US Domestic News Roundup: US House Republicans look to restart spending agenda with defense vote; Ex-Bridgewater CEO McCormick to make Pennsylvania Senate run official Thursday - sources and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

US House Republicans look to restart spending agenda with defense vote

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will try to restart his stalled Republican spending agenda on Thursday, with a procedural vote on a fiscal 2024 defense appropriations bill that Republicans have already twice failed to advance. A vote to open debate on the $886 billion measure is expected in the House of Representatives, a day after McCarthy's fractious majority met in a 2-1/2-hour closed-door meeting aimed at finding common ground on legislation to avert a government shutdown in barely a week and half.

Ex-Bridgewater CEO McCormick to make Pennsylvania Senate run official Thursday - sources

David McCormick, a former hedge fund executive who lost the Republican primary for Pennsylvania's open Senate seat last year, will announce on Thursday that he is running again for Senate — this time against three-time incumbent Democratic Senator Bob Casey Jr. A U.S. Army veteran and former Treasury Department official, McCormick, 58, will kick off one of the nation's most closely watched races with a speech in Pittsburgh, two sources said. Reuters first reported on Sept. 12 that the former CEO of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's largest hedge funds, would run.

Hunter Biden to face gun charges in Wilmington court on Oct. 3

President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden will appear on Oct. 3 in a federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, to face gun charges, a judge ordered on Wednesday, in the first-ever prosecution of a sitting U.S. president's child. Hunter Biden, 53, was indicted last week for allegedly lying on a form to acquire a handgun in 2018 and for being an illegal drug user in possession of the gun. His lawyer has said he plans to plead not guilty.

US Senate confirms Biden pick as top US military officer

A majority of the U.S. Senate backed U.S. Air Force chief General Charles Q. Brown on Wednesday to be the top U.S. military officer, as lawmakers moved to confirm some of the top senior officers whose promotions have been stalled by a Republican senator's blockade. The Senate backed President Joe Biden's nomination of Brown to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by 83 to 11.

Trump says if elected again he will send troops to US-Mexico border

Former U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that if elected again he would shift resources from federal law enforcement agencies and send thousands of overseas-based troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. Speaking to supporters in Iowa, where the Republican Party's first nominating contest for the November 2024 election will be held in January, Trump also promised to expand on a travel ban that barred people from several countries with majority Muslim populations during his 2017-2021 presidency.

U.S. FDA found lapses at Novo's main U.S. factory in May 2022 -report

U.S. drug regulators issued a report detailing quality control lapses at Novo Nordisk's main factory in North America as early as May last year, according to the report obtained by Reuters via a Freedom of Information Act request. The inspection by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was at Novo's facility in Clayton, North Carolina, which the company says produces the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), semaglutide.

US offers work permits to half million Venezuelans already in country

The U.S. will grant temporary deportation relief and access to work permits to nearly half a million Venezuelans already in the country, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, a move that follows calls by Democrats to help newly arrived migrants work legally. About 472,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. on or before July 31 now will be eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for a period of 18 months. Some 243,000 Venezuelans already have the status stemming from a 2021 designation that was renewed last year.

U.S. House Problem Solvers Caucus issues framework to avert gov't shutdowns

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives late on Wednesday announced they had embraced a framework for legislation providing stopgap funds to avert government shutdowns starting on Oct. 1. Without prompt action by Congress, existing money to fully operate a vast array of federal programs expires at midnight Sept. 30 with the end of the current fiscal year.

Hollywood workers resort to flea markets, bake sales as strikes drag on

"Set decorator for 20 years. Single mom of 15-year-old twins," said the sign above a table of cupcakes, cookies and other baked goods for sale. "Struggling to pay bills, especially my mortgage." A prop master nearby was selling handmade quilts, normally a side gig, to help make ends meet. "I now work two part-time jobs just to barely pay rent and utilities," her sign read.

Americans broadly support auto, Hollywood strikes -Reuters/Ipsos poll

Americans broadly back striking workers in the auto industry and Hollywood, according to a two-day Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Wednesday that found significant support among both Democrats and Republicans. The poll found that 58% of Americans support the first-ever simultaneous strike by the United Auto Workers union against Ford Motor, General Motors and Chrysler parent Stellantis to win better pay and benefits, while 32% oppose the action and 10% were unsure.