East Coast set for wickedly cold weekend of sub-zero temps

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Brutally cold conditions are expected to envelop the East Coast most of this weekend, prompting wind chill warnings from Virginia to Vermont.

Temperatures will reach close to zero from Philadelphia to Boston through Saturday night, with wind chills making it feel like minus 10 degrees to minus 20 degrees. Even more temperate locations won't escape the cold, with the mercury dipping into the single digits in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., over the weekend — about 20 degrees below normal for this time of year.

The blast of cold air, which comes just days after a storm dumped as much as 18 inches (46 centimeters) of snow in some places, could bring the feeling of real jaw-clenching temperatures to people living further north.

The National Weather Service said Friday that temperatures in the Berkshire mountains in western Massachusetts could seem like a frosty minus 35 degrees, parts of New Hampshire and Maine could experience minus 45, and Vermont's mountain regions could feel like minus 50 degrees.

"It's definitely cold and the type of bone-chilling cold that happens every few years," said Dan Hofmann, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Baltimore. He added that the last time such extreme cold occurred was in February 2015.

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Trump seeks $18 billion to extend border wall over 10 years

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Trump administration has proposed spending $18 billion over 10 years to significantly extend the border wall with Mexico, providing one of its most detailed blueprints of how the president hopes to carry out a signature campaign pledge.

The proposal by Customs and Border Protection calls for 316 miles (505 kilometers) of additional barrier by September 2027, bringing total coverage to 970 miles (1,552 kilometers), or nearly half the border, according to a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the matter.

It also calls for 407 miles (651 kilometers) of replacement or secondary fencing, said the official, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the plan has not been made public.

Trump has promised "a big, beautiful wall" with Mexico as a centerpiece of his presidency but offered few details of where it would be built, when and at what cost. His administration asked for $1.6 billion this year to build or replace 74 miles (118 kilometers) of fencing in Texas and California, and officials have said they also will seek $1.6 billion next year.

The 10-year plan, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, resulted from discussions with senators who asked the agency what it would take to secure the border, the official said.

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1 winning ticket sold in $450 million Mega Millions drawing

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — One Mega Millions ticket matched all six numbers and will claim a $450 million grand prize.

The winning numbers drawn Friday night to claim the nation's 10th largest jackpot were 28-30-39-59-70-10.

It was not immediately known where the winning ticket was sold.

Lottery officials also increased the jackpot of Powerball, the other national lottery game, to $570 million. That drawing is Saturday night.

The jackpots refer to the annuity options for both games, in which payments are made over 29 years. Most winners opt for cash options, which would be $281 million for Mega Millions and $358.5 million for Powerball.

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Working class, hard hit by economic woes, fuels Iran unrest

CAIRO (AP) — The Iranian town of Doroud should be a prosperous place — nestled in a valley at the junction of two rivers in the Zagros Mountains, it's in an area rich in metals to be mined and stone to be quarried. Last year, a military factory on the outskirts of town unveiled production of an advanced model of tanks.

Yet local officials have been pleading for months for the government to rescue its stagnant economy. Unemployment is around 30 percent, far above the official national rate of more than 12 percent. Young people graduate and find no work. The local steel and cement factories stopped production long ago and their workers haven't been paid for months. The military factory's employees are mainly outsiders who live on its grounds, separate from the local economy.

"Unemployment is on an upward path," Majid Kiyanpour, the local parliament representative for the town of 170,000, told Iranian media in August. "Unfortunately, the state is not paying attention."

That's a major reason Doroud has been a front line in the protests that have flared across Iran over the past week. Several thousand residents have been shown in online videos marching down Doroud's main street, shouting, "Death to the dictator!" At night, young men set fires outside the gates of the mayor's office and hurl stones at banks. At least two people have been killed, reportedly when security forces opened fire. Overall, at least 21 people have died nationwide in the unrest so far.

Anger and frustration over the economy have been the main fuel for the eruption of protests that began on Dec. 28. President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, had promised that lifting most international sanctions under Iran's landmark 2015 nuclear deal with the West would revive Iran's long-suffering economy. But while the end of sanctions did open up a new influx of cash from increased oil exports, little has trickled down to the wider population. At the same time, Rouhani has enforced austerity policies that hit households hard.

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Latest revelation of Trump action opens new avenue in probe

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's effort to keep Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a vocal and loyal supporter of his election bid, in charge of an investigation into his campaign offers special counsel Robert Mueller yet another avenue to explore as his prosecutors work to untangle potential evidence of obstruction.

The federal investigation into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia already includes a close look at whether Trump's actions as president constitute an effort to impede that same probe. Those include the firing of FBI Director James Comey, an allegation by Comey that Trump encouraged him to end an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn and the president's role in drafting an incomplete and potentially misleading statement about a 2016 meeting with Russians.

The latest revelation — that Trump directed his White House counsel, Don McGahn, to tell Sessions not to recuse himself from the Russia investigation — is known to Mueller's investigators, who have interviewed many current and former executive branch officials. It adds to the portrait of a president left furious by an investigation that he has called a hoax and suggests that he worked through an intermediary to keep the inquiry under the watch of an attorney general he expected would be loyal.

Three people familiar with the matter confirmed to The Associated Press that McGahn spoke with Sessions just before he announced his recusal to urge him not to do so. One of the people said McGahn contacted Sessions at the president's behest. All three spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid publicly discussing an ongoing investigation.

"What this adds that is new is that he took action to prevent, to attempt to prevent, Sessions from recusing himself," said Notre Dame criminal law professor Jimmy Gurule, a former federal prosecutor. "So now we go simply beyond his state of mind, his personal beliefs, to taking concrete action to attempt to prevent Sessions from recusing himself."

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AP Interview: Tillerson says fix sought to law on Iran deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is working with key lawmakers on a legislative fix that could enable the United States to remain in the Iran nuclear deal, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The changes to the U.S. law codifying America's participation the 2015 agreement could come as early as next week or shortly thereafter, Tillerson said Friday. President Donald Trump faces a series of deadlines in the coming days about how to proceed with an accord he describes as terrible and too soft on Iran.

While the talks involving the White House, the State Department and Congress wouldn't increase restrictions on Iran's nuclear activity, as Trump also wants, they could strengthen the way the U.S. enforces the agreement, perhaps persuading Trump that it's worthwhile for the U.S. to stay in it.

"The president said he is either going to fix it or cancel it," Tillerson told the AP as he sat in front of a fireplace in his State Department office suite. "We are in the process of trying to deliver on the promise he made to fix it."

In a wide-ranging interview, Tillerson also chastised the European Union for failing to voice support for protesters in Iran. On North Korea, the former Exxon Mobil CEO said rare talks next week between South Korea and the North about the Olympics could offer clues about Pyongyang's willingness to discuss broader issues, including its nuclear weapons.

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FBI probing Clinton Foundation corruption claims

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is investigating whether the Clinton Foundation accepted donations in exchange for political favors while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, two people familiar with the probe confirmed Friday. The revelation comes as President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have been urging the Justice Department to look into corruption allegations involving the foundation.

It is unclear when or why the probe began, but the sources told The Associated Press it has been ongoing for several months, with prosecutors and FBI agents taking the lead from their offices in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the foundation has offices. The people were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The Hill newspaper first reported the probe.

Critics have accused the Clinton family of using the foundation to enrich themselves and give donors special access to the State Department when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state. But public corruption prosecutors in Washington expressed disinterest in working with the FBI on a Clinton Foundation-related investigation in 2016, saying they had concerns about the strength of the FBI's evidence.

A spokesman for the foundation, Craig Minassian, said it had been "subjected to politically motivated allegations, and time after time these allegations have proven false."

Trump has repeatedly called for an investigation into Clinton, her aides and the foundation, harping on Attorney General Jeff Sessions for not taking action. Democrats say Trump is trying to steer attention away from investigations examining whether his campaign was involved with Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election.

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'Wonder Woman' director Patty Jenkins leads AFI Awards toast

LOS ANGELES (AP) — With the American Film Institute's annual luncheon Friday recognizing the best in film and television, Hollywood's awards season is officially underway.

The schmooze-y celebration at the Four Seasons Hotel brought together the casts and creators of 2017's most celebrated movies and TV shows, many of which are also in contention for the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday.

"Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins led the honorees in a toast, during which she quoted former Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham (who is played by Meryl Streep in Steven Spielberg's "The Post," an AFI honoree and best picture nominee at the Globes).

"To love what you do and feel that it matters, how could anything be more fun?" Jenkins said. "We love what we do. It doesn't always matter — and often it doesn't — but sometimes it does, so it's always worth it to try."

With winners announced in advance and no trophies to accept onstage, the AFI Awards are an opportunity for collegial confabulation.

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Judge won't dismiss suit filed by brother of JonBenet Ramsey

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A judge declined to dismiss a $750 million defamation lawsuit filed against CBS by JonBenet Ramsey's brother.

The Boulder Daily Camera reports a circuit court judge in Michigan on Friday denied a motion by CBS and other defendants who asked that he toss the case.

Burke Ramsey sued CBS in December 2016, saying his reputation was ruined after a television series that concluded he killed his 6-year-old sister more than two decades ago.

The beauty pageant star was found dead in the basement of her family's home in Boulder the day after Christmas in 1996. A prosecutor cleared her parents and brother in 2008 based on DNA evidence.

Lawyers for CBS argue the statement that Burke Ramsey killed JonBenet "was never made in the series."

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Trump's White House setting records for early departures

WASHINGTON (AP) — Already setting turnover records, President Donald Trump's White House is bracing for even more staff departures and an increasing struggle to fill vacancies, shadowed by the unrelenting Russia probe, political squabbling and Trump's own low poll numbers.

Entering a grueling year that is sure to bring fresh challenges at home and abroad, Trump faces a brain drain across a wide swath of government functions, threatening to hamstring efforts to enact legislation or conduct even basic operations. Some departures are expected to come from senior ranks — the staff churn that makes headlines — but more are likely among the lesser-known officials who help to keep the White House and Cabinet agencies running.

In Trump's first year, his administration's upper-level officials have had a turnover rate of 34 percent, much higher than any other in the past 40 years, according to an analysis by Kathryn Dunn-Tenpas, a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. The study found that 22 of the 64 senior officials she tracked have resigned, been fired or reassigned.

Anecdotal evidence among more junior officials — the White House wouldn't release data — suggests similar departure rates, and White House aides acknowledge difficulty filling roles in the administration.

The presidency with the next-highest first-year turnover rate was Ronald Reagan's, with 17 percent of senior aides leaving in 1981. And Trump's first-year rate is three times Bill Clinton's 11 percent and Barack Obama's 9 percent.