UNITED STATES

Stocks rose for the third straight day on Thursday, sparked by results from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley and as the latest jobless claims dropped to a near four-year low.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona was arrested on Thursday for using a fake identity and his actual name is Roberto Hernandez Heredia.

Versace for H&M was such a wild success in November that the Italian fashion house decided to release another H&M collection, this time made up of cruise wear. The Cruise 2012 collection launched exclusively online in the UK on Thursday and sold out in almost no time at all. It is now available on eBay.

The speaker of the Palestinian parliament has been arrested by Israeli soldiers, according to Hamas officials.

U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, author of the controversial SOPA bill, received more campaign cash from the entertainment industry than from any other source.

The number of Americans filing for new jobless benefits dropped to a near four-year low last week and factory activity in the mid-Atlantic expanded moderately, suggesting the economy carried some momentum into the new year.

Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday it will pay $158 million to settle a Texas lawsuit accusing the drugmaker of improperly marketing its Risperdal anti-psychotic drug to state residents on the Medicaid health program for the poor.

The number of Americans filing for new jobless benefits dropped to a near four-year low last week and factory activity in the mid-Atlantic expanded moderately, suggesting the economy carried some momentum into the new year.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected to talk about the debt crisis and the deficit in the Republicans' response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.

America's new ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, didn't exactly get the warmest of welcomes.

General Electric, the U.S.'s largest industrial manufacturer, is expected to report a 22.3 percent fourth-quarter profit increase when it announces its earnings Friday, driven by strong equipment order and pricing trends and growth in the aviation and energy infrastructure sectors. It marks the seventh straight quarter of operating earnings growth.

Megaupload, a popular online download file-hosting site, was shut down on Thursday by the U.S. Government

The world economy will lose momentum in 2012 but it will keep moving in the right direction, according to Reuters polls of around 600 economists who said crisis-hit Europe would drag on global growth.

If you are a deal hunter and looking for a post-holiday tablet offering, check out the $99 Galaxy Tab from Verizon or the $299 HTC EVO View from Amazon. Plenty of new tablets came out right before the holidays, and those devices are still for sale at premium prices.

Obama visited Disney World in Orlando, Florida on Thursday to outline his plan to boost tourism.

The world economy will lose momentum in 2012 but it will keep moving in the right direction, according to Reuters polls of around 600 economists who said crisis-hit Europe would drag on global growth.

How will you keep your eye on the ball if you don’t know the rules of the game?

Nike Inc is seeing no slowdown in demand in its biggest markets, even as Europe struggles economically and shoppers in the United States remain skittish, Chief Executive Mark Parker said.

In the United States, there is a significant population of Iranians who emigrated from their native country to various cities across the United States. Many, if not most, of these individuals still have ties to Iran: their family and their culture.

EU regulators set on Thursday a new February 13 deadline to decide whether to clear Google's takeover of U.S. handset maker Motorola Mobility after the Internet search engine came forward with new documents to support its case, the EU Commission said.

Bonuses in Britain's financial services sector have been out of control in recent years, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday, unveiling plans to cap cash rewards again at state-backed banks.