Paula Deen's eatery reopens after fire
SAVANNAH, Ga. --- A restaurant owned by well-known Southern chef Paula Deen reopened for lunch Monday after a late-night fire.
Savannah Fire and Emergency Services Capt. Matt Stanley said firefighters responded to a blaze about 11 p.m. Sunday at The Lady & Sons restaurants. No injuries were reported.
Capt. Stanley said the blaze apparently started in a laundry bag full of linens and rags. Investigators believe the rags had oils in them that broke down and generated their own heat, causing a spontaneous combustion.
Firefighters were able to pull the bag from the restaurant, and no water had to be used to douse the blaze.
"I think if we get one round of fried chicken goin' in here you won't smell the smoke at all," one of Ms. Deen's sons, Jamie Deen, said after the fire.
Judge admits to role in Richardson divorce
ATLANTA --- A Paulding County judge who initially said he didn't handle the divorce of Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson has reversed himself, saying Monday he did dissolve the Republican's marriage.
Superior Court Judge James Osborne is a former law partner of Mr. Richardson. Ethics watchdog George Anderson filed a complaint against Judge Osborne with the state Judicial Qualifications Commission arguing that he should have recused himself from Mr. Richardson's divorce proceeding in February.
Questions have surrounded Mr. Richardson's uncontested divorce from his wife, Susan, since Judge Osborne sealed all records in the high-profile case. Sealing divorce files is unusual in Georgia, lawyers said.
In February, Judge Osborne told The Associated Press that he only signed an order sealing the records and didn't handle the actual divorce. He said the case was in the hands of another judge. But on Monday, Judge Osborne said it landed back in his lap after that judge and another recused themselves.
Televangelist settles divorce out of court
ATLANTA --- Televangelist Juanita Bynum and her husband have agreed to settle out of court.
Randy Kessler, attorney for Thomas W. Weeks III, said in a statement released on Monday that Ms. Bynum signed the 14-page settlement agreement. The divorce must still be finalized on the grounds that the marriage is "broken beyond repair" in Gwinnett County Superior Court.
Ms. Bynum filed for divorce in September, not long after the couple had a fight in a parking lot that landed Mr. Weeks in jail on charges that he assaulted Ms. Bynum. He pleaded guilty to assaulting her and is serving three years' probation.
-- Edited from wire reports
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