Trump threatens to cut off US aid to Palestinian Authority

WASHINGTON (AP) — Acknowledging his push to broker peace in the Middle East has stalled, President Donald Trump on Tuesday appeared to threaten to cut off U.S. aid money to the Palestinian Authority, asking why the U.S. should make "any of these massive future payments" when the Palestinians are "no longer willing to talk peace."

Trump, in a pair of tweets, said the U.S. pays "the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect."

"They don't even want to negotiate a long overdue ... peace treaty with Israel," he wrote.

Trump infuriated Palestinians and Muslims across the Middle East when he announced late last year that the U.S. would consider Jerusalem the capital of Israel and move its embassy there, upending decades of U.S. policy and igniting protests.

While the Palestinians haven't closed the door to a potential deal with Israel, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said the announcement had destroyed Trump's credibility as a Mideast peace broker, calling the decision "a declaration of withdrawal from the role it has played in the peace process."

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10 Things to Know for Wednesday

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

1. TRUMP ROOTS ON IRANIAN PROTESTERS

In throwing the full weight of the U.S. government behind the protesters, the administration risks helping Iranian authorities dismiss the demonstrations as the product of American instigation.

2. ORRIN HATCH WON'T SEEK RE-ELECTION

The decision by the Utah Republican, who has spent more than 40 years in the Senate, opens the door for former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney to run for his seat.

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US sees surge in women interested in running for office

ATLANTA (AP) — Inside a classroom at a community college in Dallas, about two dozen women took turns sharing their names, hometowns and what they hoped would be their future titles.

Congresswoman. State representative. County judge.

It was part of a training held by EMILY's List, an organization dedicated to electing women at all levels of government who support abortion rights. One of the presentation's PowerPoint slides flashed a mock advertisement on the projector screen: "Help Wanted: Progressive Women Candidates."

A record number of women appear to be answering that call, fueled largely by frustration on the Democratic side over the election of President Donald Trump and energized by Democratic women winning races in Virginia in November. Experts say 2018 is on track to be a historic year, with more women saying they are running at this point than ever before.

"I've never seen anything like this," said Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY's List. "Every day, dozens more women come to our website, come to our Facebook page and say, 'I am mad as hell. I want to do something about it. What should I do now?'"

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Ex-hostage Boyle charged with sex assault, confinement

TORONTO (AP) — A Canadian man recently freed with his American wife and children after years being held hostage in Afghanistan has been arrested and faces at least a dozen charges including sexual assault, his lawyer said Tuesday

Attorney Eric Granger said Joshua Boyle also faces assault and forcible confinement charges.

Boyle, his wife Caitlan, and their three children were rescued last year in Pakistan, five years after the couple was abducted by a Taliban-linked militant group while on a backpacking trip in neighboring Afghanistan. The children were born in captivity.

A hearing on the case was scheduled for Wednesday in Ottawa, but the lawyer said Boyle would not attend in person. He said Boyle was in custody.

Ottawa police declined comment. Granger said he had not seen the court documents yet.

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Man who killed Colorado deputy livestreamed himself

DENVER (AP) — Videos made by the man who shot and killed a Colorado sheriff's deputy after concerns were raised about his mental health show the gunman calling 911 and then opening his apartment door and talking to responding officers before the shooting.

The footage , livestreamed on Periscope, was obtained by Denver's KUSA-TV. The station broadcast clips from two videos in which Matthew Riehl says he would not hurt anyone except to defend himself before calling authorities.

"Maybe I bought over 1,000 rounds of ammunition from Walmart. It's not illegal," he says.

Later, he tells a police dispatcher that a man had invited him to his house and was acting strangely.

When authorities arrive at Riehl's suburban Denver apartment, the footage shows him talking to at least two officers, telling them he wants to file an emergency restraining order against his domestic partner. He is upset when one officer offers to give him a phone number to call, and leaves the doorway to go back into a room.

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Iran protests: Supreme leader blames 'enemies' for meddling

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Breaking his silence over nationwide protests that included calls for his ouster, Iran's supreme leader on Tuesday blamed the demonstrations on "enemies of Iran," saying they were meddling in its internal affairs.

The remarks by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the demonstrations — the largest seen in Iran since its disputed 2009 presidential election — came after a bloody night that saw protesters try to storm a police station and the first deaths among its security forces. The unrest has killed at least 21 people in the past six days.

The protests began Dec. 28 in Mashhad over the weak economy and a jump in food prices. They have since expanded to cities and towns in nearly every province. Hundreds have been arrested, and a prominent judge warned that some could face the death penalty.

Speaking to black-chador-clad women who were relatives of veterans and war dead, the 78-year-old Khamenei warned of an enemy "waiting for an opportunity, for a crack through which it can infiltrate."

"Look at the recent days' incidents," he said. "All those who are at odds with the Islamic Republic have utilized various means, including money, weapons, politics and (the) intelligence apparatus, to create problems for the Islamic system, the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution."

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Trump throws full US support behind protesters in Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Tuesday threw the weight of the U.S. government behind the protesters taking to the streets of Iran, rooting them on despite the risk of helping Iranian authorities dismiss a week of major demonstrations as the product of American instigation.

As Iran's supreme leader accused "enemies of Iran" of trying to destabilize his country, the State Department pressed Tehran to unblock social media sites used by the protesters. It even offered advice to tech-savvy Iranians on circumventing state internet controls.

President Donald Trump declared it was "time for change" in Iran, and other officials floated the possibility of additional sanctions. At the United Nations, Ambassador Nikki Haley sought a Security Council meeting to show support for those protesting in the Islamic Republic.

"We want to help amplify the voices of the Iranian people," said Haley, who appeared before cameras to recite the chants of protesters across Iran. She said Iran's claim that other countries were fomenting the unrest was "complete nonsense," describing the dissent as homegrown.

Borrowing from a response playbook it has used before, Iran's government blamed the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Britain for the protests. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the 78-year-old supreme leader, said Iran's enemies were using money, weapons, politics and spies "to create problems for the Islamic system, the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution."

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AP FACT CHECK: Trump can't claim credit for zero jet deaths

WASHINGTON (AP) — There were no commercial passenger jet deaths anywhere in the world last year. It's a remarkable record, but is it fair for President Donald Trump to claim some of the credit?

Not exactly. Global and U.S. commercial aviation deaths have been trending downward for more than a decade due to a variety of factors.

A look at commercial aviation's safety record globally and in the U.S., as well as the president's role:

TRUMP: "Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation. Good news - it was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record!"

THE FACTS: The Dutch aviation consultancy To70 and the Aviation Safety Network reported Monday that there were no commercial passenger jet deaths last year, although there were two fatal regional airline crashes involving small turboprop planes in Angola and Russia. There were also fatal accidents involving cargo airliners.

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Sen. Hatch to retire, opening door for possible Romney run

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said Tuesday he will not seek re-election after serving more than 40 years in the Senate, opening the door for 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney to run for his seat.

The 83-year-old Hatch, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, opted for retirement despite a full-court press from President Donald Trump to stay in Washington, particularly as Romney's ambition for the seat became apparent.

Romney was a vocal critic of Trump's during the 2016 election and could be a potential thorn in the president's side in the Senate. He also has drawn the ire of Trump's former White House adviser, Steve Bannon, who recently derided Romney as a draft dodger who "hid behind" his Mormon religion to avoid serving in the Vietnam War.

Hatch said he decided to retire at the end of his seventh term after "much prayer and discussion with family and friends" over the holiday break. He said he's always been a fighter, "but every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves."

"Only in a nation like ours could someone like me — the scrappy son of a simple carpenter — grow up to become a United States Senator," he added.

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Bitter cold tests winter-wise, delivers shock to South

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bitterly cold temperatures gripped much of the nation on Tuesday, testing the mettle of even winter-wise northerners and delivering a shock to those accustomed to far milder weather in the South.

The cold has been blamed for at least a dozen deaths, prompted officials to open warming centers in the Deep South and triggered pleas from government officials to check on neighbors, especially those who are elderly, sick or who live alone.

In St. Louis, where temperatures dipped 30 degrees below normal, Mayor Lyda Krewson warned it was "dangerously cold."

"It's important that people look out for anyone in need of shelter," she said.

The National Weather Service issued wind chill advisories and freeze warnings covering a vast area, from South Texas to Canada and from Montana to Maine. The arctic blast was blamed for freezing a water tower in Iowa, halting a ferry service in New York and even trapping a swan in a Virginia pond.