Stocks flip between gains and losses; Cisco climbs

NEW YORK (AP) - Cisco Systems led the Dow Jones industrial average slightly higher Thursday after the technology company reported higher sales. Mixed corporate earnings and economic reports kept the major stock indexes flipping between slight gains and losses.

Georgia's jobless rate drops to 8.2 percent

ATLANTA (AP) - State labor officials say Georgia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has dropped to 8.2 percent in April.

Woman using bare hands to build house with rocks

SILVER CREEK, Ga. (AP) - A woman is using her bare hands to build a house in the woods of north Georgia by stacking large rocks on top of each other, one rock at a time.

Police: Suspect arrested in La. parade shooting

Bibles reinstated in Ga. state park lodges, cabins

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has ordered the Department of Natural Resources to return Bibles that were removed from cabins and lodges at state parks.

Deal signs order addressing Common Core standards

Ga. avoids limit on reservoir use in Senate bill

Stocks keep climbing even as manufacturing softens

Ga. high school yearbook labels student a 'freak'

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. (AP) - School administrators are trying to find out how a photo caption next to a student's photo labeled him a "freak" in a high school yearbook.

Ga. agency orders removal of Bibles at state parks

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia parks officials say they've ordered that Bibles be removed from guest rooms at state lodges and cabins across the state.

TV-over-Internet service hits Atlanta next month

Markets climb, led by small-company stocks

Top IRS official didn't reveal tea party targeting

Tax commissioner's SUV costs taxpayers $39,000

ATLANTA (AP) - Records show that a Georgia tax commissioner used public funds to buy a full-sized SUV for his own use.

Car booting temporarily suspended in Athens

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Officials in Athens have temporarily suspended car booting in the downtown area as they examine due process issues related to the controversial practice.

Voting rights law gets Supreme Court challenge

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court's conservative justices voiced deep skepticism Wednesday about a section of a landmark civil rights law that has helped millions of Americans exercise their right to vote. In a fast-paced, 70-minute argument, the court's liberals and conservatives engaged in a sometimes tense back and forth over whether there is an ongoing need in 2013 for a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The measure requires states ...

10 students disciplined over marijuana brownies

DACULA, Ga. (AP) - Authorities say 10 students at a high school northeast of Atlanta have been disciplined after school officials say one of them brought marijuana brownies to school and shared them.

Better late than never

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama will meet Friday with the top leaders in the House and Senate to discuss what to do about automatic cuts to the federal budget, White House and congressional leaders said.

Application helps streamline accident reporting

ATLANTA (AP) - The state Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner is recommending Georgians use a new smartphone application to simplify information sharing after a car accident.

Hagel takes helm at Pentagon after bitter fight

WASHINGTON (AP) - Chuck Hagel takes charge at the Defense Department with deep budget cuts looming and Republican opponents still doubtful that he's up to the job. Hagel is expected to be sworn in Wednesday and is likely to address the staff in his first day as defense secretary. The bitter, seven-week fight over his nomination ended Tuesday as a deeply divided Senate voted 58-41 to confirm him. Just four Republicans joined Democrats in ...

Pope says goodbye

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI basked in an emotional sendoff Wednesday from a massive crowd at his final general audience in St. Peter's Square, recalling moments of "joy and light" during his papacy but also times of difficulty when "it seemed like the Lord was sleeping."

Music, movie industry to warn copyright infringers

WASHINGTON (AP) - Internet users who illegally share music, movies or TV shows online may soon get warning notices from their service providers that they are violating copyright law. Ignore the notices, and violators could face an Internet slow-down for 48 hours. Those who claim they're innocent can protest - for a fee. For the first time since a spate of aggressive and unpopular lawsuits almost a decade ago, the music and movie industries ...

Advanced breast cancer edges up in younger women

CHICAGO (AP) - Advanced breast cancer has increased slightly among young women, a 34-year analysis suggests. The disease is still uncommon among women younger than 40, and the small change has experts scratching their heads about possible reasons.

Home Depot leads Dow average higher

NEW YORK (AP) - A jump in home sales and strong earnings from Home Depot helped the Dow claw back more than half of its losses from Monday. Improving consumer confidence also brought back buyers to the market. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 115.96 points, or 0.8 percent, to 13,900.13. The Dow fell 216 points the day before, its biggest drop in three months, on concern that the European debt crisis may ...

Court appears conflicted over DNA sampling issue

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Tuesday struggled with what one of the justices called its most important criminal procedure case in decades, whether to let police take DNA without a warrant from those arrested in hopes of using it to solve old cases.

Another blow to taxpayers

ATLANTA (AP) - In a case that's being watched closely in Georgia, a federal appeals court has upheld a temporary ban on a Florida law requiring drug testing of welfare recipients.

More of the same Bull

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) - No progress to report in negotiations with Congress, President Barack Obama on Tuesday singled out for praise the few Republicans who say they're open to aspects of his approach to averting looming government-wide spending cuts, seeking to turn up the heat on GOP leaders ahead of Friday's deadline.

Bernanke signals continued support for low rates

WASHINGTON (AP) - Ben Bernanke sent a message Tuesday to Congress: The Federal Reserve's low-interest-rate policies are giving crucial support to an economy still burdened by high unemployment. The Fed chairman acknowledged the risks of keeping rates low indefinitely. But he expressed confidence that such risks pose little threat now. Delivering the Fed's semiannual monetary report to Congress, Bernanke sought to minimize concerns that the central bank's easy-money policies might cause runaway inflation ...

Dorothy Hamill and Andy Dick among 'Dancing' stars

NEW YORK (AP) - A gold-medal figure skater, a country music legend and a kooky comedian are stepping their way onto "Dancing With the Stars."

Strong start on Wall Street; Home Depot leads Dow

NEW YORK (AP) - Strong earnings reports from Home Depot and Macy's helped lift stock indexes in early trading on Wall Street Tuesday. A jump in home sales and consumer confidence also brought buyers back to the market.