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

(AP) -- DEADLY TIRE WRECK
    1 killed after tire dislodges from van
   
    DECATUR, GA (AP) - A 56-year-old woman from Virginia is dead
and part of Interstate 285 outside Atlanta was temporarily shut
down after the motorist was struck and killed by a wheel that
dislodged from another vehicle.
    Mekka Parish, of the DeKalb County Police Department, says it
happened at around 1:50 p.m. A wheel came off a van traveling east
on I-285 near Bouldercrest Road crossed the median wall and struck
a Hyundai Sonata going west on the interstate.
    Authorities identified the dead motorist as Debra Driscoll.
    The tire struck a second car but no one in that vehicle was
injured.
    By 3 p.m. two eastbound lanes of the interstate were reopened
for traffic.
   
GOVERNOR-DEAL
    Deal pushes back resignation
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Republican gubernatorial hopeful Nathan Deal is
pushing back his resignation date from Congress citing the looming
vote on health care.
    Deal said in a statement on Thursday that he would step down
from the U.S. House on March 31st, instead of March 8th, as
originally planned. He says he changed his mind after President
Barack Obama pledged to push for a quick vote on health care.
    Critics had blasted Deal's decision to leave arguing it would
make it easier for Democrats to push through a health care overhaul
bill. Deal, of Gainesville, said he was stepping aside to focus
full-time on his GOP gubernatorial bid.
    He has represented the 9th District in north Georgia since 1992.
   
GANG INDICTMENT
    Members of street gang in Atlanta area indicted
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Authorities have unsealed a federal indictment
charging 26 members of a violent transnational street gang with
racketeering and other crimes in the metro Atlanta area.
    Acting U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said at a news conference
Thursday that the men were all associated with the Mara
Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang, which has about 10,000 members in
North America.
    The indictment says the gang members participated in
racketeering activity, including seven murders, 14 attempted
murders, kidnapping and robbery in metro Atlanta.
    Yates and other law enforcement officials say the indictment
deals a significant blow to MS-13 in the Atlanta area.
   
COLLEGE CUTS
    Perdue blasts proposed college cuts
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Governor Sonny Perdue pledged to protect the
state's public colleges from deep cuts being pushed by state
lawmakers that would force steep tuition hikes and would eliminate
popular programs, like 4-H.
    Perdue said Thursday that his administration would "not
dismantle a world-class university system we spent over two decades
to build up."
    Speaking at a state Capitol news conference, the Republican
governor blasted legislators for engaging in "scare tactics and
fear mongering."
    Perdue's budget proposed cutting $265 million for the university
system in the next fiscal year. State lawmakers have asked the
Board of Regents to plan for $300 million in additional cuts on top
of that.
    Students rallied at the Capitol Wednesday to protest.
   
TOYOTA-NO FIX?
    More drivers file complaints after Toyota fix
   
    WASHINGTON (AP) - More Toyota drivers say their car and trucks
have sped up by themselves even after being fixed to correct the
problem.
    Another five people have reported problems to the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration's complaint database,
describing surges of speed that came without warning. That is on
top of at least 15 similar cases found by an Associated Press
review of the data on Wednesday.
    The complaints have not been independently verified. Government
investigators said Wednesday that they had found 10 possible cases
of post-fix problems.
    Toyota is installing special metal shims and shortening gas
pedals to solve the problem that has led it to recall more than 8
million vehicles worldwide. The company says it is confident its
fixes will take care of the problems.
   
RANGE FUELS-GEORGIA
    Colo. company building fuel plant in GA
    
    BROOMFIELD, Colo. (AP) - A Colorado company is building a
biofuel plant in southeast Georgia.
    Range Fuels Incorporated of Broomfield says it has received an
$80 million federal loan for the plant in Soperton, about 80 miles
west of Savannah.
    The plant will eventually use wood chips to create biofuel.
    A Range Fuels spokesman said the plant would eventually employ
about 70 people. Construction is already underway.
   
EDUCATION GRANTS-GEORGIA
    GA  part of 16 finalists for 'Race to the Top'
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia is one of 16 finalists for more than $4
billion in competitive federal grants targeting education reform.
    Georgia was selected Thursday from a pool of 41 applicants for
the "Race to the Top" competition, which is designed to reward
and spur states to lift student achievement through innovative
programs. The money is part of President Barack Obama's economic
stimulus law.
    Georgia's application for the competition touted the state's
welcoming attitude toward charter schools, one-of-a-kind graduation
coach program and new push to pay teachers based on how their
students perform academically.
    Governor Sonny Perdue was expected to hold a press conference
later Thursday on Georgia being chosen.
    The winners will be chosen in April after finalists go to D.C.
to do interviews with education officials.
   
PEOPLE-ALTON BROWN
    Food Network star Brown to speak at UGA
   
    ATHENS, GA (AP) - Food Network star chef and author Alton Brown
will be the graduation speaker at the University of Georgia this
spring.
    Brown, a UGA alum and Georgia resident, is the creator of TV
show "Good Eats," which just celebrated its 10th anniversary, and
hosts "Iron Chef America." He attended UGA in the 1980s and
eventually graduated from UGA in 2004 with a degree in drama.
    He also graduated from the New England Culinary Institute in
1997.
    He is the first Food Network host to win a Peabody Award and has
written six books on food, one of which won the 2003 James Beard
Award for best cookbook.
    The ceremony is May 8th at 6:30 p.m. in Sanford Stadium.

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