USA

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council will hear a briefing behind closed doors from Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's senior adviser, on the U.S.-proposed Middle East peace plan on Thursday, the council president said Monday.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) supports China's efforts to tackle the novel coronavirus outbreak, and is confident that China's economy "remains resilient," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Monday.

In a statement on Twitter and a similar one on Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo, the IMF chief expressed that "our deep sympathies to all those affected by the serious situation related to #Coronavirus."

BOSTON (AP) — Two college students from Iran have filed civil rights complaints with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, saying they were mistreated and illegally denied entry into the country by federal officials at Boston’s Logan International Airport.

Shahab Dehghani, who attends Northeastern University, and Reihana Emami Arandi, who had been set to start classes at Harvard University, recently filed separate complaints with the agency’s civil rights office, requesting the agency investigate the conduct of Customs and Border Protection officials.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Turnout for Monday’s Iowa caucuses was on pace to match 2016 levels based on early data, a state party official said, even as some sites reported long lines and a record number of people participating as Democrats began choosing a nominee to take on President Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON (AP) — For companies bracing for losses from China’s viral outbreak, the damage has so far been delayed, thanks to a stroke of timing: The outbreak hit just when Chinese factories and many businesses were closed anyway to let workers travel home for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday .

But the respite won’t last.

If much of industrial China remains on lockdown for the next few weeks — a very real possibility — Western retailers, auto companies and manufacturers that depend on Chinese imports will start to run out of the goods they depend on.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Boeing Co. has confirmed that securities regulators are investigating the company in connection with the 737 Max, which was grounded after two deadly crashes.

Boeing disclosed the Securities and Exchange Commission investigation in a regulatory filing Friday.

The filing provides few details of the probe beyond saying that Boeing is cooperating with government investigations including those by the Justice Department and the SEC. Boeing said it cannot estimate possible losses that could result from lawsuits and investigations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A portrait of a robust U.S. economy is sure to take center stage Tuesday night when President Donald Trump gives his third State of the Union address. It is an economy that has proved solid and durable yet hasn’t fulfilled many of Trump’s promises.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of border apprehensions has dropped for the eighth straight month, following crackdowns by the Trump administration that include forcing asylum seekers back over the U.S.-Mexico border to wait out their claims, a Homeland Security official said Monday.

The official said the number of encounters with border officials over the past four months was 165,000. A year earlier during the same time it was about 242,000. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the official results have not been released.

COMMERCE, Texas (AP) — Two women were killed and a child was wounded in a shooting Monday morning at a university dormitory in Texas, officials said.

A recommendation for students and employees to shelter in place was lifted early Monday afternoon at Texas A&M University-Commerce, and police said there appeared to be no other threats. Officials have not identified the suspected shooter.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Civil rights activists and legal experts challenged Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s claims that she was unaware of questionable evidence and police tactics used to send a young black teen to prison for life when she was a top Minneapolis prosecutor.

In an interview with “Fox News Sunday,” Klobuchar denied that she had knowledge of any evidence that would call the conviction into question. But much of what The Associated Press found while investigating the case of Myon Burrell, now 33, would have been available to her office at the time.