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Samaritans help push a boat with evacuees to high ground during a rain storm caused by Tropical Storm Harvey along Tidwell Road in east Houston, Texas, U.S. August 28, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif
Hurricane Harvey President Donald Trump planned to visit Texas to survey the response to devastating Tropical Storm Harvey, the first major natural disaster of his White House tenure. The slow-moving storm has brought catastrophic flooding to Texas, killed at least nine people, led to mass evacuations and paralyzed Houston, the fourth most-populous U.S. city. It had also roiled energy markets and wrought damage estimated to be in the billions of dollars, with rebuilding likely to last beyond Trump’s current four-year term in office. U.S. lawmakers are expected to pass a large aid package for victims of Hurricane Harvey, but specifics of the plan and its price tag are unclear as Congress awaits a funding request from the Trump administration. In pictures: Houston under water EPA to expand fuel waivers in Texas areas and Louisiana: source Texans refuse to leave pets behind
North Korea North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan’s northern Hokkaido island into the sea, prompting warnings to residents to take cover and drawing a sharp reaction from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The test, one of the most provocative ever from the reclusive state, came as U.S. and South Korean forces conduct annual military exercises on the peninsula, angering North Korea which sees them as a preparation for invasion.
Business Crude prices dipped as the market grappled with the shutdown of some 13 percent of refining capacity in the United States after a hurricane ripped through the heart of the country’s oil industry. Breakingviews - Toshiba aims to please all with chip deal 2.0 Air Berlin says deadline for offers is September 15 Whole Foods slashes prices on some produce and is also selling Amazon's Echo Linde, Praxair get second antitrust request from FTC
World India has been investigating how Bloomberg Philanthropies, founded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg, funds local non-profit groups for anti-tobacco lobbying, government documents show, making it the latest foreign non-government organization to come under scrutiny. The intelligence wing of India’s home ministry last year drafted a note on Bloomberg Philanthropies, raising concerns that the foundation was running a campaign to “target” Indian tobacco businesses and “aggressively” lobby against the sector. Read the exclusive. Russia rejects allegations it will use war games to launch an invasion China says weather a factor in building roads along disputed India border Troops switch tactics on Belgium's streets to guard against attacks Reuters TV: German nurse killed at least 84 - reports France's Macron says new Syria contact group to meet at U.N. next month
Revellers play with fireworks during the annual "Corda" festival in the village of Paterna near Valencia, Spain, August 28, 2017. REUTERS/Heino Kalis
Middle East A suicide bomber blew himself up at a bank close to the heavily protected U.S. embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul, killing at least five people and wounding eight, the interior ministry said. The battle to oust Islamic State from its stronghold in the Syrian city of Raqqa should end within two months, a top-ranking Kurdish commander told Reuters, but said she expects the fighting to intensify. Islamic State ceasefire deal convoy reaches east Syria: Hezbollah-run media
Politics President Donald Trump is unlikely to win congressional support for funds he wants for a proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall before an Oct. 1 deadline, meaning he may have to choose between backing down on a key campaign promise or shutting down the government. The second option was a politically dangerous one before Hurricane Harvey tore through southern Texas over the weekend and it now looks even riskier. Reuters TV: Charlottesville comments put Trump and Tillerson even further at odds Trump defended his controversial pardon of former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of criminal contempt in a racial profiling case that highlighted tensions over immigration policy in the United States. Trump found a kindred spirit of sorts in Arpaio, whose tactics as a law enforcement agent in Arizona’s Maricopa County drew condemnation from civil rights groups. Congressional legislating standards "reached farcical heights this summer," writes columnist Philip Klein. Klein, the managing editor of the conservative Washington Examiner, says Republican lawmakers rushing to repeal Barack Obama's healthcare laws allowed a small group of staffers to bypass committees and write legislation in secret. "This produced a bizarre situation in which not only were key senators unaware of what was in a bill they were about to vote on, they were even unclear on who was writing it," he says. Now both houses need "a return to regular order."
Tech Uber is pulling a heavily criticized feature from its app that allowed it to track riders for up to five minutes after a trip, its security chief told Reuters, as the ride-services company tries to fix its poor reputation for customer privacy. Ford teams with Domino's on self-driving pizza delivery test Fitbit takes aim at Apple with new smartwatch launch Comcast builds out 'smart home' strategy as cable shrinks | 
