Trump says change in power in Iran 'would be the best thing that could happen'
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says a change in power in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen” as the U.S. administration weighs whether to take military action against Tehran. Trump made the comments shortly after visiting with troops at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, on Friday and after he confirmed earlier in the day that he’s deploying a second aircraft carrier group to the Mideast for potential military action against Iran. Trump said the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, is being sent from the Caribbean Sea to the Mideast to join other warships and military assets the U.S. has built up in the region.
Journalist Don Lemon pleads not guilty to civil rights charges in Minnesota church protest
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Former CNN host Don Lemon has pleaded not guilty to federal civil rights charges in Minnesota. The veteran journalist is among several people accused in a Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official serves as a pastor. Four other people pleaded not guilty in the case Friday, including civil rights attorney and prominent local activist Nekima Levy Armstrong. Lemon says he was chronicling the protest as an independent journalist. Prosecutors have accused him of joining a “mob.” Lemon says he will fight to defend his First Amendment rights. Nine people have been indicted in the case.
Behind the scenes sorting through tips in cases like the Nancy Guthrie disappearance
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — More than 4,000 calls came into an Arizona sheriff's department within 24 hours after the release of videos of a masked person on Nancy Guthrie’s porch. Many will be worthless. Others could have merit. Experts say one thing’s certain: The tips can’t be ignored. Images of a mysterious person have been the most significant clues shared with the public during Guthrie’s disappearance in the Tucson area. She is the mother of NBC “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. Roberto Villaseñor, a former Tucson police chief, says processing tips is a tremendous amount of work. The FBI says it has collected more than 13,000 tips since Feb. 1, and the sheriff's office says it's received at least 18,000.
Iranian security use dragnet spanning the entire country to arrest protesters
CAIRO (AP) — A month after Iran launched a crackdown on nationwide protests, widespread arrests are roiling the country. Reports of raids on homes and workplaces have come from major cities and rural towns alike, revealing a dragnet that has touched large swaths of Iranian society. University students, doctors, lawyers, teachers, actors, athletes and filmmakers have been swept up. Activists say those who are arrested are often held incommunicado for days or weeks and prevented from contacting family members or lawyers. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency has put the number of arrests at more than 50,000 and the number of the deaths at more than 7,000.
Prime Minister Carney and Canada's main opposition leader hold hands during school shooting vigil
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and the country’s opposition leaders paid tribute to the victims of one of the worst mass shootings in the country’s history at a vigil in the devastated northern British Columbia town. Carney and Conservative Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre joined hands during the community vigil. Carney named each of the six people killed at the school and said the mother and brother of the shooter who were killed also “deserve to be mourned.” British Columbia Premier David Eby said the students of the school won’t ever have to return to the building if they don’t want to. School shootings are rare in Canada, which has strict gun-control laws.
US military strikes another alleged drug boat in Caribbean, killing 3
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military says it has carried out another deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the Caribbean Sea. U.S. Southern Command said Friday on social media that the boat “was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” It said the strike killed three people. A video linked to the post shows a boat moving through the water before exploding in flames. Friday’s attack raises the death toll from the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug boats to 133 people in at least 38 attacks carried out since early September in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Minneapolis left to decide future of streetside memorials to 2 people killed by federal officers
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Trump administration announced this week that its immigration crackdown in Minnesota is ending. Minneapolis will now need to decide how to manage the makeshift memorial sites for two U.S. citizens killed by federal agents. Flowers, handwritten signs and artwork have amassed around the sites where Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally shot last month. A spokesperson for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says it was “too early” for the city to comment on the future of the memorial sites. It took the city five years to determine plans for a permanent memorial site for George Floyd after he was murdered by a police officer in 2020.
Gifts and soup from 'Uncle Jeffrey': The Epstein ties that ended Kathy Ruemmler’s run at Goldman
NEW YORK (AP) — Kathy Ruemmler's resignation as Goldman Sachs’ top lawyer comes after emails show she stayed close with Jeffrey Epstein long after his conviction on sex crimes. Emails between her and Epstein show thousands of pages of correspondence, warm exchanges and expensive presents that go beyond a standard lawyer-client relationship. Emails show she received spa treatments, luxury items, and chicken soup when she felt sick. In some instances, she advised Epstein on how he might go about trying to repair his image and defend himself publicly against new claims of misconduct. The fallout raised questions inside Goldman about her judgment and conflicts.
What to know about the Homeland Security shutdown starting this weekend
Another shutdown for parts of the federal government is expected this weekend. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security is set to expire Saturday as lawmakers debate new restrictions on President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda. The White House has been negotiating with the Democrats, but the two sides failed to reach a deal by the deadline. Unlike the record 43-day shutdown last fall, the closures will be narrowly confined, as only agencies that are part of Homeland Security will be affected. Still some federal workers could begin to miss paychecks and services like airport screening could be affected if the shutdown drags on for weeks.
At Fort Bragg, Trump says Maduro raid showed 'full military might' of US and means 'we are feared'
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — President Trump used a Fort Bragg appearance on Friday to praise U.S. Special Forces for last month's raid that removed Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. But his visit also felt at times more like a political rally than an official trip to fete the military. Trump said he planned to award the Medal of Honor to one of the raid's participants. But he also called Michael Whatley, a Republican Senate candidate in North Carolina, to the stage. Trump told troops and their families that the operation against Maduro shows America’s military might. The president mentioned sending a second aircraft carrier group to the Middle East amid tensions with Iran and said that the U.S. is “feared” by potential enemies.
