Georgia
Fierce storm hits, causing damage
ATLANTA — A severe storm ripped through downtown Atlanta on Friday night, injuring several people and damaging skyscrapers, hotels and two major sports arenas that were filled with thousands of pro and college basketball fans.
National Weather Service officials were unsure if a tornado had touched down, but wind was clocked at up to 60 mph as the storm moved through the city.
On its Web site, CNN said its headquarters sustained ceiling damage, allowing water to pour into the atrium, as well as shattered windows in the CNN.com newsroom and the company's library.
A firefighter outside the skyscraper said three people in the vicinity had been transported to hospitals, including a child with head injuries. He said none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.
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At the Georgia Dome, where Mississippi State was playing the University of Alabama in a Southeastern Conference Tournament basketball game, catwalks swayed and insulation fell from the roof, sending fans fleeing toward the exits and the teams to their locker rooms.
There was also damage at nearby Philips Arena, where the NBA's Atlanta Hawks were playing the Los Angeles Clippers.
Michigan
GM recalls models over potential fires
DETROIT — General Motors Corp. is recalling 207,542 Buick Regal and Pontiac Grand Prix sedans over a risk they could catch fire, and warned their owners not to park the cars in garages until they are fixed.
The automaker said Friday it is recalling the 1997-2003 Buick Regal GS and Grand Prix GTP models with 3.8-liter supercharged V-6 engines.
During hard braking, drops of oil can leak from the engine onto the exhaust manifold, and fires can start if the oil gets hot enough, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its Web site.
GM spokeswoman Carolyn Markey said the problem has caused 267 vehicle fires and six injuries, five of them minor and one moderate. It also has caused 17 fires in structures, GM said.
Texas
Major wildfires erupt across state
FORT WORTH — Firefighters battled major wildfires on a hot and windy Friday in just about every corner of the parched state, trying to prevent flames from advancing on hundreds of buildings and two dozen oil and gas structures.
No injuries were immediately reported as blazes had destroyed more than 8 square miles by early evening. The flames had destroyed at least one home.
In western Texas, a King County fire apparently sparked by a vehicle fire had consumed more than 1,000 acres and threatened 230 structures.
A fire in Callahan County near the small town of Clyde spread to 600 acres but was 75 percent contained. In Taylor County near Abilene, a 100-acre fire threatened a few homes and two dozen oil and gas structures.
In central Texas, four fires in Hays County south of San Marcos consumed about 500 acres and forced the evacuation of about 40 homes, where at least one home was reportedly destroyed.
New York
Use of call girl's photos decried
NEW YORK — The lawyer for the call girl linked to the downfall of Gov. Eliot Spitzer lashed out at the media on Friday for thrusting the 22-year-old woman into the "public glare" without her consent and publishing revealing photos.
Since her identity was disclosed, newspapers and Web sites have splashed photos of Ashley Alexandra Dupre in suggestive poses on front and inside pages. Dupre was known as "Kristen" in court documents accusing Spitzer of paying thousands for prostitutes' services.
Her attorney, Don D. Buchwald, said she did not consent to the use of her photos in this manner, and the usage may be a violation of federal copyright laws. He said the photos have appeared on commercial Web sites without her consent.
Florida
3 students charged in mass-murder plot
DELAND — Three middle school students were charged Friday with plotting to kill their classmates and themselves, police said.
Two boys and a girl, all 13, were taken into custody shortly after the plan was discovered on March 5. Their mental health was evaluated before they were transferred Friday to a juvenile detention center, said Volusia County sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson.
Investigators said in a news release that the ringleader had exchanged instant messages with a DeLand Middle School classmate, saying, "I will kill every person I see. … Everyone will pay for what they did to me."
The student, who said he was being picked on by others, threatened to lock the cafeteria doors during lunch and shoot everyone in sight, a sheriff's office news release said.
Nevada
Man in ricin scare is conscious again
LAS VEGAS — A man who may have been exposed to toxic ricin in his motel room a month ago has regained consciousness and was being questioned by investigators, authorities said Friday.
Roger Bergendorff, 57, remained in critical condition in a hospital, where he has been hospitalized and unable to speak since Feb. 14. Several vials of ricin powder were found in his room two weeks later after a friend went there to remove Bergendorff's belongings.
Investigators were speaking with Bergendorff for the first time Friday, said Special Agent David Staretz, an FBI spokes-man. Neither he nor Las Vegas police would provide more information.
Authorities hope Bergendorff can provide information about the discovery of the deadly powder, along with castor beans from which it is derived, at an extended-stay motel where he had been living several blocks from the Las Vegas Strip.
Officials have said they've found no contamination anywhere, and no link to terrorism in the discovery of the exotic toxin.
