High court upholds Savannah death sentences

ATLANTA - 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.

Obama to talk home efficiency, jobs

WASHINGTON - Consumers would collect on-the-spot rebates of $1,000 or more for buying insulation, water heaters or other equipment to make their homes burn energy more efficiently under a rebate program President Barack Obama is promoting. Obama was traveling to Savannah, Ga., on Tuesday to outline the Home Star program. Obama called for energy rebates in his State of the Union address, and officials hope the plan will be as popular as last year's Cash ...

Perdue budget proposal contains more layoffs, furloughs

ATLANTA (AP) - Gov. Sonny Perdue on Friday proposed a budget that continues to slash state spending and recommended three more unpaid furlough days for teachers and other state employees over the next six months.

Area federal judge dies

SAVANNAH - Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony A. Alaimo, whose rulings in the 1970s enforced voting rights for blacks and reformed state prisons, died Wednesday after nearly four decades on the bench. He was 89. Michele Kim, Alaimo's law clerk, confirmed to The Associated Press that Alaimo died Wednesday morning at a hospital in Brunswick, near the judge's home on Sea Island. She said she did not know what caused his death.

Georgia House speaker resigns

ATLANTA - Georgia's powerful House speaker resigned Thursday after a suicide attempt and allegations by his ex-wife of an affair with a lobbyist. Glenn Richardson, the state's first GOP speaker since Reconstruction, had won sympathy from even his political enemies when he revealed last month that he attempted suicide by swallowing sleeping pills. But then his ex-wife went on TV and accused him of having "a full-out affair" with a lobbyist while they were still married.

State, national news roundup

Church robber: Sorry, but I'm poor ELLENWOOD, Ga. (AP) - Officials at an Ellenwood church are repairing damage left by an apologetic robber who asked the Lord for forgiveness - but still made off with the loot. The Rev. Roger Davis tells WSB-TV in a Tuesday story that the church was robbed of expensive equipment including microphones and a laptop containing important records. The robber broke locks and ...

Ida weakens to depression; soaking Southeast

Ida weakens to depression; soaking Southeast

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - Tropical Storm Ida sloshed ashore with rain and gusty winds Tuesday before weakening to a depression, causing little damage along the Gulf Coast but bringing more rain to the already-soaked Southeast. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Ida's center first touched land on Dauphin Island, Ala., before heading across Mobile Bay toward the Alabama mainland and on to Florida.

Mitsubishi coming to Pooler megasite

Editor's note: The following is from a press release sent Monday afternoon.

New Tennessee 'guns-in-bars' law takes effect, some opposed

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The first day of a new law that allows handguns in Tennessee bars and restaurants is being met with opposition from some of the establishments' owners.

Review planned for terror alert system

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Homeland Security Department will review and possibly replace the often-ridiculed multicolored terror alert system created after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Prosecutors claim evangelist 'married' 8-year-old

TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) - Evangelist Tony Alamo preyed on his loyal followers' young daughters, once taking a girl as young as 8 as his bride and repeatedly sexually assaulting her, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday.

Health care overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) - House Democrats on Tuesday rolled out a far-reaching $1.5 trillion plan that for the first time would make health care a right and a responsibility for all Americans, with medical providers, employers and the wealthiest picking up most of the tab.

Dry autumns, winters may lead to fewer tornadoes in spring

Athens, Ga. – Global warming will likely mean more unpredictable weather, scientists say, and a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia pins down, possibly for the first time, how drought conditions in an area's fall and winter may effect tornado activity the following spring.

Police stepping up patrols near Georgia Tech

ATLANTA (AP) - Atlanta police are increasing patrols around the Georgia Tech campus because several students have been robbed at gunpoint over the last few months.

DOT suspends closures for holiday

JESUP - The Georgia Department of Transportation announced Monday that to help travelers during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, construction-related lane closures on all interstate and major state-system highways would be suspended from noon Friday, May 24, to 5 a.m. Tuesday, May 28.

State further restricts groundwater pumping

Effective immediately, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division will prohibit new groundwater withdrawals in the Coastal Georgia counties of Chatham, Bryan, Liberty and the portion of Effingham County south of Highway 119.

Stewart employees preparing for July furloughs

A May 14 Department of Defense news release announced Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's directive that furloughs will begin for DoD civilians after July 8. Fort Stewart Public Affairs Officer Kevin Larson confirmed that civilian personnel managers at Stewart are preparing for the furloughs but noted that details had to be worked out locally.

Pentagon steps closer to civilian furloughs

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2013 - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced today that he has signed a memorandum directing defense managers to prepare to furlough most Defense Department civilian employees for up to 11 days between July 8 and the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year.

Jesup man wins $100K in lottery

Leland Smith, a 79-year-old great-grandfather from Jesup, recently won a $100,000 playing the Monopoly Millionaire instant game.

AASU officially announce Liberty campus plan

Armstrong Atlantic State University on Wednesday announced a major initiative for the Armstrong-Liberty Center. In partnership with the city of Hinesville, the university will build an expanded, new facility in downtown Hinesville to accommodate more students, programs, classroom and laboratory space.