TEHRAN, Iran — Waving Iranian flags, chanting “Death to America” and burning U.S. and Israeli flags, hundreds of thousands of people poured out onto the streets across Iran on Monday, marking the date that’s considered victory day in the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

On Feb. 11 that year, Iran’s military stood down after days of street battles, allowing the revolutionaries to sweep across the country while the government of U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi resigned and the Islamic Republic was born.

In Tehran, despite the rain, crowds massed in the central Azadi, or Freedom, Square waving Iranian flags and burning U.S. and Israeli flags.

Iranian state TV ran archive footage of the days of the uprising and played revolutionary songs. It later broadcast footage showing crowds across the country of 80 million.

Every year, the anniversary festivities start on Feb. 1 — the day Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from France after 14 years in exile to become the supreme leader as Shiite clerics took power. The celebrations continue for 10 days, climaxing on Feb. 11.

This year’s anniversary comes as Iran grapples with the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s decision last May to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal and restore tough U.S. sanctions.

Speaking from a podium in central Tehran, President Hassan Rouhani addressed the crowds for nearly 45 minutes, lashing out at Iran’s enemies — the U.S. and Israel — and claiming their efforts to “bring down” the country through sanctions will not succeed.

Separated migrant families pursue damages from U.S.

HOUSTON — Lawyers for eight immigrant families separated under Trump administration policy filed claims Monday against the U.S. government demanding $6 million each in damages.

The parents accused immigration officers of taking their children away without giving them information and sometimes mocking them or denying them a chance to say goodbye. The claims allege that many children are traumatized, including a 7-year-old girl who won’t sleep without her mother and a 6-year-old boy who is reluctant to eat.

The Trump administration has acknowledged it separated more than 2,000 families last year at the U.S.-Mexico border. Government watchdogs have also said it’s unclear how many families were separated because agencies did not keep good enough records as the policy was implemented.

Denver teachers go on strike

in latest U.S. educator walkout

DENVER — Striking teachers on Monday picketed outside of schools and marched through Denver in the latest U.S. walkout by educators..

Just over half of the 4,725 teachers in district-run schools were absent for Denver’s first strike in 25 years. Some students crossed picket lines as schools put administrators and substitute teachers in classrooms.

The strike affecting about 71,000 students is over the school district’s incentive-based pay system. The city gives bonuses of $1,500 to $3,000 a year to teachers who work in schools with students from low-income families or in positions considered hard to staff.

The union is pushing to lower or eliminate some of those bonuses to free up more money that would be added to overall teacher pay.

Prosecutors seek new sentence for Chicago cop who killed teen

CHICAGO — Prosecutors on Monday asked Illinois’ highest court to review the less than seven year prison sentence for the white Chicago police officer who fatally shot black teenager Laquan McDonald — an unusual move in what was already a rare case.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the special prosecutor who won a murder conviction against former officer Jason Van Dyke, Kane County State’s Attorney Joseph McMahon, said they believe Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan improperly applied the law last month when he sentenced Van Dyke to six years and nine months in prison. Raoul and McMahon filed a request with the Illinois Supreme Court seeking an order that could force Gaughan to impose a longer sentence.

Michael Cohen again postpones Senate interview

WASHINGTON — Michael Cohen’s closed-door testimony before the Senate intelligence committee has been postponed “due to post-surgery medical needs,” his attorney said Monday.

Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, is under subpoena from the committee and was scheduled to talk to the panel Tuesday. Cohen’s attorney, Lanny Davis, said in a statement that the interview had been postponed for medical reasons.

Davis said last month that Cohen had undergone minor shoulder surgery and he was recently seen with his arm in a sling.

This is the third time Cohen has postponed congressional testimony.

Cohen will now talk to the House intelligence panel on Feb. 28. It is unclear if he has scheduled a new date to speak to the Senate investigators.

Navy patrol prompts China protest as talks on trade start

China accused the U.S. of “tricks” as two American warships sailed through waters claimed by Beijing on the eve of high-level trade talks.

China’s Foreign Ministry also said the country’s navy “warned off” the U.S. warships Monday as they attempted to assert free navigation rights in the disputed South China Sea.

The ships sailed close by Mischief Reef, where China has built an airbase on reclaimed land, and the adjacent Second Thomas Shoal, which is occupied by the Philippines.

The sail-by comes as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer head for Beijing in the latest high-profile effort to resolve the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies before their tariff cease-fire expires March 1.

In Brazil: The Flamengo soccer club promised Monday to promptly pay financial compensation for the victims of a devastating fire that killed 10 young academy players last week, but its president refused to answer any questions on the apparent lack of proper licensing for the training center in Rio de Janeiro.

In Massachusetts: Michelle Carter, who sent her suicidal boyfriend a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself, began a 15-month prison term Monday on an involuntary manslaughter conviction nearly five years after Conrad Roy died. The state’s top court denied a motion to delay the sentence for more appeals.