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

US, Iran step back from the brink; region still on edge

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Iran stepped back from the brink of possible war on Wednesday as President Donald Trump signalled he would not retaliate militarily for Iran’s missile strikes on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops. No one was harmed in the strikes, but U.S. forces in the region remained on high alert.

Speaking from the White House, Trump seemed intent on deescalating the crisis, which spiraled after he authorized the targeted killing last week of Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani. Iran responded overnight with its most direct assault on America since the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, firing more than a dozen missiles at two installations in Iraq. The Pentagon said Wednesday that it believed Iran fired with the intent to kill.

Even so, Trump’s takeaway was that “Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world.”

Despite such conciliatory talk, the region remained on edge, and American troops including a quick-reaction force dispatched over the weekend, were on high alert. Last week Iranian-backed militia besieged the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and Tehran’s proxies in the region remain able to carry out attacks such as the one on Dec. 27 that killed a U.S. contractor and set off the most recent round of hostilities.

Hours after Trump spoke, an ‘incoming’ siren went off in Baghdad’s Green Zone after what seemed to be small rockets “impacted” the diplomatic area, a Western official said. There were no reports of casualties.

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Analysis: Trump seeks election-year out after Iran strikes

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump said Iran was “standing down” from possible conflict with the U.S. But Trump himself was just as eager for an out.

Trump, by declining to take military action in retaliation for Iranian missile strikes against Iraqi bases that house U.S. troops, edged the nation back from the brink of a war that could have destabilized the Middle East. That fits with his broader foreign policy pattern: talk tough but stay away from armed conflict.

And that approach, mixed with a bit of luck and Iran’s own desire to avoid open conflict, could allow Trump to pull off dual election-year goals of projecting strength while placating those who backed him because of his promise to withdraw the United States from “endless” wars in the Middle East.

“This was clearly a speech that was designed to avoid the need to take further military action or open war, which I don’t think is the president’s desire or Iran’s desire,” said retired Adm. James Stavridis, NATO’s former supreme allied commander. “He’s in a very narrow space here: He wants to look tough and presidential but he campaigned on getting us out of these wars.”

Trump began casting about for an off-ramp as tens of thousands of Iranians mourned the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike and Tehran talked vengeance. When Iranian rockets flew over Iraq and slammed into two bases housing American soldiers Tuesday night, the president and his team waited before deciding on a response.

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Ukrainian jet crash kills 176, sets off mourning in Canada

The crash of a Ukrainian jetliner that killed 176 people in Iran touched off mourning Wednesday in both Ukraine and Canada — where many of the victims were from or were headed — and raised a host of questions about what went wrong. But U.S. intelligence officials said there was no immediate evidence it was shot down.

The jetliner, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, went down on the outskirts of Tehran during takeoff just hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at U.S. forces. While the timing of the disaster led some aviation experts to wonder whether it was brought down by a missile, Iranian officials disputed any such suggestion and blamed mechanical trouble.

“The rumours about the plane are completely false and no military or political expert has confirmed it,” Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman for the Iranian armed forces, was quoted by the semiofficial Fars news agency as saying. He said the rumours were “psychological warfare” by the government’s opponents.

In Washington, a Democrat who attended a classified briefing from Trump administration officials on Capitol Hill — including Defence Secretary Mark Esper, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and CIA Director Gina Haspel — said the briefers had no intelligence indicating the plane was shot down. The lawmaker spoke on condition of anonymity.

The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials. The crash just before dawn scattered flaming debris and passengers’ belongings across a wide stretch of farmland.

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AP FACT CHECK: Trump minimizes IS risk, distorts Iran payout

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump wrongly dismissed the continuing threat of the Islamic State group and spread a false tale of the U.S. paying out billions of dollars to Iran as part of the multinational deal freezing its nuclear program in an address Wednesday that fell short on facts.

He also made an assertion that is as dubious as it was provocative: that the Iranian missiles fired by Tehran at two military bases hosting U.S. forces in Iraq were paid for by money “made available” to Iran by the Obama administration.

A look at some of the president’s claims in his remarks on Iran’s missile strike on the two Iraqi bases:

TRUMP: “Three months ago, after destroying 100% of ISIS and its territorial caliphate …”

THE FACTS: His claim of a 100% defeat is misleading as the Islamic State still poses a threat.

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Prince Harry and Meghan to ‘step back’ as senior UK royals

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, say they plan “to step back” as senior members of Britain’s royal family, a stunning announcement that underscores the couple’s wish to forge a new path for royals in the modern world.

A statement issued Wednesday evening by Buckingham Palace, described as “a personal message from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” said Harry and Meghan intend to become financially independent” and to “balance” their time between the U.K. and North America.

“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,” the statement said. “We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the royal family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support her majesty the queen.”

The 35-year-old Harry, the youngest son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, is Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson and sixth in line to the British throne. With his ginger hair and beard, he has become one of the royal family’s most popular members.

Before marrying the prince in a royal wedding watched around the world in 2018, the 38-year-old Duchess of Sussex was an American actress known as Meghan Markle and a star of the TV show “Suits.” The couple’s first child, Archie, was born in May 2019.

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Impeachment standoff deepens, testing McConnell and Pelosi

WASHINGTON (AP) — The standoff over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial deepened Wednesday as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said there will be “no haggling” with Democrats as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demands for more details and witnesses.

McConnell’s Senate majority has the leverage Republicans need to launch Trump’s trial toward swift acquittal of the charges, but Pelosi’s reluctance to transmit the articles of impeachment leaves the proceedings at a standstill.

What started as a seemingly minor delay over process and procedures is now a high-stakes showdown between two skilled leaders facing off over the rare impeachment trial, only the third in the nation’s history.

“There will be no haggling with the House over Senate procedure,” said McConnell, R-Ky., who met later Wednesday with Trump at the White House. “We will not cede our authority to try this impeachment. The House Democrats’ turn is over.”

Three weeks have passed since the House impeached Trump on the charge that he abused the power of his office by pressuring Ukraine’s new leader to investigate Democrats, using as leverage $400 million in military assistance for the U.S. ally as it counters Russia at its border. Trump insists he did nothing wrong, but his defiance of the House Democrats’ investigation led to an additional charge of obstruction of Congress.

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From Lebanon, Ghosn defiant against Japan’s justice system

BEIRUT (AP) — Nissan’s fugitive ex-boss Carlos Ghosn made his first public appearance since being smuggled out of Japan , saying Wednesday he fled a “nightmare” that would not end and vowed to defend his name wherever he can get a fair trial.

Ghosn spoke to a room packed with journalists for more than two hours in the Lebanese capital, where he arrived last week after jumping $14 million bail despite supposedly rigorous surveillance — a bold and improbable escape that embarrassed Japanese authorities and has allowed him to evade trial on charges of financial misconduct.

Combative, spirited, and at times rambling, he described conditions of detention in Japan that made him feel “dead … like an animal” in a country where he asserted he had “zero chance” of a fair trial.

“For the first time since this nightmare began, I can defend myself, speak freely and answer your questions,” Ghosn said. “I didn’t run from justice, I left Japan because I wanted justice.”

Japanese officials, who were quiet in the aftermath of his escape during a long holiday break, spoke out quickly after Ghosn’s dramatic news conference. Chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said whether Ghosn would be extradited was Lebanon’s decision but that Japan would co-operate closely with international organizations “so that Japan’s criminal justice system can be operated appropriately.”

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Case of 2 missing kids grows to include deaths, cult rumours

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Two dead spouses, two missing children and rumours of a cult. Confusion is growing around a series of mysterious deaths and the disappearances of a 7-year-old boy and 17-year-old girl that tie back to a couple who have since vanished themselves.

Joshua “JJ” Vallow and Tylee Ryan haven’t been seen since September. Lori Vallow and her husband, Chad Daybell, never reported them missing and disappeared soon after being questioned about the children. What has followed is a twisted tale spanning two states that revealed the deaths of both their previous spouses, the couple’s doomsday beliefs and children who slowly slipped away from relatives who are desperate to find them.

“All I want before I go is just to see those children, and especially — and I’m being greedy — especially my boy JJ. My little man,” grandfather Larry Woodcock said Tuesday at a press conference in Idaho announcing a $20,000 reward for information leading to the kids.

Wife Kay Woodcock’s brother, Charles Vallow, adopted JJ when he was a baby. Charles and his wife, Lori Vallow, also raised Lori’s daughter from a previous relationship at their home in suburban Phoenix.

Lori Vallow was a hairdresser, always keeping JJ’s hair trimmed and styled, Larry Woodcock said. The Woodcocks, who live in Lake Charles, Louisiana, visited their grandson often and shared frequent phone calls and video chats when they couldn’t be there in person.

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Mississippi moms question state as they bury slain inmates

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — Manslaughter isn’t supposed to be a death sentence. Nor is burglary. Nor is armed robbery, selling cocaine or stealing a vehicle.

But that is what the mothers of three inmates say was ultimately given to their sons, all of whom were killed in prison violence last week. As they plan their children’s funerals, they are demanding answers. They want to know what happened, and why.

All three prisoners were slain by fellow inmates at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman last week. Two other inmates were killed in prisons elsewhere in the state. The outbreak of violence has brought national attention to problems that have long plagued Mississippi’s overstretched prison system.

The mothers were told by their sons’ fellow inmates that their deaths were gruesome.

“He was beat. He was stabbed. His chest, stomach. … He has, well, he had, a lot of bruises and things on him,” says Jeffrie Holliman of Hattiesburg, mother of 32-year-old Roosevelt Holliman, who died Jan. 2.

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Trebek: ‘Jeopardy!’ retirement isn’t imminent despite cancer

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — The brief farewell that Alex Trebek says will close his final “Jeopardy!” episode isn’t on the horizon.

“I don’t foresee that 30-second moment coming up in the near future,” Trebek said Wednesday, referring to his request for time to close out his decades-long run with the quiz show.

While treatment for pancreatic cancer is taking a toll, Trebek said he’s not ready to retire although he’s mulled it in recent years. He spoke during a panel promoting ““Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” with top contestants Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer, The prime-time contest is airing this week on ABC.

“When you’ve been in the same job for that long period of time and you’re in advanced years, it behooves you at some point to think about retiring. Now, thinking about retiring and retiring are two different things,” he said. “As long as I feel my skills have not diminished too much, and as long as I’m enjoying spending time with bright people like these three (contestants) … then I’ll continue doing it.”

Harry Friedman, the program’s ‘ long-time executive producer, said no successor was lined up.