NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hurricane Irene caused $3 billion to $6 billion in insured losses, catastrophe modeling company AIR Worldwide said on Monday, affirming the insurance industry's suspicion the impact was not as bad as feared.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hurricane Irene caused $3 billion to $6 billion in insured losses, catastrophe modeling company AIR Worldwide said on Monday, affirming the insurance industry's suspicion the impact was not as bad as feared.

WASHINGTON/ATLANTA (Reuters) - U.S. airlines scrambled to put their operations back together in the U.S. Northeast on Monday following Hurricane Irene and braced for a financial hit from extensive storm-related cancellations.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Energy firms along the Eastern Seaboard scrambled on Monday to resume operations after Hurricane Irene left millions of customers without power.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Energy firms along the Eastern Seaboard scrambled on Monday to resume operations after Hurricane Irene left millions of customers without power.

WILMINGTON, Vermont (Reuters) - Vermont residents surveyed washed out roads, swept-away bridges and destroyed homes and businesses on Monday after a weakened Hurricane Irene brought the state's worst flooding in 80 years.

WILMINGTON, Vermont (Reuters) - Vermont residents surveyed washed out roads, swept-away bridges and destroyed homes and businesses on Monday after a weakened Hurricane Irene brought the state's worst flooding in 80 years.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Power was restored to one in every six households and business affected by outages as Hurricane Irene pummeled the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, leaving over 5 million without electricity on Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy said.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Power was restored to one in every six households and business affected by outages as Hurricane Irene pummeled the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, leaving over 5 million without electricity on Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. state and local governments may have to pay for some of the billions of dollars in costs from Hurricane Irene after slashing disaster spending in recent years to shore up bleeding budgets.

"The Help," a drama about a Southern white woman who writes a book about black women housekeepers in pre-Civil Rights era America, topped the weekend box office, final figures showed Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington's never-ending budget battle threatened to snarl the recovery from Hurricane Irene as a top Republican said on Monday that any federal aid will have to be offset by spending cuts elsewhere.

US stock markets rallied on Monday as upbeat data on consumer spending lifted hopes that economic growth would pick up speed, while Hurricane Irene caused less damage than feared.

SHELBURNE FALLS, MA (Reuters) - New England residents struggled on Monday with power outages and widespread flooding as they tried to clean up the mess left by Tropical Storm Irene.

NEW YORK/DETROIT (Reuters) - Hurricane Irene hit the U.S. East Coast at the most inopportune time for many businesses, keeping millions of shoppers away from stores and auto dealerships during what should have been a busy weekend.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Disruptions and closings slowed New York's state and federal court systems on Monday, especially upstate, following the weekend's lashing by Hurricane Irene.

President Barack Obama paid tribute Monday to the grit of the people of the US Gulf Coast, exactly six years after Hurricane Katrina roared ashore and inundated New Orleans.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Republican White House hopeful Michele Bachmann insisted on Monday she was joking when she said a hurricane and quake were God's warning to Washington, in an effort to control the damage from her latest controversial comments.

(Reuters) - Following are details of which New York and New Jersey bus, subway and commuter rail lines have reopened and which are still shut as authorities inspect and clear damage caused by Hurricane Irene. The storm flooded tracks, downed power lines, toppled trees and caused other damage.

Serena Williams insisted on Monday that her infamous 2009 US Open rant had been consigned to history and she was looking forward to being probably the most dangerous 28th seed in the event's history.