USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former White House national security adviser John Bolton said he is “prepared to testify” if he is subpoenaed by the Senate in its impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, a surprise statement that bolstered Democrats in their push for new witnesses.

Bolton, who left the White House in September, said Monday that he has weighed the issues of executive privilege and after “careful consideration and study” decided that he would comply with any Senate subpoena.

“If the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify,” he said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The killing of a top Iranian general has ratcheted up the anxiety of families of Americans held in Iran, one month after the release of a New Jersey student had given them hope.

The Trump administration has made a priority of bringing home hostages held abroad, but the prospect of a resolution for the handful of captives in Iran seems to have dimmed with the two nations edging dangerously close to conflict and warning of retaliatory strikes and continued agitation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials braced for Iran to respond to the killing of its most powerful general, noting heightened military readiness in the country and preparing for a possible “tit-for-tat” attempt on the life of an American military commander.

NEW YORK, Jan 06 (APP): Worried about a military confrontation in the Gulf after the U.S. assassinated Iran’s top general, Saudi Arabia is dispatching a senior government minister to Washington on a mission to contain the escalating crisis, according to a media report.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has instructed his younger brother, Deputy Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, to travel to Washington and London in the next few days to urge restraint, Bloomberg News reported, citing the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

WASHINGTON, January 6./TASS/: The US troops won’t leave Iraq until Baghdad pays back for an expensive US air base built there, President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

"We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that’s there. It cost billions of dollars to build. Long before my time. We’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it," President Trump said.

"If there’s any hostility, that they do anything we think is inappropriate, we are going to put sanctions on Iraq, very big sanctions on Iraq," the president warned.

WASHINGTON, January 6. /TASS/: The US House of Representatives will vote this week on a resolution to limit President Donald Trump’s war powers on Iran amid increased tensions between the two countries, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter sent to Democratic members of Congress.

The resolution "reasserts Congress's long-established oversight responsibilities by mandating that if no further Congressional action is taken, the Administration's military hostilities with regard to Iran cease within 30 days," Pelosi wrote in her letter.

6 January 2020; AFP: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that Iran will probably try to attack American troops after a US strike killed a top Iranian commander.

"We think there is a real likelihood Iran will make a mistake and make a decision to go after some of our forces, military forces in Iraq or soldiers in northeast Syria," he told Fox News in remarks aired Sunday.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday continued its bid to deter Iran from retaliatory strikes with tough threats while U.S. lawmakers blamed Trump for leading the country into a less safe territory.

Trump on Sunday warned of a "disproportionate" response to Iran if it chooses to strike any U.S. citizen or asset.

ATLANTA (AP) — A wealthy Republican businesswoman set to be sworn in as Georgia’s next U.S. senator will enter the chamber with a unique distinction: Her first vote could be on whether to remove the president.

Kelly Loeffler is scheduled to be sworn in at 5 p.m. Monday during a short ceremony on the Senate floor in Washington.

Her first vote as a senator could come at the conclusion of President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — and Loeffler says she plans to vote against removing the president.

NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein is expected to be in a New York court Monday as his lawyers and a judge handle the final preparation for his trial on charges of rape and sexual assault.

After more than two years since the allegations first came to widespread public attention and catalyzed the #MeToo movement, jury selection is scheduled to start this week.

The disgraced movie mogul faces allegations that he raped one woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and performed a forcible sex act on a different woman in 2006.