AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EDT

Trump sues Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch over reporting on Epstein ties

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch Friday, a day after the newspaper published a story reporting on his ties to wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The move came shortly after the Justice Department asked a federal court on Friday to unseal grand jury transcripts in Epstein’s sex trafficking case, as the administration seeks to contain the firestorm that erupted after it announced that it would not be releasing additional files from the case, despite previously pledging to do so.

The controversy has created a major fissure between Trump and his loyal base, with some of his most vocal supporters slamming the White House for the way it has handled the case, and questioning why Trump would not want the documents made public.

Trump had promised to sue the Wall Street Journal almost immediately after the paper put a new spotlight on his well-documented relationship with Epstein by publishing an article that described a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper says bore Trump’s name and was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday.

Trump denied writing the letter, calling the story “false, malicious, and defamatory.”

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Trump administration seeks release of Epstein grand jury records but not Justice Department files

WASHINGTON (AP) — Under intense pressure from President Donald Trump’s own supporters, his administration on Friday asked a federal court to unseal secret documents related to Jeffrey Epstein’s case in an effort to put to rest for good a political crisis largely of its own making.

But even if those records become public, it’s far from certain they will appease critics enraged over the administration’s unfulfilled promises of full transparency about evidence against the wealthy financier. Meanwhile, the administration remains dogged by questions about its refusal to release other records in its possession after stoking conspiracy theories and pledging to uncover government secrets of the “deep state.”

Here’s a look at the ongoing Epstein files controversy and what may happen next:

Trump is desperately trying to turn the page on a crisis that has consumed his administration since the Justice Department announced last week that it would not release any more evidence about the sex trafficking investigation into Epstein, who killed himself behind bars while awaiting trial in 2019.

The latest development came Thursday when the Wall Street Journal described a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper says bore Trump’s name and was included in a 2003 album for Epstein’s 50th birthday. Trump denied writing the letter, calling it “false, malicious, and defamatory.”

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Trump signs new stablecoin regulations into law, a major milestone for crypto industry

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law new regulations for a type of cryptocurrency, a major milestone for an industry that has spent heavily to strengthen its legitimacy and political might.

The GENIUS Act sets initial guardrails and consumer protections for stablecoins, which are tied to assets like the U.S. dollar to reduce price volatility compared with other forms of cryptocurrency. It passed both the House and Senate with wide bipartisan margins.

The new law is meant to bolster consumer confidence in the crypto industry, which has quickly become a major power player in Washington thanks to massive campaign donations and spending on lobbying. Its passage comes as Trump had repeatedly pledged to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”

“For years you were mocked and dismissed and counted out,” Trump told crypto industry executives at a White House bill signing attended by about 200 people, including several top GOP lawmakers. “This signing is a massive validation of your hard work and your pioneering spirit.”

The crypto industry has long complained it was unfairly targeted by former President Joe Biden’s administration and spent heavily to help Trump win last year’s election.

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Training facility blast kills 3 LA deputies in one of sheriff’s department’s worst losses of life

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A blast at a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department training facility killed three members of its arson and explosives unit Friday, marking one of the department’s worst losses of life from a single incident, authorities said.

All three were veteran deputies. The department has not said what they were doing at the time or what caused the explosion.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the arson and explosives team undergoes in-depth training and responds to more than 1,000 calls a year. Those killed were identified Friday evening by the department as Detective Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Detective Victor Lemus and Detective William Osborn. They served 19, 22 and 33 years in the department respectively, Luna said.

“They have years of training,” the sheriff said at a news conference. “They are fantastic experts, and unfortunately I lost three of them today.”

The explosion was reported about 7:30 a.m. at the Biscailuz Training Facility, according to sheriff’s department spokesperson Nicole Nishida.

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Venezuela releases jailed Americans in deal that frees migrants deported to El Salvador by US

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela on Friday released 10 jailed U.S. citizens and permanent residents in exchange for getting home scores of migrants deported by the United States to El Salvador months ago under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, officials said.

The complex, three-country arrangement represents a diplomatic achievement for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, helps President Donald Trump in his goal of bringing home Americans jailed abroad and lands Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele a swap that he proposed months ago.

“Every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement in which he thanked Bukele, a Trump ally.

Bukele said El Salvador had handed over all the Venezuelan nationals in its custody. Maduro described Friday as “a day of blessings and good news for Venezuela.” He called it “the perfect day for Venezuela.”

Central to the deal are more than 250 Venezuelan migrants freed by El Salvador, which in March agreed to a $6 million payment from the Trump administration to house them in its notorious prison.

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Christian patriarchs make rare visit to Gaza after deadly Israeli strike on church

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Top church leaders visited Gaza on Friday after its only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell the day before, an attack that killed three people and wounded 10, including a priest who had developed a close friendship with the late Pope Francis.

The strike drew condemnation from the pope and U.S. President Donald Trump, and prompted statements of regret from Israel, which said it was an accident. Since ending a ceasefire in March, Israel has regularly launched far deadlier strikes across Gaza against what it says are Hamas militants, frequently killing women and children. Strikes killed 18 people overnight, health officials said Friday.

Pope Leo XVI meanwhile renewed his call for negotiations to bring an end to the 21-month war in a phone call Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who offered condolences to the victims.

The religious delegation to Gaza included two Patriarchs from Jerusalem — Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III. The rare visit aimed to express the “shared pastoral solicitude of the Churches of the Holy Land,” a statement said.

Israel has heavily restricted access to Gaza since the start of the war, though church leaders have entered on previous occasions, usually to mark major holidays.

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Brazil’s former President Bolsonaro ordered to wear an electronic ankle monitor

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to wear an ankle monitor, authorities said on Friday, in a move he described as “a supreme humiliation.”

The development came as federal police conducted searches at his home and his party’s headquarters in Brasília, in compliance with a Supreme Court order.

The order prohibits Bolsonaro from leaving the house at night, communicate with foreign ambassadors and diplomats or approach embassies. The former president is also barred from using social media or contacting other individuals under investigation by the Supreme Court, including his son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian lawmaker who currently lives in the United States and is known for his close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Bolsonaro is currently on trial at the Supreme Court accused of leading an alleged attempt to stage a coup to overturn the 2022 election in which he was defeated by left-wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

“It is a supreme humiliation,” Bolsonaro told journalists in Brasilia after putting on the ankle monitoring. “I never thought about leaving Brazil, I never thought about going to an embassy, but the precautionary measures are because of that.”

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US envoy says Syria and Israel agree to ceasefire as Druze minority and Bedouin clans clash in Syria

MAZRAA, Syria (AP) — U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said early Saturday that Israel and Syria had agreed to a ceasefire following Israel’s intervention this week in fighting between Syrian government forces and rival armed groups.

The announcement came as renewed clashes erupted between Druze groups and Bedouin clans and Syria’s president said he would send troops back in to quell the fighting, which has left tens of thousands of people displaced in a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Barrack said in a statement posted on social platform X that the new ceasefire between Israel and Syria was supported by Turkey, Jordan and other neighboring countries and called for “Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbors.”

He did not share any details on the agreement.

Clashes began Sunday between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes in Syria’s southern Sweida province. Government forces intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up taking the Bedouins’ side against the Druze.

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Did money or politics cause Colbert cancellation? Either way, the economics are tough for TV

CBS says its decision to end Stephen Colbert’s late-night comedy show is financial, not political. Yet even with the ample skepticism about that explanation, there’s no denying the economics were not working in Colbert’s favor.

The network’s bombshell announcement late Thursday that the “Late Show” will end next May takes away President Donald Trump’s most prominent TV critic and the most popular entertainment program in its genre.

The television industry’s declining economic health means similar hard calls are already being made with personalities and programming, with others to be faced in the future. For the late-night genre, there are unique factors to consider.

As recently as 2018, broadcast networks took in an estimated $439 million in advertising revenue for its late-night programs, according to the advertising firm Guidelines. Last year, that number dwindled to $220 million.

Late-night TV was a particular draw for young men, considered the hardest-to-get and most valuable demographic for advertisers. Increasingly, these viewers are turning to streaming services, either to watch something else entirely or catch highlights of the late-night shows, which are more difficult for the networks to monetize.

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Alan Bergman, Oscar-winning lyricist who helped write ‘The Way We Were,’ dies at 99

Alan Bergman, the Oscar-winning lyricist who teamed with his wife, Marilyn, for an enduring and loving partnership that produced such old-fashioned hits as “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?,” “It Might Be You” and the classic “The Way We Were,” has died at 99.

Bergman died late Thursday at his home in Los Angeles, family spokesperson Ken Sunshine said in a statement Friday. The statement said Bergman had, in recent months, suffered from respiratory issues “but continued to write songs till the very end.”

The Bergmans married in 1958 and remained together until her death, in 2022. With collaborators ranging from Marvin Hamlisch and Quincy Jones to Michel Legrand and Cy Coleman, they were among the most successful and prolific partnerships of their time, providing words and occasional music for hundreds of songs, including movie themes that became as famous as the films themselves. Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Tony Bennett and many other artists performed their material, and Barbra Streisand became a frequent collaborator and close friend.

Sunshine said that there will still be a centennial celebration of Alan Bergman as planned at Santa Monica’s Broad Stage, with guests including Michael Feinstein, Jackson Browne and Patti Austin. Feinstein, among the many artists who posted tributes Friday, wrote that the Bergmans were “kind, talented and principled artists” who “lived from a place called Love.”

Blending Tin Pan Alley sentiment and contemporary pop, the Bergmans crafted lyrics known by millions, many of whom would not have recognized the writers had they walked right past them. Among their most famous works: the Streisand-Neil Diamond duet “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” the well-named Sinatra favorite “Nice ’n’ Easy” and the topical themes to the 1970s sitcoms “Maude” and “Good Times.” Their film compositions included Ray Charles’ “In the Heat of the Night” from the movie of the same name; Noel Harrison’s “The Windmills of Your Mind,” from “The Thomas Crown Affair”; and Stephen Bishop’s “It Might Be You,” from “Tootsie.”