AP National News

Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has revised the funeral rites that will be used when he dies, simplifying the rituals to emphasize his role as a mere bishop and allowing for burial outside the Vatican in keeping with his wishes. The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano on Wednesday published details of the updated liturgical

Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spain will grant residency and work permits to about 300,000 migrants living in the country illegally each year for the next three years, the country’s migration minister said Wednesday. The policy will take effect next May and aims to expand the country’s aging workforce. Spain has remained largely open to

AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Comcast will spin off many of its cable television networks that were once at the heart of the entertainment giant, with people increasingly swapping out their cable TV subscriptions for streaming platforms. Those one-time stars for Comcast’s NBCUniversal cable television networks include USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel,

The United States has vetoed a U.N. resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. That’s because the U.S. said the resolution Wednesday didn’t link the Gaza cease-fire to an immediate release of the remaining hostages who were taken captive by Hamas in October 2023. In the war in Lebanon between Israel

Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — The lawyer for Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan says he has been granted bail in a graft case but with a slew of other charges pending against him, the opposition leader is staying behind bars. Still, the order on Wednesday by a superior court in the capital, Islamabad, was

Edmunds Driving in the snow isn’t enjoyable for many people. It’s cold, the roads are slick, and city traffic is often slow going. But there are ways to have a bit more fun in the wintertime. To start, it helps to have the right vehicle. Edmunds’ car experts recommend four models perfect for this purpose,

AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Target has reported sluggish sales and slumping profits in the fiscal third quarter as inflation-weary customers curtailed their spending on apparel and other non-essential items. The Minneapolis retailer fell short of Wall Street expectations for the quarter, and its profit and sales outlook for the final three months

Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian communications minister says the government won’t force social media users to hand over personal information to tech companies, as children younger than 16 are set to be banned from the platforms. Michelle Rowland plans to introduce into Parliament on Thursday world-first legislation that would make X, TikTok, Facebook

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis said he will canonize Carlo Acutis next April, setting the eagerly awaited date for the late teenager to become the Catholic Church’s first millennial and digital-era saint. Francis made the announcement at the end of his weekly general audience on Wednesday, saying he would proclaim the church’s youngest contemporary saint

AP Science Writer BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Human-caused climate change made Atlantic hurricanes about 18 miles per hour (29 kilometers per hour) stronger in the last six years, a new scientific study found Wednesday. For most of the storms — 40 of them — the extra oomph from warmer oceans made the storms jump an

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A Spanish court has upheld a ruling that a supermarket worker was unlawfully fired for having eaten a croquette that was going to be thrown away after not having been sold from the store’s deli section. The worker was fired in July 2023 after he had snarfed down the fried snack

Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese officials say they are closely watching to see if China keeps its promise to prevent further violations of Japan’s airspace after explaining that an incursion by a Chinese military aircraft nearly three months ago was unintentional and caused by turbulence. Tokyo protested and sought an explanation from Beijing after

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s upper house of parliament has endorsed a bill banning adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where gender transitioning is legal. The Federation Council on Wednesday also approved bills that outlaw the spread of material that encourages people not to have children. The bills, which have previously been approved by

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Scuffles have erupted for a second day in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad between police and opposition protesters demanding arrests over a deadly roof collapse at the city’s railway station earlier this month. Anti-government protesters sought on Wednesday to block a courthouse in Novi Sad, where the roof collapse

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s top domestic security agency says it arrested a German national it accused of planning to sabotage energy facilities on orders from a Ukrainian national. The Federal Security Service said in a statement Wednesday that it detained German national Nikolai Gayduk as he entered Russia’s Kaliningrad from Poland and seized half a

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Officials say Pakistan has detected one more polio case in the restive northwest bordering Afghanistan, raising the country’s tally of the infectious disease to 50 cases this year. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where the spread of polio has never been stopped. The rise in cases

Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Large protests have been held in Greece as part of a 24-hour nationwide general strike called by labor unions timed to coincide with the government submitting its 2025 budget to Parliament. Public and private sector workers walked off the job to take part in industrial action that disrupted public

Associated Press PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomb attack at a security post in northwestern Pakistan has killed 12 troops, military sources and officials said. Tuesday’s attack happened in Bannu, a district in restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the Pakistani Taliban and other insurgents have stepped up attacks in recent months. A breakaway faction

Associated Press TORUN, Poland (AP) — Alec Baldwin’s Western “Rust” had its world premiere Wednesday at a film festival in Poland with a dedication to cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was fatally shot in an accident on the set three years ago. Organizers called for a minute of silence before showing the film, which opened to

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Inflation in the U.K. has risen sharply to a six-month high in October, cementing market expectations that there will be no further cuts in borrowing rates this year. The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that higher domestic energy bills pushed consumer price inflation up to 2.3% in the year

Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A well-known Ugandan opposition figure has appeared in a military court days after he was reported missing in neighboring Kenya. He denies a charge of seeking military support from abroad to destabilize Uganda’s military forces. Kizza Besigye is a fierce critic of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and once his

Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq has begun its first nationwide population census in decades in a step aimed at modernizing data collection and planning in a country long impacted by conflict and political divisions. The act of counting the population is also contentious. The census is expected to have profound implications for Iraq’s resource

Associated Press BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — This year, Russian missile attacks have knocked out about 50% of Ukraine’s power generation, a major threat as winter looms. Energy companies say they have been able to quickly restore power after many attacks, thanks to the decentralized nature of renewable energy like wind and solar. In centralized systems

Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s spy agency says that North Korea has recently supplied additional artillery systems to Russia to support its war efforts against Ukraine. Lawmakers, who attended Tuesday’s closed-door briefing by the National Intelligence Service, also say the NIS assesses some of the thousands of North Korean troops deployed

Associated Press BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — With time running down, negotiators at the United Nations annual climate talks on Wednesday returned to the puzzle of finding an agreement to bring far more money for vulnerable nations to adapt than wealthier countries have shown they’re willing to pay. Vulnerable nations are seeking $1.3 trillion to deal

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Parts of coastal southern China have suspended ferry services as a major storm passes into the South China Sea, bringing high winds and heavy waves to much of the region. The storm was downgraded Wednesday from Typhoon Man-yi, which left seven dead in the Philippines and worsened the crisis caused by

AP Entertainment Writer Chris Stapleton took home four Country Music Association Awards and hardly left the stage on Wednesday night, while an absent Morgan Wallen was shut out all evening until taking the night’s biggest prize, entertainer of the year. Stapleton’s wins included song of the year and single of the year for “White Horse,”

Associated Press Vigils and other events are being held to draw attention to transgender people who have lost their lives due to violence in the past year. Wednesday marked Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is held every Nov. 20. The Human Rights Campaign says at least 36 transgender people have been killed by violence over