Carpet firm could get $100 million in incentives

ATLANTA (AP) - State officials say a Georgia-based carpet manufacturing company could get state incentives worth more than $100 million.

Gator ousted from suburban Atlanta pond

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) - An alligator that had been living in the pond of a suburban Atlanta subdivision was removed, but not before biting the trapper on his arm.

Police: Dead Boston bombing suspect buried

Stocks edge lower in early trading

NEW YORK (AP) - The stock market pulled back early Thursday after surging to record levels during the past week.

Study: Fish oil doesn't help prevent heart attacks

Eating fish is good for your heart but taking fish oil capsules does not help people at high risk of heart problems who are already taking medicines to prevent them, a large study in Italy found.

Jodi Arias convicted of first-degree murder

Dow average holds on to 15,000 with a small gain

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow Jones industrial average held above 15,000 a day after it closed above the landmark level for the first time.

Miss America' song cut from pageant over dispute

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - The next Miss America won't hear a familiar refrain when she's crowned in Atlantic City, N.J., in September.

Amanda Berry's sister offers thanks, seeks privacy

Former US official describes Libya attack

Nick Saban's Ga. mountain mansion to be auctioned

Some hospitals charge vastly more for same care

Suspect in Ohio helped neighbors look for missing

CLEVELAND (AP) - In the years after his friend's daughter vanished while walking home from school, Ariel Castro handed out fliers with the 14-year-old's photo and performed music at a fundraiser held in her honor.

Deal signs $37.1B budget; touts spending restraint

ATLANTA (AP) - Gov. Nathan Deal signed a $37.1 billion total budget for fiscal year 2014 on Tuesday, saying the plan balances the budget without raising taxes and reduces government spending.

Georgia Gov. Deal signs teacher evaluations bill

ATLANTA (AP) - Gov. Nathan Deal has signed a bill to standardize annual evaluations for Georgia teachers and principals based, in part, on student performance.

State's highest court asked to take up school case

ATLANTA (AP) - A federal judge has asked the Georgia Supreme Court to consider the constitutionality of the 2011 law that gave Gov. Nathan Deal the authority to suspend six DeKalb County school board members.

Francis pays tribute to Benedict, reflects on age

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis paid a heartfelt tribute Friday to his predecessor Benedict XVI, saying his faith and teaching had "enriched and invigorated" the Catholic Church and would remain its spiritual patrimony forever. Francis offered the respects during an audience with the cardinals who elected him to succeed Benedict, whose resignation set in motion the extraordinary conclave that brought the first prelate from the New World and first Jesuit to the papacy. ...

Pentagon spends nearly $1B a year on unemployment

WASHINGTON (AP) - Even as it faces budget cuts and forced employee furloughs, the Pentagon is spending nearly a $1 billion a year on a program that sends unemployment checks to former troops who left the military voluntarily.

Pentagon: Iranian plane pursued US spy drone

WASHINGTON (AP) - An Iranian fighter jet approached a U.S. surveillance drone aircraft over the Persian Gulf but broke off its pursuit after a U.S. escort plane discharged a warning flare, the Pentagon said Thursday. Pentagon press secretary George Little said the incident occurred Tuesday and that the unarmed MQ-1 Predator surveillance drone as well as two U.S. military escort planes remained over international waters at all times. Little said the drone was conducting ...

Ga. couple arrested on child cruelty charges

POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. (AP) - A metro Atlanta couple has been arrested on child cruelty charges after police say they duct taped their children and locked them in their bedrooms.

Pope Francis' humility: stops by hotel to pay bill

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis put his humility on display during his first day as pontiff Thursday, stopping by his hotel to pick up his luggage and pay the bill himself in a decidedly different style of papacy than his tradition-minded predecessor, who tended to stay ensconced in the frescoed halls of the Vatican. The break from Benedict XVI's pontificate was evident even in Francis' wardrobe choices: He kept the simple pectoral cross ...

US stocks rise in early trading, S&P nears record

NEW YORK (AP) - Encouraging news from the job market pushed the stock market up early Thursday, putting the Standard & Poor's 500 index near its all-time high. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose six points to 1,560. It's just five points away from the record high it reached in October 2007. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 57 points to 14,513, putting the average of 30 big companies on course for ...

Metro Atlanta jobless rate rises to 8.7 percent

ATLANTA (AP) - State labor officials say metro Atlanta's jobless rate rose to 8.7 percent in January, up from 8.4 percent the month before.

Argentine Jorge Bergoglio elected Pope Francis

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope Wednesday, becoming the first pontiff from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium. He chose the name Francis, associating himself with the humble 13th-century Italian preacher who lived a life of poverty.

Senate Democrats unveil budget blueprint

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Democrats unveiled a largely stand-pat budget Wednesday that calls for $1 trillion in new tax revenues over the coming decade but actually increases spending, while protecting the party's domestic policy priorities and adding $4 trillion more to the national debt than a slashing alternative from House Republicans. The plan by Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., blends about $1 trillion in modest cuts to health care providers, the Pentagon, domestic ...

Dow notches ninth gain in a row, longest since '96

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow Jones industrial average notched its ninth gain in a row, giving the index its longest winning streak in more than sixteen years. The index edged up 5.22 points, or 0.04 percent, to 14,455.28. The Dow has risen every day this month and is up 10.3 percent this year, having surpassed its previous all-time high of 14,164.53 March 5th. Demand for stocks has been propelled this year by ...

Panel criticizes military on sexual assault cases

WASHINGTON (AP) - In a stinging rebuke of the military's efforts to curb sexual assault, members of a Senate panel hammered Defense Department officials on Wednesday for making too little progress in combating the crimes and failing to improve a military justice system that victims described as slow and uncaring. During a two-part hearing, the panel heard harrowing testimony from several victims, who said military justice is broken and pushed for Congress to ...

57 charged in Florida gambling scandal

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Florida's lieutenant governor resigned and nearly 60 other people were charged in a widening scandal of a purported veterans charity that authorities said Wednesday was $300 million front for illegal gambling. Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll's resignation came a day after she was questioned in the investigation. Her public relations firm did work for the St. Augustine-based charity Allied Veterans of the World, but she has not been accused of ...

Francis is first pope from Americas

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis is the first ever from the Americas, an austere Jesuit intellectual who modernized Argentina's conservative Catholic church.

Teen arrested after stealing police cruiser

EAST POINT, Ga. (AP) - Police say a 13-year-old boy accused of stealing a patrol car and barricading himself inside his house has been taken into custody.