AP National News

Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — JD Vance’s election as vice president has opened up one of Ohio’s U.S. Senate seats for the third time in as many years, setting off a scramble for the appointment among the state’s ruling Republicans. GOP Gov. Mike DeWine is tasked with filling the vacancy, giving the pragmatic center-right

Associated Press Two new Christmas TV movies have a Taylor Swift connection that her fans would have no problem decoding. “Christmas in the Spotlight” debuts Saturday on Lifetime. It stars Jessica Lord as the world’s biggest pop star and Laith Wallschleger as a pro football player, who meet and fall in love — not unlike

Associated Press THE HAGUE (AP) — Pro-Palestinian activists have told a Dutch court that the Netherlands is violating international law by selling weapons to Israel. The hearing comes a day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes. If The Hague District Court supports the

AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The low-budget movie “Hundreds of Beavers” has turned into a lo-fi legend. Mike Cheslik’s film, made for just $150,000 and self-distributed in theaters, has managed to gnaw its way into a movie culture largely dominated by big-budget sequels. It’s a wordless black-and-white bonanza of slapstick antics about a

Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’ energy minister says ExxonMobil could partner up with a consortium composed of Eni of Italy and Total of France to jointly develop gas deposits they’ve discovered close to each other off the island nation’s southern coast. Minister George Papanastasiou says ExxonMobil is in talks with the Eni-Total consortium

LONDON (AP) — A special tribunal has rejected a legal claim against Britain’s domestic intelligence agency by more than 300 survivors of a bombing that killed 22 people at a 2017 Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. Judges on the U.K.’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal on Friday said the claimants waited too long to bring their case.

Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian officials say Bulgaria and Romania could become full members of Europe’s Schengen travel zone starting at the beginning of 2025. The two Balkan countries joined the European Union in 2007 but were not integrated into the borderless Schengen zone until March, when border checks were lifted from maritime

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Residents in several cities and towns across Serbia blocked traffic and stood in silence for 15 minutes on Friday to commemorate the 15 victims of a roof collapse in the country’s north three weeks ago. Hundreds of people came out into the streets eight minutes before noon, at the exact same

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says Israeli airstrikes have killed the director of the largest hospital in the country’s northeast. Six others were killed in Friday’s strike on the director’s home. The Health Ministry reported at least five paramedics were killed by Israeli strikes in the country’s south. The United Nations has reported heavy clashes between Israeli

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — London’s Gatwick Airport said it is reopening its South Terminal after police resolved a security alert triggered when a suspicious item was found in a passenger’s luggage. The terminal was closed for more than six hours after police were called to investigate a “suspected prohibited item” at about 8:20 a.m.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Protesters in Pakistan’s restive northwest chanted anti-government slogans and tensions flared as funeral prayers were held for 42 Shiite Muslims who were ambushed and killed by gunmen a day earlier. The attack was one of the region’s deadliest such assaults in recent years. The victims were traveling in a convoy from

AP Airlines Writer DALLAS (AP) — Delta and United have become the most profitable U.S. airlines by targeting premium customers while also winning back a significant share of travelers on a tight budget. That is squeezing smaller low-fare carriers like Spirit Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday. Some travel-industry experts think Spirit’s troubles

LONDON (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in London has returned to normal operations after police carried out the controlled explosion of a suspicious package that was found in the area. London Metropolitan police said later Friday it was a “hoax device.″ Police say some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the

Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war. The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday, and “taking on very dramatic dimensions.” Ukraine’s parliament canceled

Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan has approved a $250 billion economic stimulus package centered around initiatives intended to boost incomes. The broad plan passed by the Cabinet on Friday is the centerpiece of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s recently installed administration. It provides support for digital innovation in the world’s fourth largest economy, subsidies to

BEIJING (AP) — China is going to expand visa-free entry to citizens of nine more countries as it seeks to boost tourism and business travel to help revive a sluggish economy. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday that travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to

Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Two Australian teenagers and a British woman have died from suspected methanol poisoning after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos. An American man and two Danes also died, though their exact causes of death have not been released. A New Zealander also has been sickened. The U.S. State Department issued a

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te will visit the self-governing island’s allies in the South Pacific, where rival China has been seeking diplomatic inroads. The Foreign Ministry announced Friday that Lai would travel from Nov. 30 to Dec. 6 to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau. The trip comes against the background of

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Indigenous leaders from the Wampis Nation in Peru are urging lawmakers at the House of Commons in London to ban international banks’ support for Amazon oil activities they say harm their ancestral rainforests. HSBC bank, JPMorgan Chase and Santander helped finance the Peruvian state-owned oil company Petroperu as it sought

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition is holding a primary to choose a candidate who will run in the nation’s presidential election next year. Party members are choosing between Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski and Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski. The winner of the party primary will face

Associated Press TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — As Iran faces increasing tensions with the West and turmoil at home, a new exhibition at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is displaying Western artwork including pieces not seen by the public in at least a decade. The unveiling of the exhibition “Eye to Eye” has drawn numerous

Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, one of Asia’s richest men, may be facing his biggest challenge yet with an indictment by U.S. prosecutors for alleged fraud and bribery. But it’s unclear just how the case will affect his businesses and own future — as well as the Indian economy and

Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian Cabinet minister on Friday rejected X Corp. owner Elon Musk’s allegation that the government intended to control all Australians’ access to the internet through legislation that would ban young children from social media. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Musk’s criticism was “unsurprising” after the government introduced to Parliament

Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanians will vote Sunday in a presidential election that looks likely to pit a far-right nationalist party leader against the leftist prime minister in a runoff in two weeks. Thirteen candidates are vying for the presidency in the European Union and NATO member country. Romania also will hold parliamentary

Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday denounced the International Criminal Court’s issuing of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he would defy it by inviting him to Hungary. In comments to state radio, Orbán accused the ICC, the world’s top war crimes court based