Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's drive to overhaul the U.S. tax code cleared a critical hurdle on Thursday when the Senate approved a budget blueprint for the 2018 fiscal year that will pave the way for Republicans to pursue a tax-cut package without Democratic support.

(Reuters) - The Los Angeles Dodgers advanced to Major League Baseball's World Series for the first time since 1988 after beating the Chicago Cubs 11-1 on Thursday to clinch the National League Championship Series 4-1.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Inappropriate inspection practices at Nissan Motor Co Ltd had been going for at least 20 years, Japanese national broadcaster NHK reported on Friday, in a new revelation that could further roil Japan's second-biggest automaker.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nearly two dozen major companies in technology and other industries are planning to launch a coalition to demand legislation that would allow young, illegal immigrants a path to permanent residency, according to documents seen by Reuters.

(Reuters) - Former President Barack Obama, back on the campaign trail on Thursday for the first time since he left the White House, called on voters to reject a growing "politics of division" that he said was corroding American democracy.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Emperor Akihito is likely to abdicate at the end of March 2019 and Crown Prince Naruhito is expected to ascend the throne in April, the first abdication by a Japanese monarch in nearly two centuries, the Asahi newspaper reported on Friday.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Reuters) - Protesters shouted "Go home Nazis" as a white nationalist gave a speech on Thursday at the University of Florida, where hundreds of police set up barricades and separated supporters and demonstrators to guard against violence.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - North Korea has sent a letter to Australia's parliament, warning it is a nuclear power and will not be cowed by U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to destroy it, according to a copy of the letter published in an Australian newspaper on Friday.

(Reuters) - Former President Barack Obama, back on the campaign trail on Thursday for the first time since he left the White House, urged voters in New Jersey to reject the "politics of division" by supporting Democrats in next month's state elections.

(Reuters) - Former President George W. Bush decried "bullying and prejudice" while defending immigrants and trade on Thursday in a New York speech that appeared to be a sweeping, thinly veiled critique of President Donald Trump.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles Police Department said on Thursday that it is investigating a 2013 sexual assault allegation against movie producer Harvey Weinstein.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Reuters) - Protesters shouted "Go home Nazis" at a white nationalist at the University of Florida on Thursday, disrupting his speech at the campus that erected barricades and deployed hundreds of police officers to guard against violence.

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Trump administration is considering tightening the vetting process for women and children seeking to enter the United States as refugees, a proposal that if adopted would bring security checks closer to those for adult men, three sources with knowledge of the plan told Reuters.

SOCHI/MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin launched one of his most stinging critiques of U.S. foreign policy on Thursday, listing what he called some of the biggest betrayals in U.S.-Russia relations.

SOCHI/MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin launched one of his most stinging critiques of U.S. foreign policy on Thursday, listing what he called some of the biggest betrayals in U.S.-Russia relations.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Thursday described Russian interference in U.S. elections as "warfare."

TORONTO (Reuters) - Black people in Canada’s most populous province spent longer behind bars awaiting trial than white people charged with many of the same categories of crimes in each of the past five years, according to data obtained by Reuters.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Reuters) - Several hundred protesters marched at the University of Florida on Thursday to denounce a speech by a white nationalist, saying his white supremacy message had no place on the campus that was filled with police and barricades to guard against unrest.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's drive to overhaul the U.S. tax code headed for a pivotal moment on Thursday, with Senate Republicans poised to approve a budget measure that would help them pass tax legislation without Democratic support.

MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) - Spain's central government said on Thursday it would suspend Catalonia's autonomy and impose direct rule after the region's leader threatened to go ahead with a formal declaration of independence if Madrid refused to hold talks.