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

U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez's ruling addresses a case filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists. The six are among the thousands who have been observing the activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers enforcing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area since last month.

Federal agents and demonstrators have repeatedly clashed since the crackdown began. The confrontations escalated after an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head on Jan. 7 as she drove away from a scene in Minneapolis, an incident that was captured on video from several angles. Agents have arrested or briefly detained many people in the Twin Cities.

The activists in the case are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, which says government officers are violating the constitutional rights of Twin Cities residents.

After the ruling, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement saying her agency was taking “appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.”

Trump's Twin Cities immigration crackdown has made chaos and tension the new normal

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Work starts around sunrise for the federal officers carrying out the immigration crackdown in and around the Twin Cities, with hundreds of people in tactical gear streaming out of a bland office building near the main airport.

Within minutes, hulking SUVs, pickup trucks and minivans begin leaving, forming the unmarked convoys that have quickly become feared and common sights in the streets of Minneapolis, St. Paul and their suburbs.

Protesters also arrive early, braving the cold to stand across the street from the fenced-in federal compound, which houses an immigration court and government offices. “Go home!” they shout as convoys roar past. "ICE out!”

Things often turn uglier after nightfall, when the convoys return and the protesters sometimes grow angrier, shaking fences and occasionally smacking passing cars. Eventually, the federal officers march toward them, firing tear gas and flash grenades before hauling away at least a few people.

“We’re not going anywhere!” a woman shouted on a recent morning. “We’re here until you leave.”

Trump says he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the US controlling Greenland

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Friday that he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the U.S. controlling Greenland, a message that came as a bipartisan Congressional delegation sought to lower tensions in the Danish capital.

Trump for months has insisted that the U.S. should control Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and said earlier this week that anything less than the Arctic island being in U.S. hands would be “unacceptable.”

During an unrelated event at the White House about rural health care, he recounted Friday how he had threatened European allies with tariffs on pharmaceuticals.

“I may do that for Greenland too,” Trump said. “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that,” he said.

He had not previously mentioned using tariffs to try to force the issue.

Family of Iranian protester searched for her body in a pile of corpses and buried her on a roadside

BEIRUT (AP) — Robina Aminian's family believes the college student was killed by a bullet fired by Iranian security forces at close range, straight into the back of her head.

But her death in the nationwide protests that challenged the Islamic Republic's theocracy was only the start of the family's agony. In the aftermath of the killing, Aminian's mother had to look through piles of bloodied corpses to find her daughter's body. Then the family raced to escape authorities who might demand payment to release the body and buried her hastily in an unmarked roadside pit.

Their odyssey reflects the trail of anguish left by Iran's deadly assault on protesters, which has led to desperate relatives searching overflowing morgues across the country. For families, the loss of loved ones is compounded by the difficulty they face in grieving and giving the dead a dignified sendoff.

More than a week after she was killed, Aminian's relatives say they still have not held a funeral for the young Kurdish woman who was studying fashion in Tehran, the capital.

“She wanted a bright future for herself,” her uncle, Nezar Minoei, said from Oslo. “But unfortunately, the future has been stolen from her.”

White House names some leaders with roles in next steps in Gaza, while Palestinian committee meets

CAIRO (AP) — The White House released the names of some of the leaders who will play a role in overseeing next steps in Gaza after the Palestinian committee set to govern the territory under U.S. supervision met for the first time Friday in Cairo.

The committee's leader, Ali Shaath, an engineer and former Palestinian Authority official from Gaza, pledged to get to work quickly to improve conditions. He expects reconstruction and recovery to take about three years and plans to focus first on immediate needs, including shelter.

“The Palestinian people were looking forward to this committee, its establishment and its work to rescue them,” Shaath said after the meeting, in a television interview with Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News.

U.S. President Donald Trump supports the group's efforts to govern Gaza after the two-year war between Israel and Hamas. Israeli troops withdrew from parts of Gaza after the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, while thousands of displaced Palestinians have returned to what is left of their homes.

Now, there will be a number of huge challenges going forward, including the deployment of an international security force to supervise the ceasefire deal and the difficult process of disarming Hamas.

More than 100 dead in torrential rains and floods across southern Africa

NKOMAZI, South Africa (AP) — Army helicopters rescued people stranded on rooftops and hundreds of tourists and workers were evacuated from one of the world’s biggest game reserves, as torrential rains and flooding in three countries in southern Africa killed more than 100 people, authorities said Friday.

The death toll across South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe is an accumulation after weeks of heavy rains. Weather services issued warnings that more rain was on the way, possibly bringing more destructive flooding.

Mozambique was the hardest hit, with flooding across swathes of the country's central and southern provinces. Its Institute for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction said 103 people had died in an unusually severe rainy season since late last year, though that count included deaths from various causes including electrocution from lightning strikes, drowning in floods, infrastructure collapse caused by the severe weather and cholera, the institute said.

More than 200,000 people have been affected in Mozambique, thousands of homes have been damaged and tens of thousands face evacuation, the World Food Program said of another crisis in a poor country with limited resources that has faced several damaging cyclones in the last few years.

In neighboring South Africa, officials said Friday the death toll from floods in two northern provinces had risen to at least 30, with rescue efforts ongoing.

Ex-husband indicted by grand jury in slaying of couple found in their Ohio home

Columbus, OHIO (AP) — An Ohio grand jury has indicted a man in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband who were killed in their Columbus home last month.

Court records show a Franklin County grand jury charged Michael David McKee on Jan. 16, with aggravated murder and aggravated burglary while using a firearm suppressor.

McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, is charged in the shooting deaths of 39-year-old Monique Tepe, from whom he was divorced in 2017, and dentist Dr. Spencer Tepe, 37, in their home on Dec. 30.

No attorney for McKee was listed on court documents.

Authorities apprehended McKee in Rockford, Illinois, last weekend. The hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He is currently being held after he waived his right to an extradition hearing Monday. His next hearing in Winnebago County, Illinois, is scheduled for Jan. 23.

FAA urges pilots to exercise caution over eastern Pacific, citing 'military activities'

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday urged U.S. aircraft operators to “exercise caution” when flying over the eastern Pacific Ocean near Mexico, Central America and parts of South America, citing “military activities” and possible satellite navigation interference.

The warning was issued in a series of Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) issued by the FAA. They say, “Potential risks exist for aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight and the arrival and departure phases of flight.” The alerts are in effect for 60 days. Such notices are issued routinely in any region where there are hostilities nearby.

The notices come after nearly four months of U.S. military strikes against boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific that the U.S. alleged were trafficking drugs. That campaign included 35 known strikes that killed at least 115 people, according to the Trump administration.

In November, the FAA warned all pilots to exercise caution when flying in the airspace over Venezuela “due to the worsening security situation and heightened military activity.”

On Jan. 3, the U.S. conducted a “large-scale strike” across Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized and transported to New York, where they face federal drug trafficking charges.

Actor Timothy Busfield's attorneys say an investigation undermines state's child sex abuse charges

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Emmy Award-winning actor Timothy Busfield's attorneys told a court Friday he should be released while he awaits the outcome of child sex abuse charges against him because an independent investigation undermined the state's allegations, the parents of his accusers have a history of fraud and dishonesty, and he passed a polygraph test.

Busfield was ordered held without bond at his first court appearance Wednesday, a day after he turned himself in to face charges stemming from allegations that he inappropriately touched a minor on the set of a TV series he was directing in New Mexico.

A judge will hold a detention hearing on Tuesday to determine whether Busfield will remain in jail.

Albuquerque police issued a warrant for his arrest last week on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. A criminal complaint alleges the acts occurred on the set of the series “The Cleaning Lady,” which was filmed in the city.

In a video shared before turning himself in, Busfield called the allegations lies. Busfield, who is married to actor Melissa Gilbert, is known for appearances in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams” and “Thirtysomething.”

Trump says he wants to keep Hassett in White House, clouding Fed chair selection

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday said he would like to keep his top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, at the White House rather than potentially nominate him to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve.

“I actually want to keep you where you are, if you want to know the truth,” Trump said at a White House event, when he saw Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, in the audience. ”I just want to thank you, you were fantastic on television the other day.”

Trump's comments, while not clearly definitive, have upended expectations around the extensive search the White House has undergone to find a new Fed chair, one of the most powerful financial positions in the world. The president's remarks have boosted the prospects for Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor and already a top contender for the position.

Hassett has generally been seen as the front-runner in the race to replace Powell because he has worked for Trump since his first presidential term. Last month, Trump referred to Hassett as a “potential Fed chair.”

Powell’s term as chair will end May 15, though he could take the unusual step of remaining on the board as governor afterward. Trump appointed Powell in 2018 but soon soured on him for raising the Fed's key interest rate that year.