Ga. police increase enforcement patrols for summer

ATLANTA (AP) - Police in Georgia are rolling out increased enforcement patrols as part of their summer safety campaign.

Tea party groups plan IRS protest in Atlanta

ATLANTA (AP) - Tea party groups are planning a protest at the Georgia Capitol over the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service during the 2010 and 2012 elections.

Athens businessman becomes Republican chairman

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - The new chairman of the Georgia Republican Party says the party won't twiddle its thumbs under his leadership.

Jekyll breaking ground on overdue convention hotel

JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. (AP) - Developers are set to start construction on a new convention hotel for Jekyll Island after long delays that largely resulted from difficulties getting a bank loan for the $41 million project.

Fog blankets much of Georgia in wake of storms

ATLANTA (AP) - Fog blanketed much of Georgia in the wake of storms that washed out roads in the northeast part of the state and led to rising streams and rivers.

Atlanta council considers 20-story Ferris wheel

ATLANTA (AP) - The Atlanta City Council is expected to consider a request to construct a Ferris wheel once used in Paris that would soar 20 stories over downtown Atlanta.

US gas prices up 11 cents over past 2 weeks

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) - The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped 11 cents over the past two weeks.

Ga. man pleads guilty to possession of child porn

ATLANTA (AP) - U.S. Attorney's officials say a 52-year-old man has pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography.

Braves bring Jason Heyward off disabled list

ATLANTA (AP) - Braves right fielder Jason Heyward has been activated from the disabled list and is starting against the Dodgers.

Ga. Republicans gather in Athens for convention

A year after IPO, Facebook aims to be ad colossus

Stocks rise on hopeful signs for the US economy

Handel jumps into crowded US Senate race in Ga.

IRS refuses to turn over documents

30 catalytic converters stolen in past 2 weeks

ATLANTA (AP) - Authorities say more than 30 catalytic converters have been stolen from vehicles during the past two weeks in Atlanta and nearby Decatur.

After 2 days of big gains, stocks turn mixed

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks turned mixed Thursday after two days of triple-digit rallies. Big-name companies reported higher quarterly earnings and the government said that the jobless claims are falling, but impending budget cuts cast a pall. The Dow Jones industrial average was up three points at 14,078 as of 10:06 a.m. That's 86 points away from the all-time high it reached in October 2007, before the financial crisis imploded. The Standard & Poor's ...

Congress set to OK bill renewing anti-violence law

WASHINGTON (AP) - House Republicans appeared resigned Thursday to accepting an ambitious expansion of the Violence Against Women Act that would bring gays, lesbians, immigrants and Native Americans under its protective umbrella.

Cops: Grandma shot self, young grandsons in car

PRESTON, Conn. (AP) - A woman who picked up her two young grandsons from daycare and was supposed to bring them home so the 2-year-old could open his birthday presents instead drove them to a neighboring town and shot and killed the children and herself, state police and family members said.

Stocks surge; Dow on track to high close of year

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks surged for a second day, putting the Dow on track for its highest close of the year. The market rose on more evidence that the U.S. housing market is recovering and signs that shoppers are still spending, at least at discount retailers such as Dollar Tree, which reported a jump in quarterly earnings Wednesday. The gains were broad: Twenty-nine of 30 stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average advanced. ...

Pa. Spyware images sent to Aaron's computers

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Attorneys in a class-action lawsuit say the Atlanta-based furniture rental company, Aaron's Inc., hasn't notified at least 800 customers allegedly targeted by Pennsylvania-made spyware installed on the company's rental computers. In new documents filed Wednesday, the attorneys say that spyware created by North East, Pa.'s DesignerWare was used to send 185,000 emails from computers rented by its customers to Aaron's corporate computers. Attorneys for the rental customers say those emails sometimes ...

Voting rights law gets Supreme Court challenge

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court's conservative justices voiced deep skepticism Wednesday about a section of a landmark civil rights law that has helped millions of Americans exercise their right to vote. In a fast-paced, 70-minute argument, the court's liberals and conservatives engaged in a sometimes tense back and forth over whether there is an ongoing need in 2013 for a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The measure requires states ...

10 students disciplined over marijuana brownies

DACULA, Ga. (AP) - Authorities say 10 students at a high school northeast of Atlanta have been disciplined after school officials say one of them brought marijuana brownies to school and shared them.

Better late than never

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama will meet Friday with the top leaders in the House and Senate to discuss what to do about automatic cuts to the federal budget, White House and congressional leaders said.

Application helps streamline accident reporting

ATLANTA (AP) - The state Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner is recommending Georgians use a new smartphone application to simplify information sharing after a car accident.

Hagel takes helm at Pentagon after bitter fight

WASHINGTON (AP) - Chuck Hagel takes charge at the Defense Department with deep budget cuts looming and Republican opponents still doubtful that he's up to the job. Hagel is expected to be sworn in Wednesday and is likely to address the staff in his first day as defense secretary. The bitter, seven-week fight over his nomination ended Tuesday as a deeply divided Senate voted 58-41 to confirm him. Just four Republicans joined Democrats in ...

Pope says goodbye

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI basked in an emotional sendoff Wednesday from a massive crowd at his final general audience in St. Peter's Square, recalling moments of "joy and light" during his papacy but also times of difficulty when "it seemed like the Lord was sleeping."

Music, movie industry to warn copyright infringers

WASHINGTON (AP) - Internet users who illegally share music, movies or TV shows online may soon get warning notices from their service providers that they are violating copyright law. Ignore the notices, and violators could face an Internet slow-down for 48 hours. Those who claim they're innocent can protest - for a fee. For the first time since a spate of aggressive and unpopular lawsuits almost a decade ago, the music and movie industries ...

Advanced breast cancer edges up in younger women

CHICAGO (AP) - Advanced breast cancer has increased slightly among young women, a 34-year analysis suggests. The disease is still uncommon among women younger than 40, and the small change has experts scratching their heads about possible reasons.

Home Depot leads Dow average higher

NEW YORK (AP) - A jump in home sales and strong earnings from Home Depot helped the Dow claw back more than half of its losses from Monday. Improving consumer confidence also brought back buyers to the market. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 115.96 points, or 0.8 percent, to 13,900.13. The Dow fell 216 points the day before, its biggest drop in three months, on concern that the European debt crisis may ...

Court appears conflicted over DNA sampling issue

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Tuesday struggled with what one of the justices called its most important criminal procedure case in decades, whether to let police take DNA without a warrant from those arrested in hopes of using it to solve old cases.