WASHINGTON (AP) — A measure of consumer sentiment ticked higher this month, after soaring in December and January, underscoring that Americans are starting to feel better about the economy after several years of gloom. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, released Friday, ticked up to 79.6 in February, from 79 in January. The small gain followed two months of …

The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. VCU Rams (16-8, 8-3 A-10) at Saint Louis Billikens (9-15, 2-9 A-10) St. Louis; Friday, 7 p.m. EST FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Rams -5; over/under is 144 BOTTOM LINE: …

Follow the latest updates on this story. Alexei Navalny, Russia’s top opposition leader and President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe, was buried Friday in a Moscow suburb in a funeral that drew thousands of mourners amid a heavy police presence. Navalny, who was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, died Feb. 16, according to Russia’s prison service. He was …