Consumers already grappling with high food, gasoline and heating oil prices in many states now face another financial burden: skyrocketing electricity bills.

Civil liberties attorneys Wednesday urged a federal appeals panel to block a suburban Atlanta county from allowing clergy to open meetings with Christian prayers, although the judges seemed reluctant to overturn a lower court's ruling upholding the practice.

Georgia may turn some of its troubled state psychiatric hospitals over to private operators as it prepares to make deep cuts in mental health spending.

Is Kathy Cox smarter than a fifth-grader? We'll find out Sept. 5 when Georgia's state schools superintendent appears on the popular game show, "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" On the show, adults answer questions based on lessons kids learn in elementary school.

Georgia's slumping economy already has local governments cutting staff, reducing programs and raising taxes. Just the suggestion that Gov. Sonny Perdue would yank $428 million in state tax relief grants has local officials howling in protest.

Legislators looking to expand where Georgians can carry guns may take aim at university campuses. Carry a gun on or within 1,000 feet of any campus now and you could be charged with a felony, spend up to 10 years in prison and pay as much as $10,000 in fines.

Deeper budget cuts could drive up the cost of getting a college degree in Georgia and force the University System Board of Regents to drop its highly touted program giving students a fixed tuition rate for four years.

Gov. Sonny Perdue's statement that he'd like to see the homeowner tax grant program scrapped has local officials in a panic and some state lawmakers calling for a special legislative session.

The amount of soot found in Georgia's air every day is safe for public health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said this week.

LANCASTER, Pa. - The Amish are expanding their presence in states far beyond Pennsylvania Dutch country as they search for affordable farmland to accommodate a population that has nearly doubled in the past 16 years, a new study found.

Georgia's budget crisis has cast doubt on the state's ability to provide millions of dollars to expand the network of hospitals that handle trauma care for car crashes, stabbings and shootings, top state officials said.

Nationally and in Georgia, the use of Amber Alerts to track down missing children is on the decline, according to data from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Faced with up to $228 million in expected budget cuts, Georgia's colleges are looking at laying off employees, increasing student fees and revoking guaranteed tuition rates.

Some Texas lawmakers could launch a new effort to crack down on illegal immigrants by punishing businesses that employ them or cities that give them sanctuary, if the ideas get the legal go-ahead from Attorney General Greg Abbott.