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

Dow Jones industrial average trades at a new high

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow has never been higher. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped nearly 100 points early Tuesday, reaching an all-time high, powered by China's strong economic growth targets and a jump in European retail sales. Shortly after the opening bell the Dow was trading at 14,222. It's on track to close above its record of 14,164 reached on Oct. 9, 2007. It's up 7.8 percent for the year. The Standard & ...

ATL school system considers ending cell phone ban

ATLANTA (AP) - Atlanta public schools officials are considering ending a cell phone ban for younger students so they would be able to contact their parents in case of an emergency.

Playboy magazine launches Hebrew language edition

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israelis can now read Playboy 'for the articles' as a Hebrew language edition came to the holy land Tuesday.

US home prices rose by most in nearly 7 years

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. home prices jumped in January, a sign the housing market is gaining momentum as it nears the spring selling season. Home prices rose 9.7 percent in January from a year ago, according to data released Tuesday by CoreLogic. That's up from an 8.3 percent increase in December and the biggest annual gain since April 2006. Prices rose in all states except Delaware and Illinois. And prices increased in 92 of ...

Ex-DEA heads: Feds should nullify state pot laws

CHICAGO (AP) - Eight former Drug Enforcement Administration chiefs say the federal government needs to act now or it might lose the chance to nullify Colorado and Washington's laws legalizing recreational marijuana use. The onetime DEA heads plan to issue joint statements Tuesday saying the Obama administration has reacted too slowly and should immediately sue to force the states to rescind the legislation. The Associated Press received an advance copy of the statement Monday. ...

Financial aid process changing for Ga. students

MACON, Ga. (AP) - Students planning to attend college in Georgia and apply for state financial aid will soon have to fill out a federal application instead of a state form.

Ga. House sides with business lobby on labor laws

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia House of Representatives has approved two labor law changes that Republican leaders say would protect workers and boost market competition. Democratic opponents, meanwhile, criticized the measures on Monday as an attack on the organized labor in a state that already restricts union power with so-called "right-to-work" laws. Those laws bar union membership as a condition of employment. House Bill 361 would allow workers to opt out at any time ...

Ga. House adopts changes to immigration law

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia House of Representatives has approved proposed changes to a 2011 law targeting illegal immigration.

Jury sees sick images at NY cannibalism-plot trial

NEW YORK (AP) - Prosecutors finished presenting evidence to a jury hearing the cannibalism conspiracy case against a New York police officer Monday after showing jurors a video of a screaming woman, made to appear as if cooking over an open flame, and other disturbing images from websites devoted to torturing and eating women. The government rested a week after it began trying to prove that Officer Gilberto Valle tried to conspire with others ...

Casey Anthony speaks at bankruptcy hearing

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Appearing in public for the first time since she was acquitted of murder, Casey Anthony revealed that she doesn't have a job or a car, lives with friends and relies on unsolicited gift cards and cash to get by. "I guess you could say I'm living free off the kindness" of others, Anthony said at a bankruptcy hearing in Tampa. Anthony, 26, was acquitted of murder in July 2011 in ...

Stocks grind higher, pushing Dow toward record

NEW YORK (AP) - Investors brushed off early jitters about a potential slowdown in China and pushed the Dow to its highest close of the year. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 38.16 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,127.82. The index is a fraction of a percentage point away from its record close of 14,164, reached on Oct. 9, 2007. Stocks dropped at the opening bell and stayed lower most of the morning amid ...

GOP-backed overhaul of Ga. gun laws taking shape

ATLANTA (AP) - Republican lawmakers are moving to loosen restrictions on where Georgians can carry or keep firearms. A series of legislative proposals affecting gun ownership are working their way through the General Assembly ahead of a crucial deadline coming Thursday. A House committee was expected to debate legislation that would allow people to carry concealed weapons inside bars and churches, unless private property owners forbid it. It would also allow school district officials ...

Couples flock to Ga. town for cheap, easy weddings

RINGGOLD, Ga. (AP) - A town of about 3,500 in northwest Georgia has established a reputation as a marriage mecca, with between 2,000 and 2,400 marriage licenses being issued there annually.

Republicans unveil government funding measure

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans controlling the House are moving to give the Pentagon more money for military readiness. They also want to largely exempt agencies like the FBI and the Border Patrol as well as Western firefighting efforts from the effects of across-the-board spending cuts that are just starting to take effect. The effort comes as top Republicans unveil a huge spending measure to fund the government through September. The broad new measure would ...

Bush: Romney's stance on immigration was costly

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush writes in a new book that Mitt Romney moved so far to the right on immigration that it proved "all but impossible" for the Republican presidential nominee to appeal to Hispanic voters in the 2012 election. Bush writes in his new book, "Immigration Wars," that many Republicans have been "remarkably tone-deaf" when it comes to attracting Latino voters. He says if the party doesn't change, ...