Stocks up as job market improves; stimulus chatter

NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stocks moved higher Thursday after claims for unemployment benefits fell and name-brand companies like Royal Caribbean and Harley-Davidson reported healthy profits.

Police: Boston suspects planned to attack New York

Swedish police find drugs on Bieber tour bus

STOCKHOLM (AP) - Swedish police say they have found drugs on board a tour bus used by Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber.

Dog being evaluated after mauling toddler to death

ATLANTA (AP) - Authorities say they plan to evaluate the health and temperament of a family dog that attacked and killed a toddler in his home south of Atlanta.

Officials: Bomb suspect silent after read rights

Presidents converge to salute one of their own

Georgia signs junior college forward Cameron Forte

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Georgia has signed Cameron Forte, one of the nation's top junior college scorers.

Weak earnings prospects weigh on stocks

White House says it's open to fix on FAA furloughs

WASHINGTON (AP) - Under pressure, the White House signaled Wednesday it might accept legislation eliminating Federal Aviation Administration furloughs blamed for lengthy flight delays for airline passengers, while leaving the rest of $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts in place.

Boston area honors slain MIT officer

Toddler dies in Ga. dog attack

ATLANTA (AP) - Police say a metro Atlanta toddler has been killed in a dog attack.

A risk including gay partners in immigration bill?

ouse bill shifts funds in health care law

Officials: Marathon bombs triggered by remote

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. officials say the Boston Marathon explosions that killed three people and wounded more than 260 were triggered by a remote-controlled detonator.

'Sweet Caroline' sales up after bombings

NEW YORK (AP) - Sales for Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" are up by 597 percent a week after the tune became a source of comfort following the explosions at the Boston Marathon.

House votes to prevent March 27 federal shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans pushed legislation through the House on Wednesday to ease the short-term impact of $85 billion in spending cuts and prevent a government shutdown this month - at the same time previewing a longer-term plan to erase federal deficits without raising taxes. President Barack Obama pursued a different path as the GOP asserted its budget priorities. He arranged to have dinner with several Republican senators in search of bipartisan support for ...

Jeb Bush more open to a future White House bid

WASHINGTON (AP) - Jeb Bush has long resisted pressure from supporters to run for president, but now the former Florida governor is signaling that he's open to the idea.

License plate fees cause change in wildlife money

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Money gleaned from state auto tag fees to fund Georgia wildlife conservation programs are drying up.

Family: Woman denied CPR wanted no intervention

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Relatives of an 87-year-old woman who died after a nurse at her retirement home refused a 911 dispatcher's pleas to perform CPR expressed satisfaction with the care she received, saying her wishes were to die naturally. Meanwhile, the company that owns the facility now says its worker failed to follow proper procedures.

US stocks climb following Dow's record day

NEW YORK (AP) - An encouraging look at the job market helped send the stock market higher Wednesday, a day after the Dow Jones industrial average tore through its previous record high.

Deal struck to make change in state's car tax law

ATLANTA (AP) - State lawmakers have reached agreement on a deal to fix one aspect of Georgia's new car tax law that drew complaints about car leasing.

Dukes of Hazzard reunion could be big draw

BYRON, Ga. (AP) - The upcoming "Dukes of Hazzard" reunion in Byron is beginning to have the makings of a countrified Woodstock. Organizer Chris Jennings said when he first conceived the "Dukes of Hazzard" Georgia Reunion, Classic Car Show and Music Festival, he was hoping for 10,000 people. He said he now believes more than 60,000 will show up for the event that runs Friday through Sunday. He said tickets have been sold in ...

Storm damages homes, whips up wind across Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) - Forecasters are warning of high winds with gusts of up to 40 mph across Georgia, part of a winter storm system that damaged several homes northwest of Atlanta and brought snow and ice to parts of the north Georgia mountains.

Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan leader, dies

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez, the fiery populist who declared a socialist revolution in Venezuela, crusaded against U.S. influence and championed a leftist revival across Latin America, died Tuesday at age 58 after a nearly two-year bout with cancer. Vice President Nicolas Maduro, surrounded by other government officials, announced the death in a national television broadcast. He said Chavez died at 4:25 p.m. local time. During more than 14 years in office, ...

Dow hits record, erasing Great Recession losses

NEW YORK (AP) - The stock market is back. Five and a half years after the start of a frightening drop that erased $11 trillion from stock portfolios and made investors despair of ever getting their money back, the Dow Jones industrial average has regained all the losses suffered during the Great Recession and reached a new high. The blue-chip index rose 125.95 points Tuesday and closed at 14,253.77, topping the previous record of 14,164.53 ...

Military leaders welcome House GOP budget bill

WASHINGTON (AP) - A massive House Republican measure to keep the government operating would ease some of the pain of automatic spending cuts slamming the Defense Department, the nation's senior military leaders told Congress on Tuesday. Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff painted a dire picture of construction projects on hold, limits on aircraft carriers patrolling the waters and even a delay in the expansion of Arlington National Cemetery due to the $43 ...

Dow surges to record ... and keeps going

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow closed at an all-time high Tuesday, beating the previous record it set in October 2007, before the financial crisis and Great Recession. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 14,253.77, up 125.95 points, or 0.89 percent. The index jumped from the opening bell, climbed as much as 158 points early and peaked at 14,286. Twenty seven stocks in the 30-member Dow advanced, with industrial companies leading the gains. ...

Coalition will no longer publish attack figures

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S.-led military command in Afghanistan said Tuesday it will no longer publish figures on Taliban attacks, a week after acknowledging that its report of a 7 percent decline in attacks last year was actually no decline at all. A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, Jamie Graybeal, said Tuesday that its reporting on the number of attacks will grow increasingly inaccurate as Afghan forces move further into ...

Researchers report sharp rise in 'patriot' groups

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - President Barack Obama's administration and the gun control debate after the Connecticut school shooting have led to surging numbers of anti-government "patriot" groups, according to a civil rights group that tracks extremist groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center reported the rising numbers on Tuesday in its annual report on extremist groups. The number of anti-government patriot groups, one category tracked by the center, rose dramatically over the past four years, ...

KaBoom

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia state Senate has passed a resolution to let voters decide whether fireworks sales should be legal in the state.