World/Nation

Mitt Romney tells donors he's considering a 3rd presidential run

WASHINGTON - In a move that surprised his most loyal supporters and former staff, Mitt Romney told several donors Friday he's seriously considering a third run for the White House - a dramatic shift for the last Republican presidential nominee after months of insisting his career in politics is over.

Yet should Romney follow through and enter the race, the former governor of Massachusetts who made millions in private equity would hardly be a lock to win his party's nomination for the second time. He would join a field expected to feature more than a dozen Republicans with legitimate White House resumes, sitting governors and U.S. senators among them.

"Mitt has been a terrific leader for the Republican Party, but if he runs again, he'll have to earn it again," said veteran Republican operative Phil Musser, a former Romney supporter whose firm is already handling preliminary campaign work for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Romney attended a private gathering of donors Friday at the New York offices of Woody Johnson, a leading Romney donor in 2012 and owner of the NFL's New York Jets, several people with direct knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press.

All spoke under condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the private discussions. The meeting was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Justice Department weighing charges for Petraeus

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department is weighing bringing criminal charges against former CIA Director David Petraeus over the handling of classified information, a U.S. official said Friday night. Investigators have presented senior-level Justice Department officials such as Attorney General Eric Holder with information on the case to help inform a decision on charging the former four-star general, the official said.

The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Robert Barnett, a lawyer for Petraeus, declined to comment Friday night, as did Marc Raimondi, a spokesman for the Justice Department.

Federal investigators have been looking into whether Petraeus improperly shared classified materials with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, with whom he admitted having an affair when he resigned from his position in November 2012. Agents found a substantial number of classified documents on Broadwell's computer and at her home, a law enforcement official has previously said.

Both have publicly apologized for the relationship. They have said their romantic relationship began only after he retired from the military and started at the CIA.

Obama proposes free community college for all Americans

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - President Barack Obama on Friday proposed to bring the cost of two years of community college "down to zero" for all Americans, an ambitious nationwide plan based on a popular Tennessee program signed into law by that state's Republican governor.

However, the idea and its $60 billion federal price tag over 10 years would have to make the grade with a Republican Congress that is showing little appetite for big new spending programs. Obama, who plans to push the issue in his Jan. 20 State of the Union address, argued that providing educational opportunity and creating a more skilled U.S. workforce shouldn't be a partisan issue.

"Community college should be free for those willing to work for it because, in America, a quality education should not be a privilege that is reserved for a few," he said in a speech at Pellissippi State Community College. He said a high school diploma is no longer enough for American workers to compete in the global economy and that a college degree is "the surest ticket to the middle class."

The White House estimated that 9 million students could eventually participate and save an average of $3,800 in tuition per year if they attend full-time. Students would qualify if they attend at least half-time, maintain a 2.5 grade point average and make progress toward completing a degree or certificate program. Participating schools would have to meet certain academic requirements.

At North Lake College, part of the Dallas County Community College system, student Courtney Banks said such a program would help her and also allow others to enroll in classes.

U.S. issues worldwide travel alert after recent terror attacks

WASHINGTON - The United States has issued a global travel warning after recent terror attacks in France, Australia and Canada.

The alert comes hours after French police killed three hostage-takers in a pair of incidents. Two of the men are believed responsible for Wednesday's attack on a satirical magazine in Paris. Twelve people were killed in that assault, France's deadliest terror incident in decades.

The State Department's warning says attacks against Americans are becoming increasingly prevalent. It also cites an increased risk of reprisals against U.S. and Western targets for the U.S.-led intervention against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.

The warning also cited last month's hostage standoff at a Sydney cafe and the October killing of a soldier near Canada's parliament.

Missouri leaders sought Ferguson Police Chief's resignation

ST. LOUIS - Some of Missouri's top leaders tried unsuccessfully to pressure Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson to resign after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, interviews with several elected officials and records released Friday show.

Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III told The Associated Press that top state officials had several meetings where they applied pressure on the city to force Jackson to resign. Missouri House Speaker John Diehl and U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill confirmed they both attended a fall meeting to discuss whether Jackson should be forced out.

Also, records provided to AP under an open records request include a Nov. 10 email from St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar to an assistant that describes an apparent meeting of state and local officials. It references the potential timing of Jackson's "separation" and identifies a potential successor.

Brown, 18 and unarmed, was shot by officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, and the shooting of a black suspect by a white officer led to significant unrest in St. Louis County.

Jackson's leadership drew wide criticism from the outset, both for the aggressive police response to protesters and for his agency's erratic and infrequent releases of key information. He refused to publicly identify Wilson as the shooter for nearly a week after Brown's death, then simultaneously released the name with store security video that police said showed Brown stealing a box of cigars and shoving a clerk a short time before his death.

- The Associated Press