CALIFORNIA

Stephen Schwarzman, the boss of Blackstone, the world's biggest private-equity firm, made his fortune by buying, restructuring and selling companies -- delivering outsized returns for investors. These days, he is getting huge rewards for being the largest shareholder in what is more like an asset manager on steroids.

Top 20 Hottest Celebrity Lip-locks: Kate Middleton, Angelina Jolie, J Lo, Britney, Lady Gaga and Counting (PHOTOS)

BP PLC idled production at its Cherry Point refinery in Washington state on Saturday, a day after a large fire broke out near the core crude oil unit of the third-largest plant on the West Coast. The idling of the plant near Ferndale, Wash., could drive fuel prices higher next week.

Google Inc chairman Eric Schmidt could sell as many as 2.4 million shares of the company's class A common stock as part of a predetermined stock trading plan.

It was a bittersweet moment at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., where friends and family gathered on Saturday, to say their final goodbyes to singer Whitney Houston, who died last week at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Costner was among those who went to New Hope to send Houston off. He spoke about his similarities with the singer and spoke of about working with Houston. According to Costner, at times she would feel like she was not good enough.

Born in Newark, N.J., on Aug. 9, 1963, Whitney Houston grew up to become one of the most successful and admired singers of the 20th century. Houston spent her life surrounded by music. She died on Feb. 11, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

A naked 12-year-old girl seen eating from trash cans has stunned neighbors in Temecula, California, according to a report.

The United States, as most readers and investors know, went through a trying time from 2001 to 2008, and it is only now beginning to recover. Hence, the nation could use a little comic relief. And who better to provide it than, arguably, the greatest comedian of the modern era -- Groucho Marx.

Maryland's House of Delegates on Friday approved by a razor-thin margin a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry, putting it on the road to joining six other states where gay and lesbian nuptials are legal. The Maryland vote came shortly after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a similar measure.

Winning The Future. Greater Together. We Don't Quit. They may not be official, but those are all phrases that could in one form or another be candidates to become President Barack Obama's re-election slogan. Currently, his campaign posters simply say, Obama 2012.

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's struggles in Michigan are fueling speculation that Republicans might have to resort to a doomsday scenario and launch a frantic search for a 2012 savior at their nominating convention in late August.

For years, Google has been developing the technology to make automated cars a reality. They've also spearheaded lobbying efforts in Nevada, which just became the first state to approve regulations for testing driverless cars. This gives technology companies an official procedure for taking their self-driven automobiles out on public roads.

While the FBI looks to hire app developers to help them snoop around social media sites, the Department of Homeland Security is monitoring blogs for signs of domestic terrorism. Jackie Speier, a San Francisco Bay Area based Congresswoman is demanding they stop. She said as much during a Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence meeting Feb. 16.

Part of Lin’s massive appeal is that he’s not really that “foreign,” or ”foreign” at all.

Qnexa, a new diet pill, will be the first new diet pill in 13 years if it gets approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The drug was previously rejected by the FDA in 2010 due to concerns of safety. Qnexa manufacturers are now presenting additional material to argue their case. Here are three things to know about the new diet pill, Qnexa.

Brittanee Drexel, a-17-year-old girl on spring break in Myrtle Beach, disappeared in 2009. It will be three years on August 25 since the New York teen disappeared from outside her hotel on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach. Police are now naming convicted sex offender Raymond Moody, 51, as a person of interest in the police classified “cold case.”

FixYa, the leading product Q&A destination on the Internet, has released a report on the top consumer issues on Apple's iPad 2 and Amazon's Kindle Fire.

A federal immigration agent died and another was injured in a shootout that followed a confrontation between the U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) officers in Long Beach, California, the latest reports said.

A small aircraft that strayed into the airspace of U.S. President Barack Obama was found packed with cannabis of around 18kg (40lb).

A report this week showing rampant foreclosure abuse in San Francisco reflects similar levels of lender fraud and faulty documentation across the United States, say experts and officials who have done studies in other parts of the country.

A U.S. judge intends to schedule a retrial for this June between Oracle Corp and SAP AG over copyright infringement allegations, according to a court filing.