UNITED STATES

Motorola has slashed the price of XOOM tablet in US and in Taiwan to $499 putting it at the same price as its rival, 16 GB WiFi iPad2. It is also offering free wireless keyboard and mouse with every Motorola purchase in UK.

Called escapist and puerile, romance novels are maybe bearing the brunt of too much criticism

Apple Inc. is facing heavy competition from other tablet makers. Adding heat to Apple is the news that on July 1 HP released its first WebOS-based tablet, TouchPad. Can HP TouchPad be an iPad killer?

Betty Ford the former first lady died on Friday at age 93. The director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential and Library Museum, Elaine Didier confirmed her death on Friday.

NASA space shuttle Atlantis blasted off on Friday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, despite a stormy weather with a 70 percent chance of thunderstorm and rain that threatened to delay the launch.

Toyota Motor Corp's <7203.T> brand Lexus will end its streak of 11 years as the top luxury brand in the U.S. market due to lost sales in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake and tsunami, said Mark Templin, Lexus Division general manager.

Dismal unemployment figures on Friday complicated efforts to avert a looming U.S. debt default, and a top Republican said negotiators were not close to a deal that would ensure continued borrowing.

The week has passed, and people are yet to get over the shocking outcome of Casey Anthony Murder Trial. Space Shuttle Atlantis, Facebook's new video chat, President Obama's digital campaign for 2012 presidency run, hackers wrecking havoc with two official Twitter sites and rare-earth minerals on the floor of the Pacific Ocean- all generated a good amount of public debate this week. A quick roundup of this week's major headlines

The 140-character magic from online social networking site Twitter is increasingly pushing the traditional news providers to the corner. The day when Twitter emerges as the first source of news is not far.

China and the Philippines have come to an agreement over the South China Sea dispute.

Betty Ford, the widow of President Gerald Ford, died Friday night at the age of 93, said the director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. Ford founded an addiction center in California after she struggled for years with relentless addictions to painkillers and alcohol

In what is perhaps an unprecedented development, a major U.S. newspaper has called for the removal of the chief of a foreign country’s intelligence chief.

U.S. authorities closed three banks on Friday, bringing the total number of foreclosures in 2011 to 51.

U.S. authorities closed three banks on Friday, bringing the total number of foreclosures in 2011 to 51.

According to a recent release by the Kinsey Institute, men just want to cuddle and woman have sex on the brain.

Betty Ford, the widow of late President Gerald Ford and a trailblazing co-founder of an addiction center in California that bears her name, has died at the age of 93, according to the director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.

The accounting board for U.S. state and local governments is set to propose on Friday radical reforms to the disclosure practices of public pension systems.

Plane landed just before 4 p.m. West Coast time

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has lost a financial lifeline. Since December, bans by the world's major credit card networks, it has been difficult for supporters of the controversial whistleblower to send him donations. But this week, WikiLeaks gained a brief respite with the unwitting help of an Icelandic bank.

Economists at top financial institutions expect the U.S. unemployment rate to fall in 2011 and 2012 despite a surprisingly weak jobs report on Friday, a Reuters poll found on Friday.

Hedge funds eked out tiny gains during the first half of the year but lagged far behind the broader stock market, data released on Friday show.