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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv on Thursday held a second day ofU.S.-brokered talksin Abu Dhabi on ending their war amidan escalationin Russia's winter attacks on Ukraine's power grid and after a sharp rise last year in Ukrainian civilians killed in the fighting.

Russia Ukraine War

"We are working in the same formats as yesterday: trilateral consultations, group work, and further synchronization of positions," said Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council chief, who was present at the meeting.

The delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were joined in the capital of the United Arab Emirates by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, according to Umerov. They were also at last month's talks in the same place as the Trump administration tries tosteer the two countriestoward a settlement.

General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, was also present at the talks, according to a spokesman for the general who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged allied countries to press Moscow into ending itsall-out invasion, which began almost four years ago on Feb. 24 2022, and said his country needs security guarantees to deter any postwar Russian attacks.

Ukrainians must feel that there is genuine progress toward peace and "not toward a scenario in which the Russians exploit everything to their advantage and continue their strikes," Zelenskyy said on social media late Wednesday.

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Fighting has continued in parallel with the talks. Russia hashammered Ukraine's electricity network, aiming to deny civilians power and weaken their appetite for the fight, while a grinding war of attrition continues along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile)front linesnaking along eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.

Last year saw a 31% increase in Ukrainian civilian casualties compared with 2024, the advocacy group Human Rights Watch said in a report published Wednesday.

Almost 15,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and just over 40,000 injured since the start of the war through last December, according to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

Emma Burrows in London contributed to this report.

Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine athttps://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

SANTA CRUZ DEL NORTE, Cuba (AP) — The smell of sulfur hits hard in this coastal town that produces petroleum and is home to one ofCuba'slargest thermoelectric plants. Yet, even as the plant cranks back to life,residents remain in the dark, surrounded by energy sources they cannot use.

Astensions deepen between Cuba and the U.S.after it attacked Venezuela and disrupted oil shipments, so have the woes of Santa Cruz del Norte.

People in this town east of Havana are plunged into darkness daily and forced tocook with coal and firewood, but not everyone can afford this new reality.

Kenia Montoya said she recently ripped the wooden door off her bathroom in the crumbling cinderblock home that she shares with her children because she needed firewood, and they needed to eat.

"Things are getting worse for us now," she said. "They don't supply us with petroleum. They don't supply us with food. Where does that leave us, then?"

A faded purple sheet now hangs over their bathroom. Nearby, only a handful of coal remains in a small bag.

The 50-year-old mother doesn't know how she'll cook once the coal runs out because supplies in the region have dwindled.

It's one of many uncertainties gripping towns like this one across Cuba after U.S. President Donald Trumpthreatened to impose tariffson any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba.

"Well, it's a failed nation now," Trump said this week. "And they're not getting any money from Venezuela, and they're not getting any money from anywhere."

'How are we going to live?'

Near the main entrance to Santa Cruz del Norte, a sprawling mural is emblazoned with the following message in all caps: "NO ONE GIVES UP HERE. LONG LIVE A FREE CUBA."

But people wonder how long they can hold out.

The island's crisis is deepening: severe blackouts, soaring prices and a shortage of basic goods.

Meanwhile, the Cuban government remains mum over its oil reserves, offering no word on whether Russia or anyone else would increase their shipments after oil supplies from Venezuela were disrupted when theU.S. attacked and arrested its president.

On Thursday, Cuban PresidentMiguel Díaz-Caneldescribed the situation as "complex" as he called the U.S. stance "aggressive and criminal," saying it's affecting things like transportation, hospitals, schools, tourism and the production of food.

He said that in a week, he would provide details about how Cuba will deal with the crisis.

Cuban officials recently lauded a phone call they had with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, although they did not share details. Meanwhile,Mexico has pledged to send humanitarian aid, including food, after Trump said he asked that it suspend oil shipments to the island.

Many in Santa Cruz del Norte feel the worst is yet to come.

"With all those tariffs they're going to impose on countries, no oil will come in, and how are we going to live?" said Gladys Delgado.

The 67-year-old had cracked open her front door on a recent chilly afternoon to get some fresh air as she sewed small, colorful rugs made of clothing scraps to make extra cash because her pension is only $6 a month.

A couple of houses down, Minorkys Hoyos dropped a handful of cassava cubes into an old pot she filled with water from a barrel and placed it over a tiny, makeshift grill inside her home.

"You live with what you have," she said, noting she had no other food available at that moment.

The few rechargeable items that used to light her small, disheveled home have broken down, and she began to bump into things until a neighbor gifted her an improvised lantern made with fuel and a reused baby food jar.

"When it's dark, I don't see," said the 53-year-old diabetic.

It was late afternoon as she cooked, but her home was already dark.

Outside, two children sat on a dusty sidewalk. They stacked dominoes one atop the other to see how high they could go before the whole thing tumbled down.

'If only we could do something'

For the past three months, Santa Cruz del Norte had electricity while most of Cuba was hit withconstant outagesstemming from aging infrastructure and fuel shortages at power plants.

People like Iván Amores were wary of rejoicing, fearful they would be plunged into the dark again like most of last year. Their fears materialized a week ago, when the outages hit again.

"This used to be wonderful," he recalled of his town when it had electricity. "Now, it's truly torture."

He uses a tiny, makeshift barbecue pit to cook for himself, his daughter and young granddaughter, buying pricier coal at $3 a bag because it generates less smoke inside their tidy home.

Amores also invested in a single tube light that a Cuban man in another town builds and sells; it can be charged and even comes with a USB port.

But even those kind ofbrilliant inventions Cubans are known forare out of reach for people like 67-year-old Mariela Viel; she and her husband still cannot afford to add a bathroom to their cinderblock home with a dirt floor.

Growing up, Viel said she never knew what a blackout was: "We were living well. We had food, money."

She worked more than 40 years at the cafeteria of Cuba's power company and now receives $8 a month in pension.

"What can I afford? Nothing. Not even a package of chicken," she said.

When there's power, she cooks rice and beans and listens to her favorite music: Cuban big bands.

Viel sat outside one recent afternoon, watching a couple neighbors walk briskly with buckets of warmed up water so their families could take showers during a cold snap that began in late January, with a record low of 32 degrees (0 degrees) recorded in a town southeast of Santa Cruz del Norte.

Celebrations also start earlier now, with one family organizing a boy's 15th birthday — a milestone age across Latin America — mid-afternoon before he and his friends opted to finish partying outdoors under a big yellow moon.

It glowed on a group of people nearby who danced and sang outside next to a scooter blasting music from its speakers to celebrate the birthday of Olga Lilia Laurenti, now 61.

"I'm telling you, whatever's meant to be, let it be, because we can't stop it," she said as she paused dancing.

"You're not going to waste part of your life on something that's out of your control. If only we could do something, but what are we going to do? We can't suffer. You need laughter, you need joy."

Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean athttps://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

France's navy seized over four tons of cocaine from a ship in the south Pacific and also intercepted a boat trafficking cocaine in the Caribbean Sea, the country's armed forces minister said on Thursday.

Catherine Vautrin wrote on X that4.24 tons of cocainewas seized in the Pacific and a boat carrying678 kilograms of cocainewas intercepted in the Caribbean and handed over to the Barbadian authorities.

The vessel in the Pacific, from Central America and believed bound for South Africa, was intercepted in French Polynesia, the country's high commission in the island territory said in astatement.

Its cargo was destroyed at sea, away from the Polynesian economic zone and marine protected area, officials told AFP.

Vautrin and the high commissionreleased imagesfrom the operation on social media, showing an aerial view of the interception as well as packages of the purported drugs on board a naval vessel. Vautrintoutedthe armed forces' "vigilance and professionalism to thwart a globalized trafficking network."

The prosecutor's office did not bring charges so as not to burden the local court with a case of drug trafficking not destined for French Polynesia itself.

The high commission said the vessel and its crew were freed under international law.

Last month, the navyseized almost five tons of cocaine, believed headed for Australia, from a fishing vessel near French Polynesia.

The United Nations has said in recent years that organized crime groups trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine have expanded their presence in the Pacific.

Large amounts of drugs are transported from North and South America for Australian and New Zealand markets, according to the United Nations.

French Polynesia lies along these maritime routes and is itself affected by significant methamphetamine use.

Its small population of 280,000, however, spares it from being a prime target for large-scale drug trafficking.

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SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Brad Marchand scored in the fourth round of the shootout in his return to Florida's lineup after missing two games to give the Panthers a 5-4 win over the Boston Bruins, his former team, on Wednesday night.

Anton Lundell had a goal and two assists for his second three-point game of the season, while Matthew Tkachuk and Uvis Balinskis had a goal and an assist each as the Panthers ended a four-game losing streak. Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves.

Michael Eyssimont scored twice for the Bruins, who have lost two straight games in Florida in a shootout, including Sunday's NHL Stadium Series gameagainst the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Mark Kastelic and Casey Mittelstadt also had goals and Joonas Korpisalo had 22 saves.

The Panthers trailed 2-1 after the first period despite taking the lead on a goal from Eetu Luostarinen at 4:22.

Eyssimont scored a pair of goals on breakaways — including one when he came racing out of the penalty box and got Bobrovsky to go down, leaving the net open enough for him to be able to tuck the puck in.

Florida scored three goals on special teams in the second, two on the power play and one short-handed.

Balinskis tied the score 30 seconds into the period. Tkachuk made it 3-2 at 2:22 on a power-play goal and the Panthers made it 4-2 with 1:27 remaining in the second, Sam Reinhart feeding Lundell off the rush while Florida was killing off a penalty.

Boston pulled within one at 4-3 in third on Kastelic's goal and tied it when Mittelstadt collected a rebound off a David Pastrnak shot and lifted the puck over Bobrovsky with 9:30 remaining while on the power play.

Boston went 1 for 7 on the power play.

Bruins: Host Columbus on Feb. 26.

Panthers: Visit Tampa Bay on Thursday night.

AP NHL:https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Los Angeles Dodgers are indeed headed back to the White House after their second straight World Series win.

The Athletic's Fabian Ardayaandthe California Post's Jack Harris and Zain Khanreport the Dodgers are expected to make the trip despitecalls to cancel it in light of the Trump administration's immigration policies, with the former outlet citing a league source and the latter citing the White House. The Dodgers declined comment to both outlets.

No date is reported to be set, but teams typically visit the White House during their regular-season road series against the Washington Nationals. This year, that series is April 3-5 for the Dodgers.

President Donald Trump posted an invitation to the Dodgers on social media shortly after their dramatic win in Game 7:

"Congratulations to the L.A. Dodgers, a game won by incredible CHAMPIONS!!! A lesser group of men would never have been able to win that game, or game 6, for that matter. So many stars made it all happen. Also, congratulations to ownership. What a great job they have done. SEE YOU ALL AT THE WHITE HOUSE!!!"

Any indication of the team's plans to accept that offer were slow to come before Wednesday, withDodgers president Stan Kasten telling the Los Angeles Times last weekend he didn't have any updates on the matter.

While there was a backlash to attending the Trump White House last year,the team still put on a united front and had no notable holdoutsdespite past comments and actions, such as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts saying he would have skipped a visit in 2019 and Mookie Betts skipping a visit with the Boston Red Sox after 2018.

Kasten claimed "all" the players wanted to go in 2025, though at least one player wasn't too enthusiastic. Kiké Hernández,a Puerto Rican fan favorite who has criticized Trump in the past, described it as "kind of a lose-lose situation for me" incomments to radio reporter Dave Vassegh.

Like he did in 2025, Roberts painted a possible trip as respecting the office of the president in comments to the Times last weekend:

"For me, I stand by: I'm a baseball manager," Roberts told me [the L.A. Times' Bill Shaikin] Saturday at the Dodgers' fan festival. "That's my job.

"I was raised — by a man who served our country for 30 years — to respect the highest office in our country. For me, it doesn't matter who is in the office, I'm going to go to the White House. I've never tried to be political. ... For me, I am going to continue to try to do what tradition says and not try to make political statements, because I am not a politician."

Not everything is the same around the White House this time, though. There was certainly some tension in Los Angeles in 2025 over Trump's response to the wildfires that ravaged part of the city, but the president's approval ratinghas reached a new low recentlyin the wake of, among other things, ICE's deadly actions in Minnesota — not to mention its continued presence in Los Angeles and other communities — and lingering questions about the Epstein files.

The Dodgers have apparently still opted to proceed like last year, but it remains to be seen if they present the same united front.

Jalen Brunson scored the first six points of the decisive run in the second overtime Wednesday night for the host New York Knicks, who earned their eighth straight win by outlasting the Denver Nuggets 134-127.

Brunson outscored the Nuggets 10-8 in the second overtime and finished with 42 points, nine assists and eight rebounds as the Knicks continued their longest winning streak since a nine-game run from Dec. 15, 2024 through Jan. 1, 2025.

Karl-Anthony Towns (24 points, 12 rebounds) had a double-double despite missing most of the second quarter with a cut around his right eye following a collision with the Nuggets' Spencer Jones.

OG Anunoby had 20 points while Landry Shamet added 16 points off the bench. Starter Jordan Clarkson (11 points) and reserve Mitchell Robinson (10 points) also got into double figures.

Nuggets star Nikola Jokic (30 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists) tied Oscar Robertson for second place all time with his 181st regular-season triple-double, but he shot a career-worst 1-for-13 from 3-point land and just 37% (10-of-27) overall.

Jamal Murray had 39 points as the Nuggets suffered their season-high third straight loss. Tim Hardaway Jr. (19 points), Julian Strawther (11 points) and Bruce Brown (10 points) all scored in double digits off the bench for Denver, which also received 10 points from Peyton Watson.

Jones didn't play after the first quarter.

Brunson's big overtime capped a wild game between a pair of NBA title contenders playing the second game of a back-to-back. There were 20 lead changes and 19 ties and neither team led by more than nine points.

Jokic had a game-winning 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer bounce off the back of the rim. The Knicks appeared to clinch a 119-117 win when Murray missed a 3-pointer just before the overtime buzzer, but Mikal Bridges fouled Christian Braun away from the ball with 0.3 seconds left and Braun drained the free throws - his only free-throw attempts of the game.

A dunk by Murray of a Brunson steal opened the second overtime, but Brunson hit a bank shot before putting the Knicks ahead for good by splitting a pair of free throws with 3:39 left. He then drained a 3-pointer following an errant 3-pointer by Jokic.

Bridges' lone 3-pointer gave the Knicks a 130-123 lead with 1:25 remaining, after which Jokic went 1-of-3 from the free-throw line and Hardaway hit a 3-pointer. Brunson hit a floater and then iced the win with a pair of free throws following another missed 3-pointer by Jokic.

--Field Level Media

Allrecipes / Chips Ahoy

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) hasannouncedan expansion of a 2025 recall on Chips Ahoy cookies due to a possible choking hazard. Mondelēz Global LLC initially initiated a recall for its Chips Ahoy Baked Bites Brookies on Dec. 24, 2025, for a potential hazard due to a mixing process error that may have left clumps of corn starch in the cookies. As of Feb. 4, 2026, Mondelēz Global LLC has expanded the recall to include one additional code date and two more universal product codes (UPCs) for the cookies.

How To Identify the Recalled Chips Ahoy Cookies

The recalled Chips Ahoy Baked Bites Brookies were sold in four packaging sizes and can be identified by the following information:

• 22.4-ounce Chips Ahoy Baked Bites Brookie eight-count Caddie with UPC 44000086688, Case GTN 10044000086678, and best-by dates of May 9, 10, 11, and 12 of 2026.

• 2.8-ounce Chips Ahoy Baked Bites Brookie Pouch with UPC 4400008667 and best-by dates of May 9, 10, 110, and 12 of 2026.

• 7.0-ounce Chips Ahoy! Baked Bites Brookie five-count with UPC 44000085650, Case GTN 10044000085657, and best-by dates of May 10, 12, and 18 of 2026.

• 1.4-ounce Chips Ahoy Baked Bites Brookie Pouch with UPC 4400008566 and best-by dates of May 10, 12, and 18 of 2026.

The recalled Chips Ahoy products were sold at retailers nationwide. No other Chips Ahoy or Mondelēz Global LLC products, other than those with best-by dates listed above, are impacted by this recall.

What To Do if You Have the Recalled Chips Ahoy Cookies

Mondelēz Global LLC recalled the Chips Ahoy cookies because of a mixing process error that "resulted in the formation of small corn starch clumps in the product." The company is concerned that the starch clumps may present a choking hazard, especially for children or the elderly.

While no illnesses or injuries have been reported at this time, it is still not safe to consume the product. If you have the recalled Chips Ahoy Baked Bites Brookies, you should throw them away or return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

For questions regarding this recall, you can call Mondelēz Global LLC at 1-855-535-5948.

Read the original article onAllrecipes