Boston bomb suspect read jihadist sites

BOSTON (AP) - Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was an ardent reader of jihadist websites and extremist propaganda, U.S. officials said Tuesday, adding another piece to the body of evidence they say suggests the two brothers were motivated by an anti-American, radical version of Islam.

Germany: Bieber's monkey going nowhere

BERLIN (AP) - German customs authorities say Justin Bieber's monkey is going nowhere, despite a request of the animal shelter where it's living that it go to a zoo.

Appeals court lifts stay of execution for Ga. man

ATLANTA (AP) - A federal appeals court that halted the execution of a Georgia man has lifted its stay, clearing the way for a new execution date.

College head to reimburse school for wedding costs

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Officials at a Georgia university say the college president plans to reimburse the school for costs of a state-owned bus that was used to carry guests of a private wedding at his home.

Woman injured in marathon blast faces challenges

BOSTON (AP) - As this shocked city observed a moment of silence, Heather Abbott was following through on a difficult decision - allowing doctors to amputate her left foot, which was mangled in the bombings that shattered the Boston Marathon.

Police probe mail thefts from 48 victims in NE Ga.

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Dozens of northeast Georgia residents say their mail was stolen in a mystery that involves plastic bags full of mail found in the bed of a pickup truck.

UGA unveils redesigned license plate

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - The University of Georgia has revamped its specialty license plate in the hopes of getting even more backers of Bulldog Nation to show their support.

Stocks edge higher as energy stocks rebound

Bombing suspect charged, could face death penalty

BOSTON (AP) - Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was charged in his hospital room Monday with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill, and he could face the death penalty if convicted.

State fire investigators: Church blaze was arson

COCHRAN, Ga. (AP) - State fire investigators say a blaze that destroyed a 50-year-old church in central Georgia over the weekend was arson.

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.

The stories of 2 brothers suspected in bombing

BOSTON (AP) - Tamerlan Tsarnaev was an amateur boxer who had hoped to fight on the U.S. Olympic team, a man who said he had no American friends. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrestled at a prestigious high school, won a scholarship from his city and went on to university. Two brothers, one dead, one alive and at large. After hours when they were known only by grainy images of two men in baseball caps, a portrait ...

Boy Scouts propose to lift gay ban for youth

NEW YORK (AP) - Searching for compromise on a divisive issue, the Boy Scouts of America is proposing to partially lift its long-standing exclusion of gays - allowing them as youth members but continuing to bar them as adult leaders.

Tornado warning for Walton and Morgan counties+

ATLANTA (AP) - The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for areas of Morgan and Walton counties in north central Georgia.

Deal signs bill incentivizing dual credit classes

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has signed a bill to give high school students an incentive to take dual credit courses and earn college credit.

Boston suspect's father says he's a 'true angel'

MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) - In an anguished interview, the father of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing described his fugitive son as a smart and accomplished "angel." Anzor Tsarnaev spoke with The Associated Press by telephone in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan after police said one of his sons, 26-year-old Tamerlan, had been killed in a shootout and the other, Dzhokhar, was being intensely pursued. "My son is a true angel," ...

Official: 12 bodies recovered after Texas blast

WEST, Texas (AP) - The bodies of 12 people have been recovered from the remnants of a tiny Texas farm town that was rocked by a roaring explosion at a fertilizer plant, authorities said Friday, confirming for the first time the number of people who perished in the accident. Officials did not identify those killed, but the dead were believed to include a small group of firefighters and other first-responders who rushed toward the ...

Police go door-to-door in search for Boston bomber

WATERTOWN, Mass. (AP) - State police say officers are going door-to-door, but the Boston Marathon suspect is still on the loose.

UGA stadium concert might lead to more shows

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - University of Georgia President Mike Adams says he had some trepidation about hosting a concert at Sanford Stadium, which he said was a great success.

Republican: Boston raises immigration questions

WASHINGTON (AP) - The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee says the events in Boston make clear the importance of understanding gaps and loopholes in the U.S. immigration system.

IBM tugs Dow lower; S&P 500 up after rough week

NEW YORK (AP) - A rare earnings miss for IBM tugged the Dow Jones industrial average lower on Friday, while the rest of the market headed toward slight gains after a turbulent week. Quarterly earnings for the country's largest provider of computer services fell short of forecasts for the first time since 2005. IBM said delays in closing several large software and mainframe computer deals hindered sales. The company reported quarterly results after the ...

Poll: Public pessimism on economy is increasing

WASHINGTON (AP) - For the third year in a row, the nation's economic recovery has hit a springtime soft spot. Reflecting that weakness, only 1 in 4 Americans now expects his or her own financial situation to improve over the next year, a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows. The sour mood is undermining support for President Barack Obama's economic stewardship and for government in general. The poll shows that just 46 percent of Americans ...

Russia's Caucasus: breeding ground for terror

MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) - Militants from Chechnya and other restive regions in Russia's volatile North Caucasus have targeted Moscow and other areas with bombings and hostage-takings, but if it turns out that the suspects in the Boston bombings are linked to those insurgencies it would mark the first time the Russian conflict had spawned a terror attack in the West. Two suspects in the Boston bombings were identified to The Associated Press as coming ...

1 of 2 Mass. bomb suspects dead; suburbs shut down

WATERTOWN, Mass. (AP) - The two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing killed an MIT police officer and hurled explosives at police in a car chase and gun battle overnight that left one of them dead and his brother on the loose, authorities said Friday as thousands of officers swarmed the streets in a manhunt that all but paralyzed the Boston area. The suspects were identified by law enforcement officials and a family member ...

2 teens plead not guilty in Ga. baby slaying

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) - Two Georgia teenagers pleaded not guilty Thursday to murdering a baby who was shot in the face during what authorities described as an attempted street robbery. Both De'Marquise Elkins, 17, and Dominique Lang, 15, are charged as adults. Authorities say Elkins fatally shot 13-month-old Antonio Santiago in his stroller as Elkins and Lang tried to rob the child's mother March 21 on the street a few blocks from her ...

Ga. boy hit by falling tree limb, hospitalized

ATLANTA (AP) - Authorities say an 8-year-old boy has been hospitalized after being hit by a falling tree branch while he was on a school playground in Atlanta.