Turkey says Trump ‘turning a ; blind eye’ to Khashoggi’s killing; NEWS BRIEFING; Staff and news services; Afghan official says death toll in mosque blast climbs to 27 ; Judge rejects bias claim, won’t toss Trump charity lawsuit ; Duck boat owner settles with Missouri family over accident ; Saudi prince makes 1st trip since writer’s death; U.S. probes brake flaw in 2.7M GM pickups, SUVs

AMMAN, Jordan - For months, Turkish officials have been leaking gruesome details surrounding Jamal Khashoggi's death as a counter to President Donald Trump's moves to absolve Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Trump ally thought to be behind the Saudi journalist's slaying.

But Ankara took a more direct approach on Friday, with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu slamming Trump for "turning a blind eye" in Khashoggi's death, and accusing him of putting money above human values.

Trump's statements in support of the prince mean that the president is saying, in essence, " 'Whatever happens, I will turn a blind eye,' " Cavusoglu said in an interview Friday with CNN's Turkish affiliate, CNN Turk. "This is not the right approach. Money is not everything. We shouldn't abandon our humanitarian values."

Cavusoglu's rebuke echoes those from other Turkish officials, who have described as comical an exclamation-point-filled message this week from the president concerning reports that the crown prince ordered Khashoggi's slaying.

"Maybe he did, maybe he didn't," Trump wrote Tuesday in a 633-word message, later adding, "In any case, our relationship is with Saudi Arabia." He also thanked the kingdom for its support against Iran and "keeping oil prices at reasonable levels."

Khashoggi, a onetime Saudi government insider who left the kingdom last year and became a U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist, disappeared after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 2.

Afghan official says death toll in mosque blast climbs to 27

KABUL, Afghanistan - An explosion ripped through a mosque inside an Afghan army base in the country's volatile eastern Khost province as Friday prayers were drawing to a close, killing 27 soldiers and wounding 57, the military said.

The blast may have been set off by a suicide bomber or a remotely detonated bomb but nothing was officially confirmed and details were sketchy. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion.

President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack in a statement and also wanted to know how the army's security was breached.

The explosion came just days after a suicide bomber killed 55 religious scholars gathered in the Afghan capital, Kabul, to celebrate the birth of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

Judge rejects bias claim, won't toss Trump charity lawsuit

NEW YORK - President Donald Trump's claim that a lawsuit against his charitable foundation was motivated by political bias of the state attorney general's office was rejected by a judge.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Saliann Scarpulla on Friday denied a request from Trump and his foundation to dismiss the suit in which the president and his three eldest children are accused of engaging in a decadelong pattern of self-dealing and using the nonprofit's funds for political purposes.

The lawsuit is one of the most serious legal challenges facing Trump and his family. Unless an appeals court blocks the attorney general, the process of uncovering evidence will allow the state's lawyers to reach into the Trump family's financial dealings.

Duck boat owner settles with Missouri family over accident

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The company that owns a duck boat that sank on a Missouri lake in the summer, killing 17 people, has settled the first of several lawsuits filed in the accident.

William Bright, 65, and his wife, Janice, 63, were among those killed in the July 19 accident on Table Rock Lake. Their three adult daughters filed suit.

Adam Graves, an attorney for the family, said the settlement with Ripley Entertainment was finalized Thursday, and that his clients were satisfied with the terms, which were not disclosed.

Three others named in the suit will remain defendants. They are Ride the Ducks International LLC, a division of Ripley; the captain of the boat, Kenneth Scott McKee; and the driver on land, Robert Williams, who died when the boat sank.

Saudi prince makes 1st trip since writer's death

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in the United Arab Emirates on Friday, on his first tour abroad since the killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul.

The prince, who arrived in Abu Dhabi late on Thursday, is also due to visit other Mideast countries, where it is expected he will be warmly received by Arab leaders who have stood firmly by his side amid international outrage over Khashoggi's slaying.

The crown prince will round off his tour with a stop in Argentina where he'll come face-to-face with world leaders on Nov. 30 for the two-day Group of 20 summit. Among those expected to attend that summit are Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has kept international pressure mounting on the kingdom.

U.S. probes brake flaw in 2.7M GM pickups, SUVs

The U.S. government is investigating more than 100 complaints of poor brake performance on 2.7 million General Motors big pickups and SUVs.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a brake vacuum pump can deteriorate, causing increased braking effort and longer stopping distances.

The agency has 111 consumer complaints including nine crashes and two injuries.

The investigation covers 2014 through 2016 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. Also involved are Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe, the GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade SUVs.

The agency will determine how often the problem happens and whether a recall is necessary. GM is monitoring complaints and working with NHTSA to evaluate them, a spokesman said Friday.

Michael Hayden ill: Former CIA Director Michael Hayden has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke this week.

Hayden, 73, led the CIA under President George W. Bush from 2006 to early 2009. He was also director of the National Security Agency from 1999 to 2005.

In Pakistan: The party of a radical Islamic cleric who disrupted daily life with violent rallies across Pakistan after the acquittal of a Christian woman in a blasphemy case says he has been arrested. In a statement, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik party said Khadim Hussain Rizvi was arrested Friday by police in Lahore.

Caption: Osaka on the board: Japanese officials celebrate Friday in Paris after the 170 states of the Bureau International des Expositions awarded the 2025 World Expo to Osaka, which beat out cities in Russia and Azerbaijan to host an event that draws millions.

Christophe Ena/AP