UNITED STATES

Crude oil prices declined and hovered above $92 a barrel in Asian trading Friday as sentiment turned negative after a few Federal Reserve officials expressed concerns over the continuation of its bond-purchase program.

The rate of inflation rose to 2.9 percent in December compared to that in the same month last year.

The president signed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, despite previously threatening to veto it over controversial provisions.

Asian shares fell Friday, tracking overnight weakness in global equities, but the dollar gained as U.S. debt yields rose after several Fed officials expressed concerns about continued bond buying.

Rig contractor Transocean Ltd agreed Thursday to pay $1.4 billion to settle charges over BP Plc's Gulf of Mexico oil spill, admitting that its crew on the Deepwater Horizon was partly responsible.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) has finalized a deal with the television company Epix to feature its video library on the Playstation Network, the company announced Thursday on the PlayStation blog.

A set of breast implants was among the items left behind at a British hotel chain in 2012, with a Rolex watch and a bucket of live crabs also misplaced at Travelodge.

You would hope that with a new year, the bad things that occurred in our country would be wiped out, but homelessness, poverty, recession (to name a few) remain.

A shooting in the Swiss village of Daillon has reminded the world of a similar tragedy in Newtown, Conn.

The unemployment rate may have held at 7.7 percent in December -- the lowest since December 2008.

Seattle-based coffee giant Starbucks introduced on Thursday the plastic tumblers that resemble its standard paper cups to stores across the U.S. and Canada.

Nazir deviated from the Taliban line frequently.

Talks have progressed between the NHL and locked out players.

Automakers ended 2012 on a high note as Americans kicked tires and drove more new vehicles off the lots last month than they had in years.

A Microsoft executive has posted a mysterious countdown timer on his official blog. This clock is believed to be in reference to Microsoft's unveiling of the Xbox 720 at E3 2013.

BuzzFeed has raised another $19.3 million in venture capital fundraising, bringing its total funding to date to $46 million.

Brandy offered expecting parents Kim Kardashian and Kanye West advice for raising their first child.

Ford sold 214,222 vehicles last month, its best December since 2006. Size mattered; smaller sedans fueled most of the growth.

Julianne Hough claimed that she was frequently abused as a child in London while studying at a prestigious dance academy.

Chrysler said it had its best December in five years and moved 1.65 million units in 2012, a 21 percent rise compared with the previous year.

London-based Unilever PLC is selling its Skippy peanut butter business to Hormel Foods Corp. for $700 million.