Trump dismisses Haiti, African countries with vulgarity

WASHINGTON (AP) — In bluntly vulgar language, President Donald Trump questioned Thursday why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and "shithole countries" in Africa rather than places like Norway, as he rejected a bipartisan immigration deal, according to people briefed on the extraordinary Oval Office conversation.

Trump's contemptuous description of an entire continent startled lawmakers in the meeting and immediately revived charges that the president is racist. The White House did not deny his remark but issued a statement saying Trump supports immigration policies that welcome "those who can contribute to our society."

Trump's comments came as two senators presented details of a bipartisan compromise that would extend protections against deportation for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants — and also strengthen border protections, as Trump has insisted.

The lawmakers had hoped Trump would back their accord, an agreement among six senators evenly split among Republicans and Democrats, ending a months-long, bitter dispute over protecting the "Dreamers." But the White House later rejected it, plunging the issue back into uncertainty just eight days before a deadline that threatens a government shutdown.

Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate' s No. 2 Democrat, explained that as part of that deal, a lottery for visas that has benefited people from Africa and other nations would be ended, the sources said, though there could be another way for them to apply. Durbin said people who would be allowed to stay in the U.S. included those who had fled here after disasters hit their homes in places such as El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti.

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Africa startled by Trump's sudden and vulgar attention

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Africans woke up on Friday to find President Donald Trump had finally taken an interest in their continent. It wasn't what people had hoped for.

Using vulgar language, Trump on Thursday questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and "shithole countries" in Africa rather than places like Norway in rejecting a bipartisan immigration deal.

The African Union continental body told The Associated Press it was "frankly alarmed" by Trump's comments.

"Given the historical reality of how many Africans arrived in the United States as slaves, this statement flies in the face of all accepted behavior and practice," AU spokeswoman Ebba Kalondo said. "This is particularly surprising as the United States of America remains a global example of how migration gave birth to a nation built on strong values of diversity and opportunity."

African governments quickly found themselves in an awkward position. As top recipients of U.S. aid, some hesitated to jeopardize it by criticizing Trump, especially as his administration has sought to slash foreign assistance.

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Members of Haitian community react to Trump's comments

President Donald Trump on Thursday questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from "shithole countries" after senators discussed revamping rules affecting those from Africa and Haiti, according to people briefed on the conversation. Members of the Haitian community react to Trump's comments:

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'UNFIT, UNKNOWLEDGEABLE'

The comments angered Illinois state Sen. Kwame Raoul, whose Haitian parents immigrated to the U.S. in the 1950s.

"I don't think there's any apologizing out of this," the Chicago Democrat said of Trump. "He's demonstrated himself to be unfit, unknowledgeable about the history of this country and the history of contributions that immigrants, particularly Haitian immigrants, have made to this country."

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Torrential California mudslide takes lives of elderly, young

MONTECITO, Calif. (AP) — The oldest victim swept away in a California mudslide was Jim Mitchell, who had celebrated his 89th birthday the day before. He died with his wife of more than 50 years, Alice.

The youngest, 3-year-old Kailly Benitez, was one of four children killed.

As their names and those of 14 other victims were released Thursday, crews kept digging through the muck and rubble looking for more people.

"At this moment, we are still looking for live victims," Santa Barbara fire Capt. Gary Pitney said. But he confessed: "The likelihood is increasing that we'll be finding bodies, not survivors. You have to start accepting the reality of that."

The Mitchells were in love with their home in the seaside enclave of Montecito where they moved in 1995, according to their daughter. They also loved their dog, Gigi, who is missing.

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Trump's first medical check-up as president set for Friday

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will be the patient, not the commander in chief offering comfort, when he visits the Walter Reed military hospital on Friday.

Trump is headed to the medical facility in Bethesda, Maryland, outside Washington, for his first medical check-up as president. But what has been a fairly routine exam for previous officeholders has taken on outsized importance in the age of Trump, given the tone of some of his tweets, comments attributed to some of his close advisers and Trump's recent slurring of words on national TV.

Some of the comments were published in a new book about Trump's first year, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" by Michael Wolff, which White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has denounced as "complete fantasy" for portraying her 71-year-old boss as undisciplined and in over his head as president.

Trump himself has pushed back hard against any suggestion that he's mentally unfit, declaring himself "a very stable genius."

Some questions and answers about Trump's physical:

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McSally launches Senate campaign in heated Arizona contest

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona Republican Congresswoman Martha McSally called on the national GOP to "grow a pair of ovaries" as she launched her bid for the U.S. Senate on Friday, joining the race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Jeff Flake by embracing President Donald Trump and his outsider playbook in one of the nation's premier Senate contests.

Like few others, the Arizona election is expected to showcase the feud between the Republican Party's establishment and its fiery anti-immigration wing in particular — all in a border state that features one of the nation's largest Hispanic populations.

McSally, a two-term congresswoman already backed by many GOP leaders in Arizona and Washington, described herself as anything but an establishment candidate in a fiery announcement video that touched on border security and Sharia law and featured Trump himself.

"Like our president, I'm tired of PC politicians and their BS excuses," McSally charged in in the video. "I'm a fighter pilot and I talk like one."

"That's why I told Washington Republicans to grow a pair of ovaries and get the job done," she added. "Now, I am running for the Senate to fight the fights that must be won — on national security, economic security and border security."

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Bill Cosby's next trial will carry weight of #MeToo movement

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jurors couldn't agree the first time around whether to accept a woman's story that "America's Dad," Bill Cosby, sexually assaulted her over a decade ago. Now he faces a retrial in less than 90 days in a vastly different cultural climate, one in which powerful men from Hollywood to the U.S. Senate are being toppled by allegations of sexual misconduct.

The jury in Cosby's case was hopelessly deadlocked on charges he drugged and molested a woman in 2004, and the judge declared a mistrial in June. But that was before the revelations about movie producer Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo movement burst into the public sphere.

The shift is clearly on Cosby's mind. He quipped to a reporter after shaking her hand Wednesday night outside a Philadelphia restaurant: "Please don't put me on MeToo."

Legal experts say the seismic change in believing and supporting victims of sexual harassment and assault — and the near-immediate ramifications for so many famous men — will surely trickle into the Cosby retrial, slated to begin April 2.

"Given the split last time, the challenge is going to be in jury selection," said Los Angeles lawyer Mark Geragos, who is not involved in the Cosby case but whose clients have included Michael Jackson. "Almost all cases are won and lost in jury selection, this case in particular."

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Man who aided hospital patient discharged in gown shocked

BALTIMORE (AP) — The man who said he came to the aid of a woman discharged from a Baltimore hospital wearing only a gown and socks on a cold winter's night, says he was left outraged and stunned at how she was treated.

Imamu Baraka, identified in local reports as the person who sought to help the woman, told The Associated Press he was so angry he decided to record Tuesday night's events on cellphone video, fearing no one would believe him if he reported a woman being left at a bus stop like that.

"I saw the unthinkable: another human in a wheelchair being wheeled out in the dead of cold," he said in the phone interview Thursday evening.

He described frigid temperatures in the 30s and a cold wind blowing at the woman's hospital gown, exposing her to the elements.

Baraka, who said he has a psychotherapy practice in a building across the street from the Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus, said he rushed back to his office, retrieved his cellphone, returned and hit "record" while growing increasingly angry.

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Some Walmart employees get raises, others to lose their jobs

NEW YORK (AP) — For some Walmart employees, the day brought news of a pay raise. Others learned they were out of a job.

Walmart said Thursday that it is boosting its starting salary for U.S. workers and handing out bonuses. The announcement came as the company also confirmed it is closing dozens of Sam's Club warehouse stores — a move that a union-backed group estimated could cost thousands of jobs.

The world's largest private employer said it was closing 63 of its 660 Sam's Clubs over the next weeks, with some shut already. Up to 12 are being converted into e-commerce distribution centers, the company said.

It did not disclose how many people would lose their jobs, but said some workers may be placed at other Walmart locations. Making Change at Walmart, a campaign backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, estimates that 150 to 160 people work at each Sam's Club store, meaning the closures could affect about 10,000 people.

Lauren Fitz, 22, said she was at her other job as a church secretary when a colleague texted to say that the Sam's Club where they both worked in Loveland, Ohio, had closed. Fitz had been pleased earlier to read the news that Walmart was boosting starting salaries and offering bonuses.

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Actresses, shows about women win big at Critics' Choice

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — It was a good night for women at the Critics' Choice Awards, which honored women-centered stories like "Big Little Lies," ''The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." ''Wonder Woman" was named best action movie and star Gal Gadot accepted a special award for challenging gender stereotypes.

Yet the industry's ongoing sexual misconduct crisis remained an element of the ceremony as James Franco won an acting award early in the evening, hours after a report detailed new misconduct allegations against "The Disaster Artist" star and director. Franco did not attend Thursday's presentation at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and his award was presented during a pre-telecast section broadcast only online.

Franco won a similar award at the Golden Globes earlier in the week, where most women dressed in black to protest sexual harassment. More women dressed in color on Thursday, but their determination to end gender discrimination remained just as fierce.

"I want to share this award with all the women and men who stand for what's right, standing for those who can't stand or speak for themselves," Gadot said as she accepted the second annual #SeeHer award. "My promise to you is: I will never be silenced. We will continue to band together to make strides, uniting for equality."

Guillermo del Toro's fantasy romance, "The Shape of Water," was the top film winner with four awards. Del Toro, who was also named best director, closed the show Thursday night by shouting that he's always believed in the equality of women.