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

Trump's frustration with the conflict has surfaced repeatedly in the nine months since he returned to office, but with his latest comments he edged back in the direction of pressing Ukraine to give up on retaking land it has lost to Russia.

“Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by War and Guts,” Trump said in a Truth Social post not long after hosting Zelenskyy and his team for more than two hours of talks. “They should stop where they are. Let both claim Victory, let History decide!”

Later, soon after arriving in Florida, where he's spending the weekend, Trump urged both sides to “stop the war immediately” and implied that Moscow keep territory it’s taken from Kyiv.

“You go by the battle line wherever it is — otherwise it's too complicated,” Trump told reporters. "You stop at the battle line and both sides should go home, go to their families, stop the killing, and that should be it.”

US has seized survivors after strike on suspected drug-carrying vessel in Caribbean, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States took survivors into custody after the military struck a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, a defense official and another person familiar with the matter said Friday.

It is the first known attack that anyone has escaped alive since President Donald Trump began launching deadly strikes in the waters off Venezuela last month and raises questions about how the U.S. will treat the survivors.

Trump later confirmed the attack during an event at the White House. “We attacked a submarine, and that was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs” he said.

Secretary of State Rubio did not dispute that there were survivors, but he repeatedly said details would be forthcoming.

The strike Thursday, at least the sixth since early September, brought the death toll from the Trump administration’s military action against vessels in the region to at least 28.

Bolton pleads not guilty in Justice Department case accusing him of sharing government secrets

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — John Bolton pleaded not guilty Friday to charges accusing the former Trump national security adviser turned critic of emailing classified information to family members and keeping top secret documents at his Maryland home.

Bolton was ordered released from custody after making his appearance before a judge in the third Justice Department case brought in recent weeks against an adversary of President Donald Trump.

The case accusing Bolton of putting the country’s national security at risk is unfolding against the backdrop of growing concerns that the Trump administration is using the law enforcement powers of the Justice Department to pursue his political foes. Bolton has signaled he will argue he is being targeted because of his criticism of the president, describing the charges as part of a Trump "effort to intimidate his opponents.”

The investigation into Bolton, however, was already well underway by the time Trump took office a second time this past January and appears to have followed a more conventional path toward indictment than other recent cases against perceived Trump foes, who were charged by the president's hand-picked U.S. attorney in Virginia over the concerns of career prosecutors.

Bolton is accused of sharing with his wife and daughter more than 1,000 pages of notes that included sensitive information he had gleaned from meetings with other U.S. government officials and foreign leaders or from intelligence briefings. Authorities say some of the information was exposed when operatives believed to be linked to the Iranian government hacked Bolton’s email account he used to send diary-like notes about his activities to his relatives.

Israel received coffin of missing hostage handed over to Red Cross, prime minister's office says

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel received the remains of another hostage from Gaza on Friday, the prime minister’s office said, a handover from Hamas as the militant group worked to shore up a ceasefire by using bulldozers in a search for bodies under the rubble in the war-scarred enclave.

The Israeli military and security forces received the coffin from the International Committee of the Red Cross inside the Gaza Strip, and it was to be sent to the Ministry of Health’s National Center for Forensic Medicine in Israel.

Israeli authorities said the family of the deceased would be notified first after a formal identification process.

The handover came after Hamas’ military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades, said the remains were that of an “occupation prisoner,” suggesting that they belonged to an Israeli rather than one of the hostages of several other nationalities also taken in Gaza.

The handover of hostages remains, called for under the ceasefire agreement, has been among the key sticking points — along with aid deliveries, the opening of border crossings into Gaza and hopes for reconstruction — in a process backed by much of the international community to help end two years of devastating war in Gaza.

Prince Andrew gives up his Duke of York title as Epstein allegations refuse to fade

LONDON (AP) — Prince Andrew said Friday he is giving up his royal title of the Duke of York and other honors after his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein returned to the headlines.

Andrew, younger brother of King Charles III, said in a statement released by Buckingham Palace that “the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the royal family.”

“With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me,” Andrew said in his statement Friday. “As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”

It’s the latest fall from grace for the 65-year-old prince, who had already stepped down from public life in 2019 over his links to Epstein despite his denials of any wrongdoing.

News that he will be ditching his title came in the wake of the release of excerpts of an upcoming posthumous memoir from Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex with Andrew when she was 17. The memoir is due to be published on Tuesday.

With no takers yet, White House meets with colleges still weighing an agreement with Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — The five universities that were still weighing President Donald Trump’s higher-education compact were asked to join a White House call Friday to discuss the proposed deal. By late Friday afternoon, one of the schools — the University of Virginia — had already declined to sign the agreement.

The meeting with university presidents, first reported by The Associated Press, was an “important step toward defining a shared vision,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a post on X. She called for “renewed commitment to the time-honored principles that helped make American universities great" and said she looked forward to more dialogue.

The White House has faced a flurry of rejections after inviting nine universities to become “initial signatories” of the so-called compact, which asked colleges to make commitments aligned with Trump’s political priorities in exchange for favorable access to research funding. It was the latest effort by Trump's administration to bring to heel prestigious universities that conservatives describe as hotbeds of liberalism.

The White House asked university leaders to provide initial feedback on the compact by Oct. 20, yet as the deadline approaches, none has signed on to the document. Those that have not yet announced a decision are Dartmouth College, the University of Arizona, the University of Texas and Vanderbilt University. They did not immediately respond to questions about Friday’s call. Leaders of the University of Texas system previously said they were honored to be included, but other universities still weighing the deal have not indicated how they’re leaning.

After the meeting, McMahon took a collaborative tone, speaking of ongoing discussions with universities and referencing continued federal funding.

Trump commutes sentence of former US Rep. George Santos in federal fraud case

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday he had commuted the sentence of former U.S. Rep. George Santos, who is serving more than seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud and identity theft charges.

The New York Republican was sentenced in April after admitting last year to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of 11 people — including his own family members — to make donations to his campaign.

He reported to the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, in southern New Jersey, on July 25 and is being housed in a minimum security prison camp with fewer than 50 other inmates.

“George Santos was somewhat of a ‘rogue,’ but there are many rogues throughout our Country that aren’t forced to serve seven years in prison," Trump posted on his social media platform. He said he had “just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY.”

"Good luck George, have a great life!” Trump said.

Democrats say Trump needs to be involved in shutdown talks. He's shown little interest in doing so

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is showing little urgency to broker a compromise that would end the government shutdown, even as Democrats insist no breakthrough is possible without his direct involvement.

Three weeks in, Congress is at a standstill. The House hasn’t been in session for a month, and senators left Washington on Thursday frustrated by the lack of progress. Republican leaders are refusing to negotiate until a short-term funding bill to reopen the government is passed, while Democrats say they won’t agree without guarantees on extending health insurance subsidies.

For now, Trump appears content to stay on the sidelines.

He spent the week celebrating an Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal he led, hosted a remembrance event for conservative activist Charlie Kirk and refocused attention on the Russia-Ukraine war. Meanwhile, his administration has been managing the shutdown in unconventional ways, continuing to pay the troops while laying off other federal employees.

Asked Thursday whether he was willing to deploy his dealmaking background on the shutdown, Trump seemed uninterested.

US blocks a global fee on shipping emissions as international meeting ends without new regulations

With trade threats from President Donald Trump, the U.S. derailed the world’s first global carbon fee on shipping as an international maritime meeting adjourned Friday without adopting regulations.

Earlier this year, amid much fanfare, the world’s largest maritime nations agreed on the regulations, which would impose a fee on carbon pollution to clean up shipping. The next step of the process — adopting the regulations — during the International Maritime Organization meeting in London this week was widely expected to be a formality.

Instead, after much pressure from Trump, along with Saudi Arabia and a handful of other countries, delegates decided to postpone the decision by a year and adjourn. In the interim, nations will continue to negotiate and work toward consensus.

The development underscored how the influence of Trump, who recently called climate change a “con job,” extends globally to policies aimed at combating climate change.

“Faced with pressure, too many governments chose political compromise over climate justice, and in doing so, abandoned the countries bearing the brunt of the climate crisis,” said Emma Fenton, senior director for climate diplomacy at a U.K.-based climate change nonprofit, Opportunity Green.

Gold prices topped $4,300 this week. What's driving the surge?

NEW YORK (AP) — As economic uncertainty deepens, the rush for gold continues — with prices for the precious metal topping $4,300 for the first time this week.

The going price for New York spot closed at a record $4,326 per troy ounce on Thursday. Futures also traded as high at more than $4,344 per troy ounce Thursday, before falling below the $4,300 mark Friday morning. Still, gold is up 6.7% over the last week, marking one of its best weeks to date.

Gold sales can rise sharply when anxious investors seek a “safe haven” for their money. For the U.S., the latest gains arrive amid the now weekslong government shutdown and ongoing trade wars abroad — with President Donald Trump most recently threatening to place much higher tariffs on China, before appearing to walk back those potential new levies as unsustainable. Still, his barrage of other import taxes has already strained economies worldwide. Meanwhile, the prospect of lower interest rates is also making gold a more attractive investment.

Gold futures are up nearly 60% since the start of 2025 — trading at about $4,268 per troy ounce, the standard for measuring precious metals, as of around 11:45 a.m. Friday. That’s up from around $2,670 at the beginning of January.

Silver has seen an even bigger percentage jump year to date. Silver futures are up about 70%, trading at over $50 per troy ounce Friday morning.