LOS ANGELES (AP) The huge earthquake that struck off the coast of Chile belongs to an ``elite class'' of mega earthquakes, experts said, and is similar to the 2004 Indian Ocean temblor that triggered deadly tsunami waves.

The magnitude-8.8 quake was a type called a ``megathrust,'' considered the most powerful earthquake on the planet. Megathrusts occur when one tectonic plate dives beneath another. Saturday's tremor unleashed about 50 gigatons of energy and broke about 250 miles of the fault zone, said U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Paul Caruso.

The quake's epicenter was offshore and occurred about 140 miles north of the largest earthquake ever recorded a magnitude-9.5 that killed about 1,600 people in Chile and scores of others in the Pacific in 1960.

``It's part of an elite class of giant earthquakes,'' said USGS geologist Brian Atwater.

If the magnitude holds, it will tie with the 1906 offshore Ecuador quake as the fifth largest since 1900.

``We call them great earthquakes. Everybody else calls them horrible,'' said USGS geophysicist Ken Hudnut. ``There's only a few in this league.''

The Chile quake was smaller than the Sumatra quake of 2004, a magnitude-9.1 and was not expected to be anything nearly as destructive. That quake and ensuing tsunami killed 230,000 people. Another difference is that the Chile quake triggered tsunami warnings hours ahead of time in Hawaii and Pacific islands, allowing people time to flee to higher ground.

In 2004, there was little measuring technology in place to warn Indian Ocean countries about incoming killer waves.

So far, at least 200 people in Chile have died. No deaths were immediately reported from tsunami waves that raced across the Pacific.

Chile is no stranger to violent jolts. In fact, USGS geophysicist Ross Stein called the country an ``earthquake hatchery.'' Thirteen temblors of magnitude 7 or larger have hit Chile since 1973.

The latest quake took place at a boundary where two plates of the Earth's crust grind and dive. While that type of action gave rise to the Andes mountains that form the backbone of South America, it's also the source of some of the largest quakes.

The Chile temblor struck a day after a smaller earthquake shook the southern coast of Japan. Experts said the quakes appear to be unrelated.

There's also no connection between this quake and the disaster in Haiti, said University of Miami geology professor Tim Dixon.

A quake like the one that hit Haiti, a magnitude 7, happens somewhere in the world about every month, usually underwater. But the type that hit Chile is among the most powerful recorded in recent history.

The faults in Haiti and Chile are distant enough that stress from one would not affect the other, Dixon said.

AP writers Seth Borenstein in Washington and P. Solomon Banda in Denver contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

TALCA, Chile (AP) A deafening roar rose from the convulsing earth as buildings groaned and clattered. The sound of screams was confused with the crash of plates and windows.

Then the earth stilled, silence returned and a smell of damp dust filled the air as stunned survivors ran from their homes.

A journalist emerging into a darkened street in Talca found a man, some of his own bones apparently broken, weeping and caressing the hand of a woman who had died in the collapse of a cafe. Two other victims lay dead a few feet (meters) away.

A mammoth magntitude-8.8 earthquake had just shuddered across a huge swath of central Chile at 3:34 a.m. Talca was just 65 miles (105 kilometers) from the epicenter.

One of the largest earthquakes ever recorded, the tremor tore apart houses, bridges and highways and sent a tsunami racing halfway around the world. Chileans near the epicenter were tossed about as if shaken by a giant, and the head of Chile's emergency agency said authorities believed at least 300 people were dead a toll that seemed sure to rise.

The quake was felt as far away as Sao Paulo in Brazil 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) to the east. The full extent of damage remained unclear as scores of aftershocks one nearly as powerful as Haiti's devastating Jan. 12 earthquake shuddered across the disaster-prone Andean nation.

President Michelle Bachelet declared a ``state of catastrophe'' in central Chile but said the government had not asked for assistance from other countries. If it does, President Barack Obama said, the United States ``will be there.'' Around the world, leaders echoed his sentiment.

In Chile, newly built apartment buildings slumped and fell. Flames devoured a prison. Millions of people fled into streets darkened by the failure of power lines. The collapse of bridges tossed and crushed cars and trucks, and complicated efforts to reach quake-damaged areas by road.

At least 214 people were killed and 15 were missing as of Saturday evening, Bachelet said in a national address on television. While that remained the official estimate, Carmen Fernandez, head of the National Emergency Agency, said later: ``We think the real figure tops 300. And we believe this will continue to grow.''

Bachelet also said 1.5 million people had been affected by the quake, and officials in her administration said 500,000 homes were severely damaged.

Also near the epicenter was Concepcion, one of the country's largest cities, where a 15-story building collapsed, leaving a few floors intact.

``I was on the 8th floor and all of a sudden I was down here,'' said Fernando Abarzua, marveling that he escaped with no major injuries. He said a relative was still trapped in the rubble six hours after the quake, ``but he keeps shouting, saying he's OK.''

Chilean state television reported that 209 inmates escaped from prison in the city of Chillan, near the epicenter, after a fire broke out.

In the capital of Santiago, 200 miles (325 kilometers) to the northeast, the national Fine Arts Museum was badly damaged and an apartment building's two-story parking lot pancaked, smashing about 50 cars whose alarms rang incessantly.

A car dangled from a collapsed overpass while overturned vehicles lay scattered below. ``I can now say in all surety that seat belts save lives in automobiles,'' said Cristian Alcaino, who survived the fall in his car.

While most modern buildings survived, a bell tower collapsed on the Nuestra Senora de la Providencia church and several hospitals were evacuated due to damage.

Santiago's airport was closed, with smashed windows, partially collapsed ceilings and destroyed pedestrian walkways in the passenger terminals. The capital's subway was shut as well, and transportation was further limited because hundreds of buses were stuck behind a damaged bridge.

Chile's main seaport, in Valparaiso about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from Santiago, was ordered closed while damage was assessed. Two oil refineries shut down, and lines of cars snaked out of service stations across the country as nervous drivers rushed to fill up.

The state-run Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, halted work at two of its mines, although it said it expected them to resume operations quickly, the newspaper La Tercera reported.

President-elect Sebastian Pinera angrily reported seeing some looting while flying over damaged areas. He vowed ``to fight with maximum energy looting attempts that I saw with my own eyes.''

The jolt set off a tsunami that swamped San Juan Bautista village on Robinson Crusoe Island off Chile, killing at least five people and leaving 11 missing, said Guillermo de la Masa, head of the government emergency bureau for the Valparaiso region. He said the huge waves also damaged several government buildings on the island.

Pedro Forteza, a pilot who frequently flies to the island, said, ``The village was destroyed by the waves, including the historic cemetery. I would say that 20 or 30 percent has disappeared.''

On the mainland, several huge waves inundated part of the major port city of Talcahuano, near the hard-hit city of Concepcion. A large boat was swept more than a block inland. Pinera flew over the area and said an unspecified number of people had died in Talacahuano.

Waves also flooded hundreds of houses in the town of Vichato, in the BioBio region.

The surge of water raced across the Pacific, setting off alarm sirens in Hawaii, Polynesia and Tonga and prompting warnings across all 53 nations ringing the vast ocean.

Tsunami waves washed across Hawaii, where little damage was reported. The U.S. Navy moved a half-dozen vessels out of Pearl Harbor as a precaution, Navy spokesman Lt. Myers Vasquez said. Shore-side Hilo International Airport was closed. In California, officials said a 3-foot (1-meter) surge in Ventura Harbor pulled loose several navigational buoys.

The first tsunami waves hit Japan's outlying islands early Sunday, but while the initial waves were small and most of the Pacific islands already in its path had been spared damage, officials warned a bigger surge could follow.

Japan's Meteorological Agency said the first waves were recorded in the Ogasawara islands. It was just 4 inches (10 centimeters) high. Another, measuring about 12 inches (30 centimeters), was observed in Hokkaido, to the north. There were no reports of damage.

About 13 million people live in the area where shaking was strong to severe, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. USGS geophysicist Robert Williams said the Chilean quake was hundreds of times more powerful than Haiti's magnitude-7 quake, though it was deeper and cost far fewer lives.

More than 50 aftershocks topped magnitude 5, including one of magnitude 6.9.

A tremor also hit northern Argentina, causing a wall to collapse in Salta, killing an 8-year-old boy and injuring two of his friends, police said. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-6.3 quake was unrelated to Chile's disaster.

The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile on May 22, 1960. The magnitude-9.5 quake killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless. It caused a tsunami that killed people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines and caused damage along the west coast of the United States.

Saturday's quake matched a 1906 temblor off the Ecuadorean coast as the seventh-strongest ever recorded in the world.

Associated Press writer Roberto Candia reported this story from Talca and Eva Vergara from Santiago. AP writers Eduardo Gallardo in Santiago and Sandy Kozel in Washington contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

In Japan, where hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from shorelines, the biggest wave following the magnitude-8.8 quake off Chile hit the northern island of Hokkaido. It was four feet (1.2 meters) high. There were no immediate reports of damage, though some piers were briefly flooded.

Japanese weather agency officials kept their alert up well into Sunday evening, saying further waves could be on their way.

As the waves crossed the Pacific, they dealt populated areas including the U.S. state of Hawaii just glancing blows.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center lifted its warning for every country but Russia and Japan, though some countries in Asia and the Pacific were keeping their own watches in place as a precaution.

The tsunami raised fears the Pacific could fall victim to the type of devastating waves that killed 230,000 people in the Indian Ocean in 2004 the morning after Christmas. During that disaster, there was little-to-no warning and much confusion about the impending waves.

Officials said the opposite occurred after the Chile quake: They overstated their predictions of the size of the waves and the threat.

``We expected the waves to be bigger in Hawaii, maybe about 50 percent bigger than they actually were,'' said Gerard Fryer, a geophysicist for the warning center. ``We'll be looking at that.''

Japan, fearing the tsunami could gain force as it moved closer, put all of its eastern coastline on tsunami alert and ordered hundreds of thousands of residents in low-lying areas to seek higher ground as waves generated by the Chilean earthquake raced across the Pacific at hundreds of miles (kilometers) per hour.

Japan is particularly sensitive to the tsunami threat.

In July 1993 a tsunami triggered by a major earthquake off Japan's northern coast killed more than 200 people on the small island of Okushiri. A stronger quake near Chile in 1960 created a tsunami that killed about 140 people in Japan.

Towns along northern coasts issued evacuation orders to 400,000 residents, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said. NHK switched to emergency mode, broadcasting a map with the areas in most danger and repeatedly urging caution.

As the wave continued its expansion across the ocean, Japan's Meteorological Agency said waves of up to 10 feet (three meters) could hit the northern prefectures of Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi, but the first waves were much smaller.

People packed their families into cars, but there were no reports of panic or traffic jams. Fishermen secured their boats, and police patrolled beaches, using sirens and loudspeakers to warn people to leave the area.

Elsewhere, the tsunami passed gently.

By the time the tsunami hit Hawaii a full 16 hours after the quake officials had already spent the morning blasting emergency sirens, blaring warnings from airplanes and ordering residents to higher ground.

The islands were back to paradise by the afternoon, but residents endured a severe disruption and scare earlier in the day: Picturesque beaches were desolate, million-dollar homes were evacuated, shops in Waikiki were shut down, and residents lined up at supermarkets to stock up on food and at gas stations.

Waves hit California, but barely registered amid stormy weather. A surfing contest outside San Diego went on as planned.

In Tonga, where up to 50,000 people fled inland hours ahead of the tsunami, the National Disaster Office had reports of a wave up to 6.5 feet (two meters) high hitting a small northern island, deputy director Mali'u Takai said. There were no initial indications of damage.

Nine people died in Tonga last September when the Samoa tsunami slammed the small northern island of Niuatoputapu, wiping out half of the main settlement.

In Samoa, where 183 people died in the tsunami five months ago, thousands remained Sunday morning in the hills above the coasts on the main island of Upolu, but police said there were no reports of waves or sea surges hitting the South Pacific nation.

At least 20,000 people abandoned their homes in southeastern Philippine villages and took shelter in government buildings or fled to nearby mountains overnight due to the tsunami scare. Provincial officials scrambled to alert villagers and prepare contingency plans, according to the National Disaster Coordinating Council.

Philippine navy and coast guard vessels, along with police, were ordered to stand by for possible evacuation but the alert was lifted late Sunday afternoon.

Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said there was no tsunami risk for the archipelago as it was too far from the quake's epicenter.

On New Zealand's Chatham Islands earlier Sunday, officials reported a wave measured at 6.6 feet (two meters).

Oceanographer Ken Gledhill said it was typical tsunami behavior when the sea water dropped three feet (a meter) off North Island's east coast at Gisborne and then surged back.

Several hundred people in the North Island coastal cities of Gisborne and Napier were evacuated from their homes and from camp grounds, while residents in low-lying areas on South Island's Banks Peninsula were alerted to be ready to evacuate.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology canceled its tsunami warning Sunday evening.

``The main tsunami waves have now passed all Australian locations,'' the bureau said.

No damage was reported in Australia from small waves that were recorded earlier in the day in New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Norfolk Island, about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) northeast of Sydney.

New Zealand's Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergency Management downgraded its tsunami warning to an advisory status, which it planned to keep in place overnight.

Associated Press writers Mark Niesse and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Mari Yamaguchi and Malcolm Foster in Tokyo, Ray Lilley in Wellington, New Zealand, Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, Debby Wu in Taipei, Taiwan, and Kristen Gelineau in Sydney contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) The city of Savannah is getting ready to host President Barack Obama.

The Savannah Morning News reports Saturday that the White House says Obama's visit will focus heavily on Savannah Technical College.

Obama is scheduled to tour the college Tuesday morning before going to Hunter Army Airfield shortly before noon. He will tour Savannah and then depart from Hunter before 4 p.m.

The four-hour trip is the third in a series called the ``White House to Main Street Tour.''

White House officials say it's part of Obama's efforts to get outside Washington and ``talk to American families about what they are experiencing during these tough economic times.''

The president will make a series of local stops to speak to students and workers, meet with Savannah residents and tour local businesses.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says a multi-agency squad has seized more than $1.6 million in a joint narcotics investigation that spanned the country.

The bureau tells WSB that agents arrested 12 suspects in Georgia and Louisiana in connection with the trafficking of marijuana.

Agents said they seized about 100 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $500,000, 10 vehicles, about $1 million in real estate, 50 firearms, about $120,000 cash, and about $20,000 in drug assets.

The arrests were made on Feb. 17. Agents determined that the marijuana was grown in Mendocino, Calif., and then transported to Douglasville through New Orleans.

They said mid-level dealers then distributed the marijuana into Atlanta and the surrounding areas.

More arrests and seizures are anticipated in the investigation.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) Athens-Clarke police have charged a woman with disorderly conduct after they say she became upset at an International House of Pancakes and fired a stun gun.

The Athens Banner-Herald reports Saturday that the 22-year-old Kennesaw woman was arrested after the incident early Friday morning.

An employee said two women and a one man seemed to get upset around 3:30 a.m. and yelled at a waiter before the stun gun was fired into the air.

According to the police report, the three were gone when an officer arrived but returned to retrieve an unregistered 2002 Jaguar from the parking lot.

The officer said one of the women admitted that she took the weapon out of her purse to retrieve something else in the bag.

The woman was also charged with operating an unregistered vehicle.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) A man charged with killing a Chattahoochee Hills police officer has been taken to a hospital after falling ill in jail.

Fulton County jail spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan said Saturday that Robert Cook was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital ``as a precaution.''

Flanagan said Cook has ``been under constant care by medical staff and supervision by the Special Operations Response Team'' since entering the jail on Feb. 18.

She tells the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he was taken to Grady for further treatment and observation but would not give more information about his condition, citing patient privacy laws.

Cook was arrested Feb. 17 and charged with killing Chattahoochee Hills Police Lt. Michael Vogt during a traffic stop.

Investigators say Cook shot Vogt because he didn't want to be arrested again for driving drunk.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA(AP) Both coaches agreed that Iman Shumpert was the difference in Georgia Tech's win.

Shumpert scored 24 points, including nine straight late in the second half, and Derrick Favors added 14 points to lead Georgia Tech to a 73-68 victory over Boston College on Saturday.

Tech (19-9, 7-7 Atlantic Coast Conference), improved to 14-1 at home. The Yellow Jackets had lost three of four.

Boston College (14-14, 5-9) was led by Joe Trapani with 26 points. Reggie Jackson added 13 points and Corey Raji had 12 for the Eagles, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.

``Late in the game I thought Iman made great decisions getting into the high paint and shooting over his defender,'' said Tech coach Paul Hewitt. ``He made two shots that I thought really decided the game.''

With Tech leading 56-45 with 8:49 left, Shumpert hit four straight shots, including a 3-pointer, and the two that Hewitt referred to. They gave the Yellow Jackets a 65-53 lead with 4:06 remaining.

``When he's good, he's really good,'' said Hewitt, adding the difference in Shumpert, a sophomore guard averaging 9.2 points a game, is being aggressive.

``Yes. It's that simple. And decision making. I told him that the guy I saw in the last 10 minutes today is not allowed to leave until the season is over. Iman is the X-factor,'' said Hewitt.

``The real difference was Shumpert. He made some shots today that I don't know if he's been shooting that well this season,'' said Boston College coach Al Skinner.

The Yellow Jackets biggest lead of the second half was 15 at 54-39 with 11:24 left and led 73-61 with 22 second left before the Eagles scored the last seven points.

Shumpert hit a 3-point basket on Tech's first possession and the Yellow Jackets went on to a 7-0 lead and never trailed.

Boston College had 21 turnovers and 10 shots blocked.

``No question about it. We mishandled the basketball, and it led to run-outs (easy baskets) for them. That's really what the problem is. It's one thing to turn it over, but it's another thing to turn it over and lead to run-outs for them. It gave them easy opportunities,'' said Skinner.

Tech led 37-30 at halftime. The Yellow Jackets had their biggest lead of the half at 30-16 with 6:50 left before intermission on a basket by Derrick Favors. Maurice Miller had five points in the run.

Boston College, however, went on a 14-3 run to get within three points, 33-30, on a 3-point basket by Joe Trapani with 2:22 left in the half. Tech's Zach Peacock scored at the 1:11 mark and Shumpert hit a layup at the buzzer for the 37-30 lead.

Tech was outrebounded 20-11 in the first 20 minutes but made up for it by hitting 14 of 27 shots (52 percent), including 4 of 8 3's. The Eagles were only 12 of 30 (40 percent) and had 11 turnovers and six shots blocked.

Both teams have two games remaining before the ACC tournament in Greensboro, N.C. begins on March 11.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) DeKalb police say they are ``very confident'' that a man who was arrested shortly after a woman was attacked is the person responsible for a string of sexual assaults near the Stone Mountain area.

Trever Deion Blue, 19, was being held at the DeKalb County Jail on Saturday and faces 30 counts, including aggravated sodomy, armed robbery, rape, attempted rape, kidnapping, burglary and aggravated assault.

A worker at the jail said it was not known if Blue had a lawyer.

Police say Blue was arrested early Friday after allegedly sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman, who managed to escape. The victim was forced back into her vehicle at gunpoint after arriving at her Stone Mountain apartment.

She escaped and alerted neighbors who called police. Officers were able to apprehend Blue after a short foot chase through the apartment complex grounds.

DeKalb Police Chief William O'Brien said Blue has been linked to 12 incidents in the Hambrick Road area. ``All but two of the incidents were sexual in nature,'' he said.

DeKalb Public Safety Director William Miller said Blue has made ``some incriminating statements'' following his arrest, though he stopped short of saying the suspect confessed to the crimes.

``I feel very confident this is the right person,'' Miller said.

O'Brien said Blue was ``not on their radar'' prior to his arrest.

In three sexual assaults in the area last year the suspect kicked the door in and raped the woman at gunpoint, police said. He covered his face with a T-shirt or other clothing.

In January, a man broke into a woman's home, bashed her on the head with a gun and fondled her breast.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) An offseason of reflection hasn't softened Chipper Jones' stance.

The Atlanta Braves' third baseman still says he will walk away from the game if he can't bounce back from a disappointing season. Jones, who will turn 38 in April, said this week he won't hang around just to collect a paycheck if he's no longer playing up to the standards which have made him one of the best switch-hitters in history.

Some scoffed when Jones spoke last year of possible retirement after this season.

Count Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox among those who don't believe Jones will walk away from two years and $28 million on his contract, which runs through 2012. He signed a three-year, $42 million extension last spring that includes an option for 2013.

``I never took them to heart at all,'' said Cox this week of Jones' comments. ``He'll play three more years and play them good.''

Jones' frustration and talk of retirement came after seeing his batting average drop 100 points last year. He led the National League with his .364 average in 2008 but fell to .264 last season with 31 fewer hits in almost 50 more at-bats.

He said last year he won't keep playing if he doesn't return to form this season. He's sticking with that stance this spring.

``It was a true statement,'' Jones said. ``If I don't play this game at the level I want to play it at, then I will walk away from it.''

Most baffling to Jones was he couldn't blame his decline including slight dips in homers and RBIs on injuries. He played in 143 games his high mark since 2003 and had 488 at-bats. He finished with career-low totals of 18 homers and 71 RBIs, down from 22 and 75 in 2008.

Jones' hits, runs, homers and RBIs have declined two straight years. His 22 errors last season were his highest total since 25 in 2000.

``I'm not going to enjoy myself having years like I had last year,'' he said. ``There weren't any injuries that were hindering me from producing last year.

``I'm not going to stick around and be a role player. I'm not going to play the game just to earn a check. I want to produce. I want to be good. That's all there is to it.''

Jones started strong last season, hitting .322 in April and .312 in May. His average peaked at .335 on June 9. He hit only .230 the rest of the way and drove in only 30 runs after the All-Star break.

The 6-foot-4 Jones gained about 10 pounds, to 230, in hopes of improved stamina.

``I hit the weights hard,'' he said. ``I built some upper body strength.

``I was run down at the end of the year last year. I wanted to add a little extra weight, a little extra strength to make it through the summer.''

Jones also had too little support in the middle of the Braves' power-depleted lineup last season, particularly when catcher Brian McCann rested. For the first time, McCann was the team's primary cleanup hitter. McCann overcame vision problems to post solid numbers, but the Braves lacked other power threats.

Jones ranked fifth in the NL with 101 walks.

The Braves signed Troy Glaus to play first base. Glaus is projected as the new cleanup hitter, moving McCann back to the No. 5 spot. The lineup could receive another boost if top prospect Jason Heyward, whose long batting practice homers were the highlight of the first week of spring training, starts in right field.

``It's a really good lineup. If we stay healthy it's going to be an excellent lineup,'' Jones said.

``I'm looking forward to being a part of it. Troy is going to be really good hitting in the middle. The lineup, one through eight, it looks pretty good.''

Jones, a six-time All-Star and the NL's Most Valuable Player in 1999, already has strong Hall of Fame credentials.

His .307 career batting average ranks second all time among switch-hitters, trailing only Frankie Frisch (.316). He has 426 career homers, third among switch-hitters behind Mickey Mantle (536) and Eddie Murray (504).

No other switch-hitter has a career average of .300 or better and at least 300 homers.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) Considering how Florida usually dominates Georgia, Chandler Parsons took no satisfaction in narrowly losing to the Bulldogs.

``We're confident we're going to win every game we play,'' Parsons said. ``We were down by 15 and came back, so I feel like we can win any game. Georgia played well and had really strong defense down low.''

Trey Thompkins scored 20 points, and Albert Jackson ended Florida's comeback attempt by knocking a last-second pass out of bounds to help Georgia beat the Gators 78-76 on Saturday.

Parsons finished with 29 points for Florida, which had won three straight overall and had taken 12 of its last 13 meetings with the Bulldogs.

``Give Georgia a lot of credit,'' Gators coach Billy Donovan said. ``They played a great game. If it wasn't for two missed free throws the other night, I think they would've won at Vanderbilt. Their season has been a lot like that.''

Georgia (13-14, 5-9 Southeastern Conference) improved to 12-3 at home this season with a fourth straight victory at Stegeman Coliseum, but the Bulldogs nearly blew a 15-point lead Dustin Ware gave them on a 3-pointer with 12:55 remaining.

Kenny Boynton, who scored 22 points, pulled Florida (20-9, 9-5) within two points three times in the final 5:42, but his fast break layup at the 1:39 mark ended the scoring.

After Georgia's shot-clock violation gave Florida the game's final possession with 13.3 seconds left, Jackson jumped in front of Dan Werner near the right sideline to block a pass intended for Vernon Macklin in the lane.

The ball bounced off Jackson's arms and into the crowd behind Werner. Florida fared no better with one-tenth of a second remaining when Werner unsuccessfully launched a 3-point attempt that sailed over the rim.

Florida was coming off its first win over Tennessee in three years, a 13-point victory Tuesday that lifted the Gators' hopes of returning to the NCAA tournament since the school won consecutive national titles in 2006-07.

But Florida, which never led after Boynton's 3-pointer made it 17-15 midway through the first half, ends the regular season next week against No. 16 Vanderbilt at home and No. 2 Kentucky on the road.

``This is a tough road loss to come within two points and lose,'' Boynton said. ``We just have to work hard at getting back some momentum.''

Georgia was coming off an overtime loss at Vanderbilt on Thursday, but had 13 points from Jeremy Price, 12 from Travis Leslie and 10 from Ware to hold off the Gators.

``I told the team that it's important to be tough enough to come back and pick yourself up when you're down,'' first-year Bulldogs coach Mark Fox said. ``As hard as we competed at Vanderbilt, we didn't get the job done, and it is our responsibility to play a little bit better.''

Thompkins' last basket came with 3:30 remaining following a timeout. Only 3 seconds were left on the shot clock when Thompkins, the SEC's second-leading scorer, caught the inbound pass and turned to hit a 16-footer from the left side that gave the Bulldogs a 76-71 lead.

Price's basket with 2:45 left put Georgia ahead 78-74. A 6-foot-8, 264-pound reserve junior forward, Price teamed with Jackson (6-11, 265) to occasionally spell starting center Chris Barnes and take up space in the lane to help the Bulldogs disrupt Florida's customary passing lanes through the paint.

With Price finishing 6-for-6 from the field with five rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes, Georgia got another boost from its bench as guards Ebuka Anyaorah and Demario Mayfield combined for 14 points.

``The starters get exhausted, and they really get beat up here at the end of the season,'' Anyaorah said. ``Coach just relied on us and told us that we needed to step defensively, offensively and just be smarter when we go in there.''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) U.S. Rep. John Linder abruptly announced his retirement Saturday, saying he will not seek re-election after serving 18 years in Congress.

Linder, 67, made the announcement after a brief speech at the dedication of the Gwinnett County GOP's new headquarters.

"You can't keep doing things forever," Linder said in an exclusive interview on the Mark Arum Show on News/Talk 750 WSB. "I never intended to stay as long as I did. 18 years is a long time."

National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said Linder has been a leader ``in promoting conservative, reform-minded policies to protect American taxpayers'' and his presence will be missed.

``In addition to serving his constituents, he faithfully served our party when he chaired the NRCC and successfully protected the Republican majority in 1998,'' Sessions said in a statement. ``Above all, his service to the citizens of the Seventh Congressional District of Georgia was unmatched, and I am confident that voters in this ruby-red district will elect another capable Republican to continue supporting the conservative principles that John so passionately promoted.''

The Gwinnett County Republican is most known for sponsoring legislation for a ``FairTax,'' which would eliminate the federal income tax and abolish the Internal Revenue Service. Under the proposal, federal income taxes would be replaced with a 23 percent consumption tax on the retail sale of all new goods and services.

"I've assured our leadership just recently through an email that they should not worry about spending any money here," said Linder. "I will stay and keep an eye on the election."

Georgia Congressman Tom Price said ``no one has been a more tireless champion of common sense tax reform'' and that Linder's leadership ``has helped build nationwide support for the FairTax both in Congress and at the grassroots.''

Price said he would do all he can to ensure the FairTax movement continues to grow.

"Not because of me, but because of the American people there is a fair tax volunteer organization in about every state," Linder told WSB. "I will continue to travel for the fair tax and speak out on it."

Linder is the lead Republican on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support and also serves on the Oversight and Select Revenues Subcommittees.
Committee ranking member Dave Camp, R-Michigan, said he's looking forward to working with Linder even after he leaves Congress.

``John knows more about the issues that come before the committee than most of the expert witnesses we have testify,'' Camp said in a statement. ``He is a fierce advocate for what he believes in and has been a tremendous asset to our team and to the nation.''

Linder served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force from 1967 to 1969 and worked as a dentist and businessman before being elected to the House in 1992.


The Associated Press contibuted to this report

US taking home lots of Olympic hardware

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Some things haven't turned out exactly as expected, but the overall United States effort at the Vancouver Olympics is a triumph.

The U.S. reached 34 medals with a silver and a bronze in short-track speedskating last night, and two more were clinched with the men's hockey team and men's team pursuit in speedskating advancing to a gold-medal match in which they can get no worse than silver.

That makes 36 medals, topping the U.S. record of 34 set at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and matching the record for the most by any country at any Winter Olympics, set by Germany in Salt Lake City.

Unless something wild happens over the final two days, the U.S. will win the overall medals race for only the second time.

While skier Lindsey Vonn was supposed to win all sorts of Alpine medals, injuries may have gotten in the way. But she's going home with a gold and a bronze. Vonn says she's ``totally satisfied.''

For Canada, the goal to ``Own the Podium'' isn't turning out to be a total loss either as they lead the gold medals race with 10.


US men set for Canada rematch with gold on the line

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) The United States men's Olympic hockey team has another date with Canada after their 6-1 semifinal win over Finland.

Canada beat Slovakia 3-2 setting up the rematch, this time for all the marbles and Olympic gold.

Against Finland, four U.S. goals in the first 10 minutes chased goalie Miikka Kiprusoff to the bench and leaving little doubt about the eventual outcome.

Canada was cruising in its game, leading 3-0 after 24 minutes, but it almost didn't hold up. Slovakia scored two goals less than four minutes apart in the final period to give them hope, but the Canadians gutted it out.

The gold medal game comes on the 50th anniversary of the U.S. beating Canada for the gold medal at the 1960 Olympics.

The U.S. hasn't won Olympic gold since the Miracle on Ice in 1980.

USA 1 sled leads four-man bob at halfway point

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) The U.S. is hoping to ride the ``Night Train'' to an Olympic bobsled medal.

Steve Holcomb and his sleek, black four-man bobsled known as the ``Night Train'' are halfway to gold.

Officially known as USA-1, the sled set track records on both its runs, putting it in first place going into the last two heats tonight.

The United States hasn't won this race since 1948.

A German racer called the U.S. runs yesterday ``super genius.''

U.S. skates to upset

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) On the big track, U.S. speedskaters held their own yesterday.

The American men upset Sven Kramer and the powerful Dutch team in one team pursuit semifinal, and the U.S. women knocked off Canada in their quarterfinal.

Brian Hansen of the U.S. team says his first thought was, ``Oh, my God, we beat the Dutch!'' He says he then realized ``Oh, my God, we got a medal!''

The U.S. men can do no worse than silver when they face Canada in the gold-medal race today.

Ohno adds to medals haul

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Apolo Anton Ohno got his third medal of the games by anchoring the U.S. squad in the short track relay, finishing just behind South Korea in the 45-lap event.

The other members of the bronze medal-winning team were J.R. Celski, Travis Jayner and Jordan Malone.

In the 500, a short race often filled with spills, Ohno knocked Canada's Francois Louis-Tremblay into the boards during the last half-lap, then crossed second behind Charles Hamelin. But Ohno's result was tossed, and he was the only finalist not to get a medal.

Katherine Reutter, got a silver in the 1,000 meters at the short track won by Wang Meng of China. Reutter was also as part of the U.S. relay team that won bronze.

Vonn misses a gate, finishes Olympics with a gold and a bronze

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Lindsey Vonn didn't qualify for the second slalom run after missing a gate while her close friend Maria Riesch won the event for her second gold in Vancouver and the ninth for Germany.

Riesch's victory made the German women 3-of-5 in Alpine events. Vonn was waiting for her at the finish.

Riesch is competing at her first Olympics at age 25 after being sidelined by a season-ending injury four years ago.

Sarah Schleper was the top American, finishing 16th after a team doctor sewed five stitches in her bloodied chin before her second run.

Curling, Biathlon

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Sweden defended its title in women's curling by beating a Canadian team cheered by a cowbell-clanging crowd.

Anette Norberg played through the din, nailing the last shot to give her team a 7-6 victory in an extra 11th end to spoil the Canadian party.

WHISTLER, British Columbia (AP) Ole Einar Bjoerndalen anchored Norway to victory in the men's biathlon relay. That's the sixth gold medal for the most decorated biathlete in history.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) A slow-moving winter storm smacked the Northeast on Friday, unleashing heavy snow, rain and hurricane-force winds as it knocked out power to more than a million homes and businesses. It turned Maine beachfront streets into rivers and piled on the misery in places hit by three major blizzards in less than a month.

Every form of travel was miserable if not impossible. More than 1,000 flights were canceled, bus service across northern New Jersey was knocked out and roads from Ohio to West Virginia to Maine were closed. State troopers used snowmobiles to reach motorists stranded for hours on an eastern New York highway.

``We're buried,'' said Graham Foster, highway superintendent in the town of Wappinger, one of the hardest hit areas in upstate New York. ``My men have been out since 7 yesterday morning and we're not making much headway because there are so many trees down and wires down.''

Foster, who was working on one hour of sleep Friday, said one of his big concerns was getting more diesel fuel for his constantly running plows. Many local gas pumps were inoperable because of widespread power outages.

Power failures were so severe and widespread in New Hampshire 340,000 of the state's roughly 800,000 customers that even the state Emergency Operations Center was operating on a generator. Gov. John Lynch said it could take a week for all those lights to flicker back on.

It was wind and rain rather than snow that wreaked havoc in that famously frigid state and its neighbor Maine. Parts of southern Maine were hit with more than 8 inches of rain.

Areas to the south, meanwhile, got their third heavy dumping of snow this month. Monroe, N.Y., received 31 inches, and New York City got 20.9 inches in Central Park, pushing the February total to 36.9 and making it the snowiest month in the city's history. The National Weather Service said the previous high monthly total recorded in Central Park was 30.5 inches in March 1896, and the previous high for the month of February was 27.9 in 1934.

A man was killed by a falling snow-laden tree branch in Central Park in New York City, one of at least three deaths being blamed on the storm.

Much of the region, particularly Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, only recently finished cleaning up from a pair of storms a few weeks ago.

Friday's storm also made February the snowiest month ever for New Brunswick, N.J.; it has gotten 37 inches so far. This had already been the snowiest winter for Philadelphia and Atlantic City, N.J., before the latest storm dropped another 4 to 5 inches by midmorning Friday.

Blowing, drifting snow blinded and stranded drivers in mountainous parts of West Virginia, shutting down countless roads, and National Guard troops were mobilized to help. It was bad enough that mail service was suspended in six counties.

``The drifts are 15 feet deep over the roads, and highways can't move fast enough to keep them open,'' said Marvin Hill, emergency manager for Randolph County.

Even skiers in the area got bad news. Snowshoe Mountain Resort had boasted the best conditions in its 36-year history this week, but a jackknifed tractor-trailer blocked the only road in Friday.

The highest wind reported was 91 mph off Portsmouth, N.H. well above hurricane force of 74 mph. Gusts also hit 60 mph or more from the mountains of West Virginia to New York's Long Island and Massachusetts.

In Epping, N.H., howling winds crashed a tree onto Joe and Laurie Mantini's rural home late Thursday night; another tree crushed their parked recreational trailer. On Friday, a tarp covered the right side of their home as a contractor and an insurance adjuster were at work.

``Luckily nobody was hurt,'' said Laurie Mantini, 38. ``I don't know what we're going to do tonight.''

In the coastal town of Hampton, N.H., the unoccupied Surf Hotel caught fire, and the howling winds quickly spread the blaze to the rest of the block. Five wood-frame buildings, including an arcade and a restaurant, burned. The cause was unknown.

Downed trees were scattered along a residential street in Hampton, including an oak that punched a hole in the summer cottage Dick Paquin had just renovated last year. The 62-year-old semiretired consultant from Raymond was on the roof with a chain saw trying to clear the branches.

``You feel so helpless,'' Paquin said.

In Maine, waves crashing ashore at high tide Friday morning flooded streets in Saco, where storms have claimed several homes over the years.

``Felt like the walls were coming in on the house, and the windows were rattling, and the trees were cracking. It was pretty impressive,'' said Mark Breton, who rode out the storm in his house a few blocks from the beach.

Water from a storm-swollen pond was spilling over a 300-year-old dam in Freetown, Mass.; about a dozen people were advised to temporarily leave their homes as a precaution.

At the peak of the outages early Friday, there were 260,000 customers without power in Connecticut, and 220,000 customers in New York, mostly in the Hudson Valley north of New York City. There were 140,000 in Maine, 100,000 in Massachusetts, 25,000 in Vermont, and 11,000 in New Jersey. Those numbers began falling Friday as crews got to work, in some places contending with toppled trees and deep snow that made it difficult to move around.

Thousands of schools were closed, including in New York City, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg acquiesced after vowing to keep them open.

About 1,000 flights were canceled in Boston, Philadelphia and the New York area, according to the Air Transport Association. But by late morning, things began clearing up to the south, with three of Philadelphia International Airport's four runways open.

The weather snarled traffic across the Northeast, including on some major highways. A tractor-trailer jackknifed and as many as 20 trucks piled up on a mile of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, forcing closure of a 60-mile stretch in the hills of central Pennsylvania. Two injuries were reported.

Public transit also was a rough ride. Rail service in New Jersey and Long Island was suspended or delayed, and New Jersey Transit has canceled morning buses that tens of thousands of people rely on to get to New York City.

In New York, a nearly 40-mile stretch of snow-clogged Interstate 84 was closed for about five hours. State police and emergency responders used snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles Friday morning to reach stranded motorists. There were no reports of serious injuries, a fact state Trooper John Gero in East Fishkill credited to the heavy snow.

``I don't think they can go fast enough to get hurt,'' he said.

Mulvihill reported from Philadelphia. Also contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack in Hampton, N.H.; Vicki Smith in Morgantown, W.Va.; Clarke Canfield in Saco, Maine; Russell Contreras in Epping, N.H.; Shawn Marsh in Trenton, N.J.; Samantha Henry in Newark, N.J.; Randy Pennell in Philadelphia; Wilson Ring in Montpelier, Vt.; Joshua Freed in Minneapolis; and Kiley Armstrong and Ula Ilnytzky in New York City.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

BC-LT--Chile-Earthquake, 6th Ld-Writethru,0455
8.8-magnitude earthquake hits central Chile
Eds: UPDATES with president confirming at least 6 dead, other details.
By EVA VERGARA
Associated Press Writer

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake capable of tremendous damage struck central Chile early Saturday, shaking the capital for a minute and a half and setting off a tsunami.

Buildings collapsed and phone lines and electricity were down, making the extent of the damage difficult to determine. At least 6 people were killed, President Michele Bachelet said.

``We have had a huge earthquake,'' Bachelet said, speaking from an emergency response center in an appeal for Chileans to remain calm. ``We're doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information we will share immediately.''

Bachelet said early reports were that six people had been killed, and ``without a doubt, with an earthquake of this magnitude, there will be more deaths.''

She urged people to avoid traveling in the dark, since traffic lights are down, to avoid causing more fatalities.

The quake hit at 3:34 a.m. (0634 GMT; 1:34 a.m. EST) and was centered 200 miles (325 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Santiago, at a depth of 22 miles (35 kilometers) the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The epicenter was just 70 miles (115 kilometers) from Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city, where more than 200,000 people live along the Bio Bio river, and 60 miles from the ski town of Chillan, a gateway to Andean ski resorts that was destroyed in a 1939 earthquake.

An Associated Press Television News cameraman said some buildings have collapsed in Santiago, where power was out in parts of the city. An important church was among the buildings that came down in the central city of Providencia, where window glass shattered into the streets and people ran from multistory buildings, according to TV Chile.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for Chile and Peru, and a less-urgent tsunami watch for Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica. It said a tsunami could also hit Hawaii later in the day.

``Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated. It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicenter and could also be a threat to more distant coasts,'' the center said.

The U.S. west coast tsunami warning center said it did not expect a tsunami along the west of the U.S. or Canada but was continuing to monitor the situation.

The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile on May 22, 1960. The magnitude-9.5 quake killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless. The tsunami that it caused killed people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines and caused damage to the West Coast of the United States.

Associated Press Television News cameraman Mauricio Cuevas contributed to this story.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Atlanta Hawks owner Michael Gearon Jr. says the team will be ``very competitive'' in its pursuit of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who was waived Thursday by the Washington Wizards.

Gearon, one of the Atlanta-based members of the Hawks' ownership group, says in an e-mail to The Associated Press the Hawks ``are definitely interested'' in the 7-foot-3 Ilgauskas.

Ilgauskas, 34, was acquired by the Wizards from Cleveland on Feb. 17 as part of the three-team trade that sent Antawn Jamison to the Cavaliers. He didn't play for Washington but agreed instead to a contract buyout.

He is averaging 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds this season.

Ilgauskas could rejoin the Cavaliers in 30 days. He is free to sign with another team immediately.

His agent, Herb Rudoy, did not return a phone message.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) Jason Heyward's batting practice drives are costing the Atlanta Braves but local body shops aren't complaining.

Heyward launched a shot over the right-field wall this week that smashed through the sun roof of assistant general manager Bruce Manno's car. The bill was $3,400.

Heyward has dented other vehicles, too. So much damage, in fact, the young slugger is turning the parking lot into Jason's Junkyard.

The daily demolition derby has forced the Braves to take action. Stadium workers are installing protective netting to safeguard the cars and any unsuspecting people walking around.

The Braves spent 12 years at their spring training home without worrying. Heyward, a 20-year-old outfielder and perhaps the top prospect in baseball, forced a change after one week of workouts.

``I guess they just figured it's time to stop waiting around on that,'' Heyward said.

Other hitters reached the lot long before Heyward. But the frequency with which the 6-foot-5, 245-pound masher sends line drives over the wall made it necessary to take immediate steps.

``It's more pronounced this spring with everyone looking at Heyward and he's the one doing it,'' Braves manager Bobby Cox said Friday.

The parking lot is behind the bullpen at Champion Stadium on the Disney World property. Behind the parking lot is a wall about 20 feet tall Cox calls it the Yellow Monster and Heyward has also cleared that wall, sparing some cars broken glass.

Manno wasn't so fortunate. On Friday, he was still without his car, which was damaged Tuesday.

``Half of the roof was shattered and the track that the glass slides back and forth on was damaged,'' Manno said. ``It was bent. The entire thing had to be replaced.''

``I don't know what happened to the ball. I wish I had the ball. I would have had Jason sign it,'' he said.

It's not as if the left-handed hitting Heyward pulls every ball. He's tries to avoid turning every round of batting practice into a home-run derby. Aiming for all fields, he hit the distant video board behind the wall in right-center on Thursday.

Heyward hit a combined .323 with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs in 99 games at Class A, Double-A and Triple-A last year. Showing a good eye, he drew 51 walks with 51 strikeouts.

Heyward has a chance to earn the Braves' starting job in right field.

``He's all he's made up to be,'' said veteran Eric Hinske, who joined Heyward's four-man group during the first week of batting practice. ``Everything you read is all there. The body is there. The swing. He's got a unique sound when the ball comes off his bat, and he can hit the ball really far.''

``He's amazing, he really is, the way he takes batting practice,'' he said. ``He can pull the ball and then he's playing pepper with that big black board in center field. He's definitely got long pop, that's for sure.''

Heyward seems to be the only person in the Braves' camp who is not buzzing about the homers. He just shrugged when asked about similarly impressive shots in his past.

``I just try to hit the ball hard,'' he said. ``I've got a big frame and I guess that's what does it.''

He said line drives that previously hit in front of the outfield walls are now sailing over the walls.

``Nothing has changed,'' he said. ``Same workouts. I'm just growing. I'll be growing into that grown-man strength soon, hopefully.''

Henry County High School coach Jason Shadden, who was an assistant when Heyward played at the school south of Atlanta, said the star did similar damage years ago.

``I saw him in batting practice knocking down the top of trees,'' Shadden said Friday. ``There was a big oak tree in center field. You would see the limbs falling down. The tree is not there now.''

Atlanta-area hitting instructor C.J. Stewart, a former Cubs minor leaguer who has worked with Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler and Andruw Jones, said Heyward is impressive even while hitting in a cage.

``I'll never forget last year he hit a ball and it was one of the best swings I'd ever seen,'' Stewart said. ``Something told me to go get the ball. He hit the ball on the trademark of the Louisville Slugger bat. The part that says 'Genuine' was embossed on the ball. I've never seen anything like that. That's just how hard he hit it.''

Stewart said the ball disappeared from his desk.

``If he does it again, I'm putting it in a vault,'' he said.

NOTES: LHP Billy Wagner was ill and held out on Friday. ``We don't want them to come if they're sick, they'll spread it around,'' Cox said. ... RHP Jair Jurrjens is eager to throw off the mound as he continues to feel better after feeling tightness in his right shoulder before spring training.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Georgia has millions of unused doses of swine flu vaccine and some local health departments are working hard to administer them before they expire.

State Department of Community Health officials say less than a third of Georgia's total allocation of 3.5 million total doses have been administered. That's 978,092 doses.

With only weeks left in a flu season that traditionally ends around late March, state and county health officials say they're faced with distributing a large amount of vaccine to a public that has largely lost interest in swine flu.

Lisa Crossman is director of clinical and prevention services at Cobb and Douglas Public Health. The Cobb/Douglas health agency has administered less than half of the doses intended for its own clinics and mass vaccination events. She says people just aren't interested.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Two Atlanta-based nursing home chains accused of steering their patients to a Kentucky-based nursing home pharmaceutical firm in an alleged $50 million kickback scheme have reached a $14 million settlement with federal officials.

The Justice Department announced the agreement with SavaSeniorCare Administrative Services and Mariner Health Care Friday.

The agreement comes nearly a year after federal prosecutors filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court's District of Massachusetts. The Atlanta chains were accused of soliciting payments from Convington, Ky.-based Omnicare, the nation's largest pharmacy specializing in giving drugs to nursing home patients. Authorities say the firms agreed to use Omnicare's services for 15 years.

The firms deny involvement in illegal activity.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WEST POINT, Ga. (AP) Gov. Sonny Perdue joined Korean and American dignitaries in celebrating the opening of Kia's first North American manufacturing facility in west Georgia Friday.

``This is a momentous day for Georgia as Kia Motors has brought thousands of new jobs to this area and is truly delivering as tremendous corporate citizen,'' Perdue said at an opening event attended by Sen. Saxby Chambliss and other dignitaries who heard a keynote speech from Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group chairman and CEO Chung Mong Koo.

Perdue and Chung announced that Kia would come to Georgia four years ago.

Speaking in halted English at the West Point opening, Chung told the crowd of about 500 executives from Kia offices in the U.S. and Korea that he links the plant to an industry rebirth.

``I believe the plant will play a leading role in the revitalization of the entire American auto industry,'' he said.

Randy Jackson, the plant's vice president of human resources and administration, said the company is still accepting applicants for the second shift, which will probably start running in July.

Jackson said the company so far has received 30,000 applications for second shift jobs and is still accepting them.

``Our goal is to put 1,000 or 1,200 more (employees) in the building'' for the second shift, he said.

The Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia Plant was touted as a $1 billion investment in the state that would create 2,500 jobs. The 2,200-acre site is the home of the new Kia Sorento CUV and at full capacity, the facility will have the ability to produce 300,000 vehicles annually.

The plant's economic impact to Georgia is estimated at about $4 billion a year and could bring 20,000 new jobs to a nine-county region by 2012.

Perdue called bringing the plant to Georgia one of his greatest accomplishments as governor.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) Georgia's longtime agriculture commissioner, Tommy Irvin, has spent more than 41 years building the state's agricultural empire on international trade.

But as Irvin retires this year and the state enters a new era of agricultural leadership, the organization that represents the state's organic and naturally grown producers, Georgia Organics, is looking to rebuild at home.

As hundreds gathered in Athens for the annual Georgia Organics conference, no one was exactly sure what this year's election might mean for the industry.

But most acknowledged the possibility of change in a state where agribusiness reigns.

``The election definitely is important to the people that are here,'' said Suzanne Welander, a former administrative coordinator for Georgia Organics who now takes on issues of pasture-raised poultry producers. ``Whether there's hope for substantial change that benefits small farmers in a meaningful way, the jury's still out on that. We don't know yet.''

Georgia Organics leaders are ``definitely'' going to watch the commissioner's race. Executive Director Alice Rolls said the organization likely will moderate discussions between the final candidates, ``although there's still a lot of question about who those candidates are going to be.''

Two Republican candidates, Gary Black of Commerce and Darwin Carter of Alma, have already begun raising campaign money. A third Republican, Toccoa's John Wilkinson, dropped out of the race for health reasons. No Democrats have yet entered the race.

Whoever winds up on the ballot, Georgia Organics plans to offer as much information about the candidates as it can for its members, Rolls said.

``Our job is to bring forth the key issues that are relevant,'' she said.

Georgia Organics has become the umbrella organization for nearly all aspects of the state's sustainable industries. Its relevant issues include linking local farms with schools and making it possible for small farmers to process pasture-raised poultry.

The University of Georgia's 2010 Ag Forecast declares that prospects for Georgia's locally and naturally grown industries are strong despite the current financial crisis. But it also reports that the state lacks the adequate infrastructure, specifically small-scale meat processing facilities, to handle the industry's growth.

``I hope that whoever we do get as our next commissioner will, to some extent, embrace this segment of farm production, this segment being the sustainable, artesian, local, humane: what we call the 'good food movement,''' said Will Harris, the president of Georgia Organics' board of directors. ``I do think it's very important. I hope that whoever we get recognizes the importance of this segment.''

Though Carter and Black both promise to empower local producers, some of the participants in the Georgia Organics conference, holding onto its bumper sticker's ``Vote with Your Fork'' approach, admit they aren't interested in the election. But many are looking for change on the political scene, their issues as varied as the products they produce.

Sunshine Diaz, owner of Rock Star Farms in Gainesville, has hope that the Georgia's attitude toward small and organic producers will change. Diaz and her husband, who have been involved with Georgia Organics for the last three years, started their own naturally-grown produce farm near Browns Bridge Road last summer.

``I think the more we have local farms, the more we empower our communities, and there's nothing you can do to stop that once it gets started. And it is started,'' Diaz said.

But Nashville-based goat farmer Tom Kuettner said he won't be looking for any help from the state's new ag commissioner.

``I haven't seen anything I like in the ag department,'' Kuettner said.

Still, he is looking for legislation that affects smaller farmers and those who cater to the emerging demand for local food.

Kuettner, vice president of the Georgia Dairy Goat Breeders Association and the owner of Kickin' K Ranch in South Georgia, is closely watching two bills that might allow farmers to sell raw milk for human consumption.

From his booth at the conference expo, Kuettner passed out fliers in support of Georgia House Bill 874, written by Cobb County Republican Bobby Franklin, over another bill written by Athens representative Doug McKillip that seeks to legalize but regulate the sale of raw milk.

Franklin's bill makes it legal to sell and deliver raw milk for human consumption without regulation. Kuettner said McKillip's bill makes it too expensive for small farmers to sell raw milk, which now can only be sold for pets' use.

Georgia Dairy Goat Breeders Association President Kay James said the current prohibition on the sale of raw milk for human consumption limits people's right to choose. He hopes change is on the horizon.

``I think that most people think there will be some type of change,'' said James. ``And we're all hoping, with these bills that have been proposed, that we will see some changes for the small farmer in Georgia.''

Jonathan Hosseini of the Roswell-based Kenari Company, who passed out samples of his locally grown and handcrafted beverage, said he wants government to get out of the way. He is following state legislation that would pre-empt local ordinances banning residents from raising small animals or crops for consumption. That bill, also sponsored by Franklin, is still in committee.

Hosseini thinks the bill should go further to allow in-city residents to trade their livestock or produce for other commodities.

``It's very silly that you can have a pit bull in town and you can't have a goat,'' he said.

Others, like Suzanne Welander, are hoping that this year's election brings policies that are more friendly to smaller poultry producers caught between federal and state policies.

Georgia's food code requires meat to be inspected during the slaughter process, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture won't send an inspector unless there are 20,000 or more birds being processed. That forces the state's small poultry producers to drive long hours to other states for processing, Welander said.

The state agriculture department is close to releasing rules for on-farm slaughter of 1,000 or fewer birds, yet it still leaves farmers who want to slaughter between 1,000 and 20,000 chickens at a time in a lurch, Welander said.

``We're the No. 1 poultry producing state, and we don't have any small-scale processing facilities for farmers,'' Rolls said.

And while she credits Irvin for his 41-year commitment to agriculture, Rolls said she is looking forward to new leadership ready to tackle issues important to small producers.

``Any time you've got somebody there that's been there a long time, you're not necessarily going to be on the cutting edge of innovation,'' Rolls said. ``... When you bring new leadership in, you have an opportunity to really ramp up the dialogue on new and emerging issues.''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

HAMILTON, Mont. (AP) Two men from Woodstock, Ga., have been convicted of abusing their horses during an extended pack trip into the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in western Montana.

It was the second conviction for 72-year-old Craig Heydon and his 38-year-old son, Curtis Heydon, who were found guilty last year in Justice Court of 21 counts of misdemeanor animal abuse. The men appealed in District Court, where they were convicted again Friday.

This time, the elder Heydon was found guilty of nine counts of animal cruelty to three different horses. His son was convicted of 10 counts the additional charge coming for abandoning a dying horse tied up without water on a trail.

The Heydons used the horses on a two-month pack trip in the summer of 2008. The case came to light when they left one of the emaciated horses lying collapsed along a trail.

Sentencing is set for March 3.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Throngs of people will crowd the crescent-shaped SeaWorld amphitheater Saturday to watch the first killer whale show since an orca named Tilikum killed a trainer a few days ago.

This performance will be much different from past shows.

Trainers won't be allowed in the water, meaning the spectacular stunts, like when the handlers surf on top of the whales or are thrown into the air, won't be done. And a video tribute is planned for Dawn Brancheau, the 40-year-old veteran trainer who was rubbing the 12,000-pound giant when he grabbed her ponytail and pulled her in.

Protesters who think the killer whales should be released into the wild planned to demonstrate outside the park, where red balloons and flowers have been left in memory of Brancheau.

SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment President Jim Atchison said Friday trainers won't swim with the killer whales until officials finish reviewing what happened to Brancheau.

``We will make improvements and changes and we will move forward,'' Atchison said as killer whales swam in a tank behind him during a news conference at the Florida park. Shows will also resume at SeaWorld's two other locations in San Antonio and San Diego.

Brancheau was dragged into the water Wednesday by Tilikum. The medical examiner said she likely died of traumatic injuries and drowning.

Atchison said Tilikum will remain an ``active, contributing member of the team,'' in part because the killer whale show is big business at SeaWorld. The company owns more killer whales than anyone else in the world and builds the orca image into its multimillion-dollar brand.

``We have created an extraordinary opportunity for people to get an up-close, personal experience and be inspired and connect with marine life in a way they cannot do anywhere else in the world,'' Atchison said, ``and for that we will make no apologies.''

The timing of the killer whales' return to performances reflects just what the sleek black-and-white mammals mean to SeaWorld, which the private equity firm The Blackstone Group bought last fall for around $2.7 billion from Anheuser-Busch InBev in a deal that included two Busch Gardens theme parks and several other attractions.

``SeaWorld operations are built around Shamu and the orca. So quantitatively they mean literally hundreds of millions of dollars to that company,'' said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, a consulting firm.

No animal is more valuable to that operation than Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity, which now has been involved in the deaths of two trainers and requires a special set of handling rules, which Atchison wouldn't specify. Captured nearly 30 years ago off Iceland, Tilikum has grown into the alpha male of captive killer whales, his value as a stud impossible to pin down.

Breeding is the best way to build a collection of killer whales to draw in visitors at up to $78.95 apiece to sit in the splash zone or take pictures of their kids petting Shamu, the stage name SeaWorld gives all of its adult orcas in shows.

And no one is better at breeding killer whales than SeaWorld.

The company owns 25 of the 42 orcas in captivity, and other theme parks sometimes come to SeaWorld to get theirs.

At the heart of it all is Tilikum, bought in 1992 from a now-defunct Canadian park where he was one of three orcas that battered and submerged a fallen trainer until she died. After the woman slipped into the water, she became like a plaything to the three whales, said Adam Hellicar, a former diver at Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia.

Like many amusement parks, privately held SeaWorld doesn't release attendance figures or say whether it charges other facilities stud fees or other fees for the right to buy or borrow orcas. Nor does it disclose what chunk of its revenue comes from killer whales.

But that's what everyone goes to see.

The Oregon Coast Aquarium saw its largest crowds during the few years that Keiko lived there before he was released into the wild.

``He was a superstar,'' said Judy Tuttle, curator of marine mammals at the aquarium, who worked extensively with Keiko. ``Some people think he's still here. A woman came up to me recently and asked where Keiko was.''

Kelli Kennedy reported from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Associated Press writers Brian Skoloff in Orlando, Melissa Nelson in Pensacola, Fla., and Anna Varela in Atlanta contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) DeKalb County Police have arrested a suspected serial rapist. 

Police Chief William O'Brien says they got a break in the case after a woman was able to fight off her attacker.  The suspect took off in her car and she called 9-1-1, and police were able to locate the suspect.

"I'd like to thank the victims for having the strength to come forward in these cases.  In a couple of them, the females have actually fought with this perpetrator," said O'Brien.

19-year-old Trevor Deion Blue, believed responsible for some 11 attacks has been charged with rape, attempted rape, aggravated sodomy, armed robbery, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual battery, and kidnapping.

Police had warned women to be extra cautious following the attacks which occurred in Stone Mountain near the Hambrick Road corridor from Memorial Drive to Rockbridge Road.

SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment President Jim Atchison said Friday trainers won't get in the water with the killer whales for now until officials finish reviewing what happened to veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40.

``We will make improvements and changes and we will move forward,'' Atchison said as killer whales swam in a tank behind him during a news conference at the Florida park, one of three SeaWorld locations. The others are in San Antonio and San Diego.

The trainer was dragged into the water Wednesday by Tilikum. The medical examiner says she likely died of traumatic injuries and drowning.

Atchison says Tilikum will remain an ``active, contributing member of the team'' at SeaWorld.

Atchison says whale shows will resume Saturday. He says he's not sure how long it will be before trainers are allowed to get back in the water with the animals.

Tilikum is the only killer whale in the SeaWorld chain that the park has special handling rules for, Atchison said. The 22-foot, 12,000-pound male was involved in two earlier deaths at SeaWorld and a park in British Columbia.

Atchison wouldn't speak to specific protocols or whether any had been violated, saying it's too soon to come to any conclusions.

``It's far too early to get to that point,'' he said. He added, ``We are evaluating every policy, every procedure we have.''

The issue of protocols was raised by the former head of animal training at SeaWorld, Thad Lacinak, who said earlier Friday that the rules in place when he left the park in 2008 would not have allowed Brancheau to lie down on a submerged shelf next to the whale, where the animal was able to grab her ponytail.

``She laid completely down, which is a very vulnerable position to be in with an animal like Tilikum. And apparently her ponytail drifted into the water, he just opened his mouth, sucked it in and pulled her in the water,'' Lacinak, who left SeaWorld in 2008 after a long career to start a consultancy, told The Associated Press.

Lacinak said he'd been told how the attack happened by other trainers who were at the scene. Based on their description, he said the rules for handling Tilikum that were in place during his tenure had either been broken or changed.

Tilikum was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer in 1991 at a theme park near Victoria, British Columbia. In 1999, the body of a naked man was found draped over Tilikum at SeaWorld. Officials said the man had stayed in the park after closing, apparently fell into the whale tank and died of hypothermia, but was also bitten by Tilikum.

Lacinak said Brancheau's ponytail was merely a ``novelty item'' to the whale, who was not trained to be in the water with people.

``It was a novel item in the water, and he grabbed hold of it, not necessarily in an aggressive way,'' he said.

Lacinak said the whale dragged the trainer into the water in more of a playful, investigative manner. Once the whale had her in the water, it likely became a game.

``It was more novelty, he's like, 'Hey look, you're in the water, I'm going to play with you,''' Lacinak said.

Associated Press writers Brian Skoloff, Mike Schneider and Tamara Lush reported from Orlando; Lisa Orkin Emmanuel reported from Miami; Noaki Schwartz from Los Angeles; Mitch Weiss from Charlotte, N.C.; and Kelli Kennedy from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Bob Springer from APTN also reported from Orlando.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond is urging Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chamblis to quickly support an extension of federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation and federal funding for state extended benefits.

He says come Monday morning, some 8000 Georgians will be without those benefits for failure of the Senate to act.

"Unless the budget stalemate is addressed, then I'm concerned we'll have so many hardworking Georgians who can't find work, are unable to support themselves, and now are unable to draw their extended benefits," Thurmond tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.

He says the soonest the Senate could vote is Monday.

Currently the state's unemployment rate stands at 10.3 percent with close to 200,000 Georgians receiving federal emergency benefits.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- As state lawmakers continue to grapple with a budget for next year, some are defending a $10 million investment by the state for the College Football Hall of Fame that's headed to Atlanta.

The money is part of a $50 million deal to build a 50,000 square foot facility at Centennial Olympic Park scheduled to be completed by 2012.

"This is really no different than an economic development project like with KIA or somebody else... the state is putting in a portion of the money up front, most of the money is going to be raised through private contributions," says Rep. Butch Parrish (R-Swainsboro).

He says the state will more than make up the money through the sales tax generated by the estimated 400,000 visitors to the facility a year.

"I know these are tough economic times for all of us... but we can't just close up the state, there's certain things we've got to do," says Parrish.

He emphasizes that the state will have no further financial obligation to the facility after its initial investment.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- With another round of snow expected over parts of Georgia next week, the Department of Transportation will have the task of keeping the state's roads open.

The department has already spent $5 million of its budget for fiscal 2010 dealing with flooding and two rounds of snow.  Commissioner Vance Smith tells lawmakers it's been difficult without a designated emergency fund.

"We don't have a category with a dollar amount there... so we've had to draw dollars from other pots," he tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.

He says that's becoming more difficult as the state's motor fuel tax has continued to decline.

As lawmakers consider a budget for next year, Smith is asking they set aside money just for emergencies caused by weather.

(WSB Radio)  The latest investigation into DeKalb County School Superintendent Crawford Lewis is raising concerns among county parents.

"Where is DeKalb County headed?  What's going to happen with our schools?" asks Marshall Orson, co-president of the Emory-Lavista Parents Council.  "Are we now not only failing to help those school that need to be improved, but are we going to start to do damage to those schools that are performing well?"

The Emory-Lavista Parents Council represents 17 schools in DeKalb.  Following the raid on Lewis' home, and two administration buildings, parents are wondering about morale and the increased scrutiny the school system will receive.

"I think if you work in a system that is constantly under a microscope for things of your own making," Orson tells WSB, "if you work in that system as an employee, then you have to begin to wonder if it's really worth it."

Orson believes the economy will keep teachers from moving to other counties, but the investigation, following other publicized incidents, might keep good teachers from wanting to come to DeKalb County.

He cites as an example the pay raise given to Crawford Lewis last year, coming at a time when DeKalb teachers were being forced to take extra furlough days. Add to that questions about a trip by a group of school employees to Los Angeles and the cost involved, along with questions about Lewis' handling of school personnel and it equals a lack of confidence in the system by teachers and parents alike.

"I think the confidence wasn't high before," Orson says, "but I think their inability to believe that the system can deliver on what their ultimate responsibility is, which is to provide a high quality education to our children, I think is very problematic."

The latest scrutiny of the superintendent, his administration, and the operation of the school system, also opens the door for further inquiries, Orson says.

"When you look at where we've be headed, directionally, with the number of investigations, the questions about outcomes, the assertions of cheating on the CRCT, which was, primarily, in the city of Atlanta, but which did include a good number of schools in DeKalb, when you look at that cumulatively, I would be surprised if an accrediting agency wouldn't, at least, have to take a closer look at what is going on," he says. 

The increased scrutiny of the system from the outside will also mean a closer look at the school board from within the county, Orson believes.

"Every decision the school board now makes is going to be scrutinized as if they had some other motive, some other agenda, and whether they were making the right decision or the best decision," he says.

Crawford Lewis has taken a temporary leave while he is under investigation concerning school system construction contracts.

AUSTELL, Ga. (AP) The Cobb County school board has voted to build a replacement for Clarkdale Elementary School in Austell, which was flooded in September and was left unusable.

The school's student body was divided between two neighboring schools after the flooding on Sept. 21.

School district officials say the new Clarkdale Elementary will be built near Cooper Middle School and will contain up to 53 classrooms.

The new school won't be finished in time for the next school year. District spokesman Jay Dillon insurance money will pay most of the construction costs.

More than 300 residents attended a public forum on Feb. 2, with many speaking in support of rebuilding Clarkdale, but not in its previous location.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- The lemon creme cookies don't have a lemon-fresh scent.

The company that produces Lemon Chalet Creme Girl Scout cookies admitted some of the boxes may smell funny.

Buyers reported a strange scent and taste .

The Little Brownie Bakers web site insists the cookies are fine, but that they "are not up to our quality standards."

Apparently, the oil used in the cookies is breaking down.

The company has recalled affected batches shipped to Girl Scout councils.

ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) The grandmother accused of drowning her 5-year-old grandson while on vacation in Florida has been indicted in the boy's death.

Court data shows a Franklin County grand jury has indicted 71-year-old Marianne Bordt on charges of premeditated murder and aggravated child abuse.

Bordt, a German national, was arrested on Jan. 4 after she told police she didn't want her grandson to grow up in a divorced home.

The boy's parents had joint custody of Camden after they divorced in 2006, but he lived mostly with his mother in an Atlanta suburb.

Bordt is accused of drowning Camden Hiers, of Roswell, in the bathtub of a rental condo while her husband went to a store in St. George Island, Fla.

A court date has not yet been set.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- A Gainesville teenager has been charged in Sunday's accident that left two brothers dead.  Gwinnett County Police Officer Brian Kelly tells WSB after following up on several leads that a Chevrolet pickup may have been involved in Sunday's crash on I-985, 18-year-old Villanel Arroyo was arrested.

"They were able to locate him and interview him and he has since been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of reckless driving, and one count of aggressive driving," said Kelly.

23-year-old Paul Keys III and his 19-year-old brother Shawn Keys of Flowery Branch, were killed when the driver of the Honda CRX lost control of the car, it slammed into some trees, and burst into flames.

"It's becoming clear that the event between the two vehicles, it's a possibility that they were both driving at high rates of speed and possibly racing.  This contributed significantly to the severity of this accident and likely contributed to the deaths of these victims," said Kelly.

The three apparently did not know each other.

"There's no indication that the suspect knew either one of the brothers.  This was just a random event as both vehicles were driving down the interstate," said Kelly.

(WSB Radio) -- A Toyota Corolla with a VIN number that is part of the Japanese automaker's global recall for acceleration problems ran into a DeKalb County home Thursday after the driver said she couldn't make the car stop.

No one was hurt in the accident, which  happened on Wurtenberg Lane in Stone Mountain. 

The unidentified driver told Channel 2 Action News she was leaving her driveway for a trip to the store when the 2009 Corolla took off.  She said she stomped on the brake, but the car ran across the street and slammed into a neighbor's house.

The home, owned by Roger Norde, suffered significant damage to the front door and the foyer.  Norde told Channel 2 Action News "we was shocked and amazed and we was like holy smokes what's going on here."  Norde has insurance on the house, but he plans to contact Toyota to see if the company will pay for the repairs.

DeKalb County police have not filed any charges in the case.  A spokesman said investigators want to determine if a vehicle malfunction is to blame for the crash.

He announced the move Thursday after an emergency meeting held hours after police searched his home in what The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports was part of an ongoing investigation into school construction projects.

Photo: AJC

The DeKalb County District Attorney's Office served a search warrant at Superintendent Crawford Lewis' home about 7:30 a.m.

In October, the district attorney's office seized thousands of documents while searching the office and home of Patricia Pope, the county's former chief operating officer in connection with the investigation.

The school board did not talk about the allegations publicly Thursday night, but spent four hours behind closed doors meeting with attorneys.

The board voted to appoint Ramona Tyson, the district's deputy chief superintendent of business operations, as interim superintendent. The board also voted to pay Lewis' legal expense and allow him to maintain his $255,000 annual salary during his leave.

Official White House Photo

``We have a very difficult gap to bridge here,'' said Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 House Republican. ``We just can't afford this. That's the ultimate problem.''

With Cantor sitting in front of a giant stack of nearly 2,400 pages representing the Democrats' Senate-passed bill, Obama said cost is a legitimate question, but he took Cantor and other Republicans to task for using political shorthand and props ``that prevent us from having a conversation.''

And so it went, hour after hour at Blair House, just across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House a marathon policy debate available from start to finish to a divided public.

The more than six-hour back-and-forth was essentially a condensed, one-day version of the entire past year of debate over the nation's health care crisis, with all its heat, complexity and detail, and a crash course in the partisan divide, in which Democrats seek the kind of broad remake that has eluded leaders for half a century and Republicans favor much more modest changes. With Democrats in control of the White House and Congress, they were left with the critical decision about where to go next.

Obama and his Democratic allies argued at Thursday's meeting that a broad overhaul is imperative for the nation's future economic vitality. The president cast health care as ``one of the biggest drags on our economy,'' tying his top domestic priority to an issue that's even more pressing to many Americans.

``This is the last chance, as far as I'm concerned,'' Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y.

Obama lamented partisan bickering that has resulted in a stalemate over legislation to extend coverage to more than 30 million people who are now uninsured. ``Politics I think ended up trumping practical common sense,'' he said.

And yet, even as he pleaded for cooperation ``actually a discussion, and not just us trading talking points'' he insisted on a number of Democratic points and acknowledged agreement may not be possible. ``I don't know that those gaps can be bridged,'' Obama said.

With hardened positions well staked out before the meeting, the president and his Democratic allies prepared to move on alone a gamble with political risks no matter how they do that.

One option preferred by the White House and progressives in the Democratic caucus is to try to pass a comprehensive plan without GOP support, by using controversial Senate budget reconciliation rules that would disallow filibusters. GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander asked Democrats to swear off a jam-it-through approach, while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., defended it. Obama weighed in with gentle chiding, asking both sides to focus on substance and worry about process later a plea he made repeatedly throughout the day with little success.

A USA Today/Gallup survey released Thursday found Americans tilt 49-42 against Democrats forging ahead by themselves without any GOP support. Opposition was even stronger to the idea of Senate Democrats using the special budget rules, with 52 percent opposed and 39 percent in favor.

A second alternative for Obama and his party is going smaller, with a modest bill that would merely smooth some of the rough edges from the current system. A month after the Massachusetts election that cost Democrats their Senate supermajority and threw the health legislation in doubt, the White House has developed its own slimmed-down health care proposal so the president will know what the impact would be if he chooses that route, according to a Democratic official familiar with the discussions. That official could not provide details, but Democrats have looked at approaches including expanding Medicaid and allowing children to stay on their parents' health plans until around age 26.

Obama himself hinted at a Democrats-only strategy. When asked by reporters as he walked to the summit site if he had a Plan B, he responded: ``I've always got plans.''

Many lawmakers and Obama stressed areas of agreement, including items such as allowing parents to keep young adult children on their health plans into their 20s, cutting fraud and waste and ensuring that sick people aren't dropped by insurance companies. But such items occupy the edges of reform.

Indeed, any skepticism about reaching broad consensus was vindicated as soon as the first Republican spoke in opposition to the mammoth bills that have passed the House and Senate. Alexander, of Tennessee, said Congress and the administration should start over and take small steps, including medical malpractice reform, high-risk insurance pools, a way to allow Americans to shop out of state for lower-cost plans and an expansion of health savings accounts.

``We believe we have a better idea,'' Alexander said. ``Our views represent the views of a great number of American people.''

Disagreements were not always expressed diplomatically.

Alexander challenged Obama's claim that insurance premiums would fall under the Democratic legislation. ``You're wrong,'' he said. Responded Obama: ``I'm pretty certain I'm not wrong.''

As with much in the complicated health care debate, both sides had a point. The Congressional Budget Office says average premiums for people buying insurance individually would be 10 to 13 percent higher in 2016 under the Senate legislation, as Alexander said. But the policies would cover more medical services, and around half of people could get government subsidies to defray the extra costs.

Obama and his 2008 GOP opponent for the presidency, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, had a barbed exchange. McCain complained at length about what he said was a backdoor process to produce the original bills that resulted in favors for special interests and carve-outs for certain states.

``We're not campaigning anymore. The election's over,'' responded a clearly irritated Obama.

``I'm reminded of that every day,'' McCain shot back, adding that ``the American people care about what we did and how we did it.''

Said Obama: ``We can have a debate about process or we can have a debate about how we're actually going to help the American people at this point. And I think that's the latter debate is the one that they care about a little bit more.''

Generally, polls show Americans want solutions to the problems of high medical costs, eroding access to coverage and uneven quality. But they are split over the Democrats' sweeping legislation, with its $1 trillion, 10-year price tag and many complex provisions, including some that wouldn't take effect for eight years.

The Democratic bills would require most Americans to get health insurance, while providing subsidies for many in the form of a new tax credit. The Democrats would set up a competitive insurance market for small businesses and people buying coverage on their own. Democrats also would make a host of other changes, which include addressing a coverage gap in the Medicare prescription benefit and setting up a new long-term-care insurance program. Their plan would be paid for through a mix of Medicare cuts and tax increases.

``Not only are lawmakers polarized, the parties' constituencies are far apart,'' said Robert Blendon, a Harvard University professor who follows public opinion trends on health care. ``The president is going to use it as a launching pad for what will be the last effort to get a big bill passed. He will say that he tried to get a bipartisan compromise and it wasn't possible.''

The Blair House setting wasn't grand, or even particularly comfortable. About 40 senators, representatives and administration officials were crowded shoulder-to-shoulder around a hollow square table, perched for the six-hour marathon on wooden chairs with thin cushions. Coffee breaks were ruled out, so the only pause in the action came during lunch.

C-SPAN carried complete coverage, while news operations from cable networks to public broadcasting were making it the focus of their day.

Leaving the site during a lunch break, Obama was asked by waiting reporters if he thought the debate was engendering a lot of interest across the country.

``I don't know if it's interesting watching it on TV,'' he responded.

Associated Press writers Erica Werner, Ben Feller and Natasha Metzler contributed to this story.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

He was acquitted on Thursday of a second child pornography count.

The 50-year-old Lebowitz was arrested in 2006 after a woman reported that the doctor had sent messages with sexual content to her 15-year-old son.

Evidence at the trial showed Lebowitz had planned to take the 15-year-old to his home in Decatur.

Prosecutors say officers searched Lebowitz's home and seized three computers, two of which contained video recordings of Lebowitz engaged in sex acts with two young boys.

Lebowitz faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment on each conviction. A sentencing date has not been set.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

People lined up to get into the park a day after the whale named Tilikum killed veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau as a horrified audience watched. Tilikum had been involved in two previous deaths, including a Canadian trainer dragged under water by him and two others whales in 1991.

Killer whale shows are suspended indefinitely in Orlando and at the park's San Diego location.

``We have every intention of continuing to interact with this animal, though the procedures for working with him will change,'' SeaWorld said in a post on its blog.

Chuck Tompkins, who is in charge of training at all SeaWorld parks, said Thursday that Tilikum will not be isolated from the Orlando location's seven other whales. Tilikum fathered some of them and will continue mating with others.

``We want him to continue to be part of that social group,'' Tompkins said.

Trainers will review safety procedures and change them as needed, but Tompkins said he doesn't expect the killer whale shows to be much different.

Brancheau, 40, was rubbing Tilikum from a poolside platform when the 22-foot, 12,000-pound creature reached up, grabbed her long braid in its mouth and dragged her underwater.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that trainers trying to help her could not get into the water because Tilikum was so aggressive. They had to coax him into a smaller pool and raise him out of the water on a platform before they could free her.

She likely died from multiple traumatic injuries and drowning, the medical examiner's office said.

Horrified visitors who had stuck around after a noontime show watched Tilikum charge through the pool with Brancheau in his jaws.

Tompkins said the whale was lying in front of Brancheau when her braid swung in front of him and he apparently grabbed onto it.

``We like to think we know 99.9 percent of the time what an animal is doing,'' he told The Associated Press on Thursday. ``But this is one of those times we just don't know.''

Kelly Vickery, 24, of Tallahassee was at the noon show Wednesday and said the whales seemed to be acting odd, swimming around the tank rapidly. Trainers said the whales ``were having an off day, that they were being ornery,'' she said.

Tompkins disputed that, saying nothing seemed abnormal.

Vickery returned Thursday with her sons so they could see the areas of the park they had missed a day earlier, though she acknowledged being there felt ``weird'' a day after the tragedy.

``But it's an animal, and it's an accident,'' she said.

Audience member Eldon Skaggs, who saw the attack, said Brancheau's interaction with the whale appeared leisurely and informal at first. But then, the whale ``pulled her under and started swimming around with her.''

Another audience member, Victoria Biniak, told WKMG-TV the whale ``took off really fast in the tank, and then he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing around, and one of her shoes flew off.''

Because of his size and the previous deaths, trainers were not supposed to get into the water with Tilikum, and only about a dozen of the park's 29 trainers worked with him. Brancheau had more experience with the 30-year-old whale than most. Tompkins says the park believes he is the biggest male killer whale in captivity.

Tilikum was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer in 1991 after the woman lost her balance and fell in the pool at Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia.

A few months later, SeaWorld asked the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service for permission to bring Tilikum to Orlando temporarily, according to agency documents obtained by The Associated Press. The agency is responsible for issuing permits to bring orcas and other marine animals into the U.S.

In a Jan. 8, 1992, letter, the agency said SeaWorld wanted to bring Tilikum to Orlando to provide medical treatment and care unavailable in Canada. The letter does not specify Tilikum's medical condition, nor does it mention his role in the deadly attack on the trainer.

Nancy Foster, director of the agency's office of protected resources, said in the letter to Brad Andrews, SeaWorld's vice president of zoological operations at the time, that ``prudent and precautionary steps necessary for the health and welfare of Tilikum were not taken by Sealand or SeaWorld.''

Despite that, the documents show SeaWorld got permission to permanently display Tilikum and two female killer whales from Sealand in Orlando in October 1992. It's not clear if the two were the other whales involved in the attack on the Sealand trainer.

Tilikum was also involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by SeaWorld security was found draped over him. The man either jumped, fell or was pulled into the frigid water and died of hypothermia, though he was also bruised and scratched by Tilikum.

Brancheau's older sister, Diane Gross, said the trainer wouldn't want anything done to the whale.

``She loved the whales like her children, she loved all of them,'' said Gross, of Schererville, Ind. ``They all had personalities, good days and bad days.''

Celebrity zookeeper Jack Hanna said he has known Brancheau professionally for the last 10 years and also believes she would not want anything to happen to Tilikum.

Brancheau's passion for marine life began at the age of nine, Gross said, on a family trip to Sea World.

According to a profile of her in the Orlando Sentinel in 2006, she was one of SeaWorld Orlando's leading trainers. She also addressed the dangers of the job.

``You can't put yourself in the water unless you trust them and they trust you,'' Brancheau said.

Billy Hurley, chief animal officer at the Georgia Aquarium the world's largest said there are inherent dangers to working with orcas, just as there are with driving race cars or piloting jets.

``In the case of a killer whale, if they want your attention or if they're frustrated by something or if they're confused by something, there's only a few ways of handling that,'' he said. ``If you're right near pool's edge and they decide they want a closer interaction during this, certainly they can grab you.''

And, he added: ``At 12,000 pounds there's not a lot of resisting you're going to do.''

It was not the first attack on whale trainers at SeaWorld parks.

In November 2006, a trainer was bitten and held underwater several times by a killer whale during a show at SeaWorld's San Diego park. He escaped with a broken foot.

In 2004, another whale at the company's San Antonio park tried to hit one of the trainers and attempted to bite him.

Wednesday's attack was the second time in two months that an orca trainer was killed. On Dec. 24, 29-year-old Alexis Martinez Hernandez fell from a whale and crushed his ribcage at Loro Parque on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

Associated Press writers Tamara Lush in Orlando, Lisa Orkin Emmanuel, Laura Wides-Munoz and David Fischer in Miami, Mitch Weiss in Charlotte, N.C., Dorie Turner in Atlanta and Jeremy Hainsworth in Vancouver, British Columbia, contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- Starting this spring, state investigators plan to conduct audits into standardized testing in Georgia high schools.

The move comes after the Governor's Office of Student Achievement found questionable eraser marks on CRCT's given in nearly 200 elementary and middle schools last year.

"We make really important decisions on that data for our kids, so we want to take a closer look at that data and if we have the opportunity to do that and we have the resources to do it, it's an appropriate thing for us to do," says Executive Director Kathleen Mathers.

She says her office will look at end of course as well as graduation tests.

Mathers told lawmakers that budget cuts to her department should not affect the ability to conduct those audits.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- A husband/wife team will appear on the Democratic primary ballot.  Carol Porter, wife of gubernatorial candidate DuBose Porter, has announced she'll seek the number two position for Lt. Governor.

She becomes the first candidate to announce for the Democratic nomination and says it was something she would have never considered before two weeks ago.

"I want to thank the many supporters who have called, who have emailed, who have started Facebook pages for their support," Porter told a group during her announcement at the State Capitol.

She filled in for her husband in a recent debate and has since been urged to run for office herself.

"I have heard your voices and I have come to realize there is a percentage of the population of Georgia that is fed up with Georgia politics," says Porter.

Her husband and four boys where at her side during the announcement.

"If you truly want family values in Georgia, elect a Georgia family," said DuBose.

The Porters run a chain of nine newspapers in middle Georgia and Carol has been at her husband's side during most of his 30 years in the state legislature.

She says she plans to run her campaign separately but will share the same message of ending corruption, creating jobs, and solving the state's problems with water, education, and transportation.

Photo: AJC

The district attorney's office has been investigating construction projects in DeKalb schools. It's unclear what searchers were looking for in Lewis' home.

Dale Davis, Lewis' spokesman, said he was unaware of the search or the reasons for it. "I don't know. Call the DA," he told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The DeKalb district attorney's office served a search warrant at Lewis' home around 7:30 this morning. Less than an hour later, investigators showed up at the DeKalb school headquarters on Decatur Road with a second search warrant.

(WSB Radio) -- How would you feel about making the chicken Georgia's state bird? There's a grass-roots effort under way now to get that done.

The effort is headed up by Chris Cunningham, President of the Augusta-based Wife Saver restaurant chain. He says we've had the brown thrasher as our state bird for 40 years now: "And what's it ever done for the state of Georgia? It hasn't done anything."

He thinks it's time for the Cornish chicken to get the respect it deserves: "Chicken that's processed in the state of Georgia is shipped all over the world, and if it wasn't for the chicken, Georgia's economy would be in the tank."

(WSB Radio) -- A nationwide search is underway for a seven-year-old Paulding County boy who hasn't been seen since Janaury 17th.  Corporal Brandon Gurley with the Paulding County Sheriff's Office tells WSB Josh Hoover was taken from his grandmother, who had been caring for the child since his mother died, and turned over to his biological father, William Hoover.  Gurley says they soon found out that Hoover had gotten custody after lying under oath.

"Two days after we picked the child up with Mr. Hoover, we received information that he left the state with the child and has not returned since.  We do have an arrest warrant issued for Mr. Hoover in this case, charging him with one felony count of interstate interference with child custody," said Gurley.

The 50-year-old is considered armed and dangerous.

"He's believed to be traveling with the child in a green 2001 Ford Expedition with an expired Georgia tag BDU 9044," said Gurley.

Authorities believe he could be in several different states.

"There are several indications at this point of different states that he could be traveling to or that he may be in.   Our strongest possibility at this point is gonna be Texas," said Gurley.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Paulding County Sheriff's Office at 770-443-3010.

(WSB Radio) -- Cobb County firefighters are investigating the cause of a deadly house fire in Marietta. 

Cobb Fire Lt. Dan Dupree told  WSB's Mark Alewine a body was found in the rubble of the home on Cauthen Court off of Canton Highway, but the medical examiner has not determined the gender or age of the victim. 

The fire, which started in the home's garage, was called in to 911 around 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Neighbors told Channel 2 Action News an elderly woman lived alone in the home.

(WSB Radio/AP) -- More than 1,000 people packed the gymnasium at McEachern High School Wednesday night for a memorial service for Rajaan Bennett.

His mother, Narjaketha Bennett, took to the podium to talk about how proud she was the way her son lived his life.  Fighting back tears, she said "I never had any problems, I never had to scold him, he was just a wonderful child."

Bennett, a star running back, was headed to Vanderbilt University on a scholarship.  Vanderbilt Head Coach Bobby Johnson spoke at the memorial.  He said "he (Bennett) was a dynamic football player, a great leader.  But at the ame time, he was humble, loving, caring and dedicated to his family."

Bennett was found dead at his family's Powder Springs home February 18th after officers responding to a 911 call arrived at his house and heard at least four gun shots.  Powder Springs Major Charles Spann said 39-year-old Clifton Steger, the ex-boyfriend of Narjaketha Bennett, shot Rajaan Bennett and then killed himself.

Bennett's funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Trinity Church Chapel of Georgia in Powder Springs.

(WSB Radio) -- A weekend accident in Gwinnett County that killed two brothers from Hall County may have been caused by drag racing.

A witness to the one vehicle crash that claimed the lives of 23-year-old Paul "Bubba" Keys III and 19-year-old Shawn Keys, both of Flowery Branch, has come forward with information that the brothers may have been racing a Chevrolet pickup driven by a man of Hispanic descent.

Anyone who may have witnessed the wreck on I-985 southbound between Friendship Road and Buford Drive is asked to call Gwinnett County Police.  The accident occurred just before 2 o'clock Sunday morning.  The victims died when their Honda CRX ran off the interstate, hit a stand of trees and burst into flames.

The funeral for the Keys brothers will be held Thursday at 1 p.m. at Flanigan Funeral Home in Buford.

(WSB Radio) -- An Atlanta law firm specializing in bankruptcy cases is under investigation by the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs.

Someone at Wilson, Brock & Irby allegedly instructed a runner for the firm to dispose of documents containing sensitive personal information, including W2 forms and old checks, into a dumpster at the Smyrna Recycling Center.  That runner told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he went to the Smyrna center because it was a secure site.

Smyrna Police investigator Joe Bennett told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that officers were called to the center after an employee found the paperwork in the bin.  Upon further inspection, officers found documents piled five to six feet deep in the 10 by 20 foot dumpster.

The law firm, located on Paces Ferry Road, will not face criminal charges, because it is not illegal to dump personal files at a recycling center.

(WSB Radio) -- A top official at the Georgia Aquarium says the fatal accident at a whale tank at SeaWorld in Orlando is tragic, but not shocking.

Billy Hurley, chief animal officer at the Georgia Aquarium the world's largest said there are inherent dangers to working with orcas, just as there are with driving race cars or piloting jets.

"In the case of a killer whale, if they want your attention or if they're frustrated by something or if they're confused by something, there's only a few ways of handling that,'' he said. "If you're right near pool's edge and they decide they want a closer interaction during this, certainly they can grab you.''

And, he added: "At 12,000 pounds there's not a lot of resisting you're going to do.''

A veteran SeaWorld trainer was leisurely rubbing a killer whale from a poolside platform when the creature reached up, grabbed her with its mouth and dragged her underwater.

Horrified visitors who had stuck around after a noontime show watched the animal charge through the pool with the trainer in its jaws. Workers rushed to help her with nets as an alarm sounded, but it was too late. Dawn Brancheau had drowned. It marked the third time the animal had been involved in a human death.

Brancheau's interaction with the whale appeared leisurely and informal at first to audience member Eldon Skaggs. But then, the whale ``pulled her under and started swimming around with her,'' Skaggs told The Associated Press.

Some workers hustled the audience out of the stadium while the others tried to save Brancheau, 40.

Skaggs said he heard that during an earlier show the whale was not responding to directions. Others who attended the earlier show said the whale was behaving like an ornery child.

Skaggs left with his wife and didn't find out until later that the trainer had died. The retired couple from Michigan had been among some stragglers who stayed to watch the animals and trainers when the accident occurred.

``We were just a little bit stunned,'' said Skaggs' wife, Sue Nichols, 67.

(The Associated Press contibuted to this report)

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- Gov. Perdue's transportation plan that includes a regional one cent sales tax to fund projects within those regions gets mixed reviews at its first hearing this session.

Voters would go to the polls in 2012 to decide whether to fund a list of projects within those regions.  No counties could opt out of a region, but if voters did not approve the tax, those projects wouldn't be funded.

"We are selling this as a statewide transportation plan... no county, no region is an island," says Perdue floor leader Rep. Jim Cole (R-Forsyth).

But members of a transportation subcommittee questioned the "no opt out" policy on which Cole says the governor is very firm.

Rep. Kevin Levitas (D-Atlanta) also questioned why the State Road and Tollway Authority would control the money rather than the Department of Transportation.

"The difference between SRTA and DOT is that SRTA is accountable only to one person, the governor," he says.

The bill also includes a provision for MARTA and its ability to temporarily control how it spends it money.

More hearings on the measure will be held next week.

(WSB State Capitol Bureau) -- Only one state lawmaker failed to file their Georgia income taxes last year, significantly less than made the list a year ago.

The House member will remain unnamed unless ethics charges are filed.  But first Rep. Joe Wilkinson, chair of the House Ethics Committee, says the legislator will be brought before the committee to offer an explanation.

"We will follow due process and have a committee hearing... and give them the opportunity to present information to our committee," he tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.

Last year 16 House members and three Senators made the list of delinquent tax filers for 2007.

"So many have indeed filed and have done what is required of them... finally," he says.

The legislature is considering a constitutional amendment this year that would require all taxes be filed and paid up to date in for a lawmaker to be seated.

"Zero should be the number, and I will not be happy until every single member of this house pays and files on time," says Wilkinson.

(WSB Radio) -- Dekalb County may lose 148 jobs as the Superintendent and Board of Education seek to cut the system's budget.

Superintendent Crawford Lewis told the board Wednesday morning the staff reductions are necessary to meet the school system's $88 million dollar deficit.

The 148 job cuts will save the system about $11 million dollars.

All the staff cuts come from the system's central office and represent about 15-percent of the 982 employees in that office.

School officials are also considering staff furloughs or wage reductions in addition to plans to close four schools and cut some programs.

Dan Brown, president of the Orlando park, said the trainer was one of the park's most experienced.

He would not answer questions about whether it happened during a performance, but an audience member said a show was just starting.

The whale ``took off really fast in the tank, and then he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing around, and one of her shoes flew off,'' Victoria Biniak told WKMG-TV.

Jim Solomons of the Orlando County Sheriff's Office, said the trainer slipped or fell into the whale's tank, which seemed to contradict Biniak's description.

``This appears to be an accidental death, a tragic death,'' said Solomons.

Neither Brown nor Solomons would release the trainer's name. The park is investigating, and Mike Wald, a spokesman for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration office in Atlanta, said his agency has dispatched an investigator from Tampa.

The guests were asked to leave and the park was closed.

There have been several previous attacks on whale trainers at SeaWorld parks.

In November 2006, trainer Kenneth Peters, 39, was bitten and held underwater several times by a 7,000-pound killer whale during a show at SeaWorld's San Diego park.

He escaped with a broken foot. The 17-foot-long orca who attacked him was the dominant female of SeaWorld San Diego's seven killer whales. She had attacked Peters two other times, in 1993 and 1999.

In 2004, another whale at the company's San Antonio park tried to hit one of the trainers and attempted to bite him. He also escaped.

In December, a whale drowned a trainer at a Spanish zoo.

At the Orlando SeaWorld, the body of a naked man was found scratched, bruised and draped over a 5-ton orca named Tilikum in July 1999. Daniel Dukes, 27, reportedly made his way past security at SeaWorld, remaining in the park after it had closed. Wearing only his underwear, Dukes either jumped, fell or was pulled into the frigid water of Tilikum's huge tank.

An autopsy ruled that he died of hypothermia in the 50-degree water. But they also said it appeared Tilikum bit the man and tore off his swimming trunks, likely believing he was a toy to play with.

Dukes' parents filed a lawsuit against the park later that year but ended up withdrawing it.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

``I'm deeply sorry for any accident that Toyota drivers have experienced,'' the grandson of the founder of the Japanese auto giant told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He suggested his company's ``priorities became confused'' in a quest for growth over the past decade at the expense of safety concerns.

Toyoda told the panel he was ``absolutely confident'' there was no problem with the electronics of Toyota vehicles and repeated the company's stance that sudden accelerations were caused by either a sticking gas pedal or a misplaced floor mat. Some outside experts have suggested electronics may be at the root of the problems.

Toyota has recalled 8.5 million vehicles, mostly to fix problems with floor mats trapping gas pedals or with pedals getting stuck.

In addition, Toyoda said the company is making changes so brake pedals can override a sudden acceleration and bring a runaway vehicle to a safe stop.

The company said Wednesday it will offer free at-home pickup of vehicles covered by the national safety recall, pay for customers' out-of-pocket transportation costs and provide drivers free rental cars during repairs. The deal costs to the company weren't specified was initially announced as part of an agreement between Toyota and New York state.

After an exchange of pleasantries that included praise from committee members for his willingness to step into a lion's den, Toyoda and a top deputy drew heavy fire from both Democrats and Republicans for the company's slowness in dealing with safety defects in its autos and trucks that led to deaths and eventually the massive recalls.

Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., said it was a ``very embarrassing day'' for Toyota and for U.S. highway safety regulators. He said he was equally embarrassed for U.S. Toyota dealers and for the thousands of hardworking Americans in ``Toyota plants across the country.''

Mica held aloft a copy of a July 2009 internal Toyota document boasting of a ``win'' for Toyota in striking a deal with the U.S. government for a more limited recall involving floor mats. The document said the agreement saved the company $100 million.

Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., cited ``injuries and the damages suffered by innocent Americans ... who like myself have grown up in an atmosphere that we had a great deal of faith in something that was stamped 'Made in Japan.'''

``It was of the highest reliability. You injured that thought process in the American public and you will be called upon in our system to pay compensation for that,'' Kanjorski said.

And Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., told the Toyota chief, ``It's one thing to say you're sorry. It's another when it seems as if time after time there are pronouncements that problems are being addressed and over and over again it seems like they're not being addressed.''

He asked why Americans ``should pay hard-earned money on a Toyota in hard economic times?''

``I sincerely regret that some people actually encountered accidents in their vehicles,'' said Toyoda, who gave his opening remarks in heavily accented English but chose to respond to questions in Japanese with a translator.

Toyoda said that great strides had been taken by his company to put ``safety first. Notwithstanding that, accidents actually happen,'' he said.

House committee chairman Edolphus Towns welcomed Toyoda and thanked him for volunteering to testify. ``We're very impressed with that. It shows your commitment to safety as well,'' Towns said.

Toyoda pledged his company would change the way it handles consumer complaints, including seeking greater input from drivers and outside safety experts when considering recalls. Toyota managers will also drive cars under investigation to experience potential problems first hand, he said.

Toyoda read from prepared remarks that had been released the day before.

``My name is on every car. You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers,'' he said. He delivered his short remarks clearly in somewhat accented English. However, when the questioning session began, he switched to Japanese with the help of a translator.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Could the spring break festival of students from historically black colleges and universities known as 'Freaknik' planning a return to Atlanta in 2010?

The website "FREAKNIK Atlanta" says yes.  City leaders say 'absolutely not."

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said, "I don't believe it will materialize and it's not my intention for the city to be supportive of it."

The website says the event will be held April 16-18 in Washington Park.  The city says no permits have been issued for any public events in the park for those dates.

City Councilman Kwanza Hall tells WSB he doesn't think there's time.

"I think it's almost probably too late to try to pull something off because of the time frame of the applications that are due," said  Hall.

"That move to try to go to black college spring break or weekend - it was a valiant attempt, but it needed a little bit more structure," said Hall.

With the economic times we're in, we should still consider all options.

"I thinks it's very challenging right now with all the public safety concerns that we've had, if any group were to bring something back that looks anywhere near like we saw in the last few years of Freaknik's existence," said Hall.

"My colleagues as well as myself and the mayor would not be hasty to support an initiative without very, very serious scrutiny," said Hall. 

Freaknik dates back to 1983 when it was a small picnic for college students who could not afford to go home during spring break.

However, the event grew larger each year with tens of thousands of students descending on the city, cruising and causing major gridlock on highways and surface streets. 

The spring break festival last visited Atlanta in 1999 after the city and police imposed major restrictions on the event. 

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- The state's colleges and universities are facing a $385 million cut next year as a result of the state's budget crisis.

Legislative budget writers heard from University System Chancellor Errol Davis who says that would be the equivalent to raising tuition 77 percent for about half the state's college students who are not currently locked into a tuition rate.

"Research tuition today is about $6000 that would go to $10,000.  Our two-year schools would go from about $2300 to about $4000," he says.

Some lawmakers were unmoved.

"We absolutely do not have any money... the only recourse you have is to raise tuition.  If tuition is raised to 77 percent so be it," says Sen. Seth Harp.

Davis says he's yet to discuss the cuts with all of the state's 35 university presidents, but that likely most will come from individual schools.

The state is facing more than a $1 billion shortfall for next year's budget and lawmakers are meeting the next two weeks to decide from where that money will come.

The wreck happened at the intersection of Flat Shoals Road and Iris Drive, as the shooting suspects ran through a red light, according to investigators.

The events leading up to the fatal wreck began with a 7:45 p.m. armed robbery and shooting in the 4500 block of Harvest Grove Lane, Rockdale sheriff's Sgt. Jodi Shupe said.

"When deputies arrived, there was a male subject at the scene who had been shot in the wrist," Shupe told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "He gave deputies a description of the suspected shooters and a lookout was immediately dispatched for a black Nissan Maxima that was traveling toward Salem Road."

A deputy spotted a vehicle matching that description on Flat Shoals Road, and when the deputy pulled behind the vehicle to obtain tag information, "the driver immediately accelerated his vehicle and began to elude the deputy," Shupe said.

The 56-year-old woman driving the Honda was taken to Rockdale County Hospital, where she later died.

After the crash, the suspects attempted to flee on foot, Shupe said. One was apprehended following a short foot chase, and warrants will be taken for the second suspect, she said.

Photo: AJC

WSB's Richard Sangster reports the officer had spotted a person attempting to steal the wheels off a car in the parking lot of the Southern Heights apartment complex on Camp Creek Parkway.

Investigators say the suspect ran down the officer with another car and fled the scene.

The officer was slightly hurt but was able to fire 4 shots.

It is not known if the suspect was hit.

Kesha Davis, who lives in the complex, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that she heard "a whole lot of gunshots."

Another resident, Renee Smith, said she looked out her window "and could see the police trying to chase him on foot as he was tearing out of the parking lot as fast as his car would go."

Smith, who has lived in the complex for two years, said she often hears gunfire near her apartment.

"We used to be scared, but now we're not scared anymore," she said.

(WSB Radio) -- A banker from Dallas has won the special election to fill the vacant seat created by the resignation of former House Speaker Glenn Richardson.

Daniel Stout won 59 percent of the vote in the District 19 race and will assume the job when the legislature returns to its regular session.

Lawmakers are currently on a two week break to take up budget matters.

Stout won the seat despite an embarrassing admission that 10 years ago, when his first wife was pregnant, had had an affair with her mother.

That marriage broke up and Stout has since remarried.

(WSB Radio) -- A Rockdale County newborn, bitten by a pit bull, has died.

The Rockdale Citizen reports the mother of the 5 day old girl heard some cries, then spotted the family dog on top of the baby's bassinet.

"As she approached the bassinet, she realized that the dog had bitten her daughter,"  an investigator told the newspaper.

The child underwent surgery at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, but died Tuesday from her injuries.

WASHINGTON (AP) Whither the youth vote? A year after backing Barack Obama by an overwhelming 2-to-1 ratio, young adults are quickly cooling toward Democrats amid dissatisfaction over the lack of change in Washington and an escalating war in Afghanistan.

A study by the Pew Research Center, being released Wednesday, highlights the eroding support from 18-to-29 year olds whose strong turnout in November 2008 was touted by some demographers as the start of a new Democratic movement.

The findings are significant because they offer further proof that the diverse coalition of voters Obama cobbled together in 2008 including high numbers of first-timers, minorities and youths are not Democratic Party voters who can necessarily be counted on.

While young adults remain decidedly more liberal, the survey found the Democratic advantage among 18-to-29 year olds has substantially narrowed from a record 62 percent identifying as Democrat vs. 30 percent for the GOP in 2008, down to 54 percent vs. 40 percent last December. It was the largest percentage point jump in those who identified or leaned Republican among all the voting age groups.

Young adults' voting enthusiasm also crumbled.

During the presidential election, turnout among 18-to-29 year olds was the highest in years, making up roughly 20 percent of the voters in many states including Virginia and New Jersey, due in part to high participation from young blacks and Hispanics.

That percentage, however, dropped by half for the gubernatorial races in those states last November where Republicans celebrated wins as black groups pushed Obama to do more to soften the economic blow from mortgage foreclosures and Latinos saw little progress on immigration reform. Young adults were also the least likely of any age group to identify themselves as regular voters.

``This is a generation of young adults who made a big splash politically in 2008,'' said Paul Taylor, executive vice president of the Pew Research Center and co-author of the report. ``But a year and a half later, they show signs of disillusionment with the president and, perhaps, with politics itself.''

Democrats saw evidence of this last November, when Republicans toppled Democrats from power in governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia. Young, minority and new voters who Obama pulled into the fold in 2008 didn't turn out at the same levels for the two Democratic candidates. The same thing happened in the Massachusetts Senate race last month.

The lesson: Neither party has a hold on 18-to-29 year olds. They tend to vote far less than other age groups, yet they have proven to be a powerful constituency if they are persuaded to vote. And that means the race is on by both Republicans and Democrats to make inroads into the next generation of voters.

Analysts say the findings reflect the fast pace at which young voters live their lives, and both parties should take note of their fickleness.

``If you don't respond to their needs, hopes or dreams quickly, they're gone,'' said Matthew Dowd, an independent political analyst who was a strategist in former President George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign. ``They'll leave the playing field or switch their allegiance.''

``They haven't become Republicans and they aren't solid Democrats. They're just looking for leaders who are where they are and will deliver,'' Dowd said. ``Both parties have to be cognizant of the volatility of that group.''

According to the Pew survey, large numbers of young adults said they personally liked the president but were dissatisfied with his rate of progress in changing Washington, such as improving the economy and fixing health care. Just 46 percent of 18-to-29 year olds said they believed Obama had changed Washington, compared to 48 percent who said he had not. Only baby boomers were more cynical, with 52 percent saying Obama had not changed the way things work in Washington.

The young adults also were the only age group in which more disapproved than approved of Obama's handling of the war in Afghanistan. Only 34 percent supported his decision in December to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to the region, while 50 percent disapproved.

Still, when asked why Obama hadn't done more to bring change, young adults were somewhat forgiving, with about 56 percent blaming the president's opponents and special interests; only 30 percent said Obama was the one at fault for not trying hard enough.

The findings are part of Pew's broad portrait of the so-called millennial generation, the children of baby boomers who came of age in the new millennium. Demographers believe this generation can reshape U.S. culture and politics because of their demographic size and political outlook.

Making up nearly one-fourth of U.S. voters, 18-to-29 year olds are less religious, more racially diverse and liberal on social issues such as gay rights. They are steeped in digital technology and social media, and are strong believers in the view that the government should do more to solve problems.

For example:

Nearly two-thirds admit to texting while driving, and more than 8 in 10 sleep with their cell phones by their bed.

Nearly 4 in 10 have at least one tattoo; about half of those people have two to five tattoos. Roughly 1 in 4 have a body piercing in a place other than an earlobe six times the share of older adults.

About 37 percent of young adults are unemployed or out of the workforce, the highest share among this age group in more than three decades. A record share 39.6 percent was enrolled in college, and one in 8 millennials ages 22 and older say they had ``boomeranged'' back into their parents' home because of the recession.

The Pew survey is based on interviews with 2,020 adults by cell phone or landline from Jan. 14 to 27. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points for all respondents, higher for subgroups.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON (AP) The Pentagon has moved to lift a decades-old policy that prohibits women from serving aboard Navy submarines, part of a gradual reconsideration of women's roles in a military fighting two wars whose front lines can be anywhere.

At issue is the end of a policy that kept women from serving aboard the last type of ship off-limits to them. The thinking was that the close quarters aboard subs would make coed service difficult to manage.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates notified Congress in a letter signed Friday that the Navy intends to repeal the ban on women sailors on subs. Congress has 30 days to weigh in.

``He supports the Navy's efforts to change their policy,'' Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Tuesday.

A defense official told The Associated Press that numerous physical changes to submarines would have to be made, but that cadets who graduate from the Naval Academy this year could be among the first Navy women to take submarine posts.

The change was first reported by ABC News.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Congress has not yet had a chance to consider the Navy's recommendations.

The Navy's plan would phase in women's service, beginning with officers aboard the larger subs that are easier to retrofit for coed quarters. Women would never serve solo.

Because of the length of time required for training, it would be more than a year before the first women joined subs, assuming Congress raises no major objections that slow the schedule.

Women began serving aboard the Navy's surface ships in 1993.

Since then, many of the distinctions between who is in combat and who is not have been erased.

Women are formally banned from combat posts in the Army, for instance, but routinely serve in jobs such as medics, pilots and drivers that place them shoulder to shoulder with men serving in ``combat'' jobs.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey told Congress on Tuesday that he supports a reconsideration of women's combat roles.

``I believe it's time that we take a look at what women are actually doing in Iraq and Afghanistan. And then we take a look at our policies,'' Casey told the Senate Armed Services Committee. While no organized effort is under way, ``I think it's time,'' he added.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

LAGRANGE, Ga. (AP) LaGrange police are trying to figure out how thieves managed to steal two rooftop air conditioning units each weighing five tons.

Police say it happened at a building along East Depot Street.

A man working at the vacant building tells police he knew the heat had been working but it would not turn on. After searching for the problem, he realized two Carrier air conditioning units valued at $3,600 were missing from the top of the building.

It's unclear how long the units have been missing.

 (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) The beluga whales are back at the world's largest fish tank.

The Georgia Aquarium's giant stars have returned from Sea World San Antonio, where they've stayed since last fall because of renovations to their habitat. While they were in Texas, one of the three whales Nico, died suddenly of unspecified causes in October.

Just one of whales, Maris, has returned, joined by a newcomer, Beethoven. Aquarium officials are hoping the pair will mate.

The third Georgia Aquarium whale, Natasha, will remain in Texas. The new exhibit is set to open this week.

There are only 36 belugas in captivity in six North American facilities.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- McEachern High School holds a memorial service Wednesday night for Rajaan Bennett, as Powder Springs police release new details about his death.

Investigators say Bennett told a 911 operator that he and his family were being held hostage early last Thursday morning by Clifton Steger.  The ex-boyfriend of Bennett's mother, Narjaketha Bennett, 37, had apparently broken into the Bennett home on Woodcrest Drive.  Steger was armed with a .22 caliber revolver.

Steger ordered his ex-girlfriend to collect the family's cell phones, including one belonging to Rajaan Bennett's uncle, Taiwan Hunter. Then Steger, a 39-year-old Milledgeville carpenter, led everyone into a bathroom. Bennett's youngest son, who is autistic, was allowed to remain in his room.

Narjaketha Bennett managed to sneak her phone into the bathroom and Rajaan made the call. Powder Springs Police arrived four minutes later. Steger directed Narjaketha to tell officers everything was fine. Instead she ran out of the front door and told officers what was happening inside.

Steger returned to the bathroom where he began shooting indiscriminately. Fourteen-year-old Narchalette wasn't hit. Hunter was struck in the abdomen but managed to flee with his niece. Rajaan, struck once in the chest, never got out of the bathroom. Police found him alongside Steger, who turned the revolver on himself.

Hunter is in good condition at Atlanta Medical Center.

The memorial service for Rajaan Bennett is at 7 p.m.  His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Trinity Church Chapel of Georgia in Powder Springs.

Bennett had recently signed a letter of intent to play football at Vanderbilt.

(WSB Radio) -- Georgia's budget is more than one billion dollars short and some state lawmakers are now saying furloughs simply will "not be enough."

The state's top three elected leaders met on the state's budget problems without reporters. Afterward Lt. Governor Casey Cagle conceded to Channel 2 Action News that the budget deficit is large.

"It could be bigger than a billion," Cagle said.  "Tough times ahead, but we'll get through."

GOP Senator Seth Harp compares the state's fiscal troubles with the Great Depression and believes job cuts are next.

"You have to take in the realization that sometimes you have to go to the next step," said Harp.  "The next step is eliminating jobs."

Harp estimates layoffs could number 5000 of the state's 70,000 workers.  For now teachers and the University System are off limits.

"I'm not picking on public education, but we have teachers int he $100,000 range," Harp said.  "If they would retire, you can replace that person with a $30 to $40-thousand dollar employee."

While the Lt. Governor would not endorse Harp's estimation of 5000 layoffs statewide, he did concede that the state cannot fill the holes it has without reducing its work force.

Cost-cutting and stronger sales drove its fiscal fourth-quarter profit higher, the largest U.S. home-improvement retailer said Tuesday.

Home Depot also boosted its quarterly dividend for the first time since 2006 and gave a 2010 profit forecast above analyst expectations. Shares briefly touched a 52-week high.

Consumers cut back on home-improvement projects during the recession and housing slump, and Home Depot has responded to weak sales by scaling back store openings and cutting jobs.

CFO Carol Tome said now more customers are coming into the store and spending money on ``core DIY,'' products like paint. They're still holding back on higher-priced items, she said.

Though conditions are beginning to improve, ``the economy is not out of the woods yet,'' said CEO Frank Blake. He expects 2010 to be a ``transitional'' year, with ``relatively flat'' growth in the first half of the year and more momentum in the second half.

``Calling the year 'transitional' doesn't sound very exciting, but we have been waiting for this transition for a long time,'' Blake said.

The company, based in Atlanta, earned $342 million, or 20 cents per share, for the quarter. Adjusted earnings were 24 cents per share, which excludes a $163 million writedown related to its HD Supply investment.

A year ago, Home Depot lost $54 million, or 3 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted a smaller profit of 17 cents per share. Those estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Sales for the three months ended Jan. 31 dipped 0.3 percent to $14.57 billion. That beat Wall Street's $14.07 billion.

Revenue from people spending $50 or less which makes up about 20 percent of Home Depot's U.S. sales rose 3.2 percent. Revenue from people spending $900 or more also 20 percent of U.S. sales fell less than 1 percent, significantly better than double-digit declines in previous 2009 quarters.

Kitchen bath, paint, flooring and plumbing sales were positive, while higher-priced items including lumber, hardware and electrical products were weaker.

Quarterly sales at stores open at least a year rose 1.2 percent, including a 2.3 percent rise internationally and 1.1 percent drop in the U.S. It was the company's first positive showing since 2006.

That figure is a key indicator of retailer performance because it measures growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

Both Home Depot and smaller rival Lowe's boosted profit during the most recent quarter by cost cutting. On Monday Lowe's said its fourth-quarter profit rose 27 percent. Home Depot has scaled back store openings and cut jobs.

The retailer's full-year profit climbed 18 percent to $2.66 billion, or $1.57 per share. Adjusted earnings were $1.66 per share for fiscal 2009. Annual sales fell 7 percent to $66.18 billion from $71.29 billion.

For fiscal 2010, the retailer predicts earnings from continuing operations of $1.79 per share, with sales up about 2.5 percent. Based on 2009's revenue of $66.18 billion, that implies sales of $67.85 billion for the year.

Analysts expect a 2010 profit of $1.73 per share on revenue of $66.43 billion.

Shares rose 33 cents to $30.65, after earlier reaching a 52-week high of $30.84.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

``Shame on you, Toyota,'' Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville, Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second ``shame on you'' directed at federal highway safety regulators.

Toyota's top U.S. official says the company's massive recalls may ``not totally'' solve the company's problems with unintended acceleration of some of its most popular cars and trucks.

Testifying before a House committee, Jim Lentz says the company is still investigating the issue, including whether electronics of the gas pedal system may be at fault. Toyota has not found any evidence of that yet, he says.

Toyota has already recalled 8.5 million vehicles because of sticky gas pedals and floor mats that can trap pedals. Lentz has said before that he was confident the fixes Toyota was installing for those issues would correct the problem.

Lentz also says that Toyota is putting in new brakes that can override the gas pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its vehicles already on the road.

Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took ``full responsibility'' for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.

``I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again,'' Toyoda said in prepared testimony for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight Committee. ``My name is on every car. You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers,'' Toyoda said.

Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, description of the problem from Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and turn off the engine.

She told described her nightmare ride in October 2006, calling it ``a near death experience.'' Fighting back tears, Smith told the panel ``I prayed to God to help me.''

``After six miles, God intervened'' and slowed the car, she said. She said that nothing she had tried had worked. She said it took a long time for Toyota to respond to her complaints.

Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's problems. The hearings are important because Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide more than 6 million in the United States since last fall because of sudden acceleration problems in multiple models and braking issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of their vehicles speeding out of control in their efforts to slow down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration of Toyota vehicles since 2000.

``We are confident that no problems exist with the electric throttle control system in our vehicles,'' Lentz said in prepared testimony to the House Energy and Commerce's investigative subcommittee. Lentz cited ``fail-safe mechanisms'' in the cars were designed to shut off or reduce engine power ``in the event of a system failure.''

But Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the full Energy and Commerce Committee, scoffed at Toyota's insistence that electronics were not a possible cause and said the company should have investigated more thoroughly. Waxman also took the government to task for not doing enough. ``Toyota failed its customers and the government neglected its responsibilities,'' he said.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in his prepared testimony that all possible causes, including possible electronics problems were being investigated by his agency. ``We will continue to investigate all possible causes of unintended acceleration,'' LaHood said. He said that the millions of recalls by Toyota were important steps but ``we don't maintain that they answer every question.''

Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But committee investigators said the Exponent test was flawed because it studied only a small number of Toyota vehicles

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee, said Toyota ``misled the American public by saying that they and other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained by Toyota's lawyers.''

But Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues against conducting a ``witch hunt'' and said ``We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has done something wrong and has tried to cover it up.''

In his written testimony, he apologized for the company's slow handling of problems. ``We have not lived up to the high standards our customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota,'' Lentz said.

``Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our good faith efforts,'' said Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.

Among an army of Toyota dealers lobbying members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be a widespread rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the automaker, at least in part because of the government's investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and Chrysler.

``That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax dollars are going in that direction,'' Paul Atkinson, a Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. ``To compete with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty tough.''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Cheney, 69, who has remained a forceful advocate for the former Bush administration and a leading Republican figure since leaving office last year, has a history of heart trouble. He was admitted to George Washington University Hospital in Washington on Monday after experiencing chest pains.

Lab tests revealed evidence of a mild heart attack, Cheney aide Peter Long said in a statement. Long reported that Cheney is ``feeling good'' after undergoing a stress test and a heart catheterization. The latter procedure examines blood flow to the heart and tests how well the heart is pumping.

A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart muscle is blocked. The statement from Cheney's office did not say whether he needed to have an angioplasty, a procedure to clear a blockage.

The heart attack is Cheney's fifth since age 37.

Cheney had bypass surgery in 1988, as well as two later angioplasties to clear narrowed coronary arteries, and bypasses tend to last about a decade before the rerouted blood vessels start to clog.

In 2001, he had a special pacemaker implanted in his chest. In addition, doctors in 2008 restored a normal rhythm to his heart with an electric shock. It was the second time in less than a year that Cheney had experienced and been treated for an atrial fibrillation, an abnormal rhythm involving the upper chambers of the heart.

The former vice president has kept a high profile since leaving the White House. He has sparred with the Obama administration over plans to close the U.S. detention facility for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and hold the trials of several high-profile detainees in civilian courts rather than military tribunals.

He made a surprise appearance last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he accompanied his daughter Liz. He was greeted with chants of ``Run, Dick, Run,'' but said ``I am not going to do it.''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- As legislative budget writers try to carve out a budget for next year, the Department of Education is backing a proposal to shorten the school year in an effort to save money.  Local schools face $1.1 billion in cuts in state funding for 2011

This year the six furlough days required of teachers have come from their professional development days used for planning or training.  But the DOE's Deputy Superintendent of Finance, Scott Austensen, says if more than six are required next year, some of those should come out of the 180 instructional days.

"We need to really talk to school systems and consider whether it make sense to cut all the professional development days... or maybe some reduced days for direct instruction and some reduced days for professional development," he says.

Austensen says ultimately the flexibility should be given to local school systems.  It would take legislation in order for the number of instructional days to be reduced from 180.

It's an idea the Georgia PTA opposes.

"I don't envy what you have to do, but I would encourage you to refrain from cutting time out of the school year to educate our children.  We can't do a rerun on childhood," says Sally Fiztgerald, GPTA's education policy specialist.

House minority leader DuBose Porter is also against shortening the school year.

"That's the worst signal we could send to the country and the world and to jobs and economic development that Georgia does not value education," he says.

The incident happened last Wednesday between 4 and 5 p.m. on Greenview Boulevard.

The girl was walking home when she was approached from behind by the suspect, who asked her to help him find his dog.

When she said no and began running toward her home, he grabbed the hood of her coat and knocked her down. A van driver nearby shouted at the suspect to leave the girl alone. The suspect fled toward Greenview Circle.

Investigators have released a composite sketch of the suspect and are also looking to talk to the Good Samaritan.

Anyone with information on the incident is urged to call Investigator Josh Shelton at 770-716-4777.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Wall Street bonuses were up 17 percent to over $20 billion in 2009, the year taxpayers bailed out the financial sector after its meltdown, New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said Tuesday.

Total compensation at the largest securities firms grew beyond that figure and profits could surpass what he calls an unprecedented $55 billion last year, DiNapoli said. That's nearly three times Wall Street's record increase, a rate of growth that is boosted in part by the record losses in 2008 of nearly $43 billion, the Democrat said.

``Wall Street is vital to New York's economy, and the dollars generated by the industry help the state's bottom line,'' said DiNapoli. ``But for most Americans, these huge bonuses are a bitter pill and hard to comprehend. ... Taxpayers bailed them out, and now they're back making money while many New York families are still struggling to make ends meet.''

DiNapoli supports reforms that require Wall Street bonuses to be tied to long-term profitability, to force more stability in the volatile markets and ``make sure the securities industry thrives without driving the rest of us out on a fragile economic limb.''

DiNapoli reviews tax collections each year and bases his annual projection of Wall Street bonuses on income and other taxes paid in New York City.

DiNapoli notes the bonuses help state revenues tremendously as it faces an $8.2 billion deficit, but they are a ``bitter pill'' to most taxpayers nationwide.

The bonus estimate doesn't include compensation that Wall Streeters chose to take in stock options and other kinds of deferred payment.

He said the bonus pool is a third less than the amount paid out two years ago when Wall Street had its previously most profitable year.

The estimate does not include stock options that have not yet been realized or other forms of deferred compensation. This year's estimated bonus pool is third less than the amount paid two years ago, the previous most profitable year.

For example, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman could receive a stock bonus currently valued at $8.1 million for 2009 if he meets certain performance targets, the bank said in January. Gorman is getting deferred stock worth $5.4 million but no cash bonus for 2009, Morgan Stanley said in a filing. Gorman can't cash in the stock for three years.

Banks had been expected to hand out near-record compensation for last year's performance. Several banks earned huge profits in 2009, aided by billions in government bailout funds and a rebounding stock market.

State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has pressed the nation's eight biggest banks to reveal how much they plan to pay out in employee bonuses for 2009. The Democrat also sought the size of the banks' bonus pool would have been affected if the banks hadn't received a taxpayer rescue at the height of the financial crisis in late 2008.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Investigators with the Atlanta Police Gang Task Force believe members of "30 Deep" may have taken part in an overnight smash and grab at a grocery store in southwest Atlanta.

At least five black men were caught on surveillance video breaking into the Greenbriar Food Mart on the Stone Hogan Connector around 3 a.m. Tuesday.  The suspects gained access to the business by backing a silver SUV or minivan through the front door.

Once inside, the thieves stole cigars, cigarettes and cans and bottles of soda.

The "30 Deep" Gang has been linked to numerous smash and grab robberies in metro Atlanta.  One teen member of the gang is awaiting trial for the 2009 murder of a bartender at an east Atlanta restaurant.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Police say the wife of pro wrestler Ric Flair has been charged with assaulting him in their North Carolina home.

In a statement, Flair called the incident an unfortunate disagreement and said he did nothing wrong.

Authorities say officers were called to Flair's home in south Charlotte on Sunday night. Flair said his wife attacked him after they went out for dinner. He had minor injuries, but refused treatment from paramedics.

Police charged 41-year-old Jacqueline Beems with simple assault. She was released from jail a few hours after her arrest.

The 60-year-old platinum blond grappler nicknamed ``The Nature Boy'' is currently wrestling for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling after a long career with World Wrestling Entertainment.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

NEW YORK (AP) Retail gas prices likely bottomed out last week, and they're again headed to above $3 a gallon this summer, experts said Monday.

Although pump prices typically rise this time of year as refineries switch to a more expensive grade of gas, the increase likely will frustrate many motorists. Prices are climbing even after millions of Americans received pink slips and kept their cars in the driveway.

``If you look at demand, it's just abysmal,'' said Fred Rozell, retail pricing director at Oil Price Information Service.

What's pushing prices higher isn't American consumption. It's the crude oil that's used to make motor fuel, Rozell said. Crude is an international commodity that's become ever more expensive as demand grows in China. As crude increases, so does gas.

On Monday, retail gas prices rose for the fifth straight day, adding less than a penny overnight to a new national average of $2.648 a gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.

A gallon of regular unleaded is still cheaper than it was a month ago. It's also 73.1 cents more expensive than the same time last year.

Rozell said motorists shouldn't expect a return of the price spikes of 2008, when gasoline jumped above $4 a gallon in some parts of the country. Americans simply aren't burning enough fuel to push prices that high.

``I'll be surprised if it got over $3.25,'' he said.

Gasoline futures also jumped Monday to the highest price in more than a month as investors looked ahead to the summer driving season. Prices also were propped up by a festering refinery strike in France, where workers angry about the uncertain future of a Total SA plant have shut down over half of the country's refining capacity.

The standoff already has led to gasoline shortages in parts of the country, and it appears to be spreading. Refinery workers at Exxon Mobil Corp.-owned Esso France are expected to join the walk out Tuesday, and workers at British-owned chemical company INEOS also plan to strike.

The dispute could affect U.S. supplies as well, since America imports gasoline from Europe. Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates, said it's unlikely that U.S. gas stations would experience any shortages, but the country's surplus may dip in coming weeks.

Benchmark oil for March delivery added 35 cents Monday to settle at $80.16 a barrel on the contract's final day of trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Most of the trading volume already has shifted to the April contract, which added 25 cents to settle at $80.31 a barrel.

In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil rose less than a penny to settle at $2.0788 a gallon, and gasoline gained 3.01 cents to settle at $2.1158 a gallon. Natural gas dropped 14.9 cents to settle at $4.895 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude added 42 cents to settle at $78.61 on the ICE futures exchange.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON (AP) The government's plan to provide fast Internet connections to all Americans will have to include some basic instruction in Web 101, according to a new survey of Internet users and non-users.

The Federal Communications Commission's first-ever survey on Internet usage and attitudes concludes that those who aren't connected today need to be taught how to navigate the Web, find online information that is valuable to them and avoid hazards such as Internet scams.

The study, being released Tuesday, comes less than a month before the FCC is due to hand Congress policy recommendations on how to make affordable, high-speed Internet access a reality for everyone. The findings are certain to shape the policy recommendations in that plan, which was mandated by last year's stimulus bill.

The Obama administration has identified universal broadband as critical to driving economic development, producing jobs and expanding the reach of cutting-edge medicine and educational opportunities.

Part of the FCC broadband plan will focus on building networks in parts of the country that lack high-speed access particularly rural America. Among other things, the plan will propose using the fund that subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural communities to pay for Internet connections and finding more airwaves for wireless broadband services.

But the survey findings show that the FCC plan must also focus on teaching people how to use the Internet and convincing them that it is relevant to their lives, said John Horrigan, FCC consumer research director and author of the survey.

The survey found that 35 percent of Americans do not use broadband at home, including 22 percent of adults who do not use the Internet at all. Of that 35 percent, 36 percent say it is too expensive, while 19 percent do not see the Internet as relevant to their lives. Another 22 percent lack what the FCC calls ``digital literacy'' skills. They fall into a category that includes people who are not comfortable with computers or who are scared of ``bad things'' on the Internet.

Among people who do not use broadband, 65 percent say there is too much pornography and offensive material on the Internet, 57 percent say it is too easy for personal information to be stolen online and 46 percent say the Internet is too dangerous for children.

The FCC's findings were based on telephone surveys of more than 5,000 adult Americans conducted in October and November of last year. The survey found that 78 percent of American adults use the Internet, including 6 percent who don't have a connection at home but get access at work or somewhere else, and 74 percent have Internet access at home, including 6 percent who use a dial-up connection.

Other findings include:

Americans on average pay nearly $41 a month for broadband, and 70 percent of users pay for broadband as part of a bundle of telecommunications services.

Among those who do not subscribe to broadband because it is too expensive, more than half said they would be willing to pay an average of $25 a month for the service.

Only half of all rural Americans have broadband and one in 10 rural Americans who do not have broadband say it is not available where they live.

For questions asked of the larger group of 5,005 adult Americans, the margin of error was plus or minus 1.6 percentage points.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Want to live in one of the most affluent cities in the south?  Head to Sandy Springs.  Out of the 420 U.S. cities with populations above 75,000, Portfolio.com ranked Sandy Springs ninth in the country and second-most in the south.  Sandy Springs Mayor Eva Galambos tells WSB she's not surprised.  Last year, their city was ranked 15th in the country for quality of life by Forbes magazine.

"This is a marvelous section of the south and the Atlanta region.  People who live here are very happy," said Galambos.

The city's per capita income is $55,752, a median household income of $71,592, and a median house value of $486,500.  Some 17.6 percent of its households have annual incomes of $200,000 or more.

Roswell ranked 49th overall and eighth in the south with a per capita income of $36,001.

Atlanta came in 79th in the United States with a per capita income of $35,128.

ATLANTA (AP) More layoffs could be on the horizon for state employees.

At a budget hearing focused on public safety Monday, a parade of state agency heads outlined ways they have slashed their budgets some by up to 15 percent for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

State Sen. Seth Harp quizzed several officials about how many employees they have close to retirement age. Harp, a Midland Republican, said layoffs are a strong possibility as state lawmakers try to close what could be a $1 billion budget gap.

Harp said that some type of early retirement incentive might be the most humane way to shrink the state work force. Most state employees have already been taking unpaid furlough days.

Budget hearings are set to last through Thursday at the state Capitol.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- An $88 million dollar deficit is forcing DeKalb County to close four schools and cut more than a dozen of its top administrators.

Speaking to a group of about 100 business leaders Friday in his state of the system address, Superintendent Dr. Crawford Lewis said, "We can no longer afford to operate schools which are at half capacity.

DeKalb closed five schools in 2008, and is the state's third largest school system.  Still, the county operates 152 schools, more than any other system in Georgia.

Lewis did not identify the four schools which will close a the end of the school year.  He said school officials will determine that next week as well as beginning to work on plans to identify ten schools to close in 2011.

Schools identified to close will come from the 29 DeKalb County schools with student enrollment of less than 300 students.  The schools to close likely will come from South DeKalb now that Dunwoody is the fastest growing area of the county.

The Citizens Planning Task Force, a group of 20 residents appointed by members of the school board, will work with school officials to reach a recommendation of which schools to close.  The Board of Education will then vote on the final closings according to school spokesperson, Dale Davis.

DeKalb's enrollment in 2009 grew by 1,500 students to 101,000 students.

Closing the schools will save the district about $2.5 million.  Teachers from affected schools will move with their students and keep their jobs.  Davis says other staff may be affected.

Also impacted by the decision to close schools - the district will have to re-draw the attendance boundaries and rework school bus routes before the school year begins in August.

Superintendent Lewis says closing the schools is part of plan systemwide to address the losses in money from the state and property tax revenue.

"We are working really, really hard not to raise anyone's taxes," said Lewis.

Last month, Lewis recommended a series of program cuts, staff furloughs and other budget cuts to meet what he thought would be a $56 million deficit.  Now the system is scrambling to find $32 million more in cuts.

"This year's budget will go back to the figure we had in 2005," said Lewis.  "That kind of tells you exactly how bad things are."

Lewis said he will unveil the additional proposed cuts next Friday.  Expect many of the job losses to come from the system's central office.  Lewis said some of those administrators will be able to apply for principal and teaching positions.  Others will definitely be out of a job.

Decal County Schools employ 14,000 full time workers of those 8,000 are teachers.

(WSB Radio) -- DeKalb County commissioners are expected to take a budget vote Tuesday that rejects CEO Burrell Ellis' plan, in favor of a proposal that includes cuts in nearly all departments but no job losses.

Despite the move to save jobs, commissioners are calling for all county employees to not be paid on the remaining holidays in 2010, eliminating the majority of take-home vehicles and an early retirement program. Commissioners say they will consider layoffs if not enough employees sign up for the early retirement program.

The commission has been working to offset a projected budget deficit of $100 million.  The plan calls for a $560 million budget for 2010.

Ellis has released a budget plan that calls for $578 million in spending, along with an increase in property taxes.  His proposed tax hike would be about $36 for the average homeowner.

(WSB Radio)  Want to live in one of the most affluent cities in the south?  Head to Sandy Springs.  Out of the 420 U.S. cities with populations above 75,000, Portfolio.com ranked Sandy Springs, Ga, ninth in the country and second-most in the south. 

Sandy Springs Mayor Eva Galambos tells WSB she's not surprised.  Last year, their city was ranked 15th in the country for quality of life by Forbes magazine.

"This is a marvelous section of the south and the Atlanta region.  People who live here are very happy," said Galambos.

The city's per capita income is $55,,752, a median household income of $71,592, and a median house value of $486,500.  Some 17.6 percent of its households have annual incomes of $200,000 or more.

Roswell, Ga, ranked 49th overall and eighth in the south with a per capita income of $36,001.

Atlanta came in 79th in the United States with a per capita income of $35,128.

2/22/10

Non-Medal Action
The women's hockey moves to the semifinals. The U.S. plays Sweden, while Canada plays Finland.  The men make their qualifying jumps in freestyle skiing aerials.  In curling, the U.S. men take on gold medal favorite Canada in the morning, then have an evening match against China. The U.S. women have the day off.

FIGURE SKATING-ICE DANCING
With gold at stake, ice dancers skate free

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Center stage belongs to the ice dancers tonight.  Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir have put host Canada in position for its first Olympic gold medal in the event by winning last night's original dance.  Their flamenco earned 68.41 points and perhaps the loudest cheers the Pacific Coliseum has heard during the Vancouver Games. They lead American champions Meryl Davis and Charlie Scott by 2.60 points, with world champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin of Russia almost two points farther behind.  The 2006 Olympic silver medalists, Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, remain fourth.  Any furor over Domnina and Shabalin's Aboriginal-themed routine was silenced by the Canadians' superb skate Sunday night.  For tonight's free dance, the couples can choose any music and perform any type of dance they want. The event is similar to ballroom dancing, with judges basing their scores on the couple's rhythm, musical interpretation and steps. Unlike pairs skating, ice dance does not include overhead lifts and jumps.

CROSS COUNTRY-TEAM SPRINTS
Men's and Women's Team Compete in Cross Country Sprint

WHISTLER, British Columbia (AP) The cross country races today are team sprints for both the men and women.  There are two skiers to a team, and they alternate skiing laps around the course. At the end of a lap they tag their partner, and each will complete three laps.  Russia, Sweden, Norway and Slovenia are among the favorites.

SKI JUMPING-TEAM
Team jump competition at Whistler

WHISTLER, British Columbia (AP) While Switzerland's Simon Ammann has already won individual ski jumping gold medals on the normal and large hills, the Austrians are the favorites in the team jump.  Each team in the two-round competition will send four skiers down the hill. The top eight teams advance to the second round, and the highest total score over the eight jumps wins.  In addition to Austria and Switzerland, Finland and Norway also have strong medal hopes.

HOCKEY-WOMEN'S SEMIFINAL
Swedish goalie Kim Martin looks to jolt US again

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Kim Martin is the only goalie not from Canada to have ever beaten the United States in international women's hockey.  Martin has taken the winter off from college hockey at Minnesota-Duluth to play for Sweden.  In the 2006 Olympics when she was just 19, Martin stopped 37 shots then stonewalled the U.S. in the shootout in Sweden's upset victory. Can she shock the U.S. again in today's semifinals?  She says her Olympic team can't give up as many rebounds as she did while allowing 10 goals to Canada last week. And she stresses that the Swedes must be strong killing penalties because there may be many in what figures to be a physical game.  Sweden coach Peter Elander says he won't decide on a starting goalie until game time, but others on the team say it's Martin.  In today's other semifinal, Canada plays Finland.

FREESTYLE SKIING-MEN'S AERIALS
Qualifying round is set for Men's aerials

WEST VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) More acrobatics are in store in freestyle skiing.  It's the men's aerials at Cypress Mountain today. Snow conditions are likely to be factor. Heavy, mushy snow at the bottom of the jump gave the women trouble when they tried to stick their landings over the weekend.

CURLING
U.S. men face gold medal favorite Canada

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) With just 2 wins against 5 losses, they are all but out of it. But U.S.Men's Olympic curling team has a pair of matches today.  They go up against the gold medal favorite this morning, undefeated Canada.  In their second match of the day, they'll play the team at the bottom of the rankings, China.  The U.S. women have the day off from competition.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

DETROIT (AP) Veteran outfielder Johnny Damon has agreed to a one-year deal with the Detroit Tigers.

The team made the announcement Monday and planned an afternoon news conference at its training complex in Lakeland, Fla.

The Tigers didn't disclose Damon's salary.

The 36-year-old Damon brings another left-handed bat to the Tigers' lineup besides switch-hitter Carlos Guillen.

Damon also was courted by the Chicago White Sox and Atlanta Braves since leaving the world champion New York Yankees as a free agent. He batted .282 with 24 homers for the Yankees last season and is expected to lead off for the Tigers.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Family and friends this week will say goodbye to a McEachern High School football standout killed Thursday by his mother's ex-boyfriend.

Visitation is set for 7pm Thurday at McEachern High for Rajaan Bennett.  The viewing is scheduled for Friday from 6pm unti 8pm at Trinity Baptist Church in Power Springs.  

Bennett, 18, had signed a four year scholarship to play football at Vanderbilt.  His friends say his mother's ex-boyfriend, Clifton Steger was jealous of Bennett's future. 

Bennett was found dead at his family's home after officers responding to a call arrived at his family's modest home around 2:30 a.m. and heard at least four gun shots. Powder Springs Maj. Charles Spann said Steger, 39, shot Bennett and then killed himself.

Police say there had been no previous reports of domestic violence involving the family. Authorities are investigating whether Steger simply ``surprised'' the family and burst in the door, opening fire.

Bennett's relatives said they didn't know whether the football star was killed while protecting his mother, as some have speculated.

``It doesn't sound like it,'' said Odessa Bennett, Rajaan's great-aunt, said Friday in a phone interview. ``It sounds like he was not in the position where he could protect his mom.''

Bennett's death has traumatized students and faculty at McEachern High School, a sprawling school of 2,200 students that sports a football field in the middle of campus.

While Bennett excelled on that field rushing for more than 1,800 yards and 28 touchdowns in his last season coach Kyle Hockman said he also was a prolific poet and a sensitive songwriter. Bennett made such an impact on Hockman's family that his fifth-grade son hung his practice jersey in his room.

``He was an All-State football player, but he was a better person. He touched the lives of thousands,'' he said. ``I learned from him. He made my life better.''

Bennett seemed like he was older than he looked, partly because he had to grow up so fast, his coach said. His father died while he was in the sixth grade and it fell to Bennett to help his mother Narjaketha raise two younger siblings, one who was disabled.

Bennett said he picked Vanderbilt over other schools that were recruiting him, such as Tennessee and Kentucky, because he hoped it would better prepare him for life after football. Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said his program is reeling from the loss of an ``outstanding young man.''

``He really was a family person,'' he said. ``If you could see him interacting with his mother and his brother and his sisters, you knew he was trying to protect them in the end.''

The funeral for Bennett will be Saturday at 11 at Trinity Baptist Church in Powder Springs. 

``He was more than a football player. He was more than the number 5,'' said Shana Belden, a senior. ``He loved us all.''

(WSB Radio) -- There's new evidence that tuition at Georgia's colleges and universities is about to go up. Georgia University Chancellor Erroll Davis says it's a safe bet the cost of in-state education is about to rise.

"We have declining revenues and exploding demand," Davis says. He told reporters in Athens today the state's higher education system is teetering on the brink of decline.

But like other parents of college kids, Lynne Hudson is frantic at the thought of shelling out more money for her daughter's education.

"Oh, my God," she says after learning costs could well go up at the University of Georgia. Tuition and fees there have already climbed five times in each of the past five years.

Hudson's daughter, Britainy, is a freshman at UGA. Already, she commutes from Jackson County to Athens for class every day because the cost of room and board is too much for her family. If the cost of education goes much higher, Hudson says she doesn't know what she'll do to keep her daughter in school.

The Japanese automaker said it received a subpoena from a federal grand jury in New York seeking documents related to unintended acceleration in its vehicles and the braking system of its Prius hybrid.

Toyota also said it received a subpoena and a voluntary document request from the Los Angeles office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC is seeking documents related to unintended acceleration as well as to its disclosure policies and practices, Toyota said.

The subpoenas are the latest demand for documentation from Toyota Motor Corp. Over the weekend, the company turned over documents to congressional investigators, with some boasting it saved money by obtaining a limited recall from regulators in 2007.

The documents could create a big challenge for Toyota President Akio Toyoda, who is scheduled to testify at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday. Two House committees are holding hearings this week on the Japanese automaker's recall of 8.5 million vehicles since the fall to deal with safety problems involving gas pedals, floor mats and brakes.

Toyota said it received the grand jury request from the Southern District of New York on Feb. 8. It received the SEC requests on Friday. It disclosed the latest requests in a filing with the SEC on Monday and said it intends to comply with the requests.

Toyota declined to comment beyond its disclosure with the SEC.

A spokeswoman with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment, saying it does not confirm or deny its investigations as a matter of policy.

The government could be looking into product safety law violations or whether Toyota made false statements to a federal safety agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, involving unintended acceleration or the Prius braking system, said Peter Henning, a law professor at Wayne State University in Detroit.

``In their prior submissions, if there were false statements made in there, that could be the basis'' for the investigation, said Henning, a former Justice Department and SEC lawyer. In addition, the SEC likely is looking into whether Toyota disclosed all of its problems in required regulatory filings, he said. Both agencies could be working together as well, he said.

Eric Dezenhall, a crisis management consultant in Washington, said the subpoena might cause Toyota to limit its testimony because apologies are admissible in court.

``On one hand, heavily-lawyered testimony may anger members of Congress,'' Dezenhall said. ``On the other, no matter what Toyota does, their testimony will be deemed inadequate. That's just the nature of the beast. Congressional hearings are not fact-finding missions, they are scolding forums. Toyota's goal is to survive, not 'win.'''

He predicted that in this week's congressional hearings, company officials would walk a line between testimony carefully phrased to avoid legal liability, and enough disclosure to describe the cars' mechanical problems and the steps Toyota is taking to make the vehicles safer.

A spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the actions by the SEC and U.S. Attorney's Office don't change the Committee's expectation for a transparent and candid discussion with Toyoda.

``Toyota has maintained they have nothing to hide and we expect them to provide straight-forward and honest testimony,'' said Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for Issa.

Claims by Toyota in internal documents that it saved money by obtaining a limited recall from regulators in 2007 will also create problems for the automaker's president when he testifies before U.S. lawmakers this week.

Toyota, in an internal presentation in July 2009 at its Washington office, said it saved $100 million or more by negotiating an ``equipment recall'' of floor mats involving 55,000 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES350 vehicles in September 2007.

The savings are listed under the title, ``Wins for Toyota Safety Group.'' The document cites millions of dollars in other savings by delaying safety regulations, avoiding defect investigations and slowing down other industry requirements.

The documents could set off alarms in Congress over whether Toyota put profits ahead of customer safety and pushed regulators to narrow the scope of recalls.

``You can feel that the staff were thinking more about company profits than customers,'' Mamoru Kato, an analyst at Tokai-Tokyo Securities, said in an e-mail after viewing the documents.

The documents were turned over to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee which is scheduled to hold a hearing Wednesday and obtained by The Associated Press on Sunday. The presentation was first reported by The Detroit News.

The world's largest automaker has been criticized for responding too slowly to complaints of sudden acceleration in its vehicles that are threatening to undermine its reputation for quality and safety.

Toyota said in a statement: ``Our first priority is the safety of our customers and to conclude otherwise on the basis of one internal presentation is wrong. Our values have always been to put the customer first and ensure the highest levels of safety and quality.''

The internal presentation was dated July 6, 2009, less than two months before a high-speed crash near San Diego killed a California highway patrol officer and his family and reignited concerns over sudden acceleration in Toyotas.

In October 2009, Toyota issued its largest-ever U.S. recall, involving about 4 million vehicles, over concerns of pedals getting stuck in floor mats.

The documents also show a company expecting tougher regulation under the Obama administration.

Toyota highlighted some challenges it faces, including an ``activist administration Congress increasing laws regulation,'' ``massive government support for Detroit automakers'' along with ``continuing economic difficulty.''

Under a heading titled ``key safety issues,'' Toyota called the Transportation Department and NHTSA under Obama ``not industry-friendly'' and said the auto industry expected ``a more challenging regulatory and enforcement environment.''

The presentation lists Yoshi Inaba, Toyota's chief executive in North America, on its cover. Inaba is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, along with Toyoda. The committee is also expected to hear from LaHood, NHTSA Administrator David Strickland and safety advocates.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is holding a hearing Tuesday with Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, LaHood and Strickland. A Senate committee is planning a March 2 hearing.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Aaron says he wishes McGwire would have made his admission and apology earlier, but he says America will forgive players who tell the truth. He says any player who used enhancing drugs ``should come clean and be able to sleep at night.''

The 76-year-old Aaron attracted a crowd of autograph-seekers when he visited the Atlanta Braves' camp on Monday.

He hit a record 755 home runs for the Braves and Brewers. The record was broken by Barry Bonds, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of lying when he told a federal grand jury in 2003 that he never knowingly used steroids.

Aaron did not mention Bonds.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Georgia Department of Transportation says the bus was carrying 16 students from Banneker High School when it wrecked on the ramp from Interstate 85 to Old National Highway.

Fulton County Schools spokeswoman Susan Hale says eight students were taken to nearby hospitals. By early Monday afternoon, some of the students had already been released.

The 64-year-old driver was taken to Piedmont Hospital.

While the cause of the accident remains under investigation, police believe the bus driver tried to make a quick exit and instead ended up in a grassy median.

Information from: WSB-TV, http://www.wsbtv.com/index.html

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

MIAMI (AP) In her 88 years, Florence Siegel has learned how to relax: A glass of red wine. A crisp copy of The New York Times, if she can wrest it from her husband. Some classical music, preferably Bach. And every night like clockwork, she lifts a pipe to her lips and smokes marijuana.

Long a fixture among young people, use of the country's most popular illicit drug is now growing among the AARP set, as the massive generation of baby boomers who came of age in the 1960s and '70s grows older.

The number of people aged 50 and older reporting marijuana use in the prior year went up from 1.9 percent to 2.9 percent from 2002 to 2008, according to surveys from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The rise was most dramatic among 55- to 59-year-olds, whose reported marijuana use more than tripled from 1.6 percent in 2002 to 5.1 percent.

Observers expect further increases as 78 million boomers born between 1945 and 1964 age. For many boomers, the drug never held the stigma it did for previous generations, and they tried it decades ago.

Some have used it ever since, while others are revisiting the habit in retirement, either for recreation or as a way to cope with the aches and pains of aging.

Siegel walks with a cane and has arthritis in her back and legs. She finds marijuana has helped her sleep better than pills ever did. And she can't figure out why everyone her age isn't sharing a joint, too.

``They're missing a lot of fun and a lot of relief,'' she said.

Politically, advocates for legalizing marijuana say the number of older users could represent an important shift in their decades-long push to change the laws.

``For the longest time, our political opponents were older Americans who were not familiar with marijuana and had lived through the 'Reefer Madness' mentality and they considered marijuana a very dangerous drug,'' said Keith Stroup, the founder and lawyer of NORML, a marijuana advocacy group.

``Now, whether they resume the habit of smoking or whether they simply understand that it's no big deal and that it shouldn't be a crime, in large numbers they're on our side of the issue.''

Each night, 66-year-old Stroup says he sits down to the evening news, pours himself a glass of wine and rolls a joint. He's used the drug since he was a freshman at Georgetown, but many older adults are revisiting marijuana after years away.

``The kids are grown, they're out of school, you've got time on your hands and frankly it's a time when you can really enjoy marijuana,'' Stroup said. ``Food tastes better, music sounds better, sex is more enjoyable.''

The drug is credited with relieving many problems of aging: aches and pains, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and so on. Patients in 14 states enjoy medical marijuana laws, but those elsewhere buy or grow the drug illegally to ease their conditions.

Among them is Perry Parks, 67, of Rockingham, N.C., a retired Army pilot who suffered crippling pain from degenerative disc disease and arthritis. He had tried all sorts of drugs, from Vioxx to epidural steroids, but found little success. About two years ago he turned to marijuana, which he first had tried in college, and was amazed how well it worked for the pain.

``I realized I could get by without the narcotics,'' Parks said, referring to prescription painkillers. ``I am essentially pain free.''

But there's also the risk that health problems already faced by older people can be exacerbated by regular marijuana use.

Older users could be at risk for falls if they become dizzy, smoking it increases the risk of heart disease and it can cause congnitive impairment, said Dr. William Dale, chief of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

He said he'd caution against using it even if a patient cites benefits.

``There are other better ways to achieve the same effects,'' he said.

Pete Delany, director of applied studies at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said boomers' drug use defied stereotypes, but is important to address.

``When you think about people who are 50 and older you don't generally think of them as using illicit drugs the occasional Hunter Thompson or the kind of hippie dippie guy that gets a lot of press maybe,'' he said. ``As a nation, it's important to us to say, 'It's not just young people using drugs it's older people using drugs.'''

In conversations, older marijuana users often say they smoke in less social settings than when they were younger, frequently preferring to enjoy the drug privately. They say the quality (and price) of the drug has increased substantially since their youth and they aren't as paranoid about using it.

Dennis Day, a 61-year-old attorney in Columbus, Ohio, said when he used to get high, he wore dark glasses to disguise his red eyes, feared talking to people on the street and worried about encountering police. With age, he says, any drawbacks to the drug have disappeared.

``My eyes no longer turn red, I no longer get the munchies,'' Day said. ``The primary drawbacks to me now are legal.''

Siegel bucks the trend as someone who was well into her 50s before she tried pot for the first time. She can muster only one frustration with the drug.

``I never learned how to roll a joint,'' she said. ``It's just a big nuisance. It's much easier to fill a pipe.''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Atlanta police are trying to determine if a pair of armed robberies Sunday night near the Georgia Tech campus are related. 

The first victim was robbed and pistol-whipped around 11pm on Ethel Street by a black man wearing a black nylon du rag.  A suspect with a similar description and another black man are accused of holding up two other victims a few minutes later on Hirsch Street. 

Both robberies occurred in the Home Park neighborhood in Midtown Atlanta. 

The suspects, who were last seen heading south toward 10th Street, made their getaway in a dark colored luxury sedan.

CHANDLER, Ariz. (AP) A woman died Sunday after being hit by a tire from a crashing dragster at the NHRA Arizona Nationals.

The woman was watching a first-round Top Fuel run at Firebird International Raceway when Antron Brown's Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster went out of control on the strip and its left rear wheel came off.

Alia Maisonet, a spokeswoman for the Gila River Indian Community, said the woman was airlifted to a hospital for treatment and later died. Gila River emergency personnel were among the first to respond to the scene.

Maisonet said she didn't know the victim's name or hometown.

``The entire NHRA community is deeply saddened by today's incident and sends its thoughts and prayers to the woman's family and friends,'' the National Hot Rod Association said in an e-mailed statement.

Franki Buckman, the track's executive vice president, said Firebird International Raceway also is deeply saddened by the incident.

Brown was released by the track medical staff, but went to Chandler Regional Hospital for further observation, according to a statement from Don Schumacher Racing. The NHRA said Brown wasn't injured.

The Associated Press sent an e-mail to Brown's Brownsburg, Ind.-based racing team seeking comment after the woman died.

The racing continued after the accident, and John Force advanced to his second straight Funny Car final before the session was postponed because of rain. Force, the 60-year-old star who ended a 40-race winless streak last week with his record 127th victory, will meet Jack Beckman on Monday.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

CHICAGO (AP) When 4-year-old Eric Stavros Adler choked to death on a piece of hot dog, his anguished mother never dreamed that the popular kids' food could be so dangerous.

Some food makers including Oscar Mayer have warning labels about choking, but not nearly enough, says Joan Stavros Adler, Eric's mom.

The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees. The nation's largest pediatricians group is calling for sweeping changes in the way food is designed and labeled to minimize children's chances for choking.

Choking kills more than 100 U.S. children 14 years or younger each year and thousands more 15,000 in 2001 are treated in emergency rooms. Food, including candy and gum, is among the leading culprits, along with items like coins and balloons. Of the 141 choking deaths in kids in 2006, 61 were food-related.

Surveillance systems lack detailed information about food choking incidents, which are thought to be underreported but remain a significant and under-appreciated problem, said Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Smith is lead author of a new policy report from the pediatrics academy that seeks to make choking prevention a priority for government and food makers. The report was released Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Doctors say high-risk foods, including hot dogs, raw carrots, grapes and apples should be cut into pea-sized pieces for small children to reduce chances of choking. Some say other risky foods, including hard candies, popcorn, peanuts and marshmallows, shouldn't be given to young children at all.

Federal law requires choking warning labels on certain toys including small balls, balloons and games with small parts. Unless food makers voluntarily put more warning labels on high-risk foods, there should be a similar mandate for food, the pediatrics academy says.

Adler, a Warren, N.J. attorney who pushed for more warning labels after her son died in 2001, says she hopes the academy's efforts will work. Several efforts to pass federal legislation for labels have failed in Congress.

The group also urges the Food and Drug Administration to work with other government agencies to establish a nationwide food-related choking reporting system; and to recall foods linked with choking.

The academy says the food industry should avoid shapes and sizes that pose choking risks.

Something as simple as making lollipops flat like a silver dollar instead of round like a pingpong ball can make a big difference, said Bruce Silverglade, legal affairs director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which also has lobbied for more attention to choking prevention.

Grocery Manufacturers Association spokesman Scott Openshaw declined to say whether food makers would consider warning labels or new designs, but said making parents aware of choking dangers is key to keeping kids safe.

Openshaw said the industry would continue working with the FDA and USDA ``to ensure that our products are as safe as possible.''

At the FDA, spokeswoman Rita Chappelle said the agency will review the academy's analysis and recommendations. She said the FDA also would continue consulting with the Consumer Product Safety Commission on assessing choking hazards associated with food and take action on a case-by-case basis.

Adler considered herself educated about children's safety. Her son had eaten hot dogs before without any problem.

Hot dogs are ``almost as American as apple pie,'' she said. ``You really don't know how horrible it can be.''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON (AP) Toyota officials claimed they saved the company $100 million by successfully negotiating with the government on a limited recall of floor mats in some Toyota and Lexus vehicles, according to new documents shared with congressional investigators.

Toyota, in an internal presentation in July 2009 at its Washington office, said it saved $100 million or more by negotiating an ``equipment recall'' of floor mats involving 55,000 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES350 vehicles in September 2007.

The savings are listed under the title, ``Wins for Toyota Safety Group.'' The document cites millions of dollars in other savings by delaying safety regulations, avoiding defect investigations and slowing down other industry requirements.

The documents could set off alarms in Congress over whether Toyota put profits ahead of customer safety and pushed regulators to narrow the scope of recalls. Two House committees are holding hearings this week on the Japanese automaker's recall of 8.5 million vehicles in recent months to deal with safety problems involving gas pedals, floor mats and brakes.

The world's largest automaker has been criticized for responding too slowly to complaints of sudden acceleration in its vehicles, threatening to undermine its reputation for quality and safety.

The documents were turned over to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and obtained by The Associated Press on Sunday. The presentation was first reported by The Detroit News.

Toyota said in a statement: ``Our first priority is the safety of our customers and to conclude otherwise on the basis of one internal presentation is wrong. Our values have always been to put the customer first and ensure the highest levels of safety and quality.''

Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the top Republican on the Oversight Committee, said the documents raise questions on ``whether Toyota was lobbying for less rigid actions from regulators to protect their bottom line.''

Transportation Department spokeswoman Olivia Alair called the document ``very telling. And that's why Secretary (Ray) LaHood has been saying we're going to hold Toyota's feet to the fire and make sure they do what's necessary to make their cars safe for the driving public.''

The new documents show the financial benefit of delay. In the presentation, Toyota said a phase-in to new safety regulations for side air bags saved the company $124 million and 50,000 man hours. Delaying a rule for tougher door locks saved $11 million.

On defect regulations, the document boasts that Toyota ``avoided investigation'' on rusting Tacoma pickup trucks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigated the case in 2008 but closed it without finding a safety defect. Toyota agreed to buy back certain rusty pickups, inspect other and extend warranties.

The document lists seven ``Wins for Toyota Industry,'' including ``favorable recall outcomes,'' ``secured safety rulemaking favorable to Toyota'' and ``vehicles not in climate legislation.'' Another page lists ``key safety issues,'' including ``Sudden acceleration on ES/Camry, Tacoma, LS etc.''

In one passage, the document says Toyota ``negotiated 'equipment' recall on Camry/ES re SA; saved $100M+, w/ no defect found.''

NHTSA had launched an investigation in March 2007 over allegations that floor mats were interfering with accelerator pedals. Toyota told the government a month later that there was ``no possibility of the pedal interference with the all-weather floor mat if it's placed properly and secured.''

By that August, the government had connected the problem to a dozen deaths and a survey of 600 Lexus owners discovered 10 percent reported sudden or unexpected acceleration. But the recall in September 2007 was limited to 55,000 Camry and ES350 vehicles to replace the floor mats.

The 10-page internal presentation was dated July 6, 2009, less than two months before a high-speed crash near San Diego killed a California highway patrol officer and his family and reignited concerns over sudden acceleration in Toyotas.

In October 2009, Toyota issued its largest-ever U.S. recall, involving about 4 million vehicles, over concerns of pedals getting stuck in floor mats.

The presentation lists Yoshi Inaba, Toyota's chief executive in North America, on its cover. Inaba is scheduled to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday, along with Toyota president Akio Toyoda and Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA. The committee is also expected to hear from LaHood, NHTSA Administrator David Strickland and safety advocates.

The Oversight Committee is holding a hearing Tuesday with Lentz, LaHood and Strickland. A Senate committee is planning a March 2 hearing.

Toyota has said it will create an outside review of company operations, do a better job of responding to customer complaints and improve communication with federal officials.

Separately, the government said Sunday it was already investigating reports of sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles when the nation's largest auto insurer shared complaints about the issue.

The Transportation Department released documents showing that in December 2003 it began investigating 39 complaints of sudden acceleration involving 2002-03 Toyota Camry sedans. That was about three months before State Farm shared with NHTSA complaints of sudden acceleration in 2003-04 Lexus ES300s and 2002-04 Camrys.

The document released by LaHood said the department had received allegations of 26 crashes and 4 injuries involving drivers complaining of their vehicles surging when backing up, pulling in and out of parking spaces and shifting gears.

Reports of deaths in the U.S. connected to sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles have surged in recent weeks, with the toll of deaths allegedly attributed to the problem reaching 34 since 2000, according to new consumer data gathered by the U.S. government.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Gwinnett County police use science and technology to determine which of two identical twins killed a pre-school teacher during a 2008 carjacking in Duluth.

Arrested on February 3rd after DNA from a cigarette butt found in the victim's car identified him, Donald Smith denied shooting and killing Genai Coleman.  When confronted with surveillance video from a nearby Quik Trip, Donald Smith said the man on tape was his twin brother, Ronald Smith.

Ronald Smith was further incriminated when his fingerprints matched those found in the victim's car.  In addition, cell phone records indicated Ronald Smith was in the area at the time of Coleman's murder.

When confronted by investigators with the overwhelming evidence against him, Ronald Smith confessed to killing Coleman and was charged with murder.  Donald Smith was set free.  Ronald Smith is being held without bond in the Gwinnett County jail.

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) Two people have been killed in Gwinnett County when their car ran off Interstate 985 and burst into flames in a wooded area.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the accident occurred about 1:50 a.m. Sunday off I-985 southbound near the Hall County line.

Gwinnett police responded and found a car on fire in the woods. Police said there were two bodies inside the Honda CRX. The victims had not been identified Sunday morning.


(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The new credit card law bans surprise rate hikes and caps first-year fees to 25 percent of the credit line. After that there is no cap. Cards marketed to subprime borrowers can still come with significant costs.

A look at the terms of the Premier Bankcard, one of the most widely circulated subprime credit cards for risky borrowers.

Credit limit $300

Processing fee (paid before the card is issued) $45

Annual fee $75

Interest rate (annualized rate) 59.9 percent

Additional card fee $29 annually per card

Late payment fee $29 for balances up to $500, $34 for balances greater than $500

Over-limit fee $29

Credit limit increase fee 50 percent of the increased credit amount

Wire transfer fee $5

Transaction fee for cash advances $5 or 3 percent of the amount, whichever is larger. The fee is capped at $10, and not charged in the first year the account is open

Initial cash advances are limited to 10 percent of your credit limit

Monthly account maintenance fee $3 on closed accounts with an outstanding balance of $20 or more

Source: First Premier

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The law that President Obama signed last May was supposed to prevent banks from using tactics that put borrowers deeper into debt. Yet, it still allows loans and cards with crushing terms.

One reason is that card companies had nine months to prepare while certain rules were clarified by the Federal Reserve.

One thing is certain, a cardholder's statement is going to contain an ugly truth: how much that card really costs to use. The consumer will now know how long it will take to pay off the balance.

The law does allow banks to create new fees and raise old ones. It also permits some interest rate hikes with ample notification. But it shields card users from sudden hikes, excessive fees and other gimmicks that companies have used to drive up profits.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- The legislative session is on a two week hiatus while House and Senate budget writers meet to try to come with a budget for next year.  Dwindling state revenues and holes in Medicaid funding have made the process even more difficult that previous years.

Lawmakers will hold joint meetings to hear from state department heads on where more cuts can be made.

"The first week of the process will be to look at all the ways that we can save money in every department and in every agency in the state of Georgia," says House Speaker David Ralston.

He tells WSB's Sandra Parrish that it's unprecedented that the two houses must come together on the budget at this point in the session.

"But we're in an unprecedented situation now with the budget issues that we face,"  he says.

Ralston, like many Republicans, is opposed to raising revenue through additional taxes like a $1 tobacco tax that's being proposed in the House or a 1.6 percent fee on hospitals and insurance companies that's being pushed by Gov. Perdue.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) In past years, Billy Wagner got Bobby Cox's attention by writing a message on a baseball and rolling it across the field into the Atlanta Braves' dugout.

Cox said Saturday the messages from Wagner would be something like ``'I'm back, you know.'''

``We've had Billy in our plans for a number of years but always got beat out,'' Cox said.

Finally, the Braves signed Wagner to a one-year, $7 million deal in December to be the team's closer this season. The deal includes a $6.5 million club option for 2011.

Wagner made his return from elbow ligament-replacement surgery late last year and posted a 1.72 ERA in 17 games with the Mets and Red Sox.

The 38-year-old Wagner's strong showing convinced the Braves his left arm is healthy.

He said he was still trying to impress his new team on Saturday when he threw what Cox called a ``great'' bullpen session and batting practice.

``I felt fine,'' Wagner said. ``I felt everything you're supposed to feel when you join a new team and you're trying to impress everybody. ... I was excited.''

Wagner puts an emphasis on first impressions. He walked into the Braves clubhouse for the start of spring training wearing a cowboy hat, boots, jeans and a western shirt.

Oh, and he was carrying a football.

That's an entrance that gets noticed.

``He has a presence,'' said catcher Brian McCann of Wagner, who ranks third among active relievers with 385 career saves, trailing Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera.

``His resume speaks for itself and we are fortunate to have him on our team.''

Wagner said throwing a football ``strengthens the arm and it helps the grip.''

Wagner spent eight full seasons with Houston and recorded 59 saves in two seasons with Philadelphia before three seasons with the Mets.

He has a chance to challenge John Franco's 424 saves, the most by any left-hander.

``I have to have a special year this year to top Franco, and I've worked this offseason with the mindset of being able to go this season and accomplish that,'' he said. ``If I'm able to go out there and throw 40 saves, there's a great chance the Braves are going to the playoffs.''

Wagner said his new teammates would be aware of his career stats but would be more interested Saturday to see what the new closer can do in 2010.

That's why Wagner said Saturday's first workout was important.

``Oh yeah, because you just want to impress,'' he said. ``I know these guys know what I've done, but it doesn't matter what I've done. It's what can I do now to help the team.

``They want to see. They're looking. They're watching. ... You've always got to impress, no matter what your stature is.''

Wagner says he grew up in Virginia cheering for the Braves.

``It's funny because everybody back home says 'Now I can truly root for you,''' Wagner said. ``It's a great experience just because you know you grew up watching them. ... You feel like you've got that bond.

``Me and Bobby have always joked about me coming over here. Now I have the opportunity. It's a great feeling.''

Cox said he was impressed by Wagner and another veteran newcomer in the bullpen, 40-year-old Takashi Saito.

Cox said Saito will be the first option when Wagner needs a break.

Wagner and Saito replace Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez as the team's top late-inning relievers.

NOTES: RHP Luis Valdez, who appeared in three games with Atlanta last season, is still addressing a visa problem in the Dominican Republic, according to Cox. ... Cox was impressed by RHP Jesse Chavez, acquired in the trade that sent Rafael Soriano to Tampa Bay. Cox said he already sees great competition to fill the bullpen.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON (AP) Rep. Ron Paul won the most support for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination in an unofficial straw poll of conservative activists attending an annual conference.

A libertarian from Texas who has railed against spending and the Federal Reserve, Paul won the Saturday contest at the Conservative Political Action Conference with 31 percent backing. He has sought the presidential nomination in the past and attracted a following among a segment of voters frustrated with Washington.

Participants cheered as their favored candidates' names were announced. Some members of the audience cheered while others booed loudly when event organizers announced Paul as the winner.

Paul spoke at the conference along with potential presidential candidates former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota. Romney won second with 22 percent, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin came in third with 7 percent and Pawlenty finished with 6 percent.

Fewer than a quarter of the 10,000 attendees participated in the balloting, an unscientific sampling that only offers bragging rights.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) A man known as the ``Downtown Office Creeper'' has been convicted of burglary and theft.

A Fulton County jury found William Carter guilty on Friday and Judge Robert Mallis sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

The 44-year-old Carter was convicted of a Jan. 2008 theft at Deloitte Company. An employee reported her purse was stolen from her workstation after lunch and Carter was seen on tape leaving with her belongings.

He had been implicated in previous office thefts, prompting informal meetings by a consortium of security managers in the downtown area.

At the time of the Deloitte burglary, Carter was on probation for a 2004 felony conviction for stealing a Fulton County District Attorney's badge and personal belongings in addition to two guns from the Fulton County Sheriff's department.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Despite several failed attempts to get Georgia to apologize for slavery, State Rep. Al Williams says is reviving the resolution this session because it is still a cause worth fighting for.

``We're going to continue to make the effort,'' Williams said. ``It should have been done a long time ago. At some point, somebody has to step up.''

The issue died a bitter death in 2007 after legislative leaders cooled to the idea. Last year, the Georgia NAACP chapter sent a letter to Gov. Sonny Perdue renewing its request for him to reconsider a slavery apology.

The proposal has faced an uphill battle from many who feel an apology would mean admitting responsibility for the wrongs of others. Williams said he has started trying to build a consensus for a more favorable outcome during February which is Black History Month and that he is willing to consider changing the language as other states have done and express ``regret'' for slavery.

The state, as an institution, owned dozens of slaves who provided a major source of tax revenue before they were sold in 1834.

``You've got to deal with the history,'' said Williams, a former chairman of the legislative black caucus. ``It is what it is. Slaves did work on the Capitol and in the state of Georgia.''

Along with its Southern neighbors, Georgia is gearing up to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in 2011. Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a bill last year establishing April as Confederate Heritage and History Month in Georgia. Governments, schools, businesses and residents are encouraged to participate in programs throughout the month celebrating the Confederate States of America.

Six other states, mostly in the South, already have passed resolutions apologizing or expressing regret for slavery: Florida, Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey and Virginia. The U.S. House voted in 2008 to apologize for slavery, and President Barack Obama has said such an apology was appropriate but not particularly helpful in improving the lives of black Americans.

Senate Minority Leader Robert Brown, who is black, agreed. He said he would not support the proposal.

``I don't see how an apology means anything,'' Brown said. ``It doesn't change anything. I just think it's meaningless and it doesn't give anything to our community.''

On the Net:

Read the resolution: http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009(underscore)10/fulltext/hr295.htm

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) Marietta financial adviser Frank Constantino has been sentenced to 20 years in jail and ordered to repay $2.7 million.

The 65-year-old was convicted of swindling the money from Judy Cox, a Marietta woman who had invested the money with him from 2002 to 2005.

Prosecutors said Constantino took investors' money for his own use.

A jury deliberated for 12 hours earlier this month before finding Constantino guilty in 13 of 29 counts.

Those included multiple violations of the Georgia Securities Act, which is theft by taking and exploitation of an elder person.

Constantino has had a history of run-ins with state securities regulators.

He was ordered to stop selling securities in Georgia in 1997 after misrepresenting an investment to a customer and was also investigated by Missouri securities officials.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) Maryland trailed Georgia Tech by two points with 1.5 seconds left when coach Gary Williams called for a play that is a staple of every practice.

The ball ended up in the hands of Cliff Tucker. Problem is, the backup guard had never before taken that shot.

Tucker buried a 3-pointer as time expired, and Maryland pulled out a 76-74 victory Saturday to remain unbeaten at home in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

After Derrick Favors gave Georgia Tech the lead with a follow-up basket with 3 seconds left, Maryland got the ball to midcourt before calling a timeout. The Terrapins got the ball to Tucker, whose shot from the left corner found the bottom of the net, setting off a celebration at the sold out Comcast Center.

``Coach just drew the play and we went out there and ran it,'' Tucker said.

Asked if he ever took that shot in practice, Tucker replied, ``I've never been that guy. In fact, I'm usually on the (backup) team going against the starters.''

Williams said, ``You need some breaks at times during the year. We got one there. We played well enough to be in a position to get that break.''

The wild finish overshadowed a milestone performance by Maryland senior Greivis Vasquez, who scored 18 to become the sixth player in school history to reach the 2,000-point mark.

``Praise Cliff. He made that big shot for us,'' Vasquez said. ``This is nothing about me. My team did a great job staying tough, being positive.''

Vasquez is the first ACC player to have at least 2,000 points, 700 assists and 600 rebounds. He now has 2,013 points to trail only Juan Dixon, Len Bias, Albert King, Adrian Branch and John Lucas on Maryland's career list.

Eric Hayes scored 15 for Maryland and Jordan Williams had nine points and 12 rebounds. The victory gave the Terrapins (19-7, 9-3) sole possession of second place in the ACC.

Favors had 21 points and 18 rebounds, both season highs, and Iman Shumpert scored 17 for the Yellow Jackets (18-9, 6-7). Georgia Tech is 1-6 on the road in the ACC and has lost nine straight to Maryland since February 2004.

Tucker's shot ruined an otherwise outstanding performance by the Yellow Jackets.

``I was in shock. I couldn't believe it,'' Favors said.

``We probably played our best game of the season,'' coach Paul Hewitt said. ``What are you going to say? The kid made a miraculous shot.''

After watching his team struggle on the road for much of the season, Hewitt was encouraged by Tech's performance in defeat.

``We did everything you're supposed to do against a team that's better than anybody in our league with the exception of Duke,'' he said. ``I think we're on the verge of something big.''

Maryland improved to 12-1 at home, including 6-0 in the conference.

Hayes hit a 3-pointer with 1:19 left to give Maryland a 71-68 lead. After Favors made a layup, Dino Gregory botched a layup for the Terrapins. Favors pulled down his 17th rebound for the Yellow Jackets, who took a timeout to set up a play.

D'Andre Bell scored on a drive with 24.5 seconds remaining and Vasquez followed with a shot in the lane before Favors scored, setting up Tucker's game-winner.

After trailing 41-35 early in the second half, Georgia Tech took its first lead since 22-20 when Shumpert sank two free throws with 6:12 remaining to make it 62-60. After a miss by Maryland's Landon Milbourne, Shumpert missed on the other end.

But teammate Glen Rice Jr. got the rebound, causing Gary Williams to peel off his suit jacket and throw it on the floor in disgust. D'Andre Bell then drilled a 3-pointer for a 65-60 lead.

Maryland got three points apiece from Jordan Williams and Tucker to even the score.

Favors had 11 points and eight rebounds in the first half, but Maryland used a late run to go up 34-32 at the break.

Vasquez scored on Maryland's first possession, then reached the 2,000-point mark with a 3-pointer with 14:55 left in the half. He added two free throws to make it 9-4, but Shumpert scored twice from beyond the arc during a 7-0 run that put Georgia Tech in front.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Police are investigating after what was supposed to be a quick meeting for a husband and wife to exchange Valentine's Day cards turned into a homicide case.

Richard and Stacey Schoeck planned to meet each other on Valentine's Day night before she returned to Cleveland, Ga., for the night to take care of her grandparents.

Richard Schoeck, 45, had planned to return to their Snellville home and work the following day, according to his mother Marion Schoeck.

But when Stacey Schoeck arrived at the spot near a Hall County park, she found her husband outside his truck with multiple gunshot wounds.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) A 22-year-old man was found guilty Saturday in the September shooting death of a Spelman College student and sentenced to life in prison.

A Fulton County jury convicted Devonni ``Devo'' Benton of murder and two counts of aggravated assault after deliberating over two days. Benton was given a life sentence plus 25 years for the killing. He was also convicted of a weapons possession charge.

Prosecutors said Benton was in a fight outside a Clark Atlanta University dorm and fired at least six shots into a crowd, killing Spelman sophomore Jasmine Lynn, of Kansas City, Mo., as she walked near the campus.

The three-day trial came to a close Friday when the jury heard final arguments. Defense attorney Jackie Patterson said his client was innocent.

``Mr. Benton wants you to give him justice,'' Patterson told the jury as he gestured to Scales of Justice on the defense table. ``There is no way Mr. Benton committed this crime.''

Fulton Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Ross was nearly choked up as she placed Lynn's blood-smeared glasses on top of a photo of the student, displayed for the courtroom from a projector.

``For getting a scholarship, all that hard work paying off ... this is what's left,'' she said.

Lynn, who was walking south on James P. Brawley Drive, a public street that runs through the Clark Atlanta campus, was shot in the chest.

The 19-year-old was the first in her family to attend college. She died with a 3.8 grade-point average.

Benton has 30 days to appeal the decision, Patterson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ``I believe he will,'' the defense attorney said.

As the verdicts were read, gasps and sighs were heard throughout the courtroom. Lynn's mother, Constance Franklin, dabbed tears from her face and members of Benton's family sobbed uncontrollably in the back of the courtroom.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Deacon Jones and former Grambling coach Eddie Robinson were among the first set of honorees inducted into the Black College hall of Fame on Saturday.

The Atlanta-based Black College Hall was established last year by former Pro Bowl quaterback James Harris and Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams. The first class included eight players, two coaches and one contributor.

Williams said Saturday's event was the culmination of a lot of work.

``Just like you practice for weeks before the season, we've been preparing for this night for a long time, and it's game-time now,'' Williams said, ``We're inducting some people who everyone knows, but some who have contributed just as much, but are just not as well known yet.''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) A funeral has been held for a Chattahoochee Hills police lieutenant who was slain in the line of duty.

Hundreds gathered to remember Lt. Mike Vogt at a service Saturday at First Baptist Church of Atlanta. The 56-year-old Vogt was shot and killed while on patrol on Feb. 22.

Robert M. Cook of Fairburn has been charged with murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Investigators say Cook shot Vogt because he didn't want to be arrested again for driving drunk.

Police say Vogt was in his car when Cook fired at him on a secluded dirt road.

Officials say Vogt had arrested Cook previously.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) A fallen Marine from Paulding County has returned to Georgia.

The Pentagon says 21-year-old Pfc. Jason Hill Estopinal died Monday during a combat operation in Afghanistan.

His family says the 2007 graduate of East Paulding High School was deployed in late October. Estopinal's body arrived at Dobbins Air Reserve base in Marietta, where family and friends were gathered Saturday afternoon.

His funeral will be held Tuesday at noon at Sosebee Funeral Home in Canton. Visitation will be held beginning two hours prior and burial will follow at the Georgia National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made at any Regions Bank to the Jason H. Estopinal Memorial Fund.

The Marine is survived by his father, mother and brother.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) Trey Thompkins is showing the kind of leadership first-year Georgia coach Mark Fox needs from his leading scorer.

``We have talked with a lot our younger guys about the fact that they've played so many minutes and that they have to start playing like upperclassmen,'' Fox said. ``Tonight Trey finished the game like an upperclassman.''

Thompkins had 21 points and a career-high 17 rebounds to help Georgia overcome a 13-point second-half deficit and beat Alabama 76-70 on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (12-13, 4-8 Southeastern Conference) won their third straight at home to improve to 11-3 this season at Stegeman Coliseum.

Georgia snapped an 11-game losing streak to SEC Western Division opponents.

Alabama (14-12, 4-8) has lost five of six, but the Crimson Tide took their biggest lead when Mikhail Torrance's two free throws made it 52-39 with 11:39 remaining.

Since beating Georgia last year in Tuscaloosa, the Tide has lost five straight and six of eight to the SEC East.

``We didn't have the toughness to finish,'' senior Mikhail Torrance said. ``Coach (Anthony Grant) had a great game plan, as usual, and we were up and then we just stopped making plays.''

The Bulldogs took their first lead in nearly 13 minutes when Thompkins banked in a 14-footer to make it 61-60 with 4:12 remaining. Less than two minutes later, Thompkins' long jumper from the left wing ended a 3:28 run during which he outscored Alabama 9-1 and pulled down four rebounds.

``My teammates needed me to rebound and score tonight in the heat of the battle, and that's just what I have to do,'' the sophomore forward said. ``If my teammates want that, I give it to them.''

Travis Leslie had 16 points, and Ricky McPhee added 13 for Georgia, which began the game leading the SEC with a 74.8 free-throw percentage but went just 13-for-24 from the foul line.

The Bulldogs regained some composure, however, by hitting 11 of their last 12.

``We were just missing free throws left and right, and we had to keep fighting,'' McPhee said. ``It's frustrating that we get to the line and we're missing easy free throws, but I'm just happy with our performance.''

Torrance led the Tide with 20 points. JaMychal Green finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Green's three-point play put Alabama ahead 33-32 with 17:50 remaining and gave the Tide their first lead since the 6:27 mark of the first half.

Georgia had 19 assists and outscored Alabama 36-26 in the paint. Alabama finished with a season-low eight assists.

``We have an inability to defend and rebound downt the stretch,'' Grant said. ``It's a recurring thing. It cost us in this game just like it has in some other games this season. We need to control the things that we can control like blocking out and rebounding, the things that affect winning. When the game is on the line, it seems likme we just don't do it.''

The Bulldogs' Dustin Ware was scoreless on three attempts from the field when his 3-pointer with 1:23 remaining pushed the lead to 68-63.

``Everybody stepped up when we had to get the job done,'' Leslie said. ``We were making it hard on ourselves early in the second half, but things started to go our way because we didn't give up. Dustin didn't give up either. You're not going to hit every shot, but you don't quit just because you miss.''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) There is not one orphan among the 33 children that a U.S. Baptist group tried to take from Haiti in a do-it-yourself rescue mission following a devastating earthquake, The Associated Press has determined.

In the rubble-riddled Citron slum where 13 of the children lived, parents who gave their children away confirmed Saturday that each one of the youngsters had living parents.

Their testimony echoed that of parents in the mountain town of Callabas, outside of Port-au-Prince, who told the AP on Feb. 3 that desperation and blind faith led them to hand over 20 children to the religious Americans who promised them a better life.

Now the Citron parents worry they may never see their children again.

One Citron mother who gave up all four of her children, including a 3-month-old, is locked in a trance-like state but sometimes erupts into fits of hysteria.

Her husband and other parents said they relinquished their children to the U.S. missionaries because they were promised safekeeping across the border in a newly established orphanage in the Dominican Republic.

Their stories contradict the missionaries' still-jailed leader, Laura Silsby, who told the AP the day after her arrest that the children were either orphans or came from distant relatives.

``She should have told the truth,'' said Jean Alex Viellard, a 25-year-old law student from Citron who otherwise expressed admiration for the missionaries.

He took them cookies, candies and oranges during their nearly three weeks of detention before eight of the 10 were released Wednesday on their own recognizance and flew home to the United States.

Silsby, 40, and her assistant, Charisa Coulter, 24, remain jailed as the investigating judge interviews officials at the orphanages the two visited prior to the devastating Jan. 12 quake.

The judge flew to the neighboring Dominican Republic on Saturday. The two are to appear in court again Tuesday.

As they left the jail and boarded a U.S. Embassy van, the freed Baptists waved and thanked Viellard, who later called them ``great people who were doing good for Haiti.''

The Americans, most from an Idaho church group, were charged with child kidnapping for trying to remove the children without the proper documents to the Dominican Republic in the post-quake chaos.

Silsby had been working since last summer to create an orphanage. After the quake, she hastily organized a self-styled ``rescue mission,'' enlisting missionaries from Idaho, Texas and Kansas.

She was led to Citron by Pastor Jean Sainvil, an Atlanta, Georgia-based Haitian minister who recruited the 13 children in the slum. Sainvil had been a frequent visitor to the neighborhood of unpaved streets and simple cement homes even before more than half of the houses collapsed in the quake.

``The pastor said that with all the bodies decomposing in the rubble there were going to be epidemics, and the kids were going to get sick,'' said Regilus Chesnel, a 39-year-old stone mason.

Chesnel's wife, 33-year-old Bertho Magonie, said her husband persuaded her to give away their children ages 12, 7, 3, and 1 and a 10-year-old nephew living with them because their house had collapsed and the kids were sick.

``They were vomiting. They had fevers, diarrhea and headaches,'' she said, leaning against the wall of the grimy two-room hovel the couple shares.

In a telephone interview from the United States on Saturday, Sainvil confirmed the Chesnels' story. He said a collapsed building adjacent to where the children lived held six or seven corpses.

He said he first met Silsby on Jan. 27 in the town of Ouanaminthe on the Haiti-Dominican border and agreed to help her collect children for a 150-bed orphanage the Americans were establishing near the beach resort of Cabarete in the Dominican Republic.

Sainvil, a former orphan who says his nondenominational Haiti Sharing Jesus Ministry has 25 churches in the countryside, said the two agreed to meet again in Port-au-Prince on Feb. 13 to get more children.

The day after he met Silsby, Sainvil collected the 13 children from Citron. A day after that, the missionaries' bus was halted at the Dominican border and they were arrested. Sainvil, meanwhile, became sick with vomiting and diarrhea and decided to fly back to the U.S. on a military transport plane, he said.

He denied leaving out of fear he might be arrested.

``I wasn't doing anything wrong,'' he said.

Sainvil said what Silsby was doing did not constitute adoption ``because the parents had the right to go visit their children or take them back when their situation changed.''

The pastor said his deeds are often misunderstood by people in the developed worked who don't realize that more than half of the 380,000 children in Haiti's orphanages are not orphans. Many have parents who even before the quake were simply unable to care for them.

The problem is that some of the ``orphans'' end up as sex slaves or become domestics who work for food and shelter and sometimes school. Fearing more such abuse of children after the quake, Haiti's government banned all adoptions except those approved before the disaster.

Sainvil said he went to Citron for children because he knew people there were desperate: He had been sleeping under tarps with them. Food was barely trickling in, medical care was just becoming available and hundreds of decomposing bodies were buried beneath the neighborhood's collapsed homes.

Under one of the blue tarps sheltering the Chesnels' homeless neighbors, 27-year-old Maletid Desilien lay Saturday on a bed of two soiled rugs. Only her eyes peered out from under a bedsheet.

``She has been like that ever since someone told her she will never get the kids back,'' said her husband, Dieulifanne Desilien, who works in a T-shirt factory.

That was eight days ago. Most of the time she lies catatonic, he said, warning a reporter not to go near because she periodically has fits.

``She would get up, take her clothes off and run around pulling her hair out,'' Desilien, 40, said of his wife. ``She would jump up from sleep and say, 'Bring me my kids.'''

He said she only calms down and is able to sleep after speaking by phone with her children, who are at an orphanage in the capital run by the Austrian-based SOS Children's Villages charity.

The day they arrived, orphanage officials said, the Desiliens' 3-month-old daughter, Koestey, was so dehydrated she had to be hospitalized. The other children are ages 7, 6 and 4. Their father but not their mother has visited them.

Desilien said a police commander has assured him that he will get the children back. The Social Welfare ministry, however, has yet to decide whether some or all of the 33 children will be returned to their parents.

``My wife is sick so I have to find a way to get the children back,'' Deselien said.

Associated Press Writer Evens Sanon contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WASHINGTON (AP) The director of the Fish and Wildlife Service died Saturday after suffering chest pains while skiing in Colorado. Sam Hamilton was 54.

The 30-year veteran of the agency, who assumed its top post in September, died in the afternoon after being transported off the Keystone Ski Area, said Joanne Richardson, Summit County coroner. She said his death was consistent with an underlying heart problem.

Hamilton helped lead restoration work in the Everglades, the largest ecosystem restoration project in the country. He oversaw the extensive recovery and restoration efforts required following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which devastated coastal wetlands, wildlife refuges and other wildlife habitat along the Gulf of Mexico.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called Hamilton a friend, visionary and leader who left an indelible mark. ``His forward-thinking approach to conservation ... will continue to shape our nation's stewardship for years to come,'' Salazar said. ``My heart goes out to Sam's family, friends, and colleagues as we remember a remarkable leader and a compassionate, wise, and eternally optimistic man.''

Prior to his appointment as director, Hamilton served as regional director of the agency's southeast region in Atlanta. He was in charge of an agency with 8,700 workers responsible for protecting more than 150 million acres and hundreds of threatened and endangered species. The service operates about 550 national wildlife refuges.

Hamilton, from Lawrenceville, Ga., was a 1977 graduate of Mississippi State University. He is survived by his wife Becky, sons Sam Jr. and Clay and a grandson, all of Atlanta.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) Thousands of police officers from across the county are expected in Atlanta Saturday for the funeral of Chattahoochee Hills officer killed earlier this week.

Liet. Mike Vogt was killed on Monday. The funeral is at noon Saturday at the First Baptist Church of Atlanta.

"We had no idea how many lives he touched," said daughter Crystal Vogt. "He was a hero. He was brave."

Robert M. Cook of Fairburn is charged with shooting the police officer to death. He was denied bond Thursday.

Investigators say Cook shot Vogt, 56, because he didn't want to be arrested again for driving drunk. The officer was killed in his car on a secluded dirt road.

"What he did hurt this family," said Crystal Vogt. "His 'I'm sorry' will not justify what he did to us."

Cook, 44, said he understood the charges of murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Officials say Vogt had arrested Cook previously.

AMSTERDAM (AP) The Dutch coalition government collapsed Saturday over whether to extend the country's military mission in Afghanistan, leaving uncertain the future of its 1,600 soldiers fighting there.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced that the second largest party in his three-party alliance is quitting, in a breakdown of trust in what had always been an uneasy partnership.

Balkenende made no mention of elections as he spoke to reporters after a 16-hour Cabinet meeting in The Hague that ended close to dawn. However, the resignation of the Labor Party which has demanded the country stick to a scheduled withdrawal from Afghanistan would leave his government with an unworkable majority, and political analysts said early elections appeared inevitable.

Balkenende said his center-right Christian Democratic Alliance would continue in office together with the small Christian Union, and would ``make available'' Labor's cabinet seats. But he did not spell out his intentions.

The coalition, elected to a four-year term, marks its third year in office on Monday.

``Where there is no trust, it is difficult to work together. There is no road along which this cabinet to go further,'' Balkenende said.

Dutch soldiers have been deployed since 2006 in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan on a two-year stint that was extended until next August.

Labor demanded that Dutch troops leave Uruzgan as scheduled. Balkenende's Christian Democratic Alliance wanted to keep a trimmed down military presence in the restive province, where 21 soldiers have been killed.

``A plan was agreed to when our soldiers went to Afghanistan,'' said Labor Party leader Wouter Bos. ``Our partners in the government didn't want to stick to that plan, and on the basis of their refusal we have decided to resign from this government.''

NATO recently sent a letter to the government asking if it would consider staying longer a move that the Western alliance normally would do only if it had a clear signal of agreement.

``The future of the mission of our soldiers in Afghanistan will now be in the hands of the new Cabinet,'' said Deputy Defense Minister Jack de Vries.

The split came after a buildup of tension over several weeks between Balkenende and Bos, the finance minister, mainly over Afghanistan and the government's earlier political support for the war in Iraq.

``This is the end of this cabinet,'' said Andre Rouvoet, leader of the third coalition party. He said Queen Beatrix, Holland's ceremonial head of state, who will formally accept the resignations of the Labor ministers on Saturday, ``will ask the remaining ministers to prepare for elections.''

It was an uncomfortable alliance of convenience from the start, with Balkenende and Bos exchanging unusually sharp barbs during the 2006 election campaign.

The acrimony surfaced again during a parliamentary debate Thursday over Afghanistan, with the two government leaders in open discord in the face of concerted attacks by the opposition parties.

Opinion polls suggest the Afghan war is deeply unpopular. Labor, which has been dropping in the polls, appeared determined to take a stand with next month's scheduled local elections in mind.

Bert Koenders, the Labor minister for overseas development aid, said his party was abiding by the government's promise when it prolonged the Afghanistan mission last time that it would be the last extension.

``We are sticking the Cabinet decision of two years ago,'' he said.

An election within the next few months could see a further rise in power of the extreme anti-immigrant populist Geert Wilders, whose ranking in the polls rivals Balkenende's.

Balkenende has been prime minister since 2002, but he resigned twice before because of the country's fractious political alignments.

Associated Press Writer Bruce Mutsvairo contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) A clean MRI this week gave Jair Jurrjens relief that there's no structural problem with his right shoulder.

Even so, Jurrjens was not ready to throw on Friday when the Atlanta Braves pitchers and catchers reported to spring training. He said tightness in the shoulder could keep him from throwing ``for a week or two.''

Jurrjens said Friday he expects to be ready for the start of the season, but he said he'll be behind other Braves pitchers as he works out the stiffness.

``I'm hoping in a week or two I can start playing catch a little bit,'' Jurrjens said. ``I was throwing from the mound already back home. I don't think it will take so long to get back up. We'll see. We're going to take it slow and hopefully I can get back on the field quick.''

Braves orthopedist Dr. Xavier Duralde prescribed a week of rest and treatment for Jurrjens following Wednesday's MRI, which revealed only inflammation.

``I'm happy nothing showed up,'' Jurrjens said. ``The doctor said that's the most beautiful MRI he ever saw in his life. Everything is intact and nothing is wrong in there. I'm happy with that.''

The first official workout for pitchers and catchers is Saturday. Jurrjens will spend the day ``stretching and stretching'' to try to regain flexibility in the shoulder.

``I'm really tight in my shoulder and I think that's where the inflammation is,'' he said.

Jurrjens says he made an awkward underhand throw while working out last week, causing the problem.

``Playing around and doing something stupid, I felt something,'' he said. ``I've learned when I work out to make sure I stretch it and don't play around. It's something you learn and I'll make sure I never do it again.''

Jurrjens could enter the season as Atlanta's No. 1 starter following the offseason trade which sent Javier Vazquez to the Yankees.

Jurrjens was 14-10 and ranked third in the National League with a 2.60 ERA last season.

``We take for granted that he is what he is,'' said Braves manager Bobby Cox of Jurrjens, who turned 24 on Jan. 29. ``He was phenomenal. I think we've just grown to expect that. That's why we take it for granted.

``He's a sharp kid. He can take good stuff to the mound and, I don't want to use the word 'dominate' every time, but he came close to it last year. He's one of those special guys, he can sit on 92 the whole ball game until the seventh, then all of a sudden there's a 96 up there on the strikeout.''

The Braves' projected rotation also includes Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe, Tommy Hanson and Kenshin Kawakami.

Cox said he hasn't picked a No. 1 starter.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. (AP) Two weeks ago, Rajaan Bennett was one of Georgia's top high school football recruits, ready to take his quick feet and powerful legs to Vanderbilt University.

Those dreams were dashed early Thursday morning when police say his mother's ex-boyfriend fatally shot the 18-year-old and then turned the gun on himself.

Bennett was found dead at his family's home after officers responding to a call arrived at his family's modest home around 2:30 a.m. and heard at least four gun shots. Powder Springs Maj. Charles Spann said 39-year-old Clifton Steger shot Bennett and then killed himself.

Police are still uncertain what led to the shootings. Spann said Friday there was no sign of a struggle and that there had been no previous reports of domestic violence involving the family. He also said police were investigating whether Steger simply ``surprised'' the family and burst in the door, opening fire.

Bennett's relatives said they didn't know whether the football star was killed while protecting his mother, as some have speculated.

``It doesn't sound like it,'' said Odessa Bennett, Rajaan's great-aunt, said Friday in a phone interview. ``It sounds like he was not in the position where he could protect his mom.''

Bennett's death has traumatized students and faculty at McEachern High School, a sprawling school of 2,200 students that sports a football field in the middle of campus.

While Bennett excelled on that field rushing for more than 1,800 yards and 28 touchdowns in his last season coach Kyle Hockman said he also was a prolific poet and a sensitive songwriter. Bennett made such an impact on Hockman's family that his fifth-grade son hung his practice jersey in his room.

``He was an All-State football player, but he was a better person. He touched the lives of thousands,'' he said. ``I learned from him. He made my life better.''

Bennett seemed like he was older than he looked, partly because he had to grow up so fast, his coach said. His father died while he was in the sixth grade and it fell to Bennett to help his mother Narjaketha raise two younger siblings, one who was disabled.

Bennett said he picked Vanderbilt over other schools that were recruiting him, such as Tennessee and Kentucky, because he hoped it would better prepare him for life after football. Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said his program is reeling from the loss of an ``outstanding young man.''

``He really was a family person,'' he said. ``If you could see him interacting with his mother and his brother and his sisters, you knew he was trying to protect them in the end.''

At a somber candlelight vigil held down the street from the high school, football players came in tattered jerseys with Bennett's name scrawled across the back, joined by cheerleaders and marching band members in varsity jackets.

Dozens more spilled out across the tiny parking lot, including classmates who said they hardly knew Bennett, neighbors who never met him and teary-eyed grade school kids who imagined they were the all-state running back during backyard pickup games.

``He was more than a football player. He was more than the number 5,'' said Shana Belden, a senior. ``He loved us all.''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Atlanta police will offer a $35,000 reward to help solve the 30-year-old murder of a police officer.

Authorities say officer Alfred Morris Johnson was gunned down in February 1980 during an armed robbery at a grocery store where he was working as a security guard.

Authorities say Johnson was fighting with the robber over a shotgun when he was shot and killed. The killer has never been caught.

The officer's widow fought back tears Friday as she made an appeal for justice.

Mildred Johnson says the family still struggles with the pain of losing her husband. He was 31-years-old when he was killed.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) The zebra that created a stir in Atlanta when he broke loose from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey Circus area late Thursday afternoon is at UGA's College of Veterinary Medicine and is fine.

Circus spokeswoman Crystal Drake says several vets examined Lima on Thursday, and he was taken to UGA on Friday for a full, comprehensive exam. Authorities found his hooves were damaged from running along the pavement, but officials say he's fine otherwise.

The zebra drew double takes when he led an epic sprint through downtown Atlanta Thursday, bolting through streets for 40 minutes before authorities captured him safely along Interstate 75.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) The jury deliberating in the trial of a man accused of killing a Spelman College student as she tried to break up a fight on a nearby college campus has adjourned without reaching a verdict.

After nearly nine hours of deliberations Friday, the Fulton County jury could not reach a conclusion.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr. released the jury Friday to decide the fate of 21-year-old Devonni Benton. He is charged with murder in the shooting death of 19-year-old Jasmine Lynn, who was killed Sept. 3.

Prosecutors say Benton was part of a fight outside a Clark Atlanta University dorm. Prosecutors say he fired at least six shots into the crowd, killing Lynn, of Kansas City, Mo.

Benton testified during the three-day trial that he was involved in the fight but was not the shooter.

The jury will resume deliberations Saturday.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ATLANTA (AP) Desperate though they are to fill gaps in their budgets, more than half the states in the country haven't touched a $5 billion pot of federal stimulus funds meant to find work for welfare recipients.

Leaders in most states have hesitated to pony up the matching funds the program requires to create jobs that might not last after the federal subsidy's Sept. 30 sunset date.

The Department of Health and Human Services has handed out $1.2 billion of the emergency cash for general welfare programs. That includes $124 million that went to 21 states and the District of Colombia to help them ease caseloads by paying employers to hire low-skilled, low-income workers.

States such as California, Tennessee and Georgia where officials have seen unemployment rates spike among recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families are eagerly tapping the fund to subsidize the creation of thousands of jobs they say keep these workers from sinking further into poverty.

The short-term appeal is plain, at least for those on welfare rolls: In Georgia, for instance, an unemployed mother of two earning $270 a month in TANF support could earn three times as much in a subsidized, minimum-wage job.

Still, critics contend states could suffer in the long run, as employers are encouraged to focus on creating cheap, disposable positions rather than long-term job growth.

States should ``offer incentives to businesses to hire more qualified people, since there is a better chance these people will be retained once the incentives are removed,'' said Don Sabbarese, director of the Econometric Center at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

The federal infusion does little to get people permanently off welfare, while draining money that could be used to make long term economic repairs, he said.

``If these jobs are not in areas of sustainable demand and growth, they will not lead to sufficient, marketable skills,'' Sabbarese said. ``And the money spent on these programs will be wasted.''

The emergency fund created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is designed to help states that have seen a rise in TANF costs as more families turn to the federally funded, state-operated aid program. States can use the cash to provide basic financial assistance to families, as well as to pay employers to create or fill low-level jobs with unemployed TANF recipients or low-skilled workers who might otherwise turn to the welfare program.

States have long been able to subsidize such jobs but have often balked at implementing programs that can be costly and hard to run. Typically, the federal government covers up to 80 percent of wages, with states paying the rest.

With Arizona still $700 million short of balancing its budget, ``we're just not in a position where we're able to take on that challenge,'' said Steve Meissner, a spokesman for the state's Department of Economic Security.

``We'd have great difficulty coming up with the matching funds at the state level,'' Meissner said, though he said the state may use other portions of the stimulus fund to offer aid to its more than 83,000 TANF recipients.

Other states say they can't afford not to take advantage of the federal funds.

Georgia has received $7 million to subsidize entry-level jobs in green technology. California will fund at least 10,000 positions, such as park ambassadors, over the next year. Tennessee has funded 800 jobs in places such as Perry County, where layoffs contributed to a more than 27 percent unemployment rate, one of the nation's highest, before the subsidies put many back to work.

``Our unemployment has come back down to 16.9 percent, so we're still high, but much better,'' Perry County Mayor John Carroll said a few weeks ago.

And more states likely will get on board, said Russell Sykes, chair of the National Association of State TANF Administrators.

Similarly, while the temporary nature of the cash has scared off some employers, others have gladly taken the extra help the program provides, even knowing it might not last.

David Richardson, a land developer in Linden, Tenn., said he's been able to clear new properties with the two subsidized employees he recently added. He hopes to make the men part of his permanent team, though he made no promises.

``There's no guarantee in life,'' he said. ``If things keep going the way they are right now, I'm going to retain my guys.''

Another employer in Linden, Armstrong Pie Co. owner Bert Patterson, has gained four subsidized employees.

``I'll keep all of them if they're still doing as good a job as all of them are doing,'' said Patterson, who credits the new employees with increasing production nearly tenfold over the past year.

The focus on employing poor workers intensifies just as the nation enters its second decade following welfare reform. Sweeping federal changes in the mid '90s sought to gut the nation's welfare program, which critics argued had become a warehouse for the unemployed, by setting time limits for government support, creating work requirements and making the program the state's responsibility.

It also required that states keep at least 50 percent of welfare recipients employed or face a cut in federal block grants That's long been a challenge for states in 2007, data showed only nine states above the 50 percent goal and it's become tougher as jobs grow scarce for even the most highly trained workers.

It makes giving the poor a leg up even more vital, according to Isabel Blanco, head of family outcome and practice standards at Georgia's Department of Human Services.

The state will use federal emergency funds to subsidize an undetermined number of jobs focused largely on green technology, in hopes of creating opportunities for workers whose limited skill often dooms them to unemployment, Blanco said. Temporary or not, she said the jobs will create new opportunities for many.

``The employer wouldn't touch these people otherwise,'' she said. ``It's like a foot in the door we will pay their salary for you to try them on.''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

PHOENIX (AP) Having endured a seemingly endless amount of trade rumors in recent weeks, Amare Stoudemire can finally relax and put all his focus on helping the Phoenix Suns make a run for the playoffs.

Stoudemire scored 22 points for his ninth straight game over 20, leading the Suns to an 88-80 victory over the poor-shooting Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

Greeted by a rousing ovation during pregame introductions, Stoudemire sure played like he wanted to be in Phoenix.

``I didn't know what to expect,'' Stoudemire said of all the trade reports. ``I'm not surprised al all, honestly. I wouldn't have been surprised if I had been traded, but I'm glad that I'm here now.''

Stoudemire also had eight rebounds, one night after the Suns decided to keep him in Phoenix rather than trade him and risk losing him this summer with no compensation if he opts out of the final year of his contract.

``The last week or week and a half, he's just been playing,'' coach Alvin Gentry said. ``He's put it all behind him. He played well. I'm proud of the way he's handled the situation. I think he's done great.''

Grant Hill added 16 points for the Suns, who used a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull away.

Josh Smith led Atlanta with 21 points, but didn't score in the fourth period, and Joe Johnson had 19 points. The Hawks were outrebounded 50-36 and shot just 39.5 percent for the game.

That was enough for the Suns to overcome an off night from Steve Nash. He had just six points, missed seven of his 10 shots and had six turnovers for the game.

With the game tied 70-70 in the final quarter, the Suns started their key surge with a tap-in by Jared Dudley. Jason Richardson and Channing Frye followed with buckets, Lou Amundson scored five points in a row and Dudley completed the burst with a layup, giving Phoenix an 83-70 lead.

Atlanta never recovered after that.

Most surprising was the Suns' defense. They held the Hawks to 30 points in the second half, a season low for an opponent.

``We're taking a lot more pride in our defense,'' Frye said. ``We took them away from what they wanted to do.

``Some games don't look pretty, but we got a 'W.''

Gentry said the Suns never made any offers that included Stoudemire.

``We never initiated the calls,'' Gentry said before the game. ``We weren't out there actively trying to trade him. We weren't going to give him away unless there was something out there that was beneficial to our team.''

The way he started on Friday night, the Hawks probably wish Steve Kerr would have shipped him out on Thursday.

Stoudemire scored 13 points in the first quarter and 17 points in the first half to offset Nash's struggles. The normally sterling point guard had two points and five turnovers in the first half.

Gentry said that Nash still is ``mentally drained'' from all his activities last weekend, including carrying the torch at the Olympics on Friday, winning the skills competition at NBA All-Star weekend on Saturday and competing in the All-Star Game on Sunday.

Robin Lopez had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Suns.

Jamal Crawford scored 11 points and Al Horford added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks.

``I thought our offense hurt us tonight,'' Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. ``It really put us behind. We ended up with 12 assists and we missed a lot of good shots and a lot of our shots were hurried shots.''

Johnson was disappointed in the Hawks' fourth-quarter collapse.

``When our offense wasn't working in the fourth, it seems like we gave up defensively as well,'' he said. ``That's not a sign of a good team. We're better than that.''

NOTES: The Suns' 88 points were their fewest in a victory since a Feb. 23, 2008 victory against San Antonio. ... Smith is the only player in the league averaging 15 points per game, eight rebounds and four assists. ... Crawford owns the NBA record for four-point plays, 24, including five this season. ... Four members of the famed Tuskegee Airmen were guests of the Suns.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

``If you see me losing 40 pounds that means I'm either running or have cancer,'' quipped Barbour, a former lobbyist and GOP chairman who Republican insiders say could be a formidable candidate.

The head of the Republican Governors' Association, Barbour made the comments to a group of reporters ahead of a weekend meeting of the nation's governors. He said he would focus this year on helping Republicans elected in governor's races. After November, Barbour said, he might considering running. Still, he called the prospect unlikely.

Several Republicans considering running for president were descending on Washington this weekend for the Conservative Political Action Conference and the National Governor's Association meeting, where they were testing the 2012 ground even if they wouldn't acknowledge it.

Earlier Friday across town, Pawlenty and Pence were the latest Republicans weighing candidacies to speak to the annual gathering of thousands of conservative activists and leaders who are important players in the GOP base. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich were on tap for Saturday.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who lost his 2008 Republican primary bid, made a splash at the conference Thursday. He's considered among the strongest prospective candidates, given that he has the experience of running before.

Romney, who brought along his state's new Republican senator Scott Brown to introduce him, delivered an impassioned defense of conservatism and indictment of President Barack Obama's first year to a cheering and chanting crowd. It was standing-room only for his mid-afternoon speech. His would-be campaign staff was on hand.

The reception for Pawlenty's midmorning speech a day later was more muted. He received a standing ovation and polite applause. The ballroom was just partially filled; there were empty seats throughout, though that could have been because of the hour. He, too, had aides nearby who are helping him lay the groundwork for a possible run.

Pawlenty sought to draw a stylistic contrast with Romney, who spoke from prepared remarks on a teleprompter. Aides said Pawlenty spoke more extemporaneously, drawing from bullet points written in a notebook on the lectern. His speech was part conservative pep talk, part criticism of Obama.

He laid out a vision of smaller government and a strong defense. The other principle he said guides him: ``God's in charge.''

``If it's good enough for the Founding Fathers it should be good enough for each and every one of us,'' said Pawlenty, noting that God is enshrined in the country's founding documents.

Pawlenty, who is not known for wearing religion on his sleeve, noted that some people said it would be ``politically incorrect'' to bring up God. ``Hogwash,'' Pawlenty said, drawing applause from a crowd that clearly appreciated his pitch.

He belittled Obama as a president of ``hope and change and teleprompters.'' He also said: ``If government spending were an Olympic sport, he would be a repeat gold medalist.'' And he said: ``Mr. President, no more apology tours and no more giving Miranda rights to terrorists in our country.''

In contrast to Pawlenty, Pence delivered a robust speech that this partisan crowd ate up. It was filled with criticism of Obama and lines tailor-made for the GOP's right wing, including a pitch to ``defend life.''

``Conservative Republicans are back and we're in the fight for fiscal discipline. We're on the side of the American people,'' he declared.

Pence, too, took Obama to task, earning thundering applause throughout.

``The job of the American president is not to manage American decline. The job of the American president is to reverse it,'' Pence said, nearly yelling. ``Get government out of control, get government out of the way and America will come roaring back!''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Georgia legislators voted to take a two-week break as they scramble to fill what is shaping up to be another huge hole in the state's already slimmed-down budget. With tax collections continuing to slide, legislators will take a hiatus from passing bills in the House and the Senate. Instead, budget writers will huddle to address another $1 billion-plus budget shortfall. Legislators said they were caught off guard by yet another dismal revenue report last month. There had been hopes that January would break a slump in tax collections. Instead, they dipped 8.7 percent, the 14th straight month revenues have declined. Gov. Sonny Perdue has proposed a $18.2 billion budget for the coming fiscal year. He projected 4 percent revenue growth, which some now say may be far too optimistic. The governor balanced the budget by proposing a pair of unpopular proposals: a tax on hospitals and health plans and siphoning money from the state's environmental loan fund. Republican legislators have been cool to both plans, particularly the hospital fee.

ODDS ENDS:

Dozens of health care professionals lined up to tell state lawmakers that a proposed tax on hospitals and health insurance plans is not the cure for Georgia's ailing budget. Many are throwing their support behind another proposal that would boost the tax on cigarettes instead. Perdue is again pushing the plan to plug a $274 million budget hole.

The state Senate approved a $17.4 billion spending plan that forces most state employees and teachers to take three more unpaid furlough days. The budget covers the remainder of the fiscal year that ends June 30. It cuts $1.2 billion in spending and slashes most state agency spending by about 8 percent.

State Sen. Jeff Mullis is proposing legislation to create a statewide alert system to speed the apprehension of criminals who kill or seriously injure local, state, or federal law enforcement officers. Similar to the Amber Alert law, the proposed Blue Alert would activate Georgia Department of Transportation message boards to notify the public when a police officer has been killed or seriously injured and the perpetrator is at large.

The state Senate unanimously approved creation of a group aimed at making Georgia more attractive to business. The proposed Economic Development Council would review funds and programs designed to bring business and jobs to the state.

The Georgia House has voted unanimously to require that larger local governments post their budgets and audits online. The House voted to mandate the disclosure for cities and counties with budgets greater than $1 million. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Ed Lindsey said placing the reports on the web would provide greater transparency for Georgia citizens.

Legislation that would implement a wide-ranging package of tax cuts and credits has cleared a House committee. The bill would give employers a $2,400 tax credit for hiring someone who has been unemployed for at least four weeks. It would give companies a quarterly tax credit for each eligible employee hired who had been receiving unemployment benefits.

``American Idol'' icon and civil rights activist Gen. Larry Platt paid a visit to the state Capitol. Platt was honored by the Georgia House and Senate for his work during the civil rights movement, continued political activism and his hit song, ``Pants on the Ground,'' which catapulted him into the national spotlight after a recent appearance on ``American Idol.''

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

``The chair's going to take a very dim view of any member of this House bringing onto this floor a lobbyist...that's why we've had a rope out there for a long time. If you need to see 'em that bad, then the door is open and you can go out there and visit with them.'' House Speaker David Ralston addressing the House after a lobbyist was reported in the House chamber in violation of House rules.

DAYS IN SESSION:

Twenty days remain in the 40-day session.

LOOK AHEAD:

House and Senate chambers will go dark for two weeks as legislative budget writers meet to figure out how to deal with a huge budget hole in the fiscal year that begins July 1. There will joint meetings of House and Senate appropriations subcommittees as legislators look to bridge what could be a $1 billion gap in the coming fiscal year's budget.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Authorities have charged 32-year-old Kshitij Shrotri for the Feb. 5 attack on 39-year-old Samer Tawfik at the Tech campus in Midtown Atlanta.

Shrotri appeared in court briefly Friday. Shrotri is being held without bond in the Fulton County Jail.

The men had allegedly scuffled several months prior to the attack.

At that time, witnesses said Shrotri became incensed when he saw a woman he liked dancing alongside Tawfik.

Tawfik underwent surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital following the attack.

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

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr. released the jury Friday to decide the fate of 21-year-old Devonni Benton. He is charged with murder in the shooting death of 19-year-old Jasmine Lynn, who was killed Sept. 3.

Prosecutors say Benton was part of a fight outside a Clark Atlanta University dorm. Prosecutors say he fired at least six shots into the crowd, killing Lynn, of Kansas City, Mo.

Benton testified during the three-day trial that he was involved in the fight but was not the shooter.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Authorities say officer Alfred Morris Johnson was gunned down in February 1980 during an armed robbery at a grocery store where he was working as a security guard.

Authorities say Johnson was fighting with the robber over a shotgun when he was shot and killed. The killer has never been caught.

The officer's widow fought back tears Friday as she made an appeal for justice.

Mildred Johnson says the family still struggles with the pain of losing her husband. He was 31-years-old when he was killed.

Information from: WSB-TV, http://www.wsbtv.com/index.html

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Those dreams were dashed early Thursday morning when police say his mother's ex-boyfriend fatally shot the 18-year-old and then turned the gun on himself.

Bennett was found dead at his family's home after officers responding to a call arrived at his family's modest home around 2:30 a.m. and heard at least four gun shots. Powder Springs Maj. Charles Spann said 39-year-old Clifton Steger shot Bennett and then killed himself.

Police are still uncertain what led to the shootings. Spann said Friday there was no sign of a struggle and that there had been no previous reports of domestic violence involving the family. He also said police were investigating whether Steger simply ``surprised'' the family and burst in the door, opening fire.

Bennett's relatives said they didn't know whether the football star was killed while protecting his mother, as some have speculated.

``It doesn't sound like it,'' said Odessa Bennett, Rajaan's great-aunt, said Friday in a phone interview. ``It sounds like he was not in the position where he could protect his mom.''

Bennett's death has traumatized students and faculty at McEachern High School, a sprawling school of 2,200 students that sports a football field in the middle of campus.

While Bennett excelled on that field rushing for more than 1,800 yards and 28 touchdowns in his last season coach Kyle Hockman said he also was a prolific poet and a sensitive songwriter. Bennett made such an impact on Hockman's family that his fifth-grade son hung his practice jersey in his room.

``He was an All-State football player, but he was a better person. He touched the lives of thousands,'' he said. ``I learned from him. He made my life better.''

Bennett seemed like he was older than he looked, partly because he had to grow up so fast, his coach said. His father died while he was in the sixth grade and it fell to Bennett to help his mother Narjaketha raise two younger siblings, one who was disabled.

Bennett said he picked Vanderbilt over other schools that were recruiting him, such as Tennessee and Kentucky, because he hoped it would better prepare him for life after football. Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said his program is reeling from the loss of an ``outstanding young man.''

``He really was a family person,'' he said. ``If you could see him interacting with his mother and his brother and his sisters, you knew he was trying to protect them in the end.''

At a somber candlelight vigil held down the street from the high school, football players came in tattered jerseys with Bennett's name scrawled across the back, joined by cheerleaders and marching band members in varsity jackets.

Dozens more spilled out across the tiny parking lot, including classmates who said they hardly knew Bennett, neighbors who never met him and teary-eyed grade school kids who imagined they were the all-state running back during backyard pickup games.

``He was more than a football player. He was more than the number 5,'' said Shana Belden, a senior. ``He loved us all.''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- An $88 million dollar deficit is forcing DeKalb County to close four schools and cut more than a dozen of its top administrators.

Speadking to a group of about 100 business leaders Friday in his state of the system address, Superintendent Dr. Crawford Long said, "We can no longer afford to operate schools which are at half capacity.

DeKalb closed five schools in 2008, and is the state's third largest school system.  Still, the county operates 152 schools, more than any other system in Georgia.

Lewis did not identify the four schools which will close a the end of the school year.  He said school officials will detrmine that next week as well as beginning to work on plans to identify ten schools to close in 2011.

Schools identified to close will come from the 29 DeKalb County schools with student enrollment of less than 300 students.  The schools to close likely will come from South DeKalb now that Dunwoody is the fastest growing area of the county.

The Citizens Planning Task Force, a group of 20 residents appointed by members of the school board, will work with school officials to reach a recomendation of which schools to close.  The Board of Education will then vote on the final closings according to school spokesperson, Dale Davis.

DeKalb's enrollment in 2009 grew by 1,500 students to 101,000 students.

Closing the schools will save the district about $2.5 million.  Teachers from affected schools will move with their students and keep their jobs.  Davis says other staff may be affected.

Also impacted by the decision to close schools - the district will have to re-draw the attendance boundaries and rework school bus routes before the school year begins in August.

Superintendent Lewis says closing the schools is part of plan systemwide to address the losses in money from the state and property tax revenue.

"We are working really, really hard not to raise anyone's taxes," said Lewis.

Last month, Lewis recommended a series of program cuts, staff furloughs and other budget cuts to meet what he thought would ba  $56 million deficit.  Now the system is scrambling to find $32 million more in cuts.

"This year's budget will go back to the figure we had in 2005," said Lewis.  "That kind of tells you exactly how bad things are."

Lewis said he will unveil the additional proposed cuts next Friday.  Expect many of the job losses to come from the system's central office.  Lewis said some of those administrators will be able to apply for principal and teaching positions.  Others will definitely be out of a job.

DeKalb County Schools employ 14,000 full time workers of those 8,000 are teachers.

They liked his focus on taking ownership of his problems and protecting and defending his wife and kid, but some wished he'd said specifically when he'd return to golf.

Some of their views:

John Sweeney, director of sports communication at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication:

``I found his statement very human and very effective. The staging when first announced seemed calculated. However, when you saw that Tiger had to make these apologies directly to people while his mother watched, it took on a power and sincerity that couldn't be questioned.

His words were direct. None of the modern hedging and clever word twists that could be taken two ways. He took responsibility, showed remorse, and presented his behavior in stark terms.''

Laura Ries, president of Ries and Ries, an Atlanta branding firm:

``He finally did it. He finally came out, apologized and showed his face. That was the most important thing, just showing up. Was it a great performance? No. But had he delivered too smooth a statement he would have been accused of being too slick. But don't blame the media! You are the highest paid athlete in the world ... The fact that the paparazzi are following you and your family Boo-hoo. It's your fault for not speaking publicly earlier.

The critical things that were missing: When exactly will he return to golf? And Elin not being there did say a lot. Nobody can blame her. But had she been in the front row with his Mom it would have helped show that she is taking a step towards forgiving him. ...

He looked a little hunched over, a little beaten down, and partly I think that was a reflection of how he's feeling about what he's done and what he's facing. He didn't have much of an expression on his face, and he's not a very good public speaker. His delivery was weak, he was stiff, and there were several fumbles. You could almost see on his face that it's all been too much for him.''

Mitch Abrams, sports psychologist:

``I thought he did great he did as well as he could have. The main thing he needed to do was take ownership of what he had done, protect his family and deflect any responsibility or wrongdoing from his wife. The fact that he mentioned Elin by name several times personalized it.''

Rick Burton, sports marketing professor at Syracuse University:

``What Tiger may have achieved today was giving the people who love him and who love the game the hope that things will get better. He seemed sincere, deeply embarrassed and ashamed. He looked rehearsed and I am sure he was, but this may have been a step in his therapy that was intended to be controlled.

This is part of a journey, a process. His words are going to get picked apart like the Gettysburg Address, but he spoke of his mistakes, his failings, his need to do things differently. My guess is he did say all the things armchair psychologists will want to hear.''

Bill McGowan, image consultant for Clarity Media Group:

``I think he came off very Tiger-like, in that it was a little too rehearsed and a little too scripted for my liking. The more scripted you are, the more risk you run of not being authentic or sincere. I would have liked to acknowledge, 'I have some prepared remarks but I'm going to set them aside and talk from the heart.' I would have loved him not to be reading anything.

I was very aware he wasn't wearing a golf shirt, he was wearing a dress shirt, no tie. I thought that was very planned. ... Today should have been the complete and total purging, and I think by delaying facing some questions, he just extends this thing more. I think Tiger took his medicine, but in a way that was most palatable to him.''

Compiled by AP National Writer Jocelyn Noveck and AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

``I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was not acceptable,'' said Woods, looking composed and speaking in a steady voice. His wife, Elin, was not obviously present.

As for coming back to the PGA Tour, Woods said: ``I do plan to return to golf one day. I just don't know when that day will be. I don't rule out it will be this year.''

Woods talked for more than 13 minutes Friday from the clubhouse at the TPC Sawgrass, home of the PGA Tour. About 40 people were in the room, including his mother.

Woods said he is solely responsible for his actions and was in treatment for 45 days. He said he will return for more therapy. He also insisted there were no instances of domestic abuse in his marriage.

The world's No. 1 golfer had not talked in public since his traffic accident Nov. 27 triggered shocking revelations about Woods' serial infidelity.

Friday's event was tightly controlled, with only a few journalists allowed to watch Woods live.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) A suburban Philadelphia school district used the webcams in school-issued laptops to spy on students at home, potentially catching them and their families in compromising situations, a family claims in a federal lawsuit.

Lower Merion School District officials said the laptops ``contain a security feature intended to track lost, stolen and missing laptops,'' and that the feature was deactivated Thursday. Angry students had already responded by putting tape on their laptop cameras and microphones.

Sophomore Tom Halpern described students as ``pretty disgusted,'' and noted that his class recently read ``1984,'' the George Orwell classic that coined the term ``Big Brother.''

``This is just bogus,'' said Halpern, 15, of Wynnewood, as he left Harriton High School on Thursday with his taped-up computer. ``I just think it's really despicable that they have the ability to just watch me all the time.''

The school district can activate the webcams without students' knowledge or permission, the suit said. Plaintiffs Michael and Holly Robbins suspect the cameras captured students and family members as they undressed and in other embarrassing situations, according to the suit.

Such actions would amount to potentially illegal electronic wiretapping, said Witold J. Walczak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which is not involved in the case.

``School officials cannot, any more than police, enter into the home either electronically or physically without an invitation or a warrant,'' Walczak said.

A school district statement released late Thursday said the tracking feature would not be reactivated ``without express written notification to all students and families.''

``We can categorically state that we are and have always been committed to protecting the privacy of our students,'' said the spokesman, Doug Young.

The affluent district prides itself on its technology initiatives, which include giving Apple laptops to each of the approximately 2,300 students at its two high schools.

``It is no accident that we arrived ahead of the curve; in Lower Merion, our responsibility is to lead,'' Superintendent Christopher W. McGinley wrote on the district Web site. McGinley did not immediately return messages left Thursday by The Associated Press.

The Robbinses said they learned of the alleged webcam images when Lindy Matsko, an assistant principal at Harriton High School, told their son Blake that school officials thought he had engaged in improper behavior at home. The behavior was not specified in the suit.

``(Matsko) cited as evidence a photograph from the webcam embedded in minor plaintiff's personal laptop issued by the school district,'' the suit states. The behavior was not specified in the suit, which did not make clear whether the family had seen any photographs captured by school officials.

Matsko later confirmed to Michael Robbins that the school had the ability to activate the webcams remotely, according to the suit, which was filed Tuesday and which seeks class-action status.

The Robbinses declined to speak with an Associated Press reporter at their home Thursday. Their lawyer, Mark S. Haltzman, did not return messages.

The U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the privacy of the home when it ruled in 2001 that police could not, without a warrant, use thermal imaging equipment outside a home to see if heat lamps were being used inside to grow marijuana. Technology or no, Supreme Court precedents draw ``a firm line at the entrance to the house,'' Justice Antonin Scalia wrote, quoting an earlier case.

``This isn't just them spying on the kids, this is them intruding on the parents' home. Who knows what they are seeing?'' Walczak said. ``The courts for 80 years have said there's no greater sanctuary than a person's own home.''

The lawsuit's allegations raise new concerns about school-issued laptops, said an Electronic Freedom Foundation lawyer.

``I've never heard of anything this egregious,'' said Kevin Bankston, a senior staff attorney at the San Francisco-based group. ``Nobody would have imagined that schools would peer into students private homes and even bedrooms without any kind of justification.

Students like Halpern say they mostly keep their computers in their bedrooms and rarely turn them off.

``School ends at the end of the school property, so they shouldn't really be in our business at home,'' Halpern said.

Associated Press writer Patrick Walters in Bryn Mawr, Pa., contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Tiger Woods is to return to therapy after he speaks publicly for the first time about his infidelity, according to a letter from PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem that was obtained by The Associated Press.

Finchem's letter to the PGA Tour policy board and other officials explained why Woods chose Friday to make his first public comments, which are to be televised live by the major networks.

Woods' statement comes during the Match Play Championship, sponsored by Accenture, the first company to drop Woods as a pitchman.

``As we understand it, Tiger's therapy called for a week's break at this time during which he has spent a few days with his children and then will make his statement before returning,'' Finchem said in a letter Thursday. ``Accordingly, there was very little flexibility in the date for the announcement.''

Woods is to speak at 11 a.m. EST from the clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass, home of the PGA Tour. It will be his first time to speak publicly since his car accident Nov. 27 that sparked sordid revelations of extramarital affairs.

The letter shed no light on whether Woods plans to return to the tour anytime soon.

Ernie Els was among players who were upset to learn that Woods had chosen the week of a World Golf Championship for a public appearance that was sure to take attention away from the tournament. ``It's selfish,'' Els told Golfweek magazine.

Finchem told reporters in Marana, Ariz., earlier this week that he didn't think Woods' appearance would undermine Accenture, and that Woods' handlers ``have their own reasons for their schedule.''

In the letter, he said the tour discussed the situation with Accenture and ``they understand that the PGA Tour was not involved in determining the timing of the statement.'' Finchem also noted that Woods' comments would be over well before television coverage of the third round from Dove Mountain.

The PGA Tour made available its sprawling, Mediterranean-styled clubhouse for the announcement, and is helping set up adjacent ballrooms at the nearby Sawgrass Marriott for media, where they can watch Woods on closed-circuit TV.

Finchem said in the letter that Woods' management asked for the facilities, and ``we agreed as we would for any member of the PGA Tour.''

No other PGA Tour player could command this kind of attention, though.

Woods is one of the most recognized athletes in the world. Television ratings double when he is in contention, which has happened a lot on his way to winning 71 times on the PGA Tour and 14 majors, four short of the record held by Jack Nicklaus.

No other athlete had such a spectacular fall, either. Accenture and AT have ended their endorsement contracts with him, and Woods has become the butt of jokes everywhere from late shows to Disney performances.

In the hours leading up to his appearance, it already was shaping up as a major event.

Seven satellite trucks already had set up shop in the Marriott parking lot. The last time it had this kind of activity was five years ago for media day at the Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.

Tight security restricted access on the road that leads past PGA Tour headquarters to the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse, where Woods has a locker in a special room reserved for past winners of The Players Championship.

Woods is to speak in the Sunset Room on the second floor to a small group of ``friends, colleagues and close associates,'' along with limited media.

``This is not a press conference,'' Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent, said on Wednesday.

Three wire services the AP, Reuters and Bloomberg were invited. The Golf Writers Association of America was offered a pool of three reporters, negotiated for six reporters, then its board of directors voted overwhelmingly not to participate.

``I cannot stress how strongly our board felt that this should be open to all media and also for the opportunity to question Woods,'' said Vartan Kupelian, president of the 950-member group. ``The position, simply put, is all or none. This is a major story of international scope. To limit the ability of journalists to attend, listen, see and question Woods goes against the grain of everything we believe.''

The public hasn't had a clean look at Woods' face since photos Wednesday of him jogging in his neighborhood outside Orlando.

More pool photos were released on Thursday showing him hitting balls on the practice range; Woods never allowed his picture taken on the range last year when returning from knee surgery.

Far more compelling, however, will be the sound of his voice. Woods has not been heard in the 78 days since a magazine released a voicemail he allegedly left one of the women to whom he has been romantically linked, warning that Woods' wife might be calling.

Instead of going on ``Oprah'' or another national television show to break the ice, Woods essentially will be speaking to the lone camera allowed in the room. The event will be televised via satellite.

Woods has always been about control, even in better times. He refused to go into the media center before a PGA Tour event if he was not the defending champion. If he agreed to a 10-minute interview to pitch a product he endorses, it was common for a company employee to be in the room making sure it didn't go one second beyond that.

But having not heard from Woods in three months except for three statements on his Web site this event has taken on a life of its own.

Conversation raged online, as many took glee in speculating on what Woods will say Friday.

One of the most popular threads on Twitter carried the tag ``tigershouldsay.'' Suggestions were predominantly sarcastic, such as: ``At least I didn't use steroids.''

A British bookmaker has set odds at 4-to-7 that Woods' wife, Elin, will be with him. William Hill didn't stop there, however. It offers 8-to-1 odds that Woods will announce he is getting a divorce, 12-to-1 odds that his wife is pregnant and 100-to-1 odds that he is retiring.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- State lawmakers are halfway through the legislative session and so far no action has been taken on a couple of bills by Gov. Perdue to deal with educators who tamper with state tests or help students cheat on them.

A hearing planned Thursday was postponed on the bill due to an emergency by the bill's legislative sponsor.  Members of the House Education Committee instead heard from State School Superintendent Kathy Cox and the Kathleen Mathers, Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, on the recent analysis of CRCT's given last spring.

Nearly 200 schools statewide showed a high number of erasure marks on the test.  The State Board of Education is calling on investigations to be conducted by each of those school systems involved and for state monitors to sit in those classrooms where there is the most concern when the tests are given again in April.

Education Committee Chairman Brooks Coleman says he expects the bills by Perdue to be taken up again when lawmakers go back in session in a couple of weeks.

Cox says she supports the idea to charge educators who tamper with state tests with a misdemeanor.

"I think we've got to send a very clear message that we're not going to tolerate adults falsifying documents and tampering with data and hurting kids," she tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.

Among those opposed is Jeff Hubbard, President of the Georgia Association of Educators, who says the means are already in place to deal with such a situation as evidenced by the scandal from last year.

"If the Profession Standards Commission does decide to revoke your license or pull it away, your career is basically over," he says.

Hubbard is also opposed to another measure that would take away the pension of those found guilty of tampering.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- At least one state lawmaker would like to go back to using those old optical scanners and number two pencils when voters head to the polls in a few months.

Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica) has introduced HB 1215 that would do away with the current electronic voting machines in favor of some form of paper ballot.

"The integrity of voting is priority number one and you can ensure that by making sure there's a paper trail," he tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.

The electronic machines were put into use statewide in 2002 at a cost of about $70 million according to Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

He tells WSB that while he favors some form of paper ballot in the future, he doesn't think it's practical for this election cycle.  He estimates it would cost between $30-$50 million to get the old optical scanners ready for use again.

Kemp says when the budget allows, he would like to research the new technology available in electronic voting machines that include paper ballots.

A U.S. law official identified the pilot as Joseph Stack whose home was set on fire just before the crash and said investigators were looking at an anti-government message on the Web linked to him. The Web site outlines problems with the IRS and says violence ``is the only answer.''

Federal law enforcement officials have said they were investigating whether the pilot, who is presumed to have died in the crash, slammed into the Austin building on purpose in an effort to blow up IRS offices. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

``Violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer,'' the long note on Stack's Web site reads, citing past problems with the tax-collecting agency.

``I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well,'' the note, dated Thursday, reads.

At least one person who worked in the building was unaccounted for and two people were hospitalized, said Austin Fire Department Division Chief Dawn Clopton. She did not have any information about the pilot. About 190 IRS employees work in the building, and IRS spokesman Richard C. Sanford the agency was trying to account for all of its workers.

After the plane crashed into the building, flames shot out, windows exploded and workers scrambled to safety. Thick smoke billowed out of the second and third stories hours later as fire crews battled the blaze.

``It felt like a bomb blew off,'' said Peggy Walker, an IRS revenue officer who was sitting at her desk in the building when the plane crashed. ``The ceiling caved in and windows blew in. We got up and ran.''

Andrew Jacobson was on the second floor when he heard a ``big whoomp'' and then a second explosion. He also thought a bomb exploded.

``When I went to look out the window I saw wreckage, wheels and everything. That's when I realized it was a plane,'' said Jacobson, whose bloody hands were bandaged.

Jacobson, also an IRS revenue officer, said about six people couldn't use the stairwell because of smoke and debris. He found metal bar to bust a window so the group could crawl out on a concrete ledge where they were rescued by the firefighters.

Earlier Thursday about five miles from the crash site, Stack's $232,000 home was engulfed in flames. Two law enforcement officials said Stack had apparently set fire to his home before the crash.

The roof of Stack's red brick home on a tree-lined street in a middle-class neighborhood was mostly caved in, and the home's windows were blown out. The garage doors were open and a big pile of debris was inside.

Elbert Hutchins, who lives one house away, said a woman and her teenage daughter drove up to the house before firefighters arrived.

``They both were very, very distraught,'' said Hutchins, a retiree who said he didn't know the family well. ``'That's our house!' they cried 'That's our house!'''

Red Cross spokeswoman Marty McKellips said the agency was treating two people who live in the house. She said they would not be commenting.

``They're remarkably calm but they're clearly distraught. ... They're in need of some mental health assistance and we're providing that,'' McKellips said.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford said the pilot took off from nearby Georgetown but didn't file a flight plan. FAA records show that a Piper PA-28 Cherokee with the same tail number as the plane that flew into the building is registered to Joseph A. Stack.

Those who saw the plane before it slammed into the building were stunned to see it flying so low.

``It was insane,'' said Matt Farney, 39, who was in the parking lot of a nearby Home Depot. ``It didn't look like he was out of control or anything.''

Reginaldo Tiul-Tiul, a dishwasher at the nearby Sushi Sake Japanese Cuisine, said he had just gotten off a bus and was waiting to go into work when he saw the plane crash.

``I looked at my co-worker and said, 'Why is that plane so low?''' Tiul-Tiul, 30, said in Spanish. ``It went straight for the building.''

Sitting at her desk in another building about a half-mile from the crash, Michelle Santibanez said she felt vibrations. She and her co-workers ran to the windows, where they saw a scene that reminded them of the 9/11 attacks, she said.

``It was the same kind of scenario with window panels falling out and desks falling out and paperwork flying,'' said Santibanez, an accountant.

The National Transportation Safety Board said an investigator from the board's Dallas office has been dispatched to the scene of the crash. The White House also said President Barack Obama was briefed about the crash.

As a precaution, the Colorado-based North American Aerospace Defense Command launched two F-16 aircraft from Houston's Ellington Field, and is conducting an air patrol over the crash area.

According to California Secretary of State records, Stack had a troubled business history, twice starting software companies in California that ultimately were suspended by the state's Franchise Tax Board.

In 1985, he incorporated Prowess Engineering Inc. in Corona. It was suspended two years later. He started Software Systems Service Corp. in Lincoln in 1995 and that entity was suspended in 2001. Stack listed himself as chief executive officer of both companies.

Associated Press writers April Castro, Kelley Shannon and Jay Root in Austin; Devlin Barrett, Joan Lowy and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington; the AP News Research Center, Linda Stewart Ball, Danny Robbins, Jeff Carlton and John McFarland in Dallas; and Barbara Rodriguez and Melanie Coffee in Chicago contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The Food and Drug Administration's warnings cover the drugs Advair, Symbicort, Foradil and Serevent. The FDA said they should be used only by asthmatics who can't control their lung disease with other medications and even then only for the shortest time possible.

Nor should LABA-containing drugs ever be used without simultaneous use of a different asthma-controlling medication, such as an inhaled corticosteroid a move that specifically targets two of the drugs, Foradil and Serevent, the FDA said.

Why? These four drugs contain an ingredient that relaxes muscles around stressed airways, called a long-acting beta agonist or LABA. While they're very helpful for some patients, the way LABA-containing drugs work also sometimes masks that inflammation is building in the airways. That means patients may not realize a serious asthma attack is brewing until they're gasping for air.

The FDA cited studies that showed an increased risk of hospitalization and even some deaths, particularly among children. One study found three extra adverse events mostly hospitalizations for every thousand patients who took a LABA-containing drug compared to another asthma medication, said FDA's Dr. Gerald Dal Pan.

Medical guidelines already urge people to use a LABA together with an inhaled corticosteroid to relieve inflammation. Advair and Symbicort combine both kinds of medicine in one inhaler. Over a year ago, the FDA's scientific advisers had urged that LABA-only medications, Foradil and Serevent, no longer be used to treat asthma and that none of the four drugs be used in children.

The FDA said Thursday it was taking a somewhat stronger step. It can't pull those medications off the market because people with other lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, use them without the asthma risk. Just saying they shouldn't be used for asthma would have little practical effect, said Dr. John Jenkins, FDA's director of new drugs. So FDA labeled LABA-containing medications as contraindicated without simultaneous use of a different asthma-controlling medication a legal term with more enforcement muscle to limit prescription. FDA will monitor that, to see if doctors follow the rules.

``Our goal is to overall reduce the use of LABAs, to manage the risk while at the same time keeping them available for those patients who really need them,'' said Jenkins, a pulmonologist.

``The reality is the available options to treat asthma are not that great,'' he added. For patients not well-controlled by inhaled corticosteroids alone, ``their options for additional therapy are, in and of themselves, drugs with a lot of risk.''

Other warnings:

Quit LABA-containing drugs as soon as asthma is brought under control, in favor of a corticosteroid or other asthma-maintenance medicine.

Children and teens should be prescribed only the combination LABA drugs to ensure compliance with both medications. That mostly happens today, as pediatric use of the single-agent drugs has plummeted with publicity about the risk.

Manufacturers also will be required to study whether combination LABA use indeed lowers the risk.

Advair and Serevent are marketed by GlaxoSmithKline, Foradil by Novartis AG and Symbicort by AstraZeneca.

On the Net:

FDA info: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/ucm199565 .htm

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- Local school systems would be unable to use state money to provide pay raises for administrators or superintendents if teachers and other school staff are furloughed under a bill passed unanimously in the House.

HB 977 by Rep. Ed Rynders (D-Albany) would allow local funds to be used but only after a public hearing is first held.

"This is the kind of common sense legislation (for) the teachers back home... the reassurance that we can give them," he says.

Rynders tells WSB's Sandra Parrish he did not sponsor the bill in light of the controversy surrounding a $15,000 pay raise given DeKalb's school superintendent but says it's a good example.

The bill passed 162-0 and now goes to the Senate.

Robert M. Cook of Fairburn appeared before Fulton County Magistrate Judge James Altman on Thursday. The judge scheduled a March 4 bond hearing for Cook, who is charged in the shooting death Monday of Chattahoochee Hills Police Lt. Mike Vogt.

Cook said he understood the charges murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Investigators say Cook shot Vogt because he didn't want to be arrested again for driving drunk.

Police say the 56-year-old Vogt was in his car when Cook fired at him on a secluded dirt road.

Officials say Vogt had arrested Cook previously.

On Wednesday, as part of Operation Second Chance, five dogs rescued from the euthanasia line moved into the Gwinnett County Jail and met their new inmate handlers.

The program is the brainchild of Sheriff Butch Conway and his wife, State Court Judge Carla Brown, and aims to prepare the dogs and prisoners for a better life once they leave the jail.

``This is a program I knew could work here,'' Conway said. ``I knew we could make a difference not just for the dogs, but for the inmates, as well ... I believe in the end we will save many lives and the inmates who are part of the program will be dramatically changed for the better.''

Conway said his jail is the first in Georgia, and possibly the country, to implement such a program. A self-professed animal lover, he said the ``staggering'' number of animals being euthanized for lack of resources convinced him that this was the right thing to do.

Volunteers and the Society of Humane Friends will provide all the necessary care, training, food and veterinary services for the dogs, Conway said, costing taxpayers nothing.

An outside recreation area, complete with holding pens, has been modified to allow the dogs plenty of play space. Conway said he hopes to expand the pilot program to include more dogs in the future.

Each dog will have two handlers and will sleep in kennels inside the primary handler's cell.

More than 100 inmates applied to become handlers, officials said, and 28 were selected. Officials said applicants were screened and interviewed before being approved. Sex offenders and those with violent histories weren't even considered. Conway was looking for motivated, pre- and post-trial inmates who would be at the facility for at least six to eight weeks.

Trainers said they will choose dogs who are friendly but not wild; playful, perhaps, but not aggressive. Before being brought into the jail, they are spayed or neutered and given a clean bill of health.

Ideally, the dogs would be ready for adoption in three to six weeks, though it will be a case-by-case scenario.

Inmate handlers won't be left to their own devices, rather, they will be aided by veterinary technicians and professional groomers and trainers.

``When they go to someone's house, they are going to be outstanding pets,'' said trainer Margaret Parnell. ``This is an exciting program.''

Inside C-Block Wednesday, as some inmates drank coffee and played cards, others, like Jonathan Glass, met their new four-legged cellmates.

Glass, from Duluth, calls his Labrador and pit bull mix ``Scrappy.'' Named after a pet he was forced to give up after being evicted from his apartment, Scrappy appeared a little nervous but seemed to be settling into the new routine.

Billy Watkins, who said he has three months left on his sentence, also considers himself an animal lover and said it's about giving them a real chance at life.

``For us, it makes the time go by quicker, but ... we've got the time to spend with these dogs to get their behavior acceptable so they can be adopted.''

David Fleming, the primary handler for Lady, a full-blooded chow whose disposition matches her name, shared the sentiment.

``I get a personal satisfaction in knowing that this dog won't be put down,'' he said.

While the inmate handlers' mission is to prepare each dog to be adopted out, there's nothing, officials said, stopping them from applying for adoption after their release.

The bond, after all, between man and dog is often a strong one.

``If Scrappy's here when I get out, he's coming home with me,'' Glass said, smiling but matter-of-factly. ``I can already see it now.''

Information from: Gwinnett Daily Post, http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- Just halfway through the 2010 Legislative Session, state lawmakers will take two weeks off to grapple with next year's budget and a growing revenue shortfall.

Both the House and Senate voted for the two week hiatus, although some lawmakers will still be hard at work under the Gold Dome.

In the House, Speaker David Ralston says the only committees that can meet during that time are Appropriations, Transportation, Ways and Means, and Natural Resources. He says no per diem will be given to those who meet otherwise. The same edict was not mentioned in the Senate.

Meantime, the Senate passed its version of the 2010 midyear budget Thursday, $1.2 billion less than when it first passed a year ago.  A conference committee of House and Senate members will be formed to work out differences between the two versions.

(WSB Radio) New credit card rules go into effect today.

The credit card rules say card issuers have to give more notice for new interest rate changes. Card issuers must give card holders 45-days advance notice in the event of an interest rate change. Additionally, promotional rates must apply for at least six months and, unless disclosed up front, card holders cannot have their rate increased in the first year.

If there are significant changes made to the terms of the account, card holders can choose to reject those changes and will have five years to pay off the balance under the original terms.

Card issuers are no longer allowed to issue a credit card to anyone under 21 unless they can prove they have the means to repay debt or if an adult over 21 co-signs on the account. Credit card companies also face new restrictions on how they can promote cards to college students and can no longer offer free gifts as enticements on campuses.

Your monthly statement will look different. In response to complaints that bill due dates were being moved up-and leading to increased late fees-monthly statements must now be mailed or delivered 21 days prior to the due date. Additionally, card issuers can no longer set a payment deadline before 5 p.m. and cannot charge card holders if they pay online, over the phone or by mail-unless the payment is made over the phone either on the due date or the previous day.

The US Census Bureau predicts that in 2010, the number of US credit card holders will grow to 181 million. Unfortunately, almost 75 percent of card holders admit to not reading the terms and conditions of their credit cards, according to a CreditCards.com survey.

Photo: AJC

WSB's Jon Lewis reports police got a 911 call from a home on Woodcrest Drive around 2 a.m., with someone whispering for help.

Police said arriving officers heard gunshots coming from inside the home.

The Cobb County police SWAT team was called to the scene, and when officers entered the home, they found two people who had been shot and killed.

Police have identified one of the those killed as Rajaan Bennett, 18.

The other victims include Clifton O'Neal Steager, 39, of Millegeville. He died of a self inflicted gun shot wound.

After the shots were, Narjaketha Bennett, 37, and Taijan Hunter, 32, ran from the house, hysterical, police said.

Hunter was wounded.

Steager is believed to have been a former boyfriend of Narjaketha Bennett.

Earlier this month, Rajaan Bennett had signed to play football next fall at Vanderbilt.

A 4-star product, Bennett rushed for 1,857 yards and 27 touch­downs this past year, garnering attention from top recruiting sites as well as other SEC teams.

The No. 19 running back in this year's class according to recruiting site Rivals.com, Bennett received offers from nine other schools including Tennessee and Kentucky.

(WSB Radio) -- An apparent murder suicide shooting has left two people dead and a third wounded, according to Powder Springs police.

WSB's Jon Lewis reports police got a 911 call from a home on Woodcrest Drive around 2 a.m. Thursday, with someone whispering for help.

Police said arriving officers heard gunshots coming from inside the home, and shielded the wounded person to get them away from the home. When officers entered the home, they found two people dead from an apparent murder-suicide.

CHICAGO (AP) A federal judge in Chicago who was barraged by e-mails from supporters of best-selling author and infomercial pitchman Kevin Trudeau has sentenced Trudeau to 30 days in jail and fined him $50,000.

Judge Robert Gettleman gave Trudeau 24 hours to appeal the Wednesday sentence. The judge told Trudeau and his attorneys to be back in court Thursday.

Marshals will take Trudeau into custody at that time unless the appeals judges order he remain free.

Gettleman once ruled Trudeau was deceptive in ads for the book ``The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About.''

Trudeau admits urging visitors to his Web site last week to contact Gettleman. He later posted an apology saying they should not attempt to contact the judge or court further.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- The Department of Defense says a 21-year-old Marine from Paulding County was killed while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan.

The Pentagon said Jason H. Estopinal of Dallas was killed on Monday in Helmand province, site of a major offensive by U.S. and Afghan forces against the Taliban.

Estopinal was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Estopinal was a 2007 graduate of East Paulding High School in Dallas.

(WSB Radio) -- A Cherokee County man has been arrested for placing a fake bomb in the middle of a golf course int the Eagle Watch subdivision in Woodstock.

Major Ron Hunton tells 21-year-old Timothy Foley, who lives in the subdivision, has been charged with terroristic acts, reckless conduct, and possession of a hoax device.

"Apparently, he was involved in some kind of argument with his father and he made this device from material that he had in the home there, apparently, in some kind of retaliation for what had occurred.  He got scared, takes the device out of the house , and then puts it near a golf cart path, a course out there, and leaves it," said Hunton.

When the bomb squad arrived to detonate the suspicious device, he came up and turned himself in.

There was a brief evacuation at some nearby homes, the device was destroyed, and no one was hurt.

(WSB Radio) -- The Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office begins the first-of-its kind program.  It's called "Second Chance" and it gets selected inmates to train dogs who would otherwise be euthanized.  Trainer Michael Loviere tells Channel 2 Action News it's a win-win situation.

"This is a second chance at life for them.  By the same token on the other side, the inmate handlers now have an opportunity to really develop some vocational skills that they can put to use outside in society," said Loviere.

One of the inmates selected is Heath Mardis who will be working with Bruno.

"Gives us company and something to look forward to and something to look after.  It keeps you busy.  He's got plenty of energy, that's for sure," said Mardis.

Sheriff Butch Conway says while he's heard of this type of programs, he thinks this is a first for a county jail.

"The more dogs that we can put through here and have adopted, the more lives we'll save," said Conway.

28 inmates, who went through a screening process, have been selected.  The program won't cost taxpayers a dime.   Volunteers and the Society of Humane Friends will provide care, food, training, and veterinary services.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- Legislative budget writers heard an earful from the state's medical community on a proposal by Gov. Perdue to charge a 1.6 percent fee on hospitals and insurance companies to fill holes in Medicaid.

Perdue's floor leader Rep. Jim Cole told lawmakers that the governor is not married to the idea if other alternatives exist.  Without additional revenue, hospitals face a 16.5 percent cut to Medicaid reimbursements.

"This bill is not a result of something we want to do, it's the result of what Gov. Perdue thought was the best option to start looking at some pretty (big) holes in future budget years," says Cole.

But Jimmy Lewis, CEO of Hometown Health which represents 55 rural hospitals, says the medicaid rate cut alone would result in the closing of 20 of the state's rural hospitals.

Kirk Wilson, President and CEO of St. Josephs Hospital in Atlanta, told lawmakers the 1.6 percent fee would mean $6 million annually to the hospital, the equivalent of laying off 100 nurses.

"Is there any other business that could possibly suffer from an income tax in excess of 100 percent of it's income," asked Wilson.

Both men joined others in the medical community in supporting a $1 tax on tobacco instead. 

"We feel by taxing the unhealthy behavior choice of tobacco usage... is an excellent alternative you should consider," says Wilson.

But so far the idea has gained little support among legislative leaders.  Both House Speaker David Ralston and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagel have come out against it.

The Pentagon said Jason H. Estopinal of Dallas was killed on Monday in Helmand province, site of a major offensive by U.S. and Afghan forces against the Taliban.

Estopinal was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Estopinal was a 2007 graduate of East Paulding High School in Dallas.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The child was later transported to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, where she was treated for a severe leg wound. Errol Jones later was identified as the good Samaritan who pulled the animal away from the child.

Cobb County Sgt. Dana Pierce says the unidentified girl was walking alone Tuesday shortly after 3 p.m. in the Valley View mobile home park near Marietta when the dog approached her.

Pierce says Jones ran over, struck the attacking animal with a piece of wood and separated the animal from the girl. Police say Jones then drove the child to a hospital.

The American Bulldog's owner, Claudia Baez, was charged Wednesday afternoon with not having control of a vicious animal and not having the dog vaccinated against rabies.

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

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

However, his agent said Woods will not take any questions from a small group of media.

``This is not a press conference,'' Mark Steinberg said Wednesday.

It will be Woods' first public appearance since Nov. 27, when he crashed his SUV into a tree outside his Florida home. Woods' only comments since then have been made through his Web site.

Steinberg said Woods is to speak at 11 a.m. Friday from the clubhouse at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., home of the PGA Tour.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The Atlanta-based company had nearly twice as many climate lobbyists as any other company or organization during last year's debate over cap and trade legislation, according to the Center for Public Integrity. The company hired 16 outside firms to supplement their stable of in-house lobbyists and spent $16.5 million on Capitol Hill lobbying in 2009. The company maintains the report overstates their lobbying role.

Some environmentalists while not surprised that Obama is moving forward on nuclear power are upset that Southern Co. is the recipient of such federal largesse.

``It's shameful,'' Georgia-based Sierra Club lobbyist Neill Herring said. ``They gave a big wet kiss to their very worst opponent.''

On Tuesday, Obama announced that Southern Co. will be eligible for $8.3 billion in federal loan guarantees to build and operate two new nuclear reactors at its plant in Burke County, Ga. The first of the two reactors is scheduled to go online in 2016 and the second the following year.

The energy behemoth was a leading contender to receive the administration loans because the two new reactors at Plant Vogtle in eastern Georgia were the furthest along in the pipeline, having already received Georgia Public Service Commission approval. Their application for a license to build and operate the reactors is pending with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, one of 13 such applications the agency is considering.

But Obama's announcement favoring Southern Co., whose strong opposition to the American Clean Energy and Security Act helped stall the bill in the U.S. Senate, has some environmentalists feeling betrayed.

``This says to me that Obama is desperate to appear bipartisan,'' said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Knoxville, Tenn.-based Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. ``To give these guys of all guys a bonus, the irony is just gut-wrenching.''

As the nation's largest generator of electric power, Southern Co. has a lot to lose in the climate bill. A majority of its plants are fired by burning fossil fuels, like coal and oil which are the leading sources of greenhouse gases.

The Obama-backed climate bills would curb greenhouse gas emissions. If they exceeded the proposed limits the company would have to purchase costly credits through a cap and trade program. Some estimates have said the bill could cost Southern billions of dollars.

Under the version that passed in the House last June, power companies would be required to draw 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources like solar and wind by 2020. Currently, Southern gets almost none of its energy currently from renewable sources.

Southern Co. spokeswoman Valerie Hendrickson said the company opposed the House climate bill because it would have increased costs for its customers.

``We are absolutely concerned about keeping costs down for our customers,'' Hendrickson said.

In 2009, Southern had 63 lobbyists on its payroll, according to reports filed with the Senate Office of Public Records. Eight of them were in-house lobbyists and the rest came from 16 outside lobbying firms. One of the lobbyists, brought on at the end of 2008 soon after Obama won the White House was Heather Podesta, the sister-in-law of John Podesta, former White House Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton and the leader of Obama's transition team.

The Center for Public Integrity found Southern had nearly twice as many lobbyists as any other organization lobbying on the climate issue. The closest was Edison Electric Institute with 34 lobbyists.

But Hendrickson argued that Southern has only seven full-time lobbyists in its Washington office. She said the other lobbyists are on contract with the company to work on a variety of issues. Some, she said, work for a number of energy companies.

Senate lobbying reports require only that a lobbyist list what issues they are working on and the overall amount spent. So, it was not possible to see exactly how much was spent specifically on the climate bill.

The White House did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Southern owns utilities in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi with 4.4 million retail customers.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The school systems in Henry and Spalding counties join a growing list of districts with pending lawsuits against the state and the Georgia Charter Schools Commission. It's the third civil case the challenge the constitutionality of the commission, which can approve charter schools and force local districts to fund them.

Last fall, Gwinnett County schools filed the first legal challenge against the new commission, which was formed by a 2008 state law. That lawsuit was joined by Atlanta and DeKalb school districts, and two others Bulloch and Candler filed a second lawsuit.

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

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

``The first three trailers just left,'' Turner's ranch manager, Russ Miller, said in a phone interview shortly before noon Wednesday. ``This is exciting. It's a big step toward conservation of Yellowstone bison.''

The remaining 40 head were to be loaded onto three more trailers Wednesday, Miller said.

The Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and Turner Enterprises Inc. reached an agreement late Tuesday for Turner to care for the bison and their offspring for the next five years on a 12,000-acre fenced section of his Flying D ranch south of Bozeman, said spokesman Ron Aasheim.

Under the agreement, Turner Enterprises will return the surviving original bison and 25 percent of their offspring to the state. Turner Enterprises will be allowed to keep 75 percent of the offspring in exchange for caring for the animals. Montana would get an estimated 150 bison back in 2015.

The bison were spared several years ago from a periodic slaughter of the bison leaving Yellowstone because of concerns over animal disease. The bison being moved to Turner's ranch have repeatedly tested negative for brucellosis, a disease that can cause cattle to abort.

The initial plan was for the brucellosis-free bison to be moved to public or tribal lands, but Montana turned down requests from a Wyoming state park and at least two American Indian reservations that wanted some or all of the bison.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer invited Turner to submit an offer to care for the animals last fall, after an earlier plan to move them onto a Wyoming reservation fell through.

Turner, founder of CNN and former owner of the Atlanta Braves, already owns more than 50,000 bison at sites across the country, including 4,500 at the Flying D. The menu at his restaurant chain, Ted's Montana Grill, includes bison burgers, ribs and meatloaf.

Conservation groups, a coalition of tribes and U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarians opposed the proposal as privatization of public wildlife.

``There are other alternatives that could have kept all of the bison, including the offspring, in public or tribal herds, rather than trading some of them away to a private corporation,'' said Summer Nelson of Missoula, an attorney for the Western Watersheds Project.

State and federal agencies have spent up to $250,000 annually on the quarantine program since 2005. Nelson argued that there may be some organizations willing to compensate Turner Enterprises for caring for the bison, rather than giving him 75 percent of the offspring.

``There were a lot of people that wanted them on public lands. We're not ready,'' Montana wildlife chief David Risley said earlier this month. ``The Turner option, all it does is buy us time to come up with a long term solution.''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Within 48 hours of launching an all out manhunt for whoever shot and killed a Chattahoochee Hills Police Lieutenant, police have made and arrest in the murder of Lt. Mike Vogt.

"It's great to be able to tell the community, finally, that the bad guy is in jail," said Chattahoochee Hills Police Chief Damon Jones in an afternoon news conference.

Jones says authorities from multiple juristictions including the GBI, US Marshal's Service, and the Fulton County SWAT officers arrested Robert Milam Cook, 44, without incident around 3pm Wednesday at a trailer home on Roosevelt Highway in Fairburn. 

No shots were fired and no one was injured as Cook surrendered to authorities, said GBI Director Vernon Keenan.

"It turned out the best way it could," Keenan said, "with the suspect in custody and no shots fired."

As for Cook's motive in Lt. Vogt murder, Keenan said Vogt has arrested Cook before and suspected that Cook was driving without a license and did not want to go back to jail.

"That apparently led to Cook deciding that he apparently was going to shoot his way out of an arrest," said Keenan.

Authorities say a phone call from a tipster Tuesday night around 8pm led them to Cook.  Officers staked out his place for more than five hours before executing the arrest with support from an armored vehicle. 

Said Keenan,"We had information on Cook that he was armed with an automatic assault rifle.  H e had vowed that he would not be taken alive and he would shoot it out with law enforcement officers if they came to arrest him."

Authorities secured a search warrant for Cook's trailer and impounded an older model Honda Accord which was similar in description to th early 1980s model Chrysler they'd released earlier.

Vogt was shot and killed while investigating a suspicious vehicle parked on Vernon Grove Road, a dirt road in a rural area of the city. He was fired upon with a high powered rifle while in his patrol car.  He was able to call for help, but died at Grady Hospital. 

Lt Vogt had served in law enforcement for over 30 years. He had served with the Chattahoochee Hills Police Department for 14 months and had previously served with the Union City Police Department.

He is survived by his wife, four children, five grandchildren, parents, and three brothers.

There are plans for a prayer vigil for Lt. Vogt Wednesday at 6pm at Vernon Grove Baptist Church on Vernon Grove Road, not far from where Vogt was shot.

On Tuesday, law enforcement and private sources raised $35,000 in reward money for information on the killing.

Authorities say the tipster will receive the reward money, and that the person knew Cook and reported him to police - unaware of the reward offered.

Chattahoochee Hills was created by referendum in 2007 and became Fulton County's 14th municipality.

As part of the agreement, Coolray will receive signs at the main entrance to the ballpark, an LED marquee on Highway 20 and signage on top of the right field scoreboard.

"Making this investment into the Gwinnett community is Coolray's way of saying thanks to the many thousands of loyal customers that have honored us with their business over the years, said Ken Haines, President of Coolray Heating and Cooling. "Coolray and its employees are very excited about this partnership and look forward to the opportunity to grow along side both the Braves and the families of Gwinnett County."

The Gwinnett Braves are the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. The first game of the 2010 season at Coolray Field is on April 8th against the Charlotte Knights at 7:05 p.m.

Coolray and subsidiary Mr. Plumber are a locally owned and operated heating, cooling and plumbing service company with offices in Marietta, Lawrenceville and Jonesboro.

(WSB Radio)  Beware of Bogus Census workers.

Department of Human Services Division of Aging Services is urging  the elderly to be vigilant over the next few months to avoid criminals who are posing  as Census Bureau workers. They are looking for personal information.

To avoid the scam make sure the person at your door  has a badge with a Department of Commerce watermark and expiration date, a letter from the Census Bureau Director on official letterhead, and a handheld device or computer. If you have any questions regarding the person's identity, call the Regional Census Center at 1-800-923-8282 to confirm that the visitor is an employee.

There have already been reports of scam artists posing as Census Bureau workers in Georgia.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- A state lawmaker has introduced a bill to help get the word out when a police officer has been shot or killed in Georgia and the suspect is still on the loose.

Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) is proposing a Blue Alert, similar to an Amber Alert, that would display the description of the suspect or vehicle on the DOT overhead message boards.

"If we can help catch a criminal, especially one that just shot a police officer, he is a menace to society and needs to be caught," Mullis tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.

He says ironically he introduced the bill on behalf of the Fraternal Order of Police before the murder of Chattahoochee Hills Police Lt. Mike Vogt.

"The murder of a peace officer in the state of Georgia is something that we need the citizens help with," says Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry. "It makes is hard to hide when everybody on the road is looking for you."

He admits there is some concern that there are too many alert systems already and the public may eventually decide to ignore them.

"We do have that concern, but we also understand the value of apprehending killers and if we can use the message system for that, that's an excellent idea," says Berry.

(WSB Radio) -- Dunwoody Police say it's a first for their city.  They've arrested an alleged Persian rug thief. 

Sgt. Mike Carlson tells WSB 43-year-old Stacy Spagnardi took two Persian rugs from Bloomingdale's at Perimeter Mall, ripped the tags off, put them in another section of the store, and left, planning to return a short time later.

"When she returned, she was actually confronted by loss prevention and charged with theft by taking of the Persian rugs," said Carlson.

But, this was apparently not the first time for Spagnardi.

"They recognized her from an earlier incident that they did not catch her on and asked her if she had previously taken more rugs.  She admitted to taking three additional Persian rugs, which all total over $325,000," said Carlson.

He says they're trying to determine if she's done this in the past and possibly sold the rugs.  Anyone with information is asked to contact the Dunwoody Police Department at 678-382-6911.

ATLANTA (AP) A federal appeals court has upheld an ordinance banning the sale, possession and consumption of alcohol at adult entertainment establishments in Fulton County.

Strip club owners had filed a federal lawsuit that contended the 2001 ordinance infringed on their free speech rights.

A federal judge agreed, striking down the ordinance as unconstitutional.

But on Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal unanimously reversed that decision.

Judge Stanley Marcus wrote that the county showed ample proof of the negative secondary effects of alcohol and live nude dancing in the community.


(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- A seven-year-old girl is recovering after she was attacked by a pit bull mix.  Cobb County Police Sgt. Dana Pierce tells WSB the little girl was walking home from school in front of the Valley View Mobile Home Park near Eastside Drive, when the dogl came after her.  That's when a neighbor, who saw what was happening, ran to her aid, possibly saving her life.

"He went out with a piece of wood and actually struck the dog and was able to get the dog off of the seven-year-old girl," said Pierce.  He then scooped the child up and took her to Kennestone Hospital.  She was then airlifted to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston with a serious leg wound.

"Those injuries to her leg were originally thought to be very, very serious.  Those injuries and her condition have since been upgraded," said Pierce.

The dog is in the custody of animal control and will likely be euthanized.  Charges are pending against the dog's owner.

ELLIJAY, Ga. (AP) A car being shown at a north Georgia auto auction plowed into the crowd and sent a dozen people to the hospital, including at least six with serious injuries.

Georgia State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright says the accelerator apparently stuck as the car was being driven into the auction hall for dealers to bid on it Tuesday night. Six people were airlifted to hospitals with serious injuries, while eight more were driven to local hospitals. Thirteen were treated and released at the Blue Ridge Auto Auction, in Ellijay.

Wright didn't have any more detailed information on injuries, but no deaths were immediately reported.

The Gilmer County Sheriff's office says the car involved was a Volvo. The state patrol is investigating, but Wright said it was too early to speculate on whether charges could be filed.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) A swimming coach at an Atlanta middle school has been arrested on numerous charges, including rape, involving a 15-year-old girl. 

Fulton County Police say 35-year-old Charles Clarke, who worked for a few months as a part-time coach at MLK Jr. Middle School, was arrested after the girl told her counselor and mother about the incident.

According to police, the girl was sent to clean the pool as punishment. Clarke told her if she came with him to a motel, he'd get her out of trouble.  Once there, police say he gave her marijuana and alcohol and then raped her.

Clarke faces numerous charges including sodomy, aggravated sodomy, child molestation, statutory rape, enticing a child for indecent purposes, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Biden was scheduled Tuesday to tour a college job training center, and is to visit a small business and a solar factory in the economically struggling area around Saginaw, Mich., that all received stimulus money.

He told a gathering on the Delta College campus that he refuses to accept the notion that the U.S. won't be the world's economic leader through the 21st Century.

Biden on Wednesday is scheduled to present President Barack Obama a report assessing the effects of the $787 billion stimulus.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Obama cast his move as both economically essential and politically attractive as he sought to put more charge into his broad energy agenda. Obama called for comprehensive energy legislation that assigns a cost to the carbon pollution of fossil fuels, giving utility companies more incentive to turn to cleaner nuclear fuel.

``On an issue that affects our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, we can't continue to be mired in the same old stale debates between left and right, between environmentalists and entrepreneurs,'' Obama said in a stop at a job training center outside Washington. ``Our competitors are racing to create jobs and command growing energy industries. And nuclear energy is no exception.''

Rising costs, safety issues and opposition from environmentalists have kept utility companies from building new nuclear power plants since the early 1980s

Obama has been arguing that the country must develop cleaner energy technologies and modernize the means by which it powers itself. At the same time, he has said that policymakers must not conclude they have to choose between a cleaner environment and sufficient energy supplies to meet demand.

Obama's budget proposal for 2011 would add $36 billion in new federal loan guarantees to $18.5 billion already budgeted but not spent for a total of $54.5 billion. The new $8.3 billion in federal loan guarantees will go toward the construction and operation of a pair of reactors in Burke County, Ga., by Southern Co.

Even in promoting his case, the president conceded that nuclear energy has ``serious drawbacks.'' He said a bipartisan group of leaders and nuclear experts will be tasked with improving and accelerating the safe storage of nuclear waste, and that the plants themselves must be held to strictest safety standards.

``That's going to be an imperative. But investing in nuclear energy remains a necessary step,'' Obama said.

``And what I hope is that this announcement underscores both our seriousness in meeting the energy challenge and our willingness to look at this challenge not as a partisan issue, but as a matter far more important than politics,'' he added.

Obama spoke after spending time at the job training center at the headquarters of Local 26 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The union represents electrical and telecommunications workers, and it offers training for energy jobs, including the construction of nuclear power plants.

On the tour, Obama met instructors and trainees who are learning advanced electrical skills. At one point, Obama learned about fire alarm wiring and took a chance to pull an alarm himself. He later joked it was the first time he had done that ``since junior high.''

Federal loan guarantees are seen as essential to spurring construction of new reactors because of the huge expense. Critics say the guarantees are a form of subsidy that will put taxpayers at risk given the industry's record of cost overruns and loan defaults.

The reactors, to be built by the Atlanta-based energy company near Waynesboro, Ga., are part of a White House plan the administration hopes will win Republican support at a time when the public is expressing a desire for lawmakers to work together to solve problems.

Having Obama make the announcement also underscores the political weight the White House is putting behind the effort to use nuclear power and other alternative energy sources to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and other fossil fuels, and create jobs at home.

But construction of the reactors and the jobs the project is expected to create are years away.

Southern Co.'s application for a license to build and operate the reactors is pending with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, one of 13 such applications the agency is considering. The earliest any could be approved would be late 2011 or early 2012, an NRC spokesman said.

Southern Co. says the Georgia project would create about 3,000 construction jobs, while the new reactors would generate power for about 1.4 million people and permanently employ 850 people.

Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Ben Feller contributed to this story.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The student, 19-year-old Jasmine Lynn of Kansas City, Mo., was struck in the chest by a bullet on Sept. 3 as she walked on the Clark Atlanta campus with friends and a fight broke out nearby. A Clark Atlanta student was wounded.

Benton's lawyer says his client was involved in the fight but was not carrying a gun.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard says he believes Benton was the shooter.

The prosecution agreed on Tuesday to drop a charge of gang activity against Benton.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB -Radio) -- An apparently-newborn baby is abandoned in this morning's freezing temperatures.

Dekalb Police say a Parks and Recreation crew was cleaning up a park on Bouldercrest when they saw a backpack on a picnic bench--moving!

Inside, a baby girl born "recently", perhaps today.The child was taken to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston in good condition.

Police are checking out local schools, since they suspect the mother may be a teenager.

Tuesday's discovery is the second of an abandoned infant in two weeks.  Last week a baby was found abandoned at a church in College Park.  That infant was also taken to hospital, but later died.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau)  A bill to fine slow drivers in the fast lane is on a fast track throught the House. HB 1047 passed a subcommittee and the full House Transportation Committee in one day. It would impose a $75 fine for those who travel in the far left-hand lane at such a slow speed to impede the normal flow of traffic.

"It is important to understand this is not an encouragement to speed, it's an encouragement to maintain a predictable system that is well disciplined," says Bob Dallas, Director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

Dallas says pokey drivers in the passing lane tend to make faster drivers pass them on the right.

"That is not good, because what ends up happening is the very thing that we're trying to stop in the first place, which is crashes that produce injuries and deaths," he says.

Bill sponsor Rep. Mark Butler (R-Carrollton) tells WSB's Sandra Parrish that the stiff fine is likely to cause drivers to take notice.

"I think when you set a minimum fine people know OK if I do this and I get caught, I'm definitely going to get fined this amount of money," he says.

Dallas admits there is already such a law on the books, but says it's rarely if ever enforced because there's no minimum fine attached.

The bill now goes to the House Rules Committee to be scheduled for a vote before the full House.

(WSB Radio State Capitol Bureau) -- Georgians with concealed weapons carry permits would be allowed to keep guns in their vehicles when dropping off or picking up passengers at Hartsfield Jackson Airport under a bill that passed out of a Senate committee.

Sen. Jack Murphy (R-Cumming), chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee, says SB 291 fixes a problem with current law.

"If I go hunting in South Dakota, and I take my rifles with me in my case and I pull up to the airport... I'm in violation of the law because I've got my weapons in my vehicle," he says.

Sen. Valencia Seay (D-Riverdale), whose district includes the airport, was the only member to vote in opposition to the measure.

"When we're talking about the busiest airport... (giving) folk an opportunity to drive up... with weapons... we don't know at what point somebody will snap," she says.

The bill also makes it easier for current permit holders to renew their licenses.

The measure now goes to the Senate Rules Committee to be scheduled for a vote in the full Senate.

WASHINGTON (AP) Nearly half the people who need potentially lifesaving checks for the nation's No. 2 cancer killer colorectal cancer miss them, despite years of public efforts to make colon screening as widespread as tests for breast and prostate cancer.

But what if you opened your mailbox one day to find an at-home test kit, no doctor's appointment needed?

The dreaded colonoscopy may get the most attention but a cheap, old-fashioned stool test works, too and when California health care giant Kaiser Permanente started mailing those tests to patients due for a colon check, its screening rates jumped well above the national average.

Now specialists are looking to Kaiser and the Veterans Affairs health system, another program that stresses stool-tests, for clues to what might encourage more people to get screened for a cancer that can be prevented, not just treated, if only early signs of trouble are spotted in time.

``By overselling and overpromising colonoscopies, we've put up barriers for people'' to get any type of screening, says Dr. T.R. Levin, Kaiser Permanente's colorectal cancer screening chief in northern California.

Everyone is supposed to get screened for colorectal cancer starting at age 50, but U.S. data shows just 55 percent do. That's better than a decade ago when screening rates hovered below 30 percent, and both new cases and deaths have dropped as a result.

But about 150,000 people still are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year, and nearly 50,000 die. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says proper screening could eliminate many new cases, because regular colon checks can remove precancerous growths called polyps before the cancer has time to form.

Colonoscopies where doctors use a long, flexible tube to visually inspect the colon now account for 80 percent of all screening, a panel of specialists convened by the National Institutes of Health reported this month.

The $20 stool test usually handed over by a doctor, performed at home and then mailed to a lab is considered as effective if properly used once a year. But its use has dropped as colonoscopies took center stage.

Many doctors recommend colonoscopies as ``one-stop shopping: You get screened and can get treated with one intervention,'' explains NIH panel member Dr. Lawrence Friedman of Harvard Medical School and Tufts University.

Sedation means it doesn't hurt, although it requires a day of bowel-cleansing preparation and can exceed $1,000. But colonoscopies allow removal of polyps on sight. If no problems are found, they're only required once a decade. They're also the required next step when the stool test or other screenings signal a possible problem.

Other options: sigmoidoscopy, an exam of the lower colon only, and the new virtual colonoscopy, a new X-ray exam offered in only limited places.

The NIH panel concluded that people should pick the screening option best for their own needs and comfort.

But it urged eliminating financial barriers. Both out-of-pocket test costs and access to a regular health provider to advise about the each option's pros and cons are hurdles.

Indeed, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center last week reported racial disparities in colon cancer are widening, suggesting unequal improvements in screening access. In 1992, blacks were 60 percent more likely than white to be diagnosed with late-stage colorectal cancer; by 2004, that likelihood had doubled.

Medicare pays for colorectal screening with the exception of virtual colonoscopy but that government-run insurance program is for people 65 and older. So 22 states and four tribal organizations are about to begin free screening for low-income 50- to 64-year-olds, with CDC funding. Florida is offering both the stool test and colonoscopies; other states are choosing one or the other and will track public acceptance.

The NIH panel also pointed to Kaiser Permanente's ability to track down people due for screening and pull them in without waiting on them to show up in a doctor's office.

How? Combing electronic medical records of northern California patients, Kaiser learned in 2005 that only about 40 percent who needed a colon check had gotten one. The health maintenance organization already paid for colonoscopies and sigmoidoscopies, and still does for those who prefer them. But it tried mailing out stool kits in hopes of catching people wary of invasive testing with phone calls to those who didn't return them.

Last year, screening rates rose to 75 percent.

``It's kind of like doing your own science experiment at home,'' said Bob Cach, 56, of Livermore, Calif., recalling instructions for that first mailed test. He did fine.

But this year's kit signaled Cach had a problem. A follow-up colonoscopy removed a polyp, still benign. He's grateful it was caught, having watched his wife battle colon cancer over the past year.

``I am an advocate now for screening.''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Just in time for the start of spring training, and a key member of the Braves pitching staff has a sore shoulder.

Jair Jurrjens has had some lingering soreness in his right shoulder after arriving early at Braves spring training in Florida, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Jurrjens is expected to return to Atlanta later this week for an MRI, which the team hopes will rule out significant injury.

Jurrjens was 14-10 with a 2.60 ERA that was the third-lowest in the National League last season.

A Braves athletic trainer examined the right-hander this week and determined the rotator cuff and labrum in his throwing shoulder to be structurally sound.

However, since his mild soreness has lingered for several few days, the decision was made to fly him to Atlanta for a precautionary MRI by the end of the week. The Braves hope he has nothing more than a case of tendinitis.

(WSB Radio) -- Will a Woodstock judge be cited for allowing underage drinijng at her home?

It has been nearly two months since Cobb County police officers cited 10 teenagers in city court judge Diane Busch's home for underage possession of alcohol and other charges after a Christmas party for adults had broken up.

A detective finished the investigation into adults' roles in the matter last week. It is waiting for the signature of a supervisor, said police spokesman Sgt. Dana Pierce.

Vic Reynolds, Busch's attorney, said that the teenage party was something that took place after she went to bed.

"She categorically denies ever in any fashion giving any minors alcohol or having any knowledge they were consuming it in her house," Reynolds told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Cobb police reports give some different indications.

Police were called to Busch's neighborhood about 3 a.m. after a neighbor reported possible gunshots, which proved to be bursting balloons at the party, police reports say. Officers saw teenagers in the basement of Busch's home drinking around a ping-pong table, and the officers asked for an adult. The mother of one juvenile at the house came to the door with a beer in her hand, police reports say.

Busch was awakened and told police that members of the Cobb police department and the district attorney's office also attended the adult party, according to police reports.

Busch also said she would rather have teenagers drinking at her home rather than "out driving around," a police report says.

Busch became irate after officers gave breath tests to the teenagers and screamed for them to leave her house, saying she was going to call Cobb Police Chief George Hatfield and Mickey Lloyd, the director of public safety.

"She also stated we didn't want that," according to the report of Officer Seth Walton.

Reynolds said, "Certainly in hindsight, some things were done that Diane regrets. ... But we don't think there is any indication she gave, provided or had knowledge of [alcohol for the minors]."

Cobb police refused to give reports of the incident to the newspaper Monday, saying state law does not permit them to release information involving juveniles.

(WSB Radio) -- Jury selection begins Tuesday in the murder trial of a man accused of fatally shooting a Spelman College student.

Devonni Benton is accused of shooting into a crowd of individuals fighting on the campus of Clark Atlanta University, striking Jasmine Lynn, 20, as she walked by.

The shooting happened last September.

"Mr. Benton has asserted all along he was not the shooter," attorney Jackie Patterson told the Atlanta Journal Constitution last week.

The defense will tell the jury that one of Benton's friends pulled the trigger, not his client.

"This is one of those cases where the wrong person was identified," Patterson said. "It was his friend, Clarence Carter, who did the shooting."

Lynn, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., was returning to her dorm just after midnight after visiting a friend on Clark Atlanta's campus.

According to police reports, a fight started between two groups of men at the corner of James P. Brawley Drive and Mitchell Street.

(WSB Radio) -- A routine traffic stop in Norcross Monday afternoon ended in gunfire.

The Gwinnett County police officer was not hurt, but the man he shot was hospitalized in critical condition, according to police spokesman Brian Kelly.

The shooting followed a traffic stop on Steve Reynolds Boulevard. The officer pulled over a car with Gwinnett tags on an equipment violation, Kelly said. When the officer went to his patrol car to do a background check, the man ran away.

The officer chased him, and when the man got about 150 yards from the car, Kelly said, he drew a handgun from his waist and fired at the officer. The cop shot back, hitting the man.  Kelly said the man was expected to survive.

The officer has been placed on administrative leave during a routine investigation.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Robert Peacock is no celebrity, but his heart may be on its way to becoming one.

The Waycross, Ga., man allowed St. Vincent's Medical Center in Jacksonville to ``tweet'' his heart procedure Thursday. That is, a hospital representative gave a snip-by-snip account of the procedure live on the social-networking site Twitter.

For the occasion, he insisted on star treatment.

``My limo wasn't waiting for me like I asked for,'' Peacock, 61, quipped as he waited to be wheeled into the operating room. ``I don't know what a key grip is, but I want one.''

No dice there, but he did get a small army of medical workers, not to mention a new lease on life.

Peacock's procedure stands as the second in the Jacksonville area to be covered live on Twitter. Last November, St. Vincent's published real-time descriptions of a woman's double-breast mastectomy.

The patient declined to be identified, and no direct media coverage was allowed.

The subject of Thursday's updates was a catheter ablation, a procedure that corrects a patient's irregular heartbeat. About six months ago, doctors diagnosed Peacock with the debilitating condition, known as atrial fibrillation, after he started having shortness of breath and chest pain during daily walks.

Guidelines issued by the American Heart Association recommend surgery only when medications have failed to control a patient's heart rhythm. About 10 percent of all people with atrial fibrillation are candidates for going under the knife, said Saumil Oza, the cardiac electrophysiologist who operated on Peacock.

In Peacock's case, medications helped a little, but he still felt lethargic. A gregarious boat salesman and weekend farmer, he looks forward to needing fewer medications, particularly the blood thinners.

Although proponents believe that the $40,000 catheter procedure extends patients' lives and reduces their stroke risk, the jury is still out on its effectiveness, Oza acknowledged. A double-blind, randomized clinical trial, the gold standard in medicine, is being conducted now to determine just that.

How Thursday's Twitter session came together: St. Vincent's marketing people wanted to highlight the atrial fibrillation unit during February, which is designated as American Heart Month. So, they enlisted some of the hospital's doctors to help them find a patient with the stomach to have his heart featured on Twitter.

``Why not? If it'll help somebody,'' was Peacock's reply.

In a far corner of the operating room Thursday, a Web producer and a cardiac expert with St. Vincent's huddled over a laptop. They chronicled the procedure largely from a script that Oza had signed off on a day earlier.

The procedure uses radio frequencies to scar parts of the heart. The scars block signals sent from a quartet of veins in the left atrium, signals that cause the heart to go haywire. The entire procedure is done using a catheter inserted into a patient's groin while the patient is anesthetized.

Given several hours of time to fill and only a page and a half of script, Candy Bowen, the Web producer, sprinkled in descriptions about atrial fibrillation and gave health tips. Meanwhile, in the waiting room, Peacock's family watched the updates on a wide-screen television.

``It's some reassurance that everything's going well,'' Melissa Peacock said.

A few minutes before 6 p.m., this message popped up on Twitter: ``Mr. P says Hi, and is responsive.'' And then a minute later: ``Mr. P has been informed that his family has been updated. And he's smiling.''

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) The White House says President Barack Obama will visit Savannah on March 2 as part of his ``White House to Main Street'' tour.

Obama plans to meet with workers, small business owners and local leaders to share ideas for helping the economy grow and to put Americans back to work.

Additional details about the visit will be announced later.

Earlier stops on the tour include the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania and Lorain County, Ohio.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(WSB Radio) -- Arizona. Colorado. Illinois. New Jersey. Maryland. Ohio. "Sexting" cases are among some of the most common headlines today.

"There's a definitive need for laws to protect kids--even from themselves--when it comes to sexting," says WSB legal analyst Ron Carlson.

WSB's Veronica Waters reports teenagers across the country are being suspended from school, and sometimes arrested, for sharing sexually explicit photos of themselves or others via cell phone.

"With the proliferation of electronic devices, and young people who are discovering their bodies, there's a critical need for high school education among legal lines," says Carlson.

That's what a Pennsylvania prosecutor thought, too. But that case, which began swirling in late 2008, reached a federal appeals court in January of this year. School officials had identified some 20 teens who were sharing sexts of partially nude girls. A prosecutor made aware of the incident offered a deal: probation, including a 10-hour class over five weeks about why the sexting was wrong and the permanence of the digital photos, plus drug testing--or he'd charge the students with a felony--producing child pornography. But some of the kids' parents balked at the deal, and the ACLU is helping them sue for violating their civil rights. Carlson calls it "disengenous" for some of the parents to assume their children need no type of education on the issue and then file suit against the district attorney.

"His [District Attorney George Skumanick, Jr.] goal in all of this is to protect these girls and educate them on the probabilities of the photos being out there forever," Carlson says.

The point is well taken. Months after the those Pennsylvania teens' risque shots started circulating via cell phone, a 52-year-old Georgia man ran across one of the girl's pictures--on the Internet. The GBI and Towns County deputies say Scott Swanson of Hiawassee contacted the girl, asked her for more explicit photos, encouraged her to have sex and tried to hook up with the 14-year-old. The teen's mother was tipped off when she went through her daughter's cell phone, and went to police. Swanson was arrested and found to have more child porn images on his computer.

That teenager later agreed to attend the course created by the district attorney in Pennsylvania. Skumanick said that incident clearly illustrates why his office felt the educational program was needed.

Georgia law says sending sexually explicit nudity of a minor under 18, is a misdemeanor; if the minor's under 16, that could open the door to a felony charge.

Carlson says an Ohio girl's suicide shows yet another way sexting isn't always just harmless fun among teens, who seem to always assume no one will pass on their salacious pictures. The 18-year-old, Jessie Logan, killed herself in March of 2009.

"She had taken a cell phone photo of herself while she was in the nude," says Carlson. "She sent it to a single friend, who then sent it to four others and after that, it got out of hand and went to several high schools. This young lady ended up hanging herself."

An MTV and AP survey in 2009 found that three in 10 young people have sent or received nude "sext" messages, and over 60 percent of those who sent a nude photo reporting that they were pressured to do so at least once.

(WSB Radio)  Atlanta police are looking for the gunman in the shooting death of a woman outside of her apartment.

The victim was shot just before 1 o'clock Sunday afternoon outside of the building on Beeler Drive.

Police say the shooters argued with the victim about 20 minutes before the killing, then left.

"The perpetrators came back to the residence a little later on in the day," APD Homicide Major Keith Meadows tells WSB. 
"They produced a handgun and discharged the weapon at least 5 to 6 times, striking the victim in the side."

Detectives are talking to four people --- they'll charge two of them with murder for the shooting and one with aggravated assault for the earlier argument.

Investigators are also searching for two other individuals. No word on what caused the argument.

(WSB Radio)  Civil rights leader Reverend Joseph Lowery is out of the hospital after a 2 week stay.

The 88 year old Lowery entered Emory University Hospital Midtown January 30th with shortness of breath caused by a blood clot in his lung.

He was in intensive care, at first, but spent most of his stay in stable condition.

The hospital says doctors released Dr. Lowery over the weekend.  He is now resting at home.

(WSB Radio)  Two DeKalb County children have no mother after their father stabbed and killed her during a custody exchange.

Police say 28 year old Phillip Chad Dunn met his estranged wife, 27 year old Shelly Dunn, in the parking lot of the WalMart, on Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road, Sunday afternoon to swap the kids.

But Mr. Dunn, apparently, came to the meeting with different ideas.

"They were doing a custody exchange," says Suwanee Police Captain Cass Mooney, "at which time he assaulted her, stabbed her, then stabbed himself."

Mooney tells WSB, Mrs. Dunn was rushed to the hospital, but died there a short time later.  Mr. Dunn is hospitalized, but is expected to survive.  Another woman, possibly Mrs. Dunn's mother, suffered a stab wound to her hand during the attack.

Mooney says the two children were still inside the car when their father stabbed their mother.  It's not known if the kids witnessed the killing. 

Jorge Puello was not known to the missionaries' church group before their arrest for trying to take 33 children out of Haiti, and members failed to check his background, Sean Lankford, the relative who dealt most closely with him, said Saturday.

Lawyers for the missionaries said Puello, who had been a high-profile advocate for the jailed Baptists, deceived their clients and that his legal predicament should have no bearing on whether the missionaries are released provisionally, as a judge has recommended.

``The Puello case has no relation to this one,'' said Aviol Fleurant, who was hired last week to represent nine of the 10 Americans. ``If Puello is wanted in El Salvador, that's another case.''

Lankford, whose wife and daughter are among the detained, told The Associated Press that Puello first contacted relatives of the Americans by calling their church, Central Valley Baptist in Meridian, Idaho, after they were arrested on Jan. 29.

They thought Puello, who is Jewish and from the Dominican Republic, was a good Samaritan and had no reason to doubt his intentions, said Lankford.

``He helped us find the lawyer we have now. He helped us gather evidence. Before him, we really were having a hard time finding anyone at all'' to represent the missionaries in neighboring Haiti, said Lankford.

Puello never asked for money for himself but ``was going to help us to pay the other attorneys. He was the guy who was going to hand money to lawyers,'' Lankford added in a phone interview Saturday.

``He even took a small plane into Haiti at one point and he didn't want to be reimbursed at all,'' Lankford said.

He would not say how much relatives paid Puello. He said it was his understanding that Puello had no relation to any of the missionaries before they were arrested.

The Americans said they were on a humanitarian mission, rescuing desperate victims of Haiti's catastrophic Jan. 12 earthquake. They had leased a hotel in the Dominican beach resort of Cabarate where they were setting up an orphanage.

The deputy investigations director of El Salvador's police, Howard Augusto Cotto, told reporters Friday that he was seeking fingerprints for Puello to determine whether he is the 32-year-old Salvadoran named in an Interpol arrest warrant for allegedly running a sex trafficking ring that lured women and girls from the Caribbean and Central America into prostitution with bogus offers of modeling jobs.

A photo of the wanted man, Jorge Torres Orellana, bears a striking resemblance to Puello, who on Wednesday visited the Haitian judge hearing the Americans' case in his chambers in Port-au-Prince.

Cotto told the AP ``the possibility is high'' that Torres and Puello are the same man.

The Haitian judge, Bernard Saint-Vil, told the AP Thursday he was recommending the Americans be provisionally released. He said he expected to issue a final ruling next week. He said it was too early to say whether they would be able to leave quake-shattered Haiti while the case was further investigated.

Puello readily answered calls from the AP until The New York Times reported Thursday night that he might be the wanted sex trafficker. He has since Friday afternoon refused to answer phone calls. The Times quoted Puello as denying any connection to trafficking and saying he had never been to El Salvador.

The paper also quoted Saint-Vil as saying the Puello situation could delay his decision on whether to release the Americans, most of whom are from an Idaho church group. Saint-Vil could not be located for comment. He did not respond to repeated telephone messages.

On Saturday, the Dominican police chief, Rafael Guzman, issued a statement saying Puello had no criminal record there but was under investigation. He is in apparent violation of Dominican law for failing to obtain a license, said Jose Parra, vice president of the Dominican Lawyers Association.

The attorney for the 10th American, Jim Allen of Amarillo, Texas, said relatives of the jailed missionaries erred by appearing to entrust Puello blindly.

``The families, unfortunately, did not check his background, did not do due diligence,'' said the lawyer, Gary Lissade.

Fleurant, meanwhile, said he had only received a small part of the fee he was promised by the Americans for defending them against child kidnapping charges filed on Feb. 4.

Neither he nor Lankford would name his promised fee, and Fleurant refused to directly accuse Puello of absconding with the bulk of it.

``I don't want complications for my clients, because I love them,'' he said. ``I feel that I am (also) a victim.''

Associated Press writers Dionisio Soldevila and Marcos Aleman in San Salvador, El Salvador, contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) State police say the president of ConocoPhillips Alaska is dead and another person is presumed dead after being swept away in an Alaskan avalanche.

They say that Jim Bowles, the head of the oil giant's Alaska operations, was with a dozen snowmobilers in the Grandview wilderness area near Seward on the Kenai Peninsula when an avalanche roared down a slope Saturday and swept two of them away.

Troopers say Bowles' body was recovered before nightfall. Rider Alan Gage was buried but couldn't be located during a search that was suspended because of darkness.

Anchorage police say another avalanche struck later in the day near the capital and left a skier missing.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)