Boston bomb suspect read jihadist sites

BOSTON (AP) - Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was an ardent reader of jihadist websites and extremist propaganda, U.S. officials said Tuesday, adding another piece to the body of evidence they say suggests the two brothers were motivated by an anti-American, radical version of Islam.

Germany: Bieber's monkey going nowhere

BERLIN (AP) - German customs authorities say Justin Bieber's monkey is going nowhere, despite a request of the animal shelter where it's living that it go to a zoo.

Appeals court lifts stay of execution for Ga. man

ATLANTA (AP) - A federal appeals court that halted the execution of a Georgia man has lifted its stay, clearing the way for a new execution date.

College head to reimburse school for wedding costs

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Officials at a Georgia university say the college president plans to reimburse the school for costs of a state-owned bus that was used to carry guests of a private wedding at his home.

Woman injured in marathon blast faces challenges

BOSTON (AP) - As this shocked city observed a moment of silence, Heather Abbott was following through on a difficult decision - allowing doctors to amputate her left foot, which was mangled in the bombings that shattered the Boston Marathon.

Police probe mail thefts from 48 victims in NE Ga.

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Dozens of northeast Georgia residents say their mail was stolen in a mystery that involves plastic bags full of mail found in the bed of a pickup truck.

UGA unveils redesigned license plate

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - The University of Georgia has revamped its specialty license plate in the hopes of getting even more backers of Bulldog Nation to show their support.

Stocks edge higher as energy stocks rebound

Bombing suspect charged, could face death penalty

BOSTON (AP) - Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was charged in his hospital room Monday with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill, and he could face the death penalty if convicted.

State fire investigators: Church blaze was arson

COCHRAN, Ga. (AP) - State fire investigators say a blaze that destroyed a 50-year-old church in central Georgia over the weekend was arson.

Stocks edge down at the start of big earnings week

Legislature's inaction puts drug effort at risk

ATLANTA (AP) - A new program designed to combat prescription drug abuse in Georgia might run out of money to operate only a few months after it gets under way in June.

Witherspoon ' embarrassed' by arrest; hearing set

ATLANTA (AP) - A court hearing on a disorderly conduct charge is scheduled for actress Reese Witherspoon, who said she's "deeply embarrassed" by what she said to a state trooper during a traffic stop in Atlanta.

The stories of 2 brothers suspected in bombing

Boy Scouts propose to lift gay ban for youth

NEW YORK (AP) - Searching for compromise on a divisive issue, the Boy Scouts of America is proposing to partially lift its long-standing exclusion of gays - allowing them as youth members but continuing to bar them as adult leaders.

Woman fired after tweeting pic of men making sexist jokes

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A female developer was fired after tweeting about a group of men she said were making sexual comments at a computer programming conference, fueling an already vigorous debate about gender equality and culture in Silicon Valley.

Police arrest 2 teens in Ga. baby killing

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) - Police have arrested two teenagers suspected in the shooting death of a baby in a stroller and the wounding of the baby's mother. Brunswick Police Chief Tobe Green said Friday that 17-year-old Demarquis Elkins is charged with first-degree murder as an adult. The 14-year-old is also charged with murder, but he was not identified because he is a juvenile. The chief said police were still investigating the motive and ...

Pa. caretaker charged with drinking old whiskey

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - The live-in caretaker of a western Pennsylvania mansion is facing criminal charges for allegedly drinking more than $100,000 worth of the owner's whiskey.

Ga. Senate passes competing bill on lobbying rules

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia Senate has upped the ante on the House as the two chambers attempt to overhaul lobbying rules at the Capitol.

Soccer players suspended over drinking allegations

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Authorities say 18 players on a high school soccer team in east Georgia have been suspended and removed from the team after they were accused of drinking alcohol while on a school-sponsored trip.

Senate Democrats on track to pass budget

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats controlling the Senate moved on Friday toward approving their first budget in four years, promising another, almost $1 trillion round of tax increases on top of more than $600 billion in higher taxes on the wealthy enacted in January.

Punxsutawney Phil 'indicted' over spring forecast

CINCINNATI (AP) - Famed groundhog Punxsutawney Phil might want to go back into hibernation. Authorities in still-frigid Ohio have issued an "indictment" of the furry rodent, who predicted an early spring when he didn't see his shadow after emerging from his western Pennsylvania lair on Feb. 2. "Punxsutawney Phil did purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the people to believe that spring would come early," Mike Gmoser, the prosecutor in southwestern Ohio's ...

Tolls on Georgia 400 to end before Thanksgiving

ATLANTA (AP) - Transportation officials say the tolls on Georgia 400, a busy commuter route on the north side of Atlanta, will end later this year.

UGA student reports attack by mime

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - A University of Georgia student told police she was attacked by a woman who appeared dressed as a mime.

3 dead, including suspect, in Marine base shooting

QUANTICO, Va. (AP) - A Marine killed a male and female colleague in a shooting at a base in northern Virginia before killing himself, officials said early Friday. Authorities were called to the scene at Marine Corps Base Quantico around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, where they found one Marine dead at a barracks, base commander Col. David W. Maxwell told reporters. Authorities later found a second victim dead, along with the body of the ...

Ex-children's hospital worker accused of abuse

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - A former employee of Children's Hospital of Georgia is accused of sexual battery involving patients at the Augusta facility.

Obama health law anniversary finds two Americas

WASHINGTON (AP) - Three years, two elections, and one Supreme Court decision after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, its promise of health care for the uninsured may be delayed or undercut in much of the country because of entrenched opposition from many Republican state leaders. In half the states, mainly led by Democrats, officials are racing deadlines to connect uninsured residents to coverage now only months away. In others it's ...

Survey: Low-wage workers missing out on training

WASHINGTON (AP) - As they struggle to get ahead, many low-wage workers are not taking advantage of job training or educational programs that could help them make the leap to better-paying jobs. They are often skeptical about whether such programs are even worth the trouble, a new survey shows.

Universe ages 80M years; Big Bang gets clearer

PARIS (AP) - New results from a look into the split second after the Big Bang indicate the universe is 80 million years older than previously thought but the core concepts of the cosmos - how it began, what it's made of and where it's going - seem to be on the right track. The findings released Thursday bolster a key theory called inflation, which says the universe burst from subatomic size to ...

Ga. jobless rate hits lowest level since early '09

ATLANTA (AP) - State labor officials say Georgia's unemployment rate has dropped 8.6 percent, its lowest level in the past four years.