IBT Staff Reporter

After more than a year of debate on health care reform, President Obama has convened top political leaders in Washington today for a six-hour televised discussion likely to reveal to an even wider audience already firmly entrenched opposing views.

A killer whale viciously attacked and killed a trainer at Sea World park in Orlando, Florida, making it the third time this whale has killed a human in the past decade, yet Sea World has no plans in removing the whale from their show.

A day after a whale at SeaWorld Orlando killed its trainer during a public show at the park's Shamu Stadium, a marine biologist with the Monterey Bay Whale Watch said the animal may had not do it intentionally.

The parent company of Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd said on Thursday it plans to buy Chinese special vehicle maker Zhejiang Zhongyu Automobile Co as it moves to expand its product portfolio.

Honda Motor Co on Thursday launched the sporty CR-Z model, its second in a line of low-cost hybrid cars aimed at meeting stricter environmental regulations and expanding sales in the tough global car market.

After months of heated battle over healthcare reform in the Congress, leaders in both parties held out little hope for compromise at a bipartisan meeting that will provide a national stage for the arguments fueling the long-running debate.

In the United States alone there are probably around 36 million Darryls, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), which created the character, played by an actor on its website to help train doctors.

After agreeing to pump in 3.5 billion euros ($4.7 billion) to save the troubled Airbus A400M military plane project, the buyer nations have postponed a final deal.

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Roche, the world's largest maker of cancer drugs, said on Thursday it was the first positive Phase III study of an anti-angiogenic therapy, which uses drugs to stop tumors from making new blood vessels, in advanced ovarian cancer.

A trainer at the SeaWorld park in Orlando, Florida, has died after being attacked by a killer whale after she innocently swung her ponytail which attracted his attention.

Start-up Bloom Energy unveiled a new fuel cell technology that can power buildings, positioning the energy generators as an alternative to the electricity grid.

SolarWorld disappointed markets by giving a weak outlook as the sector's crisis finally hit the giant long believed to be invulnerable.

A Senate science subcommittee clashed with NASA's chief on Wednesday, saying the firm and the White House lacked a clear vision and goal for the program.

Switzerland will no longer accept untaxed money into its banks as it tries to ease pressure on its $2 trillion offshore banking industry from key trading partners seeking to boost tax revenues, it said on Thursday.

Wall St was set for a lower open on Thursday after rating agencies said they may downgrade Greece's sovereign debt, reigniting worries over possible defaults in the euro zone, and an increase in jobless claims fueled concerns about the U.S. economy.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods excluding transportation unexpectedly fell in January, while the number of workers filing for jobless benefits rose last week, suggesting a loss of momentum in the pace of economic recovery.

Optimism over Fed Chairman Bernanke's comments on Wednesday faded as global markets sputtered over unsettled Greece woes.

A mortgage banking group on Wednesday said it proposed to top U.S. officials a new plan offering forbearance to unemployed homeowners and asked the Treasury for credit to support the plan.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday after rating agencies said they may downgrade Greece's sovereign debt, reigniting concerns over possible defaults in the euro zone.

Continental Resources Inc posted a a fourth-quarter profit that beat market estimates by a penny due to lower expenses.

Diversified U.S. manufacturer SPX Corp expects profit to fall sharply in the first quarter, weighed down by weak demand for power transformers.

Coca-Cola Co is in talks to buy most of its largest bottler for roughly $15 billion, including debt, marking a shift in its strategy to keep its bottling operations separate, a person familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

Telecom Italia postponed the Thursday release of its 2009 results amid a probe into an alleged 2 billion euro ($2.7 billion) money-laundering operation involving its Sparkle unit and broadband group Fastweb .

North Korea threatened to attack South Korean and U.S. forces for scheduled joint military drills in March even as nuclear envoys picked up the pace of work to get stalled disarmament talks back on track.

Pakistan has agreed to hand over to Afghanistan captured Afghan Taliban number two, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, and other militants, the president's office said on Thursday.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday after rating agencies said they may downgrade Greece's sovereign debt, reigniting concerns over possible defaults in the euro zone that have dogged markets recently.

Dubai Mall, one of the world's largest shopping centers and a symbol of Dubai's grandeur, was partly closed on Thursday after an aquarium containing thousands of fish and other sea animals started leaking, police and witnesses said.

China's military warned the United States on Thursday to speak and act cautiously to avoid reigniting tensions between the two powers, denying the People's Liberation Army played a part in Internet hacking.