Reward rises for leads on Savannah student slaying

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - A reward of up to $12,500 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of whoever killed Savannah State University student Rebecca Foley.

Stocks edge lower; Pfizer weighs down the Dow

NEW YORK (AP) - Weak earnings from Pfizer and other companies dragged down major market indexes Monday, pulling the Standard & Poor's 500 back from a record high.

US home prices up 9.3 pct., most in nearly 7 years

UGA: Backpacks won't be allowed at graduation

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - The University of Georgia will ban backpacks in the school's football stadium during its commencement ceremony on May 10.

FBI visits home of wife of dead bombing suspect

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) - FBI agents investigating the Boston Marathon bombings have visited the Rhode Island home of Tamerlan Tsarnaev's (TAM'-ehr-luhn tsahr-NEYE'-ehv) in-laws and carried away several bags.

S&P 500 reaches new high, led by tech

VA stops bonuses for disability claims executives

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Veterans Affairs Department is withholding bonuses for senior officials who oversee disability claims, citing a failure to meet performance goals for reducing a sizable backlog in claims processing.

Deal signs bill revising tourism tax break program

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) - Gov. Nathan Deal has signed a bill into law that makes changes to a tax break program aimed at boosting Georgia tourism.

US loans from China at issue in debt-ceiling fight

Atlanta mayor vows enhanced security for road race

ATLANTA (AP) - City leaders and organizers of the upcoming AJC Peachtree Road Race say they will be taking enhanced security measures for the annual race in the wake of the bombings at the Boston marathon.

Brief hearing held in suspicious letters case

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - A Mississippi man charged with making a deadly poison sent to President Barack Obama and others was ordered held without bond until a hearing later this week when prosecutors are expected to describe what evidence they have against him

Pa. abortion doc co-defendant argues case unproven

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A lawyer for the co-defendant of a Philadelphia abortion doctor says prosecutors didn't prove their case against her.

Canada dismemberment trial set for fall 2014

MONTREAL (AP) - The trial of a former porn actor accused of dismembering his Chinese lover and mailing the body parts to Canadian political parties will begin in September 2014.

Georgians make pilgrimage to girl's tombstone

MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) - One by one they came on foot, a steady stream of pilgrims, from shortly after dawn and continuing until the clouds closed in, threatening to send showers washing over the mildew-stained gravestones at Marietta City Cemetery.

Stocks up in early trading as spending rises

NEW YORK (AP) - A pair of encouraging economic reports helped propel the stock market up in early trading on Monday.

Ga. car tax law makes leasing less attractive

ATLANTA (AP) - A new law on Georgia car taxes has made leasing a vehicle a less attractive and more expensive option than buying a car outright.

Stocks advance, pushing Dow toward 14,000

NEW YORK (AP) - Pfizer helped keep the stock market rally alive Tuesday. The drugmaker's stock gained after posting strong earnings, pushing the Dow closer to 14,000.

Ga. island slave descendants fight huge tax hikes

DARIEN, Ga. (AP) - Slave descendants who own island property off the Georgia coast are fighting whopping tax increases that they say threatens one of the last Gullah-Geechee communities in the South.

Scouts' future uncertain if ban on gays is dropped

NEW YORK (AP) - The Boy Scouts of America's proposed move away from its no-gays membership policy has outraged some longtime admirers, gratified many critics and raised intriguing questions about the iconic organization's future. Will the Scouts now be split between troops with gay-friendly policies and those that keep the ban? What will a National Jamboree be like if it brings together these disparate groups with conflicting ideologies? A top official of the Southern ...

Texas woman's execution halted; DA won't appeal

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) - Dallas County prosecutors say they aren't appealing a state judge's decision to halt the scheduled Tuesday evening execution of a Texas woman. She would have been the first woman put to death in the U.S. since 2010. State District Judge Larry Mitchell issued a reprieve for 51-year-old Kimberly McCarthy less than five hours before she could have been taken to the death chamber for the 1997 slaying of a neighbor. Dallas ...

Stocks advance, pushing Dow toward 14,000

NEW YORK (AP) - Drugmaker Pfizer gave the Dow a lift on Tuesday after posting a strong earnings report. That helped push the index closer to 14,000.

Study: leafy greens top food poisoners

NEW YORK (AP) - A big government study has fingered leafy greens like lettuce and spinach as the leading source of food poisoning, a perhaps uncomfortable conclusion for health officials who want us to eat our vegetables.

Former Ga. Gov. Perdue won't run for US Senate

ATLANTA (AP) - Former Gov. Sonny Perdue won't run for the U.S. Senate in 2014. The popular Republican confirmed his intentions in a lengthy statement Tuesday, four days after Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss announced he will not seek a third term. Perdue, who is 66, left the governor's office in 2011 after two terms to return to the private sector. He said in his statement that he's disappointed over the dysfunction in Washington, D.C., but ...

Delta plans outdoor airport decks in Atlanta, NY

ATLANTA (AP) - Delta Air Lines plans to open the airline's first-ever outdoor airport terraces at Delta Sky Clubs in Atlanta and New York.

Senate panel approves Kerry nomination

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday swiftly and unanimously approved President Barack Obama's choice of Sen. John Kerry to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state.

Study says leafy greens top food poisoning source

NEW YORK (AP) - A government study has fingered leafy green vegetables as the leading source of food poisoning illnesses. However, the most food-related deaths were from contaminated chicken and other poultry. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the study Tuesday. It's based on an analysis of food poisoning cases from 1998 through 2008. It's the agency's most comprehensive attempt to identify which foods most often carry germs that make us sick. The ...

Stocks mixed on Wall Street, indexes near highs

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks were mixed on Wall Street, keeping the Standard & Poor's 500 close to its highest in more than seven years, as investors digested the latest round of earnings reports. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 5 points to 13,888 points as of 10:10 a.m. The Standard and Poor's 500 slipped two points to 1,498 points. The Nasdaq composite dropped 20 points to 3,134. Stocks have been taking a ...

Ga. House speaker to propose lobbyist gift ban

ATLANTA (AP) - A leading Republican will formally propose banning lobbyist gifts to Georgia state lawmakers.

Storms to bring wing gusts of up to 50 mph

ATLANTA (AP) - Forecasters say severe storms will blow into Georgia on Wednesday, bringing wind gusts of up to 50 mph to northern parts of the state.

Obama launches push for immigration overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) - Seeking swift action on immigration, President Barack Obama on Tuesday will try to rally public support behind his proposals for giving millions of illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship, as well as making improvements to the legal immigration system and border security. The president will launch his push in a campaign-style event in Las Vegas, a day after a bipartisan group of senators unveiled their own plan for addressing an issue that ...