AP Source: Trump had lawyer urge AG against Russia recusal

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump directed his White House counsel to tell Attorney General Jeff Sessions to not recuse himself from the Justice Department's investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The conversation between Don McGahn, the president's White House counsel, and Sessions took place on the president's orders and occurred just before the attorney general announced that he would step aside from the ongoing inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, according to a person with knowledge of the interaction. Two other people confirmed details of the conversation between McGahn and Sessions.

All three people spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press to avoid publicly discussing an ongoing investigation.

The episode is known to special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of prosecutors and is likely of interest to them as they look into whether Trump's actions as president, including the May firing of FBI Director James Comey, amount to improper efforts to obstruct the Russia investigation. Investigators recently concluded a round of interviews with current and former White House officials, including McGahn and former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.

The New York Times first reported that Trump had McGahn lobby Sessions against a recusal.

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In small breakthrough, Koreas will meet for talks on Tuesday

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The rival Koreas will sit down for their first formal talks in more than two years next week to find ways to cooperate on the Winter Olympics in the South and to improve their abysmal ties, Seoul officials said Friday. While a positive sign after last year's threats of nuclear war, the Koreas have a long history of failing to move past their deep animosity.

The announcement came hours after the United States said it will delay annual military exercises with South Korea until after the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, next month. The exercises infuriate North Korea, which claims they are an invasion rehearsal, although South Korea and the United States have repeatedly said they are defensive in nature.

On Friday morning, North Korea sent a message saying it would accept South Korea's offer to meet at the border village of Panmunjom next Tuesday to discuss Olympic cooperation and how to improve overall ties, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles North Korean matters. Panmunjom is where a North Korean soldier dashed across the border into the South in November. He is recovering after being shot five times by his former comrades.

Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said he expects the two Koreas will use a recently restored cross-border communication channel to try to determine who will head their respective delegations next week.

Any dialogue between the Koreas is seen as a positive step. But critics say the North's abrupt push to improve ties may be a tactic to divide Seoul and Washington and weaken international pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang.

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Trump-Bannon feud lays bare new fissure in fractious GOP

WASHINGTON (AP) — The acrimony surrounding former White House adviser Steve Bannon's very public break with President Donald Trump escalated Thursday, suggesting a permanent split between the president and the pugilistic strategist who helped put him in the Oval Office.

The new fissure in an already fractious Republican Party cast doubt on Bannon's hopes to foment a movement centered on "Trumpism without Trump."

It already has cost him a key backer. Rebekah Mercer, the billionaire GOP donor and Breitbart co-owner, issued a statement Thursday distancing her family from Bannon.

"I support President Trump and the platform upon which he was elected," she said. "My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements."

White House officials described the president as furious at Bannon's criticisms, laid out in an explosive new book that quoted the former aide as questioning Trump's competence and describing a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between Donald Trump Jr., Trump campaign aides and a Russian lawyer as "treasonous" and "unpatriotic."

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Blizzard rolls up the East Coast, with cold blast to follow

BOSTON (AP) — A massive winter storm roared into the East Coast on Thursday, dumping as much as 17 inches of snow in some areas and unleashing hurricane-force winds and historic flooding that closed schools and offices and halted transportation from the Carolinas to Maine.

Forecasters expected the storm to be followed immediately by a blast of face-stinging cold that could break records in more than two dozen cities and bring wind chills as low as minus 40 degrees this weekend.

Blizzard warnings and states of emergency were in wide effect, and wind gusts hit more than 70 mph (113 kph) in places. In parts of New England, snow fell as fast as 3 inches per hour.

Four people were killed in North and South Carolina after their vehicles ran off snow-covered roads, authorities said. Another fatality was reported near Philadelphia when a car could not stop at the bottom of a steep, snow-covered hill and slammed into a commuter train. A passenger in the vehicle was killed. No one on the train was hurt.

In New Jersey, Orlando Igmat's car got stuck in a snowbank along the Garden State Parkway in Tinton Falls as he drove to work at Verizon. He waited a half hour for a tow truck to pull him out.

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Sessions terminates US policy that let legal pot flourish

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration threw the burgeoning movement to legalize marijuana into uncertainty Thursday as it lifted an Obama-era policy that kept federal authorities from cracking down on the pot trade in states where the drug is legal. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will now leave it up to federal prosecutors to decide what to do when state rules collide with federal drug law.

Sessions' action, just three days after a legalization law went into effect in California, threatened the future of the young industry, created confusion in states where the drug is legal and outraged both marijuana advocates and some members of Congress, including Sessions' fellow Republicans. Many conservatives are wary of what they see as federal intrusion in areas they believe must be left to the states.

Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, who represents Colorado, one of eight states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use, said the change contradicts a pledge Sessions made to him before being confirmed as attorney general. Gardner promised to push legislation to protect marijuana sales, saying he was prepared "to take all steps necessary" to fight the change, including holding up the confirmation of Justice Department nominees. Another Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, called the announcement "disruptive" and "regrettable."

Colorado's U.S. attorney, Bob Troyer, said his office won't change its approach to prosecution, despite Sessions' guidance. Prosecutors there have always focused on marijuana crimes that "create the greatest safety threats" and will continue to be guided by that, Troyer said.

The largely hands-off approach to marijuana enforcement set forth by Barack Obama's Justice Department allowed the pot business to flourish into a sophisticated, multimillion-dollar industry that helps fund some state government programs. What happens now is in doubt.

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Trump moves to vastly expand offshore drilling off US coasts

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration moved Thursday to vastly expand offshore drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic oceans with a plan that would open up federal waters off California for the first time in more than three decades.

The new five-year drilling plan also could open new areas of oil and gas exploration in areas off the East Coast from Florida to Maine, where drilling has been blocked for decades. While some lawmakers in those states support offshore drilling, the plan drew immediate opposition from governors up and down the East Coast, including Republican Govs. Rick Scott of Florida and Larry Hogan of Maryland, who pressed President Donald Trump to withdraw their states from consideration.

Democratic governors on both coasts blasted the plan. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called it "another federal assault on our environment" while California Gov. Jerry Brown vowed to block "this reckless, short-sighted action."

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced the plan, saying that responsible development of offshore energy resources would boost jobs and economic security while providing billions of dollars to fund conservation along U.S. coastlines.

The five-year plan would open 90 percent of the nation's offshore reserves to development by private companies, Zinke said, with 47 leases proposed off the nation's coastlines from 2019 to 2024. Nineteen sales would be off Alaska, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico, nine in the Atlantic and seven in the Pacific, including six off California.

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AP FACT CHECK: Iranian leaders on foreign hand in protests

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As nationwide protests have shaken Iran over the last week, the Islamic Republic increasingly has blamed its foreign foes for fomenting the unrest.

So far, Tehran has not offered any evidence to support that claim, though Iran's opponents throughout the Middle East and elsewhere are looking on at the demonstrations with hope they'll force changes in its theocratic government.

Here's a look at what's been said, what's known and what remains unknown:

SUPREME LEADER AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, in a speech to veterans and their families: "The enemy is waiting for an opportunity, for a crack through which it can infiltrate. Look at the recent days' incidents. All those who are at odds with the Islamic Republic have utilized various means, including money, weapon, politics and intelligence apparatus, to create problems for the Islamic system, the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution. "

THE FACTS: Protests began Dec. 28 in the northeastern city of Mashhad, sparked by a jump in food prices, and initially focused on economic issues. The U.S. government believes that hard-liners initiated the demonstrations as a means to pressure President Hassan Rouhani, a relatively moderate cleric within Iran's political system.

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Former Peruvian strongman released from clinic after pardon

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori left the clinic Thursday where he has been receiving treatment since his controversial pardon from a 25-year jail sentence.

The 79-year-old former strongman departed in a wheelchair alongside his youngest son less than two weeks after President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski announced his release.

Dressed in jeans and a blue polo shirt, Fujimori waved to a crowd of supporters gathered outside the clinic before entering a black SUV.

"We are very happy to welcome our father in this new chapter of life!" daughter Keiko Fujimori posted on Twitter along with a photo featuring the family.

The pardon sent thousands of Peruvians into the streets in protest and drew international condemnation. United Nations human rights experts called Fujimori's pardon an appalling "slap in the face" to the victims of human rights abuses that undermined the work of Peru's judiciary.

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'Jeopardy' host Trebek has surgery for blood clots on brain

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Longtime "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek had surgery for blood clots on the brain, but assured fans he'd be back reading clues to contestants soon.

Trebek appeared in a video on the "Jeopardy" Facebook page Thursday to announce that he'd had the surgery during the show's holiday break.

Wearing a "Jeopardy" baseball cap and using the same tone he employs to explain difficult subjects on the show, Trebek says "I had a slight medical problem, subdural hematoma, blood clots on the brain caused by a fall I endured about two months ago."

"Surgery was performed," he continues, "after two days in the hospital I came home and started recovery. The prognosis is excellent, and I expect to be back in the studio taping more 'Jeopardy' programs very, very soon."

He gave no specific timetable for when he might return.

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Mother knows best: Serena opts out of Aussie title defense

Serena Williams' decision on whether or not to defend her Australian Open title four months after giving birth to her first child was never about merely being able to play at Melbourne Park.

The seven-time Australian Open champion confirmed Friday she wouldn't attempt to defend the title she won here last year, saying she wasn't completely sure she could win it.

Williams played in an exhibition tournament last weekend in Abu Dhabi and indicated after her loss to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko that she might not travel to Melbourne.

"After competing in Abu Dhabi I realized that although I am super close, I'm not where I personally want to be," Williams said in a statement Friday. "My coach and team always said 'Only go to tournaments when you are prepared to go all the way.' I can compete - but I don't want to just compete, I want to do far better than that and to do so, I will need a little more time.

"With that being said, and even though I am disappointed about it, I've decided not to compete in the Australian Open this year."