AP - Toyota is recalling 412,000 passenger cars, mostly the Avalon model, in the U.S., and another 16,420 vehicles in Japan for steering problems, the automaker said Thursday.

AP - Toyota is recalling 412,000 passenger cars, mostly the Avalon model, in the U.S., and another 16,420 vehicles in Japan for steering problems, the automaker said Thursday.

AP - Exxon Mobil Corp. says its second quarter income nearly doubled as oil prices increased from last year.

BusinessWeek - When Petr Vojak was deciding where to settle down with his family last year, his aim was clear. He wanted somewhere peaceful yet central. Eventually, they decided on a new flat in a northern district along the Vltava river, which flows through Prague.

Reuters - Motorola Inc posted quarterly earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations driven by products such as mobile network equipment, sending its shares up 1 percent.

AFP - Britain will scrap a rule under which people can be forced to retire at the age of 65, the government said Thursday.

AP - Stock futures rose Thursday following a new batch of upbeat earnings and signs that Europe's economy is bouncing back faster than expected.

AP - The government's point man for the Gulf spill plans to meet with coastal parish officials Thursday to talk about what's next now that the oil has stopped flowing.

Reuters - Stock index futures rose on Thursday following two days of declines for the S&P 500 after upbeat European economic data and ahead of an expected drop in U.S. jobless claims.

Reuters - Stock index futures rose on Thursday following two days of declines for the S&P 500 after upbeat European economic data and ahead of an expected drop in U.S. jobless claims.

AP - Somalia's al-Qaida-linked group has warned African countries against plans to send additional troops to the war-ravaged country, saying they would be "annihilated."

AP - The escaped Bengal tiger who captured headlines across South Africa has been found and returned home after a 2-day search, hungry and worse for the wear after a jump from the back of a moving truck, the tiger's owners said Thursday.

AP - The chief official at the port where a Japanese tanker was docked a day after it was damaged while sailing out of the Persian Gulf says investigators now believe the ship may have been involved in a collision.

Reuters - Foreclosures rose in 3 of every four large U.S. metro areas in this year's first half, likely ruling out sustained home price gains until 2013, real estate data company RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

LiveScience.com - One hundred days ago Thursday, the oil rig Deepwater Horizon began spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico. As profoundly as the leak of millions of barrels of oil is injuring the Gulf ecosystem, it is only one of many threats to the Earth's oceans that, many experts say, could change the makeup of the oceans as we know them and wipe out a large portion of marine life.

AP - A second U.S. Navy sailor who went missing in a dangerous part of eastern Afghanistan was found dead and his body recovered, a senior U.S. military official and Afghan officials said Thursday.

AP - A French prosecutor recommended Thursday that charges be leveled against a couple detained after eight dead babies were discovered on their former property in northern France.

Reuters - Sony Corp lifted its annual outlook and returned to profitability in the first quarter on booming demand for its Bravia flat TVs and PlayStation 3 game consoles.

AP - An al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility Thursday for a bombing earlier this week targeting the Baghdad offices of a pan-Arab television station, describing the deadly attack that killed six people as a victory against a "corrupt channel."

AFP - Europe's leading stock markets advanced on Thursday, shaking off falls in Tokyo, as dealers reacted to a barrage of earnings from blue-chip companies, including strong numbers from telecoms.