Former Atlanta Braves star Andruw Jones is a free on bond after being arrested Christmas Day on charges of domestic battery. Police say they were called to Jones' Duluth home early Tuesday morning after receiving a call for a domestic dispute between Jones and his wife. Authorities booked Jones into the Gwinnett County Detention Center and he was later released on a $2,400 bond. Jones was a star center fielder for the Braves and won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1998-07.


Christmas Day brought strong weather across parts of Georgia and unleashed damaging tornadoes in Alabama. Officials at Georgia Power say 5,400 customers lost power statewide. In Alabama, storms knocked down trees, blew the roofs off homes and left many Christmas celebrations in the dark in the Mobile area which was the hardest hit. The weather system is apart of a large storm system that dumped snow and sleet on the nation's midsection.


The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has placed the Dekalb County School board on probation and now parents want the entire board removed. A six month investigation by SACS found board members violated purchasing policies and spent more than $200 million without school board approval. An online petition has been started and already 500 parents have signed on asking Governor Nathan Deal to get rid of everyone on the board.  No word from the governor on the petition. The Dekalb County School district is on probation until December of 2013.


President Barack Obama plans to cut his Christmas holiday short and is expected to be back in Washington Thursday, along with members of Congress. Time is running out to reach a deal on averting the so-called fiscal cliff, that will see tax increases for every American and several domestic programs cuts. Economists say if nothing is done by January 1st the country could fall back into a recession.


The fiscal cliff, bad weather and the Connecticut school shooting is what analysts believe are the reasons why holiday shopping is down this year. Advisors from MasterCard SpendingPulse say this year's sales saw only a 0.7 increase compared to the same time last year. Retailers hope they can make up for lost revenue from today to the end of the year.