Sunday

baseball: In Game 4 of the World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays, the Phillies won 10-2 to take a 3-1 lead. Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton became the first pitcher in 34 years to homer in the World Series.

RUNNING: At the first Augusta Chronicle Half Marathon, Lawrenceville native Jacob Melnick took the top prize with a time of 1 hour, 16 minutes, 43 seconds. The 23-year-old Medical College of Georgia student won by more than a minute. Nearly 800 people competed.

Monday

Nation: A federal jury found Republican Sen. Ted Stevens guilty on seven counts of lying about thousands of dollars of gifts and home renovations on financial disclosure forms. He is still running to keep the Alaska Senate seat he's held for 40 years. He faces as possible five years in prison, but his sentencing has not been scheduled, and he is appealing.

METRO: Georgia Rep. Ben Harbin, R-Evans, pleaded guilty to reckless driving to end his long-running DUI case, which stemmed from a late-night car crash near the Capitol in Atlanta in May 2007. He was sentenced to 12 months of probation, and he must attend DUI risk and reduction classes and perform 100 hours of community service.

HORSES: More than 400 riders participated in the National Barrel Horse Association sweepstakes competition before Tuesday's championships.

Tuesday

GAS PRICES: Twenty of the 166-plus gas stations under scrutiny for price gouging during Georgia's recent gasoline shortage are in metro Augusta, according to the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs. They were not identified.

RICHMOND COUNTY: The Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority moved forward with plans to hire Atlanta promoter and facility developer Jerry Dickerson as a special consultant to plan a new sports and entertainment facility.

WORLD: Rudy Hermann Guede, an Ivory Coast national, was convicted of murdering Meredith Kercher, a British woman in central Italy, while a judge ruled that an American student, Amanda Knox, of Seattle, and her former Italian boyfriend must stand trial for the same crime, lawyers said.

Wednesday

ECONOMY: The Federal Reserve slashed a key interest rate by half a percentage point as it seeks to revive the economy. The central bank reduced its target for the federal funds rate, the interest banks charge on overnight loans, to 1 percent, a low last seen in 2003-04.

HEALTH: Turning your clock back might be good for your heart. Swedish researchers looked at 20 years of records and discovered that the number of heart attacks dipped on the Monday after clocks were set back an hour at the end of daylight-saving time, possibly because people got an extra hour of sleep.

CRIME: Grovetown police said they think last week's interception of a FedEx delivery box containing almost 20 pounds of marijuana is connected to the previous week's arrest of five men on drug-trafficking charges.

Thursday

ECONOMY: Big banks have formed an unusual alliance with consumer advocates to urge the government to allow huge portions of credit card debt to be forgiven. The new pilot program could involve as many as 50,000 people struggling with credit card debt. On an individual basis, the amount of debt to be forgiven would rise according to the severity of the borrower's financial situation, up to a maximum of 40 percent.

IRAN: Iran recently tested ways of recovering highly enriched uranium from waste reactor fuel in a covert bid to expand its nuclear program, according to an intelligence assessment made available to The Associated Press by a member of the 145-nation International Atomic Energy Agency.

IRAQ: Iraq wants to eliminate any chance U.S. forces will stay after 2011 under a proposed security pact and to expand Iraqi legal jurisdiction over U.S. troops until then, a close ally of the prime minister said.

BAILOUT: Under fire from Democrats and Republicans alike, the White House defended giving billions of bailout dollars to banks that plan to reward shareholders and executives -- or even buy other banks. Allowing banks to engage in such normal business activities could help loosen lending and revive the sagging economy, said Ed Lazear, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Gov. Mark Sanford said he'll let $488 million in state spending cuts go into effect and carve deeply into health care and college spending plans, and he warned that more budget cuts are coming in the months and years ahead.

Friday

ELECTION: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who had abandoned Georgia, is investing in ads as polls show a close race with John McCain. Heavy black turnout among early voters is not only boosting Mr. Obama's chances but also threatening incumbent Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

CRIME: Federal and state authorities descended on an Augusta neighborhood after discovering a meth lab in a woman's home. Marcie Reeves, 30, of the 1900 block of Wylie Drive, and Bridget Marie Cody, 28, of the 4300 block of Seago Road, were arrested in Ms. Reeves' home.

NATION: Gen. David Petraeus, regarded as rescuer of a failing war in Iraq, rose to the helm of Central Command. He pledged to push for more than military solutions to the troubles of the greater Middle East.