Reuters US Domestic News Summary

A heavy odor of oil hung in the air as tractor trailers ferried generators, lighting and ground mats to a muddy site on the outskirts of this farming community, where a breach in the Keystone pipeline discovered on Wednesday spewed 14,000 barrels of oil. Kyrsten Sinema leaves Democratic Party, adding drama to tight U.S. Senate margin U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona is leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent, she said on Friday, just days after Democrats won a Senate race in Georgia and secured 51 seats in the 100-member chamber riven by deep political divisions.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Brittney Griner's return reignites debate about prisoner swaps

Thursday's release of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner in exchange for a convicted Russian arms dealer has resurfaced an old question: Do prisoner swaps do more harm than good? Amid the celebrations following Griner's return some critics, including members of Congress and federal law enforcement, argued such trades only encourage foreign states to target Americans to gain leverage over the United States.

U.S. sportswriter Wahl dies suddenly while covering World Cup

Well-known U.S. soccer journalist Grant Wahl died suddenly on Friday after collapsing while covering a match at the World Cup in Qatar, his agent said. U.S. Soccer said it was "heartbroken to learn" of Wahl's death. His wife responded to the U.S. Soccer statement on Twitter, saying she was "in complete shock".

Exclusive-Biden administration drafting executive order to simplify space rules -sources

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is drafting an executive order intended to streamline approval for private rocket launches amid a broader effort to bring legal and regulatory clarity for American companies on everything from space travel to private space stations, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the effort. The order would be part of a push by the White House's National Space Council to modernize U.S. space regulation, which has failed to keep up with the increasingly ambitious pace of private-sector investment and development.

Buffalo supermarket shooter seeks plea deal to avoid death penalty

The white man who admitted to shooting dead 10 Black people at a western New York grocery store in May would consider pleading guilty to federal charges if prosecutors do not pursue a death sentence, media outlets reported on Friday citing his attorneys. Lawyers for Payton Gendron, 19, moved to seek a plea agreement at a court hearing on Friday, less than two weeks after he pleaded guilty to state charges of murder and domestic terrorism.

Election denier Kari Lake sues Arizona elections officials

Defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake sued Arizona elections officials on Friday to challenge the counting and certification of the November electoral contest and ask to be declared the winner despite a lack of evidence of voter fraud. The suit targets Lake's Democratic opponent, Governor-elect Katie Hobbs, currently Arizona's secretary of state, along with top officials in Maricopa County, according to the filing on Friday with the Maricopa County Superior Court.

Investigators, cleanup crews begin scouring oil pipeline spill in Kansas

Emergency crews on Friday were preparing to labor through the weekend to clean up the largest U.S. crude oil spill in nearly a decade, with workers descending on this farming community from as far away as Mississippi. A heavy odor of oil hung in the air, according to a Reuters witness, as tractor trailers ferried generators, lighting and ground mats to a muddy site. Federal investigators were at the scene trying to help determine what caused a leak of some 14,000 barrels of oil from Western Canada, an official said.

U.S. Supreme Court to consider prohibition on encouraging illegal immigration

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a bid by President Joe Biden's administration to revive a federal law that makes it a criminal offense to encourage illegal immigration after it was struck down by a lower court as a violation of free speech rights. The justices took up the administration's appeal of a February ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals invalidating the law for infringing on rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.

Former Minnesota police officer gets 3-1/2 years in George Floyd case

A former Minneapolis police officer was sentenced on Friday to 3-1/2 years in prison for his involvement in the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died under the knee of another officer in May 2020, triggering nationwide protests against police brutality and racism. The officer, J. Alexander Kueng, pleaded guilty in October to a single state count of aiding and abetting manslaughter.

Kansas residents hold their nose as crews mop up massive U.S. oil spill

Residents near the site of the worst U.S. oil pipeline leak in a decade took the commotion and smell in stride as cleanup crews labored in near-freezing temperatures, and investigators searched for clues to what caused the spill. A heavy odor of oil hung in the air as tractor trailers ferried generators, lighting and ground mats to a muddy site on the outskirts of this farming community, where a breach in the Keystone pipeline discovered on Wednesday spewed 14,000 barrels of oil.

Kyrsten Sinema leaves Democratic Party, adding drama to tight U.S. Senate margin

U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona is leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent, she said on Friday, just days after Democrats won a Senate race in Georgia and secured 51 seats in the 100-member chamber riven by deep political divisions. "Like a lot of Arizonans, I have never fit perfectly in either national party," Sinema said in an article for the Arizona Republic newspaper.