Ken Stanford

The U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in July from a four-year low in June, as companies exported fewer goods and imported a record number of foreign-made autos. The larger trade deficit could dampen economic growth in the current July-September quarter.

President Vladimir Putin warned the West against taking one-sided action in Syria but also said Russia "doesn't exclude" supporting a U.N. resolution on punitive military strikes if it is proved that Damascus used poison gas on its own people.

Eight years after Hurricane Katrina, most states, including Georgia, still don't require four basic safety plans to protect children in school and child care from disasters, aid group Save the Children said in a report released Wednesday.

State schools Superintendent John Barge says education, ethics and economic development will be his top issues as he challenges Gov. Nathan Deal in the 2014 Republican primary.

As Democrats try to curtail GOP dominance in the South, the party's top recruits for 2014 elections are trying to sell themselves as problem solvers above Washington's partisan gridlock.

Tea party and other conservative activists are pressuring Georgia's two Republican senators to join the effort to deny money for implementing President Barack Obama's health care law.

Northeast Georgia projects announced Tuesday by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) include work in Hall, Jackson and Lumpkin counties.

As the Obama administration tries to prod Congress into backing armed action against Syria, the regime in Damascus is hiding military hardware and shifting troops out of bases into civilian areas.