AP-Newswatch

The true toll of the war in Ukraine is measured in bodies. This man brings them home, one at a time

DOVHENKE, Ukraine (AP) — Oleksii Yukov says the same thing to all the mothers: We will bring your dead children home. The 38-year-old martial arts instructor leads a team of volunteers in Ukraine who collect both Ukrainian and Russian bodies. The true toll of the war in Ukraine can be measured in bodies, and the question of who prevails is being increasingly shaped by which side can tolerate higher losses. For Yukov, every body tells a story. And there is one person in particular whose story Yukov wants his mother to tell: A young man named Sasha.

The Latest | Biden and Netanyahu speak by phone after Israel kills aid workers in Gaza

The White House says President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have spoken by phone. The conversation Thursday comes after Israeli airstrikes killed seven food aid workers in Gaza and added a new layer of complication in the leaders’ increasingly strained relationship. The charity World Central Kitchen has demanded an independent investigation into the Israeli strikes. Seven of its staff were killed Monday, including an American citizen. Israel faces growing isolation over the foreign aid workers’ deaths as they helped deliver desperately needed food to isolated and starving residents of Gaza. The United Nations says much of the population in northern Gaza is on the brink of starvation.

Senior UK jurists have joined calls to stop arms sales to Israel. Other allies face similar pressure

LONDON (AP) — More than 600 British jurists are calling on the government to suspend arms sales to Israel. The move adds to pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after the deaths of three U.K. aid workers in an Israeli strike. In an open letter to Sunak published late Wednesday, the lawyers and judges said the U.K. could be complicit in “grave breaches of international law” if it continues to ship weapons. Signatories include three retired justices from the U.K. Supreme Court. Britain is just one of Israel’s longstanding allies whose governments are under growing pressure to halt weapons exports because of the toll of the six-month-old war in Gaza.

Rescuers in Taiwan search for those missing or stranded after major earthquake kills 10

HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — Rescuers are searching for missing people and working to reach hundreds who became stranded when Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years sent boulders and mud tumbling down mountainsides, blocking roads. Ten people died and more than 1,000 were injured. Wednesday’s powerful quake struck during the morning rush hour, sending schoolchildren rushing outdoors and families fleeing their apartments through the windows. The ground floors of some buildings collapsed, leaving them leaning at precarious angles. Some 200 residents of Hualien County near the epicenter were staying in temporary shelters, and the main road linking the county to the capital was still closed Thursday afternoon. But much of Taiwan’s day-to-day life returned to normal.

In the aftermath of the Moscow concert hall attack, is a harsher era under Putin in the works?

The attack on a Moscow concert hall, the bloodiest assault on the Russian soil in two decades, appears to be setting the stage for an increasingly harsh response by President Vladimir Putin after his tightly orchestrated electoral landslide last month. Four suspects in the attack appeared in court showing signs of brutal treatment while in custody. Grisly video showing some of their treatment was put on social media without any critical response from authorities. A top Kremlin official called for sending hit squads to kill Ukrainian officials if Kyiv’s involvement in the attack is proven. Senior lawmakers are urging the restoration of capital punishment, which was abolished in Russia decades ago.

Oklahoma executes man convicted of double slaying in 2002

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma has executed a death row inmate who was convicted of shooting and killing two people in Oklahoma City more than two decades ago. Michael Dewayne Smith received a lethal injection on Thursday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. He was pronounced dead at 10:20 a.m. The 41-year-old was sentenced to die for killing Janet Moore and Sharath Pulluru in separate shootings in February 2002. During a clemency hearing last month, Smith expressed his “deepest sorrows” to the victims’ families, but denied he was responsible. Prosecutors say Smith was a ruthless gang member who killed both victims in misguided acts of revenge and confessed his involvement in the killings to police and two other people.

Border Patrol must care for migrant children who wait in camps for processing, a judge says

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge has ruled that migrant children in makeshift camps along the U.S.-Mexico border waiting to be processed by Border Patrol are in the agency’s custody. That means the federal government must quickly place them in safe facilities. The makeshift camps have become a flashpoint of controversy. Advocates argue the federal government has responsibility for the children. The federal government says smugglers send migrants to the camps and that they’re not yet in Border Patrol custody because they haven’t yet been arrested. Advocates praised Wednesday’s decision from a federal judge in California. Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

In the coliseum of American over-the-topness, WrestleMania stands alone

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — From the start, WrestleMania was born to be different. Mr. T and Muhammad Ali helped pack Madison Square Garden in 1985, and “The Showcase of the Immortals” quickly turned a night of wrestling usually reserved for smoky arenas into the Super Bowl of entertainment. As WrestleMania approaches 40, it’s never been bigger. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is back to perform in one of the main events this weekend’s WrestleMania in Philadelphia, where more than 70,000 fans each night are expected to pack the NFL stadium that is home to the Eagles.

ALS drug will be pulled from US market after study showed patients didn’t benefit

WASHINGTON (AP) — The maker of a drug for Lou Gehrig’s disease that recently failed in a study says it will pull the medicine from the U.S. market. Amylyx Pharmaceuticals said Thursday it will halt marketing in the U.S. and Canada. In March, the drugmaker announced that its drug had failed to show any benefit for patients in a 600-person study. The drug’s failure is a major disappointment for ALS patients and advocates who pressed the FDA to approve it. Amylyx’s voluntary withdrawal resolves a potential dilemma for the FDA, which had no way of quickly forcing the drug from the U.S. market. That’s because regulators granted the drug full approval in 2022, despite the Cambridge, Massachusetts, company presenting only preliminary study results.

Caitlin Clark of Iowa is the AP Player of the Year in women’s hoops for the 2nd straight season

Caitlin Clark is capping off her illustrious college career with another record breaking season. The NCAA Division I career scoring leader set numerous records helping Iowa reach the Final Four for a second consecutive season. Clark was honored Thursday as The Associated Press women’s basketball Player of the Year. She received 35 votes from the 36-member national media panel that votes on the AP Top 25 each week. Cameron Brink of Stanford received the other vote.