UGA stadium concert might lead to more shows

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - University of Georgia President Mike Adams says he had some trepidation about hosting a concert at Sanford Stadium, which he said was a great success.

Republican: Boston raises immigration questions

WASHINGTON (AP) - The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee says the events in Boston make clear the importance of understanding gaps and loopholes in the U.S. immigration system.

IBM tugs Dow lower; S&P 500 up after rough week

Poll: Public pessimism on economy is increasing

Russia's Caucasus: breeding ground for terror

1 of 2 Mass. bomb suspects dead; suburbs shut down

2 teens plead not guilty in Ga. baby slaying

Ga. boy hit by falling tree limb, hospitalized

ATLANTA (AP) - Authorities say an 8-year-old boy has been hospitalized after being hit by a falling tree branch while he was on a school playground in Atlanta.

Rescuers search ruins of Texas fertilizer plant

Attorney: Miss. man denies mailing suspected ricin

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - A Mississippi man charged with mailing letters with suspected ricin to national leaders believed he had uncovered a conspiracy to sell human body parts on the black market, and on Thursday his attorney said he was surprised by his arrest and maintains he is innocent.

Slight decline in early trading on Wall Street

Ga. amputee runner raising money for bomb victims

ATLANTA (AP) - A Sandy Springs man who is a double-amputee was nearly to the finish line of the Boston Marathon when the bombs went off.

Georgia unemployment rate drops to 8.4 percent

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 8.4 percent in March, the lowest rate since December 2008.

Police: 5 to 15 people killed in Texas explosion

3 dead, including suspect, in Marine base shooting

QUANTICO, Va. (AP) - A Marine killed a male and female colleague in a shooting at a base in northern Virginia before killing himself, officials said early Friday. Authorities were called to the scene at Marine Corps Base Quantico around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, where they found one Marine dead at a barracks, base commander Col. David W. Maxwell told reporters. Authorities later found a second victim dead, along with the body of the ...

Ex-children's hospital worker accused of abuse

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - A former employee of Children's Hospital of Georgia is accused of sexual battery involving patients at the Augusta facility.

Obama health law anniversary finds two Americas

WASHINGTON (AP) - Three years, two elections, and one Supreme Court decision after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, its promise of health care for the uninsured may be delayed or undercut in much of the country because of entrenched opposition from many Republican state leaders. In half the states, mainly led by Democrats, officials are racing deadlines to connect uninsured residents to coverage now only months away. In others it's ...

Survey: Low-wage workers missing out on training

WASHINGTON (AP) - As they struggle to get ahead, many low-wage workers are not taking advantage of job training or educational programs that could help them make the leap to better-paying jobs. They are often skeptical about whether such programs are even worth the trouble, a new survey shows.

Universe ages 80M years; Big Bang gets clearer

PARIS (AP) - New results from a look into the split second after the Big Bang indicate the universe is 80 million years older than previously thought but the core concepts of the cosmos - how it began, what it's made of and where it's going - seem to be on the right track. The findings released Thursday bolster a key theory called inflation, which says the universe burst from subatomic size to ...

Ga. jobless rate hits lowest level since early '09

ATLANTA (AP) - State labor officials say Georgia's unemployment rate has dropped 8.6 percent, its lowest level in the past four years.

Judge strikes down section of GA immigration law

ATLANTA (AP) - A federal judge has permanently struck down a section of Georgia's 2011 law targeting illegal immigration that makes it illegal for someone to knowingly harbor or transport an illegal immigrant.

Chairman: Ga. Senate will back $100 lobbying cap

ATLANTA (AP) - The Senate will propose a $100 cap on lobbyist expenditures, not an outright ban, creating a conflict with House lawmakers in the waning days of the General Assembly's annual session, a leading Senate Republican said Wednesday. The Senate Rules Committee will meet Thursday to put forward its version of lobbying restrictions originally written by House Speaker David Ralston, said Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, the committee chairman. Mullis said he hopes the ...

Wal-Mart expands test of mobile checkout program

NEW YORK (AP) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is expanding a test of a new checkout program that allows shoppers to scan items with their smartphones and then pay at self-checkout terminals. The world's largest retailer launched what it calls its "Scan & Go" program late last year in about 70 stores in the Bentonville, Ark., area, where the retailer is based, as well as Atlanta. It is now testing the program in more ...

Senate set to approve huge 2013 spending bill

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate moved toward a vote Wednesday on a huge, bipartisan spending bill aimed at keeping the government running through September and ruling out the chance of a shutdown later this month.

House OKs lower alcohol limits for boat operators

ATLANTA (AP) - Reacting to high-profile deaths on Lake Lanier, the Georgia House of Representatives has approved a proposal to lower the allowable blood-alcohol limits for hunters and anyone driving a water vessel in the state.

Pa. school asks students to cut back on body spray

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania high school wants its students to cut back on the body spray.

US stocks rise ahead of Federal Reserve meeting

U.S. stocks rose strongly Wednesday ahead of a decision by the Federal Reserve about whether to push ahead with aggressive measures to boost the economy.

Ga. House drops guns in bars, churches

ATLANTA (AP) - Guns would not be allowed by default in bars and churches, though they could be carried on college campuses under a bill backed by House lawmakers.

Commander: Contingency plans under way for Syria

WASHINGTON (AP) - The top U.S. military commander in Europe said Tuesday that several NATO countries are working on contingency plans for possible military action to end the two-year civil war in Syria as President Bashar Assad's regime accused U.S.-backed Syrian rebels of using chemical weapons. The Obama administration rejected the Assad claim as a sign of desperation by a besieged government intent on drawing attention from its war atrocities - some 70,000 dead, ...