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

State forecast for georgia

...Wind advisory in effect until 4 pm est this afternoon for North and central georgia... .Today...Sunny. Highs 45 to 60. .Tonight...Mostly clear. Patchy frost after midnight. Lows 26 to 35. .Friday...Sunny. Highs 39 to 63. .Saturday...Mostly clear. Patchy frost. A slight chance of rain Showers. Lows 22 to 31. Highs 48 to 64. ...

Storms destroy homes, kill two

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. (AP) - A massive storm system raked the Southeast on Wednesday, spawning tornadoes and dangerous winds that overturned cars on a major Georgia interstate and demolished homes and businesses, killing at least two people.

Israel conducts rare airstrike on Syria

BEIRUT (AP) - Israel conducted a rare airstrike on a military target inside Syria near the border with Lebanon, foreign officials and Syrian state TV said Wednesday, amid fears President Bashar Assad's regime could provide powerful weapons to the Islamic militant group Hezbollah.

Stocks edge lower after economy report

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks edged lower after a report that showed the U.S. economy unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, putting the brakes on a January rally that has pushed stocks toward record levels.

Home demolished, cars overturned by storms

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. (AP) - A storm that roared across northwest Georgia has left overturned vehicles on Interstate 75 northwest of Atlanta, and crews were responding to reports of people trapped in storm-damaged residential and commercial buildings, authorities said.

1 confirmed dead in Bartow County, Ga.

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. (AP) - A massive storm system raking the Southeast hammered a Georgia town on Wednesday, overturning cars on an interstate and killing at least one person there, authorities said.

US economy shrinks 0.1 pct., 1st time in 3½ years

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. economy unexpectedly shrank from October through December for the first time since 2009, hurt by the biggest cut in defense spending in 40 years, fewer exports and sluggish growth in company stockpiles. The drop occurred despite stronger consumer spending and business investment. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter. That was a sharp slowdown from ...

Man shoots Ala. bus driver, takes child

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. (AP) - Police, SWAT teams and negotiators were at a rural property where a man was believed to be holed up in a homemade bunker Wednesday after fatally shooting the driver of a school bus and fleeing with a 6-year-old child passenger, authorities said.

Trees down, outages as storms rake US

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A large storm system packing high winds, rain and some possible tornadoes tore across several states in the South and central U.S. on Wednesday, blacking out power to thousands, downing trees and damaging homes.

Updates with tornado watch issued for 9 counties in northwest Georgia.

ATLANTA (AP) - Forecasters say a storm system approaching Georgia will bring the threat of widespread damaging winds and isolated tornadoes to the state.

Ga. car tax law makes leasing less attractive

ATLANTA (AP) - A new law on Georgia car taxes has made leasing a vehicle a less attractive and more expensive option than buying a car outright.

Stocks advance, pushing Dow toward 14,000

NEW YORK (AP) - Pfizer helped keep the stock market rally alive Tuesday. The drugmaker's stock gained after posting strong earnings, pushing the Dow closer to 14,000.

Ga. island slave descendants fight huge tax hikes

DARIEN, Ga. (AP) - Slave descendants who own island property off the Georgia coast are fighting whopping tax increases that they say threatens one of the last Gullah-Geechee communities in the South.

Scouts' future uncertain if ban on gays is dropped

NEW YORK (AP) - The Boy Scouts of America's proposed move away from its no-gays membership policy has outraged some longtime admirers, gratified many critics and raised intriguing questions about the iconic organization's future. Will the Scouts now be split between troops with gay-friendly policies and those that keep the ban? What will a National Jamboree be like if it brings together these disparate groups with conflicting ideologies? A top official of the Southern ...

Texas woman's execution halted; DA won't appeal

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) - Dallas County prosecutors say they aren't appealing a state judge's decision to halt the scheduled Tuesday evening execution of a Texas woman. She would have been the first woman put to death in the U.S. since 2010. State District Judge Larry Mitchell issued a reprieve for 51-year-old Kimberly McCarthy less than five hours before she could have been taken to the death chamber for the 1997 slaying of a neighbor. Dallas ...