UNITED STATES

Industry and government are on track to bring down the cost of batteries to power hybrid and electric cars, which is crucial for improving commercial appeal of those vehicles, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Wednesday.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's command center routinely monitors dozens of popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks and news and gossip sites including the Huffington Post and Drudge Report, according to a government document.

The U.S. futures regulator on Wednesday adopted further protections for customer collateral posted in swap trades, an area of heightened importance as the search continues for hundreds of millions of dollars in missing MF Global customer money.

Samsung Electronics Co aims to more than quadruple sales of small, interchangeable lens cameras this year, as it seeks to move up-market to compete with stronger Japanese rivals amid stagnating growth in the compact camera segment.

MetLife Inc. has purchased EnV, a 249-unit luxury rental tower in Chicago, the insurance company announced on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks edged lower on Wednesday after hitting a five-month high in the prior session as a warning about further weakness in the euro kept investors jittery.

Mexican actress Kate del Castillo shocked fans Tuesday by offering support to drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman who the U.S. Treasury Department has called the world's most powerful drug trafficker.

The U.S. Federal Reserve should stick to its super-easy monetary policy to fight unemployment and spur a painstakingly slow economic recovery, even if doing so pushes inflation temporarily higher, a top Fed official said on Wednesday.

The car group reports selling 8.16 million sales last year, more than Toyota. Car group sales in India more than doubled, but General Motors could outshine the German automaker.

Damien Hirst may have slowed down since bursting onto the scene as unofficial leader of the Young British Artist movement in the 1990s, but he remains one of the most divisive figures in the art world today.

Gold rose for a second day on Wednesday, hitting its highest in a month, as evidence of strong demand from major consumerChina helped boost the price above a key technical level, and offset the impact of a softer euro.

Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd said its U.S. sales could overtake China this year, revving up the British company for record global revenue in 2012.

Joran van der Sloot pleaded guilty to murder Wednesday in the 2010 case of 21-year-old Peruvian Stephany Flores, a woman he met at a Lima casino.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters on Tuesday that President Obama will request $1.2 trillion in additional borrowing authority in a matter of days.

Khat is increasingly popular in Europe, with the Netherlands as a key transport hub.

The International Business Times spoke with Bob Lutz on Tuesday about Via Motors' plans, the state of the U.S. auto industry and more.

U.S. mortgage applications increased 4.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week ending Jan. 6, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Two Dutch cable companies were ordered by a court on Wednesday to block access to the website The Pirate Bay to prevent the illegal downloading of free music, films and games in case brought on behalf of the entertainment industry.

Lindsay Lohan's most recent pictorials for Philipp Plein, JAG Jeans and FCUK show a sexy yet refined side of the starlet.

Stocks pulled back from five-month highs in early trading on Wednesday, with pressure on the euro testing the view that U.S. equities were decoupling from the single currency.

Angelina Jolie has spoken up about rumors suggesting she didn't support Obama's re-election effort. In an exclusive interview with the Daily Caller, she revealed that there were many things that had gone in a wonderful direction during the Obama administration, but there were also things she was disappointed in.