IBT Staff Reporter

Groupon has become the next big social company to file for an IPO, following in LinkedIn's footsteps.

Google Inc's allegations that hackers, probably from China, sought to access the Gmail accounts of senior U.S. officials are very serious and the U.S. government is investigating them, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday.

In a court hearing Thursday morning, Jaycee Dugard's mother read a statement to kidnappers Phillip and Nancy Garrido on behalf of her daughter.

A surprise decision by the U.S. education department to dilute a key rule governing federal aid to for-profit colleges has ended the uncertainty around the companies' growth prospects, giving a boost to the stocks.

There are documented stories of friends and co-workers fighting over the division of the prize, of co-workers expecting a share because they always went in together to buy a ticket except this once, of gambling binges that made millions evaporate, of murder and substance abuse and family feuds. Is this what is in store for the 20 employees of the Melville, Long Island, Costco store who won the $200 million Powerball jackpot last night?

The New York Times named Jill Abramson as its first woman executive editor, putting her in control of one the world's most respected newspapers as the industry struggles to keep advertisers and readers.

A Chinese student, 17, living in Huaishan City, China has sold his right kidney to buy Apple's latest iPad 2.

The slowdown has begun. The economy has started to sputter and unemployment claims have tipped 400,000 for the last seven weeks. Manufacturing is cooling, the housing market is struggling and consumers are keeping a close eye on spending, meaning the U.S. economy might be on a slower path to full health than expected.

A Ghana-bound United Airlines flight 990 last Sunday was escorted back to Washington, D.C., by U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets after an argument between two passengers over a reclining seat erupted into a mid-air assault.

Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday said an alleged contract and emails that a New York man says entitle him to a huge stake in the social networking website are forgeries.

Mitt Romney officially launched his bid to become President of the United States, assessing his President Barack Obama's record on helping the U.S. economy grow a failure.

A teenager from China gave his kidney away to buy an iPad.

Moody's Investors Service said Thursday there is a very small but rising risk of a short-lived default by the United States if the country's debt limit is not increased in coming weeks.

Stocks rebounded from early lows but struggled to find direction on Thursday as news of fresh help for Greece calmed investors worried about the economic outlook ahead of a key jobs report.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) introduced a new symbol for healthy eating today and stopped using the food pyramid it first introduced in 1992. The 20-year-old food pyramid was the basis for nutritional guideline throughout the United States.

Sony has completed restoring the Sony PlayStation Network ahead of schedule. The restoration includes Qriocity music service and PlayStation's online store. The PSN store will be back and shelved with a full lineup of new games and trials , along with discounted items.

Greece agreed with its EU and IMF lenders to impose yet deeper austerity and speed up state selloffs in exchange for fresh funds to avert a debt default, a senior official said on Thursday.

Goldman Sachs Group received a subpoena from New York prosecutors seeking information on the investment bank's role leading into the global financial crisis, a person familiar with the matter said.

Everyone's favorite polar bear, Knut, who died earlier this year, turned out to be a big profit maker for the Berlin Zoo.

High prices for food and gasoline, a sluggish economy and picky shoppers going to fewer stores hurt sales at big retailers in May and are likely to weigh on results for the rest of the year.

Sam's Club is trying to keep prices in check despite rising food costs and adding more fresh produce to get its members to buy more of their food and other everyday items at the warehouse clubs.

The S&P 500 rebounded from earlier losses on Thursday following news of a fresh funding plan to help Greece pay off its mountain of debt.

It seems that the Minnesota Timberwolves now have a good reason to cheer after finally making an agreement with Spain's b-ball point-guard-star Ricky Rubio.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il and his loyalists can't seem to have enough of luxury goods and sex slaves a.k.a. Joy Squad to indulge themselves even as the rest of the country suffers in abject poverty.

The Gold Price climbed to $1544 per ounce Thursday morning but then dropped sharply to $1520 and stabilized at $1532 per ounce, while stocks, commodities and US Treasuries were all hit after worse-than-expected US economic news and a further downgrade for Greece.

International Business Machines said on Thursday it expects Africa to be a strong growth area for the information technology business over the next five years, thanks to growth in banking and telecoms.

Russian gas exporter Gazprom, having just signed a trio of deals in India that could be worth over $90 billion, now has it sights on the markets of Europe and North America, a source close to the company said on Thursday.

Roddick partners with Lacoste for a line of performance apparel.

Defending French Open Women's Champion Francesca Schiavone will face China's Li Na in the final at Roland Garros after both overcame their semifinal opponents.