AP-National

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Exxon Mobil is buying Pioneer Natural Resources in an all-stock deal valued at $59.5 billion, its largest buyout since acquiring Mobil two decades ago, creating a colossal fracking operator in West Texas. Including debt, Exxon is committing about $64.5 billion to the acquisition, leaving no doubt of the Texas

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The race to replace Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards tops the list of contests voters will decide Saturday in one of only three gubernatorial elections scheduled this year. Fourteen candidates are competing to succeed Edwards under a primary system in which all candidates appear together on

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Officials from Sapporo and the Japanese Olympic Committee have announced a decision to withdraw the northern Japanese city as a candidate to host the 2030 Winter Olympics. The effort has been soiled by massive corruption and bid-rigging tied to the one-year delayed 2020 Tokyo Games. Sapporo Mayor

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — A former prime minister of Slovakia who plans to end the country’s military support for Ukraine is poised to return to office after his political party signed a coalition government deal with two other parties. The leftist Smer, or Direction, party captured 22.9% of the vote in Slovakia’s Sept 30 parliamentary

By CHASE BIERENKOVEN Edmunds The Honda Pilot has become a byword for the affordable midsize SUV. With three rows and a fresh face, the Pilot is more enticing than ever. It’s plenty spacious for front and middle-row passengers, and the easy-to-use controls make for a great experience inside. But Toyota is gunning for the Pilot

By DEEPTI HAJELA Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — If people really looked for history at the New York City building where the Triangle Shirtwaist factory once existed, they could find it. There are plaques pointing out that it was the site of a horrific fire in 1911 that became a catalyst in the American

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of travelers faced disruption as all flights were suspended Wednesday at London’s Luton airport after a fire tore through a newly built parking garage, destroying vehicles and partially collapsing the structure. Four firefighters and an airport employee were treated for the effects of smoke inhalation after the fire, which broke out

VIGO, Spain (AP) — Officials say three children and an adult have died and nine others were injured in a fire in an apartment building believed to be occupied by squatters in Spain’s northwestern city of Vigo. Spain’s state news agency Efe says the dead included a woman and three of her children. Efe said

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press COTONOU, Benin (AP) — The French military says it’s begun withdrawing from Niger following the July coup when mutinous soldiers toppled the country’s democratically elected president. More than 100 troops left in two flights from the capital Niamey on Tuesday in the first of what will be several rounds of

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Dozen of activists are protesting at Norway’s parliament to express frustration over the Norwegian government’s failure to shut down a wind farm they say endangers the way of life of Sami reindeer herders. The focus of Wednesday’s demonstration was the 151 turbines of Europe’s largest onshore wind farm, which is located

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Apartment Association says President Joe Biden’s proposed rule to ban hidden and bogus junk fees could end up increasing the cost of rental housing. The association’s CEO says policymakers should understand that layering additional regulations will “harm the affordability and availability of rental housing,” hurting

By EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Animal rights groups have protested the use of puppies as live bait to capture black panthers spotted in a Malaysian village. But the Wildlife Department is defending the method. Officials say using live bait is the standard procedure and the canines were unharmed in the

By LORNE COOK and LOLITA BALDOR Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has joined a meeting of more than 50 defense leaders from around the world to make a personal pitch for military aid in the war against Russia. Political support in the United States has been lagging, and allies are now

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Thursday as investors awaited the release of U.S. consumer price data and kept a cautious watch on the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.6% to 32,442.08. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.1% to 7,097.50.

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says a Chinese Australian journalist who was jailed for three years in China on a murky espionage conviction has returned to Australia. Cheng Lei worked for the international department of China’s state broadcaster CCTV. China’s Ministry of State Security said that

By CHEYANNE MUMPHREY AP Education Writer High school students’ scores on the ACT college admissions test have dropped to their lowest in more than three decades, showing a lack of student preparedness for college-level coursework, according to the nonprofit organization that administers the test. Scores have been falling for six consecutive years, but the trend

By JOSEPH KRAUSS and WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined with a top political rival Wednesday to create a wartime Cabinet to oversee the fight to avenge the gruesome weekend attack by Hamas militants. In the sealed-off Gaza Strip, Palestinian suffering mounted as Israeli bombardment demolished neighborhoods and

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — In-person voting for a November ballot measure over abortion rights began Wednesday in Ohio, the latest state where voters will decide the issue after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a nationwide right to the procedure last year. Ohio is the only state to put an

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — Connor Bedard did not disappoint in his NHL debut. The Chicago Blackhawks rookie picked up an assist and dazzled occasionally with his skating as Chicago rallied past Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. The 18-year-old Bedard, the top pick in the NHL draft, played over