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Prosecutors are using a law originally enacted to go after mobsters to accuse former principals, teachers, and administrators of trying to boost their bonuses by conspiring to artificially raise kids' test scores. While only 12 ex-educators are on trial in Atlanta, dozens of teachers and administrators were initially charged and many have since pleaded guilty in exchange for their cooperation. The dozen on trial could get up to 20 years in prison, and they might never have been prosecuted if it weren't for a pair of ambitious reporters at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC). Back in 2008, Heather Vogell, now a...

... “I think what happened was he saw how much teams were going for and wanted to make some money,” a rival team executive said. “What he said was wrong but to me it seems like an excuse to sell.” ...

An Atlanta hospital is preparing to receive its third Ebola patient Tuesday after successfully treating two other American aid workers for the virus that has killed thousands in West Africa. Emory University Hospital said that the patient, whose name has not yet been released, was expected to arrive sometime Tuesday and would be treated in its isolation unit. Last month, Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol were released from the same hospital after recovering from Ebola. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. James Wilson said the patient, as in the prior two cases, would be flown into Dobbins Air...

Hawks co-owner Bruce Levenson cited an “inappropriate and offensive” e-mail he sent two years ago in an abrupt announcement Sunday that he will sell his controlling interest in the team. “I have said repeatedly that the NBA should have zero tolerance for racism, and I strongly believe that to be true. That is why I voluntarily reported my inappropriate e-mail to the NBA." ***** 4. Regarding game ops, i need to start with some background. for the first couple of years we owned the team, i didn’t much focus on game ops. then one day a light bulb went off....

<p>Another NBA owner has been caught making racist remarks, but it doesn’t appear the Atlanta Hawks’ Bruce Levenson wants to take the prolonged path to being stripped of his team that Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling took this year.</p>

Ebola patient Dr Kent Brantly beamed with delight today as he thanked God for sparing his life and prepared to leave hospital after being declared free of the deadly disease. The American missionary doctor looked a little frail but healthy as he gripped the hand of his wife Amber amid a large medical team at a Emory University Hospital press conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The 33-year-old said: 'Today is a miraculous day. I am thrilled to be alive, to be well and to be reunited with my family.' He thanked God for saving his life, saying that the thousands of...

Between 1989 and 2010, Congress rejected nearly 700 cap-tax-and-trade and similar bills that their proponents claimed would control Earth’s perpetually fickle climate and weather. So even as real world crises erupt, President Obama is using executive fiats and regulations to impose his anti-hydrocarbon agenda, slash America’s fossil fuel use, bankrupt coal and utility companies, make electricity prices skyrocket, and “fundamentally transform” our economic, social, legal and constitutional system. Citing climate concerns, he has refused to permit construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, and blocked or delayed Alaskan, western state and offshore oil and gas leasing and drilling. He’s proud that...

Kevin LoriaAugust. 4, 2014 Both of the Ebola-infected U.S. citizens in Liberia received a rare dose of what news reports called a "secret serum" to treat the virus before being transported to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, according to a CNN report. And while some people do fight off the disease on their own, in the case of the two Americans, that experimental serum may have saved their lives. As Dr. Kent Brantly and missionary Nancy Writebol waited in a Liberian hospital, someone from the National Institutes of Health reached out to Samaritan's Purse, one of the two North Carolina-based...

Three vials containing an experimental drug stored at subzero temperatures were flown into Liberia last week in a last-ditch effort to save two American missionary workers who had contracted Ebola, according to a source familiar with details of the treatment. The drug appears to have worked, sources say. Dr. Kent Brantly's and Nancy Writebol's conditions significantly improved after receiving the medication, sources say. Brantly was able to walk into Emory University Hospital in Atlanta after being evacuated to the United States last week, and Writebol is expected to arrive in Atlanta on Tuesday. On July 22, Brantly woke up feeling...

The first Ebola victim to be brought to the United States from Africa was safely escorted into a specialized isolation unit Saturday at one of the nation's best hospitals, where doctors said they are confident the deadly virus won't escape. Fear that the outbreak killing more than 700 people in Africa could spread in the U.S. has generated considerable anxiety among some Americans. But infectious disease experts said the public faces zero risk as Emory University Hospital treats a critically ill missionary doctor and a charity worker who were infected in Liberia. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

One of two American aid workers infected with the deadly Ebola virus returned to the US from Africa on Saturday. Both were volunteers treating Ebola patients in Liberia, one of three countries affected in a West African outbreak that has so far killed 729 people, the deadliest outbreak in history. Dr Kent Brantly of Texas was transported to the Emory University hospital in Atlanta, where he will be quarantined in a sophisticated isolation unit. He returned to the US in a private jet outfitted with a containment tent. Transport of the second aid worker, the South Carolina missionary Nancy Writebol,...

As a hardcore baseball guy, I often wonder why people needlessly waste their time on all those other, lesser sports. But I suppose everyone has a right to their insane opinions. In any case, football fans may want to keep an eye on this development: The NFL announced this week that it will be using RFID tracking chips on players during select games in the 2014 season. The high-tech chips — RFID stands for radio-frequency identification — will generate precise positioning data on each player on every play. Football Uniforms Throughout History For the initial rollout, the RFID system will...

An American doctor stricken by Ebola in West Africa arrived home for treatment in Atlanta on Saturday, and U.S. government officials are urging the public to remain confident in the health-care system’s ability to keep the deadly disease isolated. A charity organization, Samaritan’s Purse, said two Americans in serious condition with the disease were being evacuated: Kent Brantly, a Fort Worth doctor who had been treating Ebola victims in Liberia, and Nancy Writebol, a missionary from Charlotte. Brantly and Writebol have been hospitalized in serious condition in Monrovia, the Liberian capital. Brantly was brought back to the United States first,...

An American doctor in serious condition after he contracted Ebola was on a specially outfitted plane on the way to the U.S. for treatment Saturday morning, the organization Samaritan's Purse told NBC News. Dr. Kent Brantly — the first person infected with Ebola to be transported to the U.S. — will land at Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta, Georgia, before he is transported to Emory Hospital in Atlanta.

Emory University Hospital is expected to receive a patient infected with the deadly Ebola virus within the next several days, the university announced Thursday.

In life…you have your good days and you have your bad days. However, there are certain professions where you should always be on your best behavior. Pilot of the plane is one of them. Why? Everything you say is recorded! Then someone posts it on the internet where it lives forever and ever! A Delta pilot was communicating with the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport when the jerkiness started. The pilot of flight 2422 did not take kindly to the idea of being on the wrong runway and yelled at the traffic controller for having a bad attitude.

Talk about a big fish. An Atlanta man and his father last week caught an 884-pound sturgeon during a fishing trip to Canada. According to Great River Fishing Adventures, 19-year-old Paul Jarvis hooked the 11-foot-10 white sturgeon Thursday morning on the Fraser River. “In the first few minutes I had it on the line, I couldn’t believe the weight and power of the fish," said Jarvis, who battled the fish with the help of his father, Ron, for about an hour. "I am a big guy, and I could barely hold on to the rod let alone begin to reel...

The Atlanta Braves have released new drawings of their planned 41,000-plus seat Cobb County stadium. The images show a stadium with least four decks and a broad sun canopy with gathering places for fans. It also provides a glimpse of the design concepts behind the $400 million mixed-use complex planned to sit around the ballpark. “This is a very early look at how our vision is shaping up and, even though we are still months away from final plans and drawings, we are very pleased with the progress,” said John Schuerholz, president of the Atlanta Braves. “The renderings represent the...

Responding to Georgia's new "guns everywhere" law, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta has pledged to keep guns out of Catholic churches, schools and other institutions. ..."Before this legislation takes effect in July, I will officially restrict the presence of weapons in our Catholic institutions except for those carried by the people that civic authorities have designated and trained to protect and guard us, and those who are duly authorized by law and military officials," Gregory wrote. ...Georgia has always banned licensed weapons in churches, but the new legislation drops the penalty to a $100 fine and the legal charge to...

Multiple law enforcement agencies are on the scene of a suspected workplace shooting in Kennesaw. According to reports, the shooting happened at a Fed-Ex facility at 1675 Airport Road. Authorities are searching for the shooter or shooters, at this time. According to crews on the scene, authorities have secured the entire area to safely search and apprehend the suspect or suspects. Officials from Kennestone Hospital say they've received six patients from the shooting. Injuries range from minor to serious. Kennestone is a Level II Trauma Center. A spokesperson from Fed-Ex released a statement saying: "FedEx is aware of the situation....