Stocks gain after unemployment claims fal

NEW YORK (AP) - Encouraging news about the job market and higher profits from CBS, Facebook and other companies lifted stocks Thursday.

Ga. tightens reins on distribution of pain drugs

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia will no longer be a haven for pain clinics that authorities say are fronts for illegal distribution of prescription pain medication.

Deadheads oppose renaming Jerry Garcia venue

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Deadheads are uniting in opposition to a proposal to rename a San Francisco venue named in honor of the Grateful Dead founder.

Georgia child care workers to face more checks

MACON, Ga. (AP) - Gov. Nathan Deal has signed a bill into law requiring childcare workers to undergo comprehensive, fingerprint-based background checks.

New law opens Ga. licenses to certain noncitizens

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has signed two bills into law making it easier for certain noncitizens to get Georgia driver's licenses.

FBI: 3 removed backpack from Boston suspect's room

BOSTON (AP) - Three college friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were arrested and accused Wednesday of removing a backpack containing fireworks emptied of gunpowder from Tsarnaev's dorm room three days after the attack to try to keep him from getting into trouble.

Fed keeps stimulus, says taxes and cuts have hurt

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday stood by its aggressive efforts to stimulate the economy and reduce unemployment. And it sent its most explicit signal to date that tax increases and spending cuts that kicked in this year are slowing the economy.

Grocery store worker wins big on her lunch hour

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (AP) - A grocery store worker near Atlanta made more money on her lunch break than many people earn in a lifetime.

Carpet company planning 2 plants in Dalton area

DALTON, Ga. (AP) - A spokesman for Gov. Nathan Deal says a carpet manufacturing company will open two plants in northwest Georgia and create about 2,400 jobs.

Stocks edge lower on manufacturing, jobs slowdown

Scientists find cannibalism at American settlement

Boston police: 3 more suspects in custody bombings

BOSTON (AP) - Three more suspects have been taken into custody in the marathon bombings, city police said Wednesday.

Georgia family finds burning cross in front yard

WOODSTOCK, Ga. (AP) - Police are investigating after a metro Atlanta family found a large cross, which had been set on fire in their front yard.

Lake Lanier begins summer full of water

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) - After persistent drought conditions, a popular north Georgia lake is beginning the summer recreation season with a full pool of water.

456 colonoscopy patients warned of infection risk

ATLANTA (AP) - An Atlanta surgery center is warning 456 patients that their colonoscopies might have put them at risk of HIV and other diseases.

Heavy rains move into Ga., bringing flood threat

ATLANTA (AP) - Heavy rains moving into Georgia are bringing new concerns about flooding.

Argo' wins best picture, 'Life of Pi' leads with 4 awards on scattered Oscar night

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Just as Oscar host Seth MacFarlane set his sights on a variety of targets with a mixture of hits and misses, the motion picture academy spread the gold around to a varied slate of films. "Argo" won best picture as expected, along with two other prizes. But "Life of Pi" won the most awards with four, including a surprise win for director Ang Lee.

Listen up ladies! Uncle Sam might want you too

WASHINGTON (AP) - Tennnnnn-hut, ladies! The next time Uncle Sam comes calling, he's probably going to want you, too. The Obama administration's recent decision to lift the ban on women in combat has opened the door for a change in the law that currently compels only men between age 18 and 25 to register for a military draft, according to legal experts and military historians. Never before has the country drafted women into military ...

6 leaking tanks are Hanford nuke site's latest woe

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - Federal and state officials say six underground tanks holding a brew of radioactive and toxic waste are leaking at the country's most contaminated nuclear site in south-central Washington, raising concerns about delays for emptying the aging tanks. The leaking materials at Hanford Nuclear Reservation pose no immediate risk to public safety or the environment because it would take perhaps years for the chemicals to reach groundwater, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee ...

Work resumes on coastal Ga. bridge after delay

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Work has resumed on a $22.5 million bridge connecting a Savannah causeway to Skidaway Island after problems stalled construction for nearly six months.

Jackson Jr.'s district has history of corruption

CHICAGO (AP) - They elected a Harvard-educated Rhodes Scholar and ended up with a congressman who was convicted of having sex with an underage campaign worker. They voted for the son of a famous civil rights leader and got someone who illegally spent campaign funds on everything from furniture to Bruce Lee memorabilia.

Flying routine for Ga. doc, staff killed in crash

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - With four medical clinics across the Southeast, commuting by private plane was a routine day at work for Dr. Steven Roth and his surgical staff. The Augusta-based vascular surgeon would fly at least one day a week to of the practice's satellite clinics in Atlanta, Nashville, Tenn., and Raleigh, N.C., where he and a small team of nurses and technicians would perform surgeries and consult with patients. Now, federal investigators ...

Emory president's essay draws criticisms

ATLANTA (AP) - In recent years, Emory University made a point to acknowledge how the school was once led by slave owners, but an essay by the school president has renewed debate about racial sensitivity on campus. Emory President James Wagner recently wrote about the three-fifths compromise on slavery in 1787 to talk about the value of finding common ground in politics. In the compromise, northern and southern states agreed that three-fifths of the ...

Some patients won't see nurses of different race

DETROIT (AP) - It's been called one of medicine's "open secrets" - allowing patients to refuse treatment by a doctor or nurse of another race. In the latest example, a white man with a swastika tattoo insisted that black nurses not be allowed to touch his newborn. Now two black nurses are suing the hospital, claiming it bowed to his illegal demands. The Michigan cases are among several lawsuits filed in recent years that ...

Dow bounces from 2-day slide to a 3-digit gain

Strong earnings from big U.S. companies pushed the Dow Jones industrial average to a rare triple-digit gain Friday, but the S&P 500 index still posted its first weekly loss of the year.

FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones. The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent dose of anti-tumor poison. Cancer researchers say the drug is an important ...

Sheriff to put idle inmates to work outside jail

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) - Saying he's tired of seeing prisoners sit around and drink coffee and watch TV, a newly elected Georgia sheriff plans to put them to work.

Rat tales abound in NYC after Superstorm Sandy

NEW YORK (AP) - At the height of Superstorm Sandy, city residents watching seawater pour into the subway system couldn't help but wonder: What will become of all the rats?

Ga. executes man who killed college students

JACKSON, Ga. (AP) - Georgia has executed a 38-year-old inmate convicted of killing two college students in 1995.

GOP senators are treading carefully with tea party

WASHINGTON (AP) - Twice burned, Republicans are treading carefully around tea party groups as they pursue a Senate majority that slipped through their fingers in 2010 and 2012.