions, have risks and benefits, she said.

``Women are entitled to know what they are and to make their best decisions,'' she said. ``These guidelines will help that conversation.''

Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione reported from Milwaukee.

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

(WSB Radio)  DeKalb Police Officer Jason Gagnon serves as the department's public information officer.  His job is to speak on behalf of the police force.  But, on Monday, the most memorable thing Gagnon said was, "AHHHHHHHHHHH."

Gagnon had just been tazed by a fellow officer.

It's part of training for DeKalb officers, because tasers are returning to the streets of DeKalb County.

Police are redeploying the devices to every officer ranked sergeant and below.

Tasers were removed from the police arsenal under the orders of former DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones.  The decision came after tasers came under fire because of incidents in other jurisdictions in which some suspects died after being tazed.

"There's always going to be controversy around anything," says DeKalb Police Officer Joseph White, who leads the police department's taser training.  "It's electricity.  Electricity is like snakes for a lot of people.  They're apprehensive about things they don't know about."

But, White says, ultimately, tasers do save lives and make things safer for both officer and suspect.

"It reduces officer injuries and it reduces injuries to the suspect," he says.  "That's why we redeployed it."

As part of the training, every officer who will be carrying a taser was tazed themselves, including Officer Gagnon.

"It was only for two seconds," he says.  "It could have kept going for five or more.  I can't imagine what that must be like."

the Why taze the officers?

"The theory behind that is that it is less likely to be used in a punitive measure," says Officer White.  "So they're not  going to be going out and just using it, because they know what it feels like.  They've been exposed to it."

Approximately 1000 tasers are being issued to DeKalb County police.  Under the old guidelines, only supervisors were given tasers.

NEW YORK (AP) Lou Dobbs says he doesn't feel like he was pushed out of CNN, the news organization where he worked for all but two years of its existence until last Wednesday.

``Not at all,'' he said in a weekend interview. ``I don't know if people will believe it, but we had a very amicable parting on the best of terms. I spent 29 years there building that company, and I wish everyone there nothing but the best, and they have reciprocated with me.''

He announced his resignation on ``Lou Dobbs Tonight,'' finished the newscast and walked out of CNN.

It's hard to know whether the abruptness or the lack of rancor surrounding the exit was more noteworthy. Dobbs' outspokenness had made him a political target so much so that there were parties celebrating the departure over the weekend and an uncomfortable contradiction to what CNN says it wants to be.

Dobbs said he plans to take time deciding what he wants to do, beyond his daily radio show. He promised to reach out to groups who criticized him, most prominently because he advocated stern measures to halt illegal immigration. A petition campaign seeking his ouster took root in recent months after Dobbs gave attention on his show to questions about President Barack Obama's place of birth.

Dobbs spoke his mind freely on his radio show, unrelated to CNN, but tried at management's request for the past several months to do a straight television newscast. He and CNN President Jon Klein spoke frequently about the direction of the show.

Although the decision to leave was characterized as mutual, Dobbs said he approached Klein to say it wasn't working for him. There was no ``eureka'' moment, Dobbs said.

``What they do is their business and I tried to accommodate them as best I could, but I've said for many years now that neutrality is not part of my being,'' he said. ``I have strong views about a lot of issues that are important to the country and I think are important to my audience.''

CNN has tried to promote an unbiased approach to establish a middle ground between opinionated hosts on Fox News Channel and MSNBC. Dobbs was quickly replaced by John King, the straightforward political reporter who used to work for The Associated Press.

Dobbs said he will take weeks perhaps months to sift through ideas before deciding his next step.

The future could include journalism. He said his separation agreement didn't have a non-compete clause, something TV news organizations frequently use to keep people off the air for a while. Dobbs denied reports that he had met with Fox News chief Roger Ailes or had talked to anyone at Fox about a job.

He said he's eager to meet with some of the groups that have criticized him. Most prominent are Latino organizations that had contended his anti-illegal immigration stance was insulting and encouraged an atmosphere of prejudice.

``This has been an orchestrated campaign of both distortion and outright propaganda for the purpose of the open border and unconditional amnesty agenda,'' Dobbs said. ``That's politics. I understand that. But I'm going to reach out to everyone with whom I've had a disagreement and see if there's a way in which we can calmly and dispassionately discuss our differences and talk about solutions.''

Roberto Lovato, whose Presente.org group helped organize the anti-Dobbs petition effort, said Dobbs has called him a ``flea,'' a ``bozo'' and a ``nonentity'' on his radio show. He declined an opportunity to face off with Dobbs on his turf, the radio program, and said he wouldn't be on Dobbs' CNN show unless Klein also appeared. It didn't happen.

Still, if Dobbs wants to meet privately to talk, Lovato said he would.

``At the end of the day, we are human beings, all of us,'' he said.

Dobbs' outwardly congenial departure from CNN is in sharp contrast to his exile from 1999-2001. He feuded with then-CNN President Rick Kaplan, even making his displeasure with management known over the air, and returned after Kaplan left.

A determined effort not to burn bridges with an important news organization? Seeking rapprochement with former foes? It almost sounds political.

During his CNN announcement last week, an American flag graphic fluttered behind Dobbs' face. On his radio show the next day, Dobbs took calls from listeners who urged the New Jersey resident to run for the U.S. Senate, or even for president. (His producer cued up a recording of ``Hail to the Chief'' during those calls)

Dobbs didn't encourage such talk. He didn't discourage it, either.

The former Republican makes political independence a central theme of his radio show, which could be a skillful positioning during a time of intense partisanship. ``I've aligned myself with no group, no organization,'' he said. ``I am truly an independent. I carry no one's water. I'm aligned with no interest group, no organized political party, nor do I intend to be. I relish being an independent and having my freedom.''

A run for public office interests him, Dobbs said. It's one of several options he said he's considering.

``I know certain things that are immutable and one of them is that I'm going to be engaged in the public arena,'' he said.

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

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) A long punt return had put Matt Ryan in a good spot. The ball was at midfield, Carolina's defense was tiring and Atlanta seemed poised for a comeback victory.

It took just one play for the hopes to be dashed and the whispers of a sophomore slump to grow louder.

Ryan's badly overthrown pass was picked off by Richard Marshall, setting up the Panthers' clinching touchdown in their 28-19 over the Falcons on Sunday that left Ryan with one more interception (12) than his entire rookie season.

``There are going to be things that you have to learn along the way,'' said Ryan, who threw two more picks, leaving him with 10 in five games. ``It's a tough league.''

Jake Delhomme knows that, after the veteran's brutal stretch of 13 interceptions in the first six games. He made it three straight games without a turnover as Carolina unleashed a no-huddle offense that put the gunslinger in his element.

Delhomme threw two touchdown passes to Steve Smith, and Carolina (4-5) overcame the loss of left tackle Jordan Gross to a broken ankle to win for the fourth time in six games.

``Every time I was touching it, I was turning it over,'' Delhomme said of his horrible start to the season. ``It certainly helped not turning it over today.''

Ryan's miscues aren't all that's ailing the Falcons (5-4), who fell to 1-4 on the road. Michael Turner didn't return after spraining his right ankle in the second quarter when he already had 111 yards on nine carries.

Turner was expected to undergo tests in Atlanta on Monday. Jason Snelling, the only healthy running back left, finished with 61 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries in Turner's place.

With Ryan completing only 7 of 19 passes in the first half, the Panthers built a 21-10 halftime lead. Delhomme looked poised and the Falcons struggled to get the right defensive personnel on the field.

Delhomme, no longer the NFL leader in interceptions after Jay Cutler's struggles with Chicago, found Smith on a pair of 4-yard TDs. Much of Delhomme's best work over the years has come in the 2-minute offense, and he finished 15 of 24 for 195 yards.

``That is something that we practice a good bit,'' Delhomme said of the no-huddle. ``I'm extremely comfortable in that situation.''

The Panthers' offense wasn't as successful after halftime, allowing Ryan to show some of his rookie magic.

Ryan got the Falcons within 21-19 when he found tight end Justin Peelle for a 3-yard TD on fourth-and-1. The 2-point conversion attempt with 13:44 left failed when Chris Gamble tackled Snelling on a swing pass.

Ryan later converted a third-and-11 from his own 3 with a 13-yard pass to Tony Gonzalez. But the drive stalled and Jason Elam hesitated twice before pulling the short field-goal attempt with 6:35 left.

``My timing was kind of a mess from the start,'' Elam said. ``It's me. I need to take the blame.''

The Panthers went three-and-out and Eric Weems returned the ensuing punt to the Carolina 49. But Ryan threw into double coverage, setting up Jonathan Stewart's 45-yard touchdown run with 2:07 left.

Stewart rushed for 82 yards and two scores. DeAngelo Williams, questionable going into the game with a sore left knee, added 92 on the ground and was a big fan of the no-huddle.

``We work on it practice all the time. We have our 2-minute drill and have the opportunity to let Jake call his own plays,'' Williams said. ``I think he did a phenomenal job today.''

While the Panthers have little time to plan for the loss of Gross with a Thursday night game looming against Miami, the Falcons tried to brush off concerns about Ryan.

He was 22 of 41 for 224 yards and one touchdown, and the Falcons were unable to take advantage of Carolina's revamped defense after linebacker Thomas Davis' season-ending knee injury last week.

``I don't think there's anything technically wrong with him,'' receiver Michael Jenkins said of Ryan. ``We've just got to limit turnovers and execute better.''

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

(WSB Radio) -- The Atlanta office of the U.S. Secret Service is warning businesses and consumers across Georgia to be aware that counterfeiters are already up and running this holiday shopping season.

A study of criminal reports from previous years indicates that counterfeit artists like to take advantage of long lines at retail establishments and distracted store clerks to try to sneak phony money into circulation.

In a press release, Atlanta Field Office Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Gilbert said "Technology has forever changed the way we do business, making everyday financial transactions a prime target for fraud."  He added "The Secret Service, in conjunction with its many law enforcement partners continues to successfully combat these crimes by adapting our investigative methodologies, and educating the public."

Channel 2 Action News reports two metro Atlanta residents received counterfeit $20 dollar bills from an ATM in DeKalb County.  In two separate incidents, the man and woman received the fake bills and tried to use them for purchases.  No charges were filed against them and the counterfeit currency was confiscated.

SANFORD, N.C. -- A missing 5-year-old whose mother was accused of offering her for sex was found dead off a heavily wooded road in a rural area Monday, ending a weeklong search, police said.

Searchers found Shaniya Davis' body early Monday afternoon about 100 feet off a road southeast of Sanford, in central North Carolina, Fayetteville Police spokeswoman Theresa Chance said. She declined to comment on a cause of death or the condition of Shaniya's body.

"We've got a lot of people out at the scene right now that are torn up," Chance said. "Detectives have been running off adrenaline to find this little girl and to bring her home alive. You have a lot of people in shock right now."

Two people have been charged in her disappearance, one of them her mother, Antoinette Davis, 25. Police charged Davis with human trafficking and felony child abuse, saying Shaniya was offered for prostitution.

Davis was calm and quiet during a five-minute court appearance in Fayetteville on Monday afternoon. She provided one-word answers to the judge's questions and held her hands in front of her, without handcuffs. She requested a court-appointed attorney and did not enter a plea.

Her sister, Brenda Davis, 20, said outside that she does not believe the charges.

"I don't believe she could hurt her children," Brenda Davis said. The sisters were able to speak at the jail Sunday, and Brenda Davis recalled that her sibling said she would not do that to her daughter.

Authorities also charged Mario Andrette McNeill, 29, with kidnapping after they said surveillance footage from a Sanford hotel showed him carrying Shaniya there. Authorities said McNeill admitted taking the girl, though his attorney said he will plead not guilty.

Davis reported Shaniya missing Tuesday. Authorities first arrested a man named Clarence Coe, but charges against him were dropped a day later when investigators tracked down McNeill after receiving a tip from a hotel employee.

Additional information led investigators to a search site near Sanford on Sunday. They continued searching Monday, scouring miles of landscape, roads, ravines and fields on four-wheelers and with helicopters.

After Shaniya's body was found, a solemn group of searchers met quietly at a nearby fire station to ensure that all volunteers were accounted for.

"We were hoping that someone could carry her home," said Syd Severe, 42, who came from Raleigh to help with the search. "It's just sick."

A cluster of emergency vehicles and law enforcement personnel gathered where Shaniya's body was found, about a quarter mile from N.C. Highway 87. Authorities blocked access to the road, a rural area popular with hunters that is less than a mile from a large lakeside community.

Shaniya's father, Bradley Lockhart, said he raised his daughter for several years but last month decided to let her stay with her mother. He had pleaded for her safe return.

"I should've never let her go over there," he told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Before Shaniya's body was found, he said on CBS's "The Early Show" Monday that he remained hopeful someone would bring his daughter somewhere safe, such as a police station or hospital.

"They can drop her off at Walmart, I don't care," he said.

A man who answered the phone at the Lockhart home Monday afternoon declined to comment.

___

Associated Press Writers Mike Baker in Raleigh and Martha Waggoner in Fayetteville contributed to this report. 

Copyright 2009, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) Georgia Tech's players slapped a few high-fives with the fans who stuck around an emptying stadium. In one end zone, a banner was unfurled to read: ``Tampa Bound.''

After clinching the ACC Coastal Division, they allowed themselves to savor the moment for, well, a moment.

But these No. 7 Yellow Jackets hope some bigger things await like their first outright ACC championship since 1990.

``Those guys have worked really hard, and a lot of people have doubted them along the way especially early and they've just been resilient and they kept playing,'' Tech coach Paul Johnson said. ``Lord knows we can play a lot better, and we need to, but I'll give them credit: They find a way to win.''

That really wasn't all that difficult to do against a Duke team that, while improved, still has a long way to go.

The Yellow Jackets scored on five of six possessions to overcome an early 10-point deficit and rout the Blue Devils 49-10. That gave Georgia Tech (10-1, 7-1), winner of eight straight, its best record through 11 games since that '90 team started 10-0-1 and claimed the national championship in the coaches' poll.

After a week off, Tech faces rival Georgia before heading to Tampa, Fla., for the Atlantic Coast Conference's title game against either No. 18 Clemson or Boston College. The Tigers will clinch the Atlantic Division with a win against Virginia or a BC loss to North Carolina or Maryland.

``Now we know the biggest game of the year is next,'' Johnson said.

Followed by a bigger one, and after that, perhaps the program's biggest in decades. The Yellow Jackets haven't played in one of the four BCS-caliber bowls since the 1966 team reached the Orange Bowl, the January prize that awaits the ACC title-game winner.

They made it this far three years ago but lost to Wake Forest in the league championship, finished 7-6 in Chan Gailey's final season and hired Johnson. He went 9-4 in his first year and shared the Coastal title with Virginia Tech but lost out on a tiebreaker.

``After what happened last year, we put that in our mind that we weren't going to settle for anything,'' reigning ACC player of the year Jonathan Dwyer said. ``What we did last year was special, somewhat, but we knew we could do better. ... All this work is going to pay off for us in the long run.''

It already is. In Year 2 of Johnson's option-oriented system, the Yellow Jackets rank No. 2 nationally in yards rushing and 11th in total offense, averaging 314 yards on the ground and nearly 450 overall.

The college football world may not have expected this level of success, but Johnson hasn't been surprised.

``I couldn't in good conscience go into a game where I don't think I have a chance to win every game,'' Johnson said. ``You go in thinking that you're going to win every game, and the thing that these guys have done is, they bought in and they worked hard. Sometimes, I get after them I got in a couple of their faces (Saturday), even with the score the way it was, and they have learned to accept that and go on. Other kids might not, but my hat's off to them. They worked hard and they earned it.''

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

(WSB Radio)  80 miles southwest of Atlanta, along Interstate 85, near the border with Alabama, a resurgence is underway.  A resurgence of jobs and of hope.

West Point, Georgia, was once known around the world for its textile industry.  People who drive into Alabama along I-85 can still see the West Point-Stevens plant, but it still vacant.  The textile industry abandoned West Point years ago.  When the  manufacturing jobs vanished, West Point almost disappeared, as well.

Then came Kia.

"Did we ever dream that it would be this big?  No.  There's no way that you can," says Drew Ferguson IV, the mayor of West Point.

He remembers a time when the city was in despair and on the verge of ruin.

"We lost our manufacturing backbone when the textile industry went overseas," he says.

Aileen Love, another West Point resident, say the lost of that industry was devastating to the area.

"Every textile mill close, and moved to Mexico or out of the country somewhere," she says.  "And we had all of these people out of a job."

The downtown area turned into a ghost town.  Homes were abandoned, then left to deteriorate.  And West Point's young people, the future of the city, started moving away, looking for opportunities that their city could no longer offer.

Then the miracle occurred and Kia chose to build their new assembly plant in West Point.  That meant jobs for the city of 3500.  Lots and lots of jobs.

"The first round of hiring has been completed at Kia itself," says Ferguson.  "They have hired their first 1200 hourly workers.  They have begun interviewing for their next 1200.  So, on the first line, they will have approximately 2500 workers in place."

Then there are the companies that will supply the Kia plant.

"The suppliers will add approximately 7500 more jobs," the mayor says.  "So you're close to somewhere between 9000 and 10,000 manufacturing jobs that have either been created or will be created between now and 2012."

And the job creation doesn't stop there.  Ferguson says the multiplier jobs will provide even more of an economic boost to the city.

"Those are the businesses and the jobs that are needed to support those manufacturing jobs," he says.  "That number is close to 20,000 and we think that's a conservative number."

Overall, it's estimated the Kia plant will have an economic impact on the area of about $6.5 billion by 2012.

But, while Kia has created jobs and cash, it's also restored hope to a city that was badly in need of something to look forward to.

"The most important thing that it does, besides a paycheck, is it gives people in this area a sense of worth," Ferguson says. 

Others see a future that didn't seem possible not long ago.

"The people around here see the vision for the future," says Eddie Striblin, owner of the Downtown Diner, in West Point.  "That's the difference.  We have the hope.  You've got to have faith, you've got to have hope.  And everything that we see is just simply heading that way."

The downtown, which was once vacant, is booming again, as businesses have come back, hoping to cash in on all the new jobs, and paychecks, from Kia.

"You ride by here now and you see lights on in these stores instead of lights closed," says Striblin, who remembers when the sight of a car in downtown West Point was rare.  "Now you look out there and the town is full and people are looking for places to park."

The Kia plant has brought in some businesses that you might not expect to see in West Point.  Some have surprised even Mayor Ferguson.

"Probably the most interesting is a very good sushi restaurant in downtown West Point, which is something I never thought I'd see," he says.  As you drive into West Point from I-85, you also see Youngs Gardens, another Asian restaurant, and the Korean BBQ.  A Kia was parked in its lot and its four occupants inside the restaurant having lunch.

Kia has also brought higher education to West Point, as Columbus State University, looking to cash in on the influx of new residents, flush with cash, has opened a satellite campus in town. 

The decision by Columbus State to open in West Point reflects on the future of the city.  The younger residents who moved away when the mills closed are returning, and Kia is also bringing in a new generation of young talent.  That, says Ferguson, bodes well for his city.

"If you don't have really good, talented people moving into the area, who are willing to continually move the community forward, that's when you begin to see neighborhoods decline and then, ultimately, entire cities decline," he says.

Striblin, who watched the exodus of young talent out of West Point, has now seen that trend reverse.

"There are people, not only what I call strangers from out of town who are hearing about our area, but people who have moved off in the past who are moving back into town," he says.  "And that's great."

"The future is so bright for the community," Mayor Ferguson says.  "And it's not just about the economic impact, but it is, truly, about growing a healthy community."

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) Georgia will be without Bacarri Rambo and A.J. Green when it plays Kentucky this week.

Coach Mark Richt had encouraging news on Sunday regarding Rambo, the safety who was knocked unconscious on his game-saving hit late in Georgia's 31-24 win over Auburn on Saturday night. The win made Georgia (6-4) bowl-eligible.

Richt says Rambo ``has recovered extremely well'' and has no headache or neck pain after suffering a concussion. There were immediate concerns Rambo, who was taken off the field on a cart, suffered other injuries.

Richt says Green, Georgia's leading receiver, suffered a separation in his left shoulder but should not require surgery. Richt says Green's status is uncertain after this week.

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

ATLANTA (AP) An analysis suggests recipients of federal stimulus dollars have overstated the number of jobs created or saved in Georgia.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution analyzed several public records and concluded the jobs saved may have been overestimated by more than 1,500.

For example, several organizations that offer Head Start preschool programs and other services in Georgia reported retaining hundreds of jobs based on raises they gave their employees. In one such case, the Central Savannah River Area Economic Opportunity Authority in Augusta reported saving 317 jobs.

But the authority's fiscal officer, Chris Whitley, said that represents the number of Head Start workers who received 2.3 percent raises from the stimulus funds. Whitley said when he called federal officials for help figuring out the confusing formula, he was told to report the number of people who got the raise.

Some agencies who overstated jobs created their own formulas or listed jobs they expect to create but haven't yet. Others said they simply got it wrong.

Those include an Augusta agency that reported creating 68 jobs even though the work has not started yet, and a Head Start organization in LaGrange that reported 77 jobs based on employee raises.

The Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, reports on its Web site that 24,681 jobs have been created or saved so far in Georgia, and 640,329 nationwide.

The newspaper found the errors after downloading records from recovery.gov, examining those that reported the most jobs, and contacting recipients of the federal funds to verify their job numbers.

Federal agencies that award stimulus funds are required to review what recipients self-report before their information is posted, said Ed Pound, a spokesman for the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, which operates the Web site.

Officials acknowledge that they don't believe all of the job information is complete and correct. But they said they released it to the public to make the spending as transparent as possible. They have asked the public to point out any errors and help police the spending.

``Changes are certain to include both upward and downward revisions, but we expect that the net effect on the totals will be modest,'' said Elizabeth Oxhorn, a spokeswoman for the White House recovery office.

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

ATLANTA (AP) Highway safety authorities in Georgia are making a push to get motorists to buckle up in hopes of reducing the number of fatalities over the Thanksgiving travel period.

Starting Monday concentrated patrols will check for seat belt violators on interstates during the day and seat belt road checks will try to catch seat belt violators on state and county roads at night.

The Governor's Office of Highway Safety is launching its traditional Click It or Ticket effort at the same time as its Rural Roads seat belt crackdown this year.

During a 102-hour period over Thanksgiving last year, 19 people died and another 1,457 were injured on Georgia roads.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated

(WSB Radio) -- The Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office begins a program today that will allow specially trained deputies to enforce federal immigration law.

The department had to apply and was approved for the new program in July.  Nearly 20 deputies have spent the last four weeks in Charleston, S.C. in training by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

As known as 287 G, the program allows deputies to search the ICE database each time someone is taken into custody to determine if they're in the country legally. 

Gwinnett will join Cobb, Hall, and Whitfield counties which already participate.

The program has been championed by illegal immigration foes and decried by immigrant rights and civil liberties groups.

Sheriff Butch Conway plans to outline the county's role in the program at a press conference later today.

(WSB Radio) -- A new bug is causing a stink around north Georgia.

As from its name, the globular stink bug is a member of the stink bug family.

It likes to feed on kudzu, which normally would be a good thing in the South.  But it's a concern to the agricultural industry because it also likes to eat soybeans and peanuts, two important crops to Georgia.

"We don't want this bug even though it controls a pest we'd like to get rid of, kudzu," says WSB lawn and garden expert Walter Reeves.

He says the bug likely came over on a plant from Asia.  So far, it's long term implications to the region are unknown.

"We're just trying to figure out where it is and what damage, if any, it's doing... and how to control it," says Reeves.

The brown bug is about the size of pea and waddles when it walks, according to Reeves.

He says it likes to hibernate on the siding of houses but will do no damage to the building itself.  But if the bug if threatened, it will put off an odor.

VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) Police say they are interviewing what they describe as ``persons of interest'' in an outbreak of shooting at a Valdosta apartment complex that killed one person and left nine others wounded.

Valdosta police Capt. Bobbi McGraw says the wounded were taken to area hospitals, and that none of the wounds appear to be life-threatening. She says motives for the shootings are being explored but the gunfire appears to have started after a quarrel broke out in a crowd gathered outside the complex in the south Georgia city about 6 p.m. Sunday.

McGraw says the name of the person killed has not been released.

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

ATLANTA (AP) Nine NBA seasons have taught Jamal Crawford the value of not humiliating an opponent.

``We didn't want to embarrass anybody with a new coach and without their best player,'' Crawford said. ``They're going through a lot right now.''

Joe Johnson scored 26 points, Crawford added 21, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the New Orleans Hornets 121-98 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.

The Hornets were without Chris Paul, who stayed home after spraining his ankle from the night before. They have lost three straight and five of six.

Josh Smith had 17 points and 17 rebounds for Atlanta, which was coming off an 11-point win Friday in Boston.

Peja Stojakovic scored 25 points, but New Orleans fell to 0-2 under Jeff Bower, the general manager who became the coach this week after Byron Scott's firing.

Bower indicated that the Hornets will have a prognosis on Paul's condition by Monday, but the coach had no immediate update after the game on a timetable for New Orleans' best player.

Even with Paul healthy, however, Bower believes the Hornets are playing too poorly in their transition defense to start a long winning streak.

``Like I told the team at halftime, this is something that has to be fixed,'' Bower said. ``We were effective with that in this game in stretches, but not long enough. We're getting it in bursts but not enough to beat a team of this caliber.''

Stojakovic hit a straightaway 3-pointer to cut the lead to six with 8:44 remaining, but the Hawks went on a 15-0 run, ending with Mike Bibby's 3 with 4:24 remaining, to make it 110-89.

``We were getting stops,'' Johnson said. ``Our defense was getting the rebounds, and we were getting wide-open shots.''

Crawford, acquired in an offseason trade with Golden State, likes his role as a sixth man in Atlanta. He started all 65 games last season, splitting time with the Warriors and New York Knicks. In 607 career games, Crawford has made 393 starts.

``Honestly, now I'd rather come off the bench,'' Crawford said. ``I like to see how the flow of the game is going.''

Atlanta improved to 8-2 overall, 4-0 at home.

Johnson's putback with 7:41 remaining put the Hawks ahead 98-89. Their lead stayed in double figures after Bibby's jumper on the next possession.

Bibby finished with 17 points and five assists.

Bobby Brown scored 13 for the Hornets, but was just 1 for 6 on 3-point attempts. David West and Emeka Okafor each had 12 rebounds and eight points.

Darren Collison started in Paul's spot, finishing with 10 points and four assists.

Stojakovic doesn't know how the Hornets will fare without Paul.

``It's different because our game was based on him creating for everybody, and now we just have to all step it up, move the ball, just kind of play off each other,'' Stojakovic said. ``I think maybe in the long run it will help us to get our team going, but right now we have to deal with things like that. We have to stay in there and fight.''

For the Hawks, times are different. After averaging 59 losses in its first three seasons under Mike Woodson, Atlanta is aiming for its third straight playoff appearance with a starting lineup of Johnson, Bibby, Al Horford, Smith and Marvin Williams.

``They're growing up,'' Woodson said of his players. ``We have size this year. With Zaza (Pachulia) and Joe (Smith) coming off the bench, we have a lot of size. We're not scarce this year for big guys.''

NOTES: The Hornets fell to 0-6 on the road, 0-7 overall, when entering the third quarter with a deficit. ... Atlanta improved to 7-0 when leading as they begin the fourth.

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

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) While some in Atlanta are concerned about Matt Ryan's recent flurry of interceptions, he's nowhere close to matching the passing woes in Carolina.

Through eight games, the Panthers have one touchdown catch by a wide receiver. Yes, Steve Smith is still on the roster.

``I am totally shocked,'' fellow receiver Muhsin Muhammad said. ``It's amazing. It's befuddling to me. I don't understand it.''

With the Falcons (5-3) and Panthers (3-5) bringing two of the league's elite running backs in Michael Turner and DeAngelo Williams into Sunday's NFC South contest, the disparities in the passing game have helped define their opposite seasons.

Sure, Ryan has thrown eight interceptions in the past four games, but his six touchdowns in that span are one more than Carolina's Jake Delhomme has mustered all season. With Ryan steady enough and Turner on a two-game tear, the Falcons remain in playoff position in the NFC after last week's victory over Washington.

``Certainly I would like to play a little bit better, but it's a long season and you're going to have some ups and downs,'' said Ryan, who threw a career-high three TDs in a Week 2 win over the Panthers. ``I just have to grind it out, get through it, and prepare well during the week. All in all, I think we're doing well.''

That's not the case in Carolina, where Delhomme threw 13 interceptions in the first six games, barely kept his job, then hasn't thrown a pick in two weeks. But in the past two games the Panthers have looked more like a single wing team, running the ball 83 times to only 45 passes.

They upset Arizona without completing a pass in the second half. Delhomme then threw only five first-half passes against New Orleans last week as Carolina built a 17-3 lead. When the Saints rallied and Delhomme was forced to throw, the Panthers managed only three points in the second half in a 30-20 loss.

It left Carolina, the defending division champ, with one more loss than all of last season.

``We have to almost throw caution to the wind a little bit and try not to play with as much caution,'' said Muhammad, expected to return Sunday after missing two games with a knee injury.

Four-time Pro Bowl receiver Steve Smith, who has caught Carolina's only TD pass by a receiver, is on pace for the fewest catches (68) and yards receiving (956) in a non-injury year since 2002. And the frustration is mounting.

After Smith caught a short pass in the flat last Sunday and was hit after going out of bounds by Saints safety Darren Sharper, Smith appeared to direct his anger not at Sharper, but at his coaches for the conservative play call.

``I'm a volatile guy, obviously,'' Smith said, sarcastically. ``So was I upset with multiple things.''

Asked what could be done to get him the ball more, Smith replied, ``I'm not dipping into that can of chili.''

The positive is that minus a couple key fumbles, Williams has overcome the eight-man defensive fronts to rush for 307 yards in the past two weeks.

The numbers, though, are short of what Turner has produced. After being held under 100 yards in four straight games, Turner rushed for 151 yards in a loss to the Saints and 166 yards and two scores against the Redskins.

Turner will test Carolina's improved run defense, which lost starting weakside linebacker Thomas Davis last week to a season-ending knee injury.

``When he can get his shoulders to stay north and south I think we're a much better running team,'' Falcons coach Mike Smith said. ``It was really good to see Mike get back going, running the ball effectively because at the core that is what we want to do.''

It should also help Ryan, who had one of his best games in his two pro seasons in the first meeting with Carolina, a 28-20 win where he completed 21 of 27 passes, including a career-best 13 straight at one point.

The numbers haven't been as good of late. He threw three-interceptions against the Saints, while left tackle Sam Baker (ankle) and receiver Brian Finneran (knee) are banged up. The Falcons are just 1-3 on the road.

``We've thought that Matt has done some really good things even though his numbers over the past three weeks have not been what we were accustomed to,'' Smith said.

Panthers coach John Fox has denied they've watered down the passing game to prevent more Delhomme turnovers. But the Panthers have made a habit of calling draw plays on third-and-long.

``Be it run, be it pass, we've just got to execute,'' Delhomme said. ``Whatever is called, do what you're supposed to do on that play.''

But with Landon Johnson, filling in for Davis, calling Sunday a must win to keep their playoff hopes alive, is it time for the Panthers to finally open up the passing game?

``If someone had told me by the eighth game that we would have a combined one touchdown by all of the receivers I probably would have put my whole house on it,'' Muhammad said. ``That's why I don't gamble.''

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

ATLANTA (AP) Atlanta's public transportation system conducted an emergency response training exercise that closed some roads and rerouted buses in the Lindbergh area.

MARTA conducted a ``full scale police exercise'' between 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 a.m. Sunday in the Lindbergh area. The drills were meant to prepare personnel for emergency incidents.

In a statement MARTA officials say participants in the annual drill include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Atlanta Police Department, Atlanta Fire Department and Decatur Fire Department.

MARTA has done similar drills since 2002.

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

ATLANTA (AP) An Atlanta man police believe is connected to at least two slayings in the southwest Atlanta neighborhood where he lives has waived his first court appearance.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that William Howard Davis remains jailed and did not appear Saturday in Fulton County Superior Court.

The next court date for the 67-year-old was not immediately set but will come after an indictment.

Davis was arrested Friday after police linked him to the deaths of Dennis McGuire in 2007 and Warren Williams in 2008. Police also say he may have been involved in the deaths of Alfred Glass in 1998 and Joseph Williamson in 2007.

Atlanta police homicide commander police Detective Lt. Keith Meadows has said Davis waived his right to an attorney before he was questioned.

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

WOODSTOCK, Ga. (AP) Authorities have busted an illegal gambling operation at a Cherokee County restaurant.

Investigators said they found several gaming machines and cash when they raided the Buffalo House restaurant in Woodstock Friday afternoon.

The bust came after a two-month investigation. During the investigation, undercover officers were paid in cash for credits earned on the gaming machines. Detectives say they got reports of pay outs at the restaurant as high as $20,000.

Authorities arrested restaurant owner 51-year-old Chang Chun Wu of Acworth. He faces charges of commercial gambling and keeping a gambling place.

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

ATLANTA (AP) The family of Jim Axel says the longtime WAGA-TV anchor has died of cancer.

WAGA-TV reported that Axel died Saturday at 75. He decided just over a week ago to forgo further chemotherapy that his doctor said wouldn't help. He died in hospice care in Florida.

One of his three sons, Jeff Axel, said ``It was time.'' His father fought a tenacious battle with lung cancer after being diagnosed on his 71st birthday.

Axel started with WAGA-TV in 1962 and retired from the station in 1996. He reported on a wide spectrum of stories as an anchor and in travels within the U.S. and overseas.

He was born in Grand Haven, Mich. and is survived by his wife Millie and sons Jeff, Bob and Jason.

Plans for a memorial have not been announced.

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

WASHINGTON (AP) Sarah Palin is embarking on a book tour. Tim Pawlenty is building a national political operation. Mitt Romney is weighing in on the recession.

They're all jockeying for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination even if they won't say so.

Make no mistake: At least a half-dozen Republicans are in the early stages of campaigning for the chance to challenge President Barack Obama in his expected re-election race.

Ultimately, some may decide against running. But, at this point, they're taking steps to position themselves for the GOP nomination fight and that means courting conservatives critical in primaries, proving they can take on a popular incumbent president and painting a vision for a wayward GOP.

And, of course, gauging their relative strength, visiting early primary states and refusing to rule out official bids.

``It's way too soon'' to talk 2012, former New York Gov. George Pataki demurred last week, sounding like a stream of other Republicans trekking through Iowa, while he spoke at a GOP fundraiser for the 2010 midterm election season.

This early, White House aspirants have the advantage of operating a bit outside the media glare. But Washington insiders do notice unforced errors. And while missteps may not hurt them with the public, flubs can hamper them in the long-term hunt for staff, fundraisers and endorsements by raising questions of readiness.

Pawlenty, for instance, caused a stir among insiders recently with a series of bobbles. In one case, the Minnesota governor seemed to suggest that moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, who sided with Democrats on Obama's health care reform in a Senate Finance Committee vote, shouldn't be part of the GOP. Pawlenty later made clear that she should.

For now, the field is wide open with 2008 GOP nominee John McCain on the sidelines after his loss to Obama. Republicans are struggling to figure out precisely what they want in their next leader and how to reshape a party facing big challenges following painful national election setbacks in 2006 and 2008.

Consider that Democrats won the White House and expanded their majorities in Congress in 2008 in a friendly political environment. It had turned so sour just one year later that Republicans booted Democrats from power in Virginia and New Jersey.

``The results made clear the American people don't like where the Democrats are trying to take our country,'' declared Haley Barbour, the Republican Governors Association chairman who will preside over a gathering of GOP governors in Texas next week.

Coming the same week as Palin's book tour, the gathering is certain to feed 2012 buzz for Barbour and Pawlenty, as well as other possible candidates if not this time than maybe next like Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Among others said to be flirting with a run are former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who ran in 2008. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has fueled speculation with a visit to Iowa, where he said: ``I want a role in where this party is going, where this country is going.'' Republicans like South Dakota Sen. John Thune and Indiana Rep. Mike Pence also are trying to raise their national profiles.

A year before 2012 campaigning begins in earnest, here's a look at the moves some are making:

Palin, the 2008 vice presidential nominee who resigned as governor of Alaska, is starting a national media tour to promote her book, ``Going Rogue.'' Eager to show her conservative credentials, she recently endorsed grassroots-backed conservative Doug Hoffman over the GOP-supported candidate in an upstate New York congressional race. Hoffman lost but an undeterred Palin told conservative activists, ``The cause goes on.''

Pawlenty, who was on McCain's vice presidential short list, decided not to run for a third term as governor. He's been methodically building an expansive political operation with Washington-based campaign veterans while working to raise his national profile and taking on Obama often. Pawlenty is a conservative, but he's tacked even further right recently, including backing Hoffman.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who lost to McCain, has kept a lower profile than others. He's carefully chosen when to insert himself into national politics. The former businessman has reappeared at key times to challenge Obama, primarily on economic policy. He's experienced the rigors of a national campaign, but previous charges of flip-flopping could haunt him.

Barbour, Mississippi's governor and a former national GOP chairman, ascended to the RGA chairmanship this summer around the time he visited Iowa and New Hampshire. He was credited with helping Republicans win in Virginia and New Jersey, and helping recruit a strong field of 2010 gubernatorial candidates. The question: Does a party with diversity issues want a white Southerner who is a former lobbyist as the party's face?

Gingrich, the former House speaker from Georgia known for leading the 1994 GOP takeover of Congress, has been traveling the country talking up Republican rebirth. He tested a stump-sounding speech in Kansas earlier this month, and has emerged as a critic of Obama's health care and economic policy. A leader among conservatives, Gingrich is a perennial flirt with the presidency. But he also carries baggage from his years as a lawmaker.

Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, has spent the past year raising his national profile with a Fox News talk show ``Huckabee'' and radio commentaries called the ``Huckabee Report.'' He's in the midst of a tour for his new book, ``A Simple Christmas.'' A longtime favorite of evangelicals who lifted him to victory in Iowa, this Southern Baptist preacher will be challenged to broaden the scope of his support to the rest of the GOP.

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

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) A classroom trailer behind a Lawrenceville elementary school has been destroyed by an early-morning fire.

Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services spokesman Capt. Tommy Rutledge said in a statement that firefighters responded at 3:24 a.m. Saturday to a report of smoke behind Cedar Hill Elementary School.

Firefighters had to force entry through a locked gate to get to the fire and then had to force entry into the trailer.

The fire completely destroyed the one-classroom trailer. Heat from the blaze caused moderate exterior damage to a second trailer. The main school building was unharmed.

The exact cause of the fire hasn't been determined, but investigators believe it started near a heating unit in the classroom. Foul play is not suspected.

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

ATLANTA (AP) Highway safety authorities in Georgia are making a push to get motorists to buckle up in hopes of reducing the number of fatalities over the Thanksgiving travel period.

Starting Monday concentrated patrols will check for seat belt violators on interstates during the day and seat belt road checks will try to catch seat belt violators on state and county roads at night.

The Governor's Office of Highway Safety is launching its traditional Click It or Ticket effort at the same time as its Rural Roads seat belt crackdown this year.

During a 102-hour period over Thanksgiving last year, 102 people died and another 1,457 were injured on Georgia roads.

On the Net:

www.gahighwaysafety.org

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

KIEL, Wis. (AP) Hundreds of people lining the main street of an Indiana town on Saturday fell solemnly silent as the white hearse passed. Mourners waited for hours outside a Wisconsin gymnasium to say goodbye to a soldier who once promised to take down Osama bin Laden.

And in Oklahoma, a newlywed grieved for her husband of nearly three months.

Across the country, many stood before flag-draped coffins during funeral services Saturday for several victims of the shooting massacre at Fort Hood, Texas. Family members, friends, fellow soldiers and strangers came to pay respects to those who died in the Nov. 5 killings.

In Plymouth, Ind., Sheila Ellabarger had placed two foot-high American flags in the grass where she watched the procession for U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Justin DeCrow. She said her children went to school with DeCrow and his wife his high school sweetheart and she knew others in his family.

``He was killed by a terrorist in my mind but he was still killed in the line of duty. We owe him a debt of gratitude, him and his family and the other soldiers. We owe them our lives, our freedom,'' Ellabarger said.

During services in Norman, Okla., images of Army Spc. Jason Dean Hunt and his beaming wife were shown on a screen. The recently married 22-year-old was described as a loving husband and family man as well as a soldier who left a legacy of selflessness and service.

``We may never find out the reason for what occurred on that fateful day at Fort Hood, Texas,'' said Ross Ridge, the deputy commanding general at Fort Sill, Okla. ``The military community are all grieving here today over the loss of this dedicated soldier.''

Hunt was among the 13 people who were killed at Fort Hood, where authorities allege Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire at the processing center. Hasan, 39, has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder in a military court.

Army investigators have said he is the only suspect in the case and could face additional charges. His attorney has said prosecutors have not yet told him whether they plan to seek the death penalty.

On the Texas post that the fallen soldiers once called home, officials continued with their plans for deployment.

The processing center, where troops who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening, has been up and running. Also the units that had soldiers who were either killed or wounded in the shooting are still set to go to Afghanistan in the coming months.

At the high school in Kiel, Wis. Saturday, people stood in line to get a final glimpse of Staff Sgt. Amy Krueger. She was what's called ``Army Proud.'' She was often seen in an Army hat or shirt and sported a tattoo that had a tattered American flag and read: ``All gave some. Some gave all. Sacrifice.''

Those words were painted on signs along the hallways that led to her former school's gymnasium, which was filled with people who remembered the 29-year-old as a determined, energetic young woman with a magnetic smile.

``It is that smile and that energy that keeps us going throughout this difficult time,'' her parents, Jeri Krueger and David Diem, said in a statement.

Their daughter joined the U.S. Army Reserves after the 2001 terrorist attacks and vowed to hunt down bin Laden. When her mother said she couldn't do it alone, the soldier told her: ``Watch me.''

In West Jordan, Utah, among those crowded into a Mormon chapel were Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Lt. Col. Lisa Olsen, Utah National Guard spokesman.

They joined the family and friends of Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka for the funeral honoring the 19-year-old.

Nemelka joined the Army just over a year ago and was to deploy in the coming months. Relatives say he was planning to ask his girlfriend to marry him in December.

Other funerals on Saturday included for Capt. John Gaffaney, 56, a psychiatric nurse who worked for San Diego County, Calif., and Pfc. Michael Pearson, 22, of Bolingbrook, Ill.

Pearson was a musician who liked to share his love of the guitar. During his service, a lone electric guitarist played a mournful rendition of ``The Star-Spangled Banner.''

Hours after the procession passed through the Indiana town, 84-year-old Pauline Baugman went for a stroll. She said DeCrow's death had left a pall of sadness over Plymouth.

``Everybody's kind of walking around with their head down today,'' she said. ``It's just so sad.''

Associated Press writers Rochelle Hines in Norman, Okla., Rick Callahan in Plymouth, Ind.; Dinesh Ramde in Milwaukee and Jennifer Dobner in West Jordan, Utah, contributed to this report.

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

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) A.J. Green sat out last week's game to recover from a bruised lung. He could be out a lot longer this time.

Georgia's star receiver was knocked out of Saturday night's 31-24 victory over Auburn with an injured left shoulder. He went down hard when tackled along the sideline on a 12-yard reception in the second quarter and headed to the locker room holding his left arm.

Doctors determined that he sprained the AC joint. He watched the second half from the sideline, his arm in a sling.

Coach Mark Richt said Green is out indefinitely and didn't sound hopeful about him making a quick return.

``We're bowl eligible now, so maybe he'll be able to play in a bowl,'' Richt said. ``I'm not sure if he'll make it back before that.''

Green came into the game leading the Southeastern Conference in catches and receiving yards per game. He has 47 receptions for 751 yards and six touchdowns.

With Green out, others stepped up big. Israel Troupe caught a 50-yard touchdown pass, the first score of his career. Tavarres King had a 47-yard reception that set up a TD. Orson Charles made a 34-yard reception. Georgia completed only nine passes.

``It was good to see some of the other guys make some plays for us,'' Richt said.

Troupe arrived at Georgia as a touted prospect but hasn't done much. Maybe this was the kind of breakout game he needed to turn things around.

``When someone goes down, you've got to step up,'' Troupe said. ``I feel good about actually getting out there and getting my chance.''

From across the locker room, King yelled, ``That's my money man. He's the one who made the big plays.''

Troupe just smiled.

TATE'S NEW NUMBER: Ben Tate dropped one of the 4s in his number to honor an injured teammate.

Tate, who normally wears No. 44, switched to 4 for the Georgia game the number that had been worn by safety Zac Etheridge, who is out for year after sustaining a serious neck injury against Mississippi two weeks ago.

Etheridge cracked his fifth vertebra and tore ligaments in his neck in a headfirst collision with teammate Antonio Coleman.

Despite the seriousness of the injury he'll have to wear a harness-like brace for three to four months Etheridge said he wants to play again, and doctors have said he should make a full recovery.

SHOWING SUPPORT: Georgia showed its support for injured baseball player Chance Veazey, wearing helmet decals of a baseball with the letter ``CV.''

Veazey, a freshman, was seriously injured Oct. 28 when his scooter collided with a car on campus. He underwent back surgery and is continuing his rehabilitation at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, best known for its work with spinal cord injuries.

Troupe picked a good night to score his first career touchdown. He and Veazey both attended Tift County High School.

Meanwhile, Auburn's band members wore black ribbons in honor of Sarah Anderson, a piccoloist who was killed in a car accident on Tuesday night.

EXTRA POINTS: Auburn's Demond Washington broke the school record with 202 yards on kickoff returns, including a 99-yard touchdown. He eclipsed the mark of 182 set by Tristan Davis last season vs. Arkansas. ... S Reshad Jones and CB Brandon Boykin had interceptions for Georgia. This was the first time since last year's victory over LSU 15 games ago that the Bulldogs made it through a contest without a turnover. ... Boykin also set a school record for most kickoff returns in a season with his 29th, breaking the mark he had shared with Gene Washington (1974) and Asher Allen (2007). ... LB Akeem Dent got the first start of the season after returning from a hamstring injury. Also, DE Justin Houston returned to the lineup after sitting out last week with an elbow injury. ... Former Georgia player Billy Payne was honored before the game for receiving the National Football Foundation's Distinguished American Award. Payne, who played three years for the Bulldogs in the late 1960s, guided Atlanta's winning bid for the 1996 Summer Olympics and now runs Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters.

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

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) Orwin Smith bobbled the kickoff, recovered just in time to find a seam and took off toward the goal line.

Just like that, No. 7 Georgia Tech was off to the races and headed straight for the ACC title game.

The Yellow Jackets clinched the Coastal Division and a spot in the league championship by routing Duke 49-10 on Saturday behind 110 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Jonathan Dwyer and another big day from Josh Nesbitt.

Smith's 83-yard kickoff return sparked slow-starting Georgia Tech (10-1, 7-1). Duke's Jordon Byas tracked him down from behind at the 2, but none of the Yellow Jackets' pursuers can catch them in the standings.

``We've been talking about elimination every week, and we finally got everybody eliminated on our side,'' coach Paul Johnson said. ``We're division champs (but) that wasn't the goal. We're still playing for the goal.''

Nesbitt accounted for three scores, finishing 6 of 10 for 195 yards with touchdown passes covering 32 yards to Stephen Hill and 75 yards to Demaryius Thomas and a 2-yard scoring run. Dwyer, the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, had TD runs of 3 and 13 yards in his fourth consecutive 100-yard game.

Georgia Tech scored on five of six possessions to break open the game, outgained Duke 519-281, rolled up 306 yards rushing and won its eighth straight while sewing up the Coastal for the second time in four years. Now, after a week off and a visit from instate rival Georgia, it's on to Tampa, Fla., to face the Atlantic champion with a trip to the Orange Bowl on the line.

As the final minutes ticked off the clock, some Tech fans near the goal line unfurled a banner that read, ``Tampa Bound.''

Thaddeus Lewis was 22 for 35 for 212 yards with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Re'quan Boyette and an interception in garbage time. He also broke Ben Bennett's 26-year-old school record with his 826th career completion.

But the Blue Devils had minus-1 yard rushing through three quarters and finished with 25. Duke (5-5, 3-3) has lost two straight, and must beat No. 12 Miami and Wake Forest to qualify for its first bowl since 1994.

``We have to get these guys together and rally,'' Lewis said. ``It's not over. We still have two games left, and we have a great opportunity ahead of us. We obviously have to have a short-term memory and keep moving.''

Yet for a while, the Blue Devils kept this one interesting, taking a 10-0 lead in the final minute of the first quarter before Smith's big special-teams play.

He muffed the ensuing kickoff at about the 15, started out toward the hash marks and cut back down the right sideline before he was dragged down deep in Duke territory.

``Once we saw the big play, we just kept following that, using that as momentum for us,'' Dwyer said.

Nesbitt powered in on the next play, Marcus Wright took an option pitch 16 yards for a TD and Dwyer scored from 3 yards out to make it 21-10. Nesbitt's scoring strike to Hill with 32 seconds left made it an 18-point game at the break and sent Duke to its 39th straight loss to a nationally ranked opponent.

That looked like much less of a certainty early on, because Lewis and the Blue Devils couldn't have been much better during their opening drive.

The fourth-year starter was 5 for 5 for 54 yards, and the 20-yard pass he dropped over Boyette's shoulder put Duke up 7-0 roughly 4 minutes in.

``It was evident the way we started the game (that) we were ready to play,'' Duke coach David Cutcliffe said.

Smith's game-changing return came moments after a special-teams foul-up gave the Blue Devils a short field and a 10-point lead. Will Snyderwine's 31-yard field goal came after the Yellow Jackets botched a punt snap but ultimately, that was one of Tech's final miscues of the day.

``It opened our eyes,'' Dwyer said, adding that the mentality was: ``We've got to play now. Just go out there and just play our game, not think too much, not try to do over-the-top things.''

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

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) Caleb King ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, Bacarri Rambo made a jarring tackle that likely saved the tying score and Georgia assured itself of bowl eligibility, beating Auburn 31-24 Saturday night for its fourth straight win in the Deep South's oldest rivalry.

The Bulldogs (6-4, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) looked like they were headed for a blowout loss when Auburn (7-4, 3-4) scored on its first two possessions for a 14-0 lead. But Georgia rallied, taking the lead for good on King's second TD run from 24 yards out with 6:52 remaining.

Auburn was driving to force overtime when Chris Todd lofted a pass over the middle for Mario Fannin, who was hauling it in at the goal line until Rambo flew out of nowhere to knock the ball away.

Rambo appeared to be knocked out and was carried off the field on a cart, the extent of his injuries not known, though he appeared to raise his arms for the crowd.

After a 10-minute delay while Rambo was carefully strapped to a board and lifted onto the cart, Todd was sacked by Cornelius Washington and a penalty left Auburn with a fourth-and-18 from the 30. Todd went for Fannin in the end zone, but the pass was knocked away.

Georgia, which came into the game with an abysmal minus-16 turnover ratio, picked off Todd twice, including an interception by Reshad Jones that set up the winning score. The Bulldogs didn't turn it over at all, the first time that's happened all season. It's also the first time they've had fewer turnovers in a game than their opponent.

Auburn marched down the field on its first two possessions. The home crowd showed its displeasure with an early smattering of boos, convinced that it was going to be another long night for Georgia's beleaguered defense.

But the defense came around, getting more pressure on Todd and sacking him three times. King put Georgia ahead early in the fourth on an 11-yard TD run, then Auburn tied it at 24 on Demond Washington's 99-yard return with the ensuing kickoff.

Todd was 20 of 28 for 238 yards, including a pair of touchdowns. But it wasn't enough to prevent Georgia's fourth straight win in the series for the first time since the 1940s.

Auburn's fast start was highlighted by Todd's 5-yard touchdown to his predecessor at quarterback, Kodi Burns, and a 31-yard scoring toss to Terrell Zachery. The Bulldogs stumbled through their first two offensive series and punted it away.

At that point, Auburn had 156 total yards, Georgia minus-2.

Game over? Hardly.

Early in the second quarter, Cox held up the Auburn secondary with a pump fake, and Israel Troupe blew by cornerback Neiko Thorpe to haul in a 50-yard touchdown pass.

It was Troupe's first catch of the season, and the third-year sophomore's first career TD.

The Bulldogs certainly needed some players to step up after being dealt a huge loss in the first half.,

A.J. Green, the SEC's leading receiver, sprained his left shoulder when tackled hard along the sideline on a 12-yard reception. He didn't return, watching the second half from the bench with his arm in a sling.

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

(WSB Radio) If you're headed for the big Georgia-Auburn game between the hedges this weekend, know that parking will be at a premium.

UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson tells WSB their grounds were already saturated prior to Tropical Storm Ida, so the latest rains only made things worse.

"We've taken a look at and there is just no way that some of our fields or some of the areas that we made available for parking are going to be available for this Saturday," said Williamson.

That should impact between 2500-3000 cars. Williamson says he hopes that people will carpool and bring fewer items to the game.

"A number of folks who like to pull things into the stadium to help them have a better tailgate - whether it be a trailer or a cooker - we'd ask those people maybe to think about not bringing those this week so we could have our surface parking for the cars that use the spaces for parking," said Williamson.

He says he hopes things will dry out enough in time for the following game against Kentucky in Athens.

11/11/09

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) Responsible bulldog owners have to wash their dog's face folds daily, wipe their bottoms and always be on the lookout for the skin and eye irritations that the breed is prone to.

``If somebody wants a dog that they can just leave in the backyard and play with from time to time then a bulldog is not for them,'' said Kelly Hollowell, a member of the Georgia English Bulldog Rescue, a network of bulldog-lovers who've taken on the task of caring for orphaned bulldogs the iconic mascot of the University of Georgia and especially its football team.

Although bulldogs are fairly pricey between $1,500 and $6,000 for a registered pup some folks don't do their research before bringing one home, and they're shocked at the work and commitment their new pet demands.

Consequently, dozens of pure-bred bulldogs and bulldog mixes end up in shelters across Georgia every year, said Ruth Ann Phillips, who organizes the foster homes that make up the bulldog rescue.

If they're young and healthy, these prized dogs get adopted in record time. But by the time a bulldog reaches a shelter, it oftentimes has been neglected or has medical issues that make it nearly unadoptable.

Hollowell, Phillips and a group of other individual bulldog rescuers in Georgia got together in January to form Georgia English Bulldog Rescue. While lots of individuals have run bulldog rescue operations, there hasn't been an organized effort focused on rescuing and rehabilitating unadoptable bulldogs.

Phillips' Barrow County home has become ground zero for these rehabilitation projects, with four previously mistreated bulldogs now calling her living room home.

These dogs spent months locked in crates and were severely malnourished or completely bald and scabby from mange when Phillips found them. Now, they've regrown their fur and put on weight, and spend their days lounging together.

``They're all a little quirky,'' Phillips said. ``It's like having little 2-year-olds running around all over the place. They're very sensitive, and they want your attention. If you're not paying them enough attention, they'll let you know.''

Phillips' current crew of convalescing dogs have been at her home for several months, but they are almost well enough to be adopted, she said.

``We've got so many dogs in that have taken a long time to heal, that we haven't had many for adoptions lately,'' she said.

So far, the rescue has gotten much more business than the founders anticipated. Not only have they been finding more dogs who need help in animal shelters all over Georgia and Alabama, but overwhelmed bulldog owners have started surrendering their dogs directly to the rescue group.

``The main problems we're seeing is with the economy,'' Phillips said. ``Like with other rescues, we've seen an increase in people who just can't care for their dogs right now. They've either had major life changes, and they've had to downsize, or they just can't handle the vet bills, because they didn't know what they were getting into.''

These surrendered bulldogs usually are healthy and pretty easy to adopt out, but the increased numbers still have put a strain on the rescue's few foster homes, she said. The rescue now has a waiting list of owners who want to surrender dogs to the rescue because there are not enough foster homes available, she said.

Information from: Athens Banner-Herald, http://www.onlineathens.com

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

ATLANTA (AP) A federal judge in Georgia has rejected a bid for a new trial by a man convicted of terrorism charges earlier this year.

U.S. District Judge William Duffey rejected Ehsanul Islam Sadequee's (EH'-suh-nool sah-DEE'-keez) motion for a new trial this week. The move sets the stage for a Dec. 14 sentencing date for Sadequee and co-defendant Syed Haris Ahmed.

Ahmed was found guilty in June of conspiring to support terrorist groups while Sadequee was convicted of sending videotapes of U.S. landmarks overseas and plotting to support jihad.

The two were originally scheduled to be sentenced in October, but the sentencing was postponed to give the court time to consider Sadequee's request for a new trial.

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

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) From doormat to decent team, Duke has come pretty far in two seasons under David Cutcliffe.

During that same time period, Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech may have made even more progress.

The seventh-ranked Yellow Jackets can wrap up the Coastal Division and a berth in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a win Saturday against a Blue Devils team in need of at least one monumental upset to qualify for its first bowl game in 15 years.

``Obviously, we don't want them to clinch, regardless if it's on our field,'' Duke tight end Brandon King said. ``We know that we need to do our part if we want to get there. So we're not going to go out there saying, 'We don't want them to clinch it on our field.' We want to go out there saying, 'We want to make a step forward so we can clinch, so we can get there.' It's more a proactive approach.''

That a mid-November game has deep significance for both Georgia Tech (9-1, 6-1) and Duke (5-4, 3-2) shows how much progress both programs have made since they fired their former coaches on the same day in November 2007 and made their current hires within a week of each other.

Johnson has guided the Yellow Jackets, winners of seven straight, to their highest national ranking in a decade. After last week's overtime escape against Wake Forest, they're one step from closing out the division race and clinching their second ACC title game appearance in four years.

``I'm nervous every week,'' Johnson said. ``The way I look at it, if we don't win last week (against Wake Forest), then we're not going to win anyway. That's just the way I look at it. I mean, could we lose the (Duke) game and still win? Maybe, but I haven't looked at it like that. Since we lost at Miami, I've told the guys every Monday this game is single-elimination. This is playoffs. And that's the way we've tried to focus.''

Duke was rolling for a while, too, winning three straight to vault into the bowl conversation before last week's 19-6 loss at rival North Carolina dropped the Blue Devils into a funk. Whatever momentum they had, Cutcliffe said, ``just came to a dead silence.''

Still, a season that began with a loss to Championship Subdivision member Richmond could end in a bowl game but only if Cutcliffe's team wins two of its final three against a schedule that includes the Yellow Jackets, No. 12 Miami and Wake Forest.

The Blue Devils will have to buck history to make that happen. They haven't beaten a ranked team since 1994 also the last time they played in the postseason and have lost 13 of 14 in the series against Georgia Tech.

The only win in that stretch was a surprising 41-17 rout in 2003, and Duke is still looking for its first points against a Johnson-coached Georgia Tech team. The Yellow Jackets held the Blue Devils to 132 total yards in a 27-0 victory last year, a game in which eventual ACC player of the year Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 159 yards.

His numbers aren't quite that gaudy this season though he's still averaging 109 yards on the ground partly because quarterback Josh Nesbitt has emerged as a formidable force both to throw and to rush. Nesbitt is averaging 204 total yards and is the ACC's fifth-leading rusher, the highest spot held by a non-running back.

Nesbitt's 3-yard touchdown run in overtime, one play after his gutsy first-down conversion on a fourth-and-1, gave Georgia Tech a dramatic victory and kept their big season on track. The Yellow Jackets haven't won an outright ACC title since 1990, when the coaches voted them the national champion.

``We got away with one,'' Johnson said. ``Now sometimes, if you're going to have a special season, you need that to happen. Let's make sure we don't do it again. Let's make sure we play our best game next week.''

AP Sports Writer Charles Odum in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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

TOKYO (AP) President Barack Obama declared Saturday that an era of American disengagement in the globe's fastest-growing region is over and warned that the U.S. and its Asian partners ``will not be cowed'' by North Korea's continued defiance over its nuclear weapons and other provocations.

Obama also said a robust China should be welcomed, not feared, as a powerful partner on urgent challenges. Addressing Americans' worries about the economic and security threat from China's rising might and Asians' skepticism about U.S leadership, the president said: ``We welcome China's efforts to play a greater role on the world stage, a role in which their growing economy is joined by growing responsibility.''

In a 40-minute speech, Obama offered incentives for North Korea to abandon the nuclear weapons it is believed to already have and the production program it continues in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions. He outlined a possible future of economic opportunity and greater global greater respect, saying, ``this respect cannot be earned through belligerence.''

``It should be clear where that path leads,'' Obama said. ``We will continue to send a clear message through our actions, and not just our words: North Korea's refusal to meet its international obligations will lead only to less security, not more.''

More broadly, the president's address to 1,500 prominent Japanese in a soaring downtown Tokyo concert hall was intended to showcase a United States that, under Obama's leadership, seeks deeper engagement in Asia. It was the fifth major foreign address of his 10-month presidency. He reached out to locals through several personal notes that delighted his audience, including calling himself ``America's first Pacific president,'' referring to his boyhood time in Indonesia and travels in Asia, and saluting the residents of Obama, Japan.

Acknowledging Asia's growing power and the perceptions here of America's parallel decline, Obama aides had said the chief aim for his eight-day trip through Asia wasn't so much to bring home specific ``deliverables'' but to convincingly press the point that the U.S. very much is in the Asian game.

Obama said Washington would work hard to strengthen alliances in Asia, such as with Japan and South Korea, build on newer ones with nations like China and Indonesia, and increase its participation with a burgeoning alphabet soup of Asian multilateral organizations. The involvement, the president said, is not just academic for Americans. It affects everyday, top-priority issues such as jobs, a cleaner environment and preventing dangerous weapons proliferation, he said.

``I want every American to know that we have a stake in the future of this region, because what happens here has a direct effect on our lives at home,'' Obama said. ``The fortunes of America and the Asia Pacific have become more closely linked than ever before.''

Obama also sounded free-trade notes sure to be welcome in Asia, where nations are rapidly seeking agreements with each other.

He said the U.S. would seek to join a trans-Pacific free-trade area, formed in 2006 between Chile, New Zealand, Singapore and Brunei. Vietnam and Australia are also said to be keen to join it.

The so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership is seen as a starting point for a possible regional free trade area comprising 21 countries of Asia-Pacific. Obama's announcement gives the proposal a boost.

On China, Obama called for harnessing China's clout to make progress on shared interests like weapons proliferation, a more solid global economy and climate agreements.

``In an interconnected world, power does not need to be a zero-sum game, and nations need not fear the success of another,'' he said.

He also said the United States ``will never waver in speaking up for the fundamental values that we hold dear.'' And yet, clearly hoping to avoid overly irritating Beijing, Obama named none of the many and serious specific human rights concerns with respect to China, including Tibet, where authorities have suppressed religious freedom and national aspirations. Except for the brutal regime in Myanmar, he spoke only generally about human rights and democratic values.

``Indigenous cultures and economic growth have not been stymied by respect for human rights, they have been strengthened by it,'' the president said. ``Supporting human rights provides lasting security that cannot be purchased in any other way.''

Obama's remarks came near the start of a trip presenting him with risks at every stop.

In Japan, the relationship with the U.S. is on newly delicate footing after a change in leadership in Tokyo that has the Japanese moving toward greater independence from Washington and closer ties with the rest of Asia. Saturday night, Obama arrives in Singapore, where he is to join a larger meeting that includes the leader of a brutal regime in Myanmar, also known as Burma. He is the first U.S. president to make such close contact.

Then he flies to China, where relations with the U.S. are bedeviled by Beijing's global ambitions, as well as numerous issues including trade, currency, Taiwan, human rights and climate change. Obama ends his trip on an easier note in South Korea, an increasingly reliable U.S. ally.

Obama made Tokyo the venue for his speech, a symbolically important choice that displayed respect for Japan's long history as the U.S.' chief ally in Asia and one of the region's foremost democracies.

After his speech, Obama had lunch with Japan's Emperor Akihito and his wife, Empress Michiko, bowing deeply as they welcomed him to the graceful grounds of the Imperial Palace in the heart of the bustling city.

Obama's speech won praise from several Asian analysts.

Shen Dingli, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, welcomed the remarks about not seeing China as a threat.

``He did not want to go to Asia to renew differences,'' Shen said. ``The differences are clear, everybody knows them. He wants to make clear we share some fundamental values.''

Some in Taiwan, which has had tense relations with China for decades, were less impressed.

``His stressing engagement with China will raise the question of what priority the U.S. gives to its security treaty with Japan,'' said Lo Chih-cheng, a political science professor at Taipei's Soochow University.

--

Associated Press writers Charles Hutzler, Vijay Joshi and Eric Talmadge contributed to this report.

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

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) From doormat to decent team, Duke has come pretty far in two seasons under David Cutcliffe.

During that same time period, Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech may have made even more progress.

The seventh-ranked Yellow Jackets can wrap up the Coastal Division and a berth in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a win Saturday against a Blue Devils team in need of at least one monumental upset to qualify for its first bowl game in 15 years.

``Obviously, we don't want them to clinch, regardless if it's on our field,'' Duke tight end Brandon King said. ``We know that we need to do our part if we want to get there. So we're not going to go out there saying, 'We don't want them to clinch it on our field.' We want to go out there saying, 'We want to make a step forward so we can clinch, so we can get there.' It's more a proactive approach.''

That a mid-November game has deep significance for both Georgia Tech (9-1, 6-1) and Duke (5-4, 3-2) shows how much progress both programs have made since they fired their former coaches on the same day in November 2007 and made their current hires within a week of each other.

Johnson has guided the Yellow Jackets, winners of seven straight, to their highest national ranking in a decade. After last week's overtime escape against Wake Forest, they're one step from closing out the division race and clinching their second ACC title game appearance in four years.

``I'm nervous every week,'' Johnson said. ``The way I look at it, if we don't win last week (against Wake Forest), then we're not going to win anyway. That's just the way I look at it. I mean, could we lose the (Duke) game and still win? Maybe, but I haven't looked at it like that. Since we lost at Miami, I've told the guys every Monday this game is single-elimination. This is playoffs. And that's the way we've tried to focus.''

Duke was rolling for a while, too, winning three straight to vault into the bowl conversation before last week's 19-6 loss at rival North Carolina dropped the Blue Devils into a funk. Whatever momentum they had, Cutcliffe said, ``just came to a dead silence.''

Still, a season that began with a loss to Championship Subdivision member Richmond could end in a bowl game but only if Cutcliffe's team wins two of its final three against a schedule that includes the Yellow Jackets, No. 12 Miami and Wake Forest.

The Blue Devils will have to buck history to make that happen. They haven't beaten a ranked team since 1994 also the last time they played in the postseason and have lost 13 of 14 in the series against Georgia Tech.

The only win in that stretch was a surprising 41-17 rout in 2003, and Duke is still looking for its first points against a Johnson-coached Georgia Tech team. The Yellow Jackets held the Blue Devils to 132 total yards in a 27-0 victory last year, a game in which eventual ACC player of the year Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 159 yards.

His numbers aren't quite that gaudy this season though he's still averaging 109 yards on the ground partly because quarterback Josh Nesbitt has emerged as a formidable force both to throw and to rush. Nesbitt is averaging 204 total yards and is the ACC's fifth-leading rusher, the highest spot held by a non-running back.

Nesbitt's 3-yard touchdown run in overtime, one play after his gutsy first-down conversion on a fourth-and-1, gave Georgia Tech a dramatic victory and kept their big season on track. The Yellow Jackets haven't won an outright ACC title since 1990, when the coaches voted them the national champion.

``We got away with one,'' Johnson said. ``Now sometimes, if you're going to have a special season, you need that to happen. Let's make sure we don't do it again. Let's make sure we play our best game next week.''

AP Sports Writer Charles Odum in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) The Auburn Tigers still remember how Georgia, clad in those strange black jerseys, yukked it up on the sideline and a turned a game that had been close most of the night into a rout.

``That's always in the back of your minds,'' linebacker Craig Stevens said.

Auburn has been pumping up the Soulja Boy in its locker room this week, making sure no one forgets how bad they felt on their last trip to Athens two years ago, watching the Bulldogs pull away for a 45-20 victory.

``We've still got that bad taste in our mouth and we really want our revenge,'' defensive back Walt McFadden said, looking ahead to Saturday night's game against the Bulldogs.

The Deep South's oldest rivalry has been filled with all sorts of quirky games, and that 2007 contest between the hedges was no exception. Georgia warmed up in its normal red jerseys, they changed into black just before the opening kickoff. Early on, Auburn withstood whatever emotional edge the Bulldogs gained from their wardrobe change, but the home team pulled away in the second half.

Rubbing salt in the wound, Georgia's players began dancing on the sideline between the third and fourth quarters when ``Crank That (Soulja Boy)'' blared over the speakers.

Even if they Tigers wanted to get that song out of their heads, they can't this week.

``They've been playing a lot of Soulja Boy in our locker room,'' McFadden said. ``This is a whole different team. We want to win. We're not pointing fingers. We're not giving up. We're just going to keep it all on the field.''

Indeed, the Tigers (7-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) have turned things around in their first season under coach Gene Chizik, already locking up a bowl trip while assembling one of the SEC's most potent offenses. The Tigers are averaging 35 points and 450 yards per game, numbers that must be a little troubling for a Georgia team that's struggled to stop top opponents.

The Bulldogs (5-4, 3-3) rank 10th in the SEC and 71st nationally in points allowed, and that number is skewed by last week's shutout against lower-division Tennessee Tech. The more telling stat: Georgia has surrendered at least 37 points in four games, really turning up the heat on embattled defensive coordinator Willie Martinez.

Auburn, led by quarterback Chris Todd (17 touchdowns, three interceptions) and running back Ben Tate (1,142 yards, eight TDs), certainly has the potential to hang another big number on the Dogs.

``It is a unique system,'' Georgia coach Mark Richt said. ``It's not one that you could just flip on the film and say we are going to do exactly what we did last week. You have to get a good, strong plan and get the guys as many reps as you can because they are into creating chaos for you. That's what they want to do they want to create confusion and bloody your nose in the meantime.''

Auburn's defense? Not so good. The Tigers are last in the SEC in points allowed and next-to-last in total defense, suggesting it will be another high-scoring shootout, like the game two years ago.

While this has traditionally been one of the SEC's pivotal late-season contests, the stakes are considerably lower this time around.

The division races are over. Auburn is trying to extend a modest two-game winning streak and build some momentum heading into the game it really wants: the regular-season finale against its undefeated rival Alabama. Georgia's most pressing concern is making sure it's bowl eligible, needing at least one win in the last three games to lock up a 13th straight holiday trip.

``The rivalry is still there,'' Bulldogs linebacker Rennie Curran said. ``When we hit that field, there's going to be a lot of emotion, and it is going to be a huge game for both of us. If we win this game we become bowl eligible, and if they win that's another win in their column to where they can go to an even better bowl game. A lot is riding on this game.''

Georgia has won three straight against the Tigers, including last year's ugly 17-13 victory over an Auburn team playing out a disappointing season under ex-coach-to-be Tommy Tuberville.

The Bulldogs are going for their first four-game winning streak in the series since the 1940s.

``I haven't beaten Georgia since I got here,'' Stevens said. ``I haven't experienced that and I feel like a lot of players don't want to leave here without having experienced that.''

The Bulldogs don't want to feel the sting of another loss. They are trying to avoid their first five-loss season since 1996.

``There is so much riding on this game,'' Curran said. ``It is a game that usually results in a lot of good and bad memories for both teams. I remember playing them my freshman year when we had the blackout game, and that was my 19th birthday, so there are a lot of great memories to be made in this game.''

Of course, that depends on which side of the field you're on.

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

ATLANTA (WSB Radio/AP) Atlanta police said Friday they have arrested and are questioning a man believed to be connected to at least two slayings in the southwest Atlanta neighborhood where he lives.

Homicide commander police Detective Lt. Keith Meadows said William Howard Davis, 67, was expected to be formally charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Dennis McGuire and Warren Williams. Meadows said charges could be forthcoming in at least one other killing.

Authorities said the suspected serial killer seemed to target middle-aged working class men. Three of the four victims were shot in the chest and eye. Police said none were robbed and each victim was killed outside his home.

The first killing was in 1998, when 56-year-old contractor Alfred Glass was shot while working in his garage. Davis could soon be charged in the Glass case, Meadows said.

Investigators have connected two other slayings the 2007 killing of McGuire and the 2008 killing of Williams to the same gun.

Atlanta Police Detective Vincent Velazquez said authorities are investigating whether a fourth victim, Joseph Williamson, may have also been killed by the same person in 2007.

The unsolved crimes have long worried neighborhood residents. Retirees and families live in a cluster of ranch and split-level homes along a quiet wooded street.

``You don't know what's going on, you don't know who did it, and you can't find anybody,'' said Betty Williams, 70, who has lived in the neighborhood for 17 years. ``Everybody's going on about their normal lives, but they're still concerned.''

Residents recall being stunned at the Glass killing. He was shot twice while his wife and the couple's grandson were watching television inside the house.

Nine years later, McGuire, 58, was killed as he stood in his backyard waiting to give his dog a bowl of water. Williamson's body was found the same year near a vacant house where he was working, after police say he was chased to a neighbor's yard by an assailant.

Warren Williams' body was found in 2008 roughly a mile from the neighborhood.

Worried about the violence, residents are setting their alarm systems and staying vigilant, and some have renewed a call for Atlanta police to turn a vacant CVS pharmacy down the street into a precinct.

``I don't think anyone is outright frightened, but this is pretty serious,'' said Julius Alexander, a 72-year-old retiree who spends his spare time as a flight instructor. ``It's a nice community, but nobody's immune from violence.''

Meadows said Davis waived his right to an attorney before he was questioned. A home telephone listing for Davis could not be found.

Associated Press writer Errin Haines contributed to this report.

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

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. (AP) Army leaders are commending a Georgia native for acting heroically by helping get people out of harm's way at Fort Hood even though he had been shot twice.

Private First Class James Armstrong was among the soldiers wounded during the Nov. 5 shooting at Fort Hood that left 13 dead and 30 wounded.

The Courier Herald reported on the Army's comments and a candlelight vigil that was held in Armstrong's honor over the weekend.

His wife, Roxanne, spoke with The Baldwin Bulletin Tuesday and said her husband is recovering well and was released from the hospital the day after the shooting.

Armstrong is a mental health specialist with the 1908th Medical Detachment, Combat Stress Control and was training and processing at Fort Hood for deployment with his unit.

He graduated in 2001 from Baldwin County High School in Milledgeville.

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

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) Mark Fox didn't want the focus to be on him during his first game at Georgia.

He wasn't even mentioned during the pregame introductions.

``I don't need to be introduced,'' Fox said. ``This is about the players. It's not about me.''

Those players came through Friday night, giving Fox a win in his debut as Georgia coach. Trey Thompkins scored a career-high 25 points, Ricky McPhee hit two big shots and the Bulldogs pulled out a 67-59 win over New Orleans.

``To be the first game with this group, I'm glad we had a closely contested game,'' said Fox, who kept a practice from his previous job at Nevada of declining to be introduced along with the starting lineup. ``We need experiences like that. I'm very pleased that the kids played well in the last 4 minutes of the game.''

Thompkins, who'll be counted on to carry a team that isn't expected to do much in Fox's first season, lived up to the billing in the new triangle offense by hitting 7-of-11 shots, including three from 3-point range, to beat his previous best of 23 points against Mississippi Valley State as a freshman. The sophomore also led the Bulldogs with 12 rebounds.

``This is the type of system where the (strong forward) has to do a lot of stuff,'' Thompkins said. ``I try to do everything they need me to do. If I need to play on the perimeter, I will. If I need to play inside, I will. If I need to play on the block, I will.''

McPhee came through down the stretch, swishing a 3-pointer with 2:19 remaining and following up with a driving basket that helped the Bulldogs pull away. But he finished with only 6 points, and Jeremy Price with 12 was the only other Georgia player in double figures.

Fox clearly must develop more offensive weapons to keep better opponents from stifling Thompkins with double teams.

``Trey needs some help,'' the coach said. ``We need some other people who can consistently score. It may be by committee. We're not as offensively gifted as some teams. We've got to be diligent as a team. We're going to need more scoring punch if we're going to become a good team.''

New Orleans, which announced just two days before the opener that it's studying the possibility of dropping from NCAA Division I to Division III, was led by Charles Carmouche with 20 points.

The Privateers also featured former Georgia guard Billy Humphrey, who was kicked off the team by previous coach Dennis Felton for repeated violations of team rules. Humphrey sat out last season, had arthroscopic knee surgery two weeks ago and was admittedly a bit rusty in his return to Athens, though he did manage 11 points.

``There's a lot of memories here,'' said Humphrey, who was booed by the Georgia students every time he touched the ball but had dozens of family and friends in the stands cheering him on. ``I've got to get back my rhythm, get my confidence back up.''

Jaroslav Tyrna scored 16 points for the Privateers, who couldn't overcome 38 percent shooting and a 41-27 rebounding deficit. Chris Barnes pulled down 11 rebounds for Georgia, while no one from the visiting team had more than seven.

The 40-year-old Fox came to Georgia after five years at Nevada, where he won at least 21 games every season and guided the team to three NCAA tournament three times.

He took over a program that has seemingly been in a state of perpetual rebuilding since Jim Harrick left in disgrace after the 2003 season. Felton managed only one NCAA appearance, and even that was only because of a stunning run through the Southeastern Conference tournament with a last-place team in 2008.

Felton was fired midway through last season and Georgia limped home at 12-20 under an interim coach.

Fox's debut was hardly a masterpiece but the Bulldogs bounced back after falling behind 43-38 in the opening minutes of the second half. Georgia went ahead for good, 46-45, on Drazen Zlovaric's jumper with 11 minutes remaining.

The teams went nearly 3.5 minutes without scoring before New Orleans closed to 53-33 on Carmouche's free throw with 2:46 left. Then McPhee made his two big shots, and the Bulldogs clinched it by hitting 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute.

Humphrey, a senior, said his new team isn't worrying about the direction of its athletic program.

``There's just trying to figure some things out,'' he said. ``It's not going to affect us. It's just words.''

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

Friday's Scores
By The Associated Press
PREP FOOTBALL

Class AAAAA
First Round

Brookwood 20, McEachern 10

Camden County 43, Newton 19

Colquitt County 10, Westlake 0

Grayson 21, Marietta 14

Lassiter 62, North Forsyth 37

Lowndes 52, East Coweta 14

Newnan 28, Valdosta 9

North Gwinnett 52, Centennial 21

Northside-Warner Robins 35, Chapel Hill 14

Peachtree Ridge 14, Kell 0

Roswell 30, Collins Hill 27

South Gwinnett 31, Etowah 28

Stephenson 44, Bradwell Institute 0

Union Grove 47, Windsor Forest 20

Woodstock 24, Dacula 7

Class AAAA
First Round

Apalachee 27, Starr's Mill 24

Brunswick 16, Hephzibah 6

Clarke Central 31, Mays 28

Griffin 34, Harris County 7

Hiram 28, Chamblee 20

Lakeside-Evans 16, Statesboro 0

Marist 28, Sprayberry 14

North Clayton 19, Bainbridge 7

Richmond Academy 27, Glynn Academy 21

Rockdale County 41, Banneker 18

Sandy Creek 37, Loganville 19

Southwest DeKalb 40, Northwest Whitfield 3

Thomas County Central 15, Alcovy 8

Tucker 35, Dalton 13

Ware County 18, Evans 14

Westside-Macon 33, Mount Zion 7

Class AAA
First Round

Baldwin 40, Northside-Columbus 7

Cairo 42, Woodland Stockbridge 3

Carrollton 31, Creekview 14

Carver-Columbus 28, Burke County 21

Dunwoody 26, Elbert County 14

Eastside 31, Towers 13

Flowery Branch 17, Ridgeland 14

Gainesville 42, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 0

Grady 28, Hart County 21

Jackson 14, Monroe 7

North Hall 39, Ringgold 21

Peach County 45, Spalding 7

St. Pius X 34, Franklin County 0

Washington County 28, Troup County 21

Woodward Academy 34, Worth County 0

Class AA
First Round

Appling County 27, Vidalia 20

Brooks County 35, Putnam County 12

Buford 24, Pepperell 0

Calhoun 42, Avondale 14

Callaway 47, Riverside Military Academy 7

Charlton County 30, Dublin 8

Cook 28, Northeast-Macon 14

East Jackson 27, Manchester 14

Fitzgerald 42, Greene County 21

Jefferson 21, Heard County 13

Jefferson County 33, Tatnall County 14

Lovett 45, Chattooga 7

North Oconee 34, Lamar County 14

Swainsboro 21, McIntosh County Academy 7

Thomasville 37, Henry County 0

Westminster 28, Armuchee 6

Class A
First Round

Bowdon 49, Washington-Wilkes 35

Bremen 17, Wilkinson County 14

Chattahoochee County 34, Seminole County 27

Clinch County 34, Marion County 7

Commerce 29, Landmark Christian 19

Darlington 16, Warren County 14

Eagle's Landing Christian 23, Athens Academy 18

Emanuel County Institute 22, Hawkinsville 15

Greenville 25, Pelham 0

Holy Innocents' 34, Social Circle 7

Lincoln County 14, Trion 0

Miller County 33, Brookstone 27

Savannah Christian Prep 14, Irwin County 10

Twiggs County 43, Savannah Country Day 14

Wesleyan 45, Whitefield Academy 13

Wilcox County 23, Treutlen 20

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

ATLANTA (AP) If Ilya Kovalchuk plays this well with a gimpy right foot, how much better will he perform when he's 100 percent?

Kovalchuk hardly seems to care. The Atlanta captain knows he and the Thrashers can only improve.

``Oh, definitely,'' he said. ``It's still going to take me time to heal all the way.''

Kovalchuk and Maxim Afinogenov each had two goals and two assists to help the Thrashers beat the Los Angeles Kings 7-0 on Friday night for their third straight victory.

Atlanta rookie Evander Kane, the fourth overall draft pick, also scored two goals and had an assist. His fifth goal made it 1-0 at the 10:22 mark of the second. His sixth was a short-handed goal that ended the scoring with 3:26 remaining.

Kovalchuk, who returned the night before in New York from a broken foot bone that sidelined him for three weeks, finished with a goal and two assists in Thursday's 5-3 win over the Rangers.

``The most important thing is we got four points in the bank,'' he said. ``It doesn't matter who scores.''

The Kings, who have lost three of four, outshot Atlanta 38-21, but couldn't keep Ondrej Pavelec from getting his first career shutout.

``I didn't play in the last two games, and we won, so I needed to keep it up,'' Pavelec said. ``We played great hockey tonight.''

Afinogenov and Kane each had a goal and an assist during a 5:04 stretch of the second period that included Kings goalie Jonathan Quick getting chased and major penalties and game misconducts to Atlanta's Chris Thorburn and Los Angeles' Raitis Ivanans.

Kings forward Justin Williams was assessed a major and a game misconduct for checking from behind with 1:59 remaining.

``When it got to 4-0, everybody was frustrated,'' Los Angeles coach Terry Murray said. ``Nobody wants to let a game get out of control. Nobody wants to get physical, but the score of the game dictates a lot of that.''

Kovalchuk scored his 11th goal 12:28 into the second to make it 2-0. His 12th goal came on the power play with 14 minutes remaining to pad the lead at 5-0.

``The most important thing is we got four points,'' Kovalchuk said. ``It doesn't matter who scores.''

After defenseman Zach Bogosian's seventh goal put the Thrashers ahead 3-0 at the 14:16 mark, Murray pulled Quick and brought in Erik Ersberg.

Kane's fifth goal, a wide wraparound outside the left goal post, slid between Quick's legs to make it 1-0 at the 10:22 mark of the second.

Quick dropped to 10-6-2 after stopping 11 of 14 shots. Ersberg made four saves against seven shots.

``It stunk,'' Ersberg said. ``I can't do anything about it now. You can't worry about it too long. I think we are the better team.''

Kovalchuk, whose 309 career goals lead the NHL since Atlanta drafted him No. 1 overall in 2001, likes how Afinogenov is assimilating after spending his first nine seasons under Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff.

``Max looks like he got a second life,'' Kovalchuk said. ``In Buffalo, he took a beating by the coach. He's one of the hardest workers. Every day, he's smiling.''

NOTES: Kings C Anze Kopitar, who began the night leading the NHL with 30 points and tied for , snapped a five-game points streak. ... Thrashers C Bryan Little had a light groin strain and missed his first game this season. After finishing second on the club with 31 goals in 79 games last season, Little, a 2006 first-round draft pick, has two goals and four assists in 15 games. ... Atlanta improved to 5-7-0, including 3-3-0 at Philips Arena, against the Kings.

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

BOSTON (AP) The youthful Atlanta Hawks are starting to grow up.

Joe Johnson scored 24 points, Jamal Crawford had 18 and the Hawks pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 97-86 win over the Boston Celtics on Friday night.

``We needed to beat a good team on the road for our confidence level,'' Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. ``I think that's the best team in the East. Tonight we matched them from beginning to end. From a defensive standpoint, we finally stepped up and played 48 minutes defensively.''

Looking similar to the upstart Hawks that pushed Boston to seven games in the opening playoff series in 2008, Atlanta looked poised in its half-court offense, converting against the league's best defensive team.

The difference was in that series, the Hawks couldn't win in Boston. The Celtics took all four games in Boston and went on to win the NBA title.

``Since Day One, we've believed,'' Johnson said. ``Nobody's believed in us. We've been playing pretty good on the road this year.''

Building on its nucleus of Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford and Mike Bibby, Atlanta added experienced reserves Crawford and Joe Smith. For one early season game, it proved too much for the Celtics.

``We tried to turn it up and put a little pressure on them, but I give all the credit to them,'' Boston's Kevin Garnett said.

Josh Smith scored 14 and Horford had 12 points and 13 rebounds as the Hawks (7-2) continued their strong start this season, sending Boston to its second straight Friday night home loss.

Last week, Phoenix gave Boston (8-2) its first loss of the season after a 7-0 start.

``It feels great,'' Josh Smith said. ``It always feels good home or away to beat a quality team like the Boston Celtics.''

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 24 points despite bruising his left knee early in the third quarter. Garnett and Kendrick Perkins scored 14 points apiece.

Pierce bruised his knee on a drive to the basket. He sat out the final few minutes of the third, and was wearing a brace and had it taped when he came back early in the fourth quarter.

``It's a little tender,'' Pierce said. ``I'm just going to wait and see how it feels when it cools down. I'm just gonna ice it right now and see how it feels.''

Atlanta opened the final quarter with a 10-2 run, pulling to an 82-72 lead on Zaza Pachulia's two free throws with 8:34 to play. The Hawks pushed their lead to 88-76 on Bibby's free throw with 4:44 to go.

Pierce's basket in the lane cut it to 88-80, but Boston never made a threat the rest of the way.

The Hawks, who entered the game fourth in the league in scoring and coming off a win over the Knicks on Wednesday, came out looking to run and controlled the tempo early, jumping to a 14-6 edge in the opening 5.5 minutes, before the Celtics tightened up defensively and forced it into a half-court game.

``When you've got a chance to beat a team on the road and you're playing well, everybody looks mature,'' Boston coach Doc Rivers said.

NOTES: Boston F Brian Scalabrine was back in uniform after missing Wednesday's win over Utah with back spasms. ... Red Sox DH David Ortiz was seated courtside and got a big cheer when he was shown on the Jumbotron. ... Perkins was whistled for a technical for throwing an elbow after scoring a basket in the fourth quarter.

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

Richardson made the revelations Friday evening in a statement from the House communications office. Richardson's spokesman confirmed the statement, but declined further comment.

Richardson could not be immediately reached.

In the statement, the Hiram Republican said he has struggled with depression for the last two and a half years, since his separation and divorce.

Richardson says his depression became so severe that at one point he ``took substantial steps to do harm to myself and to take my own life.'' No other details were provided.

Richardson says he felt compelled to speak out ``in order to possibly help others.''

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