Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Pfizer does deal with Trump on prescription drug prices Pfizer and President Donald Trump on Tuesday said they had cut a deal in which the U.S.-based drugmaker agreed to lower prescription drug prices in the Medicaid program to what it charges in other developed countries in exchange for tariff relief. Trump also said Pfizer would offer that most-favored-nation pricing on all new drugs launched in the U.S. and flagged that other drugmakers will follow suit. Factbox-How a US government shutdown would affect USDA data, nutrition programs and operations Market-sensitive commodity data reports released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and nutrition programs that feed millions of Americans could be vulnerable to disruption if the federal government shuts down early Wednesday morning. During shutdowns, nonessential government employees are typically furloughed or placed on temporary unpaid leave. Workers deemed essential, including those dealing with public safety, food safety, and national security, keep working. USDA migrates data archive to new website, dropping Cornell's Mann Library Archived crop and livestock reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture were set to transfer to a new government website on Wednesday with the agency's existing online archive, hosted by Cornell University's Mann Library, decommissioned, the USDA and a Cornell official said on Tuesday. The USDA's online Economics, Statistics and Market Information System, an archive of USDA reports dating to 1973, will move to the USDA's National Agricultural Library. US SEC tells staff to prep for shutdown contingencies at midnight The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday told employees to prepare for a potential lapse in funding, according to an email seen by Reuters, as the United States headed towards its potential 15th government shutdown since 1981. Government funding will lapse at midnight unless Republicans and Democrats in Congress agree on a deal to temporarily fund federal agencies with Wednesday's start of a new fiscal year. Trump says Harvard deal is close, university will pay $500 million U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration was close to a deal with Harvard University that would include a $500 million payment by the Ivy League institution, after months of negotiations over school policies. The administration has been wrangling with several prestigious universities, threatening to withhold federal funds over issues including pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's war in Gaza, campus diversity and transgender policies. Trump targeting of pro-Palestinian campus activists for deportation is unlawful, US judge rules A U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's administration had acted unconstitutionally by adopting a policy of revoking visas, arresting, detaining and deporting foreign students and faculty engaged in pro-Palestinian advocacy. In a scathing 161-page ruling, U.S. District Judge William Young in Boston sided with groups representing university faculty by finding that the administration was chilling free speech on college campuses in violation of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. US Justice Department probes Des Moines schools for race-based hiring practices The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that it had launched an investigation into Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa to determine whether the district engaged in race-based employment practices. The Justice Department said in a letter to interim superintendent Matthew Smith that it was looking into whether Iowa's largest public school system had violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by engaging in what it described as a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, color or national origin. Broadway actors prepare to strike, union says Broadway actors are preparing to walk off the stage in a strike that would shut down 32 stage productions as theater attendance approaches its peak season, according to their union. Actors' Equity, a union that represents 900 current Broadway performers and stage managers, said it has yet to reach agreement on a new labor contract with the Broadway League, the trade association that represents theater owners, producers and operators. Negotiations continue, though the three-year contract ended on September 28. FAA would furlough 11,000 employees in US government shutdown The U.S. Transportation Department said on Tuesday more than 11,000 employees at the Federal Aviation Administration, about a quarter of its staff, will be furloughed if government funding lapses at midnight. U.S. airlines have warned that a partial federal government shutdown could strain American aviation and slow flights, as air traffic controllers and security officers would be forced to work without pay and other functions would be halted. Analysis-US auto bankruptcies show rising credit pain in low-income households Two auto sector bankruptcies have rattled parts of the U.S. credit market, raising concerns about a deterioration in the financial health of low-income households and migrant communities. Auto-parts maker First Brands became the latest company to unravel, filing for bankruptcy protection on Monday, following the recent bankruptcy of subprime auto lender Tricolor Holdings. While both companies had idiosyncratic reasons for their collapse, they have stoked fears of broader stress. Government shutdown impact on economy depends on length, breadth of outage, Fed's Goolsbee says The impact of a government shutdown on the economy depends on how widespread the closure is and how long it lasts, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said on Tuesday. Most shutdowns historically have not lasted long and their impact has been limited, Goolsbee said at an event on the U.S. agriculture economy at the Chicago Fed's headquarters. (The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)
