AP National News

Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — While retailers hope to go big this holiday season, customers may notice that the catalogs arriving in their mailboxes are smaller. Many of the millions of catalogs getting sent to U.S. homes were scaled down to save on postage and paper. Some gift purveyors are sending out postcards. In

LONDON (AP) — Former “Harry Potter” film actor Rupert Grint faces a 1.8 million-pound ($2.3 million) bill after he lost a legal battle with the tax authorities. Grint was ordered to pay the money in 2019 after the U.K. tax agency said he had wrongly classed 4.5 million pounds in residuals from the movies as

Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says an offer of NATO membership to territory under Kyiv’s control would end “the hot stage of the war” in Ukraine. But Zelenskyy said that any proposal to join the military alliance should be extended to all parts of the country that fall under internationally

Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike on a car in the Gaza Strip on Saturday killed five people, including employees of World Central Kitchen. The charity said it was “urgently seeking more details” after Israel’s military said it targeted a WCK worker who was part of the Hamas attack that

Associated Press DABROWKA, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister has traveled to his country’s border with the Russian region of Kaliningrad to inspect progress in the construction of military fortifications. Donald Tusk called the fortifications “an investment in peace” as he briefed reporters standing in front of concrete anti-tank barriers. Tusk’s visit comes a month

Associated Press DUBLIN (AP) — Vote counting is underway in Ireland’s national election. An exit poll suggests the contest is a close-fought race among the country’s three largest political parties. Ballot boxes were opened at 9 a.m. Saturday at count centers across the country. The exit poll suggested voters’ support is split widely among the three

Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam has approved the construction of a high-speed railway connecting the capital Hanoi in the north with the financial capital of Ho Chi Minh in the south. It is expected to cost $67 billion and will stretch 1,541 kilometers (957 miles). The new train is expected to travel at

Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has arrived in Hawaii for a two-day transit in the U.S. as part of a trip to the South Pacific. The stopover in Hawaii and one planned for the territory of Guam have drawn fierce criticism from China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory. China

Associated Press PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — A powerful explosion has damaged a water canal and temporarily cut water and power supply to Kosovo’s cities. Prime Minister Albin Kurti blamed groups supported by Serbia, a charge denied by Belgrade. Kurti said the explosion on Friday disrupted water supply to some cities and main power plants. It

Associated Press TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Protesters gathered across Georgia on Saturday night in a third straight night of demonstrations against the government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union. More than 100 demonstrators were arrested as crowds clashed with police Friday night, the country’s Interior Ministry said. The Associated Press saw protesters

Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Thousands of Syrian insurgents took over most of Aleppo on Saturday, establishing positions in the country’s largest city and controlling its airport before expanding their shock offensive to a nearby province. They faced little to no resistance from government troops, according to fighters and activists. A war monitor, the Syrian

AP Sports Writer LONDON (AP) — One art critic compared the new Harry Kane bronze statue to a bulging-jawed comic strip character. The infamous Cristiano Ronaldo bust in 2017 gave the chiseled soccer star a chubby face and goofy smile. Sculptors are offering tips to avoid pitfalls. London-based Hywel Pratley says sculptors must first get

Associated Press REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Icelanders are electing a new parliament after disagreements over immigration, energy policy and the economy forced Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson to pull the plug on his coalition government and call early elections. This will be Iceland’s sixth general election since the 2008 financial crisis devastated the economy of the

Associated Press VIACHA, Bolivia (AP) — In the huddled market stalls, sprawling farms and pulsing parties of Viacha, a scrappy town southeast of Bolivia’s capital, it’s typical for women to sport bowler hats, tiered skirts and fringed shawls. What’s less typical is for these outfits — worn by “Cholas,” Andean Indigenous women from the highland

Associated Press BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — The world’s nations will wrap up negotiating a treaty this weekend to address the global plastic pollution crisis. Their meeting concludes Sunday or early Monday in Busan, South Korea, where many environmental organizations have also flocked to push for a treaty to address the volume of production and

Associated Press TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brought hope for normality back to many in southern Lebanon on Friday, including fishermen who long launched their wooden-hulled single-engine boats into the Mediterranean at dawn. During the last two months of its year fighting Hezbollah, Israel imposed a siege on southern Lebanon

Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Hundreds of protesters gathered in Bucharest after a far-right populist unexpectedly won the first round of a presidential race, plunging Romania into turmoil just days before the country holds parliamentary elections. “Better to be dead than a fascist,” one placard reads. Sunday’s ballot will determine a new government and

Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The first big snowfall of the season blanketed towns along Lake Erie on Saturday in the middle of the hectic holiday travel and shopping weekend, and numbing cold and heavy snow were forecast to persist into next week and cause hazards in the Great Lakes, Plains and Midwest regions.

Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — In the days after the presidential election, Sadie Perez began carrying pepper spray with her around campus. Her mom also ordered her and her sister a self-defense kit that included keychain spikes, a hidden knife key and a personal alarm. It’s a response to an emboldened fringe of right-wing “manosphere”

Associated Press The U.S. Navy is making progress in deploying its first shipborne hypersonic weapon. Workers at a Mississippi shipyard have finished installing missile tubes on the USS Zumwalt that will replace twin turrets from a gun system that was never activated because it was too expensive. The work began after the ship’s arrival in

Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s Federal Police in late November formally accused far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 others of planning a coup to keep him in office. The agency described a multi-step scheme, substantiated by evidence and testimony, in an 884-page report. The plan included systematically sowing distrust of the electoral

Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Beijing on Friday sentenced a prominent Chinese journalist to seven in years in prison for espionage, his family said. Dong Yuyu, a commentator and editor, was taken away by police while meeting a Japanese diplomat at a restaurant in February 2022. He has been in police custody

Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed his country will “invariably support” Russia’s war in Ukraine as he met Russia’s defense chief, the North’s state media reported Saturday. A Russia military delegation led by Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday, amid growing international concern

AP Sports Writer ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and actor Hailee Steinfeld are engaged. The couple posted a photo to their Instagram followers on Friday of Allen on one knee proposing marriage. Allen and Steinfeld were first linked in the spring of 2023. They kept their romance relatively quiet for

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Authorities say three people have been wounded in a shooting at an Arkansas mall on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Little Rock police say the Black Friday shooting at Park Plaza in Little Rock was an isolated incident rather than an active shooter situation. Chief Heath

WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — National security adviser Jake Sullivan; Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; Gov.-elect Josh Stein, D-N.C. ___ NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sullivan; Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn. ___ CNN’s “State of the Union” — Sullivan; Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md. __ CBS’ “Face the

Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Black Friday is giving way to a white weekend in parts of New York state. The first big snow of the season has the potential to bury towns along lakes Erie and Ontario during a hectic holiday travel and shopping weekend. Forecasters warn 4 to 6 feet of blowing

Associated Press COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s Republican attorney general says he still considers it illegal to provide abortions after fetal viability, despite a newly approved state abortion rights amendment. Attorney General Andrew Bailey writes in an opinion that his office will also continue to enforce a law requiring parental permission for minors to get

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The Connecticut NAACP says that former Hartford Mayor Thirman Milner has died. He was 91. Milner was the first popularly elected Black mayor in New England. He served as Hartford’s Democratic mayor from 1981 to 1987. The Connecticut NAACP says in a statement that “His tenure was marked by significant strides