Bike trail discussed for old rail route in N. Ga.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) - Officials in Georgia are talking about the possibility of creating a bike trail where the former Gainesville and Northwest Railroad connected Gainesville and Helen.

Court: GA driver's license law is constitutional

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia's highest court has rejected a Mexican national's argument that part of a state law that requires a Georgia-issued driver's license to get behind the wheel is unconstitutional because it discriminates against non-Georgia citizens.

Winds with gusts of up to 40 mph blow into Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) - Forecasters say strong winds with gusts of up to 40 mph are expected to continue throughout Monday across much of Georgia.

Ga. to end Medicaid payments for some early births

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia health officials are hoping to improve care - and save money - by steering pregnant women and doctors away from some early deliveries.

Heart repair breakthroughs replace surgeon's knife

Woman fired after tweeting pic of men making sexist jokes

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A female developer was fired after tweeting about a group of men she said were making sexual comments at a computer programming conference, fueling an already vigorous debate about gender equality and culture in Silicon Valley.

Police arrest 2 teens in Ga. baby killing

Pa. caretaker charged with drinking old whiskey

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - The live-in caretaker of a western Pennsylvania mansion is facing criminal charges for allegedly drinking more than $100,000 worth of the owner's whiskey.

Ga. Senate passes competing bill on lobbying rules

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia Senate has upped the ante on the House as the two chambers attempt to overhaul lobbying rules at the Capitol.

Soccer players suspended over drinking allegations

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Authorities say 18 players on a high school soccer team in east Georgia have been suspended and removed from the team after they were accused of drinking alcohol while on a school-sponsored trip.

Senate Democrats on track to pass budget

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats controlling the Senate moved on Friday toward approving their first budget in four years, promising another, almost $1 trillion round of tax increases on top of more than $600 billion in higher taxes on the wealthy enacted in January.

Punxsutawney Phil 'indicted' over spring forecast

Tolls on Georgia 400 to end before Thanksgiving

ATLANTA (AP) - Transportation officials say the tolls on Georgia 400, a busy commuter route on the north side of Atlanta, will end later this year.

UGA student reports attack by mime

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - A University of Georgia student told police she was attacked by a woman who appeared dressed as a mime.

3 dead, including suspect, in Marine base shooting

Authorities: Teen wounded at Ga. middle school

ATLANTA (AP) - Authorities say a shooting at an Atlanta middle school that left one teen wounded was not random and the boy's injury does not appear to be life-threatening.

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.