Georgia’s coaching search may be nearing a quick end

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s coaching search could be headed for a swift end, but the school was tight-lipped Wednesday about its progress and scheduled no announcement about who would succeed football coach Mark Richt. ESPN and the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart was Georgia’s selection late Tuesday night. Georgia athletic […]

Canada’s swift resettlement offers hope to Syria refugees

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The only thing Mohammed, a civil war refugee from Syria, knew about Canada was that it’s a bit cold. Yet he accepted on the spot when asked if he wanted to settle there and be ready to travel before the end of the year. On Wednesday, less than 24 hours after […]

Digital rights group alleges Google invades student privacy

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Google is being accused of invading the privacy of students using laptop computers powered by the Internet company’s Chrome operating system. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group, depicts Google as a two-faced opportunist in a complaint filed Tuesday with the Federal Trade Commission. Google disputes the unflattering portrait and […]

14 dead, more than a dozen wounded in California shooting

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) – As many as three gunmen believed to be wearing military-style gear opened fire Wednesday at a Southern California social services center, killing at least 14 people and wounding more than a dozen others, authorities said. Hours later, police hunting for the attackers riddled a black SUV with gunfire several miles […]

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Legal limbo awaits millions of future ‘climate refugees’

NEW DELHI (AP) — Farmer Ajmad Miyah has given up on ever settling down again. Three years after the sea swallowed his home on the Bangladeshi coast, he still has no property or possessions, and survives by tilling other people’s fields in exchange for food. “I’ve accepted that this is reality,” the lean, 36-year-old Miyah […]

How did Mark and Teresa Sievers meet?

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Mark and Teresa Sievers grew up in different parts of the country but met through Mark Sievers’ sister and bonded through their medical professions. Below is a timeline of how the couple met: Mark Sievers was born and raised in rural Hillsboro, MO, about 50 miles southwest of St Louis. Sievers and Curtis […]

Police: Couple put 4-year-old in garbage bag as punishment

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania couple has been charged with duct-taping a 4-year-old girl’s hands and stuffing her in a garbage bag as punishment for soiling herself. Johnstown polices say the girl was then left in the bag in a dark, unheated basement. Authorities say the punishment happened Nov. 16 and was discovered when […]

Budget talks hit snag over environmental issues, refugees

WASHINGTON (AP) – Talks on a massive, government-wide spending bill hit a snag Wednesday as Republicans pressed demands to block new power plant rules, weaken financial services regulations and make it more difficult for Syrian and Iraqi refugees to enter the U.S. Democrats, whose votes will be needed to carry the $1.1 trillion measure through […]

High court skeptical of state power to gather health data

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared skeptical that state officials have the power to require health insurers to turn over reams of data revealing how much they pay for medical claims. Most of the justices seemed to agree during a one-hour argument that efforts by Vermont and other states to collect and […]

Record Cyber Monday spending tops $3 billion

NEW YORK (AP) – Shoppers spent more than $3 billion online this “Cyber Monday,” making it the biggest online shopping day ever. Research firm comScore said shopping by phone, laptop or tablet jumped 21 percent to $3.11 billion Monday. The 10-year-old shopping holiday has lost some of its luster as retailers push sales forward on […]