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

(AP) -- CAR CRASH-AUCTION
    GA car auction crash seriously hurts at least 6
   
    ELLIJAY, GA (AP) - A car plowed into a crowd at a north Georgia
auto auction and sent more than 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 hall for
dealers to bid on it Tuesday night.
    The auction company urged people to pray for the injured and
said it would be closed Wednesday.
    Six people were airlifted to hospitals with serious injuries.
Eight more were driven to local hospitals.
    The State Patrol office had no more details early Wednesday.
    The Gilmer County Sheriff's office says the car was a Volvo. The
state patrol is investigating, but Wright said it was too early to
speculate on whether charges could be filed.
   
STUDENT KILLED
    Arguments set to begin Spelman shooting trial
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Opening statements have begun in the trial of a
man accused of shooting and killing a Spelman College student as
she walked with friends near campus.
    Police say 19-year-old Jasmine Lynn of Kansas City, Mo., was
struck by a stray bullet Sept. 3 from a nearby fight on the Clark
Atlanta University campus, which is next to Spelman. Prosecutors
say the shooter was 21-year-old Devonni Benton, but his attorney
has said Benton was involved in the fight but was not carrying a
gun.
    A Clark Atlanta student with Lynn was wounded.
   
MOTHER-MURDER-SUICIDE
    Police: GA woman drowned daughter, shot self
   
    BRUNSWICK, GA (AP) - Police say a 2-year-old is recovering
after his mother drowned his 4-year-old sister, attempted to drown
him and then shot herself while making a 911 call.
    Glynn County Police say 21-year-old Julia Murray dialed 911
Tuesday morning and told the operator she had drowned her children.
She then told the operator she had just shot herself.
    County Police Chief Matt Doering says officers found Murray
lying near a revolver in one room, and the still-wet bodies of her
son and daughter in their bedroom.
    Police Capt. Marissa Tindale told The Florida Times-Union said
the girl, Ansli, and boy, Creighton, were found next to each other
in bed.
    Mother and daughter were pronounced dead at a Brunswick
hospital. Tindale said Creighton was in stable condition and is
expected to recover.
   
MORRIS PUBLISHING-BANKRUPTCH
    Judge approves Morris bankruptcy plan
   
    AUGUSTA, GA (AP) - A federal judge has cleared the way for
newspaper owner Morris Publishing Group to emerge from bankruptcy
protection.
    Judge John S. Dalis approved the Georgia-based company's plan to
slash its debt by $288.5 million during a court hearing in Augusta
Wednesday, less than a month after Morris Publishing filed under
Chapter 11.
    The company's attorney, Mark Berkoff, said the company hopes to
emerge from bankruptcy protection by March 1.
    Most of Morris' creditors had already agreed to the
restructuring plan, including a bond swap that will erase $178.5
million owed to unsecured creditors in exchange for higher
interest. Morris' owners will keep control of the company.
    Morris owns 13 daily newspapers including The Augusta Chronicle
and Savannah Morning News.
   
METH-CHILD PORN
    GA man given 15 years on meth, child porn charges
   
    CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - A federal judge in Chattanooga has
sentenced a North Georgia man to 15 years in prison in a drug and
child pornography case.
    Gary Salles (SAYLZ') of Smyrna, Ga., had earlier pleaded guilty
to charges that he brought methamphetamine and porn across the
state line to sell to a buyer at a Winchester, Tenn., motel. That
buyer was a federal agent.
    The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that after sentencing
Salles on Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Harry S. "Sandy"
Mattice (muh-TYS') allowed him to speak.
    Salles thanked the agents who arrested him for "saving his
life" and apologized to anyone he hurt.
    The court allowed prosecution on 6,000 pornographic images. The
57-year-old Salles told the court he didn't know any of the
children portrayed.
   
JUDGE RESIGNS
    GA Superior Court judge resigns
   
    COLUMBUS, GA (AP) - A Superior Court judge in Columbus
resigned, and said he was leaving for health reasons.
    The judge, 62-year-old Robert Johnston III, met with an
investigator for the Judicial Qualifications Commission on Tuesday.
He later confirmed his resignation to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer,
and said his health has been deteriorating for two years.
    Johnston is 14 months into a four-year term. His resignation is
effective March 15.
    The state Judicial Qualifications Commission investigates
complaints of judicial misconduct. Judicial Qualifications
Commission investigator Richard Hyde declined to comment.
   
HOSPITAL TAX
    Hospital tax to get a hearing
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Gov. Sonny Perdue's plan to plug a $274 million
budget hole by taxing hospitals and health insurance plans will
receive its first hearing before skeptical House lawmakers.
    A House panel will hold a hearing on the proposal Wednesday
afternoon.
    Perdue says the tax hike is needed to avoid steep cuts to
Medicaid. But Republicans legislators have been cool to the idea,
which is being fought by many Georgia hospitals.
    One alternative gaining lots of buzz at the state Capitol:
boosting the tax on cigarettes instead. The last time Georgia
boosted its cigarette tax was 2003 when Perdue pushed through a
25-per-pack increase, earning criticism from some conservative
anti-tax groups.
   
PANTS ON THE GROUND
    Senator to honor civil rights icon, 'Idol' star
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - The next stop on "American Idol" icon and civil
rights activist Gen. Larry Platt's fame tour is the state Capitol.
    Platt is being honored by the Georgia 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 an appearance on "American Idol" last
month, making him an Internet sensation.
    Sen. Vincent Fort of Atlanta will present Platt with a Senate
resolution on Wednesday. Platt's catchy ditty has taken him to
daytime talk show stardom on "The View," snagged him a red carpet
performance before the Grammy Awards, and even Minnesota Vikings
quarterback Brett Favre was caught chanting the lyrics in a
post-game celebration.

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