Tornado warning for Walton and Morgan counties+

ATLANTA (AP) - The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for areas of Morgan and Walton counties in north central Georgia.

Deal signs bill incentivizing dual credit classes

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has signed a bill to give high school students an incentive to take dual credit courses and earn college credit.

Boston suspect's father says he's a 'true angel'

Official: 12 bodies recovered after Texas blast

Police go door-to-door in search for Boston bomber

WATERTOWN, Mass. (AP) - State police say officers are going door-to-door, but the Boston Marathon suspect is still on the loose.

UGA stadium concert might lead to more shows

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - University of Georgia President Mike Adams says he had some trepidation about hosting a concert at Sanford Stadium, which he said was a great success.

Republican: Boston raises immigration questions

WASHINGTON (AP) - The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee says the events in Boston make clear the importance of understanding gaps and loopholes in the U.S. immigration system.

IBM tugs Dow lower; S&P 500 up after rough week

Poll: Public pessimism on economy is increasing

Russia's Caucasus: breeding ground for terror

1 of 2 Mass. bomb suspects dead; suburbs shut down

2 teens plead not guilty in Ga. baby slaying

Ga. boy hit by falling tree limb, hospitalized

ATLANTA (AP) - Authorities say an 8-year-old boy has been hospitalized after being hit by a falling tree branch while he was on a school playground in Atlanta.

Rescuers search ruins of Texas fertilizer plant

Attorney: Miss. man denies mailing suspected ricin

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - A Mississippi man charged with mailing letters with suspected ricin to national leaders believed he had uncovered a conspiracy to sell human body parts on the black market, and on Thursday his attorney said he was surprised by his arrest and maintains he is innocent.

Monopoly tokens change! Cat added.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) - Scottie dog has a new nemesis in Monopoly after fans voted in an online contest to add a new cat token to the property trading game, replacing the iron, toy maker Hasbro Inc. announced Wednesday.

Obama urges stopgap budget deal to avoid deep cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) - Eager to buy time and avoid economic pain, President Barack Obama urged Congress on Tuesday to pass targeted short-term spending cuts and higher taxes as a way to put off sweeping, automatic cuts that would slice deeply into military and domestic programs starting March 1.

Despite horror, Ala. child hostage seems OK

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. (AP) - By all accounts, a 5-year-old in Alabama endured an unforgettable horror: Held for a week in a closet-size bunker underground, a captive of a volatile killer, his only comforts a Hot Wheels car and other treats passed to him by officers.

2 Ga. executions scheduled following court ruling

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Georgia officials on Tuesday ordered February execution dates for two inmates, a day after the state Supreme Court upheld a switch to a new drug used in lethal injections.

Stocks rebound on home prices, earnings; Dow up 99

NEW YORK (AP) - The stock market bounced back Tuesday following a surge in U.S. home prices and signs of recovery in Europe's economy. Strong earnings reports also helped power the gains. The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day 99.22 points higher at 13,979.30, erasing a large part of its loss from Monday. The index traded above 14,000 during the day before falling back in the last hour. The Standard & Poor's 500 ...

New PAC stirs GOP rivalries, tea party angst

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans' struggles to redefine their party are intensifying, as tea party insurgents and establishment Republicans vie to control congressional primaries, and GOP leaders try to expand their focus beyond the deficit.

Fulton Co. disputes voter record tampering claims

ATLANTA (AP) - The interim director of the Fulton County elections board has denied allegations that her staff tampered with voter records after the presidential race in November.

Gun background checks drop 10 percent in January

WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of federal background checks for firearms sales declined in the U.S. last month, as retailers continue to run out of guns to sell during a buying spree driven by Washington's new focus on gun control.

Obama seeks to avoid sequester with short-term fix

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is asking Congress for a short-term deficit reduction package of spending cuts and tax revenue that will delay the effective date of steeper automatic cuts now scheduled to kick in on March 1. Obama said the looming cuts would be economically damaging and must be avoided. The president reiterated his insistence on long-term deficit reduction that combines taxes and cuts, a blend that faces stiff resistance from ...

Stocks make U-turn, rising on home prices, Europe

EW YORK (AP) - The stock market jumped Tuesday following a surge in U.S. home prices and signs of strength in Europe's economy. Strong earnings reports also helped power the gains.

Ex-Ga. teacher sentenced to prison on sex charges

ATLANTA (AP) - A former Georgia middle school teacher has been sentenced to prison on charges of having sex with a student.

Small Ala. town: Relief that child hostage is safe

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. (AP) - For six anguished days, people in this small Alabama town asked just one question about the 5-year-old boy being held hostage in an underground bunker by a menacing, unpredictable neighbor: "Is he free yet?"

US sues S&P over pre-crisis mortgage ratings

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. government is accusing the debt rating agency Standard & Poor's of fraud for giving high ratings to risky mortgage bonds that helped bring about the financial crisis.

Board of Regents OK's Morehead as UGA president

ATLANTA (AP) - Just after he was officially hired as the University of Georgia's 22nd president Monday, Jere Morehead announced that a major capital campaign is in the school's future and changes to the university's organizational structure could be on the horizon.

FBI: Officers stormed bunker when child in danger

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. (AP) - Officers stormed an underground bunker in Alabama where a 5-year-old boy had been held hostage for nearly a week, rescuing the child and leaving the boy's abductor dead, officials said Monday. Steve Richardson with the FBI's office in Mobile said at a news conference Monday afternoon that negotiations had deteriorated with 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, a man neighbors described as an isolated loner. Dykes had been seen with a gun, ...