News Wrap: Trump tells Republicans he'll be impeached if they lose in midterms

Geoff Bennett:

In the day's other headlines: President Trump warned his fellow Republicans today that if they don't put in a strong showing in this year's midterm elections, he will be impeached.

Mr. Trump was addressing a meeting of GOP lawmakers at the recently renamed Kennedy Center. He described Democrats as mean and smart, highlighting what he sees as the stakes in the upcoming vote.

President Donald Trump:

You got to win the midterms, because, if we don't win the midterms, it's just going to be -- I mean, they will find a reason to impeach me. I will get impeached.

Geoff Bennett:

President Trump also urged House Republicans to be flexible in their push to block federal funds from going to Obamacare plans that cover abortion. That's as he pressed Republicans to reach an agreement on the expired health insurance subsidies, saying it would strengthen the party's position on the issue of affordability.

Meantime, in Wyoming, abortion will remain legal after that state's Supreme Court struck down two laws it found unconstitutional. That includes the nation's first ban on abortion pills. The justices sided with Wyoming's only abortion clinic and others who argue that adults have the right to make their own health care decisions.

The ruling means the state remains one of more than two dozen states across the country, plus Washington, D.C., that allow abortions up to 20 weeks of pregnancy or later. Wyoming's Republican governor says he will push for a constitutional amendment banning abortion that would go before voters this fall.

In Iran, at least 36 people have now been killed amid ongoing protests over the country's struggling economy. That's according to an outside human rights group, which says that more than 1,200 others have been detained. Video emerged today of protesters clashing with security forces in Tehran's Grand Bazaar, long a hub of Iran's economic and political life.

Authorities reportedly fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators who had been staging a sit-in. Elsewhere in the city, business owners say they're scrambling to make ends meet as high prices scare off would-be customers.

Karim Heidari, Shopkeeper (through interpreter):

Sales have dropped off very badly. Last year at this hour, my shop was packed with customers. Now, sometimes, I wait one hour before a customer shows up. Market conditions are not good at all.

Geoff Bennett:

Activists say the protests have now spread to more than 270 locations across Iran since they erupted more than a week ago.

Ukraine's Western allies say they made progress today towards security guarantees for once a peace deal is signed with Russia. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a draft declaration alongside the leaders of France and the U.K. following a day of talks in Paris. The framework outlines NATO-style security guarantees, including a future deployment of multinational forces and cease-fire monitoring led by the U.S.

For the first time, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner appeared in person for a meeting of what's called the coalition of the willing. Kushner said today was, in his words, a very big milestone.

Jared Kushner, Former Senior Presidential Adviser:

This does not mean that we will make peace, but peace would not be possible without the progress that was made here today. If Ukraine is going to make a final deal, they have to know that after a deal they are secure, they have obviously a robust deterrence, and there's real backstops to make sure that this will not happen again.

Geoff Bennett:

Important details, like specific commitments and troop numbers, have not been finalized. President Zelenskyy has acknowledged in recent days that some support may come in the form of weapons or intelligence.

Also in France today, winter weather is causing havoc on the roads and in the skies. The French capital may have looked pretty under a fresh blanket of snow, but French authorities say at least five people have died nationwide, most of them in road accidents. The snow also closed six airports in France, while, in the Netherlands, Amsterdam's international airport grounded some 600 flights.

Meantime, temperatures plummeted in the U.K. to well below freezing, closing hundreds of schools there.

On Wall Street today, stocks posted solid gains, thanks largely to technology stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average rose almost 500 points, or nearly 1 percent. The Nasdaq added around 150 points. The S&P 500 also closed in positive territory.

Republican Congressman Doug LaMalfa of California has died. The former rice farmer and state lawmaker was first elected to Congress in 2012. He represented Northern California's First District along the Oregon border. LaMalfa's death further reduces the Republican majority in the House to a margin of 218-213.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY):

We'd just like to ask for a moment of silence.

Geoff Bennett:

Democratic lawmakers took a moment to remember LaMalfa at a panel today marking the anniversary of the January 6 attack. No cause of death was immediately provided. Doug LaMalfa was 65 years old.

And celebrated Hungarian director Bela Tarr has died. Beginning with his 1979 film, "Family Nest," Tarr created his own distinct style, slow-paced, sprawling and darkly comic. Some critics called 1994's "Satantango" his masterpiece. It clocks in at more than seven hours. Such works made him an icon of art house cinema.

In a statement, the Hungarian Filmmakers Association said Bela Tarr died after battling a long and serious illness. He was 70 years old.