Reuters

BOSTON (Reuters) – Former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, who killed himself in prison in April, had a “severe case” of the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a lawyer said on Thursday as he sued the team and NFL on behalf of the athlete’s young daughter.

Twitter to meet Congressional panel probing 2016 election

(Reuters) – Twitter Inc representatives will meet with the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence staff next week in relation to inquiries into the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a company representative said.

Distrustful U.S. allies force spy agency to back down in encryption row

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – An international group of cryptography experts has forced the U.S. National Security Agency to back down over two data encryption techniques it wanted set as global industry standards, reflecting deep mistrust among close U.S. allies.

Republicans plan healthcare vote; Obama and TV host denounce bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Republicans announced plans to vote next week on their latest bid to scuttle Obamacare even as a popular comedian who has become part of the U.S. healthcare debate denounced the bill and former President Barack Obama on Wednesday warned of “real human suffering.”

Strong quake near Mexico City kills at least 226, rescuers dig through collapsed buildings

September 20, 2017Tim Dempsey

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Rescue crews and ordinary citizens searched through rubble for survivors as night fell on Tuesday on battered cities in central Mexico, including the capital, where the death toll from a major earthquake grew to at least 226.

Trump administration red tape tangles up visas for skilled foreigners, data shows

September 20, 2017Tim Dempsey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration is making it more difficult for skilled foreigners to work in the United States, challenging visa applications more often than at nearly any point in the Obama era, according to data reviewed by Reuters.

Trump using campaign, RNC funds to pay legal bills from Russia probe: sources

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump is using money donated to his re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee to pay for his lawyers in the probe of alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Hurricane Maria pummels Dominica, barrels toward U.S. Virgin Islands

PONCE, Puerto Rico (Reuters) – Hurricane Maria, the second major storm to hit the Caribbean this month, crept toward the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Tuesday after it ripped through the small island nation of Dominica, causing widespread devastation.

Mattis hints at military options on North Korea but offers no details

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis hinted on Monday about the existence of military options on North Korea that might spare Seoul from a brutal counterattack but declined to say what kind of options he was talking about or whether they involved the use of lethal force.

Senate backs massive increase in military spending

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate passed its version of a $700 billion defense policy bill on Monday, backing President Donald Trump’s call for a bigger, stronger military but setting the stage for a battle over government spending levels later this year.

Hurricane Maria seen strengthening into major hurricane in next two days

September 18, 2017Tim Dempsey

(Reuters) – A second powerful storm in as many weeks was bearing down on a string of battered Caribbean islands, with forecasters saying Maria would strengthen rapidly into a major hurricane as it ripped into the Leeward Islands on Monday night.

U.S. Ambassador Haley: U.N. has exhausted options on North Korea

September 18, 2017Tim Dempsey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Sunday the U.N. Security Council has run out of options on containing North Korea’s nuclear program and the United States may have to turn the matter over to the Pentagon.

Trump, Nikki Haley to share U.S. spotlight at U.N. gathering

September 18, 2017Tim Dempsey

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – When President Donald Trump takes the world stage at the United Nations for the first time this week, he will share the spotlight with his envoy Nikki Haley, who has emerged as the surprising public face of U.S. foreign policy.

St. Louis protest turns violent after peaceful rallies against police acquittal

September 17, 2017Tim Dempsey

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) – Clashes between demonstrators and riot-clad police marred the end of what had been a largely peaceful second day of protest rallies in St. Louis following the acquittal of a white police officer in the fatal shooting of a black man.

Second man arrested over London train attack: police

September 17, 2017Tim Dempsey

LONDON (Reuters) – A second man has been arrested over Friday’s bomb attack on a London underground train that injured 30 people, police said.

Hurricane Jose staying off U.S. East Coast as Storm Maria forms

September 17, 2017Tim Dempsey

(Reuters) – Hurricane Jose is expected to pass east of the North Carolina coast on Monday and remain off the U.S. East Coast from Virginia to New England, while Tropical Storm Maria formed and is forecast to become a hurricane early next week, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Saturday.

Police, protesters clash in St. Louis after ex-cop acquitted of murdering black man

September 16, 2017Tim Dempsey

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) – Police using tear gas and rubber bullets clashed with demonstrators in St Louis in the early hours of Saturday after a white former policeman was acquitted of murdering a black suspect.

North Korea says seeking military 'equilibrium' with U.S.

September 16, 2017Tim Dempsey

SEOUL/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – North Korea said on Saturday it aims to reach an “equilibrium” of military force with the United States, which earlier signaled its patience for diplomacy is wearing thin after Pyongyang fired a missile over Japan for the second time in under a month.

Houston residents, officials stew over Harvey storm-trash removal

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Disposing of the mounds of debris lining Houston streets three weeks after Hurricane Harvey flooding damaged about 126,000 homes is riling residents and officials in the nation’s fourth largest city.

North Korea fires another missile over Japan, deepening regional tensions

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) – North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan’s northern Hokkaido far out into the Pacific Ocean on Friday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, deepening tensions after Pyongyang’s recent test of its most powerful nuclear bomb.

UK police investigate reports of blast on London underground train

LONDON (Reuters) – Heavily armed police rushed to an incident at a London underground station on Friday with local media reporting there had been an explosion on a train.

Republican unity on U.S. tax overhaul shows sign of fraying

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican efforts to unite the White House, Senate and House of Representatives behind a single tax reform plan appeared to be unraveling on Thursday, when one of the “Big Six” negotiators said the group would not dictate tax policy in the Senate.

North Korea threatens to 'sink' Japan, reduce U.S. to 'ashes and darkness'

September 14, 2017Tim Dempsey

SEOUL/JAPAN (Reuters) – A North Korean state agency threatened on Thursday to use nuclear weapons to “sink” Japan and reduce the United States to “ashes and darkness” for supporting a U.N. Security Council resolution and sanctions over its latest nuclear test.

Trump says rich might pay more in taxes, talks with Democrats

September 14, 2017Tim Dempsey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that taxes on rich Americans might rise, as he pursues a tax code overhaul and reaches out to both Democrats and Republicans in a push to win support for a plan still far from complete.

Democrats say Trump agrees to work on immigration bill, wall in dispute

September 14, 2017Tim Dempsey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders in the U.S. Congress have agreed to work together on legislation to protect “Dreamers,” the illegal immigrants who were children when they entered the United States, the lawmakers said on Wednesday, although a dispute erupted over exactly what had been agreed.

North Korea defiant over U.N. sanctions as Trump says tougher steps needed

September 13, 2017Tim Dempsey

SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – North Korea showed trademark defiance on Wednesday over new U.N. sanctions imposed after its sixth and largest nuclear test, vowing to redouble efforts to fight off what it said was the threat of a U.S. invasion.

Congress votes to call on Trump to denounce hate groups

September 13, 2017Tim Dempsey

(Reuters) – The U.S. Congress passed a resolution late on Tuesday calling on President Donald Trump to condemn hate groups after Trump was criticized for his response to the violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a month ago.

Supreme Court allows broad Trump refugee ban

September 13, 2017Tim Dempsey

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump to broadly implement a ban on refugees entering the country from around the world.

Major U.S. allies in Asia welcome new U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea

September 12, 2017Tim Dempsey

UNITED NATIONS/SEOUL (Reuters) – Major U.S. allies in Asia welcomed on Tuesday the U.N. Security Council’s unanimous vote to step up sanctions on North Korea, with its profitable textile exports now banned and fuel supplies to the reclusive North capped after its sixth nuclear test.

Florida Keys, airports partially re-open after Irma rips through state

September 12, 2017Tim Dempsey

FLORIDA CITY/MARCO ISLAND, Fla. (Reuters) – Parts of the storm-ravaged Florida Keys will allow residents to return on Tuesday to survey damage from Hurricane Irma, which devastated the state with high winds and storm surges that destroyed homes and left millions without power.

Exclusive: Trump to weigh more aggressive U.S. strategy on Iran – sources

September 12, 2017Tim Dempsey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump is weighing a strategy that could allow more aggressive U.S. responses to Iran’s forces, its Shi’ite Muslim proxies in Iraq and Syria, and its support for militant groups, according to six current and former U.S. officials.

Irma churns through central Florida, leaves trail of destruction

September 11, 2017Tim Dempsey

TAMPA, Fla.,/MIAMI (Reuters) – Hurricane Irma took aim at heavily populated areas of central Florida on Monday as it carved a path of destruction through the state with high winds and storm surges that left millions without power, ripped roofs off homes and flooded city streets.

Insurers ache for qualified inspectors after U.S. hurricanes

September 11, 2017Tim Dempsey

(Reuters) – Insurers are scrambling to find inspectors in Texas and Florida after fierce hurricanes battered the states one after the other, causing tens of billions of dollars’ worth of property damage in less than two weeks.

Irma knocks out power to nearly four million in Florida: utilities

September 11, 2017Tim Dempsey

(Reuters) – Hurricane Irma knocked out power to nearly 4 million homes and businesses in Florida on Sunday, threatening millions more as it crept up the state’s west coast, and full restoration of service could take weeks, local electric utilities said.

Hurricane Irma nears Florida with devastating winds, storm surges

September 10, 2017Tim Dempsey

FORT MYERS, Fla (Reuters) – Hurricane Irma was set to make landfall in Florida on Sunday with devastating winds and life-threatening storm surges, prompting one of the largest evacuations in U.S. history, after a destructive march up Cuba’s northern coast.

Exclusive: Flying into the eye of Hurricane Irma with U.S. 'Hurricane Hunters'

September 10, 2017Tim Dempsey

THE EYE OF HURRICANE IRMA (Reuters) – The sky darkened, lightning flashed and a jolt of turbulence shook the cabin of the hulking Air Force turbo-prop aircraft as it plied its way toward the eye of Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded.

Utility crews stream into Florida for hurricane payday, adventure

September 9, 2017Tim Dempsey

ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – Nick Chilelli had been driving his utility truck with a broken air conditioner for about 18 hours, all the way from Cincinnati, when his convoy got trapped behind a car wreck just outside Orlando, Florida, at about 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

Hurricane Irma strengthens, tears into Cuba's northern coast

September 9, 2017Tim Dempsey

(Reuters) – Hurricane Irma walloped Cuba’s northern coast on Saturday as a Category 5 storm, as millions of Florida residents were ordered to evacuate after the storm killed 21 people in the eastern Caribbean and left catastrophic destruction in its wake.

Republicans see tax reform complicated by Trump deal with Democrats

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Republican party lawmakers warned on Friday that President Donald Trump’s legislative deal with Democrats to help hurricane victims and keep the government running for another three months could complicate his next big priority – tax reform.

Jamie Dimon ventures beyond Wall Street to have a say in Washington

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon is starting to look like Corporate America’s shadow president.

Irma menaces Bahamas and Cuba, on course toward Florida

HAVANA (Reuters) – Hurricane Irma menaced Cuba and the Bahamas on Friday as it drove toward Florida after lashing the Caribbean with devastatingly high winds, killing 19 people and leaving catastrophic destruction in its wake.

Congress sends Trump disaster aid, debt limit increase

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to provide disaster aid, extend the debt ceiling and fund the federal government for three months on Friday, delivering on President Donald Trump’s surprising deal with Democratic congressional leaders.

Defying Trump, Senate panel approves funding for U.N. climate body

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee passed a spending bill on Thursday evening that includes $10 million to help fund the United Nations’ climate change body that oversees the Paris Climate Agreement, despite President Donald Trump’s decision to stop funding it.

Irma powers toward Florida, leaving behind path of death, destruction

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos (Reuters) – Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, drove toward Florida on Friday as it lashed the Caribbean with devastating winds and torrential rain, leaving behind 14 deaths and a swathe of catastrophic destruction.

Trump anger at Cohn raises doubts about his White House tenure: sources