WRDW-TV News 12 / News for Augusta, Georgia; Aiken, SC; and the CSRA

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Georgia students score well on AP exams
Last Updated: 2:14 PM 02/08/12 - The College Board released its annual report Wednesday showing that Georgia ranks 13th in the country for the percentage of students scoring 3 or higher on the tests.
New Georgia city might be called Ashford
Last Updated: 10:13 AM 02/08/12 - Residents pushing to create a new Georgia city cleared a key hurdle in the Georgia Legislature, but the proposed name of the new community has changed.
Community meeting planned after videotaped beating
Last Updated: 10:11 AM 02/08/12 - Residents in Atlanta's Pittsburgh neighborhood plan a community meeting Wednesday to discuss how to curb violence in the area.
Augusta escaped inmate caught
Last Updated: 5:08 PM 02/08/12 - News 12 has learned an Augusta escaped inmate captured in Bartow County Tuesday night.
Atlanta to reassess its red light camera program
Last Updated: 9:57 AM 02/07/12 - An Atlanta official says the city will reassess its red light camera program after concerns that violations were not mailed to motorists as they are required to be under state law.
AG: Atlanta's 2nd airport could be in Tennessee
Last Updated: 9:56 AM 02/07/12 - Georgia's attorney general says residents should be open to the idea of Chattanooga's airport becoming "Atlanta's second airport."
Obama to host White House Science Fair
Last Updated: 8:27 AM 02/07/12 - The fair celebrates the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math competitions from across the country.
Local soldier places in national contest
Last Updated: 8:11 AM 02/06/12 - A Grovetown man won Honorable Mention in DIRECTV's Ultimate Displaced Fan Contest. He is the ultimate Dallas Cowboys fan.
Three local high school boys become Eagle Scouts
Last Updated: 8:10 AM 02/06/12 - On Saturday night three boys achieved the highest rank attainable in the scouts. They became Eagles.
Georgia ranks top ten for domestic violence related deaths
Last Updated: 7:48 PM 02/05/12 - Last year, the Richmond County Sheriff's Office alone had 3,000 reported cases of domestic violence.
Cause of fire at Clearwater Finishing Plant may never be determined
Last Updated: 3:51 PM 02/04/12 - The fire is still smoldering. Investigators say they may never know how the fire started.
Ga. judge rejects attempt to keep Obama off ballot
Last Updated: 6:19 PM 02/03/12 - Obama's local attorney Michael Jablonski did not attend a hearing last week in Atlanta.
Kidnappers free 2 Americans, Egyptian guide
Last Updated: 4:30 PM 02/03/12 - The three were seized Friday from a minivan that was returning them from the monastery to the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Cop impersonator steals money after cuffing driver
Last Updated: 4:24 PM 02/03/12 - Investigators say the suspect asked the man several questions before pulling out the handcuffs. After the suspect left, the victim was able to get to his cellphone and call for help.
SC tourism targets SEC, ACC fans
Last Updated: 4:21 PM 02/03/12 - Agency director Duane Prosser doesn't know if other states are targeting fans but he thinks the South Carolina program was a success.
Clemson plans 1,400 student apartment complex
Last Updated: 4:20 PM 02/03/12 - Tri-County Technical College President Ronnie Booth says the apartment village will help his students make the transition to the university-setting.
Groups sue over Savannah River deepening project
Last Updated: 4:17 PM 02/03/12 - The lawsuit alleges the project needs a South Carolina Pollution Control Act permit for putting the dredge spoils on land. It also says that some of the dredged material will be silt containing cadmium.
Komen drops plan to cut Planned Parenthood grants
Last Updated: 4:16 PM 02/03/12 - Komen hired Karen Handel last year as vice president for public policy after she lost a campaign for governor in Georgia, where Handel stressed her anti-abortion views and often denounced Planned Parenthood.
Ga. House approves revised $18.6B budget
Last Updated: 6:35 PM 02/03/12 - The proposal includes $300 million in spending for the Northwest Corridor, a toll highway project meant to relieve traffic in northwest Atlanta.
Rabid 900-pound cow attacks Georgia farmer
Last Updated: 4:13 PM 02/03/12 - His Jackson County farm, about 60 miles northeast of Atlanta, is not far from the spot where a rabid bobcat was recently discovered.
Elvis impersonator wins $200K in Ga. Lottery
Last Updated: 4:08 PM 02/03/12 - Osenbaugh has been an Elvis impersonator since the 1970s and has traveled around the country donning the late music icon's jumpsuits.
Michael Foods widens egg recall
Last Updated: 12:08 PM 02/03/12 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says the eggs were produced at Michael Foods' plant in Wakefield, Neb., and were bought by food distributors and manufacturers.
Suicidal man closes major Charleston bridge
Last Updated: 7:03 PM 02/02/12 - Police eventually were able to take the man into custody around 5 p.m. His name or condition were not immediately released.
Susan G. Komen halting breast screening funds to Planned Parenthood
Last Updated: 5:53 PM 02/02/12 - Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the renowned breast-cancer charity, is facing an escalating backlash over its decision to halt breast-screening grants to Planned Parenthood.
New Army Reserve Center to be put in Orangeburg
Last Updated: 12:42 PM 02/02/12 - Program Manager Dale Polston says the site will have a training building, maintenance shop, storage building and parking area.
Student accused of throwing explosive devices on USC campus
Last Updated: 12:40 PM 02/02/12 - A senior at the University of South Carolina has been arrested and accused of throwing seven explosive devices at buildings on campus and in downtown Columbia.
Charleston sheriff admits to slapping suspect after chase
Last Updated: 12:39 PM 02/02/12 - Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon says he slapped a handcuffed suspect after he was stopped following a 25-mile police chase.
Rapper K'Naan upset Mitt Romney used his song
Last Updated: 8:37 PM 02/01/12 - The Somali-born, Canadian-based rapper says he would happily grant President Barack Obama's campaign the use of the song.
HIV-positive man who sued Atlanta gets new hearing
Last Updated: 8:27 PM 02/01/12 - At the hearing, attorneys said the city has no blanket policy against hiring officers with HIV and that several were on the force.
Romney supports automatic hikes in minimum wage
Last Updated: 3:50 PM 02/01/12 - Congress first enacted federal minimum wage legislation in 1938 and has raised it sporadically since.
11th victim found days after deadly crash on I-75
Last Updated: 3:45 PM 02/01/12 - Fog and smoke reduced visibility along the stretch of highway south of Gainesville, causing authorities to close I-75 for more than three hours early Sunday.
Bill to undo dredging permit headed to Gov. Haley
Last Updated: 3:44 PM 02/01/12 - A final vote in the Senate Wednesday sent the measure to the desk of Gov. Nikki Haley, who has drawn fire for asking her board chairman to hear Georgia's appeal.
SC Police: Man held 5-year-old over aggressive dog
Last Updated: 3:42 PM 02/01/12 - Witnesses say Chavis became angry with the boy Sunday evening after dirt was kicked on his car. Police say the man picked the boy up, holding him near a chained, aggressive pit bull.
Judge stays Ga. inmate's scheduled execution
Last Updated: 7:31 PM 01/31/12 - Friends and family of the victims said they were devastated by developments. Kellie Young, Chrissie's older sister, said state attorneys contacted her late Tuesday with news that Tate was going to file an appeal.
Carnival says its bookings are down in wake of Italian accident
Last Updated: 5:29 PM 01/31/12 - Carnival isn't revealing just how much of a decline it has seen. But it says in the 12 days after the Concordia accident, bookings were down by a percentage "in the mid-teens" from last year.
Bill would bar illegal immigrants from colleges
Last Updated: 5:24 PM 01/31/12 - The legislation would bar illegal immigrants from all 35 of Georgia's state colleges and universities, as well as the state's 25 technical schools.
Senate OKs ending ban on silencers in hunting
Last Updated: 5:23 PM 01/31/12 - Silencers are legal to possess and use for lawful purposes in most states, but require a federal permit from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Judge: No bond for jailed Brunswick commissioner
Last Updated: 5:14 PM 01/31/12 - Brooks' attorney, Alan Tucker, told the judge that even former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich got a bond. Blagojevich was convicted of multiple corruption counts in 2011.
Judge won't lower bond for mom of missing SC boy
Last Updated: 5:11 PM 01/31/12 - Her attorney said Tuesday he was shocked at the judge's decision. Hemphill Pride II says his client would have a lower bond if authorities were not still looking for her son.
Vandals hit substation causing SC power outage
Last Updated: 5:08 PM 01/31/12 - Executive vice president and CEO Pay Howle says he doesn't want to release any information that could jeopardize the investigation.
SC coroner: Man, woman, shot and killed each other
Last Updated: 5:06 PM 01/31/12 - Holcombe says there was a witness in the home who described what happened.
Fla. highway patrol defends reopening I-75 after 10 people died in pileups
Last Updated: 6:01 PM 01/30/12 - About midnight, the highway patrol closed Interstate 75 near Gainesville because of low visibility but reopened it about 3:30 a.m. Pileups began about 15 minutes later.
FAMU: Police investigate another suspected hazing
Last Updated: 5:38 PM 01/30/12 - Tallahassee authorities acknowledged the new hazing case last week but said they couldn't provide details.
Pardons board denies clemency for Ga. inmate
Last Updated: 5:36 PM 01/30/12 - Authorities say Tate and his two brothers broke into Chrissie Williams' home and killed the woman and her daughter. The two other men are serving life sentences.
$1,800 puppy returned to pet store after theft
Last Updated: 5:34 PM 01/30/12 - Authorities say employees had allowed a man to hold the 2-pound Maltese puppy on Jan. 22 after he said he planned to buy a dog as a gift. He then dashed out of the store and into a waiting car.
Study: Atlanta transit hub could boost Ga. economy
Last Updated: 5:32 PM 01/30/12 - The city and state have researched the potential for a transit hub at a downtown area known as the gulch near CNN Center.
100-pound cast iron bell stolen from Ga. church
Last Updated: 5:31 PM 01/30/12 - Church Trustee Wayne Stancel is asking the thief to return the bell, and the congregation will act like the crime never occurred.
State makes change to Interstate 85 toll lanes
Last Updated: 5:27 PM 01/30/12 - Georgia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Teri Pope tells WSB-TV the new access point will begin just south of the Georgia 120 bridge over I-85.
Myrtle Beach driest part of the state in 2011
Last Updated: 5:23 PM 01/30/12 - The dry weather is not a recent phenomenon. The past five years have been dry with cumulative totals in the area almost 56 inches below average.
Lawsuit says SC deputies broke man's neck
Last Updated: 5:21 PM 01/30/12 - Authorities say Ballard was arrested on Hilton Head Island after an altercation with another man. The suit alleges Ballard was restrained on the ground when a deputy kneeled on the base of his skull.