US News Roundup: Trump's immigration, border plan; Illinois governor's plan to rebuild infrastructure

Trump says 'good chance' Democrats will back his immigration, border plan

President Donald Trump on Friday acknowledged he would need some support from Democrats to support his immigration and border agenda, even as opponents soundly rejected his latest proposals as the immigration issue heats up ahead of the 2020 U.S. elections. A day after unveiling a plan to shift to a "merit-based" immigration system, the Republican president said there was a "good chance" that Democrats would back him and provide funding to manage record migrant flows along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Nearly 180 former Ohio State University students claim sexual abuse by doctor

Nearly 180 men who attended Ohio State University claim they were sexually abused more than two decades ago by a now-deceased doctor, and university staff who knew of the abuse failed to act, a report released by the school on Friday said. Dr. Richard Strauss was accused of abusing at least 177 male students when he worked as a physician for the university's athletic department and the student health centre from 1978 to 1998, the report said, detailing the findings of a year-long independent investigation.

Migrant families being flown to San Diego from Texas in U.S. border crisis

Hundreds of detainees from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities in Texas and elsewhere are being flown to San Diego for processing beginning on Friday, the agency said. Border officials said they are developing plans to fly potentially thousands of migrant families to other places away from the southern U.S. border with Mexico.

Prosecutors say NYC policewoman sought murder of her husband and the 14-year-old girl

A New York City policewoman was arrested on Friday and charged with asking a man to arrange the murder of her estranged husband and a 14-year-old girl, court documents showed. Officer Valerie Cincinelli, 34, was taken into custody by the FBI on Friday and charged in U.S. District Court in New York with conspiracy to commit murder. She was ordered detained without bail during a brief initial court appearance.

Detroit police deny 'serial killer' rumours sparked by woman's murder

Detroit police on Friday assured residents of the Motor City that despite rumours on social media they were not aware of a serial killer roaming the downtown streets that they had kept secret from the public. The whispers apparently stem from the murder of 26-year-old Elizabeth Candice Nichole Laird, whose body was found in a dumpster outside an apartment building on the city's east side on Wednesday.

U.S. embassy issues Indonesia security alert ahead of election results

The U.S. embassy in Jakarta has issued a security alert ahead of election results due on Wednesday, as Indonesian authorities have arrested nearly 30 suspected militants, including some who police say are able to detonate bombs using Wi-Fi networks. The embassy advised U.S. citizens to avoid areas where large demonstrations may occur in Jakarta, and in other cities including Surabaya in East Java and Medan in North Sumatra, in a statement that was dated on Friday, May 17.

Former 'slave' in New York sex cult says founder ordered naked meetings

The founder of an alleged New York sex cult held meetings in which female "slaves" gathered naked on the floor around him while he sat in a chair and lectured them on philosophy, one of the women testified at his criminal trial on Friday. The former "slave," Lauren Salzman, told jurors in federal court in Brooklyn that the group's leader, Keith Raniere, would preside over the meetings fully clothed. When he was unable to attend the meetings in person, the women would take a naked photo and text it to him - making sure he could see where they had been branded with his initials, Salzman said.

California utility in big 2015 gas leak had failed to probe leaks for decades

The California utility responsible for a massive, 4-month-long gas leak near Los Angeles in 2015 failed to investigate dozens of leaks over decades at the natural gas storage facility, according to a state report released on Friday. The long-awaited report found that groundwater corroded a 7-inch well casing and made it to rupture, causing the leak. Because Southern California Gas, a unit of Sempra Energy, had failed to investigate and analyze leaks since the 1970s, the consequences of such corrosion were not understood, leading to the 2015 incident, the report found.

Illinois governor eyes $41.5 billion plan to rebuild state's infrastructure

Illinois would spend $41.5 billion over six years to rebuild roads, bridges, schools and other facilities that have fallen into "dire shape," under a preliminary plan floated by Governor J.B. Pritzker on Friday. The Democratic governor's plan, which was distributed to lawmakers and seen by Reuters, would be funded in part with $17.8 billion of bonds even as Illinois pays the biggest yield penalty among states to sell debt.

As Fed seeks policy advice, officials visit a struggling New Jersey city

Two top Federal Reserve officials went to Camden, New Jersey, on Friday, taking a different reading of the pulse of the U.S. economy by visiting what is by one measure the country's lowest-income city, as the central bank seeks advice on how to do a better job. Patrick Harker, president of the Philadelphia Fed, and Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida spent the morning in Camden, which squats in the shadows of Philadelphia's downtown skyscrapers but has the lowest median household income among U.S. cities.