New York City police plan to stop booking and arraigning people who were arrested for low-level marijuana-possession charges, which means those arrested for having a small amount of the drug will be released with a ticket. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the changes would take affect next month.

Germany’s economy is slowly going down, following the other economies of union countries. Germany, which has the largest economy in Europe, was hit by the European recession as figures showed Thursday. The tank in the German economy furthered the European debt. (Read full story here)

Lady Gaga canceled the rest of her tour dates due to a hip injury. The cancellation will affect 21 tour dates, and those with tickets will be fully refunded. Live Nation Global Touring said Lady Gaga has a tear in her right hip, which requires surgery and a recovery period. Gaga said on Twitter that she hid the injury from her staff so she could perform for her fans. However, she said her decision resulted in her not being able to walk because of the pain.

US Airways and American Airlines agreed to an $11-billion merger Thursday. The CEO of US Airways, Doug Parker has been hoping for the merger for years. The merger will turn American Airlines into the biggest airline in the world. (Read full story here)

Contact Maura Zurick at [email protected].