UNITED STATES

In the fierce battle to rule the smartphone landscape, Google's Android platform has not only maintained, but extended its lead against Apple and others.

Tropical Storm Emily broke apart over the mountains of Haiti and Dominican Republic on Thursday but its remnants still packed rains threatening flash floods and mudslides in the neighboring Caribbean countries.

There is an extension to allow the FAA to tap available funds in a federal trust account funded by ticket taxes to cover some of the agency's costs. The temporary extensions aim to bridge the gap to a long-delayed bill still being negotiated on long-term FAA budgeting and aviation priorities.

Online travel agency Priceline.com on Thursday posted a higher quarterly profit that topped analysts' expectations as strong growth at its overseas markets boosted bookings.

The U.S. and European markets got killed on Thursday.

Wholesale gasoline discounts in Los Angeles were unchanged on Wednesday but the outright price fell due to a drop in in the NYMEX benchmark, traders said.

Fluor Corp (FLR.N), the largest publicly traded U.S. engineering company, posted unexpected second-quarter profit growth and said its backlog of work surged to a new record, lifting its stock by 7 percent.

The new U.S nutritional guidelines advise Americans to intake more potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D and calcium.

Fears of a new recession caused the stock market to take a deep plunge on Thursday making it the worst day since the financial crisis in 2008. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 512.76 points, or 4.13 percent, closing at 11, 383.68.

South African government bonds extended a recent rally on Thursday, gaining sharply on the back of worries about the global economy that saw investors running to safer assets.

The U.S. stock market and other risk assets got hammered on Thursday as investors took money off table ahead of Friday's U.S. jobs report and a worsening debt crisis in Europe.

Automobile production in Brazil rose 3.9 percent BRAOPM=ECI and sales increased 0.6 percent BRASLM=ECI in July from June, the national automakers' association said on Thursday.

President Barack Obama has asked Timothy Geithner to stay on as Treasury secretary and a decision is expected soon, officials said on Thursday.

"As children begin preparing to return to school, it's important for parents and children to go over school bus safety tips together," says Susan Laurence, injury prevention coordinator, Trauma Services at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "This will help ensure a safe, enjoyable start to the school year for everyone."

Former Beatle Paul McCartney said on Thursday that he appears to be a victim of the newspaper phone hacking scandal in Britain and will be talking to police when he finishes a U.S. tour.

British lawmakers called on Thursday for CNN talk show host and former tabloid editor Piers Morgan to return to his native Britain to answer questions about phone-hacking after allegations made by the ex-wife of former Beatle Paul McCartney.

Investors fled Wall Street in the worst stock-market selloff since the middle of the financial crisis in early 2009 in what has turned into a full-fledged correction.The Dow and the S&P tumbled more than 4 percent on Thursday and the Nasdaq lost 5 percent on fear the United States is staring at another recession and that Europe's sovereign debt crisis is swallowing two of its largest economies.

The number of Americans claiming new unemployment benefits was steady last week and heavy discounting lifted sales at retailers in July, hopeful signs for the sputtering economy.

Congressional leaders struck a deal on Thursday to resolve a partisan dispute and end a partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration that has halted airport projects and threatened thousands of jobs.

A large police presence will remain on the Virginia Tech campus after an extensive police search for a man with a gun on Thursday yielded nothing.

LinkedIn Corp is banking on faster-than-expected revenue growth in 2011, as the professional networking site sets off to prove it can fulfill the promise of its splashy IPO and rich valuation.