A city financial officer in small Illinois city has been sentenced to almost 20 years in prison for stealing $53m (£34m) over two decades.

American Airlines and US Airways are planning to form one of the world's biggest airlines, according to media and newswire sources.

The city of Chicago names its first public enemy number one since Al Capone - a drug cartel leader who lives in a mountain hideaway in Mexico.

A man carjacked at gunpoint by a murderous former Los Angeles policeman describes coming face to face with America's most wanted man.

US carmaker General Motors says its fourth quarter earnings rose despite $700m of losses at its European operations.

Use of the morning-after pill in the US is on the rise, a trend driven largely by wider use among younger women, a major government study finds.

Actress Nicole Kidman refused to use an offensive racial epithet in a film when requested to do so by its director, her British co-star reveals.

A Good Day to Die Hard, the latest instalment in Bruce Willis's action franchise, receives a largely frosty response from critics as it reaches cinemas in the UK and US.

A couple taken hostage by former Los Angeles policeman Christopher Dorner who is accused of murder, have spoken out about what happened.

Three people are arrested in the US and accused of a conspiring to smuggle endangered black rhinoceros horns to China, prosecutors say.

California police end the hunt for accused killer Christopher Dorner, a day after finding a charred body in a cabin where he was thought to be hiding.

Why Atlanta is giving Hollywood the shivers

The science behind why we fall in love with a work of art

Shale oil production could boost the world economy by up to $2.7tn (£1.7tn) by 2035, according to a report.

Profits at Cisco, the world's largest maker of networking equipment, have jumped by 44% as spending on technology picks up.

President Barack Obama visits three states to rally support for proposals laid out in his State of the Union speech, including a minimum wage rise.

The European Union and the US will begin formal talks on a free-trade agreement, paving the way for the biggest trade deal in history.

Financial news and data provider Thomson Reuters says it is to cut 2,500 jobs, or 4% of its workforce, as it reports sluggish sales growth.

President Obama urges Congress to back his plans for government action to revive the sluggish US economy in his State of the Union speech.

Indigenous women in British Columbia have been victims of discrimination and abuse by Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, says Human Rights Watch.