State fire investigators: Church blaze was arson

COCHRAN, Ga. (AP) - State fire investigators say a blaze that destroyed a 50-year-old church in central Georgia over the weekend was arson.

Stocks edge down at the start of big earnings week

Legislature's inaction puts drug effort at risk

ATLANTA (AP) - A new program designed to combat prescription drug abuse in Georgia might run out of money to operate only a few months after it gets under way in June.

Witherspoon ' embarrassed' by arrest; hearing set

ATLANTA (AP) - A court hearing on a disorderly conduct charge is scheduled for actress Reese Witherspoon, who said she's "deeply embarrassed" by what she said to a state trooper during a traffic stop in Atlanta.

Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan leader, dies

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez, the fiery populist who declared a socialist revolution in Venezuela, crusaded against U.S. influence and championed a leftist revival across Latin America, died Tuesday at age 58 after a nearly two-year bout with cancer. Vice President Nicolas Maduro, surrounded by other government officials, announced the death in a national television broadcast. He said Chavez died at 4:25 p.m. local time. During more than 14 years in office, ...

Dow hits record, erasing Great Recession losses

NEW YORK (AP) - The stock market is back. Five and a half years after the start of a frightening drop that erased $11 trillion from stock portfolios and made investors despair of ever getting their money back, the Dow Jones industrial average has regained all the losses suffered during the Great Recession and reached a new high. The blue-chip index rose 125.95 points Tuesday and closed at 14,253.77, topping the previous record of 14,164.53 ...

Military leaders welcome House GOP budget bill

WASHINGTON (AP) - A massive House Republican measure to keep the government operating would ease some of the pain of automatic spending cuts slamming the Defense Department, the nation's senior military leaders told Congress on Tuesday. Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff painted a dire picture of construction projects on hold, limits on aircraft carriers patrolling the waters and even a delay in the expansion of Arlington National Cemetery due to the $43 ...

Dow surges to record ... and keeps going

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow closed at an all-time high Tuesday, beating the previous record it set in October 2007, before the financial crisis and Great Recession. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 14,253.77, up 125.95 points, or 0.89 percent. The index jumped from the opening bell, climbed as much as 158 points early and peaked at 14,286. Twenty seven stocks in the 30-member Dow advanced, with industrial companies leading the gains. ...

Coalition will no longer publish attack figures

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S.-led military command in Afghanistan said Tuesday it will no longer publish figures on Taliban attacks, a week after acknowledging that its report of a 7 percent decline in attacks last year was actually no decline at all. A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, Jamie Graybeal, said Tuesday that its reporting on the number of attacks will grow increasingly inaccurate as Afghan forces move further into ...

Researchers report sharp rise in 'patriot' groups

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - President Barack Obama's administration and the gun control debate after the Connecticut school shooting have led to surging numbers of anti-government "patriot" groups, according to a civil rights group that tracks extremist groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center reported the rising numbers on Tuesday in its annual report on extremist groups. The number of anti-government patriot groups, one category tracked by the center, rose dramatically over the past four years, ...

KaBoom

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia state Senate has passed a resolution to let voters decide whether fireworks sales should be legal in the state.

Officials alarmed by increasing superbug reports

NEW YORK (AP) - Health officials say there's been an alarming increase in some dangerous superbugs at U.S. hospitals. These superbugs are common germs that have become extremely resistant to treatment with antibiotics. The number of hospitals reporting infections with these superbugs is still small. But a government report shows 1 in 25 hospitals saw at least one case last year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the new tally Tuesday. They're ...

Crews remove yacht grounded by alleged thieves

PACIFICA, Calif. (AP) - Crews have removed an 82-foot yacht from a Northern California beach after authorities say three people stole it, stocked it with pizza and beer, then ran it aground.

Firefighter group banned from Savannah parade

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Organizers of Savannah's St. Patrick's Day Parade say they've banned a firefighters' group from participating.

GOP seeks to smooth roughest cuts, avert shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans controlling the House are moving to take the roughest edges off across-the-board spending cuts that are just starting to take effect. Even as the military would bear a $43 billion cut over just seven months, the new GOP measure released Monday would give the Pentagon much-needed funding for readiness. It would also ease the pain felt by critical agencies like the FBI and the Border Patrol. The effort is ...

Martha Stewart to testify in trial over her brand

NEW YORK (AP) - Eight years after Martha Stewart was released from prison for lying about a stock trade, the home diva is now facing another legal mess that may not be easy to clean up.

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.