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.

Muscogee County school system considers security

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) - One of Georgia's largest school systems is set to discuss a security plan that includes equipping schools with panic buttons.

Man plunges from 10th story of Atlanta condo tower

ATLANTA (AP) - Police are investigating how a man plunged from a 10th-floor balcony of a high-rise building in Atlanta.

No one more surprised than Luke Bryan by ACMs win

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Luke Bryan heard his name called at the end of the Academy of Country Music Awards, accepted the entertainer of the year trophy and then things became a blur. "It was like I was on the tilt-a-whirl," Bryan said. Bryan pulled off a dizzying upset, all right, beating out the night's top winner Miranda Lambert, two-time entertainer of the year Taylor Swift and top male stars and good friends Blake ...

Senators work on deal expanding background checks

WASHINGTON (AP) - Talks between two influential senators have emerged as the most promising route for a bipartisan breakthrough on expanding federal background checks for gun buyers, a pivotal part of President Barack Obama's plan for combating gun violence. One possibility being discussed by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., would involve expanding background checks to gun show sales and firearms transactions online, Senate aides said. Sales between close relatives ...

Burglar steals $6,000 worth of hair from Ga. shop

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Richmond County sheriff's officials say a burglar targeted a beauty shop and made off with more than $6,000 worth of hair and $150 in cash.

Deputies: Ga. man stabbed, unleashed dogs on pig

SPRINGFIELD, Ga. (AP) - A Georgia man unleashed his two pit bulls on a neighbor's pet pig that got loose in a mobile home park, then stabbed the animal 15 to 20 times in front of children and other onlookers, authorities said.

NKorea warns embassies it can't guarantee safety

MOSCOW (AP) - North Korea has warned diplomats in Pyongyang that it can't guarantee the safety of embassies in the event of a conflict and suggested they may want to evacuate their staff, Russia's top diplomat said Friday. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is demanding an explanation from the North Koreans - asking whether the warning is an order to evacuate the North Korean capital or merely a proposal to consider doing so. "This proposal ...

Obama: Calif. attorney general is 'best-looking'

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - President Barack Obama praised California's attorney general for more than her smarts and toughness at a Democratic Party event.

Cherokee County deputy kills homicide suspect

CANTON, Ga. (AP) - A Cherokee County sheriff's deputy shot and killed a man suspected of killing two people in Union County.

Judge wants trial in baby killing before year ends

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) - A Georgia judge says he wants a trial before the year ends for a teenager charged with fatally shooting a baby in the face. Glynn County Superior Court Judge Stephen Kelley told attorneys in the case Friday he expects a 2013 trial for 17-year-old De'Marquise Elkins. The suspect is charged with malice murder in the slaying of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago two weeks ago in the coastal city of Brunswick. Police ...

NY judge makes morning-after pill available to all

NEW YORK (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration must make emergency contraceptives available to girls of all ages within 30 days, a federal judge has ruled, saying the agency's decisions regarding the so-called morning-after pill were "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.

Women's rights unfinished business

NEW YORK (AP) - Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the rights of women represent "the unfinished business of the 21st century" in the U.S. and around the world.

Georgia Department of Education to grade schools

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia Department of Education plans to give parents a detailed look at schools' performance.

Official: Obama proposes cuts to Social Security

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's proposed budget will call for reductions in the growth of Social Security and other benefit programs while still insisting on more taxes from the wealthy in a renewed attempt to strike a broad deficit-cutting deal with Republicans, a senior administration official says. The proposal aims for a compromise on the Fiscal 2014 budget by combining the president's demand for higher taxes with GOP insistence on reductions in ...

US economy adds 88K jobs, rate drops to 7.6 pct.

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. employers added just 88,000 jobs in March, the fewest in nine months and a sharp retreat after a period of strong hiring. The slowdown is a reminder that the job market's path back to full health will be uneven. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate dipped to 7.6 percent from 7.7 percent. While that is the lowest rate in four years, it fell last month only ...