Tablets in the classroom push learning, teaching

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. (AP) - At Autrey Mill Middle School in suburban Atlanta, students are using electronic tablets instead of paper and pencil to answer questions, take tests and tell their teachers whether they understand their lesson or not.

CDC: Fecal bacteria common in swimming pools

NEW YORK (AP) - Health officials say they found fecal bacteria in more than half of the water samples taken from Atlanta-area public swimming pools last summer.

Powerball jackpot quickly jumps to $550 million

Obama: No special prosecutor to investigate IRS

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama dismissed the idea of a special prosecutor to investigate the Internal Revenue Service Thursday, saying probes by Congress and the Justice Department should be able to figure out who was responsible for improperly targeting tea party groups when they applied for tax-exempt status.

Stocks flip between gains and losses; Cisco climbs

NEW YORK (AP) - Cisco Systems led the Dow Jones industrial average slightly higher Thursday after the technology company reported higher sales. Mixed corporate earnings and economic reports kept the major stock indexes flipping between slight gains and losses.

Georgia's jobless rate drops to 8.2 percent

ATLANTA (AP) - State labor officials say Georgia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has dropped to 8.2 percent in April.

Woman using bare hands to build house with rocks

SILVER CREEK, Ga. (AP) - A woman is using her bare hands to build a house in the woods of north Georgia by stacking large rocks on top of each other, one rock at a time.

Police: Suspect arrested in La. parade shooting

Bibles reinstated in Ga. state park lodges, cabins

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has ordered the Department of Natural Resources to return Bibles that were removed from cabins and lodges at state parks.

Deal signs order addressing Common Core standards

Ga. avoids limit on reservoir use in Senate bill

Stocks keep climbing even as manufacturing softens

Ga. high school yearbook labels student a 'freak'

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. (AP) - School administrators are trying to find out how a photo caption next to a student's photo labeled him a "freak" in a high school yearbook.

Ga. agency orders removal of Bibles at state parks

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia parks officials say they've ordered that Bibles be removed from guest rooms at state lodges and cabins across the state.

TV-over-Internet service hits Atlanta next month

UGA to compare pay of male, female professors

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - The University of Georgia plans to compare the salaries of male and female professors in an attempt to find out whether they're getting equal pay for equal work and accomplishment.

Highway patrol: 'High rate' of speed in Ohio crash

WARREN, Ohio (AP) - Investigators were focused on speed as a key factor in the crash of a sport utility vehicle carrying eight teenagers that smashed into a guardrail and flipped over into a swampy pond, killing five boys and the young woman driving. While citing an unspecified "high rate" of speed, investigators wouldn't speculate on whether alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash about 7 a.m. Sunday on a two-lane road snugged ...

Changes in GA immigration bill draw opposition

ATLANTA (AP) - A Georgia bill that was intended as a simple fix for unintended consequences of a 2011 crackdown on illegal immigration is suddenly drawing opposition. The bill was presented as a solution to complaints from several state agencies that Georgia's 2011 law was creating extra work and delays in processing public benefits. But a House committee added key changes last week. Now the bill would effectively deny driver's licenses to young people ...

Sen. McCain slams release of illegal immigrants

PHOENIX (AP) - Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Friday that some of the more than 2,000 illegal immigrants recently released by the Homeland Security Department because of budget cuts may have been convicted of serious crimes, citing "local sources."

Georgia Capitol Notes

ATLANTA (AP) - HEADLINES: House lawmakers endorsed big changes to Georgia's gun laws this week just ahead of a key internal deadline. Under internal rules, most bills had to be approved by at least one chamber of the General Assembly by Thursday or risk failing for the year. There are some exceptions. House Republicans voted to allow people with a license to carry a firearm to take their weapons into bars, churches and parts ...

Stocks move higher following strong job growth

NEW YORK (AP) - A burst of hiring in February pushed stocks higher on Wall Street.

New TSA policy on knives, bats sparks backlash

WASHINGTON (AP) - Flight attendants, pilots, federal air marshals and even insurance companies are part of a growing backlash to the Transportation Security Administration's new policy allowing passengers to carry small knives and sports equipment like souvenir baseball bats and golf clubs onto planes. The Flight Attendants Union Coalition, representing nearly 90,000 flight attendants, said it is coordinating a nationwide legislative and public education campaign to reverse the policy announced by TSA Administrator John ...

US adds 236K jobs, unemployment falls to 7.7 pct.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A burst of hiring last month added 236,000 U.S. jobs and reduced the unemployment rate to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent in January. The robust gains suggested that the economy can strengthen further despite higher taxes and government spending cuts.

Online fishing guides provide tips to Ga. anglers

SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. (AP) - The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has introduced a new website to help anglers take the guesswork out of finding a place to go fishing.

Chattahoochee whitewater course to open in May

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) - After more than a decade of planning and construction, a man-made whitewater course on the Chattahoochee River will soon open.

Ga. Senate OKs scholarship tax credit changes

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia Senate has approved changes to a tax credit program that provides scholarships for children to attend private schools.

Senate panel casts year's first votes on gun curbs

WASHINGTON (AP) - In Congress' first gun votes since the Newtown, Conn., nightmare, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to toughen federal penalties against illegal firearms purchases, even as senators signaled that a deep partisan divide remained over gun curbs.

Bin Laden spokesman caught in Jordan

WASHINGTON (AP) - Osama bin Laden's spokesman and son-in-law has been captured by the United States, officials said Thursday, in what a senior congressman called a "very significant victory" in the ongoing fight against al-Qaida.

Senate approves new rules for nurse discipline

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia Senate has approved a proposal that would require nurses to report alleged professional violations by their colleagues.

Stocks gain for fifth day on unemployment report

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow pushed further into unchartered territory Thursday, having surpassed its previous all-time high two days ago. The catalyst was a government report on employment that gave succor to stock market bulls. Stocks started higher after the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell by 7,000 last week, driving the four-week average to its lowest in five years. The drop is a positive sign ...