Epstein survivor blasts Melania Trump for ‘trying to shift attention’ with speech

Marina Lacerda, who said she was sexually trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein for years, starting at age 14, was among the late pedophile’s survivors to denounce Melania Trump’s surprise White House statement Thursday, in which the first lady denied she ever had a personal relationship with him and claims to care about his victims while saying they should come forward to testify.

In an Instagram post Thursday, Lacerda first questioned the timing of Melania Trump’s scripted statement to the nation, delivered from the same podium that President Donald Trump used to speak about the war in Iran last week.

Lacerda asked, “I am trying to understand what is really behind it” before saying directly to the first lady: “It sounds like you’re just trying to shift attention from something to something else. So, how does this benefit the Trump family, is my question.”

Lacerda, who also accused the first lady of wanting to “retraumatize” the survivors, was among a group of women who signed a joint statement issued to the media Thursday, the Daily Beast also reported. The survivors’ statement similarly said that Melania Trump was trying to shift “the burden” of responsibility onto them, by suggesting it was their responsibility to reveal the truth about the late financier’s alleged sex trafficking operation and the rich and powerful people involved, according to The Guardian.

—San Jose Mercury News

GOP's best shot at California governor's office in decades mired in angry internal debate

LOS ANGELES — As Republicans vie for their best shot to win the California governor's office in two decades, the fight between the most prominent candidates to win over the party of President Donald Trump has switched from subdued to vicious.

Conservative commentator Steve Hilton, at their first one-on-one debate in Rancho Mirage earlier this month, accused rival Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco of coddling illegal immigrants and called him "wishy-washy." The law enforcement chief called Hilton, a British immigrant, a "fraud" and heartless for denying others the same pathway to U.S. citizenship he received.

"What an outrageous and offensive insult that Chad just made to every legal immigrant in this state and in this country," Hilton fumed.

The heated exchange took place days before the California Republican Party weighs making an endorsement in the 2026 race for California governor. Hundreds of party delegates will gather in San Diego this weekend to decide, though it's unclear if either candidate will be able to win the 60% vote threshold to receive the official party nod.

—Los Angeles Times

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani takes on scaffolding on 100th day in office

NEW YORK— Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked his 100th day in office with a video about how citywide scaffolding has become an acceptable eyesore and what he plans to do to change that reality.

The five-minute-and-29-second public service announcement narrated by the Mayor and shot by HBO documentarian John Wilson includes interviews with everyday New Yorkers about scaffolding blocking out sun in their neighborhoods and sometimes making them feel less safe.

Mamdani starts the video by conceding that building and maintaining property is necessary for the city — hence the scaffolding many New Yorkers see every day. But it often stays up longer than necessary.

“Scaffolding takes away from the beauty of this city we all love,” he says. “It makes living here feel cramped, claustrophobic, closed in.”

—New York Daily News

Zelenskyy’s top aide sees Ukraine nearing a deal with Putin

Ukraine’s top negotiator with Russia said he sees progress toward a potential peace deal with the Kremlin, adding that a resolution to the war may not take long to achieve.

While negotiations to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II have publicly yielded few results, Kyrylo Budanov expressed optimism that the talks are evolving toward a settlement. Ukraine’s former top military spy said he believes Russia also wants to stop the war.

“They all understand the war needs to end. That’s why they are negotiating,” Budanov said in an April 4 interview with Bloomberg. “I don’t think it will be long.”

Budanov earned a reputation for plotting and sometimes leading daring raids on Russian forces as head of Ukraine’s military intelligence from 2020 until January this year, when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed him as chief of his presidential office. He’s a key figure in Ukraine’s negotiating team in three-way talks with the U.S. and Russia aimed at bringing an end to the war that’s now in its fifth year.

—Bloomberg News

Damage seen at Blue Origin Space Coast test site; unclear if New Glenn launch could be delayed

As Blue Origin prepares for the next launch of its New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral, the company appears to have experienced unexpected damage at its rocket manufacturing facility in Merritt Island, Florida.

Photos posted to social media show a damaged roof to what is know as the 2CAT facility, a vertical building used for tank cleaning and testing on the rocket’s second stages. It’s a smaller building more toward the rear of the campus than the towering, 224-foot-tall building used to test the first stages, that can be seen for miles around the site.

“An apparent anomaly has occurred at Blue Origins 2CAT testing facility, damaging the roof in the process,” reads a post on X from Brevard-based photographer Jerry Pike.

It’s one the many buildings at the site within Exploration Park adjacent to Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Complex where Blue Origin manufactures its New Glenn rocket. Jeff Bezos has invested more than $3 billion into the company’s Space Coast facilities, which also manufacture the company’s Blue Moon lunar landers.

—Orlando Sentinel