Associated Press stories, Page 223

KYIV, Ukraine — A funeral service was held in Kyiv on Friday for a U.S. Marine Corps veteran killed while serving alongside Ukrainian forces. Family and friends said 21-year-old Ethan Hertweck had given his life fighting for freedom. Hertweck, from California, traveled to Ukraine soon after Russia launched its full-scale...

JERUSALEM — Mourners in Israel on Friday were burying the remains of one of the last hostages released in the first phase of the ceasefire between Hamas militants and Israel, as negotiators discussed a second phase of the deal that could end the war in Gaza and see the remaining...

OMAHA, Neb. — Egg producers blame the bird flu outbreak for driving prices to record highs, but critics believe giant companies are taking advantage of their market dominance to profit handsomely at the expense of budget-conscious egg buyers. Advocacy groups, Democratic lawmakers and a Federal Trade Commission member are calling...

LOS ANGELES — Cousins of Erik and Lyle Menendez spoke out Thursday criticizing the Los Angeles district attorney’s recent decision to oppose a new trial for the brothers, who have spent nearly 30 years in prison for the 1989 killing of their parents. The Menendez cousins applauded California Gov. Gavin...

BOGOTA, Colombia — Global negotiators concluded an extended session of the United Nations biodiversity conference, COP16, with key commitments on funds needed and the institutions through which the funds will be channeled to protect the world’s biodiversity. The countries agreed on how they would contribute $200 billion a year by...

WASHINGTON — This year’s harsh flu season — the most intense in 15 years — has federal health officials trying to understand if it sparked an increase in a rare but life-threatening brain complication in children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 19,000 people have died from the...

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A suicide bomber blew himself up after walking into a mosque within a pro-Taliban seminary in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing a top cleric and five other worshippers and wounding dozens of others ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan, according to local police. The blast occurred...

ATHENS, Greece — Protesters hurling Molotov cocktails and smashing paving stones clashed with riot police firing volleys of tear gas and stun grenades in central Athens Friday, as tens of thousands of people took to the streets of cities across Greece to mark the second anniversary of a devastating train...

MOSCOW — Russia has offered the United States to restore direct air links between the two countries during the latest round of consultations with Washington, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday. Russian and U.S. diplomats met in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss normalizing the operation of their respective embassies that...

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday released government documents related to wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, but the first wave of files posted on the Justice Department website have largely been circulating in the public domain for years and didn’t include any new bombshells about the sex trafficking case...

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Jake Knapp knew he was on the verge of something special early Thursday, with a run of five straight birdies to open his round at the Cognizant Classic. In the end, he joined one of golf’s most elite clubs. Knapp — the 99th-ranked player in...

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — A Gator took on a gator. Billy Horschel won. Let’s explain: Horschel played his college golf for the Florida Gators, so he knows plenty about the wildlife that gets seen on courses in the Sunshine State — including, yes, alligators. And when a gator made...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce plans to play next season rather than retire. The 35-year-old Kelce had been mulling whether to return for a 13th season. But the four-time All-Pro made his feelings clear in a text to Pat McAfee that the host read...

WASHINGTON — Five former secretaries of defense are calling on Congress to hold immediate hearings on President Donald Trump’s recent firings of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and several other senior military leaders, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press. The five men — who...

Cardinal Robert McElroy, who is getting ready to take over as archbishop of Washington, D.C. in March, called for compassion and dignity for migrants Thursday. Speaking at a news conference at the Diocese of San Diego, where he has served as bishop for over a decade, McElroy acknowledged that he...

A new government report adds to evidence that the HPV vaccine, once called dangerous by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is preventing cervical cancer in young women. The report comes after Kennedy pledged to give a family member any fees he might earn from HPV vaccine...

WASHINGTON — The military services have 30 days to figure out how they will seek out and identify transgender service members to remove them from the force — a daunting task that may end up relying on troops self-reporting or tattling on their colleagues. A memo sent to Defense Department...

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Taylor Momsen and Blake Lively are among those paying tribute to Michelle Trachtenberg, who died Wednesday. Trachtenberg was found in her New York apartment “unconscious and unresponsive,” according to an NYPD statement. She was 39. “Michelle, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love...

Measles is rarely seen in the United States, but Americans are growing more concerned about the preventable virus as cases continue to rise in rural West Texas. This week, an unvaccinated child died in the West Texas outbreak, which involves more than 120 cases. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control...

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that talks to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are “very well advanced” and he expressed confidence that Russian leader Vladimir Putin won’t press to restart the war if a truce can be reached. Trump made the comments at the start of a White...

BUKAVU, Congo — At least 11 people have died and 65 others injured after explosions hit a rally on Thursday being held by M23 rebel group leaders in the captured city of Bukavu, eastern Congo. “The attack caused 11 deaths and verifications are underway. The author of the attack is...

ROME — The FBI has accused North Korean-linked hackers of conducting one of the largest thefts of cryptocurrency publicly known, seizing some $1.5 billion worth of ethereum from a Dubai-based firm. The theft earlier this month targeting Bybit, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, represents yet another involving a...