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Congress Thursday approved a defense bill requiring the military to handle suspected foreign militants allied with al-Qaida, sending it to President Barack Obama for his expected signature.

Sen. Maria Cantwell wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder Thursday expressing concern that a nationwide settlement regarding major banks' foreclosure practices should not grant immunity in future investigations into their conduct leading up to the mortgage crisis.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) was fined $2 million Thursday by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a regulatory group that oversees investment advisers and other finance professionals, for neglecting to discipline an investment manager who became the firm’s top salesman of a certain kind of exotic investment instrument by forcing it on unwilling, elderly clients.

An undercover agent arrested Chicago Bears Sam Hurd outside of a Chicago restaurant on Wednesday after he accepted cocaine from the agent and a confidential informant who were posing as drug suppliers, court documents show. Here is what a District Court Complaint alleged happened:

Apple's dominance reached outside the bounds of the tech industry, as the company's mythological iPhone 5, deceased CEO Steve Jobs and iPad 2 took three out of the 10 spots in the Google Zeitgeist 2011.

Astronomers are eagerly awaiting the collision of a recently discovered gas cloud with the giant black hole at the center of our galaxy in 2013. Such a cosmic event has never been seen up close, and it will help scientists better understand exactly what happens when gas and light fall into a black hole.

After nearly nine years in Iraq, the war has formally drawn to a close as U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta declared an end to its mission in a ceremony in Baghdad on Thursday.

Overall U.S. foreclosure activity fell in November compared to the previous month, but auctions hit a nine-month high, according to RealtyTrac.

Starting Friday Dec. 16, 42 select theaters in North America and 10 select theaters in Canada will be dishing out the Dark Knight Rises IMAX prologue before screenings of Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol. Find your nearest city and go see it!

The Seattle-based online retailer announced Thursday that customers have been purchasing Kindle products at the rate of more than one million a week for the past three weeks, with its Kindle Fire the best selling product on its Web site since the product was released in late September.

Apple was named the 10th best place to work in America, from a survey of more than 250,000 employees from more than 65,000 companies.

Apple will open a research and development center in Israel that will focus on semiconductors, the Globes business daily reported on Thursday.

Children whose fathers smoked have at least a 15 percent higher risk of developing the most common form of childhood cancer, a new Australian study finds.

Astounding Pictures of Pets from Around the World [PHOTOS]

Apple will open a research and development center in Israel that will focus on semiconductors, the Globes business daily reported on Thursday.

Fitch Ratings says challenging times will continue for U.S. states, but fundamental strength remains. Among the 43 states Fitch rates, 38 carry a stable outlook.

Apple's 2012 line-up of MacBook Pros will reportedly feature Retina Display, and will feature a high-resolution display density of 2800 x 1800.

A supernova dubbed SN2011fe -- the brightest and closest one to Earth seen in the past 25 years - gave astronomers a glimpse into what causes these intense explosions and how the universe expands, according to research announced Wednesday.

Ford will begin production of the 2012 Focus Electric, the first five-passenger electric car to average more than 100 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) on the fuel efficiency scale.

Another new book about late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is hitting bookshelves next month, this one a graphic narrative exploring the innovator's spiritual development, the publishers announced on Wednesday.

Chipmaker Intel is combining four divisions under a new mobile and communications unit in a bid to catch up in smartphones and tablets, where it has so far failed to gain traction.