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

Chancellor: Ga. universities must be responsive

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia University System Chancellor Hank Huckaby says the system is undergoing several fundamental changes to its structure to better serve students.

A slump in McDonald's stock drags Dow lower

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow was held back by a slump in McDonald's stock Wednesday, leaving it short of a record. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 35.79 points to close at 13,982.91. The Dow has gained 6.7 percent this year and is just 182 points below the record close of 14,164 it set in October 2007. McDonald's was the biggest decliner in the Dow, losing $1.10 to $94, as investors worried ...

First lady plugs 'Beasts of the Southern Wild'

WASHINGTON (AP) - Michelle Obama on Wednesday gushed over the Oscar-nominated film "Beasts of the Southern Wild," calling it one of the "most powerful and most important" movies in a long time in a ringing endorsement delivered less than two weeks before this month's Academy Awards ceremony.

GOP faults Obama speech for liberalism, hostility

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans said Wednesday that President Barack Obama's State of the Union address was full of well-worn liberal ideas and campaign-style hostility, and did little to ease partisan tensions over major issues.

Gov. Nathan Deal signs Medicaid tax compromise

ATLANTA (AP) - Gov. Nathan Deal has signed into a law his plan to extend a key piece of Medicaid insurance funding without explicitly extending a tax on hospitals.

Pope says he's resigning for the 'good of church

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI told thousands of faithful Wednesday that he was resigning for "the good of the church" - an extraordinary scene of a pope explaining himself to his flock that unfolded in his first appearance since dropping the bombshell announcement.

Obama proposals face quick opposition in Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama set up high-stakes clashes with Republicans over guns, immigration, taxes and climate change in a State of the Union address that showcased his determination to mark his legacy. Rep. Paul Ryan said Obama could better achieve his goals if he would get out of "campaign mode."

LAPD-Revenge Killings

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) - As police scoured mountain peaks for days, using everything from bloodhounds to high-tech helicopters, the revenge-seeking ex-cop they wanted was hiding among them, holed up in a vacation cabin across the street from their command post.

Ga. officers accused of protecting drug deals

ATLANTA (AP) - Ten current and former metro Atlanta law enforcement officers targeted in an undercover federal sting were arrested Tuesday, accused of accepting thousands of dollars to provide protection during drug deals, said U.S. Attorney Sally Yates.

Senate panel approves Hagel for Pentagon chief

WASHINGTON (AP) - A bitterly divided Senate panel on Tuesday voted to approve President Barack Obama's nomination of Chuck Hagel to be the nation's defense secretary at a time of turmoil for the military with looming budget cuts, a fresh sign of North Korea's nuclear ambitions and drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The Armed Services Committee voted 14-11 to send the nomination to the full Senate, with all the panel's Democrats backing the ...

Authorities say ex-cop barricaded in Calif. cabin

A fugitive ex-Los Angeles cop sought in three killings was barricaded in a cabin in the in the San Bernardino Mountains on Tuesday after a shootout with authorities that wounded two officers. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department says two law enforcement officers are being airlifted to a local hospital with unknown injuries. Deputies in the Big Bear area looking for Christopher Dorner responded to a report of a stolen vehicle in the ...

Senate approves anti-violence against women act

WASHINGTON (AP) - By a robust bipartisan majority, the Senate voted Tuesday to renew the Violence Against Women Act with new assurances that gays and lesbians, immigrants and Native American women will have equal access to the act's anti-domestic violence programs.

Dow edges toward record; Avon, Michael Kors surge

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow edged closer to a record Tuesday as stocks advanced following strong earnings from Avon and Michael Kors. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 50 points at 14,022 with less than an hour of trading left, putting it within 1 percent of the record close of 14,164 it set in October 2007. The Dow surged at the start of the year, logging its best January in almost two decades. ...

New plans for armed school employees in Ga.

ATLANTA (AP) - School employees in Georgia could not be punished for refusing to carry firearms under changed legislation being debated by state lawmakers.

Stocks edge higher in early trading

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks edged higher in early trading Tuesday following mixed earnings reports from companies including Avon, Goodyear and Coca-Cola. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 30 points to 13,981 in the first hour of trading. The Standard & Poor's 500 was up two points at 1,519. The Nasdaq was up three at 3,194. Avon, a direct seller of beauty products, jumped $2.68, or 16 percent, to $19.97 after the company posted a ...