AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EST

Relations between Trump, global elites seem to thaw at Davos

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Snow was piled high outside, but inside the Davos summit, relations between President Donald Trump and the assembled global elites seemed to thaw.

Before Trump’s debut appearance at the World Economic Forum, critics speculated that the president would function as a protectionist bull in the free-trade-loving china shop. After all, this was a former reality television star who rode a wave of nationalist angst to the White House, blew up international trade deals and inflamed allies with his coarse rhetoric.

That uncertainty was clear as Trump arrived at the modern conference centre Thursday for his two-day stay in the Swiss Alps. A hush fell on the crowd of people snapping photos and then someone asked the president how he would be treated.

“You tell me,” Trump shot back.

Overall, not that bad.

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Michigan St athletic director retires over Nassar sex abuse

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State University’s athletic director retired Friday, two days after the university president resigned over the school’s handling of sexual abuse allegations against its disgraced former sports doctor, Larry Nassar.

Mark Hollis, who had been in the job for 10 years, disclosed the move during a meeting with a small group of reporters on campus. He was asked why he would not stay on.

“Because I care,” Hollis said, holding back tears. “When you look at the scope of everything, that’s the reason I made a choice to retire now. And I hope that has a little bit, a little bit, of helping that healing process.”

Hours later, the university named its vice-president to serve as acting president after the departure of President Lou Anna Simon. Bill Beekman is expected to serve briefly in the role until the board of trustees can hire an interim president and then a permanent leader.

Also Friday, USA Gymnastics confirmed that its entire board of directors would resign as requested by the U.S. Olympic Committee. The USOC had threatened to decertify the organization, which besides picking U.S. national teams is the umbrella organization for hundreds of clubs across the country.

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Kin seeks Manson corpse to put ‘so-called monster’ to rest

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The fight for the corpse of Charles Manson was thrown out of a Los Angeles court Friday, as another potential heir stepped into the case and the grandson of the cult leader made an emotional plea to a judge.

In a hearing to determine the venue for legal battles over Manson’s estate and the disposition of his remains, Jason Freeman, whose father was born by Manson’s first wife, echoed the frustration of several parties who have been trying to get control of the notorious criminal’s body since he died in November.

“My grandfather has been on ice over 60 days,” Freeman blurted in court as he choked up.

Judge David Cowan divided the two dueling Manson cases, deciding that litigation over the potentially lucrative estate should remain in Los Angeles because that’s where Manson was living when he was arrested and convicted in the murders of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and eight others.

Cowan said the case over the remains, however, belongs in either in Kings County, where the cult leader was imprisoned or Kern County, where he died at 83 in a Bakersfield hospital Nov. 19. A hearing is already scheduled Wednesday in Bakersfield and the Kern County coroner, which has the body, requested the case be decided there.

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Moving past the wall: Trump plan takes on legal immigration

The most contentious piece of President Donald Trump’s new proposal to protect the so-called Dreamers has nothing to do with them. It’s the plan’s potential impact on legal immigration that sparked fierce Democratic opposition Friday and appeared to sink chances for a bipartisan deal in Congress.

The proposal outlined Thursday by the White House would end much family-based immigration and the visa lottery program, moves that some experts estimate could cut legal immigration into the United States nearly in half.

The plan would protect some 700,000 young immigrants from deportation and provide a pathway to citizenship, an offer the White House described as a concession to Democrats. But it also represented a victory for immigration hawks and a seismic shift for immigration policy in the U.S., which has long centred on the question of how to stop illegal border crossings, not how to curb legal immigration.

“It’s an enormous change in rhetoric and position,” said Alex Nowrasteh of the conservative Cato Institute. “Forever, people have talked about illegal immigration and now this anti-legal immigration position is standard for much of the Republican Party.”

The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, dismissed the plan Friday as a “wish list” for hard-liners. He acknowledged the bipartisan common ground on protections for the immigrants now shielded by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. But he accused Trump of using them as “a tool to tear apart our legal immigration system and adopt the wish list that anti-immigration hardliners have advocated for years.”

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Kimmel books Stormy Daniels on night of Trump speech

NEW YORK (AP) — ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel is bringing adult film star Stormy Daniels on his show next Tuesday on the night of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech.

Daniels is in the news following reports that she had an affair with the future president in 2006. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s lawyer arranged a payment to Daniels to prevent her from talking about the alleged encounter before the 2016 presidential election.

Kimmel announced the booking via Twitter. He wrote that he had many questions.

ABC on Friday confirmed the booking.

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Flu widespread across US for third straight week

NEW YORK (AP) — Sick with the flu? You’ve got a lot of company.

The flu blanketed the U.S. again last week for the third straight week. Only Hawaii has been spared.

The government doesn’t track every flu case but comes up with estimates. One measure is how many people seek medical care.

Last week, 1 in 15 doctor visits were for symptoms of the flu. That’s the highest level since the swine flu pandemic in 2009.

Thirty-nine states reported high flu traffic last week, up from 32 the week before.

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Secret report: Honduras’ new top cop helped cartel move coke

MEXICO CITY (AP) — When Jose David Aguilar Moran took over as Honduras’ new national police chief last week, he promised to continue reforming a law enforcement agency stained by corruption and complicity with drug cartels.

But a confidential Honduran government security report obtained by the Associated Press says Aguilar himself helped a cartel leader pull off the delivery of nearly a ton of cocaine in 2013.

The clandestine haul of more than 1,700 pounds of cocaine was packed inside a tanker truck that, the report says, was being escorted by corrupt police officers to the home of Wilter Blanco, a drug trafficker recently convicted in Florida and now serving a 20-year sentence.

Aguilar, who at the time was serving as chief of intelligence for Honduras’ National Police, intervened after a police official safeguarding the drugs was busted by a lower-ranked officer who had seized the tanker, the report says. The handcuffed officer called Aguilar, who ordered that the officer and the tanker be set free, says the report which was prepared by the Honduran Security Ministry’s Inspector General.

The U.S. street value of the cocaine involved could have topped $20 million.

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AP FACT CHECK: So where is Trump’s 3 per cent growth?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday praised an America that is “roaring back” just as his government was releasing figures showing a year of economic growth well short of what he told people to expect.

Trump’s speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, overstated U.S. economic performance on several fronts. A look at several of his claims and how they compare with the facts:

TRUMP: “Since my election, we’ve created 2.4 million jobs. And that number is going up very, very substantially.”

THE FACTS: Actually, job growth is going down.

Looking at annual totals, rather than totals since the November 2016 election, U.S. companies and other employers added 2.1 million jobs in 2017. That was actually the lowest job growth in seven years.

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Wynn Resorts shaken by misconduct claims against founder

NEW YORK (AP) — Wynn Resorts is denying multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault by founder Steve Wynn detailed in a Wall Street Journal report that sent shares of the casino company tumbling more than 10 per cent Friday.

The paper reported that a number of women say they were harassed or assaulted by the casino mogul and finance chair of the Republican National Committee.

One case led to a $7.5 million settlement with a manicurist, the paper reported. The detailed report relies on interviews with dozens of people who corroborate a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct with female employees.

The company says it is committed to operating with the “highest ethical standards and maintaining a safe and respectful culture.” In a statement sent to The Associated Press, it called the allegations part of a smear campaign related to divorce proceedings from Wynn’s ex-wife.

Wynn also denied the allegations personally.

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Howie Roseman’s master plan has Eagles in Super Bowl

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Howie Roseman wrapped his arms around Doug Pederson on the sideline in the final minute of Philadelphia’s lopsided win over Minnesota in the NFC championship game and flashed a big smile.

The most criticized team executive in the city engineered a dramatic turnaround.

After finishing last in the NFC East last season, the Eagles (15-3) are in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots (15-3).

Radio hosts, columnists, writers, fans and even bloggers are not blasting Roseman anymore because he made all the right moves to build a team that’s one victory away from the franchise’s first NFL title since 1960.

It’s been quite a journey for Roseman, the once-exiled executive vice-president of football operations.