Deluge of rain could lead to flooding in north Ga.

ATLANTA (AP) - More than two-dozen counties in north Georgia are under a flood watch as storms approach the state.

Police say they didn't release Witherspoon video

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia State Patrol says it did not release the video from a state trooper's dash-camera showing a combative Reese Witherspoon confronting the officer during a traffic stop in Atlanta.

Fresh off victory, NRA holds convention in Houston

Driver killed by falling tree in western Georgia

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) - Georgia State Patrol officials say a driver in Carroll County has been killed by a falling tree.

New documentary examines the lives of porn stars

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ever wonder what makes young, pretty, "good" girls pursue careers in porn?

Official: Shiny dog bowl sparks Calif. house fire

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) - A Northern California couple might be able to blame this one on the dog.

Witherspoon: I lied about pregnancy during arrest

BC-US--Reese Witherspoon Arrest,5th Ld-Writethru/260

Kingston promises 'common sense' in Senate race

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.

Woman fired after tweeting pic of men making sexist jokes

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A female developer was fired after tweeting about a group of men she said were making sexual comments at a computer programming conference, fueling an already vigorous debate about gender equality and culture in Silicon Valley.

Police arrest 2 teens in Ga. baby killing

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) - Police have arrested two teenagers suspected in the shooting death of a baby in a stroller and the wounding of the baby's mother. Brunswick Police Chief Tobe Green said Friday that 17-year-old Demarquis Elkins is charged with first-degree murder as an adult. The 14-year-old is also charged with murder, but he was not identified because he is a juvenile. The chief said police were still investigating the motive and ...

Pa. caretaker charged with drinking old whiskey

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - The live-in caretaker of a western Pennsylvania mansion is facing criminal charges for allegedly drinking more than $100,000 worth of the owner's whiskey.

Ga. Senate passes competing bill on lobbying rules

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia Senate has upped the ante on the House as the two chambers attempt to overhaul lobbying rules at the Capitol.

Soccer players suspended over drinking allegations

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Authorities say 18 players on a high school soccer team in east Georgia have been suspended and removed from the team after they were accused of drinking alcohol while on a school-sponsored trip.

Senate Democrats on track to pass budget

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats controlling the Senate moved on Friday toward approving their first budget in four years, promising another, almost $1 trillion round of tax increases on top of more than $600 billion in higher taxes on the wealthy enacted in January.

Punxsutawney Phil 'indicted' over spring forecast

CINCINNATI (AP) - Famed groundhog Punxsutawney Phil might want to go back into hibernation. Authorities in still-frigid Ohio have issued an "indictment" of the furry rodent, who predicted an early spring when he didn't see his shadow after emerging from his western Pennsylvania lair on Feb. 2. "Punxsutawney Phil did purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the people to believe that spring would come early," Mike Gmoser, the prosecutor in southwestern Ohio's ...

Tolls on Georgia 400 to end before Thanksgiving

ATLANTA (AP) - Transportation officials say the tolls on Georgia 400, a busy commuter route on the north side of Atlanta, will end later this year.

UGA student reports attack by mime

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - A University of Georgia student told police she was attacked by a woman who appeared dressed as a mime.

3 dead, including suspect, in Marine base shooting

QUANTICO, Va. (AP) - A Marine killed a male and female colleague in a shooting at a base in northern Virginia before killing himself, officials said early Friday. Authorities were called to the scene at Marine Corps Base Quantico around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, where they found one Marine dead at a barracks, base commander Col. David W. Maxwell told reporters. Authorities later found a second victim dead, along with the body of the ...

Ex-children's hospital worker accused of abuse

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - A former employee of Children's Hospital of Georgia is accused of sexual battery involving patients at the Augusta facility.

Obama health law anniversary finds two Americas

WASHINGTON (AP) - Three years, two elections, and one Supreme Court decision after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, its promise of health care for the uninsured may be delayed or undercut in much of the country because of entrenched opposition from many Republican state leaders. In half the states, mainly led by Democrats, officials are racing deadlines to connect uninsured residents to coverage now only months away. In others it's ...

Survey: Low-wage workers missing out on training

WASHINGTON (AP) - As they struggle to get ahead, many low-wage workers are not taking advantage of job training or educational programs that could help them make the leap to better-paying jobs. They are often skeptical about whether such programs are even worth the trouble, a new survey shows.

Universe ages 80M years; Big Bang gets clearer

PARIS (AP) - New results from a look into the split second after the Big Bang indicate the universe is 80 million years older than previously thought but the core concepts of the cosmos - how it began, what it's made of and where it's going - seem to be on the right track. The findings released Thursday bolster a key theory called inflation, which says the universe burst from subatomic size to ...

Ga. jobless rate hits lowest level since early '09

ATLANTA (AP) - State labor officials say Georgia's unemployment rate has dropped 8.6 percent, its lowest level in the past four years.