IBT Staff Reporter

Twitter revamped its website on Thursday to make the microblogging service easier to use and to help companies better showcase their brands.

Zynga Inc Chief Executive Mark Pincus said the social games company can double the number of its paying players but he and other executives sidestepped questions about player retention and churn rates, speaking at a luncheon ahead of its IPO.

Traveling to space or embarking on an expedition to excavate lost Mayan ruins are normally the stuff of adventure novels.

A congressman from Washington state fired three aides on Thursday shortly after learning of their indiscreet tweets that talked of on-the-job drinking and insulted their boss.

A 12-year-old girl who was shot by her mother during a standoff inside a Texas food stamp office died of her wounds late Wednesday night, officials said Thursday.

The wife of the former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, accused of serial child sexual abuse, said on Thursday she believes the charges against her husband are absolutely untrue.

The Drop climbed to the top of the Publishers Weekly best-sellers list on Thursday.The list is compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide.

For more than 40 years actor Martin Sheen has inhabited complex characters from the troubled Capt. Willard in the Vietnam film Apocalypse Now to U.S. President Josiah Bartlet on the hit TV drama The West Wing.

Jay-Z will headline the first ever hip-hop focused series of performances at New York's Carnegie Hall in February 2012, with all proceeds benefiting children's education charities.

A gunman ambushed and killed a campus police officer and was later reported to have been found dead on Thursday at Virginia Tech University, the site of one of the worst shooting rampages in U.S. history.

Online bargain-hunting on Cyber Monday enjoyed a breakout year in Canada in 2011, according to data released by eBay, further evidence that U.S.-style pre-holiday discounts are spreading northward.

Shares of Coinstar Inc jumped 11 percent after media reports that the kiosk maker's Redbox rental service is partnering with Verizon Communications for a new online streaming service.

A gunman killed a police officer and another person on Thursday at Virginia Tech University, the site of one of the worst shooting rampages in U.S. history, school officials said.

Zynga Inc Chief Executive Mark Pincus said the social games company can double the number of its paying players but he and other executives sidestepped questions about player retention and churn rates, speaking at a luncheon ahead of its IPO.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc is having a jolly holiday season, which means rival retailers might find lumps of coal in their stockings this Christmas.

No matter her audacity, the Material Girl is only as good as her material, and Madonna has only half a movie here.

McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) reported a bigger-than-expected rise in November sales at established restaurants across the board, led by big gains in Japan, China and a strong showing in its top revenue market of Europe.

At this point, Alec Baldwin might have to resort to traveling by hang-glider soon.

On a night that saw declines pretty much across the board, Fox's new comedy I Hate My Teenage Daughter was hit particularly hard, while CBS took an overall win for the night and ABC's Modern Family was the top-rated show, according to preliminary numbers.

The Los Angeles Angels pulled off a stunning coup on Thursday by reaching an agreement to sign three-time National League most valuable player Albert Pujols and All-Star pitcher C.J. Wilson.

Could Maverick fly again?

EU leaders are committed to a new fiscal compact for the euro zone, including much tighter control of public finances and, in the longer term, could consider joint debt issuance, an early draft of conclusions at an EU summit said on Thursday.

Rapper Sean Paul is promising to surprise fans on upcoming album Tomahawk Technique with more singing that his last record and several collaborations with singers including Kelly Rowland.

After considering a move to downtown Los Angeles, the American Film Market has decided to remain in Santa Monica through 2017.

Wall Street fell on Thursday after the European Central Bank dashed hopes that policy-makers were preparing a financial bazooka to contain the debt crisis, and Germany rejected some proposals to add power to the euro zone's bailout fund.

Europe's banks must find 114.7 billion euros of extra capital, more than predicted two months ago, to make them strong enough to withstand the euro zone debt crisis and restore investor confidence.

With the millions of iPhones, BlackBerrys and Androids sold in the U.S., the massive demand for data use is far exceeding the supply of spectrum - the range of all possible frequencies through which signals can be transmitted.

Wall Street fell on Thursday after the European Central Bank dashed hopes that policy-makers were preparing a financial bazooka to contain the debt crisis, and Germany rejected some proposals to add power to the euro zone's bailout fund.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a nine-month low last week, suggesting the labor market's recovery was gaining momentum.