UGA president-elect announced administrative shift

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - University of Georgia President-elect Jere Morehead has announced plans to restructure the school's senior administration.

Philly abortion doctor guilty in 3 babies' deaths

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Philadelphia abortion doctor was found guilty Monday of first-degree murder and could face execution in the deaths of three babies who authorities say were delivered alive and then killed with scissors at his grimy clinic, in a case that became a flashpoint in the nation's debate over abortion.

UN: Eat more insects; good for you, good for world

3 women report sexual assaults in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) - Police in Columbus are investigating after three female patients of a long-term health care facility reported that they were sexually assaulted.

Obama slams IRS targeting, defends Libya effort

Gullah Geechee plan gets Interior Dept. approval

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - A plan to preserve the culture of slave descendants of the sea islands on the Southeast coast has been approved by the Department of the Interior.

Stocks open lower despite rise in retail sales

The stock market opened lower on Monday, pulling back from record highs last week.

Tri-state water feud plays out in Congress

Court dismisses 1,800 when police fail to show up

ATLANTA (AP) - Records show that at least 1,800 criminal cases have been dismissed in a metro Atlanta county court since 2010 because police officers failed to show up in court dispute being subpoenaed to testify.

Huge drug cost disparities seen in health overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) - Cancer patients could face high costs for medications under President Barack Obama's health care law, industry analysts and advocates warn.

OJ to get Vegas court hearing on bid for new trial

LAS VEGAS (AP) - O.J. Simpson will return next week to the Las Vegas courthouse where he was convicted of leading an armed sports memorabilia heist to ask a judge for a new trial on the grounds that his lawyer botched his case.

Surgeon: Stonewall Jackson death likely pneumonia

Baby, teen killed in Ga. street racing crash

CONYERS, Ga. (AP) - Georgia State Patrol officials say two people, including a baby, were killed in an early morning street racing crash.

Calif. woman hit cop to go to jail to quit smoking

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Think you've heard of every way possible to quit smoking? Etta Mae Lopez came up with a new one: slap a cop so you'll go to jail, where smoking isn't allowed.

Man arrested in metro Atlanta bomb hoax

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (AP) - Police have arrested a man accused of calling in a bomb threat at a mall in suburban Atlanta.

Police: Girl, 7, was asked to pepper spray workers

UPPER DARBY, Pa. (AP) - Police say a Philadelphia-area woman returned to a dollar store where she'd been banned and pepper-sprayed employees who tried to escort her out before giving the can to her 7-year-old daughter and asking her to continue the fight.

Ex-children's hospital worker accused of abuse

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - A former employee of Children's Hospital of Georgia is accused of sexual battery involving patients at the Augusta facility.

Obama health law anniversary finds two Americas

WASHINGTON (AP) - Three years, two elections, and one Supreme Court decision after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, its promise of health care for the uninsured may be delayed or undercut in much of the country because of entrenched opposition from many Republican state leaders. In half the states, mainly led by Democrats, officials are racing deadlines to connect uninsured residents to coverage now only months away. In others it's ...

Survey: Low-wage workers missing out on training

WASHINGTON (AP) - As they struggle to get ahead, many low-wage workers are not taking advantage of job training or educational programs that could help them make the leap to better-paying jobs. They are often skeptical about whether such programs are even worth the trouble, a new survey shows.

Universe ages 80M years; Big Bang gets clearer

PARIS (AP) - New results from a look into the split second after the Big Bang indicate the universe is 80 million years older than previously thought but the core concepts of the cosmos - how it began, what it's made of and where it's going - seem to be on the right track. The findings released Thursday bolster a key theory called inflation, which says the universe burst from subatomic size to ...

Ga. jobless rate hits lowest level since early '09

ATLANTA (AP) - State labor officials say Georgia's unemployment rate has dropped 8.6 percent, its lowest level in the past four years.

Judge strikes down section of GA immigration law

ATLANTA (AP) - A federal judge has permanently struck down a section of Georgia's 2011 law targeting illegal immigration that makes it illegal for someone to knowingly harbor or transport an illegal immigrant.

Chairman: Ga. Senate will back $100 lobbying cap

ATLANTA (AP) - The Senate will propose a $100 cap on lobbyist expenditures, not an outright ban, creating a conflict with House lawmakers in the waning days of the General Assembly's annual session, a leading Senate Republican said Wednesday. The Senate Rules Committee will meet Thursday to put forward its version of lobbying restrictions originally written by House Speaker David Ralston, said Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, the committee chairman. Mullis said he hopes the ...

Wal-Mart expands test of mobile checkout program

NEW YORK (AP) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is expanding a test of a new checkout program that allows shoppers to scan items with their smartphones and then pay at self-checkout terminals. The world's largest retailer launched what it calls its "Scan & Go" program late last year in about 70 stores in the Bentonville, Ark., area, where the retailer is based, as well as Atlanta. It is now testing the program in more ...

Senate set to approve huge 2013 spending bill

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate moved toward a vote Wednesday on a huge, bipartisan spending bill aimed at keeping the government running through September and ruling out the chance of a shutdown later this month.

House OKs lower alcohol limits for boat operators

ATLANTA (AP) - Reacting to high-profile deaths on Lake Lanier, the Georgia House of Representatives has approved a proposal to lower the allowable blood-alcohol limits for hunters and anyone driving a water vessel in the state.

Pa. school asks students to cut back on body spray

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania high school wants its students to cut back on the body spray.

US stocks rise ahead of Federal Reserve meeting

U.S. stocks rose strongly Wednesday ahead of a decision by the Federal Reserve about whether to push ahead with aggressive measures to boost the economy.

Ga. House drops guns in bars, churches

ATLANTA (AP) - Guns would not be allowed by default in bars and churches, though they could be carried on college campuses under a bill backed by House lawmakers.

Commander: Contingency plans under way for Syria

WASHINGTON (AP) - The top U.S. military commander in Europe said Tuesday that several NATO countries are working on contingency plans for possible military action to end the two-year civil war in Syria as President Bashar Assad's regime accused U.S.-backed Syrian rebels of using chemical weapons. The Obama administration rejected the Assad claim as a sign of desperation by a besieged government intent on drawing attention from its war atrocities - some 70,000 dead, ...