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Sexual predator Stephen Alexander Bell on Monday was ordered returned to prison for violating his probation.

Chatham County Superior Court Judge Louisa Abbot acted after Bell waived a revocation hearing and agreed with probation officer Dwayne Stokes on the May 28 petition.

Bell, 40, is slated to complete the sentence March 14, 2018, the order stated.

Abbot had been scheduled to hear the matter next month.

Stokes listed five violations in support of the revocation action for Bell:

Former Savannah-Chatham police officer Antonio Taharka's statements to investigators following a May slaying will be allowed at trial, a judge has ruled.

At age 33, Clint Murphy of Savannah is a seasoned political operative.

A lucky high school senior will go away from the Wednesday Savannah-Chatham school board meeting in a brand new car.

ATLANTA - Sen. Saxby Chambliss said Monday that he's pleased with the support he saw over the weekend for a proposal to relocate the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Athens.

The way Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch sees things, the 3rd Infantry Division's Special Troops Battalion - and the seven brigades it managed while commanding the Multi-National Division Command in Baghdad for the past 15 months - got the job done.

A woman was killed in an electrical fire that engulfed her mobile home early Monday morning in Garden City.

The driver of a tractor-trailer was pinned for about two hours Monday after the truck overturned on Burnsed Boulevard, near the Interstate 516 off-ramp, in Garden City.

Gov. Sonny Perdue visited Skidaway Island State Park on Monday to launch a statewide initiative designed to give Georgians compelling reasons to move "off the couch."

Already dwarfed by fancy contemporaries, the relatively tiny 62-year-old cottage on Tybee Island's south end is a dead house standing.

Eighty-two Johnson High School seniors are waiting to see who among them will get to bypass college freshman courses to start as sophomores this fall.

Aulmon Giles sees the destructive power of jealousy, money, anger and control issues whenever he clocks in at work.

ATLANTA - If someone saw him walking on the bridge over the Savannah River that June day, they probably didn't know his name.

Well, I received my assessment notice in the mail Saturday, and my property, which was valued at $222,500 in 2007, now has a fair market value of $159,000, according to the Chatham County Board of Assessors. (Of course, since I qualify for Stephens-Day, even this dramatic fluctuation has no real impact on my tax payments.)

The Georgia Ports Authority and the Suez Canal Authority on Monday signed a historic agreement to jointly promote the all-water shipping route between Asia, the Indian Subcontinent and the port of Savannah via the Suez Canal.

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WASHINGTON - Construction spending fell again in April as home building continued a more than two-year-long slide. The weakness was offset somewhat by an increase in nonresidential spending activity, which climbed to a record level.

NEW YORK - Gasoline held steady near an average $3.98 a gallon at the pump Monday as a recent slide in oil futures stalled gas' advance to the $4 mark. Oil prices, meanwhile, rose on concerns about heating oil supplies and after an OPEC official said there's no need for the cartel to pump more oil.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A new state law is allowing South Carolina residents to protect more of their personal property from creditors.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Wachovia Corp. Chief Executive Ken Thompson was pushed out Monday as head of the nation's fourth-largest bank, becoming the latest financial services executive to be ousted amid turmoil in the U.S. housing market.

GENEVA - The airline industry will lose $2.3 billion this year because of hikes in oil prices, the world airlines group said Monday, revising its earlier forecast of a collective industry profit.

Here are some of the tricks that cars already can do.

Most drivers fear, with good reason, a traffic crash with an uninsured or underinsured driver.

Name: Rena Howell

NEW YORK - "The whole month of June is kind of a magic month."

CLARIFICATION

DETROIT - Buckle up, tech-hungry consumers.

ATHENS - Arm in arm, a group of Georgia players walked to right field, stopped and in unison took a bow.

DETROIT - Not so fast Motor City. The Detroit Red Wings' road to the Stanley Cup has another stop to make.

LOCAL

Cheryl Haworth doesn't speak or read Chinese.

MONDAY'S SCORE: Savannah Sand Gnats 2, Columbus Catfish 1

ATLANTA - John Smoltz's return to the mound as a closer didn't go like he wanted. Still, the Atlanta Braves actually managed to win a close game.

Anthony Wallace is following in the footsteps, splashes and tire tracks of his father, Tim Wallace.

ATHENS - David Perno didn't have to look for advice when making a decision on sending Nick Montgomery back to the mound for the ninth inning.

Every Sand Gnats player, it seemed, made a play to be proud of and at least one he would like to have back in Sunday's 7-6 loss to Augusta at Grayson Stadium.

GREENJACKETS 7, SAND GNATS 6

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar rooted for the Celtics during his high school days in New York.

PARIS - The staggering numbers keep piling up for Rafael Nadal, who recorded two victories Sunday to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open.

DOVER, Del. - Kyle Busch revels in his role as NASCAR's villain. He enjoys his role as the top driver so much more.

Florida St. 24, Bucknell 9

LOCAL

Contribute to Vox Populi by calling 652-0370 or e-mailing us at vox@savannahnow.com. Be sure to write Vox Populi in the subject field. Not all responses are used.

Q. I've heard many recommendations to use a pedometer and try to walk 10,000 steps a day. I've been using one for years and usually meet or exceed the target. But most of my steps are at a normal walking pace - just to get wherever I'm going. What I usually don't manage is 30 minutes of exercise a day. The 10,000 steps can't be the same thing as 30 minutes of exercise a day. How do these fit together?

LOS ANGELES - Distraught over the results of cosmetic surgery on her nose, Katherine Chen did what many people do when they're unhappy with a doctor. She consulted a malpractice lawyer and filed a complaint with the Medical Board of California.

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - In a world in which Grand Theft Auto IV can make $500 million in its first week of existence, how can the most innocent game of all survive?

TODAY

In a role reversal of sorts, WJCL/Fox 28 employees have the cameras turned on them for TV Guide network's "Making News: Savannah Style," a 13-episode docu-reality series about the backstage successes and failures of the local dual-news station.

Contribute to Vox Populi by calling 652-0370 or e-mailing us at vox@savannahnow.com. Be sure to write Vox Populi in the subject field. Not all responses are used.