AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EST

US senators say Rubio told them Trump’s Ukraine peace plan is Russia’s ‘wish list’

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) — Lawmakers critical of President Donald Trump’s approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine war said Saturday they spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio who told them that the peace plan Trump is pushing Kyiv to accept is a “wish list” of the Russians and not the actual proposal offering Washington’s positions.

A State Department spokesperson denied their account, calling it “blatantly false.”

Rubio himself then took the extraordinary step of suggesting online that the senators were mistaken, even though they said he was their source for the information. The secretary of state doubled down on the assertion that Washington was responsible for a proposal that had surprised many from the beginning for being so favorable to Moscow.

It all added up to a confusing — and potentially embarrassing — turn of events for a Trump administration-blessed peace plan that already faced a potentially rocky future.

The widely leaked 28-point U.S-backed peace plan was, according to the White House, the result of a month of work between Rubio and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff along with input from what it said was both Ukrainians and Russians. The plan acquiesces to many Russian demands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has categorically rejected on dozens of occasions, including giving up large pieces of territory. Trump says he wants Ukraine to accept the plan by late next week.

___

Ukraine’s allies push back on a US peace plan seen as favoring Moscow

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s Western allies rallied around the war-torn country on Saturday as they pushed to revise a U.S. peace plan seen as favoring Moscow despite its all-out invasion of its neighbor. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed Ukrainians “will always defend” their home.

A Ukrainian delegation, bolstered by representatives from France, Germany and the U.K., is preparing for direct talks with Washington in Switzerland on Sunday.

The 28-point blueprint drawn up by the U.S. to end the nearly four-year war sparked alarm in Kyiv and European capitals, with Zelenskyy saying his country could face a stark choice between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. proposal was not his “final offer.”

“I would like to get to peace. It should have happened a long time ago. The Ukraine war with Russia should have never happened,” Trump said. “One way or the other, we have to get it ended.”

___

Trump paints Zelenskyy into a corner with his new plan to end Russia’s war on Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — With his new 28-point plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, President Donald Trump is resurfacing his argument that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy doesn’t “have the cards” to continue on the battlefield and must come to a settlement that heavily tilts in Moscow’s favor.

Trump, who has demonstrated low regard for Zelenskyy dating back to his first term, says he expects the Ukrainian leader to respond to his administration’s new plan to end the war by next Thursday.

The president said Friday of Zelenksyy, “He’s going to have to approve it,” though he was more reconciliatory a day later, saying, “I would like to get to peace.”

“We’re trying to get it ended. One way or the other, we have to get it ended,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Saturday.

Hours later, senators critical of Trump’s approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine war said they spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio who told them that the peace plan Trump is pushing Kyiv to accept is actually a “wish list” of the Russians and not the actual proposal offering Washington’s positions.

___

Israel launches strikes in Gaza ceasefire’s latest test as hospitals say 24 killed

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s military on Saturday launched airstrikes against Hamas militants in Gaza in the latest test of the ceasefire that began on Oct. 10, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said five senior Hamas members were killed. Health officials in Gaza reported at least 24 people killed and another 54 wounded, including children.

The strikes, which Israel said were in response to gunfire at its troops, came after international momentum on Gaza, with the U.N. Security Council on Monday approving the U.S. blueprint to secure and govern the territory. It authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security, approves a transitional authority to be overseen by President Donald Trump and envisions a possible future path to an independent Palestinian state.

Israel has previously carried out similar waves of strikes after reported attacks on its forces during the ceasefire. At least 33 Palestinians were killed over a 12-hour period Wednesday and Thursday, mostly women and children, health officials said.

One of Saturday’s strikes targeted a vehicle, killing 11 and wounding over 20 Palestinians in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, said Rami Mhanna, managing director of Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken. The majority of the wounded were children, director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said.

Associated Press video showed children and others inspecting the blackened vehicle, whose top was blown off.

___

Epstein’s accusers grapple with complex emotions about promised release of Justice Department files

For Marina Lacerda, the upcoming publication of U.S. government files on Jeffrey Epstein represent more than an opportunity for justice: Lacerda says she was just 14 when Epstein started sexually abusing her at his New York mansion, but she struggles to recall much of what happened because it is such a dark period in her life.

Now, she’s hoping that the files will reveal more about the trauma that distorted so much of her adolescence.

“I feel that the government and the FBI knows more than I do, and that scares me, because it’s my life, it’s my past,” she told The Associated Press.

President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday that will force the Justice Department to release documents from its voluminous files on Epstein.

“We have waited long enough. We’ve fought long enough,” Lacerda said.

___

UAB football player accused of stabbing 2 teammates before game

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A University of Alabama at Birmingham football player stabbed two teammates Saturday morning hours before the team’s game against the University of South Florida, the university said in a statement.

The two wounded players were in stable condition, interim head coach Alex Mortensen said at the postgame news conference. He added that the team decided to play to honor graduating seniors in the last home game of the season, though several players understandably opted to sit it out due to the incident.

The teammate suspected in the stabbing was in custody, the university said. The school did not release the names of the players involved.

Daniel Mincey, an offensive lineman who transferred to the school in May, was arrested and booked on charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder in the afternoon, according to Jefferson County Jail records. He was in custody in Birmingham and appeared to be the only UAB player who was arrested Saturday.

It was not immediately clear if Mincey had legal representation. Attempts to reach family members for comment were not immediately successful.

___

Trump pledge to ‘immediately’ end protections for Minnesota Somalis sparks fear and legal questions

President Donald Trump’s pledge to terminate temporary legal protections for Somalis living in Minnesota is triggering fear in the state’s deeply-rooted immigrant community, along with doubts about whether the White House has the legal authority to enact the directive as described.

In a Truth Social post late Friday, Trump said he would “immediately” strip Somali residents in Minnesota of Temporary Protected Status, a legal safeguard against deportation for immigrants from certain countries.

The announcement drew immediate pushback from some state leaders and immigration experts, who characterized Trump’s declaration as a legally dubious effort to sow fear and suspicion toward Minnesota’s Somali community, the largest in the nation.

“There’s no legal mechanism that allows the president to terminate protected status for a particular community or state that he has beef with,” said Heidi Altman, policy director at the National Immigrant Justice Center.

“This is Trump doing what he always does: demagoguing immigrants without justification or evidence and using that demagoguery in an attempt to take away important life-saving protections,” she added.

___

Cargo ship fire in Los Angeles nearly contained after shelter-in-place order lifted

A fire on a container ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles was nearly contained Saturday afternoon, though authorities were still assessing whether enough hazardous material burned to cause significant contamination.

The blaze, which broke out Friday night, prompted a shelter-in-place order for surrounding communities over concerns about hazardous materials in the One Henry Hudson’s cargo.

The order was lifted in the morning, and the ship was moved out to sea. Fireboats sprayed water on the vessel to tame “a small section” that was still on fire, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Adam Van Gerpen said.

The electrical fire apparently started below deck before spreading to several levels of the ship, leading to an explosion mid-deck, according to the fire department. The cause was under investigation.

Roughly 100 cargo containers burned, and many of them carried dangerous materials, Van Gerpen said. Officials said some included lithium-ion batteries and other hazardous waste, though it was not clear if they caught fire.

___

Brazil’s ex-president Bolsonaro arrested over alleged plot to escape and avoid 27-year prison term

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s federal police on Saturday arrested former president Jair Bolsonaro over suspicion he was plotting to escape and avoid starting a 27-year prison sentence for leading a coup attempt. The decision laid bare some of the country’s divisions, with many uncorking Champagne outside the far-right leader’s prison to celebrate as his supporters prepared a religious act in his favor.

In a dramatic and unexpected twist in the final stage of a long and divisive criminal trial, federal agents entered Bolsonaro’s house early Saturday under the order of a Supreme Court Justice to take the former president to the headquarters of the country’s federal police in the capital, Brasilia.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the case on Bolsonaro’s attempt to keep the presidency after his defeat to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022, ordered the preemptive arrest after saying the far-right leader’s ankle monitor was violated at 12:08 a.m. on Saturday. His lawyers claimed in a statement that did not take place.

A report by custody agents released later in the day — and reviewed by The Associated Press — said Bolsonaro admitted using a soldering iron to try to open the device. In a court video also seen by the AP, Bolsonaro is heard admitting such attempt. The footage shows the ankle monitor’s cap heavily damaged.

Bolsonaro, 70, who had been under house arrest, was ordered to wear the device after being deemed a flight risk. His aide Andriely Cirino confirmed that the arrest took place around 6 a.m. on Saturday.

___

Republicans hyped the Epstein files for years. Now Trump is under pressure to deliver

WASHINGTON (AP) — What began as a campaign-trail promise to release the Jeffrey Epstein files has become one of the most fraught tests of President Donald Trump’s second term — opening a rift in his political coalition and raising the stakes for an administration now under intense pressure to produce documents that may fall far short of public expectations.

The issue came to a head this week. After months of efforts by the Trump administration to quash it, both chambers of Congress passed a measure forcing the release of the Epstein files with near-unanimous support. Trump, who changed course days before the vote to bless the effort, signed the legislation Wednesday, starting a 30-day window for the Justice Department to deliver the records.

Expectations are sky-high, fueled by years of conspiracy theories promoted by many now in Trump’s orbit. Yet with some claims — such as a rumored “client list” of prominent men linked to Epstein — already deemed nonexistent by federal officials, the antiestablishment coalition Trump built in part by elevating those theories is showing cracks that may widen with the anticipated release.

“Watching this actually turn into a fight has ripped MAGA apart,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said this week, flanked by Epstein survivors ahead of the House vote.

“The only thing that will speak to the powerful, courageous women behind me is when action is actually taken to release these files,” said Greene, who announced late Friday that she will resign from Congress in January. “And the American people won’t tolerate any other bulls—-.”