The number of Americans who identify as Christian has declined steadily for years, but that drop shows signs of slowing, according to a new survey Wednesday from the Pew Research Center.

Three tropical cyclones are spinning in the South Pacific, an occurrence that scientists say is unusual.
Tropical cyclones Rae, Seru and Alfred are all churning as the region is in the peak of a season that starts in November and ends in April.

Five days before the Academy Awards, nearly every nominee gathered for a cocktail reception, dinner and class picture shoot that served as an Oscars orientation.
The event Tuesday night at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures was a stand-in for the annual Oscars luncheon usually held about a month earlier but scrubbed because of the Southern California wildfires.

Chileans were able to return to a sense of normalcy on Wednesday after the country lifted a curfew imposed in response to a massive, rare blackout that left millions without power.
The metro in the capital Santiago was also operating normally after it had to be evacuated Tuesday because of the power outage.

The head of Israel's Mossad foreign intelligence agency has called the exploding pagers and walkie talkies operation against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and Syria a “turning point of the war,” which gave Israel momentum to deal a heavy blow to Hezbollah.
The devices used by hundreds of Hezbollah members exploded almost simultaneously in two waves on Sept. 17 and 18. The attack killed at least 12 people — including two young children — and wounded thousands more.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has suggested the Gaza Strip could be ruled and rebuilt by neighboring Egypt. In exchange, he said, Gulf Arab countries and the international community would help Egypt with its spiraling economic crisis by paying off billions of dollars in foreign debt.
Lapid said Egypt could lead a “peace force” backed from regional allies that would govern a demilitarized Gaza for eight years, possibly as long as 15 years.

The meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump was a spectacle of thigh-patting, prolonged hand-holding and other touch-heavy displays that have become a signature of their public appearances.
It was another chapter in a relationship where physicality has often spoken louder than words as the two men have engaged in an unusual degree of touch since their first meeting early in Trump's first term.

Residents of southern Lebanon have been gradually returning to their villages to find their homes heavily damaged.
As they scour what remains, they are discovering that the battle-scarred walls of their houses served as a canvas for Israeli soldiers.

Eleven points off the lead. An injury-ravaged forward line. Yet another player suspended after getting sent off.

Negotiations between U.S. and Ukrainian officials over continued American military aid in exchange for access to Ukraine's valuable mineral resources are gaining traction after a rocky start, something Kyiv hopes will help secure long-term support for its defense against Russia.
Ukraine has offered to strike a deal with President Donald Trump which would supply the U.S. with rare earth elements — critical for various technologies. Trump said that he wanted such a deal earlier this month, and it was initially proposed last fall by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of his plan to strengthen Kyiv's hand in future negotiations with Moscow.
