WASHINGTON (AP) — How it began: President Joe Biden was urgently seeking more money from Congress to aid Ukraine and Israel. He took a gamble by seizing on GOP demands to simultaneously address one of his biggest political liabilities — illegal migration at the U.S.-Mexico border. How it ended: Biden came close to succeeding, before it all fell apart spectacularly. …

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The coup-hit nations of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are in haste to quit West Africa’s regional bloc without following its rules of exit, the body said Thursday as its ministers met to deliberate on growing division and political tension in the region. At the ministerial meeting in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, the bloc known …

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The 76ers turned over the back-end of their roster on NBA trade deadline day, with team president Daryl Morey making a whopping four deals — in large part to create the roster and salary cap space needed to pursue players on the buyout market. The slumping Philadelphia 76ers acquired guard Buddy Hield from the Indiana Pacers for …