Prosecutors, public defender squabble over status of accused NY bomber

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prosecutors and New York's top federal public defender squabbled on Thursday over when the suspect in the series of weekend bombings around the city and New Jersey will get a lawyer.

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Corruption charges unveiled in New York

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors on Thursday announced corruption charges against nine defendants, including a former close aide to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, over their roles in alleged bribery and fraud schemes tied to the awarding of large state contracts and other activities.

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Investigators try to determine if accused New York bomber had help

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. authorities on Wednesday were looking into whether an Afghan-born American citizen charged with carrying out bombings in New York and New Jersey acted alone or had help as the city's top federal public defender sought access to the suspect.

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Charlotte police chief says one person killed during protest

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One person has died of a gunshot wound in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday during protests against the killing of a black man by police, the city's police chief said.

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U.S. cities push for local laws to oversee police surveillance

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A number of U.S. cities are introducing proposals to mandate community oversight of police use of digital surveillance technology as evidence mounts that black or poor neighborhoods are being more heavily scrutinized than others, civil rights activists said on Wednesday.

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Trump praises 'stop-and-frisk' police tactic

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would consider using "stop-and-frisk" policing methods to cut crime if elected, according to two people who attended a Fox News "town hall" taping at a predominantly African-American church in Cleveland.

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Ryan has concerns over 9/11 Saudi bill but predicts veto override

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives would override any presidential veto of a bill allowing survivors and families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia, Speaker Paul Ryan predicted on Wednesday while also citing concerns with the legislation.

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Charlotte officials urge calm after police shooting sparks protests

CHARLOTTE, N.C./TULSA,Okla. (Reuters) - Charlotte, North Carolina, officials called for calm and dialogue on Wednesday after the fatal shooting of a black man by police led to a night of violent street protests that injured 16 officers.

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Calm urged in Charlotte, North Carolina after 16 officers hurt in protests

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - The mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday called for calm and peace after 16 officers were hurt and police vehicles were damaged overnight during a demonstration against the police shooting of a black man at an apartment complex in the city.

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House committee launches review of FDA criminal office

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. congressional committee has launched an examination of the Food and Drug Administration's criminal office, raising questions about the unit’s management and handling of cases involving food, drugs and devices.

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Divided U.S. Supreme Court turns to less sensitive IP cases

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Shorthanded and ideologically divided, the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to take up any cases on politically sensitive social issues in its new term starting in October, instead showing a keen interest in more technical cases of importance to business such as disputes over intellectual property.

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Former National Guard member gets 30 years for plot to attack Illinois base

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A former member of the Illinois National Guard was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday for planning with his cousin to attack a military installation outside Chicago as part of a conspiracy to support the Islamic State militant group.

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Police in Charlotte, North Carolina, fatally shoot man they say was armed

(Reuters) - Police officers in Charlotte, North Carolina, fatally shot a man on Tuesday after he got out of his car armed with a gun as police approached him, authorities said.

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U2 spy plane crash in California kills pilot, injures another

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane crashed shortly after takeoff during a training mission on Tuesday morning in California, killing one of the pilots and injuring the other, the Air Force said.

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Ex-partner of New York bombing suspect seeks child custody: court record

(Reuters) - The former partner of an Afghan-born man arrested after weekend bombings in New York and New Jersey is seeking full custody of their child, according to a court document seen by Reuters.

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Oklahoma launches criminal probe into shooting of unarmed black man

(Note: Please be advised that this story contains graphic details in paragraph 6 that may offend some readers)

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U.S. man to plead guilty to conspiring to help Islamic State

BOSTON (Reuters) - A Rhode Island man charged last year with plotting to behead Massachusetts police officers in support of the Islamic State militant group is due to plead guilty to conspiracy charges later this week, according to court papers on Tuesday.

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Despite flaws, paperless voting machines remain widespread in the U.S.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One in four registered voters in the United States live in areas that will use electronic voting machines that do not produce a paper backup in the November presidential election despite concerns that they are vulnerable to tampering and malfunctions, according to a Reuters analysis.

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Oklahoma police release video of officer shooting unarmed black man

(Note: Please be advised that this story contains graphic details in paragraph 9 that may offend some readers)

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A New York tale: Two men find bag, remove bomb, take bag

(Reuters) - New York City police investigating a bombing in Manhattan over the weekend said on Monday they wanted to question two men who appeared to stumble over a second device made from a pressure cooker that had been left inside a bag lying on a city street.

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Teen killed by Columbus, Ohio, police was shot while fleeing: family's attorneys

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A forensic report released on Monday by attorneys representing the family of a 13-year old African American boy fatally shot by a white Columbus, Ohio, police officer last week said the teenager was shot three times while running away.

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New York bombing suspect's family clashed with New Jersey city over restaurant

NEW YORK/ELIZABETH, N.J. (Reuters) - Long before the FBI made Ahmad Rahami notorious as a suspect in this weekend's bombings around New York, his family was well known in Elizabeth, New Jersey, for frequent skirmishes with neighbors over its fried chicken restaurant.

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Florida governor says no Zika transmission in Miami's Wynwood in 45 days

(Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott on Monday said there has been no local transmission of Zika in 45 days in the Miami neighborhood of Wynwood, the first site of a non-travel related case of the virus in the continental United States.

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'Bridgegate' trial begins in New Jersey three years after scandal

(Reuters) - Two former associates of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will go on trial on Monday for their alleged roles in the "Bridgegate" scandal that helped derail his presidential hopes.

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Device explodes near New Jersey station as robot tries to disarm it

(Reuters) - An explosive device left near a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey, blew up early on Monday when a bomb squad robot cut a wire on the mechanism, one of as many as five potential bombs found at the site, the city's mayor said.

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As 'Bridgegate' trial begins, New Jersey's Christie remains focus

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is not expected to attend the trial this week of two former associates charged in the 2013 "Bridgegate" scandal, but the failed Republican presidential hopeful's shadow will loom over the proceedings.

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More kneeling players, raised fists, in anthem protests

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles Rams defensive end Robert Quinn raised his fist and San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick was among several players who knelt during performances of the U.S. national anthem on Sunday.

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Most states on track to meet emissions targets they call burden

LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON(Reuters) - The 27 states challenging Obama’s Clean Power Plan in court say the lower emissions levels it would impose are an undue burden. But most are likely to hit them anyway.

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Clinton condemns 'apparent terrorist attacks' in New Jersey, New York, Minnesota

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Sunday condemned what she called the "apparent terrorist attacks" in Minnesota, New Jersey and New York.

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Islamic State supporter behind Minnesota stabbings: Amaq

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamic State supporter carried out the stabbing attack that wounded at least eight people at a mall in the U.S. state of Minnesota on Saturday, the militant group's Amaq news agency said.

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Football team bus crashes in North Carolina, killing four

WILMINGTON, N.C. (Reuters) - A charter bus filled with junior college football players heading to a game crashed on an interstate highway in North Carolina on Saturday, killing four people on board and injuring more than 40 others, the state highway patrol said.

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Stabbing attack at Minnesota mall leaves at least eight injured

(Reuters) - A person carried out a stabbing attack on Saturday at a mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, injuring at least eight people before dying in the violent incident, officials said.

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Slain black youth's BB gun called 'almost identical' to real weapon

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - The mayor of Columbus, Ohio, said on Friday that the air pistol brandished at police by a black, 13-year-old boy as he was shot dead by a white officer this week was nearly indistinguishable from weapons carried by members of the city's police force.

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Hate drove gunman to shoot Philadelphia police: officials

(Reuters) - A gunman who wounded two Philadelphia police officers and three civilians and killed a fourth civilian appears to have been driven by hatred for the police but had no known ties to any militant groups, officials said on Saturday.

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Colonial says has resumed repair work on damaged pipeline

(Reuters) - Colonial Pipeline Co said on Saturday it had resumed work on repairing its damaged Line 1 gasoline line on Friday afternoon, after having to temporarily halt work due to vapors at the site of the leak.

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Bomb explodes in New Jersey along route of planned race: official

(Reuters) - A bomb exploded in Seaside Park, New Jersey, on Saturday along the route of a planned road race that was then canceled, a prosecutor and local media said.

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Two police officers in Texas shot while responding to suicide call: police

(Reuters) - Two Fort Worth, Texas police officers were shot on Friday when they responded to a possible suicide at a home on the south side of the city, police said.

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Florida expands Zika zone in Miami Beach after five new cases

(Reuters) - State officials in Florida on Friday tripled the active Zika transmission zone in the trendy seaside community of Miami Beach after five new cases of the mosquito-borne virus believed to cause a severe birth defect were identified in the area.

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Florida man found guilty of attempted murder of George Zimmerman: reports

ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - A Florida man was found guilty on Friday of attempted murder for shooting at George Zimmerman during a roadside confrontation with the ex-neighborhood watch captain widely known for killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, local media reported.

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Ohio man held on murder, kidnapping charges

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Ohio man was held on $1 million bond on Friday after being charged with kidnapping and murder in connection with the discovery of two bodies by police earlier this week.

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Guards at New York's Rikers Island get prison for inmate beating

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Six guards at New York City's Rikers Island jail complex were sentenced on Friday to prison for the 2012 beating of an inmate that left him with fractured eye sockets and a broken nose.

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Obama enlists Republican Kasich to press for TPP passage

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday engaged Ohio Governor John Kasich, a high-profile political foe, to help press Republicans to approve the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal before he leaves office in four months.

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U.S. House panel slams former NSA contractor Snowden

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S congressional intelligence committee on Thursday issued a scathing report accusing former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden of leaking information that "caused tremendous damage" to U.S. national security, lying about his background and feuding with co-workers.

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Polling places become battleground in U.S. voting rights fight

LINCOLN PARK, Ga. (Reuters) - Louis Brooks, 87, has walked to cast a vote at his neighborhood polling place in Georgia’s predominantly black Lincoln Park neighborhood for five decades. But not this year.

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FBI trying to build legal cases against Russian hackers: sources

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation is intensifying efforts to find enough evidence to enable the Justice Department to indict some of the Russians that U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded are hacking into American political parties and figures, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials said on Thursday.Building legal cases is difficult, largely because the best evidence against foreign hackers is often highly classified, they said. Still, some Wh

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New York City police officer struck with meat cleaver

(Reuters) - An assailant wielding a meat cleaver or other sharp metal object injured a New York City police officer on Thursday in midtown Manhattan, and a second officer was also hurt during the incident, police said.

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Suspended USC football player charged with rape in Utah

(Reuters) - A University of Southern California football player was charged in Utah on Thursday with raping a 19-year-old woman in July, according to court documents.

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Transgender patients face fear and stigma in the doctor's office

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tanya Walker had lung cancer and was coughing up blood, but she says her emergency room doctor kept asking about her genitals.

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'Heartless' U.S. mortgage modification scheme leads to 16-year prison term

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A California man was sentenced on Thursday to 16 years in prison for his role in what prosecutors said was the largest mortgage modification scheme ever prosecuted, involving more than 30,000 homeowners defrauded out of $31 million.

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FBI's 2007 impersonation of journalist valid at time: U.S. watchdog

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI did not break rules in place in 2007 when it impersonated a journalist to send a teenage bomb-threat suspect a computer link to a fake news article that concealed location tracking software, a government watchdog said on Thursday.

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Family of woman found dead in Texas jail reaches settlement: TV

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The family of a black motorist found hanged in her Texas jail cell after being taken into custody following a traffic stop has reached a $1.9 million settlement in a wrongful death suit against law enforcement, a media report said on Thursday.

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Police in Ohio fatally wound suspect armed with BB gun: media

(Reuters) - A teenage boy was fatally wounded by police in Columbus, Ohio, when he pulled out a weapon that authorities later learned was a BB gun as officers tried to apprehend him, police told local media on Thursday.

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Arrest made in arson at Florida mosque where gunman prayed

(Reuters) - A Florida man who investigators say posted anti-Islamic material on social media was arrested on Wednesday on charges of setting fire to a mosque attended by the gunman who committed the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, police said.

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Muslim woman set on fire in New York not targeted due to faith: police

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York police investigating an attack in which a Muslim woman's clothing was set alight are no longer probing the case as a hate crime after linking the suspects to similar assaults on non-Muslims, authorities said on Wednesday.

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Storm Julia threatens flooding in coastal South Carolina

(Reuters) - Tropical Storm Julia dumped heavy rain on Georgia and threatened flooding in parts of South Carolina on Wednesday as it plowed slowly north along the U.S. Southeast coast, the National Hurricane Center said.

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Snowden backers press Obama for pardon before presidency ends

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three rights groups launched a campaign on Wednesday to try to persuade President Barack Obama to pardon former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden on U.S. theft and espionage charges before Obama leaves office in January.

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Chicago City Council passes tax for pensions, airport bonds

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The last piece of Chicago's pension funding puzzle fell into place on Wednesday with final approval of a tax on water and sewer usage to save the largest of the city's four retirement systems from going broke.

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New U.S. black history museum may help dialogue on race: official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new National Museum of African American History and Culture may help heal the persistent problem of U.S. racism when it opens in 10 days, the head of the Smithsonian Institution said on Wednesday.

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U.S. statement confirms terms of new $38 billion Israel aid package

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The terms of a new $38 billion aid package for Israel were confirmed in a White House statement obtained by Reuters ahead of a State Department ceremony on Wednesday to sign the new 10-year pact.

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Saudi man, Glenn Beck settle lawsuit over Boston bombing claim

BOSTON (Reuters) - A Saudi Arabian man who was injured in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing has settled a lawsuit filed against U.S. conservative media commentator Glenn Beck for claiming the man had helped finance the deadly attack.

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U.S. 'sponsors of terrorism' bill could fuel extremism: Saudi adviser

DUBAI (Reuters) - A senior Saudi policy adviser on Wednesday condemned a U.S. bill that would allow families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to sue the kingdom for damages, warning it would stoke instability and extremism.

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Mylan CEO to testify before House over EpiPen pricing: lawmakers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mylan NL Chief Executive Officer Heather Bresch will appear at a Sept. 21 congressional hearing over price increases for its allergy auto-injector EpiPen, the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee said in a statement on Wednesday.

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Uber debuts self-driving vehicles in landmark Pittsburgh trial

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - When Pittsburgh wakes up on Wednesday morning, some residents will have the choice of going about their day in an Uber that drives itself.

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New York police seek man who set fire to Muslim woman

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City investigators on Tuesday searched for a man suspected of setting fire to a traditionally dressed Muslim woman in a Midtown shopping area, police said.

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Climate change 'significant and direct' threat to U.S. military: reports

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The effects of climate change endanger U.S. military operations and could increase the danger of international conflict, according to three new documents endorsed by retired top U.S. military officers and former national security officials.

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Supreme Court leaves Ohio voting restrictions in place

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to reinstate for the Nov. 8 general election Ohio's "Golden Week", which had allowed voters to register and cast ballots within the same seven-day period before it was repealed by a Republican-backed law two years ago.

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Chelsea Manning to receive gender transition surgery: lawyers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning, serving a 35-year prison term for passing classified files to WikiLeaks, ended her hunger strike on Tuesday after the Army said she would be allowed to receive gender transition surgery, the American Civil Liberties Union said.

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Pardon for former NSA contractor Snowden seen unlikely

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government will not budge on its demand that former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden return to face prosecution for stealing thousands of classified intelligence documents, despite new calls for President Barack Obama to pardon him, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

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Anti-government militants conspired in Oregon refuge standoff: prosecutors

PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - Anti-government militants who seized a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon earlier this year conspired to intimidate government workers and steal property, a heavily armed protest that was not protected by the U.S. Constitution, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

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New Hampshire to defend ban on ballot-box selfies in court

BOSTON (Reuters) - New Hampshire officials on Tuesday will try to persuade a federal appeals court that a 2014 law banning voters from posting online photos of their ballots on election day does not violate the U.S. right to free speech.

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Mosque where Florida nightclub shooter worshiped set on fire

(Reuters) - The Florida mosque where Omar Mateen, who committed the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, prayed was badly damaged on Monday in an arson attack, investigators said.

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North Carolina to lose college championships over transgender law

(Reuters) - The governing board overseeing U.S. college athletics said on Monday it will move seven championship sporting events out of North Carolina to protest state laws deemed discriminatory to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals.

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Monday Night Football shines spotlight on national anthem protests

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - He may be on the second-string roster of the San Francisco 49ers, but all eyes will be on backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick when the national anthem plays for the team's first Monday night football game of the season, at home against the Los Angeles Rams.

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Berkshire is accused in NY lawsuit of workers' comp 'siphoning'

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc has been sued by a New York bicycle courier company over an alleged illegal scheme to cheat employers buying workers' compensation policies.

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Obama would veto bill allowing 9/11 families to sue Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama would veto a bill passed by both houses of Congress that would allow families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to sue the government of Saudi Arabia for damages, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday.

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Islamic State-linked cases in U.S. number 110 since 2013: Justice Dept

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Assistant Attorney General John Carlin said on Monday that more than 110 people have been publicly charged in federal court since late 2013 on counts related to the Islamic State militant group that has overrun much of Syria and Iraq.

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Families remember 9/11 victims 15 years after attacks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Americans remembered the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on Sunday at a ceremony marking 15 years, with the recital of their names, tolling church bells and a tribute in lights at the site where New York City's massive twin towers collapsed.

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Six shot, one dead, at Alabama rally: media reports

(Reuters) - Six people were shot, one of them fatally, when gunfire broke out after a rally at a Birmingham public housing project on Sunday, media reports said.

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Winner of Miss America pageant could be gay, diabetic or a dancer

(Reuters) - At the age of 96, Sunday's Miss America Pageant features at least one first that would have been unimaginable during its 1950s and 60s heyday, when the annual contest was a major national event on par with the Oscars film awards or football's Super Bowl.

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Demonstrations planned during anthem at NFL opening games

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The opening games of the new National Football League season are expected to be marked by peaceful demonstrations during the U.S. national anthem on Sunday by players trying to draw attention to racial disparities in the country's justice system.

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Native Americans celebrate pause of North Dakota pipeline, vow to fight on

CANNON BALL, N.D. (Reuters) - Native Americans protesting construction of a North Dakota oil pipeline near land they consider sacred on Saturday quietly celebrated the U.S. government's decision to pause construction on federally owned land, and vowed to press for a full halt to the project.

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Report details horror, heroism during San Bernardino shooting

(Reuters) - A report into last year's shooting rampage by a husband and wife in San Bernardino, California, reveals how three county workers battled to stop the shooters as they sprayed bullets into a conference room full of their colleagues.

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Would-be Reagan assassin released from psychiatric hospital

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Would-be presidential assassin John Hinckley Jr. was scheduled to be freed from a psychiatric hospital on Saturday, 35 years after he shot U.S. President Ronald Reagan in an attack prompted by a deranged obsession with the actress Jodie Foster.

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After protests, U.S. halts North Dakota pipeline near tribal lands

WASHINGTON/BISMARCK, North Dakota (Reuters) - The Obama administration stepped into a dispute on Friday over a planned oil pipeline in North Dakota that has angered Native Americans, appealing for calm while blocking construction on federal land and asking the company behind the project to suspend work nearby.

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Homeowners sue California's Fresno, saying lead in water supply

(Reuters) - Five homeowners filed a lawsuit against Fresno, California on Friday, accusing the city of letting dangerous levels of lead and other toxins into the water supply and failing to alert the public of the potential danger, local media reported.

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Appeals Court blocks Kansas, Alabama, Georgia on voter ID rule

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday blocked an effort by Kansas, Alabama and Georgia to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

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Chelsea Manning announces hunger strike over treatment in prison

(Reuters) - U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning, serving a 35-year prison term for passing classified files to WikiLeaks, said on Friday that she would refuse to eat until given help for her gender dysphoria and "treated with dignity, respect and humanity" by the government.

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Wisconsin appeals overturned conviction in 'Making a Murderer' case

(Reuters) - Wisconsin on Friday appealed a federal judge's ruling to overturn the conviction of one of two Wisconsin men serving life sentences for the 2005 slaying of a freelance photographer in a case spotlighted in the popular Netflix television documentary "Making a Murderer."

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Seven police officers to be charged in Oakland, California sex scandal

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Seven current and former San Francisco Bay Area law enforcement officers face charges in connection with a sex scandal that has rocked the Oakland Police Department, prosecutors said on Friday.

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U.S. returns to 1 World Trade Center 15 years after attacks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. federal government on Friday marked its return to the rebuilt 1 World Trade Center, moving its New York City offices back to Lower Manhattan 15 years after the Sept. 11 attacks that had reduced the site to rubble.

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NFL's Sept. 11 plans may collide with anthem protests

(Reuters) - The NFL said on Friday it will commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States during games on Sunday, the same day when some players plan to protest during the U.S. national anthem.

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Sept. 11 drama on Air Force One unfolds in Bush aide's handwritten notes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The notes are handwritten on a legal pad and provide a verbatim account of the shock, pain and grim determination aboard Air Force One on Sept. 11, 2001.

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Supreme Court rejects Michigan straight-ticket voting appeal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid by Michigan to reinstate its Republican-backed ban on straight-ticket voting for the Nov. 8 general election.

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Obama to meet with congressional leaders on Monday: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama has invited congressional leaders to the White House on Monday to discuss legislative priorities for this month, a White House official said.

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Carolina clown sightings scare me, says horror master Stephen King

(Reuters) - A spate of creepy clown sightings in South Carolina has perplexed police and worried parents, but their frightening appearance was no surprise to best-selling U.S. horror author Stephen King.

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Patchwork of state laws hurts U.S. effort to modernize mortgages

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As Chuck DeBonis was wrapping up his stint as a civilian paramedic at a military base in Kuwait earlier this year, he found a home he wanted to buy in the Virginia town of Bristow for his return.

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Sorrow, selfies compete at New York's 9/11 memorial 15 years on

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The memorial in New York City at the site where the Twin Towers fell in the Sept. 11 attacks 15 years ago straddles two worlds: one of the living and one of the dead.

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Corruption charges against former Virginia governor, wife dropped

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Thursday dropped corruption charges against former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell and his wife, bringing to a close a case that tarnished the once-rising star of the Republican Party.

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Denver Broncos' Marshall kneels in protest during national anthem

(Reuters) - Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall became the latest athlete to kneel during the U.S. national anthem in a protest against social injustice before his team's game against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday.

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Denver Broncos' Marshall kneels in protest during national anthem

(Reuters) - Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall became the latest athlete to kneel during the U.S. national anthem in protest for social justice before his team's game versus the Carolina Panthers on Thursday.

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North Dakota governor calls in National Guard ahead of pipeline ruling

(Reuters) - North Dakota's governor activated 100 National Guard troops on Thursday ahead of an expected ruling by a federal judge on a Native American tribe's request to halt construction of a crude oil pipeline that has drawn fierce opposition and protests.

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Chipotle settles sick customers' claims, avoiding court battles

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill has agreed to financial settlements with more than 100 customers who fell ill after eating at its restaurants last year, lawyers for the consumers said, as it attempts to move on from a string of food-safety problems.

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New York to allow late-term abortions for health at-risk women

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York will allow late-term abortions for women whose pregnancies endanger their health, a move that brings the state into federal compliance and ends decades of confusion faced by patients and providers of the procedure, state officials said.

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Party lines split U.S. on terror threat 15 years after 9/11: poll

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks nearing, Americans are sharply divided on party lines over the threat of a major terrorist attack on the United States, according to a poll released on Wednesday.

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At least one person shot at West Texas school: TV report

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - At least one person was shot on Thursday at a high school in the West Texas town of Alpine, which was on lockdown because of reports of an active shooter, TV station KWES reported.

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Mural depicts Maine governor as Klansman, Mickey Mouse

(Reuters) - A graffiti artist lampooned Maine Governor Paul LePage in a mural depicting the two-term Republican wearing a Ku Klux Klan cape and hood, two weeks after he left a profane voicemail for a Democratic lawmaker he believed had called him a racist.

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U.S. House to vote on bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudis: source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives will vote this week on legislation that would allow the families of Sept. 11 attack victims to sue Saudi Arabia's government for damages, a House leadership source said on Wednesday.

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Jury chosen for trial of Bundy brothers and others for Oregon standoff

PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - The trial of seven anti-government activists, including ranchers Ammon and Ryan Bundy, for leading an armed takeover of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon was set to begin on Wednesday with jury selection, court documents show.

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Ferguson, Missouri, protest leader found shot dead in burning car: police

(Reuters) - Missouri detectives have not determined a motive or identified any witnesses in an investigation into the death of a man who led protests in the city of Ferguson following the fatal 2014 shooting of Michael Brown by a law enforcement officer, police said on Wednesday.

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U.S. personnel management hack preventable, congressional probe finds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) did not follow rudimentary cyber security recommendations that could have mitigated or even prevented major attacks that compromised sensitive data belonging to more than 22 million people, a congressional investigation being released on Wednesday has found.

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Minor earthquake in the State of Washington rattles homes

(Reuters) - A 3.2 magnitude earthquake struck the northwest of the State of Washington on Tuesday night, the United States Geological Survey reported, briefly shaking homes and rattling residents.

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U.S. lifts protection for most humpback whales

(Reuters) - The United States lifted protection for most humpback whales around the globe on Tuesday, including some in American waters, based on evidence they have made a strong comeback since commercial whaling drove them to near extinction.

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Company agrees to halt North Dakota pipeline work until Friday

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A pipeline company agreed to halt until Friday construction of an oil pipeline in parts of North Dakota where a Native American tribe says it has ancient burial and prayer sites, a lawyer for the company said in court on Tuesday.

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Los Angeles passenger train crash injures at least 10

(Reuters) - At least 10 people were injured when a Metrolink commuter train carrying nearly 200 passengers crashed into a semi truck on Tuesday morning in Los Angeles, fire department officials said.

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New York to probe Mylan EpiPen contracts for schools

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York has opened a probe into whether Mylan Pharmaceuticals broke antitrust law in writing contracts to provide EpiPens to some schools systems, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement on Tuesday.

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Cosby due back in Pennsylvania court for sexual assault case

(Reuters) - Comedian Bill Cosby is scheduled to return to a Pennsylvania state court on Tuesday, two months after a judge rejected his latest bid to have criminal sexual assault charges dismissed.

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Ex-Stanford swimmer registers as sex offender in Ohio after assault

(Reuters) - Former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner has registered as a sex offender in his home state of Ohio, following his conviction for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman in 2015 and public outrage over his six-month jail sentence.

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Fire reported at USDA facility in Maryland

(Reuters) - A fire broke out at a U.S. Department of Agriculture facility in Maryland on Tuesday, local fire department officials said

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Fox settles sexual harassment suit for $20 million on Ailes' behalf: report

(Reuters) - Fox News has reached a $20 million settlement of former anchor Gretchen Carlson's sexual harassment lawsuit against the network's former chief Roger Ailes, Vanity Fair said on Tuesday, citing three people familiar with the settlement.

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Puerto Rico debt fix unlikely to resemble Detroit's

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The federal appointees tapped to help map Puerto Rico's economic future are technocrats more than political actors, and that could make the U.S. territory's fiscal turnaround look more like a corporate restructuring than a politically charged municipal bankruptcy in the vein of Detroit.

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Gunfire kills two at New York's Caribbean street party

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two people were shot dead at a pre-dawn Caribbean heritage celebration in New York despite ramped-up efforts by police and community activists to prevent the violence that has plagued the annual event in years past, authorities said on Monday.

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Obama defends Kaepernick's right to protest even if message obscured

HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was exercising his constitutional right by refusing to stand for the national anthem, although he added that the nature of the protest could make it hard for some to hear his message.

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Obama says more needs to be done to grow wages, shrink inequality

HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - More needs to be done to grow wages and shrink inequality in the global economy, United States President Barack Obama said on Monday, at the close of the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.

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L.A. airport terminal evacuated in second security scare in week

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - One week after a security panic threw Los Angeles International Airport into gridlock, a police traffic stop on Sunday outside an LAX baggage-claim area triggered a smaller-scale upheaval that led to the evacuation of a passenger terminal.

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Helicopter search suspended for missing U.S. climbers in Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - An aerial search for two American mountaineers missing in Pakistan was suspended on Sunday, an official said, after an initial flight showed no sign of the men but indicated an avalanche on the peak they were climbing.

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Remains of Minnesota boy missing since 1989 found: authorities

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - The remains of an 11-year-old boy abducted in 1989 while riding his bicycle near his home in central Minnesota have been found and were officially identified on Saturday, authorities said.

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Clown sightings spook South Carolina, perplex police

(Reuters) - One clown showed up on a roadside in a rain poncho, another waved money at children near woods.

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Earthquake of magnitude 5.6 hits U.S. State of Oklahoma: USGS

(Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 hit the U.S. state of Oklahoma on Saturday, the United States Geological Survey reported.

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Trump to visit Detroit in outreach to black voters

(Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will continue an effort to peel away minority support from Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on Saturday, visiting a church and touring neighborhoods in the largely black city of Detroit.

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Ex-Subway pitchman blames victim's parents for her 'destructive behaviors'

(Reuters) - Former Subway sandwich pitchman Jared Fogle, who is in prison for child pornography and sex with minors convictions, has responded to a lawsuit filed on behalf of one of his underaged female victims by blaming her parents for what he called "destructive behaviors" such as drinking and drug abuse.

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Hermine churns north into Carolinas after pounding Florida

(Reuters) - The U.S. East Coast faces a potential mix of dangerously high winds and heavy rains over the long holiday weekend as Tropical Storm Hermine plowed up the Atlantic Coast on Saturday, leaving a path of destruction in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

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U.S. drops case against ex-cop arrested outside New York's Trump Tower

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prosecutors have dropped their case against a retired New York City police officer arrested outside Trump Tower and accused of resisting U.S. Secret Service agents protecting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, a court filing on Friday showed.

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Hermine pounds Florida, raising new Zika fears, then heads north

TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - Hurricane Hermine wreaked havoc across Florida on Friday, knocking out power to nearly 300,000 homes and businesses, flooding low-lying areas and raising concerns about the spread of the Zika virus from pools of standing water left behind.

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University of Chicago weighs free speech vs. crackdown on hecklers

(Reuters) - Disruption of a local prosecutor's speech at the University of Chicago by hecklers unhappy with her handling of a police shooting may have been the last straw for administrators at one of the country's most prestigious schools.

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Stanford swimmer convicted of sex assault set for release from jail

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Reuters) - A former Stanford University swimmer, whose six-month jail sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman in 2015 was widely decried as too lenient, is set to be released from a San Francisco-area jail on Friday.

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NFL's Kaepernick kneels during U.S. national anthem, continuing protest

(Reuters) - San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt with his arms folded during the performance of the U.S. national anthem during a pre-season game in San Diego on Thursday, continuing his protest against racial injustice and police brutality.

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Penn State to honor late coach Paterno five years after scandal

(Reuters) - Pennsylvania State University plans a special commemoration later this month marking the 50th anniversary of the late Joe Paterno's first game as head football coach, the school said on Thursday, nearly five years after he was fired over a child sex abuse scandal.

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Accused L.A. airport gunman to be spared death penalty in plea deal

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The man accused of killing a security screener in a 2013 shooting rampage at Los Angeles International Airport has agreed to plead guilty to murder of a federal officer in a deal with prosecutors that would spare him the death penalty, according to court documents filed on Thursday.

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Florida finds first local mosquitoes with Zika virus

(Reuters) - Florida officials on Thursday said they have trapped the first mosquitoes that tested positive for the Zika virus in the Miami area, further confirming reports of local U.S. transmission of the illness that can cause severe birth defects.

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Weak Mylan board fosters EpiPen 'debacle': New York comptroller

(Reuters) - New York City's comptroller on Thursday criticized what he said are "exorbitant" price increases for Mylan NV's allergy auto-injector EpiPen and said weak board oversight of management decisions had undermined the company's reputation and its stock price.

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Rocket explodes on launch pad in blow to Elon Musk's SpaceX

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - An explosion destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket belonging to Elon Musk's SpaceX and its cargo during preparations for a routine test firing at Cape Canaveral in Florida on Thursday, two days before it had been due to blast off and place a satellite in orbit.

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Obama visits Midway Atoll, a symbol of his climate, Asia legacy

HONOLULU (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday was set to visit Midway Atoll, the remote coral reef that serves as a reminder of both modern global climate challenges and the dominance the United States has held in the Pacific since its World War Two victory there.

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Romanian hacker 'Guccifer' sentenced to 52 months in U.S. prison

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Romanian hacker nicknamed "Guccifer" who helped expose the existence of a private email domain Hillary Clinton used when she was U.S. secretary of state was sentenced on Thursday to 52 months in prison by a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.

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White nationalists use Twitter with 'relative impunity': report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White nationalists and self-identified Nazi sympathizers located mostly in the United States use Twitter with “relative impunity” and often have far more followers than militant Islamists, a study being released on Thursday found.

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Washington's Georgetown University to make amends for slavery history

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Georgetown University will take steps to atone for its historical links to slavery, including granting admissions preference for descendants of slaves whose sale benefited the U.S. school, officials said on Thursday.

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Stanford sex assault case spurs get-tough rape proposals

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner will be released on Friday after serving three months for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman near a fraternity party, a sentence that has ignited fierce debate over the way California defines and punishes rape.

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Ex-Air China worker charged by U.S. for smuggling for Chinese military

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An ex-Air China Ltd employee was indicted on Wednesday for smuggling packages onto flights from New York to China on behalf of Chinese military personnel stationed at the country's U.N. mission, U.S. prosecutors said.

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Hurricane warning issued for parts of Florida; Madeline weakens off Hawaii

(Reuters) - Forecasters and public officials urged Floridians to prepare for potentially catastrophic flooding and damaging winds as Tropical Storm Hermine was expected to become a hurricane by the time it reached Florida's northern Gulf Coast on Thursday.

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