Obama's budget to spare Medicaid

Woman jailed in fatal fire granted bond

MACON, Ga. (AP) - A woman charged with murder and child cruelty after three of her four children died in house fire has been granted $75,000 bond.

Laws, rumors have ammo hard to stock

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Gun enthusiasts fearful of new weapon controls and alarmed by rumors of government hoarding are buying bullets practically by the bushel, making it hard for stores nationwide to keep shelves stocked and even putting a pinch on some local law enforcement departments.

Wall street stocks edge higher; Best Buy soars

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks edged higher on Wall Street as investors took advantage of a slump Wednesday to get back into the market.

Jimmy Fallon to take over Leno's spot

NEW YORK (AP) - NBC's recent personnel transition in morning television was a disaster. Executives hope their luck is better late at night, and they have a year to try and make it a smooth handoff from Jay Leno to Jimmy Fallon at the "Tonight" show.

Young women live with men first, marry

Ga. soldier charged with killing wife

Obama to return 5 percent of salary to Treasury

Leno to leave NBC's 'Tonight Show' next spring

Stocks fall after weak reports on hiring, services

Oldest American is 113-year-old Detroit-area woman

INKSTER, Mich. (AP) - The oldest woman in the U.S. is pushing off questions about her longevity to a higher power.

Former Atlanta schools superintendent posts bond

ATLANTA (AP) - Former Atlanta schools superintendent Beverly Hall was released from jail after posting bond.

Tybee to hold first gay and lesbian festival

YBEE ISLAND, Ga. (AP) - Tybee Island is set to hold its first gay and lesbian festival next month.

Lake Lanier reaches full winter pool

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) - Lake Lanier, a main drinking water source and recreation area for metro Atlantans, has reached its winter full pool level.

Immigration bill envisions new farm worker program

Italian election inconclusive; global markets drop

ROME (AP) - Italy emerged from elections Tuesday with no clear winner, driving markets around the world markedly lower as investors worried that one of Europe's biggest economies would be unable to build a governing coalition that can stay the course on unpopular austerity measures.

Kerry pushes trans-Atlantic free trade in Germany

BERLIN (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pushed Tuesday for a free-trade agreement between the United States and Europe, saying it is a priority for President Barack Obama's second term that would help create jobs and growth on both sides of the Atlantic.

More Obama scare tactics

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama and his officials are doing their best to drum up public concern over the shock wave of spending cuts that could strike the government in just days. So it's a good time to be alert for sky-is-falling hype.

Organizers cancel this year's Redneck Games

EAST DUBLIN, Ga. (AP) - Organizers of the Redneck Games, a Georgia festival that includes competitions such as toilet seat horseshoes and mud pit belly flops, say this summer's event is being canceled.

Drop in Taliban attacks incorrect

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S.-led military command in Afghanistan is acknowledging that its report of a decline last year in Taliban attacks was incorrect. Officials say corrected figures will show no decline.

Bork: Nixon offered next high court vacancy in '73

WASHINGTON (AP) - Robert Bork says President Richard Nixon promised him the next Supreme Court vacancy after Bork complied with Nixon's order to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox in 1973.

Senate panel sets gun bill plans but delay likely

WASHINGTON (AP) - The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee announced plans Monday for his panel to start voting later this week on an assault weapons ban and other gun curbs, but that session is widely expected to be delayed a week.

Stocks drop as Italy heads for political disarra

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks had their worst drop in more than three months as the prospect of political paralysis in Italy raised the specter of Europe's debt crisis flaring up again.

Sotomayor criticizes prosecutor for racial remark

WASHINGTON (AP) - Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday publicly criticized a federal prosecutor for what she called "a racially charged remark" during a drug trial.

Ikea withdraws meatballs in Europe, 21 nations hit

STOCKHOLM (AP) - Swedish furniture giant Ikea became entangled in Europe's widening meat scandal Monday, forced to withdraw meatballs from stores across Europe amid suspicions that they contained horse meat. Stores in the U.S. and Canada were not affected, Ikea said. The company reacted after authorities in the Czech Republic said they had detected horse DNA in tests of 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) packs of frozen meatballs that were labeled as beef and pork. The Czech ...

US stopping use of term 'Negro' for census surveys

WASHINGTON (AP) - After more than a century, the Census Bureau is dropping its use of the word "Negro" to describe black Americans in surveys.

Education Department announced $15m for AmeriCorps

WASHINGTON (AP) - Education Secretary Arne Duncan is announcing a $15 million program to send AmeriCorps volunteers into schools to try to reduce the dropout rate.

Stocks little changed; Barnes & Noble, Hertz jump

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks were little changed on Wall Street Monday as investors followed developments in Italy's closely contested elections. The Dow Jones industrial average was up seven points, or 0.01 percent, to 14,011 as of 11:23 a.m. EST, giving up an early gain of 81 points. The Dow is within 153 points of the record high of 14,164 it reached in October 2007. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained two points, ...

Obama urges Congress to 'compromise' on cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says Congress can keep across-the-board cuts from taking effect with "just a little bit of compromise." Speaking to the nation's governors, Obama says the impact of the budget cuts may not be felt immediately. But he says the uncertainty created by the cuts is already having an effect on the economy. The president says Monday that the longer the cuts are in place, the deeper the impact ...

Town tries to scare birds with water tower carcass

SANDERSVILLE, Ga. (AP) - A central Georgia town plans to adorn its water tower with a buzzard carcass -- and it's not an attempt to attract tourists.