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 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 ...

Dem, GOP senators clash at latest hearing on guns

WASHINGTON (AP) - A top Democrat says the toll that gun violence is taking on families makes it clear that Congress needs to pass more firearms restrictions.

Man shot by Georgia mother recovering from wounds

LOGANVILLE, Ga. (AP) - An accused home invader is recovering from his injuries after being shot five times at close range by a Georgia mother in a case that's been highlighted by firearms enthusiasts.

Obama calls NKorea nuke test 'highly provocative'

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday called North Korea's latest nuclear test a "highly provocative act" that threatens U.S. security and international peace.

Ga. man sentenced to 220 years in molestation case

ATLANTA (AP) - A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to 220 years in prison on charged of rape, child molestation and cruelty to children.

Stock market drifts lower to start the week

NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stocks drifted lower in thin trading Monday, pulling the Standard & Poor's 500 index back from a five-year high. The broad-market index edged up slightly last week, enough to put it at its highest level since November 2007. With little in the way of market-moving news Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.92 of a point to close at 1,517.01. Seven of the 10 industry groups within the S&P ...

Georgia revenues up more than 10 percent

ATLANTA (AP) - Tax collection growth in Georgia grew by more than 10 percent last month, potentially improving the state's budget situation.

Flash flood watch downgraded to flood watch

UPDATED: The Flash Flood watch issued by the National Weather Service has been replaced with a flood watch for the following counties until Wedneday:

Obama to visit Georgia childhood learning center

ATLANTA (AP) - President Barack Obama plans to visit an early childhood learning center outside Atlanta, where arrangements are being made for some students now on winter break to return to class one day for the visit.

US ships military equipment out of Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The United States began its withdrawal from Afghanistan in earnest, officials said Monday, sending the first of what will be tens of thousands of containers home through a once-blocked land route through Pakistan.

Stocks lower in early Monday trading

NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stocks drifted lower in early Monday trading, pulling the Standard & Poor's 500 index back from its five-year high.