For devoted Disney fans, there's often no better treat than spending Halloween at its theme parks — and more specifically, at its after-hours parties, where visitors can trick-or-treat through Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room and watch a Halloween-exclusive parade, among other experiences.

But tickets are neither cheap nor easy to acquire. The parties are held on multiple nights throughout the season, and the version at Disney's California resort, the "Oogie Boogie Bash," is so popular that the 2023 event sold out the first day tickets went on sale. Fans reported trouble with virtual queues and website crashes.

Jill Biden is urging women to consult their doctors about getting mammograms or other cancer screenings, saying in a new public service announcement for Breast Cancer Awareness Month that early detection saves lives.

"October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I'm asking you to put your health first," the first lady says in the 30-second spot recorded amid flower blooms in the White House Rose Garden.

Pope Francis said the Catholic Church was in need of repair to make it a place of welcome for "everyone, everyone, everyone," as he opened a big meeting on the future of the faith that has sparked hope among progressives and alarm among conservatives.

Francis presided over a solemn Mass in St. Peter's Square to formally open the meeting. But he warned both camps in the church's culture wars to put their "human strategies, political calculations or ideological battles" aside and let the Holy Spirit guide debate.

A bus carrying dozens of people plummeted 15 meters (50 feet) from an elevated road in Venice, causing a fiery crash that killed 21 people and injured at least 15, mostly foreign tourists returning to a nearby campsite.

Those who died in the Tuesday night crash included at least four Ukrainians and a German citizen, according to Venice prefecture.

Russian air defenses shot down 31 Ukrainian drones during a concerted nighttime attack by Kyiv's forces on border regions, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday, as uncertainty grew over Ukraine's future access to weapons and ammunition from its Western allies.

The drone attack appeared to be Kyiv's largest single cross-border drone assault reported by Moscow since it launched its invasion 20 months ago. There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties.

Three scientists in the United States won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their work on quantum dots — particles just a few atoms in diameter that can release very bright colored light and whose applications in everyday life include electronics and medical imaging.

Moungi Bawendi, of MIT; Louis Brus, of Columbia University; and Alexei Ekimov, of Nanocrystals Technology Inc., were honored for their work with the tiny particles that "have unique properties and now spread their light from television screens and LED lamps," according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which announced the award in Stockholm.

Neymar has scored his first goal in his fifth appearance for Al-Hilal as the Saudi Arabian club beat Nassaji Mazandaran 3-0 in Tehran on a calmer day in the Asian Champions League.

Just 24 hours after another Saudi team, Al-Ittihad, left Iran without taking the field against Sepahan, four-time continental champion Al-Hilal was too strong for the Iranian hosts at the Azadi Stadium.

Saudi-backed Newcastle United hosts Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday in a match that is laced with intrigue.

It hasn't taken long for Saudi Arabia to have an impact on European soccer after providing the money that has guided Newcastle back among the giants of the sport.

Japan hopes to resolve China's ban on its seafood following the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant within the World Trade Organization's scope, Agriculture Minister Ichiro Miyashita said Wednesday.

Despite repeated assurances, China banned seafood from Japan immediately after the plant began its treated radioactive wastewater release in August. Seafood accounts for a small portion of Japan's overall trade but the ban has hit exporters hard as China was the top destination for Japanese seafood exports.

Iran said Wednesday it has agreed with Saudi Arabia to reschedule an Asian Champions League match after the Saudi team walked out at the last minute, apparently over the presence of a statue of a slain Iranian general.

The walkout appeared to further strain a recent rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, longtime rivals who have backed opposite sides in conflicts across the Middle East. But in the days since, both sides have appeared eager to move past it.