US News Roundup: Trudeau mending fences with Trump; New York sex cult trial

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Women's sex toy maker sues New York City subway, calls ad ban sexist

A new lawsuit asks why New York City's subway accepts advertisements depicting erectile dysfunction, bare buttocks, inflatable plastic breasts, "Kyng"-sized condoms and cactuses shaped like phalluses, but is refusing ads for women's sex toys. Dame Products, a women-owned startup that promises to "close the pleasure gap" for women by selling "toys, for sex," sued the Metropolitan Transit Authority on Tuesday, accusing it of sexism and illegal censorship for refusing its ads since last November.

Michael Avenatti gets trial date over alleged Nike extortion

Lawyer Michael Avenatti, an outspoken critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, is scheduled to go to trial on Nov. 12 in federal court in Manhattan on charges of extorting Nike Inc. U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe scheduled the trial at a hearing on Tuesday, according to a court record. Avenatti has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

U.S. military landlord filed false maintenance logs, earning bonuses, Reuters finds

A unit of UK infrastructure giant Balfour Beatty plc falsified housing maintenance records at a major U.S. military base to help it maximize fees earned from the Department of Defense, a Reuters investigation found. At Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, the company's U.S.-based unit used a second set of books and altered records to make it appear responsive to maintenance requests, Reuters found in a review of company and Air Force emails, internal memos and other documents, as well as interviews with former workers.

Trump stands by comments about wrongly convicted 'Central Park Five'

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday stood by claims he made about five men who were wrongly convicted for the brutal rape of a female jogger in New York City's Central Park 30 years ago. Dubbed the "Central Park Five," the men have faced renewed attention after becoming the subjects of a Netflix miniseries about them.

PG&E settles California fire claims with local governments for $1 bln

PG&E Corp will pay $1 billion as part of its bankruptcy reorganization to more than a dozen local governments in California struck by wildfires in recent years, the company and lawyers for the governments said on Tuesday. Payments to the local governments will settle claims from lawsuits put on hold by PG&E's bankruptcy and are separate from the thousands of individual claims stemming from wildfires that the company expects will be filed against it during the bankruptcy period.

In New York sex cult trial, leader's tactics echo those of other sects

The New York man charged with keeping women as sex slaves branded with his initials is one of the few cult leaders to face prosecution in the United States, but he controlled his followers in ways that are strikingly similar to those of cult figures who have been convicted. Prosecutors said that 58-year-old Keith Raniere used his group Nxivm, which presented itself as a self-help organization, as cover for blackmailing young women into having sex with him. If convicted, Raniere, who is charged with racketeering, forced labor, sex trafficking and possessing child pornography, faces life in prison.

Puerto Rico board asks court for more time on members' appointments

Puerto Rico's federally created financial oversight board asked a federal appeals court on Tuesday to extend a July 15 deadline for its members to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, citing concerns that missing it could harm an ongoing restructuring of the bankrupt U.S. commonwealth's debt. The action followed an announcement by a U.S. Senate committee that the confirmation process will not begin for several weeks.

Defense lawyer for Harvey Weinstein asks to leave New York case: report

One of the lawyers representing Harvey Weinstein in his rape trial due to begin in September has asked a judge to let him drop the former movie producer as a client, the New York Post reported, citing a letter from the attorney to the New York court. The attorney, Jose Baez, asked a Manhattan justice to let him off the case six months after Weinstein, 67, hired him because of their strained relationship, the newspaper reported on Monday.

Trudeau mending fences with Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump repeated on Tuesday that immigration authorities would next week target migrants in the country illegally in large-scale arrests, but still gave no details about the planned action. "They're going to start next week, and with people coming to our country, and they come in illegally - they have to go out," he told reporters at the White House before a trip to Florida where he will formally launch his re-election campaign. Trump also praised Mexico for action he said it has taken to stem the flow of immigrants to the United States.

Five TSA agents hurt as man tries to rush Phoenix airport checkpoint

Five U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers were hurt on Tuesday when a man attacked them as he tried to rush a checkpoint at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona, a TSA spokeswoman said. Four of the officers were treated for their injuries at urgent care clinics in the Phoenix area and the fifth was taken to a local hospital, TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said.