Slight decline in early trading on Wall Street

Ga. amputee runner raising money for bomb victims

ATLANTA (AP) - A Sandy Springs man who is a double-amputee was nearly to the finish line of the Boston Marathon when the bombs went off.

Georgia unemployment rate drops to 8.4 percent

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 8.4 percent in March, the lowest rate since December 2008.

Police: 5 to 15 people killed in Texas explosion

Ga. police Sgt. arrested in McDonalds dispute

CUMMING, Ga. (AP) - A metro Atlanta police sergeant accused of pulling a gun on a customer in a McDonalds drive-thru has been arrested.

Senate blocks expanded gun sale background checks

Stocks fall on signs of slowing global economy

NEW YORK (AP) - As evidence of a slowing global economy grows, investors are showing some caution just one week after U.S. stocks hit an all-time high.

Ricin in Obama letter, odd packages scramble Hill

Feds deny reports Boston suspect is arrested

Lawyer: former Atlanta schools chief is innocent

Guide to the Philadelphia abortion doc murder case

Dr. Kermit Gosnell is on trial for murder in the deaths of a female patient and seven babies allegedly born alive at the abortion clinic he ran. A look at the facts in the case:

Official: Suspect in custody in Boston bombings

BOSTON (AP) - A suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings was taken into custody Wednesday in a breakthrough that came less than 48 hours after the deadly attack, a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation said Wednesday.

Braves LHP Avilan better, hopes to avoid DL

ATLANTA (AP) - Atlanta Braves reliever Luis Avilan is feeling better after being carted off the field the previous night because of severe pain in his left leg.

Deal approved in Muslims' suit against McDonald's

DETROIT (AP) - A judge has finalized a $700,000 settlement between McDonald's and members of Michigan's Muslim community over claims a Detroit-area restaurant falsely advertised food as prepared according to Islamic law.

Officials: 2nd letter to Senate tested for ricin

Jordan files for paternity lawsuit to be dismissed

ATLANTA (AP) - Michael Jordan has asked a Georgia court to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him by a woman who says the NBA hall of famer is the father of her 16-year-old son. Jordan's lawyer John Mayoue said in the document filed Monday in Fulton County Superior Court that the six-time NBA champion is not the father of Pamela Y. Smith's son. Jordan accused her of making false claims against him. The NBA's ...

House, debris over Fla. sinkhole to be removed

SEFFNER, Fla. (AP) - Authorities hope to get a better look at a sinkhole that swallowed a man in his Florida home once demolition crews knock down the remaining walls of the house Monday and begin clearing away the debris. The remainder of the house and its contents will be dragged toward the street so crews can recover items inside and keep debris from falling into the hole, Hillsborough County spokesman Willie Puz said ...

Baby born after parents killed in NYC crash dies

NEW YORK (AP) - A baby delivered after his parents were killed in a Brooklyn hit-and-run accident died early Monday, a community spokesman said.

Cardinals begin pre-conclave meetings amid scandal

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Cardinals from around the world gathered Monday inside the Vatican for their first round of meetings before the conclave to elect the next pope, amid scandals inside and out of the Vatican and the continued reverberations of Benedict XVI's decision to retire. The Vatican said 103 of the 115 electors had arrived, while the other dozen are en route. The dean of the College of Cardinals has said a date ...

Falcons release 3 key players to help salary cap

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) - The Atlanta Falcons started their youth movement Friday by ditching three key players from the most successful era in franchise history.

Taco Bell, Icelandic pies drawn into meat scandal

LONDON (AP) - Taco Bell is the latest restaurant chain to acknowledge that its food has been adulterated with horse meat, yanking a variety of ground beef products from its three British outlets and issuing an apology to its patrons Friday. Meanwhile, in Iceland, a food official said his team had found a beef product from a local producer that contained no meat at all. Chief meat inspector Kjartan Hreinsson said a brand of ...

Bill seeks to protect Ga. youth from concussions

ATLANTA (AP) - Newly approved legislation would require that young athletes in Georgia who show the symptoms of a concussion be pulled from games and reviewed by medical professionals. House lawmakers voted 161-7 on Friday to adopt a bill requiring the changes. It now heads to the state Senate. Republican Rep. Jimmy Pruett of Eastman urged his colleagues to support a compromise plan. A similar bill failed to pass last year amid concerns it ...

Angel Food Ministry defendants enter guilty pleas

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - The founders and leaders of a Georgia-based ministry that sent discounted groceries to needy families across the country have pleaded guilty to federal charges.

Florida man swallowed by sinkhole under bedroom

SEFFNER, Fla. (AP) - A huge sinkhole opened up under a man's bedroom and swallowed him as he screamed for help. He was missing Friday and feared dead. Officials lowered equipment into the sinkhole but didn't see any sign of life. Jeremy Bush, who was at the home near Tampa, said it took him only seconds to get to his brother's room about 11 p.m. Thursday. He jumped into the hole and dirt ...

Obama says he can't 'Jedi mind meld' a budget deal

WASHINGTON (AP) - A combative President Barack Obama blamed Republican lawmakers Friday for failing to stop automatic spending cuts from beginning to kick in late in the day, arguing he can't perform a "Jedi mind meld" to get Republicans to agree on a deal. But he and GOP leaders displayed no appetite for letting the fight shut the government down later this month.

Stocks open lower on Wall Street as cuts loom

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks opened lower on Wall Street Friday, with the Dow pulling back from close to a record, as automatic government spending cuts are about to kick in. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 35 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,019 points as of 10 a.m. EST. The index came within 15 points of its record close of 14,164 Thursday afternoon, before momentum petered out in late trading, leaving the index ...

Obama, congressional leaders meet at White House

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama and congressional leaders are meeting at the White House, with billions of dollars in automatic budget cuts ready to start kicking in. The meeting got under way shortly after 10 a.m. EST. Representing Republicans are House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are the Democratic leaders in the meeting. No breakthrough is expected ...

First lady: Not surprised by reaction to Oscars

CHICAGO (AP) - Michelle Obama says it was "absolutely not surprising" to her that her satellite appearance at the Academy Awards ceremony provoked a national conversation about whether it was appropriate, after some conservative critics accused her of selfishly crashing the event in an attempt to upstage it. She attributed the chatter to a culture shift that has spawned legions of bloggers, tweeters and others who talk about anything and everything all the time. ...

Lake Lanier at highest level in nearly 2 years

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) - With recent rains, Lake Lanier is at its highest level in almost two years.

Retired chimps may cost Emory millions

ATLANTA (AP) - Emory University might have to spend tens of millions of dollars to renovate the home of its research chimpanzees - all for aging chimps it doesn't necessarily need. The National Institutes of Health, Yerkes' only source of chimp-research funding, is phasing out biomedical chimpanzee research - now deemed "largely unnecessary" - and may soon raise standards for the housing of chimps that do remain in research. Only five of the 78 chimps ...