S&P 500 closes at a record high, beating '07 mark

Scooter ads face scrutiny from gov't., doctors

WASHINGTON (AP) - TV ads show smiling seniors enjoying an "active" lifestyle on a motorized scooter, taking in the sights at the Grand Canyon, fishing on a pier and high-fiving their grandchildren at a baseball game.

HIV test urged for 7,000 Oklahoma dental patients

Negotiations continuing on Ga. gun bill

ATLANTA (AP) - Lawmakers are negotiating over whether Georgia students should be allowed to carry guns on college campuses.

Lawmakers agree on $41 billion spending plan

ATLANTA (AP) - House and Senate leaders have settled on a roughly $41 billion state operating budget comprised of state and federal money for the next fiscal year.

US launches new batch of graphic anti-smoking ads

Mother, son die in house fire in northwest Georgia

RINGGOLD, Ga. (AP) - State fire officials say a mother and her young son were both killed when an early morning fire swept through their home in the northwest Georgia town of Ringgold.

Sheriff identifies toddler killed in dog attack

PEMBROKE, Ga. (AP) - Authorities in coastal Georgia identified the toddler who was mauled to death by a pack of dogs as Monica Renee Laminack, who would have turned 2 years old in June.

Stocks struggle for direction in early trading

NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stocks darted between small gains and losses in early trading Thursday as investors considered mixed signals from the U.S. economy and Europe.

Arsenal of weapons found in Newtown gunman's home

Absences pile up at Ga. school as sickness spreads

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) - Administrators at a west Georgia elementary school are hoping the upcoming spring break will interrupt a cycle of sickness that led to more than 150 absences.

GOP moves to catch up with Democrats on technology

Ga. woman's camera washes ashore in Taiwan

NEWNAN, Ga. (AP) - A Georgia woman has been reunited with her camera and photos after the camera she lost during a 2007 trip to Hawaii washed ashore in Taiwan.

Wine fight over vintage fakes airs out in NY court

NEW YORK (AP) - The market where vintage wines are traded like treasured works of art has gotten a taste test in a New York court where a billionaire is accusing a wealthy California wine merchant of cheating him.

Senators tour border, say immigration bill near

500 injured by blasts as meteor falls in Russia

MOSCOW (AP) - A meteor that scientists estimate weighed 10 tons (11 tons) streaked at supersonic speed over Russia's Ural Mountains on Friday, setting off blasts that injured some 500 people and frightened countless more.

Governor: Georgians to pay taxes on Amazon buys

ATLANTA (AP) - A spokesman for Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal says Georgians who use Amazon.com will have to pay taxes on their purchases, though it's not clear when.

Southern cooking: eat it and weep

Deep-fried foods may be causing trouble in the Deep South. People whose diets are heavy on them and sugary drinks like sweet tea and soda were more likely to suffer a stroke, a new study finds.

Senate GOP blocks Hagel vote for now

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans have, for now, blocked Chuck Hagel's nomination to become defense secretary.

Obama pushes preschool plan, won't discuss cost

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) - Raising hopes among parents who want preschool for all, President Barack Obama on Thursday rolled out a plan to vastly expand government-funded early childhood while keeping the price tag a secret.

New lobbying rules would prohibit airfare expenses

ATLANTA (AP) - Newly proposed rules would ban lobbyists from buying airfare for Georgia's state officials under an amended plan released Thursday by a leading Republican.

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 ...