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

(AP) -- DEAL-GOVERNOR'S RACE
    Georgia's Deal resigning from Congress
   
    GAINESVILLE, GA (AP) - Rep. Nathan Deal says he's resigning
from Congress to concentrate on the Georgia governor's race.
    Deal held a news conference on Monday to announce his
resignation effective next Monday.
    Deal, who represents the mountainous 9th District in north
Georgia, served in the Georgia Legislature as a Democrat and was
elected to Congress in 1992. The 67-year-old Deal switched to the
Republican Party in 1995.
    There are six other Republicans and five Democrats in the race
to replace Gov. Sonny Perdue, who is barred from seeking a third
term.
    Deal entered the governor's race last spring and said at the
time his biggest challenge would be to boost his name recognition
outside his district.
   
WINTER WEATHER
    More snow forecast in north Georgia
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Winter isn't over yet in Georgia.
    The National Weather Service is predicting a chilly, rainy
Tuesday for metro Atlanta, with a chance of a little snow.
Northeast Georgia is expected to get freezing rain Tuesday night.
Some snow mixed with rain is in the forecast for middle Georgia.
    Snow is forecast for the north Georgia mountains, with some
accumulation.
    The weather service says warmer weather is expected later in the
week, turning springlike Saturday and Sunday.
   
UGA BUDGET
    UGA trying to deal with tighter budget
   
    ATHENS, GA (AP) - Officials at the University of Georgia are
looking for ways to deal with a budget that's even tighter than
anticipated.
    Earlier, the university was looking for ways to cope with a
reduction of about $44 million in state funding. That was based on
Gov. Sonny Perdue's budget proposal.
    The latest word from the Georgia Legislature is that another $60
million in cuts will be needed.
    This year, UGA will get about $421 million from state
appropriations, about a third of the university's $1.2 billion
budget. Most of the rest comes from student tuition and fees and
from research and other grants from outside sources.
    University President Michael Adams has said that even a $44
million reduction would require some layoffs.
   
OBAMA-GA VISIT
    Obama to make first visit to GA to talk jobs and economy in
Savannah
   
    SAVANNAH, GA (AP) - President Barack Obama has picked Savannah
as his next stop this week on his "White House to Main Street"
tour to talk about jobs and the economy.
    Tuesday's scheduled visit is to be Obama's first to Georgia
since taking office and is billed as part of his "White House to
Main Street" tour.
    White House officials haven't released details. But the trip is
expected to be similar to day-long visits the president made to
Pennsylvania in December and Ohio in January. In those states, the
president toured factories, met residents and announced new
economic programs.
    Ever since his State of the Union address last month, Obama has
repeatedly said he wanted to spend more time outside of Washington.
Savannah's port is a major international trade hub also could have
been picked after Obama talked about the need to boost trade
abroad.
   
SCHOOL-GUN
    8-year-old who brought gun can return to school
   
    BRUNSWICK, GA (AP) - A second-grader who took a gun to school
in Brunswick last month will be allowed to return to school.
    A three-member panel of retired educators decided on Friday to
grant leniency to the 8-year-old student at Goodyear Elementary
School.
    Schools superintendent Howard Mann says the child, who had no
previous disciplinary problems, thought the gun was a toy. He said
the gun was inoperable.
    School officials say the boy has been serving a 10-day
suspension, which began after the mother of another student
reported finding the gun in her son's backpack.
   
GA-HOME INVASION
    Three sought after home invasion in Albany
   
    ALBANY, GA (AP) - Albany police are on the hunt for three armed
men who were involved in a home invasion.
    Police say the men kicked down a door and burst into the east
Albany house around 3 a.m. Sunday. Two victims were inside the
house at the time.
    The suspects took money from the two and assaulted them before
they fled.
    Both victims were taken to the hospital for observation.
    Police ask anyone with information about the suspects to call
crime stoppers at (229) 436-TIPS.
    ---
    Information from: WALB-TV, http://www.walb.com/
   
CELL PHONE-PEEPER
    GA man accused of using phone to spy in bathroom
   
    MARIETTA, GA (AP) - A Marietta man has been arrested after he
was accused of holding his cell phone under a stall in a women's
restroom.
    Cobb County police said the incident occurred at the Brunswick
Zone Bowling Alley in Marietta on Saturday night.
    A woman who was in the restroom reported the incident and police
were called to the bowling alley.
    Police said suspect Jason hall was still there when they arrived
and was bowling. Hall was arrested and charged him with
eavesdropping, public drunkenness and possession of marijuana.
    WSBT-TV reports the eavesdropping charge includes unauthorized
surveillance.
    Investigators said only one woman was in the restroom at the
time of the incident.
    Hall is being held on a $10,000 bond.
   
DEATH SENTENCES UPHELD
    Court upholds death sentences in Savannah killings
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld death
sentences for Darryl Scott Stinski, who was convicted of killing a
woman and her 13-year-old daughter in 2002.
    In an opinion published Monday the court found that evidence
presented in the case was sufficient to conclude "beyond a
reasonable doubt" that Stinski was guilty of the slayings of
41-year-old Susan Pittman and her daughter, Kimberly.
    Prosecutors say Stinski and Dorian O'Kelley killed the Pittmans
during a crime spree in Savannah on April 10,2002. The state says
the men beat the mother and daughter and that O'Kelley raped the
girl before they set the house on fire.
    O'Kelley was sentenced to death in 2005, and the high court
upheld his sentence in 2008. Stinski was sentenced to death in
2007.

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