US orders new visa reviews for arriving students

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Homeland Security Department ordered border agents "effective immediately" to verify that every international student who arrives in the U.S. has a valid student visa, according to an internal memorandum obtained Friday by The Associated Press. The new procedure is the government's first security change directly related to the Boston bombings.

Bombing probe takes investigators into Mass. woods

Ga man charged with fondling child in store

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) - A west Georgia man is being held without bond on a child molestation charge after allegedly fondling a 6-year-old girl in a Walmart store.

States fear loss of health care aid

Police warn motorists of 'bumping' carjackings

ATLANTA (AP) - Atlanta police are warning motorists to be on guard for a type of carjacking that occurs after vehicles are bumped in traffic.

Boston Marathon suspect's remains claimed

Stocks surge in early trading after hiring climbs

Deluge of rain could lead to flooding in north Ga.

ATLANTA (AP) - More than two-dozen counties in north Georgia are under a flood watch as storms approach the state.

Police say they didn't release Witherspoon video

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia State Patrol says it did not release the video from a state trooper's dash-camera showing a combative Reese Witherspoon confronting the officer during a traffic stop in Atlanta.

Fresh off victory, NRA holds convention in Houston

Driver killed by falling tree in western Georgia

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) - Georgia State Patrol officials say a driver in Carroll County has been killed by a falling tree.

New documentary examines the lives of porn stars

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ever wonder what makes young, pretty, "good" girls pursue careers in porn?

Official: Shiny dog bowl sparks Calif. house fire

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) - A Northern California couple might be able to blame this one on the dog.

Witherspoon: I lied about pregnancy during arrest

BC-US--Reese Witherspoon Arrest,5th Ld-Writethru/260

Kingston promises 'common sense' in Senate race

Muscogee County school system considers security

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) - One of Georgia's largest school systems is set to discuss a security plan that includes equipping schools with panic buttons.

Man plunges from 10th story of Atlanta condo tower

ATLANTA (AP) - Police are investigating how a man plunged from a 10th-floor balcony of a high-rise building in Atlanta.

No one more surprised than Luke Bryan by ACMs win

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Luke Bryan heard his name called at the end of the Academy of Country Music Awards, accepted the entertainer of the year trophy and then things became a blur. "It was like I was on the tilt-a-whirl," Bryan said. Bryan pulled off a dizzying upset, all right, beating out the night's top winner Miranda Lambert, two-time entertainer of the year Taylor Swift and top male stars and good friends Blake ...

Senators work on deal expanding background checks

WASHINGTON (AP) - Talks between two influential senators have emerged as the most promising route for a bipartisan breakthrough on expanding federal background checks for gun buyers, a pivotal part of President Barack Obama's plan for combating gun violence. One possibility being discussed by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., would involve expanding background checks to gun show sales and firearms transactions online, Senate aides said. Sales between close relatives ...

Burglar steals $6,000 worth of hair from Ga. shop

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Richmond County sheriff's officials say a burglar targeted a beauty shop and made off with more than $6,000 worth of hair and $150 in cash.

Deputies: Ga. man stabbed, unleashed dogs on pig

SPRINGFIELD, Ga. (AP) - A Georgia man unleashed his two pit bulls on a neighbor's pet pig that got loose in a mobile home park, then stabbed the animal 15 to 20 times in front of children and other onlookers, authorities said.

NKorea warns embassies it can't guarantee safety

MOSCOW (AP) - North Korea has warned diplomats in Pyongyang that it can't guarantee the safety of embassies in the event of a conflict and suggested they may want to evacuate their staff, Russia's top diplomat said Friday. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is demanding an explanation from the North Koreans - asking whether the warning is an order to evacuate the North Korean capital or merely a proposal to consider doing so. "This proposal ...

Obama: Calif. attorney general is 'best-looking'

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - President Barack Obama praised California's attorney general for more than her smarts and toughness at a Democratic Party event.

Cherokee County deputy kills homicide suspect

CANTON, Ga. (AP) - A Cherokee County sheriff's deputy shot and killed a man suspected of killing two people in Union County.

Judge wants trial in baby killing before year ends

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) - A Georgia judge says he wants a trial before the year ends for a teenager charged with fatally shooting a baby in the face. Glynn County Superior Court Judge Stephen Kelley told attorneys in the case Friday he expects a 2013 trial for 17-year-old De'Marquise Elkins. The suspect is charged with malice murder in the slaying of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago two weeks ago in the coastal city of Brunswick. Police ...

NY judge makes morning-after pill available to all

NEW YORK (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration must make emergency contraceptives available to girls of all ages within 30 days, a federal judge has ruled, saying the agency's decisions regarding the so-called morning-after pill were "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.

Women's rights unfinished business

NEW YORK (AP) - Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the rights of women represent "the unfinished business of the 21st century" in the U.S. and around the world.

Georgia Department of Education to grade schools

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia Department of Education plans to give parents a detailed look at schools' performance.

Official: Obama proposes cuts to Social Security

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's proposed budget will call for reductions in the growth of Social Security and other benefit programs while still insisting on more taxes from the wealthy in a renewed attempt to strike a broad deficit-cutting deal with Republicans, a senior administration official says. The proposal aims for a compromise on the Fiscal 2014 budget by combining the president's demand for higher taxes with GOP insistence on reductions in ...

US economy adds 88K jobs, rate drops to 7.6 pct.

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. employers added just 88,000 jobs in March, the fewest in nine months and a sharp retreat after a period of strong hiring. The slowdown is a reminder that the job market's path back to full health will be uneven. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate dipped to 7.6 percent from 7.7 percent. While that is the lowest rate in four years, it fell last month only ...