The National Security Agency's website went down for several hours Friday, but the US spy service known for hacking into computer networks blamed the outage on a technical mistake.
McDonald's said Friday it was dropping ketchup king Heinz as a supplier of the key hamburger condiment, citing management changes at Heinz that put the company closer to rival Burger King.
Pakistan on Friday renewed demands for an end to US drone strikes on its territory as two UN experts called for greater transparency in the use of the weapons.
Hollywood's Universal Studios theme park has cancelled a Halloween show based on the "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" franchise after criticism that a scene where Superman turns gay was homophobic.
The US Food and Drug Administration recommended tighter controls Thursday on how doctors prescribe the most commonly used narcotic painkillers, in a bid to stop abuse.
A powerful blast rocked a US-owned candy factory in northern Mexico on Thursday, killing one person and injuring more than 40 as rescuers searched for any other victims.
France and Germany pushed Friday for Washington to agree rules for the spy game after damaging revelations the United States tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone.
A large ad spied atop Google search results on Wednesday was seen as evidence that the Internet titan was breaking a promise that it would never resort to the tactic.
Mexico ordered an investigation into allegations that the US spied on the emails of its president and his predecessor, the latest diplomatic wrangle stemming from America's intelligence-gathering efforts.
Apple has unveiled the "iPad Air", a slimmer version of its top-selling full-size tablet, and a revamped iPad Mini, bidding to fend off rivals who have eroded its market dominance.
A restaurant billed as America's first toilet-themed eatery has just opened in Los Angeles -- and is packing in diners after a wave of free publicity for the concept, said to be imported from Asia.
Glenn Greenwald, the former Guardian reporter who broke many of the recent stories about secret US surveillance programs, claimed that all Latin American countries had been spied on by Washington.