US Domestic News Roundup: U.S. Senate expected to hold procedural vote on stopgap spending bill on Thursday; Purdue Pharma to ask judge to extend legal shield for Sacklers and more

Paxton and U.S. Representative Beth Van Duyne, a Texas Republican, jointly filed a lawsuit challenging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) transit mask rules, which have been in place since February 2021, the month after U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, took office.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. Senate expected to hold procedural vote on stopgap spending bill on Thursday

The U.S. Senate is expected to hold a procedural vote on a stop-gap funding bill on Thursday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday. The spending bill would keep the federal government running through March 11, avoiding a potential partial shutdown.

Purdue Pharma to ask judge to extend legal shield for Sacklers

Purdue Pharma will ask a bankruptcy judge on Thursday to extend a legal shield that prevents opioid lawsuits from going forward against some members of the wealthy Sackler family who own the OxyContin maker. The hearing before Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New York, comes as the Sacklers try to reach a deal with eight states and the District of Columbia to resolve litigation alleging they fueled the opioid epidemic.

Private equity founder gets 15 months in prison in U.S. college scandal

A private equity financier was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 months in prison for participating in a vast U.S. college admissions fraud scheme by conspiring to pay bribes to secure spots for his children at top schools. The sentence imposed on John Wilson, the founder of Hyannis Port Capital, was the longest that any of the dozens of parents, coaches and other defendants charged in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions scandal have received to date.

NY attorney general fires back at Trump's defense of financial statements

New York's attorney general on Wednesday pounced on former President Donald Trump's defense of company's financial statements, saying the five-page statement Trump issued a day earlier contradicted a court filing by his attorneys. "It is not unusual for parties to a legal proceeding to disagree about the facts," the attorney general's office wrote in a letter filed in New York state court. "But it is truly rare for a party to publicly disagree with statements submitted by his own attorneys in a signed pleading -- let alone one day after the pleading was filed."

Exclusive-Trump app opens to hundreds of testers ahead of expected launch

Details about former U.S. President Donald Trump's new social media app are trickling out as about 500 beta testers have begun using an early version of “Truth Social,” two sources told Reuters. The testing of Truth Social comes a year after Trump was banned from Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet's YouTube. His new media and technology venture, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), has pledged to deliver an “engaging and censorship-free experience” on the app, which Chief Executive Devin Nunes has said will launch by the end of March.

Biden to promote Great Lakes clean up efforts on Ohio trip

U.S. President Joe Biden will visit Ohio on Thursday to tout $1 billion in funding from the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed last November aimed at cleaning up and restoring environmentally damaged areas in the Great Lakes region. The trip is part of the White House's efforts to showcase the benefits of the infrastructure bill ahead of crucial midterm elections where the Democrats hope a results-oriented message will allow them to retain power in Washington.

Florida House passes ban on abortion after 15 weeks, sends bill to Senate

Florida's House of Representatives passed a bill to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy late on Wednesday, a measure several Republican-led states are pushing as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs the constitutionality of such limits. The approval on a party-line 78-39 vote moments before midnight sent consideration of the legislation to the state Senate, which is expected to pass the measure in the near future. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has likewise signaled his support for the bill.

U.S. investigates 416,000 Tesla vehicles over unexpected braking reports

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Thursday it is opening a formal investigation into 416,000 Tesla vehicles over reports of unexpected brake activation tied to its driver-assistance system Autopilot. The preliminary evaluation covers 2021-2022 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in the United States after the agency received 354 complaints about the issue over the past nine months. NHTSA said the vehicles under review have an advanced driver assistance system that Tesla calls Autopilot that allows them to brake and steer automatically within its lanes.

Fauci says time to start 'inching' back toward normality

Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Wednesday that it is time for the United States to start inching back towards normality, despite remaining risks from COVID-19. In an interview with Reuters, Fauci said U.S. states are facing tough choices in their efforts to balance the need to protect their citizens from infections and the growing fatigue with a pandemic that has dragged into its third year.

Texas AG sues over U.S. airport and airplane mask mandates

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration on Wednesday over a government mandate requiring that masks be worn at U.S. airports and on airplanes and other transit modes. Paxton and U.S. Representative Beth Van Duyne, a Texas Republican, jointly filed a lawsuit challenging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) transit mask rules, which have been in place since February 2021, the month after U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, took office.

(With inputs from agencies.)