AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EDT

In Epstein furor, Trump struggles to shake off a controversy his allies once stoked

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite the sun bearing down on him and the sweat beading across his face, President Donald Trump still lingered with reporters lined up outside the White House on Friday. He was leaving on a trip to Scotland, where he would visit his golf courses, and he wanted to talk about how his administration just finished “the best six months ever.”

But over and over, the journalists kept asking Trump about the Jeffrey Epstein case and whether he would pardon the disgraced financier’s imprisoned accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

“People should really focus on how well the country is doing,” Trump insisted. He shut down another question by saying, “I don’t want to talk about that.”

It was another example of how the Epstein saga — and his administration’s disjointed approach to it — has shadowed Trump when he’s otherwise at the height of his influence. He’s enacted a vast legislative agenda, reached trade deals with key countries and tightened his grip across the federal government. Yet he’s struggled to stamp out the embers of a political crisis that could become a full-on conflagration.

The Republican president’s supporters want the government to release secret files about Epstein, who authorities say killed himself in his New York jail cell six years ago while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. They believe him to be the nexus of a dark web of powerful people who abused underage girls. Administration officials who once stoked conspiracy theories now insist there’s nothing more to disclose, a stance that has stirred skepticism because of Trump’s former friendship with Epstein.

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Epstein ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell finishes interviews with Justice Department officials

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, finished 1 1/2 days of interviews with Justice Department officials on Friday, answering questions “about 100 different people,” her attorney said.

“She answered those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability,” David Oscar Markus told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where Maxwell met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“She never invoked a privilege. She never refused to answer a question, so we’re very proud of her,” Markus said.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is housed at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee. She was sentenced three years ago after being convicted of helping Epstein, a wealthy, well-connected financier, sexually abuse underage girls.

Officials have said Epstein killed himself in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell’s links to famous people, such as royals, presidents and billionaires, including Donald Trump.

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‘Why isn’t he paying?’ Trump’s golf visit to cost Scottish taxpayers

TURNBERRY, Scotland (AP) — It may not be typical golf attire, but one of the most ubiquitous outfits seen on U.S. President Donald Trump ‘s golf course Friday ahead of his visit was the reflective yellow vest worn by Scottish police.

The standard issue garb that is far removed from the traditional Turnberry tartan was highly visible on the dunes, the beaches and the grass as thousands of officers secured the course in advance of protests planned during the president’s visit to two of his Scottish golf resorts.

Trump was expected to arrive Friday evening to a mix of respect and ridicule.

His visit requires a major police operation that will cost Scottish taxpayers millions of pounds as protests are planned over the weekend. The union representing officers is concerned they are already overworked and will be diverted from their normal duties and some residents are not happy about the cost.

“Why isn’t he paying for it himself? He’s coming for golf, isn’t he?” said Merle Fertuson, a solo protester in Edinburgh holding a hand-drawn cardboard sign that featured a foolishly grinning Trump likeness in a tuxedo. “It’s got nothing whatsoever to do with public money, either U.S. or U.K.”

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Israel says it is considering alternatives to ceasefire talks with Hamas, deepening uncertainty

CAIRO (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his government was considering “alternative options” to ceasefire talks with Hamas after Israel and the U.S. recalled their negotiating teams, throwing the future of the negotiations into further uncertainty.

Netanyahu’s statement came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic. Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks alongside the United States, said the pause was only temporary and that talks would resume, though they did not say when.

The teams left Qatar on Thursday as President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas’ latest response to proposals for a deal showed a “lack of desire” to reach a truce. Witkoff said the U.S. will look at “alternative options,” without elaborating.

In a statement released by his office, Netanyahu echoed Witkoff, saying, “Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal.”

“Together with our U.S. allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas’s terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region,” he said. He did not elaborate. Israel’s government didn’t immediately respond to whether negotiations would resume next week.

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Deportation flights from Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention center have begun, DeSantis says

Deportation flights from the remote Everglades immigration lockup known as Alligator Alcatraz have begun and are expected to increase soon, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday.

The first flights operated by the Department of Homeland Security have transferred about 100 detainees from the immigration detention center to other countries, DeSantis said during a news conference near the facility.

“You’re going to see the numbers go up dramatically,” he said.

Two or three flights have already departed, but officials didn’t say where those flights headed.

Critics have condemned the South Florida facility as cruel and inhumane. DeSantis and other Republican officials have defended it as part of the state’s aggressive push to support President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

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Disgraced former US Rep. George Santos reports to NJ federal prison to serve 7-year fraud sentence

NEW YORK (AP) — Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos reported to a federal prison in New Jersey on Friday to begin serving a seven-year sentence for the fraud charges that got him ousted from Congress.

The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that the New York Republican was in custody at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, in southern New Jersey.

Santos pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges for deceiving donors and stealing people’s identities in order to fund his congressional campaign.

His lawyer Joe Murray, when asked for comment Friday, responded with a brief, all-caps text: “FREE GEORGE SANTOS.”

The ever-online Santos, who turned 37 years old on Tuesday, hosted a farewell party for himself on the social media platform X on Thursday night.

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Tens of thousands flee their homes as Thailand and Cambodia clash

SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Tens of thousands of people sought refuge as border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered its third day Saturday, heightening fears of an extended conflict with the total death toll reaching 32.

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors late Friday in New York, while Malaysia, which chairs the 10-nation regional bloc that includes both countries, called for an end to hostilities and offered to mediate.

The council did not issue a statement but a council diplomat said all 15 members called on the parties to deescalate, show restraint and resolve the dispute peacefully. The council also urged the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations known as ASEAN, to help resolve the border fighting, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private.

Cambodia’s U.N. Ambassador Chhea Keo told reporters afterward that his country, which called for the emergency meeting, “asked for immediate ceasefires, unconditionally, and we also call for the peaceful solution to the dispute.”

He responded to accusations that Cambodia attacked Thailand asking how a small country with no air force could attack a much larger country with an army three times its size, stressing, “We do not do that.”

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Hulk Hogan’s death resurfaces painful contradictions for Black wrestling fans

One of Kazeem Famuyide’s earliest memories is sitting on his father’s lap watching Hulk Hogan wrestle in the 1988 Survivor Series.

His love of Hogan in the ring became inextricable from what would become a lifelong obsession with the sport — including a yearlong role touring the country and writing scripts for WWE’s top talent.

“He was a superhero to a lot of people, including myself,” said Famuyide, who is Black and now co-hosts the WWE-themed podcast “The Ringer Wrestling Show.” He remembers Hogan telling audiences to “train, say your prayers and eat your vitamins,” often in front of giant American flags.

But for the 38-year-old Famuyide and other Black wrestling fans and sports commentators, Hogan’s death this week at 71 has resurfaced an irreconcilable contradiction in the iconic wrestler’s legacy: Hogan’s undeniable role in broadening wrestling’s appeal to fans of all backgrounds versus his well-documented racism.

“You never really got the feeling that Hulk Hogan truly felt remorse,” Famuyide said.

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Education Department says it will release billions in remaining withheld grant money for schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is releasing billions of dollars in withheld grants for schools, the Education Department said Friday, ending weeks of uncertainty for educators around the country who rely on the money for English language instruction, adult literacy, and other programs.

President Donald Trump’s administration had suspended more than $6 billion in funding on July 1, as part of a review to ensure spending aligned with the White House’s priorities.

The funding freeze had been challenged by several lawsuits as educators, Congress members from both parties and others called for the administration to release the money. Congress had appropriated the money in a bill signed this year by Trump.

Last week, the Education Department said it would release $1.3 billion of the money for after-school and summer programming. Without the money, school districts and nonprofits such as the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club of America had said they would have to close or scale back educational offerings this fall.

The Office of Management and Budget had completed its review of the programs and will begin sending the money to states next week, the Education Department said.

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A grenade is missing from the scene of an explosion that killed 3 LA deputies

A grenade is missing from the scene of an explosion at a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department training facility that killed three members of its arson and explosives unit, authorities said Friday.

At the time of the July 18 blast, the veteran deputies were working on two “military-style” grenades that had been taken into custody by authorities. One of the grenades detonated, and the other is unaccounted for, Sheriff Robert Luna said, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The agency is investigating the explosion and is expected to publish a final report in 45 days.

Luna said authorities X-rayed special enforcement bureau vehicles, searched all around the blast area and examined office spaces and even the gym and haven’t found it.

“You get the drift. We have looked at everything out there that we possibly could,” he said, adding that no one from the public has had access to the area.

The day before the explosion, members of the sheriff’s department’s arson and explosives unit arrived at an apartment in Santa Monica to assist local police after a resident said they found what appeared to be two hand grenades in a tenant’s storage unit in the underground parking garage, Luna said. The detectives X-rayed the devices and believed they were “inert,” or inactive.