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

Leaders of the two parties sought to blame the other side for the standoff. Democrats accused Republicans of not negotiating with them to address some of their priorities on health care as part of the funding measure, even though they knew Democratic votes would be needed to get a bill to the president's desk.

Republicans said Democrats were making demands that would dramatically increase spending and were not germane to the core issue of keeping agencies fully running for a short period of time while negotiations continued on a full-year spending package.

It's unclear how the two sides will be able to avoid a shutdown. Republicans are planning on what amounts to a do-over vote on their proposal close to the deadline in the hopes that more Democrats will have second thoughts. Democrats are repeating their demand that Republicans sit down with them and work on a compromise.

“The theater must end,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said after the vote. “Let's sit down and negotiate.”

Trump asks the Supreme Court to allow him to enforce transgender and nonbinary passport policy

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to let it enforce a passport policy for transgender and nonbinary people that requires male or female sex designations based on birth certificates.

The Justice Department appealed a lower-court order allowing people use the gender or “X” identification marker that lines up with their gender identity.

It’s the latest in a series of emergency appeals from the Trump administration, many of which have resulted in victories amid litigation, including on banning transgender people from the military.

The government argues it can’t be required to use sex designations it considers inaccurate on official documents. The plaintiffs, meanwhile, say the policy violates the rights of transgender and nonbinary Americans.

The State Department changed its passport rules after Trump, a Republican, handed down an executive order in January declaring the United States would “recognize two sexes, male and female," based on what it called “an individual’s immutable biological classification.”

Trump says he and Xi will meet in South Korea in coming weeks and he'll later go to China

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said he would meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a regional summit taking place at the end of October in South Korea and will visit China in the “early part of next year,” following a lengthy phone call between the two on Friday.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said Xi would come to the United States “at an appropriate time” and that they had made progress on “the approval of the TikTok Deal” to allow the popular social media app to keep operating in the U.S., though he didn't give details.

A statement from the Chinese government did not mention the visits, nor did it offer clarity on what Xi had agreed to regarding a sale of a controlling stake by TikTok’s Chinese parent company to avoid a U.S. ban. But Xi told Trump to avoid imposing trade restrictions to keep trade ties from getting worse, according to the statement.

While the highly anticipated call suggested a cordial relationship between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies, their statements showed the challenges facing two countries with conflicting worldviews that are so entwined. A fundamental sign of cooperation was a willingness to meet face to face.

“The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!” Trump wrote, referring to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group of 21 economies on the Pacific Rim.

Kennedy's vaccine advisers change COVID shot guidance, calling them an individual choice

ATLANTA (AP) — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new vaccine advisers added confusion Friday to this fall’s COVID-19 vaccinations — declining to recommend them for anyone and leaving the choice up to those who want a shot.

Until now, the vaccinations had been recommended as a routine step in the fall for nearly all Americans — just like a yearly flu vaccine.

The Food and Drug Administration already had placed new restrictions on this year’s shots from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax, reserving them for people over 65 or younger ones who are deemed at higher risk from the virus.

In a series of votes Friday, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took the unprecedented step of not recommending them even for high-risk populations like seniors. Instead they decided people could make individual decisions after talking with a doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

The panel also urged the CDC to adopt stronger language around claims of vaccine risks, despite pushback from outside medical groups who said the shots had a proven safety record from the billions of doses administered worldwide.

Florida federal judge tosses Trump's $15B defamation lawsuit against The New York Times

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A Florida federal judge on Friday tossed out a $15 billion defamation lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against The New York Times.

U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday ruled that Trump’s 85-page lawsuit was overly long and full of “tedious and burdensome” language that had no bearing on the legal case. The judge gave Trump 28 days to file an amended complaint that should not exceed 40 pages.

“A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally,” Merryday wrote in a four-page order. “This action will begin, will continue, and will end in accord with the rules of procedure and in a professional and dignified manner.”

Trump's legal team plans to continue the lawsuit “in accordance with the judge’s direction on logistics,” spokesman Aaron Harison said.

The lawsuit named four Times journalists and cited a book and three articles published within a two-month period before the last election.

Kimmel’s rise from radio to cultural icon hits roadblock with ABC’s suspension of late-night TV show

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a crowded late-night field, Jimmy Kimmel rose to become a cultural fixture.

For two decades, Kimmel has been one of the most familiar faces on television. He's the kind of entertainer who could blend slapstick humor with sharp political satire and still find himself entrusted with hosting Hollywood’s most prestigious ceremonies. His career arc has been impressive, rising from radio gigs in Las Vegas to rubbing elbows with the likes of Meryl Streep at the Oscars and turning world leaders into punch lines on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

In an industry that thrives on turnover, Kimmel's staying power has been rare. He's been the voice that helped anchor ABC in the late-night arena, until now with his show suspended indefinitely over his comments earlier this week about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10.

Just last week, Kimmel reminded audiences why he’s long been one of the sharpest voices in late night. He won his fourth Primetime Emmy for hosting “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” then used the moment to defend his friend Stephen Colbert, whose “Late Show” was canceled in July just days after criticizing the President Donald Trump–Paramount Global settlement. Kimmel cursed CBS from the stage and brushed off executives who called the cancellation “financial.” He told the crowd that he loved Colbert. Colbert's show is to end in May 2026.

Kimmel, 57, didn’t stop there. After the Creative Arts Emmy ceremony, he took aim at Donald Trump directly, saying, “I’m giving this guy a little poke, and he deserves it, and I enjoy it, and I hope that people enjoy it too.”

Trump signs proclamation imposing $100K annual fee for H-1B visa applications

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation that will require a new annual $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications, among other changes to the program for highly skilled foreign workers that has come under scrutiny by the administration.

H-1B visas are meant to bring the best and brightest foreigners for high-skilled jobs that tech companies find difficult to fill with qualified U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The program instead has turned into a pipeline for overseas workers who are often willing to work for as little as $60,000 annually. That is far less than $100,000-plus salaries typically paid to U.S. technology workers.

Trump on Friday insisted that the tech industry would not oppose the move. “I think they're going to be very happy,” he said.

First lady Melania Trump, the former Melania Knauss, was granted an H1-B work visa in October 1996 to work as a model. She was born in Slovenia.

The H1-B program was created in 1990 for people with a bachelor’s degree or higher in fields where jobs are deemed hard to fill, especially science, technology, engineering and math. Critics say they allow companies to pay lower wages with fewer labor protections.

Estonia says 3 Russian fighter jets entered its airspace in 'brazen' incursion

Estonia summoned a Russian diplomat to protest after three Russian fighter aircraft entered its airspace without permission Friday and stayed there for 12 minutes, the Foreign Ministry said. It happened just over a week after NATO planes downed Russian drones over Poland and heightened fears that the war in Ukraine could spill over.

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Russia violated Estonian airspace four times this year “but today’s incursion, involving three fighter aircraft entering our airspace, is unprecedentedly brazen.”

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur also said the government had decided “to start consultations among the allies” under NATO’s article 4, he wrote on X, after Russian jets "violated our airspace yet again.”

The North Atlantic Council, NATO’s principal political decision-making body, is due to convene early next week to discuss the incident in more detail, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said Friday.

Article 4, the shortest of the NATO treaty’s 14 articles, states that: “The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.”

Pakistan says its nuclear program can be made available to Saudi Arabia under defense pact

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Pakistan’s defense minister says his nation’s nuclear program “will be made available” to Saudi Arabia if needed under the countries’ new defense pact, marking the first specific acknowledgment that Islamabad had put the kingdom under its nuclear umbrella.

Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif’s comments underline the importance of the pact struck this week between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which have had military ties for decades.

The move is seen by analysts as a signal to Israel, long believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed nation. It comes after Israel’s attack targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar last week killed six people and sparked new concerns among Gulf Arab nations about their safety as the Israel-Hamas war devastated the Gaza Strip and set the region on edge.

Speaking to Geo TV in an interview late Thursday night, Asif made the comments while answering a question on whether “the deterrence that Pakistan gets from nuclear weapons” will be made available to Saudi Arabia.

“Let me make one point clear about Pakistan’s nuclear capability: that capability was established long ago when we conducted tests. Since then, we have forces trained for the battlefield," Asif said.

What to know about the search for Travis Decker, who was wanted in the deaths of his daughters

The remains of a former soldier wanted in the deaths of his three young daughters were believed to be found this week in the mountains of Washington state, authorities said.

Law enforcement teams have been searching for 32-year-old Travis Decker since early June, when a deputy found his truck and the bodies of his three daughters — all under age 10 — at a campground in central Washington.

Authorities are now waiting for forensic tests to confirm the identity of the remains, but the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said on Thursday that preliminary findings suggest the remains belong to Decker. Results of the DNA tests are expected soon, the sheriff's office said Friday.

What to know about the case:

A year ago, Decker’s ex-wife sought to restrict him from having overnight visits with their daughters, saying his mental health issues had worsened and that he had become increasingly unstable. She wrote in a petition to modify their parenting plan that Decker, who was an infantryman in the Army for eight years until 2021, was often living out of his truck.