Atlanta

The St. Louis Cardinals missed their first chance to win the NL Central. Now, they can clinch it on Thursday without even stepping on the diamond.

Houston rookie Bud Norris shut out St. Louis for the second time and the Astros delayed the Cardinals' division championship celebration for at least another day with a 3-0 win on Wednesday night.

The magic number for St. Louis dropped to one when the Cubs lost in Milwaukee before this game ended. But Norris (6-3) pitched six shutout innings and Jose Valverde tossed a scoreless ninth for his 24th save.

"They are one win away from clinching this thing, but we definitely wanted to give them a fight," Norris said. "I think we did."

The Astros ended the fourth and sixth innings with double plays as the Cardinals continued to have problems with Norris. The right-hander won his major league debut in St. Louis on Aug. 2, allowing two hits in seven shutout innings.

Georgia residents returning Wednesday to homes soaked by days of torrential rains were warned of a hidden danger – disease-causing bacteria and jagged debris harbored by stagnant, murky water.

Standing water up to several feet deep was still pooled in some neighborhoods, including parts of Cobb County in the Atlanta area. Anyone venturing into a flooded yard or basement should wear rubber waders and surgical gloves, and items that were submerged should be cleaned with disinfectant, state emergency officials said.

Bacteria in water left behind after flooding can infect open wounds, and the soup could also contain harmful chemicals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

"Clorox is going to be your best friend," state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine said Wednesday.

Flooding at sewage plants in at least four Atlanta-area counties along the Chattahoochee River could add human waste and plant debris to the standing water in some neighborhoods, Oxendine said.

There's no question Boston is Tom Brady's town, but another favorite son is returning for what he hopes will be a successful homecoming.

Former Boston College standout Matt Ryan returns to Foxborough on Sunday as a rising star for the Atlanta Falcons, who will face Brady's New England Patriots.

Ryan, the 2008 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, has enjoyed a strong start for the 2-0 Falcons and is coming off his first career game with three touchdown passes.

Falcons fullback Ovie Mughelli predicted on Wednesday that Ryan's No. 2 jersey "will be everywhere" at Gillette Stadium. Ryan wasn't so certain.

"I'm sure there will be some people from up there who remember the time at BC and were fans of BC, but having said that, they are loyal fans up there, too," Ryan said. "They love their Patriots. I'm not expecting to see too many No. 2 jerseys running around up there."

Some pharmacists are seeing a shortage of the children's version of the flu drug Tamiflu.

Tamiflu is one of two drugs that works against swine flu. It's also used to treat seasonal flu.

Drugmaker Roche said Wednesday that it has been facing increasing demand for Tamiflu since swine flu first appeared in April. The company decided to focus production on adult-strength pills, rather than the children's version.

A company spokeswoman says adult pills are still in good supply, and pharmacies can grind them up into smaller doses for children.

The College Football Hall of Fame, which never managed to attract the number of visitors its organizers hoped for after moving it to South Bend in 1995, is being moved to Atlanta to bring it more exposure, organizers told the city.

The National Football Foundation notified the city of South Bend in a letter Tuesday that it is terminating its agreement with the city when its current lease ends on Dec. 31, 2010.

"We take this action not because of any failure on your part, but because we have an opportunity to take the exposure of the Hall of Fame to an entirely new level," wrote Archie Manning, chairman of the National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame.

South Bend Mayor Stephen Luecke said Wednesday that he met with football foundation officials on Tuesday and they told him that the move would be announced at a news conference Thursday in Atlanta. Officials with the National Football Foundation and the Hall of Fame did not respond to telephone messages Tuesday and Wednesday seeking comment.

Luecke said he was told a group in Atlanta had put together an impressive package, "including some sponsorships that we were never able to develop here in South Bend."

A white man accused of beating a black female Army reservist while yelling racial slurs at her outside a suburban Atlanta restaurant was indicted Wednesday on felony charges.

Troy Dale West Jr., 47, of Poulan, Ga., faces one count each of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and first-degree cruelty to children under the indictment filed in Clayton County Superior Court. He also faces two counts each of battery and disorderly conduct, which are misdemeanors.

West's lawyer, Larry King, declined comment.

Police allege that West screamed racial slurs as he kicked and punched Tashawnea Hill, in the presence of Hill's 7-year-old daughter, on Sept. 9 outside a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Morrow, about 15 miles south of Atlanta.

Police have said West became enraged when Hill told him to be careful after he nearly hit her daughter while opening a door. The cruelty to children charge was included because the daughter witnessed the beating.

More people watched 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta' on Bravo last week....

Between the blogosphere and her mother, "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" newcomer Kandi Burruss can't seem to catch a break from all the criticism sur...

ATLANTA — The city that became a post-civil rights movement emblem of the political power held by African-Americans could have a white mayor for...

UPDATE 8/28/2009: The nation's fourth largest convention center, the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) in Atlanta will be hosting the annual Soul T...

We've come to love and know Lisa Wu Hartwell as the petite powerhouse of  "The Real Housewives of Atlanta"  crew that is as tough as she is...

It always seems as if Kim Zolciak is in the heart and center of most of the drama on Bravo's hit show, "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." Between her i...

 "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Lisa Wu Hartwell and her footballer husband Ed Hartwell has been booted from their multimillion dolloar Ge...