US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Hurricane raises questions about rebuilding along North Carolina's coast

When Florence was raging last Friday on North Carolina's Outer Banks, the hurricane tore a 40-foot (12-meter) chunk from a fishing pier that juts into the ocean at the state's most popular tourist destination. The privately owned Rodanthe pier has already undergone half a million dollars in renovation in seven years and the owners started a new round of repairs this week.

Trump slams 'ridiculous' U.S. spending plan over border funds

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday slammed the Republican-led Congress for not including money for his proposed border wall in its spending bill as lawmakers pushed their plan to fund the government before the fiscal year ends this month. In a post on Twitter, Trump called the current spending bill "ridiculous" for not including funds for a planned wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, blamed Democrats for blocking it, and urged his fellow Republicans "to get tough."

Trump defends Supreme Court nominee as accuser faces deadline

President Donald Trump on Wednesday stepped up his defense of his U.S. Supreme Court nominee, saying it was hard to imagine Brett Kavanaugh committed a sexual assault and that it would be unfortunate if his accuser did not testify before the Senate. With Trump's effort to cement conservative control of the nation's highest court on a knife's edge, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley set a Friday morning deadline for Christine Blasey Ford to decide if she will talk to lawmakers.

U.S. Catholic Church plans hotline for complaints of abuse by bishops

Catholic bishops in the United States plan to set up a hotline to field complaints about bishops who have sexually abused or harassed children or adults, in response to a growing sexual misconduct scandal in the church's highest ranks. The hotline was one of several moves unveiled on Wednesday by bishops to try to rebuild trust in the U.S. church hierarchy after recent allegations that bishops had abused children and covered up decades of sex crimes by priests.

Some gun-toting Texans embrace Democrat's call for tougher firearm laws

Texas cattle rancher Bill Martin is a lifelong Republican who owns more than 20 firearms and has been shooting guns since the age of 6. He is now considering the once-unthinkable: voting for a Democratic Senate candidate who wants tougher gun laws.

Creator of 3-D printed guns flies to Taiwan amid U.S. sex assault accusation

A Texas man at the center of a legal battle over his plan to make instructions available for 3-D printed plastic guns flew to Taiwan after learning police in Austin were investigating an accusation he had sex with an underage girl, police said on Wednesday. Cody Wilson, 30, was placed under investigation after a counsellor on Aug. 22 told police that a 16-year-old girl had said she was paid $500 to have sex with Wilson at an Austin hotel, Austin Police Commander Troy Officer said at a news conference.

New Mexico observatory closure stemmed from FBI child porn probe: documents

The mysterious 11-day closure of a New Mexico solar observatory stemmed from an FBI investigation of a janitor suspected of using the facility's wireless internet service to send and receive child pornography, federal court documents showed on Wednesday. The National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico, was evacuated without public explanation on Sept. 6, leading to a swirl of social media speculation and rumors driven by its proximity to two U.S. military installations and the town of Roswell.

U.S. judge dismisses GM ignition switch criminal case

A federal judge in New York on Wednesday dismissed a criminal case brought against General Motors Co in 2015 over the largest U.S. automaker's handling of an ignition-switch defect linked to 124 deaths. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan approved a request filed Monday by federal prosecutors to dismiss the two-count criminal information.

Flooding expected to worsen as Florence passes through Carolinas

Flooding across the Carolinas in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, which has killed 36 people, was expected to worsen over the next couple of days, forecasters said. Twenty-one flood gauges showed major or moderate flooding early on Thursday in southeast North Carolina and northeast South Carolina, where major waterways, well above their flood stages, were forecast to rise through the weekend before they crest, the National Weather Service said.

Sessions limits U.S. judges' ability to dismiss deportation cases

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced new limits on the ability of immigration judges to terminate deportation cases on Wednesday, the latest in a series of decisions to facilitate the removal of immigrants in the country illegally. Unlike the federal judiciary system, U.S. immigration courts fall under the Department of Justice and the attorney general can rewrite opinions issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals. Sessions, a Republican former U.S. senator appointed by President Donald Trump, has been unusually active in this practice compared to his predecessors.