Biden in Israel, Griner's trial resumes in Russia, The Open Championship: 5 things to know Thursday

A kumbaya moment for Biden is Israel? US hopes tensions stay in background

President Joe Biden's Israel visit continues Thursday and includes closed-door meetings with Israeli leaders that may delve into divisions over Iran and an independent Palestinian state. Biden was first meeting Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who recently became head of an interim government after the previous coalition collapsed. The country is holding its fifth election in less than four years in November. The two will hold a joint news conference where they may be pressed on their differing views on Iran and help for the Palestinians. But the two nations are poised to issue a joint statement outlining areas of consensus. In what experts say is an attempt to avoid showing favoritism in the upcoming election, Biden also will meet with ex-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the opposition party who is vying to make a comeback. Later this week, Biden will fly from Israel to Saudi Arabia, which Lapid has said signifies a "linkage between the visit and the ability to improve relations."

• Beginning of the trip: Biden's visit to Israel starts with security issues as US officials fret about Iran's threat

• Keeping away: Could COVID help Biden avoid a controversial interaction in the Mideast?

• A signal of 'impunity'? Biden's trip to Middle East pits human rights against geopolitical reality

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Brittney Griner's trial in a Russian court is set to continue

American basketball star Brittney Griner is due back in a Russian court Thursday to resume a trial that was jolted last week when she abruptly pleaded guilty to drug possession charges. With the U.S. government under pressure at home to do more to secure her freedom, the guilty plea could be an effort to expedite the court proceedings so any negotiations could move forward. The plea may also have been part of a strategy to get a more lenient sentence, an expert on the Russian legal system told USA TODAY Sports. A senior Russian diplomat has said no action could be taken by Moscow until the trial was over. The eight-time WNBA All-Star was detained at a Moscow airport in February while returning to play basketball for UMMC Ekaterinburg, a successful team in the Russian Premier League. Police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage. In custody ever since, Griner, 31, faces charges that could bring her a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

• 'I know that courtroom': American Israeli woman jailed in Russia over cannabis speaks out in support of Brittney Griner

• Nancy Armour column: Griner looms large at WNBA All-Star Game, even from half a world away

• Setting the record straight: LeBron James clarifies comments on Brittney Griner's detainment in Russia

More bodies of victims from migrant smuggling tragedy to return to Mexico

A Mexican air force plane landed at an airport near Mexico City on Wednesday, bearing eight bodies of the 53 migrants who were found dead in a truck in Texas last month. They were the first to be returned of the 26 Mexicans among those who died of heat and dehydration inside a locked truck trailer abandoned by smugglers on the outskirts of San Antonio on June 27. Temperatures that day approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Arturo Rocha, Mexico's coordinator for North American affairs, said the bodies were being taken by land to the victims' hometowns for burial. Rocha wrote on his Twitter account Wednesday that another flight would go to San Antonio on Thursday to bring back eight more bodies. Migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador also were among those who died in the deadliest known smuggling attempt in the United States.

• 53 migrants are dead in San Antonio: Identifying their remains won't be easy

• 'All about the money': Deaths in San Antonio reveal the harsh world of human smuggling

Nations discuss coordinating Ukraine war crimes probes

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court called Thursday for an international "overarching strategy" to coordinate efforts to bring perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine to justice. "The simple truth is that, as we speak, children, women and men, the young and the old, are living in terror," ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said as he opened a Ukraine Accountability Conference in the Netherlands where officials from some 40 nations in the European Union and around the world gathered. Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, his military forces have been accused of abuses ranging from killings in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha to deadly attacks on civilian facilities. In a statement Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Moscow to halt forced deportations in areas of Ukraine controlled by Russia, saying an estimated 900,000 to 1.6 million Ukrainians have been "interrogated, detained, and forcibly deported" to Russia.

• Wednesday recap: Russia-Ukraine meeting on grain crisis that has led to food shortages called 'a critical step forward'

• Staggering numbers: UN report found 71M people pushed into poverty after the war in Ukraine started

Open Championship tees off in Scotland

The world's best players are at the Home of Golf this week for the historic playing of the 150th Open Championship (or British Open, depending which side of the pond you reside). The historic Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland plays host for the 30th time and features a field led by the likes of defending champion Collin Morikawa and three-time Open champion Tiger Woods, who is making just his third professional start after his single-car accident that nearly cost him his leg last year. Catch all the action on The Open's website, watch first-round play on the USA Network or stream it on Peacock.

• 'So unique and so cool': British Open golfers dish about notorious hole at St. Andrews

• Tiger Woods returns to St. Andrews for Open Championship: Everything you should know

• 'A lot of dumb decisions': Greg Norman reacts to getting shut out of Open Championship events

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Biden in Israel, Brittney Griner trial: 5 things to know Thursday