UNITED STATES

A former U.S. Customs inspector was arrested on Tuesday after he disguised himself as a postman and attempted to smuggle a Mexican woman into Texas on false documents, U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities said.

Borders Group, owner of the second largest U.S. bookstore chain, said in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that it will close down around 200 stores nationwide, sending store landlords into a tizzy.

Egyptian youth leaders moved to set up a new political party on Thursday in the post-Mubarak era while a committee worked on changing the constitution to prepare for elections promised by military rulers within six months.

Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area soared in February, climbing to its highest level since January 2004.

New York City will have to lay off more than 4,000 public school teachers even though its revenue has leaped about $2 billion since forecasts made last November, a mayoral aide said on Wednesday. New York City has around 75,000 teachers but the headcount must be reduced because Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to cut state aid by $2.1 billion, the aide said.

Gold rose for a fourth day in a row on Thursday in its strongest run since September, helped by safe-haven demand as unrest spread across the Middle East, while the dollar remained under mild pressure.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, according to a government report on Thursday that still pointed at gradual labor market recovery. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 410,000, the Labor Department said, partially reversing the prior week's hefty decline.

US stocks declined in early trade on Thursday after official data showed that weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week while Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed more than forecast in January.

In the end Watson tripled the score of his competitors and proved machine is better than man on Jeopardy!

The overall consumer price inflation in the U.S. rose 0.4 percent in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said on Thursday. The rise in inflation was mainly driven by increases in energy, commodities and food prices, the report said.

U.S. core consumer prices rose at their quickest pace in more than a year in January, government data showed on Thursday, but the increase was not strong enough to suggest a build-up in inflation pressures.

China's Internet censors have deleted U.S. Embassy posts promoting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's speech on Internet freedom from microblogs, parrying U.S. efforts to spur debate about Beijing's grip on free speech.

Health care company Allergan said the FDA has approved the wider use of its Lap-Band weight-loss system.

U.S. President Barack Obama's proposed 2012 Federal budget included proposals to improve the inefficiencies in government data centers. The budget outlines the adoption of cloud-computing and virtualization technologies to lower IT spending costs and increase agility.

What is happening in the Middle East is a major historical critical juncture, said Dilshod A. Achilov, a professor of political science at East Tennessee State University.

The 'Provisions on News Information Services', which was issued in 2005, states that the purpose of news websites is not to inform the public of the facts, but instead to “serve socialism” and to “safeguard the nation’s interests and the public interest.”

Does the unemployment rate is really improving as the US labor force participation rate has been trending downward since 2000?

Asian stock markets mostly ended higher on Thursday as higher growth forecast for the U.S economy from the Federal Reserve and solid earnings reports buoyed sentiment.

The approval for Google’s acquisition of ITA Software for $700 million is still pending from the U.S. Justice Department, as it is considering if the deal will give Google influence over the entire online flight industry.

The Recovery Act, which was introduced by the US government in response to the Great Recession of the last decade, created or saved 3-4 million jobs and up to 5 million full-time equivalent jobs by the end of 2010, according to report.

BAE Systems said it expected sales to fall in 2011 as the impact of defense cuts in the UK and U.S. begin to hit home, sending its shares lower.