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

Teen wounded in Ga. school shooting

ATLANTA (AP) - A 14-year-old student was wounded in a shooting at a middle school Thursday, and a suspect was taken into custody, authorities said. No other students were hurt.

Congress passes bill to extend borrowing authority

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress has approved must-do legislation to permit the government to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars more to meet its obligations, averting a first-ever government default that had loomed as early as mid-February.

Senate to clear debt limit increase for Obama

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate Thursday took up must-do legislation to permit the government to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars more to meet its obligations, putting off one Washington showdown even as others loom in coming weeks.

Teen wounded in Ga. school shooting

ATLANTA (AP) - Authorities say a 14-year-old has been wounded in a shooting at an Atlanta middle school and a suspect has been taken into custody. Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos says the wounded student has been taken "alert, conscious and breathing" to Grady Hospital. He says the suspect has been tentatively identified as a student and all other students at the school are safe. Campos says the teen was shot outside of the ...

Feds: $13.6M in phony sports goods confiscated

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Investigators have confiscated more than $13.6 million worth of phony sports merchandise over the past five months and expect to seize more in New Orleans during Super Bowl week, a federal law-enforcement official said Thursday. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton said authorities also have shut down more than 300 websites selling counterfeit goods as part of an enforcement effort dubbed "Operation Red Zone." The operation targeted international ...

Teen wounded in Ga. school shooting

ATLANTA (AP) - Authorities say a 14-year-old has been wounded in a shooting at an Atlanta middle school and a suspect has been taken into custody.

Atlanta school shooting suspect in custody, wounded student 'alert, conscious'

Authorities: Atlanta school shooting suspect in custody, wounded student 'alert, conscious' .

Lawmaker: Ga. lobbying rules bill will be amended

ATLANTA (AP) - A Republican lawmaker says a proposal to tighten lobbyist rules will be amended to answer concerns it could limit free speech rights.

Sperm whale secretion may spell fortune for UK man

LONDON (AP) - One very smelly sperm whale secretion may soon make one lucky British beachcomber a very happy man.

Dow edges lower, still headed for stellar January

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow drifted lower Thursday, but stayed on track for its best start to the year in more than two decades. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 33 points to 13,877 as of noon EST. The index has gained 6 percent so far this month, putting it in line for its best January performance since 1989, according to data from S&P Dow Jones Indices. The Standard and Poor's 500 ...

Joint Chiefs: Looming cuts would 'hollow' military

WASHINGTON (AP) - The military's top leaders are warning Congress that automatic spending cuts looming in March would force the Pentagon to slash operating budgets, weakening the armed forces and possibly forcing furloughs of 800,000 civilian employees. The Joint Chiefs say in a letter to Congress that the cuts would create a "hollow force" and would require aircraft to be grounded and warships to return to port. The chiefs said the troops on the front ...

Dow edges lower, still headed for stellar January

EW YORK (AP) - The Dow drifted lower Thursday, but stayed on track for its best start to the year in more than two decades.

Ala. child hostage standoff in 2nd day at bunker

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. (AP) - A standoff in rural Alabama went into a second full day Thursday as police surrounded an underground bunker where a retired truck driver was holding a 5-year-old hostage he grabbed off a school bus after shooting the driver dead.

2 dead after storms rake South, take aim at East

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. (AP) - Kandi Cash trudged in rain through the splintered debris of her grandparents' home, hoping to salvage photos and other keepsakes after violent storms raked the Southeast, leaving two people dead before the vast storm front moved on to pummel the East Coast.

Syria and Iran threaten retaliation against Israel

BEIRUT (AP) - Syria and Iran have threatened to retaliate for an Israeli air raid near the capital Damascus.