Latest news, weather and high school sports for Albany and Southwest Georgia

(AP) -- WINTER STORM WATCH
    Winter storm watch issued for north Georgia
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - North Georgia is in for some cold weather with
snow likely.
    The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for
parts of north Georgia from Friday evening through Saturday
afternoon.
    Cold rain, possibly mixed with snow at higher elevations, is
expected in north and central Georgia on Friday.
    With temperatures dropping to around freezing Friday night, that
could transition to snow, sleet and freezing rain in north Georgia
Friday night and early Saturday.
    The weather services says the north Georgia mountains may get 3
to 6 inches of snow and sleet, with 1 to 3 inches expected at lower
elevations across the northern part of the state.
   
GEORGIA UNEMPLOYMENT
    GA unemployment rate rose slightly in December
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia Department of Labor reports that
unemployment in Georgia rose slightly from November to December to
match a record high.
    The labor department released numbers Thursday showing that the
state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 10.3 percent
in December. That matches the record high reported in July and was
up from 10.1 percent in November.
    Georgia's unemployment rate is a bit higher than the national
adjusted unemployment rate of 10 percent. Georgia's unemployment
rate has been higher than the national rate for 25 of the last 26
months.
    December's unemployment rate was up 2.8 percentage points from
7.5 percent for the same month in 2008.
    The labor department says that, since the recession began in
December 2007, Georgia's work force has shrunk by 2.5 percent.
   
STUDENT PRESIDENT KILLED
    US judge in NC hears arguments in Eve Carson case
   
    WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Attorneys for one of the two men
charged in the death of the former student body president at the
University of North Carolina have asked a judge to consider moving
his federal trial out of state.
    Multiple media outlets reported that attorneys for Demario
Atwater told U.S. District Judge James A. Beaty Jr. in a hearing
Wednesday in Winston-Salem that media attention means Atwater
wouldn't get a fair trial. Prosecutors say they're certain 12
impartial jurors can be found.
    Atwater is one of two men accused in the shooting death of
22-year-old Eve Carson of Athens, Ga., in March 2008, but the only
one facing trials in both federal and state courts. Carson was shot
five times and left several blocks from the campus in Chapel Hill.
    Beaty did not rule on the request and did not say when he would
do so.
   
CARJACKING SHOOTOUT
    1 dead, 1 critical in DeKalb carjacking shootout
   
    DECATUR, GA (AP) - A shootout in south DeKalb County has left a
suspected carjacker dead and his victim in critical condition.
    DeKalb County police spokesman Jason Gagnon tells The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution the shooting happened a bit after 11 p.m.
Wednesday.
    Gagnon says shots were fired during what appeared to be an
attempted carjacking. Gagnon says the suspect was able to take
control of the victim's vehicle but crashed shortly after fleeing
the scene.
    Gagnon says the suspect died and the victim was in critical
condition.
    Police did not immediately release the names of either the
victim or suspect but said both are men in their 20s.
   
TERRY ARREST
    Former UGA and NFL player arrested in Ind.
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Former University of Georgia offensive tackle
Chris Terry faces three felony charges after a traffic stop in
southern Indiana.
    Chuck Adams, spokesman for the Clark County Sheriff's Office in
Indiana, tells The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Terry is charged
with dealing and possessing cocaine, possessing a handgun without a
permit, resisting arrest and driving under the influence.
    Adams says the 34-year-old Terry was being held without bond and
would likely be arraigned Thursday.
    Terry, who lives in Athens, played for UGA from 1995-1998 and
was a captain his senior season.
    The Jacksonville native was drafted by the Carolina Panthers and
later played for the Kansas City Chiefs.
    He was suspended twice during his NFL career for violating the
leagues's substance abuse policy.
   
WIFE KILLED
    Savannah man indicted in wife's death
   
    (Stations: Please note changes slug from previous `Wife
Murdered')
   
    SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - A Chatham County grand jury has indicted a
Savannah man in the Halloween slaying of his wife after a daylong
quarrel.
    The four-count indictment charges 69-year-old Robert Johnson
with felony murder in the shooting death of Mary Ellen Johnson on
Oct. 31.
    The indictment also charged Johnson with aggravated assault on
his wife and a second aggravated assault on a bystander in the same
incident.
    The 66-year-old died of a single bullet fired from a rifle at
the couple's home.
    Johnson told detectives the couple had been fighting "for
40-something years."
   
HOUSE FIRE-ARSON
    Gwinnett fire officials say woman set house fire
   
    LAWRENCEVILLE, GA (AP) - Gwinnett officials have arrested a
Lawrenceville woman they say set her own home on fire.
    Fire investigators arrested 52-year-old Judith Laura Anderson on
Tuesday and charged her with first-degree arson.
    Firefighters responded to a fire in the evening of Jan. 9 and
found smoke coming form the one-story wood frame house. The house
was heavily damaged in the fire.
    Investigators questioned Anderson Tuesday after evidence from
the home taken to a fire forensics lab tested positive for a
flammable liquid accelerant.
    Investigators say Anderson set the fire and then left the house
through a back door. She was the only person home at the time of
the fire that killed a cat.
    She faces up to 20 years in jail.
   
SUNDAY ALCOHOL SALES
    Judge nixes Sunday alcohol sales in Snellville
   
    LAWRENCEVILLE, GA (AP) - A Gwinnett County judge has overturned
a Snellville City Council's decision to approve Sunday alcohol
sales at restaurants.
    The city council on Dec. 14 had decided to approve Sunday sales
by council vote rather than referendum. Magistrate Judge Mark Lewis
on Wednesday overturned that decision and invalidated seven
licenses that were already issued.
    The city council's decision was based on a provision of state
law that allows counties with populations of more than 160,000 or
municipalities within those counties to decide on Sunday alcohol
sales without holding a referendum.
    The judge says that violates another provision that requires
counties and cities to hold a referendum to authorize Sunday liquor
sales.
    City officials say they may appeal the decision.
   
OUT OF GAS
    Soldier faces AWOL charge in Daytona Beach
   
    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A U.S. Army private is in custody in
Daytona Beach for being absent without leave from Fort Stewart in
Georgia.
    Sean Aaron Johnson was discovered Tuesday after the military
Humvee he was driving ran out of gas on the side of Interstate 95.
    Johnson only had a military identification card and no driver's
license when a deputy found him on the highway. He told the deputy
he was transporting the vehicle to Fort Lauderdale, but the deputy
was suspicious since Johnson didn't have a copy of his order,
lacked a government fuel card and was dressed in civilian clothing.
    He is being held in custody, and the U.S. Army plans to charge
with him being absent without leave and grand theft.
   
ROAD RAGE-SHOT FIRED
    Athens police say road rage caused man to fire gun
   
    ATHENS, GA  (AP) - Athens police say a man shot at a female
driver after she rear-ended him at an intersection.
    The Athens Banner-Herald reports that 28-year-old Tariq Syed
Husain told police he chased the car to get its tag number. He said
he fired in self defense because he thought a passenger in the car
was pointing a gun.
    But police say the car had tinted windows that made it hard to
see inside and the driver was the only person in the car.
    Police Capt. Clarence Holeman says the shooting just after
midnight Wednesday was a "clear case of road rage" that could
have turned deadly. Police arrested Husain on an aggravated assault
charge.
    The driver of the other car, 48-year-old Mandy Hendrix was
charged with DUI and leaving the scene of an accident.
   
STIMULUS-JOBS
    Stimulus money pays for 20,000-plus Ga. jobs
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - A new state report shows that Georgia has used
federal stimulus money to pay for more than 20,000 jobs over the
last three months.
    Since February, Georgia has been awarded $3.5 billion in
non-Medicaid stimulus dollars. And it has spent about $1.5 billion
of that.
    Most of the jobs funded by the stimulus cash were in education,
where the federal aid paid for 4,629 jobs.
    The totals were in a quarterly state report filed with federal
officials.
   
PEOPLE-T-PAIN
    T-Pain gets animated in 'Freaknik' on Adult Swim
   
    NEW YORK (AP) - You wouldn't think T-Pain was inhibited at all.
But the rapper known for his synthesized vocals says he sometimes
feels creatively restrained when it comes to music.
    T-Pain says he was able to express his true self in "Freaknik:
The Musical," a one-hour animated special based on the raucous
annual gathering of black college students in Atlanta that ran from
1983 to 1999. The show premieres March 7 on the Adult Swim cable
network.
    The cartoon follows students who are looking to resurrect the
now-defunct street party; T-Pain is the "party ghost." It also
features Andy Samberg and Lil Wayne.
    T-Pain is nominated in four categories at Sunday's Grammy
Awards, including best contemporary R&B album.
    He says he's working on a new CD and hopes to record a song with
Carrie Underwood.

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