Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The NTSB cited pilot Ara Zobayan's "poor decision to fly in excess of airspeed." It said the weather conditions were inconsistent with adverse weather training and resulted in the pilot's "spatial disorientation and loss of control." U.N. in talks with U.S. on Central American refugees applying for asylum from home The United Nations Refugee Agency has held initial talks with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration about Central American asylum claimants being processed in their own countries, but it is too early to estimate how many people could benefit from the policy, agency head Filippo Grandi said on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. U.S. safety board cites poor pilot decisions as likely cause of Kobe Bryant fatal crash

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday cited the pilot's "poor decision making" as the probable cause of the January 2020 helicopter crash that killed retired NBA star Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others, saying the pilot became disoriented and did not follow rules for flying in cloudy weather. The NTSB cited pilot Ara Zobayan's "poor decision to fly in excess of airspeed." It said the weather conditions were inconsistent with adverse weather training and resulted in the pilot's "spatial disorientation and loss of control." U.N. in talks with U.S. on Central American refugees applying for asylum from home

The United Nations Refugee Agency has held initial talks with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration about Central American asylum claimants being processed in their own countries, but it is too early to estimate how many people could benefit from the policy, agency head Filippo Grandi said on Tuesday. The Biden administration has already said it plans to restore a program which allows certain children in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to apply for refugee status in the United States from home. After deadly Capitol riot, Trump impeachment trial to open with fight on Constitution

Donald Trump's historic second impeachment trial, on a charge of inciting last month's deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol, opens on Tuesday with a debate over the constitutionality of trying a president after he has left office. Hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 after a fiery speech in which the then president repeated his false claims that his Nov. 3 election defeat was the result of widespread fraud and urging them to "fight like hell (or) you're not going to have a country anymore." U.S. civil rights groups call on Biden to end executions

A group of prominent civil rights groups asked U.S. President Joe Biden to impose a moratorium on executing federal prisoners condemned to death and to commute the sentences of the men held on federal death row in a letter sent on Tuesday. Biden, a Democrat, promised voters last year he would seek to end the federal death penalty, and took office last month as the country's first abolitionist president. U.S. lawmakers introduce legislation to help Black farmers

Lawmakers introduced two bills to help minority farmers this week, aiming to address longstanding injustices in the agricultural sector. Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock on Tuesday introduced a $5 billion Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act as part of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief stimulus package. It aims to provide immediate financial relief to Black, indigenous and Hispanic farmers. California set to top New York as state with most COVID-19 deaths

California on Tuesday was poised to surpass New York as the U.S. state with the most coronavirus deaths, a grim reminder of the pandemic's toll even as the vaccine rollout and a sharp drop in new cases offer hope that life will eventually return to normal. Fatalities from COVID-19 reached 44,495 late Monday in California, the most populous U.S. state, according to a Reuters tally that will be updated later on Tuesday. In New York, which was especially hard hit in the pandemic's early days, the death toll stood at 44,693. https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-CALIFORNIA/xegvbwkqwpq Los Angeles Super Bowl aims to bring back hope

Following the first Super Bowl of the COVID-19 era and with vaccine distribution on the rise, preparations are underway to make next year's game in Los Angeles a triumphant return to normal. Sunday's championship game in Tampa and the week leading up to it were unlike any before, with no wacky opening media night, no highly-anticipated concert on the eve of the big game and just 25,000 mask-wearing fans in the stands. Student loan servicer agrees to borrower relief in Massachusetts settlement

One of the largest U.S. student loan servicers has agreed to settle a lawsuit by Massachusetts' attorney general claiming its mishandling of thousands of loans undermined a federal debt forgiveness program. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said the settlement with Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, which services $355 billion in federally-owned student loans, would provide first-of-its-kind relief to borrowers in the state. A judge approved it on Tuesday. Elderly suspect arrested in Minnesota clinic shooting that left five wounded

An elderly gunman opened fire inside a Minneapolis-area health clinic on Tuesday, wounding five people before police arrested the suspect, described by authorities as a disgruntled former patient who was well known to local law enforcement. The suspect, identified as Gregory Paul Ulrich, 67, was taken into custody after the violence, which local media reported also involved an explosion inside the Allina Clinic in Buffalo, Minnesota, about 35 miles (55 km) northwest of Minneapolis. 'I'm not a cat,' says lawyer after Zoom filter mishap

When Judge Roy Ferguson opened up virtual proceedings of the 394th Judicial District Court in Texas on Zoom on Tuesday, he was not expecting to see two lawyers and a kitten. The cute blue-eyed "cat" in the bottom right corner was actually county attorney Rod Ponton, covered by a filter.