The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • A1

SUNNY High: 57 Low: 42 0 chance of rain The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday: Sunny, 5938 Saturday: Cloudy, 5840 Sunday: Showers, 5 1 43 Details on the back of Metro Credible. Compelling. Complete. I TODAY'S AJCEPAPER LIVING, Dl DEKALB GOVERNMENT Court overturns Ellis conviction Ex-CEO has been tried twice on corruption charges; DA to decide whether to prosecute him a 3rd time. sonable doubt," wrote Justice Harold Melton.

"We must nevertheless reverse Ellis' convictions based on certain evidentiary errors that occurred at his trial." Ellis was the highest-profile DeKalb official convicted in a series of government corruption scandals that plagued the county. Others include former Ellis continued on A10 could have helped clear Ellis. Ellis, 59, already served an eight-month prison sentence and was released in March. He remains suspended from the office he was twice elected to, and the charges against him are still pending. "We find that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find Ellis guilty beyond a rea- ing that he was denied a fair trial.

The Georgia Supreme Court's unanimous decision erases a jury's conclusion in July 2015 that Ellis was guilty of attempted extortion and perjury. The court found that the judge in the case shouldn't have prohibited testimony that ByMarkNiesse mark.niesseajc.com The state's highest court delivered a stunning blow Wednesday to DeKalb County prosecutors when it threw out the conviction of CEO Burrell Ellis, rul Former DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis, 59, already served an eight-month prison sentence and was released in March. SEVERE WEATHER TENNESSEE WILDFIRES Fires loll 7, leave trail of destruction Deadly tornado, thunderstorms blow through the South Rains help tamp down flames around popular tourist towns in state. By Craig Schneider cschneiderajc.com PIGEON FORGE, dousing rain helped tamp down the wildfires in and around Gatlinburg on Wednesday, but the flames had already claimed much from the popular tourist town: The death toll and the damage continued to rise throughout the day as emergency crews pressed deeper into the mountainous woodlands to search for the injured and the dead. The discovery of three more bodies Wednesday raised the death toll to seven.

About 700 structures were reported damaged or destroyed in Gatlinburg and surrounding Sevier County. Yolanda Thompson walked into the breakfast area of the Hampton Inn on Wednesday, looking exhausted and disheveled. "It's gone. It's gone," she said of her Gatlinburg home, which burned during Monday evening's firestorm. Hurricane-force winds were clocked at nearly 90 mph, Red Cross officials and volunteers confer Wednesday in Pigeon Forge, a town popular with tourists.

Despite a smoky haze in the air, visitors were checking out the town's Sights. KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL A destroyed mobile home rests in a neighbor's yard after a suspected tornado hit Rosalie, Alabama, Wednesday. Jackson County Chief Deputy Rocky Harnen said three people in the mobile home were killed. Another person was critically injured. Article, A6 dan henry CHATTANOOGA TIMES FREE PRESS Martha Jane Jones, 88, stands outside her home off Northside Parkway where a tree el I after severe thunderstorms passed through Atlanta on Wednesday.

Article, A10 branden camp special spreading the fire dramatically. "We are one of many, many who lost their homes." The wind-driven fire drove residents like Thompson from their homes with little more than the Wildfires continued on A8 ETHICS WATCH State lawmakers assail judicial watchdog Commission has lost credibility report says, but reforms promised. By Rhonda Cook rcookajc.com A House study committee on cial Study Committee on Judicial Qualifications Commission Reform. The report included four recommendations for tweaking the new law that will govern the commission startingjan. 1: allow members to remove a fellow Commission continued on A6 Wednesday excoriated in writing a state judicial watchdog agency that will be abolished and refashioned in a few weeks.

But the chairman of the House Special Study Committee on Judicial Qualifications Reform promised changes will be made next year to make the new Judicial Qualifications Commission "vital and important" again and no longer an "embarrassment." "Recent acts by certain members of the JQC have caused the JQC to substantially lose its credibility and capacity to perform its work," according to a very pointed 10-page report by the House Spe TRUMP TRANSITION METRO, Bl 105-year-old Scout cites path to long life Tweets spark apparent finances confusion AIR TRAVEL Delta starts 1st Cuba trips in 55 years Daily Atlanta routes begin today with goal of improving relations. By Kelly Yamanouchi kyamanouchiajc.com Delta Air Lines is about to launch its first scheduled flights to Cuba since 1961, renewing a connection that captures the imagination of some travelers and could grow relations between the two countries. "You've been staring at a door that's been closed for 55 years, and now it's open," said Eric Goldmann, a frequent flier who booked a seat on the inaugural flight. People will want "to walk through that." Atlanta-based Delta starting today launches daily flights from Atlanta, Miami and New York to Havana though in the wake of Cuban leader Fidel Castro's death, the inaugural flights will be accompanied by less fanfare than originally planned. "Out of respect for the people of Cuba during their period Flights continued on A10 mm Government: Only divestiture by Trump will end conflict questions.

Bill Torpy heads to Peachtree City to attend the birthday party of Lamar Wallace, America's oldest living Eagle Scout. Michael D. Shear and Eric Lipton 2016The NewYorkTimes INDEX Business Classifieds Comics Crossword Al 1 Lottery A2 D6 Obituaries B3 D8 Opinion A13 D3 Scoreboard C5 WASHINGTON The Office of Government Ethics on Wednesday informed lawyers for President-elect Donald Trump that only a divestiture of his financial stake in his sprawling real-estate business will resolve ethical concerns about conflicts of interest as he assumes the office of the presidency. The revelation from the normally secretive federal agency came in a bizarre series of oddly informal postings on its Twitter account after officials apparently concluded, erroneously, that Trump had committed on his own Twitter account to divesting his assets. Trump continued on A4 Volume 68, Number 336 Former Georgia Gov.

Sonny Perdue talks with reporters after meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower on Wednesday in 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 INCW TUI K. bVAIN VUOUAH Perdue discusses 'skill set' with Trump, A4.