A political action group offered congressman Charlie Norwood 413 signatures Wednesday on petitions asking that Congress devise a firm exit strategy from Iraq that includes a timeline.

A National Disaster Management Training Center at Fort Gordon not only could attract high-tech industry to the Augusta area, but would also protect the fort in the government's next round of base closings and realignments.

Residents anxious to learn whether the Navy will locate a controversial airfield in Burke County will have to wait several more months for environmental studies associated with the project.

Augusta's congressional delegation is mulling changes in federal law to compel the Army Corps of Engineers to finance repairs at New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam.

Richard Carmichael was sleeping soundly when a long, metallic clang jolted him awake just after 4 a.m. Tuesday. The Goodale Landing resident soon joined neighbors roused by the sound, which came from the 1,600-foot bulkhead installed at the condominium complex 18 months ago.

A masked robber with a gun and an accent held up an Aiken convenience store and video poker place Tuesday afternoon.

WASHINGTON -- Send electronic mail to Rep. Johnny Isakson of Marietta or Rep. Sanford Bishop of Albany, and you just might get a personal reply from the congressmen.\r

U.S. Sen. Max Cleland predicted Tuesday that Savannah River Site will be awarded a key plutonium mission, but won't get to build a multibillion-dollar accelerator to produce tritium. "If you asked me, if I were a betting man, I would say the odds favor the plutonium disposition mission," Mr. Cleland said, saying that internal Energy Department documents point to SRS as the cheaper, more suitable site for a proposed "pit disassembly and conversion" plant.

Aiken County schools will operate on a three-hour delay today because of expected sleet and freezing rain, officials said Wednesday.

Despite a plan by Congress five years ago to renovate the aging New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam, some Augusta officials fear the 68-year-old structure may once again be earmarked for demolition.