GREG BLUESTEIN

Associated Press Writer
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University of Ga. bulldog mascot Uga VII dies

Uga VII, the white English bulldog mascot for the University of Georgia's football team for almost two seasons, died Thursday of heart-related causes, the dog's owner said.

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Atlanta judicial leaders declare court 'emergency'

Georgia's biggest court system has warned that a 2010 Fulton County proposal that cuts $53 million from the judicial budget could force them to shut down the courthouse, jeopardize death penalty cases and slash as many as 1,000 jobs.

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Feds: Kuwaiti company conspired to defraud US

The chief food supplier for the U.S. military in Kuwait and Iraq inflated prices and defrauded the U.S. government for multibillion-dollar contracts to feed American troops, federal prosecutors said Monday.

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Ex-Lockheed engineer claims F-22 tech 'defective'

A former engineer for defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. claims in a federal whistleblower lawsuit that the company knowingly used "defective" stealth coatings when building its F-22 Raptor stealth jets.

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Salmonella victims upset no prosecutions yet

At the height of the nationwide salmonella outbreak nearly a year ago, FBI agents raided two peanut plants and carried away boxes of evidence. FDA inspectors found roaches, mold and a leaky roof. Then, Congress revealed e-mails from the peanut company's top executive that seemed to suggest the pursuit of profits over ensuring public safety.

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Fed court: No drug money case against Fla. lawyer

In a first of its kind ruling, a federal appeals panel has sided with a prominent Miami defense lawyer who was accused of a crime for giving advice to attorneys for an accused Medellin cocaine cartel kingpin.

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Carter: Obama's Nobel mixes achievement, promise

Former President Jimmy Carter said Thursday that President Barack Obama deserves his Nobel Peace Prize based on his achievements and the promise of an aggressive agenda that he's still working to fulfill.

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Hispaniola leaders aim to eradicate malaria

The leaders of Haiti and the Dominican Republic agreed Thursday to cooperate in a campaign aimed at eradicating the last vestiges of malaria from the islands of the Caribbean by 2020.

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Jimmy Carter hopes revamped library will inspire

The Jimmy Carter Library and Museum reopened Thursday during an emotional ceremony on the former president's 85th birthday, unveiling an overhaul that devotes more space than any other presidential library to a commander-in-chief's work after the White House.

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Homeless Ga. sex offenders seek new place to live

Georgia probation officers tried to line up temporary housing on Tuesday for nine homeless sex offenders who were kicked out of a makeshift tent city behind a suburban Atlanta office park where state officials had directed them to live.

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Peanuts and a president celebrated in Plains, Ga.

The small southwestern Georgia town of Plains has two famous exports: peanuts and peanut farmer-turned-president Jimmy Carter.

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Ga. residents get crash course in flood insurance

David Bush had a sweeping view of the Chattahoochee River from his backyard. And when he returned to his house Tuesday, the surging river was in his front yard, too.

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Wilson's son disputes Carter's claim of racism

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson's oldest son defended his father against a claim by former President Jimmy Carter that the congressman's outburst during a speech by President Barack Obama was "based on racism."

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Jimmy Carter: Wilson comments 'based on racism'

Former President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday that U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst to President Barack Obama during a speech to Congress last week was an act "based on racism" and rooted in fears of a black president.

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Georgia man convicted of aiding terror groups

A 23-year-old Georgia man was convicted Wednesday of aiding terrorist groups by sending videotapes of U.S. landmarks overseas and plotting to support "violent jihad" after a federal jury rejected his arguments that it was empty talk.

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Ga. governor deals with water battle at home, too

The age-old tension between rural Georgia and its sprawling metropolis may only intensify because of a federal ruling that could keep essential reservoir water from trickling into Atlanta.

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Ga. terrorism defendant to call on family at trial

The trial of a 23-year-old man charged with aiding terror groups abroad is expected to continue in Atlanta as the defendant calls relatives to testify in his defense.

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Jury trial, not judge for 2nd Ga. terror suspect

Choppy homemade videos, a mysterious trek to Bangladesh and ties to a convicted Balkan terrorist are at the center of a federal case against a 23-year-old accused of supporting terrorism.

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Watchers track butterflies for environment signs

The rusty van creaks to a halt and two men jump out, binoculars in hand, heads pivoting. Quickly, questioningly, they call out evocative names: Is that a Pearl Crescent? A Carolina Satyr? A Sleepy Orange? A Swarthy Skipper?

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Georgia courts to allow religious head coverings

Georgia courtrooms will allow religious headgear after last year's arrest of a Muslim woman who refused to remove her headscarf in a west Georgia courthouse.

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Special sessions on budgets costing states big

States are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece on special legislative sessions whose chief purpose, ironically, is to trim more funding from their eroding budgets.

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Reed seeks redemption after political exodus

Ralph Reed was once a powerful force in Republican politics, able to marshal millions of religious conservatives to the polls while leading the Christian Coalition.

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Gingrich: Hard to tell how Sotomayor will vote

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Friday it's difficult to tell what kind of justice U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor would become, calling her testimony this week "dramatically more moderate" than some of her recent remarks.

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Ex-senator says Obama should be glued to his seat

Former U.S. Sen. Zell Miller criticized President Barack Obama's recent travels overseas, telling a group of mostly Republican lawmakers Thursday that the White House Chief of Staff needs to put "Gorilla Glue" on Obama's chair to keep him in the Oval Office.

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Troupe to retake stage after slayings by professor

A community theater group is taking the stage at an Athens, Ga., theater for the first time since a University of Georgia professor gunned down three of its members outside the building.

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