ATLANTA (Reuters) – Defense lawyers mounted a final effort on Monday for Troy Davis, a Georgia man set to be executed on Wednesday for the murder of a police officer even though his supporters say he may be innocent.

The lawyers were due to present their evidence in Atlanta to Georgia’s Board of Pardons and Parole, a five-person panel that will weigh whether to grant or deny clemency or issue a stay of execution of up to 90-days, his supporters said.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) – Alabama’s Jefferson County voted on Friday to proceed with a deal to settle its $3.14 billion sewer bond debt with creditors and avoid what would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

The county Commission voted 4-1 in executive session to accept the main terms of a deal it had previously agreed with creditors, who include JPMorgan Chase & Co.

, Sept 16 (Reuters) – The finance
commissioner for Alabama’s Jefferson County said on Friday he
believed creditors had agreed to terms to settle the county’s
$3.14 billion sewer bond debt, setting up a deal which would
avert the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Commissioner Jimmie Stephens made the comments as the
county’s commission went into executive session to review the
terms of the debt settlement. In the absence of a debt deal,
declaring bankruptcy has been one of the state’s options.

/ATLANTA (Reuters) – Alabama’s Jefferson County will decide on Friday whether to declare bankruptcy over its $3.14 billion bond debt and there are hints the outline of a deal with creditors may be possible.

The county has three times deferred making a decision over whether to accept a settlement from creditors over the sewer system debt, which escalated in the mid-2000s, or declare what would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

ATLANTA (Reuters) – A jobs program in the Southern state of Georgia, cited in President Barack Obama’s plan to fight unemployment, needs big fixes and would not work as a federal initiative, says the official who runs it.

Obama told Congress on Thursday in a major speech on jobs that the state-run Georgia Work$ initiative, along with other measures, would help people unemployed for more than six months and he stressed that Republican leaders in Congress supported it.

ATLANTA (Reuters) – A jobs program in the southern state of Georgia, which could feature in President Barack Obama’s plan to fight unemployment, needs big fixes and would not work as a federal initiative, says the official who runs it.

The Georgia Work$ program to help the long-term unemployed has gained national attention as a possible model because it costs taxpayers relatively little and has been effective.

ATLANTA (Reuters) – Low-fare carrier Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) plans radical changes for AirTran, the company it acquired in May, chief executive Gary Kelly said on Monday.

The Dallas-based airline, the world’s largest in the low-cost sector, said it will also begin flights to and from Atlanta on February 12, 2012, with 15 daily departures and five nonstop flights including one between Atlanta and Dallas’ Love Field.

ATLANTA, Aug 16 (Reuters) – Kuwaiti logistics firm Agility
(AGLT.KW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges it defrauded
the U.S. government over multibillion-dollar supply contracts
during the war in Iraq, a senior company official said.

The case is politically sensitive in Washington and Kuwait
because Agility was one of the largest suppliers to the U.S.
Army in the Middle East during the war in Iraq and is accused
of overcharging over 41 months on $8.5 billion in supply
contracts.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) – Officials from Alabama’s Jefferson County met on Friday to decide whether to file for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history over a $3.14 billion bond debt or pursue a deal with creditors.

If the southern state’s most populous county opts for bankruptcy, it could rattle the $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal bond market. A Chapter Nine filing would surpass the one declared by Orange County, California, in 1994. Since the 2007-2009 recession, fears of such bankruptcies have worried investors.

, Aug 12 (Reuters) – Officials from
Alabama’s Jefferson County met on Friday to decide whether to
file for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history over
a $3.14 billion bond debt or pursue a deal with creditors.

The county’s five commissioners and its attorneys went into
executive session behind closed doors at 9 a.m. local time
(1400 GMT) to consider whether to accept a proposal by
creditors that include JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on
restructuring and reducing the debt.