Trump news at a glance: Epstein survivors have words for Melania Trump after surprise statement

• 01A group of 13 survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse and the brother and sister of Virginia Giuffre issued a statement saying that Melania Trump calling for Congress to hold public hearings with victims represents 'a deflection of responsibility not justice.'
• 02Melania Trump issued a statement denying she ever had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell, stating she was not a victim of Epstein, had no knowledge of his crimes, and that Epstein did not introduce her to Donald Trump.
• 03Marc Beckman, Melania Trump's senior adviser, told Reuters that she 'spoke out now because enough is enough. The lies must stop.'
• 04Donald Trump told the New York Times on Friday he did not know in advance what his wife would say in her statement, but that 'she had a right to talk about it.'
• 05The Trump administration released new renderings of a triumphal arch the president wants to install in Memorial Circle at the foot of the Arlington Memorial Bridge.
• 06JD Vance warned Iran not to 'try and play' the US at talks planned for Saturday in Islamabad; Tehran said it would not participate until Israel stopped bombing Lebanon.
• 07US inflation data released Friday showed prices up 0.9% compared to the previous month and 3.3% over the year.
• 08A Trump administration appointee delayed publication of a CDC report showing benefits related to the Covid vaccine, according to reporting on Friday.

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More than a dozen survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse accused Melania Trump of deflecting responsibility after she called for Congress to hold public hearings with victims and issued a statement denying any relationship with Epstein or knowledge of his crimes. The statement came as the Trump administration faced multiple challenges including ongoing Iran negotiations with JD Vance warning Tehran against negotiating in bad faith, rising inflation figures, and criticism over planned migrant detention facilities and vaccine report delays.