Reuters US Domestic News Summary

With federal government funding due to expire on Thursday and borrowing authority set to run out around Oct. 18, Democrats who narrowly control the Senate and House of Representatives are working to head off twin fiscal disasters while also trying to advance Biden's ambitious legislative agenda. Most Americans want more diplomacy, many want fewer troops abroad -survey A majority of Americans want more U.S. diplomatic engagement and a plurality want fewer U.S. troops stationed abroad, according to a survey taken as the chaotic U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan took place.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden pushes for action on infrastructure and broader agenda

U.S. President Joe Biden and his top aides on Tuesday pushed members of his own party to fund not just infrastructure but his broader agenda as talks over bills for both intensified.

Biden met privately with lawmakers, including conservative Democratic Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, who have balked at the size of the spending packages under consideration.

U.S. FDA approves AbbVie's migraine prevention drug

AbbVie Inc said on Tuesday the U.S. health regulator approved its once-daily oral medicine for preventive treatment of migraine in adults, adding a third drug to the drugmaker's arsenal of therapies for severe headaches. The drug, Qulipta, which AbbVie will launch in early October, will enter a crowded market for migraine prevention drugs such as Eli Lilly's Emgality, Amgen Inc's Aimovig and Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co Ltd's Nurtec ODT.

Investors with $1.6 trillion in assets push Congress to back paid leave

Investors with assets worth over $1.6 trillion urged Congress on Tuesday to pass a federal paid family and medical leave policy as part of President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion spending plan, according to a letter viewed by Reuters. The more than 100 investors, which include public pension funds, state treasurers and asset managers, said a paid leave policy would help to improve the U.S. economy and make the companies in which they hold shares perform better.

Obama holds groundbreaking ceremony for presidential center in Chicago

Former President Barack Obama presided on Tuesday over a ceremonial groundbreaking at the future Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, saying he hopes the facility will be a hub of global civic activism. Construction of the $700 million center, blocks from the University of Chicago on the city's South Side, began in August despite opposition from local activists. Donations to the Obama Foundation are paying for the project.

Afghan army collapse 'took us all by surprise,' U.S. defense secretary says

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Congress on Tuesday that the Afghan army's sudden collapse caught the Pentagon "by surprise," as military leaders confronted a contentious Senate hearing about how and why America lost its longest war. Republican lawmakers accused President Joe Biden of lying about recommendations from his military that some troops should be kept in Afghanistan. Even Biden's Democrats expressed frustration with a chaotic withdrawal that left U.S. troops dead and American citizens behind.

Drug distributors strike 1st opioid settlement with Native American tribe for $75 million

The three largest U.S. drug distributors will pay more than $75 million to resolve claims they fueled an opioid epidemic in the Cherokee Nation's territory in Oklahoma, marking the first settlement with a tribal government in the litigation over the U.S. addiction crisis. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin on Tuesday said the settlement, which will be paid over 6-1/2 years, would "enable us to increase our investments in mental health treatment facilities and other programs to help our people recover."

U.S. House passes bill to end disparities in crack cocaine sentences

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a bill to permanently end the sentencing disparities between crack cocaine and powder, a policy that has led to the disproportionate incarceration of African Americans. In a bipartisan vote of 361-66, the House approved the EQUAL Act, short for Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law.

Senate Republicans again block U.S. debt limit hike, shutdown looms

U.S. Senate Republicans for a second day in a row blocked a bid by President Joe Biden's Democrats to head off a potentially crippling U.S. credit default, as partisan tensions rattled an economy recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. With federal government funding due to expire on Thursday and borrowing authority set to run out around Oct. 18, Democrats who narrowly control the Senate and House of Representatives are working to head off twin fiscal disasters while also trying to advance Biden's ambitious legislative agenda.

Most Americans want more diplomacy, many want fewer troops abroad -survey

A majority of Americans want more U.S. diplomatic engagement and a plurality want fewer U.S. troops stationed abroad, according to a survey taken as the chaotic U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan took place. The survey, reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday, was designed by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Eurasia Group Foundation and conducted Aug. 27-Sept. 1. It found that 58.3% believe the United States should engage more in negotiations on issues such as climate change, human rights and migration.

Republican seeks documents from White House, DOJ over Huawei CFO case

A Republican lawmaker is calling on the Biden administration to provide communications between the White House and the Justice Department, after the near-simultaneous release of a top executive at China's Huawei and two Canadians held by Beijing spurred questions of political meddling in Washington. On Friday, Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou flew home to China from Canada after reaching an agreement with U.S. prosecutors to end the bank fraud case against her, a point of tension between China and the United States.