Stronger seat belt law hits a pothole

ATLANTA (AP) - A bid to require adults in pickup trucks to buckle their seat belts was narrowly defeated by a House panel Tuesday, defying supporters of stronger safety standards that have been adopted by much of the nation.

Stocks surge on bank plan, rise in home sales

NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street got the news it wanted on the economy's biggest problems - banks and housing - and celebrated by hurtling the Dow Jones industrials up nearly 500 points.

Georgia among states missing out on extra unemployment benefits

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - More than a half-million unemployed workers in Ohio and several other states are missing out on extended federal benefits because of the way laws in their states are written. The economic stimulus package allows states with high unemployment to provide up to 20 weeks of extended federal benefits to workers who have exhausted other government benefits. But 13 states and the District of Columbia have laws written in ...

Transportation plan hits speed bump

ATLANTA (AP) - Plans to raise the sales tax to pay for transportation projects in Georgia have hit a speed bump.

In some places, 4-day school weeks are becoming an option

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - With the nation's school districts strapped for cash, more are considering a schedule that delights students and makes working parents cringe: Class only four days a week.

New Mexico mystery solved

Miss Manners hopes to turn back the clock for new rules

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - Miss Manners would like you to put down your cell phone and consider: What would George Washington do?

Neglected battlefields

WASHINGTON (AP) - Oscar-winner Richard Dreyfuss visited the nation's capital on Wednesday to call attention to the most endangered Civil War battlefields.

Stimulus plan: Spend now, details later (promise)

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama wants governors to hurry up and begin building bridges and schools to revive the economy. His administration is learning that spending $787 billion as quickly and transparently as promised is no easy task.

AIG backlash has employees living in fear

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) - Pillars of the community are now pariahs fearing for their safety in a ritzy area of Connecticut home to many executives at American International Group Inc., hit with a backlash over bonuses it paid to top brass even as it accepted federal bailout money.

Black lawmakers walk out of House after Obama vote

ATLANTA (AP) - Frustrated black lawmakers staged a walkout Friday after the Georgia House decided to delay another vote on a resolution that would have honored President Barack Obama as a politician with an "unimpeachable reputation for integrity, vision and passion."

US deficit forecast to hit $1.8 trillion this year

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's budget would generate deficits averaging almost $1 trillion a year over the next decade, according to the latest congressional estimates, significantly worse than predicted by the White House just last month.

Senate broadens tuition tax credit

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia Senate has voted to broaden the state's new tuition tax credit program, which gives income tax credits to donors who contribute to scholarship programs for students to attend private schools.

House approves payment for rape exoneree

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia House has approved a move to pay more than $700,000 to a Georgia man who was wrongly convicted of rape.

State legislators push fitness tests

ATLANTA (AP) - Students would soon have to complete an annual physical fitness testing under a measure that cleared the Georgia Legislature.

DOT suspends closures for holiday

JESUP - The Georgia Department of Transportation announced Monday that to help travelers during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, construction-related lane closures on all interstate and major state-system highways would be suspended from noon Friday, May 24, to 5 a.m. Tuesday, May 28.

State further restricts groundwater pumping

Effective immediately, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division will prohibit new groundwater withdrawals in the Coastal Georgia counties of Chatham, Bryan, Liberty and the portion of Effingham County south of Highway 119.

Stewart employees preparing for July furloughs

A May 14 Department of Defense news release announced Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's directive that furloughs will begin for DoD civilians after July 8. Fort Stewart Public Affairs Officer Kevin Larson confirmed that civilian personnel managers at Stewart are preparing for the furloughs but noted that details had to be worked out locally.

Pentagon steps closer to civilian furloughs

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2013 - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced today that he has signed a memorandum directing defense managers to prepare to furlough most Defense Department civilian employees for up to 11 days between July 8 and the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year.

Jesup man wins $100K in lottery

Leland Smith, a 79-year-old great-grandfather from Jesup, recently won a $100,000 playing the Monopoly Millionaire instant game.

AASU officially announce Liberty campus plan

Armstrong Atlantic State University on Wednesday announced a major initiative for the Armstrong-Liberty Center. In partnership with the city of Hinesville, the university will build an expanded, new facility in downtown Hinesville to accommodate more students, programs, classroom and laboratory space.