Ken Stanford

The suicide rate among middle-aged Americans climbed a startling 28 percent in a decade, a period that included the recession and the mortgage crisis, the government reported Thursday.

President Barack Obama has his top domestic ambition at the head of his agenda as he travels to Mexico on Thursday. To sell his immigration overhaul back home, he needs a growing economy in Mexico and a Mexican president willing to help him secure the border.

As Congress debates the first national immigration overhaul in decades, a state-level push advancing rights for people in the U.S. illegally has picked up momentum across the country.

State Sen. Butch Miller, who shepherded HB 350 through the Senate earlier this year, commented Wednesday on the significance of the bill following its signing by Gov. Nathan Deal.

A Korean American detained for six months in North Korea has been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for "hostile acts" against the state, the North's media said Thursday - a move that could trigger a visit by a high-profile American if history is any guide.

The Gainesville High School Family and Community Career Leaders of America (FCCLA) team has qualified to compete in the national events in Nashville, Tenn., in July.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week to seasonally adjusted 324,000, the lowest since January 2008. Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed in March for a second month as the daily flow of imported crude oil dropped to the lowest level in 17 years.

Road Atlanta on Friday will host what is billed as the largest solar sprint showdown in the state.

Supporters of immigration reform rallied across the nation on May Day in lively gatherings that were marred by a burst of violence in Seattle, where police fired pepper spray at rock-throwing protesters in clashes that left 17 people arrested.

Detroit was king in April, with demand for its big pickups helping to boost U.S. auto sales and offset a soft month for Toyota.