AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EST

Warren makes debate case: Democratic woman can beat Trump

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Elizabeth Warren made a forceful case for a female president and stood behind her accusation suggesting sexism by progressive rival Bernie Sanders in a Democratic debate that raised gender as a key issue in the sprint to Iowa’s presidential caucuses.

Sanders vehemently denied Warren's accusation, which threatened to split the Democratic Party’s left flank -- as well as the senators' longtime liberal alliance -- at a critical moment less than three weeks before voting begins.

“Look at the men on this stage. Collectively they have lost 10 elections,” Warren exclaimed on Tuesday night. "The only people on this stage who have won every single election that they’ve been in are the women.”

An incredulous Sanders responded: “Does anybody in their right mind think a woman can’t be elected president?” he asked. “Of course a woman can win."

There was a final moment of tension between Sanders and Warren after the debate ended. Having shaken the hands of her other competitors, Warren was shown in video declining to shake Sanders' extended hand.

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Key takeaways from Democratic presidential debate in Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Some key takeaways from Tuesday's Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines, the final forum before the Iowa caucuses:

CIVILITY AND SUBSTANCE OVER FIGHTING AND FRICTION

After the United States’ killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Democrats were bracing for fights over foreign policy. Instead, a whole lot of substance broke out.

There was a brief skirmish between Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who opposed the Iraq War, and former vice president Joe Biden, who apologized for supporting for it. But most of the opening 30-minute discussion — one-quarter of the time set for the debate — focused on the future.

Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and California businessman Tom Steyer tried to argue that their outside-the-Beltway resumes would be benefits in the Oval Office. “What we are hearing is 20 years of mistakes by the American government in the Middle East,” Steyer said. “It’s time for someone from the outside having a strategic view on what we’re trying to do.”

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The Crossing: What to watch as impeachment heads to Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — The articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump don't move to the Senate by themselves.

They are escorted by specific political stars along a tightly choreographed path from the House through the Capitol rotunda to the Senate for trial. There waits more history, pageantry and tradition of a type that's only been seen on television once, and not since the 1999 trial of President Bill Clinton.

Like Clinton, Trump is expected to be acquitted. But the nation has never seen Chief Justice John Roberts cross the street from the Supreme Court and preside over the Senate trial. Or witnessed four Democratic presidential candidates sitting in silence, without their phones, before they compete in the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses.

Also, Twitter was not a thing the last time this happened. It's now the accused president's favorite bullhorn to proclaim his innocence and his fury in real time.

What to watch Wednesday as the House transmits the impeachment articles to the Senate:

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Iran warns Europe as diplomat says officials 'lied' on crash

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's president warned Wednesday that European soldiers in the Mideast “could be in danger” after three nations challenged Tehran over breaking the limits of its nuclear deal. Tehran's top diplomat meanwhile acknowledged that Iranians “were lied to” for days following the Islamic Republic's accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian jetliner that killed 176 people.

President Hassan Rouhani's remarks in a televised Cabinet meeting represent the first direct threat he's made to Europe as tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington over President Donald Trump withdrawing the U.S. from the deal in May 2018.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's admission, which came at a summit in New Delhi on Wednesday, represents the first time an Iranian official referred to earlier claims from Tehran that a technical malfunction downed the Ukraine International Airlines flight as a lie. The shootdown has sparked days of angry protests in the country.

The current tensions between Iran and the U.S. reached fever-pitch two weeks ago with the American drone strike in Baghdad that killed the powerful Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani. The general had led Iranian proxy forces abroad, including those blame for deadly roadside bomb attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq.

Iran retaliated with a ballistic missile strike targeting Iraqi military bases housing U.S. forces early last Wednesday, just before an anti-aircraft battery shot down the Ukrainian airliner taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport.

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Questions of racism linger as Harry, Meghan step back

LONDON (AP) — When accomplished, glamorous American actress Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in 2018, she was hailed as a breath of fresh air for Britain’s fusty royal family. That honeymoon didn’t last.

Now the couple wants independence, saying the pressure of life as full-time royals is unbearable. And a debate is raging: Did racism drive Meghan away?

When Prince Harry, who is sixth in line to the throne, began dating the “Suits” actress — daughter of a white father and African American mother — the media called it a sign that Britain had entered a “post-racial” era in which skin color and background no longer mattered, even to the royal family.

U.K. Labour Party lawmaker Clive Lewis, who like Meghan has biracial heritage, says the royal rift shows that Britain still has a problem with “structural racism.”

“We can see it with Meghan Markle and the way that she’s been treated in the media, we know that this is a reality of the 21st century, still,” Lewis told Sky News. “After 400 years of racism you can’t just overturn it overnight.”

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Analysis: Dems strain for civility, contrasts burst through

WASHINGTON (AP) — Electability questions persist. Anxieties about gender and sexism are resurgent. And three leading candidates are about to get yanked off the campaign trail for President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.

Those deep uncertainties shadowed Tuesday’s Democratic debate, the last national stage for candidates running out of time to generate momentum ahead of the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses. Months of campaigning and millions of dollars in advertising have left Democrats with a crowded top tier, and it’s unclear if the debate helped any of the candidates break out of that pack.

The six Democrats on stage — the smallest debate field yet — strained to keep the two-hour face-off civil and substantive. They drew policy contrasts with each other on national security, health care and trade, but repeatedly shifted the focus back to their common opponent: Trump.

“While differences are usually amplified in the days before an election, with Trump looming over the candidates' shoulders, this primary campaign seems to be heading in the opposite direction,” said Ben LaBolt, a former White House and campaign official for Barack Obama. “Four candidates entered the debate with a fighting chance to win Iowa tonight, and four candidates left still very much in the hunt.”

Those four candidates — former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg — are locked in a tight race for the top spots in Iowa and New Hampshire, which follows next on the primary calendar. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and businessman Tom Steyer also appeared in Tuesday’s contest.

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Despite risks, villagers made Philippine volcano their home

TALISAY, Philippines (AP) — It's the second-most active volcano in the Philippines, a designated permanent danger zone long declared off-limits to human settlements. Yet to more than 5,000 people the Taal volcano is home.

A lush island dotted with dozens of craters in the middle of a shimmering lake, the volcano roared into action Sunday with a mighty eruption that shot rocks, ash and steam miles into the sky just hours after the inhabitants of its four villages fled on a flotilla of boats. A man who defied official warnings about the ongoing eruption to sneak back to the island to check on his pigs, says there is complete devastation.

“Almost everything was destroyed," Christian Morales told The Associated Press, adding that he was only able to get his bearings after seeing the cross of a mud-encrusted Catholic church where he used to hear Mass. “If anybody defied orders and stayed behind, he would have been killed without a doubt.”

So far no one has been reported killed in the eruption, but the disaster is spotlighting the longstanding dilemma of how the government can move settlements away from danger zones threatened by volcanoes, landslides, floods and typhoons in one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

Sometimes, as is the case with Taal, the settlements are in violation of laws that have not been enforced.

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Australian wildfire smoke stokes health fears in cities

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Fire alarms have been sounding in high-rise buildings across downtown Sydney and Melbourne as dense smoke from distant wildfires confuse electronic sensors. Modern government office blocks in the Australian capital Canberra have been closed because the air inside is too dangerous for civil servants to breathe.

The sun has glowed an eerie red behind a brown shrouded sky for weeks over Australian metropolitan areas that usually rank high in the world’s most livable cities indexes.

It’s an unprecedented dilemma for Australians accustomed to blue skies and sunny days that has raised fears for the long-term health consequences if prolonged exposure to choking smoke becomes the new summer norm. Similar concerns over smoke are emerging in other regions of the globe being impacted by more fires tied to climate change, including the Western U.S.

“I’m going to give birth any day now, literally, and I’m going to have a newborn baby that I’m going to protect from all this,” said Emma Mauch, a pregnant Canberra mother.

Her friend, Sonia Connor, described the struggle of keeping her own energetic 3-year-old daughter contained inside their Canberra house with windows and doors sealed by tape as the outside temperature exceeded 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit). It’s a choice between air flow in stifling heat or keeping potentially toxic smoke out.

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FAA investigating Delta jet fuel-dumping on schoolkids

CUDAHY, Calif. (AP) — Federal authorities will investigate why an airliner with engine trouble dumped jet fuel over a densely populated area of Southern California while making an emergency return to the airport, dousing dozens of schoolchildren in a smelly vapor.

Delta Air Lines Flight 89 to Shanghai, with 181 passengers and crew on board, turned back to Los Angeles International Airport only minutes after taking off Tuesday.

The pilot reported a compressor stall in the right engine — damage to a jet turbine that can occur through malfunction or when a foreign object such as a bird hits an engine. The damage can reduce engine thrust or, in worst cases, lead to a fire. Planes can take off weighted down for their journey, but if they must land early because of an emergency, it can be necessary to dump fuel so that the aircraft is lighter to avoid damage.

Air traffic control asked the aircrew if they wanted to return to LAX immediately or remain over the ocean “to hold and burn fuel," according to a recording of the radio communications.

“We’re going to go ahead,” the pilot or co-pilot responds. “We’ve got it back under control. ... We’re not critical.”

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US-China pact signing to ease tension but leave much undone

WASHINGTON (AP) — After 18 months of economic combat, the United States and China are set to take a step toward peace Wednesday. At least for now.

President Donald Trump and China's chief negotiator, Liu He, are scheduled to sign a modest trade agreement in which the administration will ease some sanctions on China and Beijing will step up its purchases of U.S. farm products and other goods. Above all, the deal will defuse a conflict that has slowed global growth, hurt American manufacturers and weighed on the Chinese economy.

But the so-called Phase 1 pact does little to force China to make the major economic reforms — such as reducing unfair subsidies for its own companies —that the Trump administration sought when it started the trade war by imposing tariffs on Chinese imports in July 2018. The U.S. has yet to reveal details of the agreement, though U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has said they would be made public Wednesday.

Most analysts say any meaningful resolution of the key U.S. allegation — that Beijing uses predatory tactics in its drive to supplant America's technological supremacy — could require years of contentious talks. And skeptics say a satisfactory resolution may be next to impossible given China's ambitions to become the global leader in such advanced technologies as driverless cars and artificial intelligence.

“The signing of the Phase 1 deal would represent a welcome, even if modest, de-escalation of trade hostilities between China and the U.S.,” said Eswar Prasad, a Cornell University economist and and former head of the International Monetary Fund's China division. “But it hardly addresses in any substantive way the fundamental sources of trade and economic tensions between the two sides, which will continue to fester.’’