IBT Staff Reporter

Persona non grata means a person who is not welcome, and is not accepted to a certain place.

New York City avoided the major cuts in the counter-terrorism grants, while 32 cities are eliminated.

Andy Warhol captured a young and seemingly topless Maria Shriver back in 1986.

President Ronald Reagan once famously said that a stack of $1,000 bills equivalent to the U.S. government's debt would be about 67 miles high.

Weak data on U.S. home sales and factory activity on Thursday showed the economy stuck in a slow-growth gear, although a drop in claims for jobless aid offered hope the labor market's recovery was on track.

The U.S. economy is on a firmer footing after a deep and lengthy recession, but still-high unemployment is keeping inflation under wraps and continues to warrant ongoing support from the Federal Reserve's ultra-easy money policy, a top Fed official said on Thursday.

The San Jose Sharks imploded on Wednesday night, heading towards playoff purgatory for yet another season, now in a 0-2 hole against the Vancouver Canucks. Is this the last we will see of the Sharks or can they recover after yet another third period collapse?

BlackRock Inc said on Thursday that it was buying back all of its shares owned by Bank of America , ending a long-term ownership relationship that helped BlackRock to grow into one of the world's biggest asset managers.

It has only been a few days since the potential security flaw that affects 99% of Android devices was discovered, but Google has already announced a fix will start rolling out as soon as today. The flaw could potentially allow hackers to access users' phone data, calendar, and contact apps through an open Wi-Fi network.

BlackRock Inc said it was buying back all of its shares owned by Bank of America Corp , closing out an ownership relationship that helped BlackRock grow into the world's biggest asset manager.

Russia's Yandex is set to complete the biggest internet IPO since Google, as investors wary of much-hyped social networks look instead for exposure to the fast-growing online advertising market.

Technology giant Apple Inc. has let down millions of Apple fans by not celebrating the 10th anniversary of its retail stores today.

Commodities trader Glencore made a lukewarm market debut on Thursday that handed it currency for future acquisitions, with its shares struggling to break much above its widely expected launch price of 530 pence.

U.S. stocks barely budged on Thursday after a mixed bag of economic data kept confidence in the economic recovery on shaky ground, but LinkedIn's shares surged in their Wall Street debut.

Apple has already signed a seven-year lease for extra data space with a new Silicon Valley data center built by DuPont Fabros Technology (DFT). It is Rumored that the purpose is preparing to launch a new set of online services under the name iCloud.

According to a number of reports, Danish director Lars Von Trier was banned from the Cannes Film Festival after he made comments during a press conference about how he sympathizes with Adolf Hitler and he is a Nazi.

Verizon Wireless will offer family plans for data services supporting multiple devices including smartphones and tablet computers, according to a top executive of parent company Verizon Communications.

Gartner says the smartphone industry continues to grow while Android and Apple are emerging as the front runners, others are sinking fast.

Stocks rose slightly on Thursday as signs of recovery in the jobs market were partly offset by weak data on housing and regional business conditions.

Cornel West, the Princeton Professor who strongly supported President Barack Obama on the campaign trail in 2008, has already previously expressed his disillusionment with what he says is the Obama administration's neglect of the poor and working class people in the United States while supporting the leaders of the nation's financial system.

New claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, but a rise in the four-week moving average to a six-month high indicated the labor market recovery will remain painfully slow.

Though Team RadioShack's legendary star Lance Armstrong went into retirement earlier this year, the team has still been a strong presence halfway through the 2011 Amgen Tour of California. Team co-leaders Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimer, a Bay Area resident, are 1-2 in the general classification standings.

Though Team RadioShack's legendary star Lance Armstrong went into retirement earlier this year, the team has still been a strong presence halfway through the 2011 Amgen Tour of California. Team co-leaders Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimer, a Bay Area resident, are 1-2 in the general classification standings.

Last night on American Idol Beyoncé debuted her much anticipated music video for her single Run the World (Girls). The track is off her latest album titled 4.

Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio are hot in the new Victoria's Secret swim collection.

Shares of LinkedIn Corp surged nearly 90 percent in their public trading debut on Thursday, a jump reminiscent of the heyday of investors' love affair with Internet stocks in the late 1990s.

Chief Executive Ben Verwaayen is preparing the next stage of telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent's development armed with a refreshed product portfolio and a slimmer cost structure.

There have been new developments surrounding the ongoing extra-marital scandal which broke out earlier this week involving Arnold Schwarzenegger and former housekeeper Mildred Patricia Baena.

Arnold seeks Maria's attention.