Augusta, Chatham County | featured news

HAVANA — When President Barack Obama watches the Tampa Bay Rays play Cuba’s national team Tuesday, it will come at the deepest moment of crisis in more than 50 years for the island’s famed state-run baseball league.
A flood of high-profile defections to the U.S. has gutted the country’s teams. Stadiums and fields are run down, and experts and fans say quality of play is too. The national team hasn’t won a major international tournament in nearly a decade.
“It’s going through a bad period,” said Ismael Sene, a Cuban baseball historian.

HAVANA — Google is opening a cutting-edge online technology center at the studio of one of Cuba’s most famous artists, offering free Internet at speeds nearly 70 times faster than those now available to the Cuban public. President Obama says Google’s efforts in Cuba are part of a wider plan to improve access to the Internet across the island.

BOSTON — Steady snowfall made for a sloppy Monday morning commute across much of New England, but many residents were relieved that the spring storm wasn’t nearly as bad as first forecast.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A Florida jury awarded a total of $25 million in punitive damages Monday in the Hulk Hogan sex tape trial, hitting Gawker Media with a $15 million judgment and its owner, Nick Denton, with $10 million.
It also assessed $100,000 against A.J. Daulerio, the Gawker editor who decided to post the edited sex video and wrote the post that accompanied it.
The punitive damages come on top of a $115 million the jury imposed Friday after two weeks of trial.

CUPERTINO, Calif. — As it struggles to match the success of its big-screen iPhones, Apple is now contending that small can be beautiful, too.
The giant tech company showed off downsized versions of its signature iPhone and iPad Pro tablet on Monday, hoping they’ll appeal to first-time buyers and those who have shied away from the bigger-screen models Apple has sold in recent years.

New fugitives have been added to the Savannah-Chatham CrimeStoppers Most Want List.View the slideshow here.

ATLANTA — The leader of Georgia’s House of Representatives says his chamber will not pass changes to a bill allowing licensed gun holders to have weapons on college campuses.
Republican Gov. Nathan Deal has expressed concerns about that measure, which already has been approved by lawmakers and awaits Deal’s response.
WABE-FM reports that Republican House Speaker David Ralston of Blue Ridge is concerned about gutting the “entire intent” of a previously approved bill by making more changes during the last two days of the 2016 session.

UPDATE: After investigation, police have determined that the man's gunshot wound was self-inflicted.Savannah-Chatham police are investigating a shooting on the 100 block of Scarborough road around 5:30 p.m. Monday, Eunicia Baker, police spokeswoman, said.

HAVANA — Cubans were glued to their televisions on Monday, many watching in a state of shock as President Raul Castro faced tough questions from American journalists who challenged him to defend Cuba’s record on human rights and political prisoners.