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The article reports that at least 54 persons were killed in an outbreak of tornadoes in five Southern states during the evening and night of February 5, 2008. Arkansas and Tennessee were the two states reporting both the most fatalities and property damage, with several small communities essentially destroyed. The outbreak was unusual but not unheard of winter weather in the region.

The article reports that many U.S. consumers shopped on the Friday after Thanksgiving, referred to as "Black Friday," but that they exercised restraint in their purchases and shopped at discount chains such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp., and Best Buy Co. Inc. Stores such as Kohl's Department Stores and J.C. Penney Inc., attempted to draw shoppers by opening earlier and offering discounts.

The article reports that the issue of the costs of providing an adequate defense for criminal suspects facing capital punishment has slowed prosecution of such cases to a near halt in many U.S. states. U.S. Supreme Court decisions have emphasized the importance of defense counsel during capital trials. The case of Brian Nichols, who is accused of killing three persons in a Georgia courthouse in 2005, accounted for the state's entire budget for the public defender's office in 2007.

The article reports that the United States Supreme Court ordered a stay of execution on October 30, 2007 for convicted murderer Earl W. Berry. The decision required the signature of five justices, but was unaccompanied by any statement. It seems to indicate that there should be a freeze on lethal injections until the Kentucky case Baze v. Rees is heard, which questions whether certain drugs given by lethal injection should be considered cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment.

The article examines the social and political affects in the U.S. Southeast of the region's prolonged drought in 2007. Both citizens, businesses, and governments have been slow to react to the drought, and water conservation measures have been adopted only sporadically. Georgia instituted a ban on outdoor water use in September, after reports that the Atlanta metropolitan area had only a four month supply of water remaining. Alabama, even more severely affected, has done even less.

The article reports that part of the retired muppet collection owned by the Jim Henson Foundation will be donated to the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, Georgia. The gift will include some 500-700 pieces as well as funds to build an additional space to be called the Jim Henson Wing. The entire collection has not been donated due to the deterioration of some of the puppets.

The article discusses the erection of a Hindu temple and a Muslim mosque in the Atlanta, Georgia area. The Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is one of the largest Hindu temples in the world. The pieces were constructed in India and shipped to Lilburn, Georgia to be put together. The Al-Farooq Masjid mosque was built in Midtown Atlanta. Both buildings will be open for worship before the end of 2007.

The article reports that puppets which featured in the 1964 stop-motion television special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," have been restored and put for public display at the Center for Puppetry Arts in New York City. The puppets are believed to be the last two surviving figures made by Japanese puppet makers in the 1960s. The puppets were procured by Kevin A. Kreiss, the president of TimeandSpaceToys.com, from a descendant of an employee of Rankin-Bass, the company that made the film.

The article reports that the number of immigrants living in American households rose 16 percent over the last five years, fueled by recent arrivals from Mexico. Details related to recent data on the issue released by the U.S. Census Bureau. According to the author, the data shows that immigrants are bypassing the traditional gateway states like California and New York.

This article looks at the political campaign of Georgia Representative Cynthia A. McKinney and how a film entitled "American Blackout" might help her with the upcoming Democratic primary runoff. The movie, directed by Ian Inaba, follows McKinney around for three years and exposes alleged black voter disenfranchisement. McKinney's candidacy was marred by her alleged striking of a white Capitol police officer who tried to prevent her entry into a House office building. The movie reveals that white Capitol police made a game of stopping black representatives.

The author looks at the issue of audio illusions related to cellular phone rings. According to the author, phantom phone rings have emerged recently as an Internet discussion topic and has become a new reason for people to bemoan the techno-saturation of modern life. The author reviews how some experts believe the phantom sounds are the result of phones become a fifth limb for many people. Comments from doctoral student David Laramie, who is writing a dissertation on the effect of cellphones on behavior, are included.

The article looks at how gentrification has affected the black population of Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta has been a symbol of African-American success, including its role as the first major Southern city to elect a black mayor in 1973. For the first time since 1920's, the white percentage of the Atlanta population is increasing and the black percentage is decreasing. Atlanta is attracting affluent, mostly white populations. Demographers say that the shift is driven more by class rather than race.

The article discusses the cost of keeping giant pandas Lun Lun and Yang Yang at Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia. The pandas require an expensive diet and are attended by four persons. In addition, the zoo must pay steep annual fees to the Chinese government to rent the pandas. Giant pandas are also on loan to zoos in San Diego, Memphis and Washington, D.C. The pandas are becoming a financial headache for many of the zoos. If China will not negotiate some budgetary expenses, says Dennis W. Kelly, chief executive of Zoo Atlanta, the pandas may have to be returned.

The article reports on the situation in Sago, West Virginia, where 12 coal miners died after being trapped in a coal mine following an unexplained explosion on January 2, 2006. According to the author, many of the miners wrote notes to family members before their deaths. The one survivor of the incident, Randal McCloy, is in a coma and may have suffered brain damage from oxygen deprivation.

The article reports that 12 miners who were trapped in the Sago coal mine in West Virginia were found alive following an explosion. One miner was found dead. Joe Thornton of the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety said the rescued miners were being examined and will be sent to a hospital. INSET: Searching the Sago Mine.

The article examines reactions of General Motors (GM) employees to plans for plant shutdowns. GM workers nationwide met the news of plant closures and job cuts with shock, resignation, and frustration with management. Many of the plants that will close are over 50 years old, dating back to an era when GM dominated the American automobile market. As foreign competitors with lower labor costs and more desirable vehicles have cut down GM's market share, the automaker has struggled to regain its competitiveness. Trimming its work force and closing under-used plants is one way it hopes to do this.

For decades, the drug-resistant germ called MRSA was almost exclusively a concern of humans, usually in hospitals and other health care settings. But in recent years, the germ has become a growing problem for veterinarians, with an increasing number of infections turning up in birds, cats, dogs, horses, pigs, rabbits and rodents. And that, infectious-disease experts say, is becoming a hazard to humans who own or spend time with these animals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The influenza vaccine, which has been strongly recommended for people over 65 for more than four decades, is losing its reputation as an effective way to ward off the virus in the elderly. A growing number of immunologists and epidemiologists say the vaccine probably does not work very well for people over 70, the group that accounts for three-fourths of all flu deaths. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

''Desperate Pets!'' read the headline of an online classified ad posted from Lee County, Fla., which is ranked first in the nation in home foreclosures. ''Please Help!'' begged a post from a pet owner in Carroll County, Ga., who said she had two dogs that would be homeless when her mother's home was foreclosed on in a few weeks. ''Our shelter has something like an 80 percent kill rate,'' the post said. ''I have exhausted every effort I know to find them a good home. No one wants a pregnant dog.'' [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

High blood pressure, the most commonly diagnosed condition in the United States, is becoming increasingly resistant to drugs that lower it, according to a panel of experts assembled by the American Heart Association. ''It's becoming more difficult to treat and it's requiring more and more medications to do so,'' said the panel chairman, Dr. David A. Calhoun, a hypertension specialist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The chief judge of the Fulton County Superior Court on Monday sharply criticized a state plan to lay off a large group of public defenders, saying it could cause a legal crisis. On Friday, the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, which administers Georgia's defender system, announced it would close the Metro Conflict Defender Office, one of four such offices in Georgia that handle cases in which it would be a conflict of interest for the local public defender's office to represent more than one client charged with the same crime. The issue arises when, for example, two defendants in the same bank robbery turn on each other after they are arrested. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

At least one Arkansas family already knows that 2008 has been a devastating year for tornadoes. John E. Hill, 31, lost his job on Feb. 2 when a huge twister demolished the boat factory in Clinton, Ark., where he worked as a welder. Little more than three months later, Mr. Hill, who was struggling to provide for his family, lost his house, cars and cash savings to another tornado. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To gas prices, foreclosure rates and the cost of rice, add this rising economic indicator: the number of tips to the police from people hoping to collect reward money. Calls to the Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers hot line in the first quarter of this year were up 30 percent over last year. San Antonio had a 44 percent increase. Cities and towns from Detroit to Omaha to Beaufort County, N.C., all report increases of 25 percent or more in the first quarter, with tipsters telling operators they need the money for rent, light bills or baby formula. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Apparently eight million gallons of water and 80,000 animals were not enough for the Georgia Aquarium, which already claims to be the world's largest. It did not have dolphins. On Tuesday, aquarium officials announced plans for a $110 million expansion, increasing itself by 1.5 million gallons, most of which will be used for dolphin windows, dolphin shows and something called ''dolphin encounters.'' [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Gena L. Abraham, Georgia's state transportation commissioner, started her day on Tuesday by making a routine announcement via news release: $75 million would be spent to resurface roads and build bridges around a medical center in Augusta. It is likely that Ms. Abraham, 39, the first woman to run what is one of the most powerful government agencies in the state, has never been so eager to build bridges. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A teenager who the authorities say planned to blow up his high school and made a tape explaining his motives appeared in a South Carolina court on Monday so a judge could appoint a lawyer to defend him. The teenager, Ryan Schallenberger, 18, of Ruby, S.C., an honor student who was in contention to be valedictorian in his class at Chesterfield High School, was turned in by his parents after they found bomb-making supplies and a detailed plan for the attack. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]