US Domestic News Roundup: US senators push drugmakers for details on low-cost insulin programs; Biden plan would guarantee overtime pay for 3.6 million workers and more

During the meeting, the Biden administration agreed to work with both New York State and New York City to close "the gap between non-citizens who are eligible for work authorization and those who have applied," the White House said in a statement. Former US Cardinal McCarrick not competent to face sex abuse trial, judge says A Massachusetts judge on Wednesday dismissed a criminal case charging former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick with molesting a 16-year-old boy in 1974, saying the 93-year-old was not competent to stand trial after psychological experts found he had dementia.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

US senators push drugmakers for details on low-cost insulin programs

Two U.S. senators are demanding that the nation's three largest insulin makers, Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, and Sanofi, provide details by Sept. 15 of their programs to help Americans get their insulin for $35 a month or less. Democratic Senators Maggie Hassan and Tina Smith sent a letter asking the drugmakers for information on eligibility criteria for the programs, including whether a patient’s insurance status or income barred them from joining, and the steps insulin users had to take to sign up.

Biden plan would guarantee overtime pay for 3.6 million workers

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday moved to extend mandatory overtime pay to 3.6 million salaried workers, going even further than an Obama-era rule that was struck down in court. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a proposed rule that would require employers to pay overtime premiums to workers who earn a salary of less than $1,059 per week, or about $55,000 per year.

Former Proud Boys leaders could face longest sentences yet for US Capitol attack

A federal judge on Thursday will consider whether to impose the steepest sentences yet on two former leaders of the Proud Boys who stormed the U.S. Capitol seeking to overturn Donald Trump's 2020 election defeat, after a jury convicted them of seditious conspiracy. Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to sentence Joseph Biggs to 33 years in prison and they are seeking a 30-year sentence for co-defendant Zachary Rehl. They are due to become the first Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy to be sentenced for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.

Avoiding catastrophe, Florida's Gulf Coast begins cleanup from Hurricane Idalia

Cleanup and recovery from Hurricane Idalia began on Thursday along Florida's Gulf Coast, where property damage, loss of life and power disruptions paled in comparison to the last major hurricane that struck the state nearly a year ago. Idalia crashed ashore on Wednesday morning as a powerful Category 3 hurricane at Keaton Beach in Florida's Big Bend region, lashing the coast with sustained winds of up to 125 miles per hour (201 kph), accompanied by torrential rains and pounding surf.

New York says Trump should be found liable for fraud, even before a trial

New York's attorney general on Wednesday asked a state judge to declare, even before the start of a trial, that Donald Trump committed fraud by submitting false statements to bankers and insurers and overstating his net worth by up to $2.23 billion. In filings with a state court in Manhattan, Attorney General Letitia James said evidence in her civil case showed "repeated and persistent fraudulent use" by Trump and his family business of false and misleading financial statements from 2011 to 2021.

US Senate's McConnell freezes up for second time in public appearance

Top U.S. Senate Republican Mitch McConnell froze up for more than 30 seconds on Wednesday during a public appearance before he was escorted away, the second such incident in little more than a month, a clip from an NBC News affiliate showed. McConnell, 81, was responding to questions from reporters after an event with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in Covington when he froze up, staring into space and not responding to reporters and others nearby.

Analysis-Drugmakers could find sympathetic US Supreme Court in drug pricing lawsuits

Drugmakers challenging a Biden administration program requiring them to negotiate with Medicare over the prices of selected costly drugs may not have a clear legal precedent on their side, but there are signs they could get a friendly hearing from the U.S. Supreme Court, legal experts said. Even before the administration announced the first ten drugs for inclusion in the program on Tuesday, drug companies and industry groups had sued the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in an effort to derail it.

Giuliani liable for defaming Georgia election workers, judge rules

Donald Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani is liable for defaming two Georgia election workers who were the target of vote-rigging conspiracy accusations following the 2020 U.S. presidential election, a U.S. judge in Washington ruled on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell issued the order as a sanction against Giuliani for failing to turn over electronic records sought by the two Fulton County election workers, Wandrea "Shaye" Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman, in the case.

New York's governor meets White House officials on migrant crisis

New York Governor Kathy Hochul met White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and other senior Biden administration officials on Wednesday to discuss an influx of migrants in New York City that has strained its resources. During the meeting, the Biden administration agreed to work with both New York State and New York City to close "the gap between non-citizens who are eligible for work authorization and those who have applied," the White House said in a statement.

Former US Cardinal McCarrick not competent to face sex abuse trial, judge says

A Massachusetts judge on Wednesday dismissed a criminal case charging former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick with molesting a 16-year-old boy in 1974, saying the 93-year-old was not competent to stand trial after psychological experts found he had dementia. McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington, D.C., who was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019, became the only current or former U.S. Catholic cardinal to ever face child sex abuse charges when prosecutors in Massachusetts first charged him in 2021.

(With inputs from agencies.)