Deen says she used slur but doesn't tolerate hate

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Celebrity cook Paula Deen says she has used racial slurs in the past but insists she and her brother, who are accused of racial and sexual discrimination in a lawsuit by a former manager of their restaurant, don't tolerate hateful behavior.

Ralston says changes to Ga. forfeiture law needed

Ohio woman allegedly enslaved spent time in jail

HPV vaccine cut infection by half in teen girls

ATLANTA (AP) - Researchers say a vaccine for a sexually spread virus has cut infections in teen girls by half.

FBI hunt for ex-Teamster boss Hoffa's remains ends

Fed says it will continue $85B in bond purchases

Hitchhiking cat 'Mata Hairi' headed home to Oregon

HELENA, Mont. (AP) - A well-traveled cat named "Mata Hairi" will soon be reunited with her owner after spending nearly 10 months traveling thousands of miles with a hitchhiker who rescued her from the rain.

Stocks edge lower as investors wait on Fed

Ga. schools to use career-oriented education model

ATLANTA (AP) - State education officials have announced they've developed courses for a new education model geared toward helping students find potential career paths.

Ga. police dog found dead in handler's car

WOODSTOCK, Ga. (AP) - A Woodstock police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave after a police dog was left in his car and died of a heat stroke.

Indicted DeKalb CEO says he's done nothing wrong

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) - The chief executive officer of one of Georgia's largest counties, who is facing several corruption charges made public Tuesday, says that he's done nothing wrong.

Mixed results for Ga. in teacher training report

Ga. hospital warning of tuberculosis exposure

DULUTH, Ga. (AP) - State health officials and executives of a metro Atlanta hospital say more than 100 patients may have been exposed to tuberculosis.

Medicare: Cost-saving changes coming for diabetics

Miss. woman pleads not guilty in injection death

Organizers cancel this year's Redneck Games

EAST DUBLIN, Ga. (AP) - Organizers of the Redneck Games, a Georgia festival that includes competitions such as toilet seat horseshoes and mud pit belly flops, say this summer's event is being canceled.

Drop in Taliban attacks incorrect

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S.-led military command in Afghanistan is acknowledging that its report of a decline last year in Taliban attacks was incorrect. Officials say corrected figures will show no decline.

Bork: Nixon offered next high court vacancy in '73

WASHINGTON (AP) - Robert Bork says President Richard Nixon promised him the next Supreme Court vacancy after Bork complied with Nixon's order to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox in 1973.

Senate panel sets gun bill plans but delay likely

WASHINGTON (AP) - The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee announced plans Monday for his panel to start voting later this week on an assault weapons ban and other gun curbs, but that session is widely expected to be delayed a week.

Stocks drop as Italy heads for political disarra

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks had their worst drop in more than three months as the prospect of political paralysis in Italy raised the specter of Europe's debt crisis flaring up again.

Sotomayor criticizes prosecutor for racial remark

WASHINGTON (AP) - Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday publicly criticized a federal prosecutor for what she called "a racially charged remark" during a drug trial.

Ikea withdraws meatballs in Europe, 21 nations hit

STOCKHOLM (AP) - Swedish furniture giant Ikea became entangled in Europe's widening meat scandal Monday, forced to withdraw meatballs from stores across Europe amid suspicions that they contained horse meat. Stores in the U.S. and Canada were not affected, Ikea said. The company reacted after authorities in the Czech Republic said they had detected horse DNA in tests of 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) packs of frozen meatballs that were labeled as beef and pork. The Czech ...

US stopping use of term 'Negro' for census surveys

WASHINGTON (AP) - After more than a century, the Census Bureau is dropping its use of the word "Negro" to describe black Americans in surveys.

Education Department announced $15m for AmeriCorps

WASHINGTON (AP) - Education Secretary Arne Duncan is announcing a $15 million program to send AmeriCorps volunteers into schools to try to reduce the dropout rate.

Stocks little changed; Barnes & Noble, Hertz jump

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks were little changed on Wall Street Monday as investors followed developments in Italy's closely contested elections. The Dow Jones industrial average was up seven points, or 0.01 percent, to 14,011 as of 11:23 a.m. EST, giving up an early gain of 81 points. The Dow is within 153 points of the record high of 14,164 it reached in October 2007. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained two points, ...

Obama urges Congress to 'compromise' on cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says Congress can keep across-the-board cuts from taking effect with "just a little bit of compromise." Speaking to the nation's governors, Obama says the impact of the budget cuts may not be felt immediately. But he says the uncertainty created by the cuts is already having an effect on the economy. The president says Monday that the longer the cuts are in place, the deeper the impact ...

Town tries to scare birds with water tower carcass

SANDERSVILLE, Ga. (AP) - A central Georgia town plans to adorn its water tower with a buzzard carcass -- and it's not an attempt to attract tourists.

Heavy rains move into Ga., bringing flood threat

ATLANTA (AP) - Heavy rains moving into Georgia are bringing new concerns about flooding.

Argo' wins best picture, 'Life of Pi' leads with 4 awards on scattered Oscar night

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Just as Oscar host Seth MacFarlane set his sights on a variety of targets with a mixture of hits and misses, the motion picture academy spread the gold around to a varied slate of films. "Argo" won best picture as expected, along with two other prizes. But "Life of Pi" won the most awards with four, including a surprise win for director Ang Lee.

Listen up ladies! Uncle Sam might want you too

WASHINGTON (AP) - Tennnnnn-hut, ladies! The next time Uncle Sam comes calling, he's probably going to want you, too. The Obama administration's recent decision to lift the ban on women in combat has opened the door for a change in the law that currently compels only men between age 18 and 25 to register for a military draft, according to legal experts and military historians. Never before has the country drafted women into military ...