In the heart of Trump Country, his base's faith is unshaken

SANDY HOOK, Ky. (AP) — The regulars amble in before dawn and claim their usual table, the one next to an old box television playing the news on mute.

Steven Whitt fires up the coffee pot and flips on the fluorescent sign in the window of the Frosty Freeze, his diner that looks and sounds and smells about the same as it did when it opened a half-century ago. Coffee is 50 cents a cup, refills 25 cents. The pot sits on the counter, and payment is based on the honor system.

People like it that way, he thinks. It reminds them of a time before the world seemed to stray away from them, when coal was king and the values of the nation seemed the same as the values here, in God's Country, in this small county isolated in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

Everyone in town comes to his diner for nostalgia and homestyle cooking. And, recently, news reporters come from all over the world to puzzle over politics — because Elliott County, a blue-collar union stronghold, voted for the Democrat in each and every presidential election for its 147-year existence.

Until Donald Trump came along and promised to wind back the clock.

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13 Days in July: The Trump White House's crucible

WASHINGTON (AP) — They were the 13 days that transformed the White House.

Even for an administration that spent most of 2017 throwing off headlines at a dizzying pace, events in the second half of July unfolded at breakneck speed. They encapsulated both the promise and peril of President Donald Trump's first year in office — and yielded aftershocks that reverberate within the White House even as the calendar turns to 2018.

The two-week span laid bare the splintering of Trump's relationships with two influential Cabinet members; foreshadowed the reach of the Russia probe into the interior of his orbit; saw the dramatic, last-minute defeat of one of the president's signature campaign promises; and featured a senior staff shakeup that reset the rhythms of this presidency.

From the outside, it was an unruly stretch that threatened to turn the White House into a sideshow. Inside the West Wing, the chaotic days between July 19-31 stand as a panicked memory but also one that also paved the way for future successes, according to nearly two dozen administration officials, outside advisers and lawmakers. Most of those interviewed for this account spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to talk publicly about private discussions.

For the record, though: "That was the extreme," said former press secretary Sean Spicer.

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10 Things to Know for Today

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. WHY TRUMP'S APPALACHIAN SUPPORTERS STILL BACK HIM

Trump's backers cheer on his controversial fights with the media and establishment politicians. They say they feel like he's fighting for them.

2. HOW 13 DAYS IN JULY SHAPED TRUMP WHITE HOUSE

The chaotic, two-week span from July 19-31 featured a senior staff shake-up and forewarned of the Russia probe's reach into the president's orbit.

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Obama to Prince Harry: 'Serenity' on leaving White House

LONDON (AP) — Former President Barack Obama told Prince Harry in an interview broadcast Wednesday that he felt serene the day he left the White House despite the sense that much important work remained unfinished.

Obama said it was "hugely liberating" to be able to set his own agenda in the morning and to have the time to talk with his wife, Michelle, now that he is no longer president.

He spoke with Harry in the prince's capacity as guest editor of the BBC Radio 4 news program. Both men said the interview, recorded in Canada in September, was Obama's first since leaving the presidency in January.

"I miss the work itself because it was fascinating," Obama said of his eight years in the Oval Office, citing his health care reforms as one of his proudest achievements.

He did not mention his successor, President Donald Trump, but did say people in government should be careful in their use of social media.

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Days of bitter cold ahead for Midwest, Northeast

CHICAGO (AP) — A white Christmas for much of the Northeast and Midwest has given way to bitter cold until the New Year.

Residents should expect colder-than-normal temperatures for the rest of the week, according to Chicago-area National Weather Service meteorologist Amy Seeley. Temperatures hovered around zero degrees in Chicago on Tuesday.

A Christmas storm also dumped a record amount of snow on the Erie, Pennsylvania, area. And the National Weather Service said at least an additional 5 to 10 inches were expected through Wednesday. The storm brought 34 inches of snow on Christmas Day, an all-time daily snowfall record for Erie. Another 24.5 inches fell by Tuesday night, bringing the total since Dec. 23 to more than 62.9 inches.

The city issued a snow emergency, citing "dangerous and impassable" roads.

Forecasters warn of sub-zero frigid arctic air and dangerously cold wind chills in much of the US.

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Singer files sex assault complaint against former Trump aide

WASHINGTON (AP) — A singer and potential congressional candidate says she has filed a sexual assault complaint against President Donald Trump's former campaign manager for hitting her twice on her buttocks during a Washington gathering in November.

Joy Villa, a Trump backer who wore a "Make America Great Again" dress at the Grammys this year, said Tuesday she plans to meet with detectives in Washington next week about the complaint against Corey Lewandowski.

In a phone interview from Tampa, Florida, Villa said she was initially reluctant to come forward because she was worried about any backlash. But she said she called Washington's Metropolitan Police Department on Christmas Eve after a friend who witnessed the incident spoke about it publicly, and other friends urged her to come forward.

"I didn't know him at all," Villa said about Lewandowski. "I only knew him by reputation. He broke my trust."

She said she saw him at a gathering at the Trump International Hotel on the day after Thanksgiving, and said Lewandowski struck her "extremely hard" even after she told him to stop. She said she felt it was "disgusting and shocking and demeaning."

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Tax-free no more: Saudi Arabia, UAE to roll out VAT in 2018

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have long lured foreign workers with the promise of a tax-free lifestyle, plan to impose a 5 percent tax next year on most goods and services to boost revenue after oil prices collapsed three years ago.

The value-added tax, or VAT, will apply to a range of items like food, clothes, electronics and gasoline, as well as phone, water and electricity bills, and hotel reservations.

Elda Ngombe, a 23-year-old college graduate who's looking for a job in Dubai, said there's one specific purchase she's planning before next year's price hike: "Makeup, because I can't live without makeup."

"I am scared because everything is actually expensive already in Dubai. The fact that it's actually adding 5 percent is crazy," she said.

There will be some exemptions for big-ticket costs like rent, real estate sales, certain medications, airline tickets and school tuition.

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Prosecutors demand 12-year prison term for Samsung heir Lee

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a 12-year prison term for Samsung's jailed billionaire heir, Lee Jae-yong, who maintained his innocence during an appeal of his conviction on bribery and other charges.

In August, a lower court sentenced Lee to five years in prison for offering bribes to former South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her confidante while Park was in office. Both Lee and prosecutors, who earlier had requested a 12-year prison term, appealed that ruling.

Prosecutors said Wednesday during Lee's appeal hearing that they still want Lee to receive 12 years in prison, according to the Seoul High Court. South Korea's Yonhap News Agency cited the court as saying it will issue a ruling on Lee on Feb. 5, but calls to the court went unanswered.

If the court's ruling is appealed again either by Lee or prosecutors, his case will be handed over to the Supreme Court, which will make a final ruling on him.

Lee's bribery case is part of a huge political scandal that led to the ouster of Park in late March after millions of South Koreans took to streets for anti-government rallies for months. Park and her friend, Choi Soon-sil, were arrested and charged with taking bribes from Samsung in return for helping Lee cement his control of the company for a smooth transfer of power.

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APNewsBreak: Ex-trooper charged had other Taser misconduct

DETROIT (AP) — Michigan State Police tried but failed to suspend a trooper for his use of a stun gun months before he fired a Taser at a teenager who crashed an all-terrain vehicle and died, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.

Mark Bessner is charged with murder in the death of Damon Grimes, but it wasn't his only incident involving a Taser. Details are in personnel documents released to the AP through a public records request.

State police wanted to suspend Bessner for 10 days for firing his Taser twice at a handcuffed man who was running away in 2016. But an arbitrator said there was no "just cause" for discipline.

In 2014, Bessner fired his Taser at a suspect who was handcuffed. He agreed to a five-day suspension, records show, but four days were eventually dropped. It apparently was his first case of misconduct.

Bessner, 43, now faces serious legal trouble. He was charged last week with second-degree murder in the August death of Damon Grimes of Detroit, who was joyriding on an all-terrain vehicle when the trooper fired his stun gun. The 15-year-old crashed and died.

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Treasury issues sanctions against 2 North Korean officials

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department issued sanctions Tuesday against two officials it describes as "key leaders of North Korea's unlawful weapons programs."

The sanctions against Kim Jong Sik and Ri Pyong Chol block them from any property or interests in property within U.S. jurisdiction, and prohibit them from transactions with American citizens. Treasury said the men are senior officials in North Korea's Munitions Industry Department.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the sanctions are part of the United States' "maximum pressure campaign" to isolate North Korea and "achieve a fully denuclearized Korean Peninsula."

The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions against North Korea on Friday in response to its latest launch of a ballistic missile, which Pyongyang says is capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.

Baik Tae-hyun, spokesman of South Korea's Unification Ministry, expressed hope Wednesday that the continuing campaign of sanctions and pressure will eventually force North Korea into "making the right decision" and engaging in dialogue over its nuclear program.