The expected next US treasury secretary, Jack Lew, urges the US Congress not to allow automatic spending cuts to take effect at the end of the month.

California police say they have found a body in a burnt-out cabin where murder suspect Christopher Dorner is believed to have made his last stand.

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Apple boss Tim Cook calls a lawsuit brought by shareholder David Einhorn over what to do with the computer giant's cash pile a "silly sideshow".

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The singer postpones US concerts after joint inflammation leaves her unable to walk.

A motorist was flagged down in a car park in Miami after a Great Horned Owl was spotted trapped in the grille of her vehicle.

One of the two officers suspected shot by a former Los Angeles policeman holed up in a mountain cabin dies of his injuries, as the siege continues.

The US approves the sale of Canadian oil firm Nexen to China's state-owned CNOOC, clearing the way for the deal to be completed.

President Obama will lay out his second-term agenda in his State of the Union speech later, with the US economy expected to dominate the address.

A US Senate panel sends President Obama's nomination of ex-Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to be defence secretary to the full Senate.

US cable provider Comcast is to acquire the full ownership of TV and film company NBCUniversal for $16.7bn (£10.7bn).

A man who shot two women to death at a Delaware courthouse was the father of a man involved in a custody battle with one of the dead.

Los Angeles officials pursue many leads after offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of an ex-policeman accused of three murders.

Passengers on a stranded cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico tell US media of worsening conditions, two days after an engine fire crippled the vessel.

Coca-Cola, the world's biggest soft-drinks maker, sees sales in Europe and China fall in the last quarter of 2012 and warns the year ahead will be unpredictable.

North Korean military ambitions are a "serious threat" to the US, outgoing Pentagon chief Leon Panetta has said.

President Obama will say in his State of the Union speech that 34,000 US troops will leave Afghanistan over the next year, the White House says.

Swiss bank UBS is fined £9.45m by the Financial Services Authority for mis-selling an investment fund from insurer AIG.

Chicago police say two men charged with the murder of a girl who performed at President Obama's inauguration have backgrounds in a violent gang.