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

(AP) -- SNOW FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS
    Delta, Airtran scrub flights on weather concerns
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Delta is canceling 400 departures from
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Friday in anticipation of
as much as two inches of snow expected in the region.
    AirTran is also thinning its schedule, announcing Thursday plans
to cut 32 of its flights on Friday because of the threat of snow.
That includes flights in and out of Atlanta.
    Delta is cutting flights at its Atlanta hub and on routes in and
out of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina.
    Delta canceled 450 flights Thursday as the Northeast continues
to dig out of a blizzard that dumped as much as four feet of snow
in some areas.
    Both carriers are waiving certain fees for passengers who
rescheduled flights.
   
TRACTOR DEATH
    Man dies after being trapped under tractor
   
    JOPPA, Md. (AP) - The Harford County Sheriff's Office says a
Georgia man was killed when he was trapped under a tractor.
    It happened about noon on Thursday in Joppa. Sheriff's deputies
say 29-year Johnathan David Maxwell of Watkinsville, was making
repairs to his skid loader when he became trapped under the
hydraulic lift. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
   
TRAIN-RACE DISPUTE
    MARTA to rename 'yellow' line over racial concerns
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - The Metro Atlanta Regional Transit Authority is
changing the name of one of its train lines from "yellow" to
"gold" after members of the local Asian community complained that
the name was racially insensitive.
    MARTA recently renamed all train lines with colors to help
riders better navigate the transit system -- yellow, red, blue and
green. But the yellow line goes to Doraville in the northeast
suburbs, an area that has a large Asian population.
    MARTA general manager and CEO Beverly Scott announced the change
Thursday, a day before she is set to meet with leaders from the
local Asian community about their concerns. Community leaders say
they had been pushing since November to name the train line
"gold."
    Helen Kim, with the Center for Pan Asian Community Services,
says she is "thrilled" at the change and that the Asian community
feels like "our voices were heard finally."
   
TEST SCORES
    Gov. calls questionable school tests 'shameful'
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Governor Sonny Perdue says the discovery that
hundreds of Georgia schools had possible cheating on their
standardized tests last year is "shameful."
    Perdue spoke to reporters Thursday, a day after the Governor's
Office of Student Achievement released a report raising concerns
about test results in 370 schools because of an unusually high
numbers of erasures on answer sheets. The state Board of Education
on Thursday called for 191 of those schools to investigate whether
there was cheating.
    Perdue said he is "disheartened" by the report.
    The report marks the first time the state has taken a
comprehensive look at standardized testing, which is part of how
the officials measure whether schools have met federal education
benchmarks.
   
OXENDINE-DONATIONS
    Bill targets Oxendine donations
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - A Republican state lawmaker has introduced
legislation that would ban Georgia's insurance commissioner from
accepting campaign contributions from executives of companies his
office regulates.
    The bill is sponsored by state Rep. Austin Scott, who is running
for governor. State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, who has
accepted donations from employees and executives of insurance
companies, is also running for governor.
    State law already prevents officials from accepting donations
from companies they regulate. Scott's bill would also ban
executives of those companies from donating.
    Oxendine labeled Scott's bill "a political stunt by a desperate
candidate."
   
BOY SHOT
    11-year-old shot in head in GA
    
    CHAMBLEE, GA (AP) - Police in Chamblee have identified an
11-year-old boy shot in the head while he slept early Thursday.
    Police say the boy is Nicholas Sheffey.
    Police say the shooting happened shortly after midnight. They
say several shots were fired from the front yard into the bedroom
of the victim's 16-year-old brother, and one of the bullets went
into a second bedroom where the 11-year-old was sleeping.
    Police think the shots were intended for the 16-year-old, who
authorities say had received threats in connection with a home
invasion robbery he allegedly participated in. The 16-year-old was
taken into custody by DeKalb County police.
    Sheffey was taken to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at
Scottish Rite where his condition was not immediately known
Thursday evening.
   
TEEN DIES
    Teen collapses at track practice in GA, dies
   
    DOUGLASVILLE, GA (AP) - Douglas County coroner Randy Daniel
says a 14-year-old student who died during track practice had an
abnormality in his heart.
    Daniel said Thursday that a birth defect involving William
Darrin Davis' left coronary artery caused his heart to stop because
it wasn't pumping enough blood to itself. School officials said
Davis collapsed Wednesday night while running at the school, and
attempts to revive him failed.
    Daniel says the defect could have been detected with a simple
x-ray or sonogram of his heart.
    Students gathered at Chapel Hill High School in Douglasville on
Thursday to mourn Davis.
   
ROBBERY-SHOOTING
    3 shot during attempted robbery
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Two men have been shot and a suspect is in
critical condition after police say a robbery scheme ended in
gunfire.
    It happened at a house in south Fulton County Thursday.
    Fulton County Corporal Kay Lester says the unidentified victims
suffered non life-threatening gunshot wounds to the legs and were
transported to Atlanta Medical Center. An unidentified suspect was
flown to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition.
    Police say the suspect lured the victims -- two electricians --
to a vacant residence under the guise of needing electrical work.
Lester says when the first man arrived, he was robbed at gunpoint
and shot.
    She says the second victim to come to the house was armed and
exchanged gunfire with the suspect.

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