IBT Staff Reporter

The Federal Reserve's balance sheet expanded to a record size in the latest week, as the central bank bought more bonds in an effort to support the economy, Fed data released on Thursday showed.

The following is a written statement by Jaycee Dugard as read by her mother Terry Probyn at the sentencing of Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy Garrido on June 2, 2011.

Beijing goes ahead with ordination, despite scorn of the world Catholic community

The United States vows to represent an obstacle in the representation of a Palestinian state at the UN.

Algerian authorities blame terrorist attacks of the past two months on chaos in neighboring Libya

Japanese electronics giant Sony may have been hacked again. A hacker group who identify themselves as Lulz Security has claimed that they have stolen more than one million passwords, emails and other information from Sonypictures.com. It is the same group that posted fake news stories on PBS.com over the weekend.

Canada's biggest telecom company, BCE Inc, wants rivals big and small to compete without restrictions for valuable spectrum needed to accommodate booming demand for mobile Internet services.

The couple of convicted kidnappers and rapists of Jaycee Dugard, who in 1991 was a girl abducted at age 11 that was held for the next 18 years in a San Francisco suburb, were sentenced on Thursday before a scolding judge, prosecutor and mother of the victim.

Reports have indicated Apple has all four major record labels to licensing agreements for its iCloud.

Moody's Investors Service said on Thursday there is a small but rising risk of a short-lived default by the United States if there is no increase in the statutory debt limit in coming weeks.

Customer relationship company Convergys Corp plans to sell its holdings in some wireless assets in the Cincinnati metropolitan area to AT&T Inc for about $320 million in cash.

Apple has signed a licensing deal with Universal Music Group, which will enable Apple's online music store to offer songs from all four of the major record companies and incorporate them into Apple's iCloud music plans.

A recent deadly E.coli outbreak in Europe has already killed 18 people, 17 of them in Germany.

Authorities announced hundreds of Libyan refugees dead in cross-Mediterranean escape.

The Chairman of Inner-Mongolia promises to improve living standards in response to protests across the region.

His estranged daughter, Amanda Brumfield, was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter of the death of a one-year-old girl in Orlando, Florida.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the state's Republican Party will pay more than $3000 to cover costs for state helicopter flights the governor took last week to attend his son's high school baseball games, and called focus on the story media theater that is less important than the state's fiscal problems.

Down seven runs in the third inning, the New York Mets responded with three runs and added four more in the sixth inning en route to a 9-8 win and a 2-2 split of their four-game homestand against Pittsburgh.

The strenuous P90X fitness program favored by celebrities is nothing new ... but it works.

Washington scrambled on Thursday to assess whether security had been compromised after Google Inc revealed a major hacker attack targeting U.S. officials that the Internet giant pegged to China.

U.S. stocks ended a volatile trading day mostly flat on Thursday as investors were reluctant to make bets a day before a critical labor market report that could magnify fears the economy is slowing.

Moody's Investors Service said it may downgrade the debt ratings of Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc and Wells Fargo & Co, citing concerns about waning U.S. political willingness to offer support for the largest banks.

Comedian Jimmy Fallon made his debut Thursday morning as the new video host of Universal Studios Hollywood's behind-the-scenes Studio Tour. To celebrate, Fallon belted out his own rendition of Tram-tastic, the original new Studio Tour theme song he wrote himself.

It was announced Thursday that Glee's Jane Lynch has been tapped to host the Emmy awards this year.

Ford Motor Co is developing its smallest engine ever as part of its push to wring out greater fuel savings as gasoline prices rise and federal standards on fuel economy grow stricter.

In the same category as cell phone usage that was identified as possibly carcinogenic by WHO in a recent report, numerous food items we consume on a daily basis may be just as harmful. If you have been impacted by cell phone usage on cancer, check these out too.

Reports that a teenager from China sold his kidney to buy an iPad 2 and iPhone are causing an outcry, first and foremost by his horrified mother.

Apple Inc supplier Foxconn Technology Group said on Thursday it has reopened its electronics polishing facilities following a probe into an explosion in a China factory.

Jennifer Aniston stars in Smartwater video and print advertisements.