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

Trump’s fate rests with McConnell in impeachment trial

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump needs Mitch McConnell more than ever.

With Trump finally facing his impeachment trial, this promises to be a defining moment for both men, They started their relationship unevenly three years ago when Trump stunned Washington with his sweep to power but have since fallen into an easy partnership that will be put to its biggest test.

The leader of the Republican-majority Senate has already put his imprint on virtually every aspect of the upcoming trial. He corralled the GOP senators behind his strategy to brush back Democratic demands for new witnesses and testimony. On Monday, McConnell and Senate Republicans were trying to decide whether to include a motion to simply dismiss the charges against Trump outright, as the president wants, in the organizing resolution for the trial, according to a person familiar with the matter but unauthorized to discuss it.

The Kentucky Republican is working hand in hand with the White House. He doesn’t pretend to be an impartial arbiter.

“The House has done enough damage,” McConnell said Monday as he opened the chamber. “The Senate is ready to fulfil our duty.”

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US troops in Iraq got warning hours before Iranian attack

AIN AL-ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AP) — American troops were informed of an impending missile barrage hours before their air base in Iraq was struck by Iran, U.S. military officials said Monday, days after the attack that marked a major escalation between the longtime foes.

At 11 p.m. on Jan. 7, U.S. Lt. Col. Antoinette Chase gave the order for American troops at Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq, to go on lockdown. Military movements froze as her team, responsible for emergency response at the base, sent out alerts about the threat. At 11:30 p.m., she gave the order to take cover in bunkers.

The first strike landed sometime after 1:35 a.m. on Jan. 8 and the barrage continued for nearly two hours. Half way through the attack, Chase learned the missiles were being launched from Iran.

No American soldiers were killed or wounded, the U.S. has said, although several troops were treated for concussions from the blast and are being assessed, said Col. Myles Caggins, a spokesman at the base for the U.S. coalition fighting the Islamic State group.

“The reason why we pushed it at 2330 is because at that point in time all indications pointed to something coming,” she told reporters touring the base. “Worst case scenario — we were told was it’s probably going to be a missile attack. So we were informed of that.”

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Queen agrees to let Harry, Meghan move part time to Canada

SANDRINGHAM, England (AP) — Britain’s pragmatic queen brokered a deal Monday to secure the future of the monarchy, charting a course for Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, that allows them to live part time in Canada while still remaining firmly tied to the House of Windsor.

The decision followed a summit at Queen Elizabeth II’s Sandringham estate in eastern England that sought to resolve the conundrum of what to do with royals who only want the job part time. The British monarch said in a statement that the summit of senior royals was “constructive,” and that it had been “agreed that there will be a period of transition” to sort things out during which Meghan and Harry will spend time in both Canada and the U.K.

“My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family,” the queen said in a statement that offered a demonstrably soft tone. “Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.”

Royal statements are usually sticklers for protocol, but the queen referred to “my grandson and his family” and “Harry and Meghan” rather than using the couple’s formal title, Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The summit marked the first face-to-face talks with Harry since he and Meghan unveiled their controversial wish last week to step back from their royal roles, become financially independent and split their time between Britain and North America. The meeting reflected the queen’s desire to contain the fallout from the independence announcement, which prompted hurt feelings among senior family members not told in advance of the decision.

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Sanders didn’t think woman could win presidency, Warren says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elizabeth Warren said Monday that fellow Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told her he didn’t think a woman could win the White House when they met privately in 2018.

Sanders has denied telling Warren that a woman couldn’t win. But the Massachusetts senator said in a statement that during their two-hour meeting to discuss the 2020 election, “among the topics that came up was what would happen if Democrats nominated a female candidate. I thought a woman could win; he disagreed.”

The dispute marked an extraordinary turning point in a Democratic primary that, with few exceptions, has been characterized by genial differences over domestic issues such as health care. The feud brewing between Warren and Sanders will likely change the tone of the campaign going into Tuesday’s debate and comes less than three weeks before the Iowa caucuses launch the Democratic contest. It also marks a jarring split between the two longtime progressive allies, potentially giving an opening for a more moderate rivals such as former Vice-President Joe Biden to attempt unifying the party.

In her statement, Warren said she and Sanders “have far more in common than our differences on punditry.”

“I’m in this race to talk about what’s broken in this country and how to fix it — and that’s what I’m going to continue to do,” she said. “I know Bernie is in the race for the same reason. We have been friends and allies in this fight for a long time, and I have no doubt we will continue to work together to defeat Donald Trump and put our government on the side of the people.”

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Russians hacked company key to Ukraine scandal: researchers

BOSTON (AP) — A U.S. cybersecurity company says Russian military agents successfully hacked the Ukrainian gas company at the centre of the scandal that led to President Donald Trump’s impeachment.

Russian agents launched a phishing campaign in early November aimed at stealing the login credentials for employees of Burisma Holdings, the gas company, according to Area 1 Security, a Silicon Valley company that specializes in email security.

Hunter Biden, son of former U.S. vice-president and Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden, previously served on Burisma’s board.

It was not clear from an eight-page report posted online by Area 1 what the hackers were looking for or may have obtained. The timing of the operation suggests, however, that the Russian agents could be searching for material that could damage the Bidens.

The House of Representatives impeached Trump in December for abusing the power of his office by enlisting the Ukrainian government to investigate Biden, a political rival, ahead of the 2020 election. A second charge accused Trump of obstructing a congressional investigation into the matter.

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Design of AR-15 could derail charges tied to popular rifle

DALLAS (AP) — A subtle design feature of the AR-15 rifle has raised a technical legal question that is derailing cases against people who are charged with illegally buying and selling the gun’s parts or building the weapon.

At issue is whether a key piece of one of America’s most popular firearms meets the definition of a gun that prosecutors have long relied on.

For decades, the federal government has treated a mechanism called the lower receiver as the essential piece of the semiautomatic rifle, which has been used in some of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings. Prosecutors regularly bring charges based on that specific part.

But some defence attorneys have recently argued that the part alone does not meet the definition in the law. Federal law enforcement officials, who have long been concerned about the discrepancy, are increasingly worried that it could hinder some criminal prosecutions and undermine firearms regulations nationwide.

“Now the cat is out of the bag, so I think you’ll see more of this going on,” said Stephen Halbrook, an attorney who has written books on gun law and history. “Basically, the government has gotten away with this for a long time.”

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Anger in Iran over jet’s downing; gunfire disperses protests

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Popular anger swelled Monday in Iran over the accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian jetliner and the government’s attempt to conceal its role in the tragedy, as online videos appeared to show security forces firing live ammunition and tear gas to disperse protests in the streets.

Iranians, already suffering under crippling U.S. sanctions, expressed shock and outrage over the plane crash that killed scores of young people. They also decried the misleading statements from top officials, who only admitted responsibility three days later in the face of mounting evidence.

The country began last week engulfed in mourning after a U.S. drone strike killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who led Iran’s regional military interventions. Then on Jan. 8, it responded with a ballistic missile attack on two bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq, although there were no casualties. Hours after that barrage, as it braced for a U.S. counterattack that never came, Iranian forces accidentally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines jetliner, killing all 176 people aboard shortly after it took off from Tehran for Kyiv.

For a growing number of critics — from ordinary citizens to notable athletes and artists — the events have revealed a government that is incapable of following through on its incendiary rhetoric and willing to mislead its own people about a national tragedy in order to avoid embarrassment.

Those sentiments first boiled over late Saturday, shortly after the Revolutionary Guard admitted shooting the plane down by mistake. A candlelight vigil at a university rapidly turned into an anti-government demonstration.

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Hinch, GM fired for Astros sign stealing after MLB bans pair

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal cost manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow their jobs, and Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora could be next.

Hinch and Luhnow were fired Monday after being suspended by Major League Baseball for the team’s illicit use of electronics to steal signs during Houston’s run to the 2017 World Series title and again in the 2018 season.

In U.S. sports’ largest scandal since the New England Patriots’ “Spygate,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the discipline and strongly hinted that Cora — the Astros bench coach in 2017 — will face equal or more severe punishment. Manfred said Cora developed the sign-stealing system used by the Astros. The Red Sox are under investigation for stealing signs in Cora’s first season as manager in 2018, when Boston won the World Series.

Houston was fined $5 million, the maximum allowed under the Major League Constitution, as punishment. The Astros will also forfeit their next two first- and second-round amateur draft picks.

The investigation found that the Astros used the video feed from a centre field camera to see and decode the opposing catcher’s signs. Players banged on a trash can to signal to batters what was coming, believing it would improve the batter’s odds of getting a hit.

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Philippine volcano spews lava, ash for 3rd day, 30,000 flee

TAGAYTAY, Philippines (AP) — A volcano near the Philippine capital spewed lava, ash and steam and trembled constantly Tuesday on the third day of an eruption that could portend a much bigger and dangerous eruption, officials warned as tens of thousands of people fled ash-blanketed villages in the danger zone.

The continuing restiveness of the Taal volcano after it rumbled to life Sunday indicates magma may still be rising to the crater, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. It raised the alert level to 4, indicating a hazardous eruption is possible in hours to days. Level 5, the highest, means such an eruption is underway.

The volcano was spurting fountains of red-hot lava 500 metres (1,640 feet) into the sky with dark-gray plumes of ash-laden steam that reached 2 kilometres (more than 1 mile) high. The massive volcanic column at times flashed with streaks of lightning.

More than 200 earthquakes have been detected in and around Taal, 81 of which were felt with varying intensities. “Such intense seismic activity probably signifies continuous magmatic intrusion beneath the Taal edifice, which may lead to further eruptive activity,” the volcanology institute said.

The picturesque volcano in the middle of a lake in Batangas province south of Manila rumbled to life Sunday in a powerful explosion that blasted a 15-kilometre (9-mile) column of ash, steam and pebbles into the sky. Clouds of volcanic ash blowing over Manila, 65 kilometres (40 miles) to the north, closed the country’s main airport Sunday and part of Monday until the ashfall eased.

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The Latest: LSU leads Clemson 28-17 after entertaining half

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The latest from the College Football Playoff championship game between No. 1 LSU and No. 3 Clemson in New Orleans (all times local):

9:25 p.m.

The College Football Playoff championship hasn’t disappointed after a long layoff.

Joe Burrow’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Thaddeus Moss, set up by the quarterback’s 29-yard, third down scramble, has given No. 1 LSU a 28-17 lead over No. 3 Clemson at halftime of Monday night’s title game.

After a slow start that saw LSU fail to cross its own 11 on its first two series, Burrow and Co. found their rhythm. LSU finished the second quarter with three unanswered touchdowns to erase a 10-point deficit that was its largest this season.