Chavez's heir to take over divided Venezuela

UGA student stabbed, in intensive care

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Police in Athens say a University of Georgia student is in intensive care after being stabbed during a dispute with another student.

Groundbreaking improv comic Jonathan Winters dies

Masters imposes stunning penalty on 14-year-old

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - The Masters took a stunning turn for its youngest player ever, and it may cost 14-year-old Guan Tianlang a chance to play on the weekend at Augusta National.

Upper income seniors' Medicare hike

PSY's new single steals attention away from NKorea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korean pop star PSY's first new single since his viral hit "Gangnam Style" is stealing attention from inter-Korean tensions.

Stocks end a four-day advance as energy slides

A weak start on Wall Street; energy stocks slide

Police search for clues in shooting of motorist

ATLANTA (AP) - Police say they're continuing to investigate why a motorist driving a luxury car was gunned down on an interstate outside Atlanta.

Hail, damaging winds, tornadoes possible in Ga.

ATLANTA (AP) - The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for parts of north Georgia including the metro Atlanta area.

Leishman grabs Masters lead, Woods starts strong

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Marc Leishman is the surprising early leader at the Masters.

Ga. child care workers likely to face more checks

2 killed, dozens injured in bus crash near Dallas

Georgia could expand pre-k plan under federal plan

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia and other states could get billions of dollars over the next decade to expand pre-kindergarten programs.

Hail, damaging winds, tornadoes possible in Ga

ATLANTA (AP) - Forecasters say damaging winds will be the main threat as storms move into Georgia on Thursday, but some tornadoes will also be possible.

Atlanta school shooting suspect in custody, wounded student 'alert, conscious'

Authorities: Atlanta school shooting suspect in custody, wounded student 'alert, conscious' .

Lawmaker: Ga. lobbying rules bill will be amended

ATLANTA (AP) - A Republican lawmaker says a proposal to tighten lobbyist rules will be amended to answer concerns it could limit free speech rights.

Sperm whale secretion may spell fortune for UK man

LONDON (AP) - One very smelly sperm whale secretion may soon make one lucky British beachcomber a very happy man.

Dow edges lower, still headed for stellar January

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow drifted lower Thursday, but stayed on track for its best start to the year in more than two decades. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 33 points to 13,877 as of noon EST. The index has gained 6 percent so far this month, putting it in line for its best January performance since 1989, according to data from S&P Dow Jones Indices. The Standard and Poor's 500 ...

Joint Chiefs: Looming cuts would 'hollow' military

WASHINGTON (AP) - The military's top leaders are warning Congress that automatic spending cuts looming in March would force the Pentagon to slash operating budgets, weakening the armed forces and possibly forcing furloughs of 800,000 civilian employees. The Joint Chiefs say in a letter to Congress that the cuts would create a "hollow force" and would require aircraft to be grounded and warships to return to port. The chiefs said the troops on the front ...

Dow edges lower, still headed for stellar January

EW YORK (AP) - The Dow drifted lower Thursday, but stayed on track for its best start to the year in more than two decades.

Ala. child hostage standoff in 2nd day at bunker

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. (AP) - A standoff in rural Alabama went into a second full day Thursday as police surrounded an underground bunker where a retired truck driver was holding a 5-year-old hostage he grabbed off a school bus after shooting the driver dead.

2 dead after storms rake South, take aim at East

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. (AP) - Kandi Cash trudged in rain through the splintered debris of her grandparents' home, hoping to salvage photos and other keepsakes after violent storms raked the Southeast, leaving two people dead before the vast storm front moved on to pummel the East Coast.

Syria and Iran threaten retaliation against Israel

BEIRUT (AP) - Syria and Iran have threatened to retaliate for an Israeli air raid near the capital Damascus.

State forecast for georgia

...Wind advisory in effect until 4 pm est this afternoon for North and central georgia... .Today...Sunny. Highs 45 to 60. .Tonight...Mostly clear. Patchy frost after midnight. Lows 26 to 35. .Friday...Sunny. Highs 39 to 63. .Saturday...Mostly clear. Patchy frost. A slight chance of rain Showers. Lows 22 to 31. Highs 48 to 64. ...

Storms destroy homes, kill two

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. (AP) - A massive storm system raked the Southeast on Wednesday, spawning tornadoes and dangerous winds that overturned cars on a major Georgia interstate and demolished homes and businesses, killing at least two people.

Israel conducts rare airstrike on Syria

BEIRUT (AP) - Israel conducted a rare airstrike on a military target inside Syria near the border with Lebanon, foreign officials and Syrian state TV said Wednesday, amid fears President Bashar Assad's regime could provide powerful weapons to the Islamic militant group Hezbollah.

Stocks edge lower after economy report

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks edged lower after a report that showed the U.S. economy unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, putting the brakes on a January rally that has pushed stocks toward record levels.

Home demolished, cars overturned by storms

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. (AP) - A storm that roared across northwest Georgia has left overturned vehicles on Interstate 75 northwest of Atlanta, and crews were responding to reports of people trapped in storm-damaged residential and commercial buildings, authorities said.

1 confirmed dead in Bartow County, Ga.

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. (AP) - A massive storm system raking the Southeast hammered a Georgia town on Wednesday, overturning cars on an interstate and killing at least one person there, authorities said.