UNITED STATES

In a letter sent to the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said lawmakers have a moral obligation to ensure unemployed Americans and their families are able to support themselves in an economy that has not been conductive to job growth.

Roughly one-third of the world's oil tanker traffic passes through the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Associated Press, and just a brief closure would put a noticeable clamp on global supplies, likely sending prices higher.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus is coming to U.S. on Dec. 15, according to the latest rumor, which cites a Verizon store as saying.

The U.S. Department of the Interior on Wednesday will open up the first sale of Gulf Coast leases. The offering has garnered a larger list of players than during the previous sale.

Charlie Sheen was fired from his starring role on TV sitcom Two and A Half Men because he was so addicted to cocaine that program makers feared he might die, or cause someone else to die, producer Chuck Lorre said.

Researchers gave an epidemiological look Tuesday into the reasons and risks behind stillbirths and opened possible ways to prevent the devastating deaths of an estimated one out of every 160 pregnancies that predominantly affects black women.

Director David Fincher's film adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo earned solid early reviews on Tuesday following its London premiere, and the studio behind it pushed up the release in a crowded holiday season.

Silent film The Artist and animated movie Hugo led nominations for Hollywood's Critics' Choice Awards on Tuesday, in a key week that will firm up the field of likely Oscar contenders.

Republicans raised concerns on Tuesday over the Obama administration's nominee to head the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), as a possible bailout for the agency looms.

This is the first in a series of Studio Report Cards from TheWrap. First up, Warner Bros.

British band The Kooks wrap up the current U.S. leg of their tour this week, setting their sights beyond their first three records and aiming to score a major hit in America with new music to come.

It’s not too late to save the U.S. Postal Service, the inventor of e-mail told the International Business Times.

The chief executive of Merck & Co on Tuesday defended his refusal to slash the drugmaker's $8 billion research budget and warned that global price constraints threaten the pharmaceutical industry's ability to innovate.

Europe's economic prospects next year are so bleak that 2011, for all the euro's agonies, has every chance of being remembered fondly.

Gold prices slipped Tuesday, its seventh consecutive daily decline, to a two-month low as the dollar posted big gains in light trading.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday pointed to turmoil Europe as a big risk to the economy, leaving the door open to a further easing of monetary policy even as it noted some improvement in the labor market.

It seems the long hard wait for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus is drawing to a close. Verizon continues to hold its silence, but the phone has already surfaced in some Best Buy stores and the next stop appears to be Costco on Dec.15, according to the stores internal pricing guides.

Retail sales grew at their slowest pace in five months in November, tempering expectations for a strong holiday shopping season.

Hedge fund billionaire Steven A. Cohen in sworn testimony earlier this year called the rules on insider trading very vague and said sometimes it's a judgment call as to whether a tidbit about a public company is inside information.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday left monetary policy on hold but said financial market turbulence posed threats to economic growth, leaving the door open to further easing next year.

Congress has approved US employment extension benefits for 2012, stated a press release. So what should people do?