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.

Uncle: Family to claim Boston bomb suspect's body

Keith Richards: I don't own an iPod

NEW YORK (AP) - He's rock royalty and likes to keep it old-school: Keith Richards says he doesn't own an iPod.

1st-day deliberations end in Pa. abortion doc case

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A jury has gone home after deliberating for two hours in the capital murder trial of a Philadelphia abortion doctor accused of killing a patient and four babies.

Russia had elder Boston suspect under surveillance

Not much urgency to avoid automatic spending cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) - Ten days before a new deadline for broad, automatic government spending cuts, the sense of urgency that surrounded other recent fiscal crises is absent. Government agencies are preparing to absorb an $85 billion hit to their budgets, and politicians, at least for now, seem willing to accept the consequences.

Juvenile justice overhaul moving at Ga. capitol

ATLANTA (AP) - An overhaul of Georgia's juvenile justice system has cleared its first legislative hurdle.

Ga. execution going forward

ATLANTA (AP) - In a split decision, the Supreme Court of Georgia has denied a stay of execution for a Georgia death row inmate.

CDC app lets you solve disease outbreaks at home

ATLANTA (AP) - You may not be a disease detective, but now you can play one at home. The nation's public health agency has released a free app for the iPad called "Solve the Outbreak." It allows users to run through fictional outbreaks and make decisions: Do you quarantine the village? Talk to people who are sick? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the app was designed in-house and wouldn't give an estimate ...

Pistorius' girlfriend cremated in private ceremony

JOHANNESBURG (AP) - Reeva Steenkamp's coffin was draped in a white cloth and carried by six pallbearers at a private funeral Tuesday, just a few hours before Oscar Pistorius said in a court affidavit that he mistakenly killed his girlfriend by shooting her through a bathroom door. Reeva's uncle, Mike Steenkamp, broke down in tears after the cremation ceremony under gray skies in the family's hometown of Port Elizabeth on South Africa's southern coast, ...

Braves to retire No. 10 in honor of Chipper Jones

ATLANTA (AP) - The Atlanta Braves will retire Chipper Jones' number and induct him into the team's hall of fame on June 28.

Court says police don't have to prove dog training

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court says police don't have to extensively document a drug-sniffing dog's reliability in the field to uphold its work in court.

Talk of more corporate deals sends stocks higher

NEW YORK (AP) - Talk of more mergers and acquisitions is sending stock prices higher in early trading, setting the market up to continue a seven-week rally.

US security firm alleges massive Chinese hacking

BEIJING (AP) - Cyberattacks that stole massive amounts of information from military contractors, energy companies and other key industries in the U.S. and elsewhere have been traced to the doorstep of a Chinese military unit, a U.S. security firm alleged Tuesday.

Knocking on heavens door

ATLANTA (AP) - A Georgia death row inmate's execution is set to go forth unless he gets last-minute relief from a court or the state pardons board.

New vehicle tax laws could mean long lines

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia county officials say motorists can expect longer lines and higher fees at county tag offices across the state as new laws vehicle tax laws take effect.

Obama wants even more taxes

WASHINGTON (AP) - Facing yet another fiscal deadline, President Barack Obama is urging congressional Republicans to accept more tax revenue in order to avert looming, across-the-board budget cuts due to take effect in less than two weeks.

First lady quips that midlife crisis led to bangs

PALM CITY, Fla. (AP) - Michelle Obama jokingly says a mid-life crisis is what inspired her new haircut with bangs.

Round-the-world UK cyclists killed in Thailand

LONDON (AP) - A British couple's round-the-world cycling odyssey ended in tragedy when both of them were killed in a road accident in Thailand.

Warm winter temps confuse reptiles in coastal Ga.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) - Warm winter weather may mean more days at the beach for residents and tourists, but it is causing some confusion for reptiles and amphibians in the Golden Isles.