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.

Dow surges to record ... and keeps going

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow closed at an all-time high Tuesday, beating the previous record it set in October 2007, before the financial crisis and Great Recession. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 14,253.77, up 125.95 points, or 0.89 percent. The index jumped from the opening bell, climbed as much as 158 points early and peaked at 14,286. Twenty seven stocks in the 30-member Dow advanced, with industrial companies leading the gains. ...

Coalition will no longer publish attack figures

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S.-led military command in Afghanistan said Tuesday it will no longer publish figures on Taliban attacks, a week after acknowledging that its report of a 7 percent decline in attacks last year was actually no decline at all. A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, Jamie Graybeal, said Tuesday that its reporting on the number of attacks will grow increasingly inaccurate as Afghan forces move further into ...

Researchers report sharp rise in 'patriot' groups

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - President Barack Obama's administration and the gun control debate after the Connecticut school shooting have led to surging numbers of anti-government "patriot" groups, according to a civil rights group that tracks extremist groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center reported the rising numbers on Tuesday in its annual report on extremist groups. The number of anti-government patriot groups, one category tracked by the center, rose dramatically over the past four years, ...

KaBoom

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia state Senate has passed a resolution to let voters decide whether fireworks sales should be legal in the state.

Officials alarmed by increasing superbug reports

NEW YORK (AP) - Health officials say there's been an alarming increase in some dangerous superbugs at U.S. hospitals. These superbugs are common germs that have become extremely resistant to treatment with antibiotics. The number of hospitals reporting infections with these superbugs is still small. But a government report shows 1 in 25 hospitals saw at least one case last year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the new tally Tuesday. They're ...

Crews remove yacht grounded by alleged thieves

PACIFICA, Calif. (AP) - Crews have removed an 82-foot yacht from a Northern California beach after authorities say three people stole it, stocked it with pizza and beer, then ran it aground.

Firefighter group banned from Savannah parade

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Organizers of Savannah's St. Patrick's Day Parade say they've banned a firefighters' group from participating.

GOP seeks to smooth roughest cuts, avert shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans controlling the House are moving to take the roughest edges off across-the-board spending cuts that are just starting to take effect. Even as the military would bear a $43 billion cut over just seven months, the new GOP measure released Monday would give the Pentagon much-needed funding for readiness. It would also ease the pain felt by critical agencies like the FBI and the Border Patrol. The effort is ...

Martha Stewart to testify in trial over her brand

NEW YORK (AP) - Eight years after Martha Stewart was released from prison for lying about a stock trade, the home diva is now facing another legal mess that may not be easy to clean up.

Dow Jones industrial average trades at a new high

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow has never been higher. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped nearly 100 points early Tuesday, reaching an all-time high, powered by China's strong economic growth targets and a jump in European retail sales. Shortly after the opening bell the Dow was trading at 14,222. It's on track to close above its record of 14,164 reached on Oct. 9, 2007. It's up 7.8 percent for the year. The Standard & ...

ATL school system considers ending cell phone ban

ATLANTA (AP) - Atlanta public schools officials are considering ending a cell phone ban for younger students so they would be able to contact their parents in case of an emergency.

Playboy magazine launches Hebrew language edition

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israelis can now read Playboy 'for the articles' as a Hebrew language edition came to the holy land Tuesday.

US home prices rose by most in nearly 7 years

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. home prices jumped in January, a sign the housing market is gaining momentum as it nears the spring selling season. Home prices rose 9.7 percent in January from a year ago, according to data released Tuesday by CoreLogic. That's up from an 8.3 percent increase in December and the biggest annual gain since April 2006. Prices rose in all states except Delaware and Illinois. And prices increased in 92 of ...

Ex-DEA heads: Feds should nullify state pot laws

CHICAGO (AP) - Eight former Drug Enforcement Administration chiefs say the federal government needs to act now or it might lose the chance to nullify Colorado and Washington's laws legalizing recreational marijuana use. The onetime DEA heads plan to issue joint statements Tuesday saying the Obama administration has reacted too slowly and should immediately sue to force the states to rescind the legislation. The Associated Press received an advance copy of the statement Monday. ...

Financial aid process changing for Ga. students

MACON, Ga. (AP) - Students planning to attend college in Georgia and apply for state financial aid will soon have to fill out a federal application instead of a state form.