Firefighters describe ordeal as hostages

ATLANTA (AP) - A group of Georgia firefighters say they joked with a gunman in an attempt to lighten the mood during an hours-long hostage ordeal earlier this month.

Georgia trucker charged with Conn. rape

STRATFORD, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut police say they arrested a truck driver from Georgia after DNA tests linked him to a 2011 rape in Stratford.

Both sides hunt support in background check fight

Neighbors recall Boston marathon bombing victim, 8

Plea in crash that killed wife of Braves trainer

ATLANTA (AP) - A former state trooper accused in a crash that killed the wife of an Atlanta Braves trainer has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and reckless driving.

Stock market takes biggest drop this year

Lawyer: Assaulted teen had drawings, name on body

FAA orders no-fly zone over Boston explosion site

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration is warning pilots that it has created a no-fly zone over the site of two explosions at the annual Boston marathon.

2 killed as 2 bombs explode at Boston Marathon

UPDATE: BOSTON (AP) - Two bombs exploded near the finish of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing two people, injuring 22 others and sending authorities rushing to aid wounded spectators, race organizers and police said.

Police point to suicide in Atlanta airport death

ATLANTA (AP) - Atlanta police say a man who was found unresponsive at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport this weekend jumped to his death.

GA minister, Jody Hice, announces bid for Congress

ATLANTA (AP) - Jody Hice, a conservative talk radio host and minister who made headlines when he fought the ACLU over displays of the Ten Commandments in courthouses, says he'll be running for Congress in the 10th District.

Pa. woman cited for calling 911 seeking divorce

GIRARD, Pa. (AP) - Police have cited a 42-year-old Pennsylvania woman for disorderly conduct after she called 911 requesting a divorce and police assistance to make her husband leave.

Tax deadline not much of a deadline for most

WASHINGTON (AP) - Here's a little secret for all you procrastinators on Tax Day: The Internal Revenue Service doesn't like to talk about it, but as long as you don't owe any additional taxes, there is no penalty for filing a few days late.

Police chase shuts down westbound lanes of I-285

ATLANTA (AP) - A police chase briefly shut down the westbound lanes of a freeway that circles Atlanta during the tail end of Monday morning's rush hour.

Georgia high in underwater mortgages

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia is featured prominently in a survey of ZIP codes where mortgage holders owe more on their homes than the homes are now worth.

Obama departs from Ga. after speech in Decatur

MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) - President Barack Obama has left Georgia after visiting an early childhood learning center and giving a speech in the Atlanta area.

Sharp fall in US jobless claims boosts outlook

WASHINGTON (AP) - The outlook for the U.S. job market is brightening after a government report showed a sharp drop in the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits.

Coast Guard: Cruise ship stopped; towline broken

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - A Coast Guard official says a disabled cruise ship is stopped off the coast of Alabama because of a broken towline attached to one of the boats towing the vessel.

Pistorius' girlfriend was a model, law graduate

JOHANNESBURG (AP) - The leggy blonde model tweeted that Valentine's Day should be "a day of love for everyone." Instead Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead in the home of her boyfriend, paralympian superstar Oscar Pistorius, who was charged with her murder. Steenkamp, South African model with a law degree, campaigned against rape and violence against women. Thursday morning, Reeva Steenkamp was to give an inspirational talk at a Johannesburg school. The next day ...

Obama touches down in Georgia, heads to Decatur

MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) - President Barack Obama has arrived in Georgia and is expected to visit an early childhood learning center in the Atlanta area.

Buffett's firm dips into $23B Heinz ketchup dea

NEW YORK (AP) - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is dipping into the ketchup business as part of $23.3 billion deal to buy the Heinz ketchup company.

Democrats to unveil bill to replace budget cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's Democratic allies in the Senate are unveiling legislation to avoid a looming set of sharp, across-the-board spending cuts set to strike the Pentagon and domestic agencies in just two weeks.

Stocks sink after reports of European slowdown

NEW YORK (AP) - Renewed worries about Europe overshadowed an encouraging U.S. jobs report, turning stocks mixed on Thursday.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia University System Chancellor Hank Huckaby says the system is undergoing sever

HOUSTON (AP) - Carnival Cruise Lines has canceled a dozen more planned voyages aboard the Triumph and acknowledged that the crippled ship had been plagued by other mechanical problems in the weeks before it was left powerless in the Gulf of Mexico by an engine-room fire. The company's announcement on Wednesday came as the Triumph was being towed to a port in Mobile, Ala., with more than 4,000 people on board, some of whom ...

Chancellor: Ga. universities must be responsive

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia University System Chancellor Hank Huckaby says the system is undergoing several fundamental changes to its structure to better serve students.

A slump in McDonald's stock drags Dow lower

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow was held back by a slump in McDonald's stock Wednesday, leaving it short of a record. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 35.79 points to close at 13,982.91. The Dow has gained 6.7 percent this year and is just 182 points below the record close of 14,164 it set in October 2007. McDonald's was the biggest decliner in the Dow, losing $1.10 to $94, as investors worried ...

First lady plugs 'Beasts of the Southern Wild'

WASHINGTON (AP) - Michelle Obama on Wednesday gushed over the Oscar-nominated film "Beasts of the Southern Wild," calling it one of the "most powerful and most important" movies in a long time in a ringing endorsement delivered less than two weeks before this month's Academy Awards ceremony.

GOP faults Obama speech for liberalism, hostility

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans said Wednesday that President Barack Obama's State of the Union address was full of well-worn liberal ideas and campaign-style hostility, and did little to ease partisan tensions over major issues.

Gov. Nathan Deal signs Medicaid tax compromise

ATLANTA (AP) - Gov. Nathan Deal has signed into a law his plan to extend a key piece of Medicaid insurance funding without explicitly extending a tax on hospitals.

Pope says he's resigning for the 'good of church

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI told thousands of faithful Wednesday that he was resigning for "the good of the church" - an extraordinary scene of a pope explaining himself to his flock that unfolded in his first appearance since dropping the bombshell announcement.