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

Officials say threatened FAA towers to remain open

WASHINGTON (AP) - Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has assured lawmakers the Obama administration will prevent the closure of 149 small airport towers as well as end furloughs of air traffic controllers nationwide as a result of legislation passed by Congress, according to officials involved in negotiations on the bill.

Man shoots Ala. bus driver, takes child

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. (AP) - Police, SWAT teams and negotiators were at a rural property where a man was believed to be holed up in a homemade bunker Wednesday after fatally shooting the driver of a school bus and fleeing with a 6-year-old child passenger, authorities said.

Trees down, outages as storms rake US

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A large storm system packing high winds, rain and some possible tornadoes tore across several states in the South and central U.S. on Wednesday, blacking out power to thousands, downing trees and damaging homes.

Updates with tornado watch issued for 9 counties in northwest Georgia.

ATLANTA (AP) - Forecasters say a storm system approaching Georgia will bring the threat of widespread damaging winds and isolated tornadoes to the state.

Ga. car tax law makes leasing less attractive

ATLANTA (AP) - A new law on Georgia car taxes has made leasing a vehicle a less attractive and more expensive option than buying a car outright.

Stocks advance, pushing Dow toward 14,000

NEW YORK (AP) - Pfizer helped keep the stock market rally alive Tuesday. The drugmaker's stock gained after posting strong earnings, pushing the Dow closer to 14,000.

Ga. island slave descendants fight huge tax hikes

DARIEN, Ga. (AP) - Slave descendants who own island property off the Georgia coast are fighting whopping tax increases that they say threatens one of the last Gullah-Geechee communities in the South.

Scouts' future uncertain if ban on gays is dropped

NEW YORK (AP) - The Boy Scouts of America's proposed move away from its no-gays membership policy has outraged some longtime admirers, gratified many critics and raised intriguing questions about the iconic organization's future. Will the Scouts now be split between troops with gay-friendly policies and those that keep the ban? What will a National Jamboree be like if it brings together these disparate groups with conflicting ideologies? A top official of the Southern ...

Texas woman's execution halted; DA won't appeal

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) - Dallas County prosecutors say they aren't appealing a state judge's decision to halt the scheduled Tuesday evening execution of a Texas woman. She would have been the first woman put to death in the U.S. since 2010. State District Judge Larry Mitchell issued a reprieve for 51-year-old Kimberly McCarthy less than five hours before she could have been taken to the death chamber for the 1997 slaying of a neighbor. Dallas ...

Stocks advance, pushing Dow toward 14,000

NEW YORK (AP) - Drugmaker Pfizer gave the Dow a lift on Tuesday after posting a strong earnings report. That helped push the index closer to 14,000.

Study: leafy greens top food poisoners

NEW YORK (AP) - A big government study has fingered leafy greens like lettuce and spinach as the leading source of food poisoning, a perhaps uncomfortable conclusion for health officials who want us to eat our vegetables.

Former Ga. Gov. Perdue won't run for US Senate

ATLANTA (AP) - Former Gov. Sonny Perdue won't run for the U.S. Senate in 2014. The popular Republican confirmed his intentions in a lengthy statement Tuesday, four days after Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss announced he will not seek a third term. Perdue, who is 66, left the governor's office in 2011 after two terms to return to the private sector. He said in his statement that he's disappointed over the dysfunction in Washington, D.C., but ...

Delta plans outdoor airport decks in Atlanta, NY

ATLANTA (AP) - Delta Air Lines plans to open the airline's first-ever outdoor airport terraces at Delta Sky Clubs in Atlanta and New York.

Senate panel approves Kerry nomination

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday swiftly and unanimously approved President Barack Obama's choice of Sen. John Kerry to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state.

Study says leafy greens top food poisoning source

NEW YORK (AP) - A government study has fingered leafy green vegetables as the leading source of food poisoning illnesses. However, the most food-related deaths were from contaminated chicken and other poultry. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the study Tuesday. It's based on an analysis of food poisoning cases from 1998 through 2008. It's the agency's most comprehensive attempt to identify which foods most often carry germs that make us sick. The ...

Stocks mixed on Wall Street, indexes near highs

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks were mixed on Wall Street, keeping the Standard & Poor's 500 close to its highest in more than seven years, as investors digested the latest round of earnings reports. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 5 points to 13,888 points as of 10:10 a.m. The Standard and Poor's 500 slipped two points to 1,498 points. The Nasdaq composite dropped 20 points to 3,134. Stocks have been taking a ...