John McCain, Carolina University, Federal judge: US domestic round-up

Washington's bitterly divided leaders came together on Friday to praise the late Senator John McCain as an embodiment of America's fighting spirit, idealism, and sense of humor.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Washington lauds McCain as one of America's 'bravest souls,' Trump absent

Washington's bitterly divided leaders came together on Friday to praise the late Senator John McCain as an embodiment of America's fighting spirit, idealism, and sense of humor, but there was one notable absentee: President Donald Trump. At a Capitol Rotunda ceremony, Republicans and Democrats called a temporary political truce to honor McCain on the third of five days of memorial celebrations in Arizona and Washington for the Vietnam War hero and two-time Republican presidential candidate.

United Continental raises fees for checked bags on certain routes

United Continental Holdings Inc on Friday increased its checked bag fees on routes to and from North America, the Caribbean, and Central America, the company said, as it grapples with rising fuel costs. The parent company of the No.3 U.S. airline will now charge $30 for the first checked bag on the routes, up from $25 previously.

The University of North Carolina to relocate the toppled Confederate statue

The University of North Carolina will seek a "safe, legal and alternative location" for a Civil War Confederate soldier statue that was toppled last week on campus and criticized as a symbol of the South's legacy of slavery. Chancellor Carol Folt said in a statement on Friday the statue known as Silent Sam has a place on the school's campus in Chapel Hill where its history can be taught, "but not at the front door of a safe, welcoming, proudly public research university."

Trump, the foundation says New York lawsuit tainted by political 'bias'

U.S. President Donald Trump and his namesake foundation asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by New York's attorney general over the nonprofit's activities, including in the 2016 presidential campaign, calling it a politically motivated attack. In Thursday night court filings, a lawyer for Trump said Attorney General Barbara Underwood's lawsuit was part of her office's mission to "lead the resistance" against the Republican president, attack him where possible and sue rather than settle.

Senate cancels postal service hearing; Trump's Amazon crusade delayed

A Senate hearing about reforming the U.S. Postal Service that could have scrutinized what Amazon.com Inc and others pay for package delivery has been delayed, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, moving back President Donald Trump's effort to hike the world's largest online retailer's rates. Trump has repeatedly attacked Amazon on Twitter for treating the Postal Service as its "delivery boy" by paying less than it should for deliveries and contributing to the service's $65 billion loss since the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, without presenting evidence.

FBI arrests New Mexico compound members

Five residents of a compound in Amalia, New Mexico, were arrested on Friday on charges of violating federal firearms and conspiracy laws, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said. Jany Leveille, 35, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40, Hujrah Wahhaj, 37, Subhanah Wahhaj, 35, and Lucas Morton, 40, were charged in criminal complaints filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, the FBI said in a statement.

No time for new North Carolina voting maps, groups tell the court

Groups who successfully sued North Carolina over Republican-constructed congressional maps that a court ruled to be illegally drawn for partisan purposes said on Friday there is not enough time to put in place new lines ahead of the November elections. The groups' filing in federal court in North Carolina complicates an already difficult situation over maps that have been contested for years and could affect a Democratic push to wrest control of the U.S. House of Representatives from Republicans.

California couple plead not guilty to torturing their 13 children

A Southern California couple accused of beating, shackling and starving their 13 children as captives in the family's home pleaded not guilty on Friday to dozens of charges of torture, false imprisonment and abuse. David and Louise Turpin, who was arraigned in Riverside County Superior Court, could face life in prison if convicted on all counts.

U.S. Army Corps stands by permit for Dakota Access oil pipeline

The U.S. Army Corps said on Friday that a permit is granted for the Dakota Access Pipeline last year was environmentally sound, handing a setback to tribal and green groups hoping to stop the flow of oil on the pipeline. In June 2017 U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to further review environmental analysis on the permit, which had granted the final easement to finish the pipeline.

Federal judge rules against Texas request to end 'Dreamers' program

A federal judge on Friday denied a request by Texas and other states governed by Republicans to immediately end a program launched by Democratic former president Barack Obama that protects immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children. U.S. Judge Andrew Hanen of the Southern District of Texas said the states had shown they were harmed by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program or DACA, but, he said, they could not prevail legally because of "their delay in pursuing the claims they now bring concerning DACA," which was first established in 2012.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)