Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Properly done tests frequently showed that the drug failed to dissolve as it was supposed to, a sign that it would not be released in the body as expected, the lawsuit said. US FDIC launches review of alleged sexual harassment, misconduct A special committee will oversee a review of alleged toxic workplace culture and sexual harassment at the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp but the agency's chief will not be involved, the top banking regulator announced on Tuesday, as it faced a reckoning following reports in the Wall Street Journal.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

A.M. Lukas sues actor Nuno Lopes for alleged rape in New York court

American writer and filmmaker A.M. Lukas has accused "White Lines" actor Nuno Lopes of drugging and raping her in 2006, in a filing lodged just days before a one-year window to sue over historic sexual abuse expires. Lopes denied any wrongdoing and said he would not be afraid to take legal action against anyone who tried to defame him.

Texas AG sues Pfizer over quality-control lapses in kids' ADHD drug

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused Pfizer and its supplier Tris Pharma of providing children's ADHD medicine that it knew might be ineffective to the state's Medicaid insurance program for low-income people, in a lawsuit unsealed on Monday. The lawsuit, filed in Harrison County, Texas District Court, alleges that Pfizer and Tris manipulated quality-control testing for the drug Quillivant XR in order to obtain passing results from tests it was required to perform under federal law between 2012 and 2018. Properly done tests frequently showed that the drug failed to dissolve as it was supposed to, a sign that it would not be released in the body as expected, the lawsuit said.

US FDIC launches review of alleged sexual harassment, misconduct

A special committee will oversee a review of alleged toxic workplace culture and sexual harassment at the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp but the agency's chief will not be involved, the top banking regulator announced on Tuesday, as it faced a reckoning following reports in the Wall Street Journal. FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg was also cited in the reports as having earned a reputation for bullying and leniency in cases of misconduct.

New York City investment chief calls on Tesla to sanction Musk unless he apologizes

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander told Reuters on Tuesday that Tesla's board of directors should sanction CEO Elon Musk if he does not apologize for endorsing an antisemitic comment on his social media platform X. Lander oversees about $946 million in Tesla shares for New York City public retirement funds. That amount is equivalent to a stake of roughly 0.1% in the electric-vehicle maker. Lander's remarks make him the latest Tesla shareholder to call on the EV maker to rein in Musk. Earlier, smaller investors including Nia Impact Capital and Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, raised concerns about Musk's action.

Rising US debt stokes calls in Congress for special fiscal commission

The U.S. Congress is facing growing calls to find a way to stem rising budget deficits and debt following this month's warning by Moody's that political dysfunction could lead it to lower the federal government's credit rating. There is no rocket science to the three basic choices for grappling with a national debt that has doubled in just the last decade and stands at $33.7 trillion, around 124% of GDP: raise taxes, cut spending or do a combination of the two.

One dead, multiple others believed missing in Alaska landslide

At least one person has been killed and multiple others were believed to be missing in a major landslide along the principal roadway serving an island community in Southeast Alaska, state officials said on Tuesday. The slide struck shortly before 9 p.m. local time on Monday along the Zimovia Highway in Wrangell, Alaska, a fishing and logging town of about 2,000 residents 155 miles (250 km) south of Juneau, the state capital, according to the state Public Safety Department.

US EPA opens $2 billion in grants to environmental justice communities

The Biden administration announced on Tuesday it has opened up $2 billion in grants for lower-income communities overburdened by pollution and vulnerable to climate change for projects to bolster their resilience to climate impacts and strengthen their ability to monitor air and water quality. The Community Change Grants are the single largest investment in environmental justice that has been made by an administration, and a key measure to achieve the administration's goal of ensuring that 40% of federal clean energy investment benefits flow to disadvantaged communities.

Top Iowa evangelical backs DeSantis over Trump in US presidential race

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will be endorsed on Tuesday by an influential Iowa evangelical leader, Bob Vander Plaats, a much-needed boost for a presidential campaign still struggling to find momentum ahead of next year's Republican nominating contests, according to two people familiar with the decision. But with former President Donald Trump an overwhelming frontrunner for the nomination and Iowa's caucuses fewer than two months away, it remains unclear whether the endorsement can make a significant difference for DeSantis' chances.

Maryland handgun licensure law is unconstitutional, US court rules

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday declared that Maryland's licensing requirements for people seeking to buy handguns were unconstitutional, citing a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that expanded gun rights. A three-judge panel of the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on a 2-1 vote blocked enforcement of a 2013 Maryland law that required people to undergo training and background checks before applying for licenses to buy handguns, saying it violated the right to "keep and bear arms" under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.

US telecom regulator wants to bar cable TV early-termination fees

Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel on Tuesday proposed to bar cable and satellite TV providers from charging consumers early-termination fees to exit contracts. Rosenworcel said the commission will take an initial vote on Dec. 13 on the plan, which would also require TV video-service providers to refund subscribers if they cancel prior to the end of that billing cycle. She cited President Joe Biden's executive order that encourages the FCC and other agencies to take steps to crack down on what the administration calls "junk fees."

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)