Obama: US still not sure who used chem weapons

2-year-old girl gets windpipe made from stem cells

CHICAGO (AP) - A 2-year-old girl born without a windpipe now has a new one grown from her own stem cells, the youngest patient in the world to benefit from the experimental treatment.

Reward rises for leads on Savannah student slaying

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - A reward of up to $12,500 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of whoever killed Savannah State University student Rebecca Foley.

Stocks edge lower; Pfizer weighs down the Dow

NEW YORK (AP) - Weak earnings from Pfizer and other companies dragged down major market indexes Monday, pulling the Standard & Poor's 500 back from a record high.

US home prices up 9.3 pct., most in nearly 7 years

UGA: Backpacks won't be allowed at graduation

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - The University of Georgia will ban backpacks in the school's football stadium during its commencement ceremony on May 10.

FBI visits home of wife of dead bombing suspect

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) - FBI agents investigating the Boston Marathon bombings have visited the Rhode Island home of Tamerlan Tsarnaev's (TAM'-ehr-luhn tsahr-NEYE'-ehv) in-laws and carried away several bags.

S&P 500 reaches new high, led by tech

VA stops bonuses for disability claims executives

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Veterans Affairs Department is withholding bonuses for senior officials who oversee disability claims, citing a failure to meet performance goals for reducing a sizable backlog in claims processing.

Deal signs bill revising tourism tax break program

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) - Gov. Nathan Deal has signed a bill into law that makes changes to a tax break program aimed at boosting Georgia tourism.

US loans from China at issue in debt-ceiling fight

Atlanta mayor vows enhanced security for road race

ATLANTA (AP) - City leaders and organizers of the upcoming AJC Peachtree Road Race say they will be taking enhanced security measures for the annual race in the wake of the bombings at the Boston marathon.

Brief hearing held in suspicious letters case

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - A Mississippi man charged with making a deadly poison sent to President Barack Obama and others was ordered held without bond until a hearing later this week when prosecutors are expected to describe what evidence they have against him

Pa. abortion doc co-defendant argues case unproven

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A lawyer for the co-defendant of a Philadelphia abortion doctor says prosecutors didn't prove their case against her.

Canada dismemberment trial set for fall 2014

MONTREAL (AP) - The trial of a former porn actor accused of dismembering his Chinese lover and mailing the body parts to Canadian political parties will begin in September 2014.

Stocks fall Wall Street on Cyprus bailout

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks fell in early trading on Wall Street on concern that the terms of a proposed bank bailout for the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus could cause the euro crisis to flare up again. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 36 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,477 as of 10:18 a.m. EDT. The Dow fell as much as 110 points in the early going, then recouped some of ...

Supreme Court upholds sentence in girl's killing

ATLANTA (AP) - The Supreme Court of Georgia has upheld the convictions and life prison sentence given to the stepmother of an 11-year-old girl who prosecutors say was starved and beaten to death in Henry County in 2003.

Ga. day care regulators changing some rules

MACON, Ga. (AP) - Georgia day care regulators are changing some rules and adding others in an effort aimed at better protecting and educating children.

Rise of Latino population blurs US racial lines

WASHINGTON (AP) - Welcome to the new off-white America. A historic decline in the number of U.S. whites and the fast growth of Latinos are blurring traditional black-white color lines, testing the limits of civil rights laws and reshaping political alliances as "whiteness" begins to lose its numerical dominance. Long in coming, the demographic shift was most vividly illustrated in last November's re-election of President Barack Obama, the first black president, despite a historically ...

Pa. guard shot finger trying to remove ring

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A federal prison guard has been charged with shooting his own finger in a drunken attempt to remove his wedding ring during an argument with his wife at their northwestern Pennsylvania home, police said.

CDC: Rare rabies death was from kidney transplant

Four people received donated organs from a man unknowingly infected with rabies, leading to a rare human death more than a year later that has authorities scrambling to treat the other three patients, federal health officials said Friday. The man who died lived in Maryland and had received a kidney. The recipients of the donor's other kidney, heart and liver are getting anti-rabies shots, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said ...

US stocks open lower, threatening long rally

U.S. stocks opened lower Friday, threatening to end the longest winning streak for the Dow Jones industrial average in nearly 17 years. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 43 points, or 0.3, to 14,496 in the first hour and half of trading. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell four points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,559. The Nasdaq composite index fell 10 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,248. The S&P 500 was six points ...

Prisoner van overturns on Atlanta freeway

ATLANTA (AP) - A van used to transport prisoners overturned on an Atlanta freeway, jamming traffic at the start of the rush hour.

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 ...