US president Donald Trump has renewed his attacks on e-commerce giant Amazon, saying the company is "doing great damage to tax paying retailers".

The world's second-largest credit ratings agency has agreed to pay nearly $864m to settle US government and state claims that it gave inflated assessments to risky mortgage investments in the years leading up to the financial crisis.

CANADA: A Canadian man who repeatedly entered Michigan to buy and ship thousands of turtles to his native China only to be caught with 51 of them strapped to his legs was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison for smuggling.

ENGLAND: Mortgage everything, get locked up in jail, and avoid Park Lane if you want to win Monopoly, according to the UK and Ireland champion.

The US Supreme Court is to decide whether same-sex couples have a right to marry under the country’s constitution, setting up a potentially historic ruling on one of America’s most sweeping social issues.

The US Secret Service arrested an Iowa man on Wednesday afternoon after finding a hunting rifle, dozens of rounds of ammunition and a knife in the trunk of his car parked near the White House.

The Secret Service response to an armed intruder at the White House was complicated by muted alarms, thick bushes on the lawn, unlocked doors and an officer who was physically too small to tackle the intruder, a US Homeland Security Department review has revealed.

America’s Supreme Court cleared the way for an immediate expansion of same-sex marriage by unexpectedly and tersely turning away appeals from five states seeking to prohibit gay and lesbian unions.

The director of the US Secret Service has resigned in the face of revelations of security breaches and an erosion of confidence over the safety of president Barack Obama and his family.

The death of former White House press secretary James Brady, who was shot in the head in the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, has been ruled a murder.

Australia’s highest court has struck down a landmark law allowing the country’s first gay marriages.

Australia’s first gay and lesbian weddings could be annulled within a week if a high court challenge is successful.

Singer Chris Brown has been released after spending more than a day in custody following an accusation of assault.

A man who set himself on fire in the National Mall in Washington has died of his injuries, police said.

The US federal government and six states have taken legal action aimed at blocking a gigantic merger between American Airlines and US Airways.

The US Supreme Court handed a significant victory to gay rights advocates by recognising that married gay men and women are eligible for state benefits and paving the way for same-sex marriage in California.

French parliament approved a law allowing same-sex couples to marry and to adopt children, a flagship reform pledge by president François Hollande which sparked often violent street protests and a rise in homophobic attacks.

Google will pay a €7m fine to settle a multi-state investigation into the internet search giant’s interception of emails, passwords and other sensitive information sent several years ago over unprotected wireless networks throughout the world.

Hundreds of same-sex couples across Washington state collected licences as a voter-approved law legalising gay marriage took effect.

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were in an extraordinarily tight battle for the White House today, but some key states were falling to the current president.

After a gruelling 18-month, $6bn battle, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are today on a collision course for the world’s top job.

US president Barack Obama and his challenger Mitt Romney are storming into the last day of their long presidential contest, mounting a final thrust before Election Day and engaging in the toughest battleground state – Ohio.

President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney attacked one another yesterday in frenzied campaigning as the presidential election enters the closing stages.

George McGovern, a proud liberal who argued fervently against the Vietnam War as a senator from South Dakota and suffered one of the most crushing defeats in presidential election history against Richard Nixon in 1972, died yesterday.

President Barack Obama is within reach of the 270 electoral votes needed to win a second term as Republican challenger Mitt Romney’s path to victory is narrowing, five weeks from US election day.

With just five weeks to go to Election Day, US President Barack Obama is within reach of the 270 electoral votes needed to win a second term.

A group of American politicians has written to the Taoiseach urging him to halt any attempt to legalise abortion here and to ensure that Ireland remains “staunchly pro-life”.

At least 13 people have died and three million were left without power after violent storms pummelled the eastern United States.

More than two million people across the eastern US lost power after violent storms and five people died, including a 90-year-old woman asleep in bed when a tree slammed into her home, police have said.

A yellowfin tuna product used to make dishes like sushi and sashimi sold at US restaurants and grocery stores has been linked to an outbreak of salmonella that has made more than 100 people in 20 states and the District of Columbia ill, the government said.

US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney focused entirely on Democratic President Barack Obama during a campaign trip ahead of the Wisconsin primary, and predicted a victory that could effectively seal the nomination for him next week.

A US man thinks he is not subject to normal laws because he resides in "the Kingdom of Heaven".

Fourteen people have been arrested in the US for allegedly mounting a cyberattack on PayPal’s website in retaliation for suspending the accounts of WikiLeaks.

There is to be another recall of cars in the US.

Embattled car maker Toyota is recalling 600,000 Sienna minivans sold in the US over fears of rusty spare tyre cables snapping.

A blizzard battered the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States today, quickly dumping large amounts of snow that piled up on roads and toppled trees on to buildings and cars.

The couple who gatecrashed a White House state dinner for India’s prime minister will invoke their right to silence if they are made to appear before the US Congress over the security breach.

An American woman who was expected to have been jailed for life for murdering her four daughters could instead walk free under a scenario outlined by the judge who found her guilty.

A Washington Metro train crashed into the rear of another during rush hour yesterday, killing at least four people and injuring scores of others as cars of one train jack-knifed into the air and fell atop the other.