WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a landmark victory for gay rights on Wednesday by forcing the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages in states where it is legal and paving the way for it in California, the most populous stat... More »
(Reuters) – With cheers, tears and kisses, gays and lesbians across the United States celebrated Wednesday’s historic Supreme Court decision in support of same-sex marriage, which provided cause for joy after years of protest. Crowds turned out in gay capitals... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – California’s attorney general said same-sex weddings would resume statewide within weeks, if not sooner, despite further litigation threatened by opponents after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday paved the way for gay marriages i... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When the U.S. Supreme Court declined on Wednesday to rule on whether gay men and lesbians have a fundamental right to marry, it delivered an implicit message to those seeking such a right: Don’t hurry back. All nine of the justices, with... More »
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry on Wednesday launched another battle to pass sweeping abortion restrictions after a marathon speech by a Democrat lawmaker briefly halted a bill critics say could shut most abortion clinics in one ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – About $46 billion in border security was added on Wednesday to a comprehensive immigration bill headed toward bipartisan passage in the U.S. Senate, but Republicans in the House of Representatives voiced strong opposition. The Democratic... More »
MOSCOW/NAANTALI, Finland (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed on Tuesday a former U.S. spy agency contractor sought by the United States was in the transit area of a Moscow airport but ruled out handing him to Washington, dismissing U.S. crit... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former Congressman Anthony Weiner, attempting a political comeback two years after resigning in disgrace from the legislature, has taken the lead over his Democratic rivals in the race for New York City mayor, a poll showed. Weiner has the... More »
(Reuters) – Ohio’s Republican governor, John Kasich, is no fan of President Barack Obama’s health reform law. But he has become an unlikely proponent of one element of Obamacare – expansion of Medicaid healthcare coverage for the poor – and he has a warning fo... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Government auditors discovered four years ago that a select group of private contractors conducting background checks for high-security jobs were not doing enough to ensure the quality of their investigations. Some investigators hired by... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – America’s top court was expected to deliver rulings on Wednesday in two high-profile cases with national implications on gay marriage, an issue that stirs cultural, religious and political passions in the United States as elsewhere. At 1... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday gutted a core part of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act and challenged Congress to come up with a replacement plan to protect blacks and other minorities in places where discrimination still persists r... More »
MOSCOW/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Washington pressed Moscow on Monday to do all in its power to expel former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden before he gets the chance to take an expected flight to Cuba to evade prosecution in the United States for espiona... More »
LITTLE COLORADO RIVER, Arizona (Reuters) – Daredevil Nik Wallenda completed a historic high-wire walk on a 2-inch (5-cm) steel cable over the Grand Canyon on Sunday and was greeted by wild cheers after his hair-raising stunt. Wallenda, the self-described “King... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Since his first day in office, President Barack Obama’s foreign policy has rested on outreach: resetting ties with Russia, building a partnership with China and offering a fresh start with antagonistic leaders from Iran to Venezuela. But... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States said on Saturday it wants Hong Kong to extradite Edward Snowden and urged it to act quickly, paving the way for what could be a lengthy legal battle to prosecute the former National Security Agency contractor on espiona... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Federal Aviation Administration advisory panel weighing whether to ease restrictions on in-flight use of personal technology devices like e-readers has delayed its recommendations by two months until late September, the FAA said on Fri... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Call them Obamacare’s army. From the chief actuary at the California health insurance exchange that President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law established to the legions of call center staffers who will help people trying to buy insura... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Chief Justice John Roberts clutched a sheaf of papers when he and his black-robed colleagues ascended the mahogany bench on Thursday for one of the last days of the U.S. Supreme Court term. Was he ready to announce a ruling in any of the... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – When Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng arrived in the United States in May last year he was given a fellowship at New York University, use of a Greenwich Village apartment, and a pile of gifts from supporters, including smartphones and an i... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal agents on the U.S.-Mexican border would double to about 40,000 under a deal reached on Thursday in the Democratic-led Senate to draw more Republicans to a landmark immigration bill headed toward anticipated passage. Some question... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Shares of U.S. hospital operators have been on a tear this year, on average posting triple the gains of the broader stock market, as investors tallied up the benefits of President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform. While some on Wall Street ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York City real estate company offered to buy the Empire State Building for $2 billion, a written offer showed, significantly below the skyscraper’s appraisal price and about three weeks after investors in the iconic building approved... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York state lawmakers on Tuesday announced plans to create a financial restructuring board and binding arbitration process to help struggling municipalities manage their finances. The legislation, which will be taken up by the state leg... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The FBI has used secret evidence obtained under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to prosecute at least 27 accused terrorists since 2007, according to a Reuters review of public records. While the recent spotlight has been on the... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. consumers are more satisfied with airlines in recent years but the industry still gets relatively low marks, mainly due to the onboard experience, according to a new customer poll released on Tuesday. The American Consumer Satisfaction Index, ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The 89-year-old son of late New York socialite Brooke Astor on Monday lost a final plea that because of old age and illness he should avoid prison time for his conviction on charges he cheated his ailing mother before her death. Manhattan ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The former National Security Agency contractor who revealed the U.S. government’s top-secret monitoring of Americans’ phone and Internet data fought back against his critics on Monday, saying the government’s “litany of lies” about the p... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Virginia Governor and possible Republican presidential candidate Bob McDonnell used taxpayer money to pay for sunscreen and dog vitamins, the Washington Post reported on Monday, adding to other improper spending the paper says the FBI is... More »
GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) – Lawyers for five prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 attacks in 2001 have asked to see confidential reports made by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross who visited the defe... More »
(Reuters) – An airplane entirely powered by the sun landed in Washington on Sunday after a flight from St. Louis, the next-to-last leg of a journey across the United States intended to boost support for clean energy technologies. The Solar Impulse landed at Du... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama does not believe the recently disclosed top-secret National Security Agency surveillance of phone records and Internet data has violated Americans’ privacy rights, his chief of staff said on Sunday. Denis McDonough... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican Senator Marco Rubio said on Sunday he still supports a bill to overhaul the U.S. immigration, but reiterated that he wants its stipulations on border security to be tightened in order for the legislation to win approval from C... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday prohibited patents on naturally occurring human genes but allowed legal protections on synthetically produced genetic material in a compromise ruling hailed as a partial victory for patients and... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Internal Revenue Service officials on Thursday tried to tame another scandal plaguing the agency, apologizing to lawmakers for a lavish 2010 conference in California that included an elaborate Star Trek spoof training video. “After I saw... More »
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) – An 84-year-old Florida woman claimed last month’s record Powerball jackpot on Wednesday and opted to take a lump-sum payment of nearly $371 million, Florida Lottery officials said. Winner Gloria MacKenzie of Zephyrhills, centra... More »
DETROIT (Reuters) – Once teeming with 1.9 million people during its industrial peak in the 1950s, Detroit is now falling apart and attracting dozens of lawsuits that serve as a chronicle of urban decay: exposed manholes, malfunctioning traffic lights and broke... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Monday that Americans need to become more open about mental health issues so that people struggling with problems are not ashamed to seek help. More than 60 percent of Americans with mental illness do not r... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – While many healthcare startups are hoping the new healthcare law going into effect next year will help drive more business their way, dental network Brighter believes being left out of the law will help it more. Dental services for ad... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Cities that provide parks, walking trails, playing fields and running tracks are setting standards for the country’s healthiest urban areas and showing that if they build fitness opportunities, residents will come. A new ranking of the 50 ... More »
(Reuters) – As Illinois lawmakers sift through the wreckage of a session that failed to produce major pension reform for their state, they are holding out hope that meetings in the coming days could lead to a resolution not achieved after months of political w... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder personally approved a decision to subpoena Fox News telephone records as the Justice Department investigated an unauthorized leak regarding North Korea, according to two sources familiar with the matter.... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Los Angeles, which has more storefront medical marijuana shops than any other U.S. city, will close hundreds of the dispensaries and hike taxes on those that will be allowed to remain under a ballot measure approved by a wide margin of ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The outgoing head of the Internal Revenue Service acknowledged on Friday that the tax agency planned its initial disclosure about having targeted conservative groups through a planted question at a lawyers’ conference. Acting IRS Commiss... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The outgoing head of the Internal Revenue Service apologized on Friday for “foolish mistakes” made at the U.S. tax agency which he said resulted from a heavy workload, not a partisan mission. At a congressional hearing, acting IRS Commis... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A leading congressman said on Friday that an Internal Revenue Service scandal had exposed deep problems with the federal tax system, saying it needed to be overhauled. “Trimming a few branches will not solve the problem when the roots of... More »
OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) – Key officials helping to create Washington state’s potentially lucrative recreational pot market say its success may hinge on preventing consumers from choosing to get high on readily available medical cannabis because of low an... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Justice Department’s controversial decision to seize phone records of Associated Press journalists was just one element in a sweeping U.S. government investigation into media leaks about a Yemen-based plot to bomb a U.S. airliner, go... More »
(Reuters) – A House of Representatives panel is investigating the circumstances surrounding the resignation from the Food and Drug Administration of its acting deputy commissioner for medical products and tobacco. In a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hambu... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal judge in New York on Friday declined to temporarily halt a court order directing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make emergency contraception available over the counter to girls of all ages. However, U.S. District Judge ... More »
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) – The Illinois Senate on Thursday passed a labor union-backed bill to reduce the state’s nearly $100 billion unfunded public pension liability, giving lawmakers dealing with America’s worst-funded state retirement system a secon... More »
(Reuters) – Kentucky Democratic Governor Steve Beshear said on Thursday he will expand Medicaid coverage under President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law, a move that will cut the state’s uninsured population almost in half. The expansion will extend cover... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The political goal is the same as it was in the mid-1980s: grassroots support for an overhaul of the U.S. tax code. But lawmakers’ approach this time is thoroughly modern. The chairmen of Congress’s tax-writing committees on Thursday lau... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Foreclosure activity fell in April to its lowest level in more than six years, the latest sign the recovery in the housing market is on track, a report from RealtyTrac showed on Thursday. Foreclosure activity – which includes default notic... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – San Francisco city leaders, after losing a key round in court against the cell phone industry, have agreed to revoke an ordinance that would have been the first in the United States to require retailers to warn consumers about potenti... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Healthcare reform should be the signature Democratic achievement of President Barack Obama’s presidency. But with “Obamacare” five months from show time, Democrats are worried about whether enough Americans will sign up to make the sweep... More »
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Thursday he is comfortable with a U.S. government agency’s decision to allow over-the-counter purchases of a morning-after pill for anyone 15 and older. Some critics have complained girls that young should... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. employment growth likely picked up in April, but probably not by enough to counter other signs that suggest the economy has lost a step in recent weeks. Nonfarm payrolls are expected to have increased by 145,000 jobs, according to a... More »
(Reuters) – The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday appealed a court order directing the agency to make “morning-after” emergency contraception pills available without a prescription to all girls of reproductive age. Lawyers with the Justice Department f... More »
(Reuters) – A trade group representing makers of artificial limbs on Tuesday promised to provide prosthetics free of cost to the estimated 20 to 25 victims of the Boston Marathon bombings who underwent amputations. The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Associat... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval on Tuesday defended his state against a report that a Las Vegas psychiatric hospital improperly sent hundreds of discharged patients by bus to California and other states, a practice known as patient dum... More »
(Reuters) – Al Neuharth, who founded USA Today more than 30 years ago and saw the newspaper become one of the largest in the United States, died on Friday at age 89, the newspaper reported. Neuharth died after sustaining injuries in a fall at his home in Cocoa... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The government’s effort at cutting spending across the board is hurting a population once considered among the most financially stable – dual income families where both partners are government employees. Starting on Monday, employees at ag... More »
(Reuters) – The Maryland legislature approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes on Monday, and Governor Martin O’Malley has said he would sign the measure and make Maryland the 20th state to legalize medicinal cannabis. The Democratic-controlled state ... More »
(Reuters) – Fitch Ratings said on Monday that local government pension liabilities vary largely for the more than 1,000 local governments it rates, and in some cases it expects the underfunded retirement systems will become a “source of budgetary pressure.” “T... More »
NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a bill into law on Monday banning children under 17 from using commercial tanning beds, a move stemming from the case of a local woman accused of taking her 5-year-old daughter into a tan... More »
(Reuters) – The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in favor of Comcast Corp in an antitrust case over how much it charged cable TV subscribers, further curtailing the ability of people to pursue class action lawsuits. In a 5-4 decision, the court said a group of... More »
ZURICH (Reuters) – United States prosecutors have asked Liechtenstein to hand over data on foundations and other financial vehicles as part of their investigation into tax evasion by wealthy Americans. Roughly 20 Liechtenstein-based fiduciary firms have been g... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – One of the most powerful members of the Congress – House Majority Leader Eric Cantor – signaled his support on Wednesday for maintaining the tax exemption of interest paid by municipal bonds, offering reassurance to the state and local g... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A former Oregon gubernatorial candidate was arrested on Tuesday for his alleged role in defrauding investors who had hoped to buy shares of Facebook Inc before its initial public offering in May 2012, federal authorities said. Craig Berkma... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two Republican state senators from Arkansas may soon accomplish what seasoned Washington politicians couldn’t: make the main provisions of President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul palatable to hard-core conservatives. Jonathan Disman... More »
(Reuters) – The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Tuesday in a case that could decide whether generic drugmakers can be held liable for alleged flaws in the designs of their medications, even though federal law requires generic manufacturers to copy the bra... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer, the lesbian couple at the center of a major gay rights case set to go before the Supreme Court this month, were in many ways a typical New York power couple. Spyer was a psychologist- Windsor, a consultant a... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed on Monday to appeal a judge’s ruling that struck down his pioneering ban on large sugary drinks sold by the city’s restaurants, movie theaters and other food service businesses just a day before ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Monday that a state judge was “totally in error” when he overturned a planned ban on large sugary drinks one day before it was scheduled to take effect and predicted the city would win the case... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – A baby girl in Mississippi who was born with HIV has been cured after very early treatment with standard HIV drugs, U.S. researchers reported on Sunday, in a potentially ground-breaking case that could offer insights on how to eradicate HIV... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The recovery in the state pension system suffered a setback in 2012 as the huge funding shortfall in a large swath of state pensions swelled more than 20 percent, interrupting two years of improvement following the devastation of the finan... More »
(Reuters) – On any given day in the United States, 18 percent of men and 11 percent of women drink more alcohol than federal guidelines recommend, according to a study that also found that 8 percent of men and 3 percent of women are full-fledged “heavy drinker... More »
(Reuters) – People who lost money by investing in funds that funneled their money to Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme are not entitled to recover for their losses, in the manner that direct victims of the massive fraud can recover, a federal appeals court ruled o... More »
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) – Florida Governor Rick Scott backed a limited expansion of healthcare coverage for the poor on Wednesday, joining six other Republican governors who have agreed to the measure under President Barack Obama’s landmark reform law. ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Relations between the White House and the correspondents who cover it, always edgy and adversarial, have hit a low ebb in a dispute over whether the press should have access to the president during his downtime. The news media are still ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration said on Tuesday that it will operate federal online health insurance marketplaces in 26 of the 50 U.S. states with little or no input from local state officials. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services a... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama has ruled out raising the age that Americans become eligible for Medicare, the government health insurance program for seniors, as a way to reduce the government’s deficit, a White House spokesman said on Monday. R... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Roman Catholic bishops on Thursday rejected the Obama Administration’s latest bid for compromise over a hotly disputed health policy that requires employees at religiously affiliated institutions to have access to insurance coverage... More »
(Reuters) – Michigan Governor Rick Snyder on Wednesday endorsed an expansion of health coverage for the poor under President Barack Obama’s reform law, joining five other Republican governors who have agreed to widen the Medicaid program in their states. Snyde... More »
WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The medical marijuana shop next to a tattoo parlor on a busy street in Los Angeles looks much like hundreds of other pot dispensaries that dot the city. Except for one thing: On the glass door – under a green cross signaling ... More »
TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) – The U.S. Army, grappling with a spike in military suicides, plans to take steps to improve soldiers’ resilience to mental health problems to combat such deaths as well as depression, substance abuse, and violent behavior, Army Se... More »
(Reuters) – Sunday’s close Super Bowl contest between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers failed to beat last year’s game in total viewers, CBS Corp said on Monday. An average of 108.41 million viewers tuned in, compared with 111.3 million a year ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York State will get another $185.5 million in federal grants as it moves toward establishing a health insurance exchange as mandated under President Obama’s healthcare reforms, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement on Monday. Cuomo... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – San Francisco-based entrepreneur Garrett Johnson is usually too busy with his messaging start-up for much travel, but one issue has inspired him to cross the country: immigration reform. On February 5, he and a dozen other entrepreneu... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. mental health system has huge gaps that prevent millions of people with psychological problems, including children and teens, from receiving effective treatment that could prevent tragic consequences, experts told U.S. lawmakers... More »
(Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court rejected on Tuesday a bid by a group of 18 hospitals to reopen a specialized group of Medicare reimbursement claims that are up to 25 years old. The hospitals, which are entitled to extra compensation for treating a large num... More »
(Reuters) – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a public health emergency on Saturday, giving pharmacists permission to administer flu vaccinations to more people as officials seek to stem the worst flu outbreak in that state in several years. Cuomo’s orde... More »
(Reuters) – Influenza has officially reached epidemic proportions in the United States, with 7.3 percent of deaths last week caused by pneumonia and the flu, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The early start and fast spread of... More »
(Reuters) – The Supreme Court agreed to consider whether the government can require groups that receive federal funding for overseas HIV/AIDS programs to have explicit policies that oppose prostitution and sex trafficking. The case is one of six that the court... More »
(Reuters) – Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said on Friday that he will file legislation to overhaul benefits for public retirees, including a proposal to double the number of years an employee would have to serve to be eligible. The bill would require mo... More »
(Reuters) – This year’s U.S. flu season has created shortages of the Tamiflu treatment for children and of the most widely used flu vaccine, their manufacturers said. Roche Holding AG told Reuters late on Wednesday that it had a shortage of the liquid form of ... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A federal magistrate judge on Monday ruled that a medical-marijuana dispensary that bills itself as the world’s largest can continue to operate, at least for now, in Oakland and San Jose despite a bid by federal prosecutors to shut it... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama could seek common ground with Republicans in the looming battle over Medicare spending by broadening the debate over entitlement reform to encompass the spiraling healthcare costs that confront a wide range of Amer... More »
MIAMI (Reuters) – A Florida man sued NBC on Thursday, saying the network intentionally edited and repeatedly aired a non-emergency phone call he made to police before shooting and killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin “to create the myth” that he was a... More »
