UNITED STATES

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives defied a veto threat by President Barack Obama on Friday and voted to take money from his healthcare overhaul to pay for an extension of low-interest federal student loans.

Stocks rose modestly on Friday, putting equities on track for a fourth day of gains as more strong earnings partially offset a weaker-than-expected reading on economic growth.

Stocks edged higher on Friday, again driven by strong corporate earnings that partially offset a weaker-than-expected reading on economic growth, extending three days of gains.

Steve Carter, a 35-year-old software salesman, has found himself on a missing children's website. Carter, who was adopted at age 4 from an orphanage in Honolulu, was browsing online one day and came across a missing children's website when his curiosity got the best of him.

Shares of Hon Hai Precision Industries (TPE: 2317), more widely known as Foxconn and as the main contractor for Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, plunged Friday.

Reuters reported Friday a U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee investigation has concluded there is little evidence the CIA's torture methods produced counter-terrorism successes.

Mitt Romney may never have anything that comes close to President Barack Obama's hip and stylish image, but the likely Republican nominee is hoping to use Obama's reputation -- against Obama.

Karla Vanessa Perez of the northeastern state of Coahuila is pregnant. The reason why the Mexican woman is making headlines is that she's not pregnant with one, two or even three babies. Perez is pregnant with nine babies, six girls and three boys.

In a joint declaration statement issued Friday, the United States and Japan have agreed to the removal of 9,000 troops from Okinawa island.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is pregnant with baby number two. What does this mean for the CW's Ringer?

U.S. health regulators rejected the application by Amgen Inc, the world's biggest biotechnology company, to expand the use of the drug Xgeva to delay the spread of tumors to the bone in patients suffering from advanced prostate cancer.

The son of a Minnesota woman said that a rash led to a monkeypox scare on a Chicago flight, delaying passengers on their plane for several hours while the woman was evaluated.

Republicans on Thursday issued a politically charged report that quoted President Barack Obama's corporate advisers as predicting his 2010 healthcare overhaul would raise - not lower - the cost of care.

South Korean tech giant Samsung announced Thursday that its upcoming Galaxy smartphone, the Galaxy S3, would get Exynos 4 Quad boost up. The company said in a press release that the new processor is already in production and is scheduled to be adopted first into Samsung's next Galaxy smartphone that will officially be announced in May.

India will file a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization against the US over its visa policy, which India says is discriminatory to Indian companies, the Wall Street Journal has reported quoting a Ministry of Commerce official.

Stock euphoria over Amazon.com's (Nasdaq: AMZN) first-quarter earnings surprise sent shares of the No. 1 e-retailer soaring, triggering a big rise in the Nasdaq and other averages that eased slightly by midday.

The U.S. economy expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in the first quarter, reflecting a deceleration in inventories and nonresidential fixed investment that was partly offset by the biggest gain in consumer spending in more than a year.

Gold prices slipped back towards $1,650 an ounce on Friday as investors cashed in gains after a three-session rally, with confidence in the metal still soft as consumers in major Asian bullion-buying centres held off making fresh purchases.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade Friday are: Expedia, Amazon.com, Zynga Inc, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Ford Motor, Western Digital, Seagate Technology, Starbucks Corp and Fedex Corp.

Asian stock markets ended lower Friday as renewed concerns about the debt-laden Eurozone offset better-than-expected US pending home sales data and corporate earnings.

Stocks eyed a fourth day of gains on Friday, with Amazon the latest company to extend an earnings-driven rally that has wiped out much of the market's losses for April.