BRIEFLY

UKRAINE WAR: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had a "long and meaningful" phone call Wednesday, and Beijing appointed an envoy to pursue a "political settlement" to the conflict with Russia.

WALL FUNDRAISER: Brian Kolfage, a veteran who lost both of his legs and an arm in the Iraq War, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison Wednesday for his role in stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from We Build the Wall donors. A co-defendant, financier Andrew Badolato, was sentenced to three years for his role. They were ordered to pay $25 million in restitution to the victims.

OHIO DERAILMENT: Norfolk Southern said Wednesday it expects the Feb. 3 fiery derailment in Ohio to cost it $387 million, but that likely will increase and doesn't reflect how much its insurance will cover.

CAPITOL RIOT: Christian Matthew Manley, 27, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was sentenced Tuesday to four years and two months in federal prison for attacking police officers during the insurrection and storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

SUDAN CONFLICT: Refugees amassed Wednesday at a border crossing with Egypt and at a main port, desperately trying to escape Sudan's violence and sometimes waiting for days with little food or shelter, witnesses said. In the capital, Khartoum, the intensity of fighting eased on the second day of a three-day truce.

THERANOS: Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes avoided starting her more than 11-year prison sentence Thursday with the same legal maneuver that enabled her co-conspirator in a blood-testing hoax to remain free for an additional month: by filing an appeal.