Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz dies at age 100

George Shultz, the U.S. secretary of state who survived bitter infighting in President Ronald Reagan's administration to help forge a new era in American-Soviet relations and bring on the end of the Cold War, died on Saturday at age 100, the California-based Hoover Institute said. A man of broad experience and talents, Shultz achieved success in statesmanship, business and academia. Lawmakers praised him for opposing as sheer folly the sale of arms to Iran that were the cornerstone of the Iran-Contra scandal that marred Reagan's second term in office. Biden administration suspends Trump asylum deals with El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras

The Biden administration said on Saturday it was immediately suspending Trump-era asylum agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, part of a bid to undo his Republican predecessor's hardline immigration policies. In a statement, State Department Secretary Antony Blinken said the United States had "suspended and initiated the process to terminate the Asylum Cooperative Agreements with the Governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras as the first concrete steps on the path to greater partnership and collaboration in the region laid out by President Biden." Chicago schools may open under tentative COVID-19 safety plan with teachers

Chicago schools could gradually start to reopen for in-person learning this week under a tentative agreement with the teachers union on a COVID-19 safety plan, a major milestone that will put an end to a bitter labor dispute and avert a possible strike. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the deal on Sunday between the nation's third-largest school district and the Chicago Teachers Union, which represents 28,000 educators. The two sides have been locked in talks for months, with teachers demanding stronger safety protocols to prevent the spread of the virus in classrooms. 'This is not justice.' Tenant activists upend U.S. eviction courts

As freezing temperatures settled over Kansas City, Missouri, on Jan. 28, Judge Jack Grate opened his online courtroom. The first of 100 cases on his docket was that of Tonya Raynor, a 64-year-old who owed $2,790 in back rent and fees on an apartment on the city’s east side, a swath of vacant storefronts and boarded-up properties. “Miss Raynor, are you there?” asked Grate, a burly 71-year-old sporting a beard, a buzz cut and a rumpled, orange short-sleeve shirt. U.S. Senate to pause Trump impeachment trial at end of week for Sabbath

The U.S. Senate will pause former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial from Friday evening to Saturday evening this week to honor a request by a Trump attorney who observes the Jewish Sabbath, a spokesman for Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Sunday. "We respect their request and of course will accommodate it," Schumer spokesman Justin Goodman said in a statement. Biden says challenging for U.S. to reach herd immunity by summer's end

President Joe Biden said that it will be difficult for the United States to reach herd immunity, at least 75% of the population inoculated against the coronavirus, by the end of this summer. "The idea that this can be done and we can get to herd immunity much before the end of next -- this summer, is -- is very difficult," Biden told CBS news in an interview. U.S. administers 41.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 41,210,937 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Sunday morning and distributed 59,307,800 doses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Sunday. The tally of vaccine doses is for both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech as of 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT) on Sunday, the agency said. Four skiers killed, four rescued in Utah avalanche

Four skiers have been killed and four others were rescued near Salt Lake City, Utah, in the deadliest snowslide in the United States in seven years, authorities said. Two groups of skiers, one of five and the other of three, were in Millcreek Canyon just east of Utah's capital city when the avalanche was triggered on Saturday, a spokeswoman for the Unified Police Department of Salt Lake City said. Biden's Homeland Security czar vows to fight domestic terrorism

U.S. Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas, who last week became the first Latino and immigrant to hold the post, on Saturday reaffirmed his resolve to fight domestic terrorism, one of the greatest threats to the United States. Mayorkas, who served as deputy secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President Barack Obama, was sworn after the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of outgoing Republican President Donald Trump. U.S. Treasury's Yellen: Americans earning $60,000 should get stimulus checks

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday that American workers who earn $60,000 per year should receive stimulus checks as part of the White House's proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. "The exact details of how it should be targeted are to be determined, but struggling middle class families need help," Yellen said on CNN’s "State of the Union."