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In shift, Trump warns Israel against new settlements WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday warned Israel that constructing new settlements "may not be helpful" to Middle East peace efforts, shifting toward a tougher line with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Still, the White House made clear that the Trump administration "has not taken an official position on settlement activity," departing from previous administrations that have considered the settlements illegitimate. Trump has been perceived as sympathetic to the settlements. Shortly before taking office, he vigorously criticized the Obama administration for not vetoing a United Nations Security Council measure condemning settlements. But in a statement Thursday, the White House said, "While we don't believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal." The White House said the president would discuss the issue with Netanyahu when he travels to Washington later this month. The two leaders are scheduled to meet at the White House on Feb. 15. ___ Trump rattles world leaders as Cabinet tries to soften tone WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's spats with U.S. allies as close as Mexico and as unlikely as Australia are leaving his new secretary of state and others in his Cabinet to clean up a lot of potential damage. It's a good-cop, bad-cop dynamic that could define America's foreign policy for the next four years. President Trump's first two weeks on the job have rattled foreign friends and foes alike — and even members of his own party — starting with his order to temporarily halt all refugee admissions as well as immigration from seven mainly-Muslim countries. Concern only escalated the past few days with his personal dust-ups with foreign leaders and declaration that Iran is now "on notice" for possible American action. "It's time we're going to be a little tough, folks," Trump said at a National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, as unseemly details circulated about his private phone calls with the Mexican and Australian leaders. "We're taken advantage of by every nation in the world virtually. It's not going to happen anymore." Trump's blunt comments came a day after word emerged of a tense discussion with Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull, in which the new U.S. president lambasted an Obama-era deal to resettle some 1,600 asylum-seekers. Diplomatic dysfunction was clear. Minutes after the U.S. Embassy in Canberra said the deal was still on, Trump seemed to contradict that message, tweeting: "I will study this dumb deal!" ___ 10 Things to Know for Friday Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Friday: 1. GOOD-COP, BAD-COP DYNAMIC EMERGING Trump's spats with partners from Australia to Mexico leave new Secretary of State Tillerson and others in his Cabinet to clean up any lasting damage. 2. WHITE HOUSE CAUTIONS ISRAEL ON SETTLEMENTS Shifting his tone, Trump says constructing new settlements may not help bring peace to the region. ___ Analysis: 2016 was busiest year for targeted refugees President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning refugees and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries has put a spotlight on those immigrant communities across the country. The U.S. has taken in nearly 270,000 immigrants and refugees from the affected countries since 2007, according to an analysis of U.S. State Department data by The Associated Press. Not surprisingly, many of the most populous states have taken in the largest share. California has accepted the most, by far, a total of 56,235. It's followed by Michigan, Texas, Arizona, New York and Illinois. Florida, the nation's third most populous state, ranks somewhere in the middle, having accepted a little more than 5,000 immigrants or refugees from the seven countries. Yet of those, nearly 30 percent have arrived in just the past 13 months. The AP analysis found that 2016 was the busiest year in the past decade for refugee arrivals from the seven countries targeted by the executive order — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. ___ Trump pledges to end political limits on churches WASHINGTON (AP) — Declaring that religious freedom is "under threat," President Donald Trump vowed Thursday to repeal a rarely enforced IRS rule that says pastors who endorse candidates from the pulpit risk losing their tax-exempt status. "I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution," Trump said at the National Prayer Breakfast, a high-profile event bringing together faith leaders, politicians and dignitaries. Trump's pledge was a nod to his evangelical Christian supporters, who helped power his White House win. So far he has not detailed his plans for doing away with the rule, which he has previously promised to rescind. Named after then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson, the regulation has been in place since 1954 for tax-exempt charities, including churches, though it is very rare for a church to actually be penalized. Abolishing the amendment would require action by Congress, though Trump could direct the IRS to disregard the rule. The tax code does allow a wide range of political activity by houses of worship, including speaking out on social issues and organizing congregants to vote. But churches cannot endorse a candidate or engage in partisan advocacy. Lloyd Mayer, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, said an IRS move could prompt lawsuits, if the rule was repealed for churches but not other charities. ___ Clip of Trump granddaughter singing spreads on Chinese web BEIJING (AP) — A brief video clip of Donald Trump's granddaughter singing in Chinese is circulating to strong approval on the internet in China, even while some criticized the U.S. president's failure to send greetings for the Lunar New Year. The clip posted by Trump's daughter Ivanka shows 5-year-old Arabella Kushner singing best wishes for the holiday while playing with a traditional Chinese puppet. On Wednesday, Ivanka and Arabella made a surprise visit to the Chinese Embassy in Washington to take part in the festivities. While the Trump women received praise, the lack of a greeting from the president "triggered heated discussion" among the Chinese public over the possible ramifications for bilateral relations, the official newspaper Global Times said Friday. Trump has criticized China over its alleged unfair trade practices and other issues. ___ GOP senators move Trump EPA pick ahead as Dems boycott vote WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans suspended Senate committee rules Thursday to muscle President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency toward confirmation after Democrats boycotted a vote. It was the latest sign of political hostilities on Capitol Hill as Senate Democrats used parliamentary procedure to delay votes on some of Trump's Cabinet nominees and Republicans used their slim Senate majority to advance and approve them. Also Thursday, two Senate committees voted along party lines to send Trump's nominee to lead the White House budget office, South Carolina GOP Rep. Mick Mulvaney, to the full Senate for a vote. As the scheduled meeting to discuss EPA nominee Scott Pruitt was gaveled to order, the seats reserved for the 10 Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee were empty for the second consecutive day. Committee rules required that at least two members of the minority party be present for a vote to be held. The 11 Republicans voted unanimously to temporarily suspend those rules and then voted again to advance the nomination of Pruitt, the state attorney general of Oklahoma. ___ US condemns Russia's 'aggressive actions' in eastern Ukraine UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley condemned Russia's "aggressive actions" in eastern Ukraine on Thursday and warned Moscow that U.S. sanctions imposed after its annexation of Crimea will remain until the peninsula is returned to Ukraine. But the new American envoy tempered her criticism, saying it was "unfortunate" that she had to condemn Russia in her first appearance at the U.N. Security Council. "We do want to better our relations with Russia," Haley said, echoing President Donald Trump who has also said he wants a better relationship with President Vladimir Putin. Moscow has applauded Trump's promises to rebuild U.S.-Russian relations, which have been pushed to their worst level since the Cold War, and Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin reacted calmly to Haley's criticism saying he "detected quite a bit of change of tone." "It was friendly enough, given the circumstances and given the subject we were discussing," he said of Hayley's statement at the council meeting called by Ukraine after a major escalation of violence. "I wouldn't want to call it friendly." ___ Trump puts Iran 'on notice' after ballistic missile test WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday his administration has put Iran "on notice," echoing comments from his top national security adviser that the U.S. will act against Iran unless it stops testing ballistic missiles and supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen. Trump and his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, didn't elaborate on what retaliatory actions the U.S. could pursue. Trump tweeted, "Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile. Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with them!" He added in another tweet: "Iran was on its last legs and ready to collapse until the U.S. came along and gave it a life-line in the form of the Iran Deal: $150 billion." As part of the nuclear deal struck during the Obama administration, Iran received access to an estimated $100 billion of its own money that had been frozen in foreign bank accounts. The U.S. did not give Iran $150 billion. ___ Amazon increasingly wants to be its own deliveryman NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon isn't content just being the "everything store." Increasingly, it looks like it wants to be its own deliveryman, too. Its Monday announcement of a new air cargo hub in Kentucky is merely Amazon's latest foray into building out its own shipping and logistics unit. If successful, the move could ultimately mean lower costs for Amazon — and possibly faster delivery and low prices for consumers. But it could also pit Amazon against package deliverers like FedEx and UPS. Amazon has long plowed its profits back into its business investments. In order to speed up its delivery, it has invested in opening new distribution centers and leasing fleets of trucks. In May, Amazon leased 40 Boeing jets from Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings and Air Transport Services Group Inc., a fleet it dubbed "Prime Air." The moves comes e-commerce continues to outpace retail sales. Amazon said Thursday the number of items it sold in the fourth quarter rose 24 percent compared with a year ago. Its revenue rose 22 percent to $43.74 billion, slightly missing analyst expectations. Meanwhile, profit rose 36 percent to $749 million, or $1.54 per share, ahead of expectations.

AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EST