US Domestic News Roundup: U.S. House panel approves three bills aimed at tackling high drug prices; Panel probing U.S. Capitol riot issues subpoenas to Trump rally organizers and more

The Arizona Democrat's private huddling this week with Biden and his aides comes as her opposition to the size of a $3.5 trillion social spending proposal has become a key obstacle to Democratic efforts to lock down support for one of the pillars of the president's domestic agenda. 'Unmitigated disaster': Republicans attack Biden's defense of Afghan pullout Republican U.S. lawmakers tried on Wednesday to pick apart President Joe Biden's defense of his withdrawal from Afghanistan as they attacked his judgment and honesty during a second day of contentious Congressional hearings with Pentagon leaders.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. House panel approves three bills aimed at tackling high drug prices

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted on Wednesday to approve three bills to stop practices drugmakers use to raise prices and fend off competition, including a bill to ban the tactic of paying generic companies to delay bringing cheaper versions of their medicines to market. While the votes were not unanimous, they passed the committee by a big margin. A fourth measure is set to be considered on Thursday.

Panel probing U.S. Capitol riot issues subpoenas to Trump rally organizers

The U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol said on Wednesday it had issued subpoenas to organizers of events and rallies leading up to the attack on the seat of government, as it broadened its inquiry. The committee said the subpoenas were sent to 11 people, including leaders of Women for America First, a group that hosted the "Save America Rally" on Jan. 6, where then-President Donald Trump told the crowd to march to the Capitol, urging them "to show strength."

Democrat Sinema in spotlight as obstacle to Biden economic agenda

Kyrsten Sinema is the recent recipient of an honor that U.S. Senate colleagues more loyal to President Joe Biden's agenda have never received - three invitations to the White House in just one day. The Arizona Democrat's private huddling this week with Biden and his aides comes as her opposition to the size of a $3.5 trillion social spending proposal has become a key obstacle to Democratic efforts to lock down support for one of the pillars of the president's domestic agenda.

'Unmitigated disaster': Republicans attack Biden's defense of Afghan pullout

Republican U.S. lawmakers tried on Wednesday to pick apart President Joe Biden's defense of his withdrawal from Afghanistan as they attacked his judgment and honesty during a second day of contentious Congressional hearings with Pentagon leaders. Democrat Biden has faced the biggest crisis of his presidency over the war in Afghanistan, which he argued needed to be brought to a close after 20 years of stalemated fighting that had cost American lives, drained resources and distracted from greater strategic priorities.

Los Angeles moves toward barring the unvaccinated from most businesses

Los Angeles officials on Wednesday signaled they would vote next week to prohibit unvaccinated people from entering most businesses in the United States' second-largest city, one of the nation's most severe crackdowns so far of the COVID-19 pandemic. All but one of the City Council members present on Wednesday said they supported the proposed "emergency" ordinance, which would require proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, bars, shopping centers, gyms and other indoor spaces.

Britney Spears 'on cloud nine' after father suspended from conservatorship

The conservatorship that has controlled the life of Britney Spears for 13 years neared a possible end on Wednesday after a judge suspended her father, and the pop super-star said later that she was "on cloud 9 right now." At a contentious three-hour hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny removed Jamie Spears from oversight of his daughter's $60 million estate and set a November date to discuss whether to terminate the entire arrangement.

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupting in 'full swing' - USGS

Hawaii's Kīlauea volcano was erupting in "full swing" late on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, with local media reporting that the eruption posed no immediate danger to residents. "What was once a cooling lava lake is now a new fissure eruption," USGS Volcanoes said in a tweet.

U.S. Congress seeks to ward off government shutdown as Biden agenda at risk

Democratic divisions were imperiling President Joe Biden's agenda to invest in infrastructure, expand social services and address climate change as the U.S. Congress simultaneously faced a Thursday deadline to avert a government shutdown. Congress was poised to approve new government funding through Dec. 3 while moderate and progressive Democrats battle over spending trillions of dollars to finance expanded family leave, medical care for the elderly and improved supports for children.

Texas abortion clinics struggle to survive under restrictive law

Since Texas enacted the strictest anti-abortion law in the country a month ago, the four Whole Woman's Health abortion clinics across the state have seen patient visits plummet, some staff quit and recruitment efforts falter. The new law, which bans abortions after about six weeks and empowers private citizens to enforce it, has the clinics "teeter-tottering between financial risk, legal risk and staffing risk," said Marva Sadler, the facilities' director of clinical services.

U.S. defense secretary says he is concerned for Afghan pilots held in Tajikistan

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed concern on Wednesday for U.S.-trained Afghan pilots and other personnel being held in Tajikistan after fleeing across the border from Afghanistan last month as the Taliban took power. Reuters exclusively reported first-person accounts from U.S.-trained Afghan personnel being held at a sanatorium in a mountainous, rural area outside of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, waiting and hoping for over a month for transfer by the United States.