Latest Georgia news, sports, business and entertainment

FISH KILL-OGEECHEE

Officials issue advisory for Ogeechee River

(Information in the following story is from: WTOC-TV, http://www.wtoctv.com/)

STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) The state Department of Natural Resources has issued a warning about the Ogeechee River in Bulloch and Effingham counties after 10 dead fish were found.

WTOC reports that the Bulloch County Public Safety Division and the Effingham County Emergency Management Agency have both issued fishing and swimming advisories indefinitely. Tim Barrett with DNR said that dead fish are not uncommon this time of year and visitors should not panic.

The state Environmental Protection Division is doing tests to determine what killed the fish. In Effingham County, Auburn University is helping investigate the dead fish.

MILITARY COLLEGE-LAWSUIT

Ga. Military College settles lawsuit over race

(Information in the following story is from: The Macon Telegraph, http://www.macontelegraph.com)

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. (AP) Georgia Military College has settled a federal lawsuit filed by a former groundskeeper who accused the institution of racial discrimination.

The Telegraph of Macon reports that Solomon Mosley will get $150,000 after he and the college's board agreed to dismiss the lawsuit Wednesday. Mosley resigned from the Milledgeville college in 2007 after nearly 10 years there.

Mosley said his supervisor began expressing "animosity" toward black employees and treated Mosley badly. Mosley said he reported the behavior to the college but no action was taken and he was denied a transfer to another department.

Mosley's lawyer did not return calls for comment.

Lauren Kane, a spokeswoman for the state Attorney General, said $20,000 of the settlement will go to Mosley's lawyer. The office represented the college's board of trustees.

COUNTERFEITING PLEA

Ga. attorney gets prison for counterfeiting plea

(Information in the following story is from: Savannah Morning News http://www.savannahnow.com

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) A Savannah attorney is heading to federal prison after pleading guilty to federal counterfeiting charges.

A U.S. District Court judge sentenced 63-year-old Arthur L. Gibson Jr. on Thursday to nine months in prison, plus three years on supervised released. The attorney pleaded guilty in April to charges that he delivered $800 worth of fake federal reserve notes to an undercover agent last summer.

Gibson's defense attorney, Bobby Phillips, says his client acted out of "stupidity and greed" and has been devastated by the criminal case. He says Gibson's actions likely stemmed from excessive use of alcohol.

The Savannah Morning News reports prosecutors wanted Gibson sentenced to at least 14 months in prison, saying investigators suspect he was plotting more serious crimes.

RUBIO-BOOK TOUR

GOP's Rubio plans to sell books in swing states

WASHINGTON (AP) Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is planning a swing-state summer bus tour that will also roll through South Carolina, the early presidential primary battleground.

The bus tour, set for the week of the Fourth of July holiday, is aimed at promoting Rubio's autobiography, "An American Son."

Officially, Rubio's tour is aimed at selling books, but the freshman senator and possible vice presidential pick is set to make multiple stops not just in his home state of Florida but also in North Carolina and Virginia, critical presidential battlegrounds this fall.

On the way, he'll make several appearances in South Carolina, where Republicans hold their first-in-the-South presidential primary.

Rubio has been informally auditioning for the traditional vice presidential role as attack dog, leveling biting criticism at Democratic President Barack Obama.

BODIES FOUND

2 bodies found in northwest Ga. home

DALTON, Ga. (AP) Officials in northwest Georgia are searching for a suspect after two bodies were found at a home.

Authorities found Jessica Neal and Donald Shedd dead shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday. He said one body was found inside the home, and the other was in a small pool house at the residence.

Family members said Neal was 27 and Shedd was about 70. Family members said a 9-year-old girl discovered one of the bodies and alerted neighbors, who called police.

Authorities say it's too early to tell how they were killed, but investigators believe it was likely a double homicide.

Authorities were searching for a suspect late Thursday morning. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been called to assist in the probe.

ROBINS AFB-RETIREMENT

Robins AFB says farewell to retiring top civilian

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. (AP) Airmen and employees at Robins Air Force base in middle Georgia are saying goodbye to the base's top civilian.

Darly Israel retired Thursday after a 36-year government career. He served as executive director of the base's Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, which performs maintenance and repairs on a wide range of Air Force planes.

In that job, Israel worked directly for the base's commanding general, making him the chief civilian at Robins.

Israel began as an engineer working on electronic warfare, counter measures and jamming systems. While he held positions in Washington, Utah and Florida, he spent more than 25 years of his career at the base in middle Georgia.

EDUCATION GRANT-GEORGIA

GSU gets grant to study literacy in deaf children

ATLANTA (AP) Georgia State University researchers have received a $10 million grant to create a research center to help improve reading for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The center, called the National Research and Development Center for Literacy and Deafness, will be the first of its kind in the country and will be part of the institution's College of Education.

The money comes from the National Center for Special Education Research of the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education.

It will fund a team of researchers whose aim will be to better understand the way deaf and hard of hearing students learn. They will also create intervention models that can be replicated in schools nationwide.

SHRIMP SEASON-GEORGIA

Georgia's shrimp season set to open next week

ATLANTA (AP) Shrimping season in Georgia is almost here.

The state's Department of Natural Resources says Georgia's waters are will open for commercial and recreational harvest of food shrimp on May 30 at 6 a.m. Coastal Resources Division biologist Jim Page says the abundance of white shrimp in the most recent coast-wide trawl survey is comparable to historic averages for the month of May.

Commercial harvest of food shrimp with power-drawl trawls is restricted to a period from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Federal waters beyond three miles offshore are open for food shrimp harvest 24 hours a day.