Midday Roundup: Saeed Abedini tells how he survived prison in Iran

Saeed speaks. On Monday night, Fox News aired Pastor Saeed Abedini’s first public interview since being released from captivity in Iran, where he was imprisoned for his faith for three years. He described how an Iranian judge accused him of trying to use Christianity to overthrow the government. “No, I didn’t do that,” Abedini recalled saying. “I pray for you, I love you, and I didn’t come for that.” He also talked about spending 60 days in the same cell with fellow American Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine who also was released. Abedini said he endured beatings for refusing to sign false confessions to criminal acts that the Iranians wanted to use to smear his reputation. He also described having to watch the executions of Sunni Muslims. “The best thing I could do over there was praying, each day, hours and hours,” Abedini said. “Sometimes more than 20 hours I just prayed and prayed.”

Caucus countdown. The three Democratic presidential candidates held a town hall meeting on CNN Monday night in which they tried to sway undecided Iowa voters a week before the caucuses. Rather than engaging in a face-to-face debate, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley fielded audience questions separately. But that format did not stop Sanders and Clinton, locked in a dead heat in Iowa polls, from attacking each other. Sanders echoed criticism that Clinton has only recently made economic issues a political priority. Clinton defended her record and flaunted a recent glowing review she received from President Barack Obama. “I was really touched and gratified when I saw that,” said Clinton, who has touted her close ties with Obama on the campaign trail. When asked by one attendee about her reputation for dishonesty, Clinton scoffed at her opponents, saying, “They throw all this stuff at me and I’m still standing.”

Solitary changes. President Obama announced prison reforms this week that will limit the use of solitary confinement as a punishment for federal inmates. Obama banned solitary confinement for juvenile offenders—an already rare occurrence—and set a maximum of 60 days, down from 365, for an inmate’s first trip to solitary. In an op-ed explaining the changes in The Washington Post, Obama wrote, “How can we subject prisoners to unnecessary solitary confinement, knowing its effects, and then expect them to return to our communities as whole people? It doesn’t make us safer. It’s an affront to our common humanity.” The Post reported at least a dozen states have also curtailed their use of solitary confinement in prison in the last two years.

Immigrant abuse. Many of the thousands of unaccompanied migrant children who crossed into the United States in recent years were placed in abusive homes, according to an investigation by The Associated Press. Some children have been sexually assaulted, starved, or forced to work for little or no pay. Amid a surge of children crossing the southern border, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) lowered safety standards and child protective policies. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, directed a Senate investigation into how DHS is failing to protect migrant children. He called the problem a systemic failure.

Interfaith meeting. Pope Francis met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the Vatican today. The two discussed the problems in Middle East, emphasizing “the importance of inter-religious dialogue and the responsibility of religious communities in promoting reconciliation, tolerance and peace,” according to the Vatican. International peace talks on the civil war in Syria, in which Iran backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, were supposed to begin Monday in Geneva. The talks were postponed over disagreement about who should represent the Syrian opposition. Some foreign ministers have pointed to the nuclear deal forged last summer between Iran and world powers as evidence that diplomacy can work in the Middle East.

WORLD Radio’s Mary Reichard and The Associated Press contributed to this report.