WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he hopes the

U.S. is not on a path to war with Iran amid fears that his two most hawkish advisers could be angling for such a conflict with the Islamic Republic.

Asked if the U.S. was going to war with Iran, the president replied, “I hope not” — a day after he repeated a desire for dialogue, tweeting, “I’m sure that Iran will want to talk soon.”

The tone contrasted with a series of moves by the U.S. and Iran that have sharply escalated tensions in the Middle East in recent days. For the past year, national security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have been the public face of the administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.

The friction has rattled lawmakers who are demanding more information on the White House’s claims of rising Iranian aggression. Top leaders in Congress received a classified briefing on Iran Thursday, but many other lawmakers from both parties have criticized the White House for not keeping them informed.

 

Trump disclosure shows revenue steady at key properties

NEW YORK — Revenue from President Donald Trump’s sprawling business empire largely held steady last year amid his turbulent presidency, according to his financial disclosure Thursday, with a drop in business at his Mar-a-Lago resort and small gains at his Washington hotel and Doral golf club.

The mixed bag provided validation to neither those who predicted Trump would reap massive profits off the presidency nor to Trump himself, who earlier this year claimed he has “lost massive amounts of money doing this job.”

Overall, revenue from Trump’s business empire in 2018 was roughly the same as in 2017 — at least $453 million.

 

Abortion-rights groups challenge restrictions on providers

RICHMOND, Va. — As abortion opponents cheer the passage of fetal heartbeat laws and other bans on the procedure, abortion-rights groups have been waging a quieter battle in courthouses around the country to overturn less direct restrictions passed in recent years.

At least a dozen lawsuits have been filed over the last two years challenging what abortion-rights groups call TRAP laws, Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers.

Anti-abortion groups say the laws are needed to protect women’s health. Abortion-rights groups say the laws are medically unnecessary regulations designed to drive abortion clinics out of business and make it more difficult for women to end pregnancies.

The first lawsuit to make it to trial is set to begin Monday in U.S. District Court in Richmond.

 

Pregnant Chicago woman slain, baby cut from her womb

CHICAGO — A pregnant woman who had gone to a Chicago home in response to a Facebook offer of free baby clothes was strangled and her baby cut from her womb, police and family members said.

The newborn was in grave condition and not expected to survive, and three people were taken into custody, including a woman who pretended the baby was hers, police said. Charges including murder were expected to be filed Thursday afternoon, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

The body of 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez was found early Wednesday behind the house, more than three weeks after she disappeared. The nine-months-pregnant woman was last seen leaving her high school on April 23, the same day paramedics were called to the home several miles away on the Southwest Side about a newborn with problems breathing.

“We believe that she was murdered, and we believe that the baby was forcibly removed following that murder,” Guglielmi said, calling it an “unspeakable act of violence.”