VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for the first time on Thursday, and the two men discussed the urgent need to provide assistance to civilians in Gaza and to pursue a two-state solution to end the conflict in the region.
The meeting, which lasted about an hour and was described as “cordial” in a brief Vatican statement, comes nearly a month after the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement came into effect in the Gaza Strip.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, left, is welcomed by Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza as he arrives in the St. Damasus Courtyard at the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Leo XIV, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, left, is welcomed by Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza as he arrives in the St. Damasus Courtyard at the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Leo XIV, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, left, is welcomed by Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza as he arrives in the St. Damasus Courtyard at the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Leo XIV, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen,, left, waves as he leaves the St. Damasus Courtyard at the Vatican after meeting with Pope Leo XIV, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, center, leaves the St. Damasus Courtyard at the Vatican after meeting with Pope Leo XIV, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The pope and Abbas had not met in person previously. They had spoken over the phone in July to talk about developments in the conflict in Gaza and violence in the West Bank.
“During the cordial talks, it was recognized that there is an urgent need to provide assistance to the civilian population in Gaza and to end the conflict by pursuing a two-State solution,” the Holy See said.
In September, Pope Leo and his top diplomats told Israel’s president that a two-state solution was the “only way out of the war,” as the Vatican called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Abbas was visiting the Vatican to mark the 10th anniversary of the signing of the “Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine.”
He arrived in Rome on Wednesday afternoon, and visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major to pay his respects to late Pope Francis’ tomb.
Over the years, Abbas had met the late Pope Francis several times, maintaining frequent phone contacts after Hamas’ attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel’s strikes on Gaza.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, left, is welcomed by Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza as he arrives in the St. Damasus Courtyard at the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Leo XIV, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, left, is welcomed by Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza as he arrives in the St. Damasus Courtyard at the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Leo XIV, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, left, is welcomed by Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza as he arrives in the St. Damasus Courtyard at the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Leo XIV, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen,, left, waves as he leaves the St. Damasus Courtyard at the Vatican after meeting with Pope Leo XIV, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, center, leaves the St. Damasus Courtyard at the Vatican after meeting with Pope Leo XIV, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The College Football Playoff rankings are here.
Follow live updates from The Associated Press on the playoff bracket, with analysis and Top 25 voter answers to fan questions, all in one place.
Here's the latest:
By MAURA CAREY
Oregon (5), Ole Miss (6), Texas A&M (7) and Oklahoma (8) will each be playing at home after earning spots 5-8 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Texas A&M will host No. 10 Miami. Oklahoma will welcome No. 9 Alabama for a rematch. Ole Miss takes American Conference-winner Tulane (11). Lastly, No. 12 James Madison, fresh off a Sun Belt championship win, will head to Eugene to take on No. 5 Oregon.
As expected, the Hoosiers earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye after beating Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday.
Despite the loss, the committee opted to rank Ohio State No. 2 ahead of SEC champion Georgia. The Bulldogs earned their second straight first-round bye and top four ranking in the CFP bracket, coming in at No. 3.
Texas Tech rounded out the top four after beating BYU on Saturday. All four teams get the luxury of having the first round off and will resume game action in the quarterfinals.
By ERIC OLSON
Alabama would be on the outside looking if the College Football Playoff selection committee’s final rankings echo the new AP Top 25 poll. So would BYU, Vanderbilt and Texas.
And for the first time, there would be two Group of Five schools in the playoff, with James Madison joining Tulane on the bracket.
Here’s how the CFP bracket would look if it were based on the AP poll:
— No. 9 seed Notre Dame at No. 8 seed Oklahoma. Winner vs. No. 1 Indiana.
— No. 12 seed James Madison at No. 5 Oregon. Winner vs. No. 4 Texas Tech.
— No. 10 seed Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M. Winner vs. No. 2 Georgia.
— No. 11 seed Tulane at No. 6 Mississippi. Winner vs. No. 3 Ohio State.
The Associated Press Top 25 is out, with Indiana taking the No. 1 spot for the first time in program history. Now what will the final College Football Playoff rankings look like? We’ll find out at noon Eastern.
The order of teams in the AP poll and CFP rankings have been similar since the playoff selection committee started putting out its top 25 in November.
Indiana, Georgia, Ohio State and Texas Tech are the top four teams in the new AP poll. They were also the top four in last week’s CFP rankings and it’s a good bet the bracket will award those teams top-four seeds and first-round byes. It’s possible the committee would put Ohio State second and Georgia third based on the narrow margin of victory in the Big Ten title game.
Mississippi, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Miami are teams 6 through 10 in the AP poll. AP voters moved Miami up two spots — ahead of Alabama and BYU. The Hurricanes will be hoping the committee follows suit, which would grant them an at-large bid.
AP Top 25 poll rankings
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
1. Indiana
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Texas Tech
5. Oregon
6. Ole Miss
7. Texas A&M
8. Oklahoma
9. Notre Dame
10. Miami (Fla.)
11. Alabama
12. BYU
13. Vanderbilt
14. Texas
15. Utah
16. USC
17. Tulane
18. Michigan
19. James Madison
20. Virginia
21. Arizona
22. Navy
23. North Texas
24. Georgia Tech
25. Missouri
By DAVE ZELIO
Indiana’s Tyrique Tucker and Drew Evans celebrate after the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game against Ohio State in Indianapolis, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
One team that doesn’t have to sweat much today about the College Football Playoff announcement: Indiana.
At 13-0, the Hoosiers are the last unbeaten team in major college football after beating Ohio State in a thriller for their first outright championship since 1945. By beating the Buckeyes, Indiana ended the nation’s longest active winning streak at 16 and the Big Ten’s longest winning streak in a series between two teams.
In between, the Hoosiers shed the label of FBS’ losing-est program, too.
Most expect Indiana to grab AP’s No. 1 ranking and get the No. 1 CFP seed later today.
Duke tight end Jeremiah Hasley (85) scores a touchdown against Virginia in overtime of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
Duke’s overtime win against No. 16 Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game was something of a doomsday scenario for the league when it comes to the College Football Playoff.
The five-loss Blue Devils were unranked in the CFP, which raises the potential that the ACC could get shut out of the 12-team playoff later today. Sun Belt champion James Madison could secure the last automatic bid that goes to the five highest-ranked conference champions; three of those –- the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC -– are locks and American champ Tulane is considered the fourth.
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips says his league deserves two bids: one for No. 12 Miami as an at-large team and one for Saturday’s title-game winner.
Alabama, Notre Dame and Miami fans probably had something of a sleepless night ahead of the College Football Playoff bracket announcement.
Last week’s CFP rankings moved Alabama up a spot, raising the idea that the Crimson Tide have a cushion to make the bracket even if they lost to Georgia in the SEC championship game, which they did.
Notre Dame has won 10 straight games convincingly since starting 0-2, but had a lighter schedule than both Alabama and Miami, which handed the Fighting Irish one of those losses. Altogether those factors complicate the bottom of the playoff bracket.
It’s one of the biggest days on the calendar in college sports: The College Football Playoff will release its second 12-team bracket to kick off the postseason chase for the national championship.
We will kick things off soon with the final regular-season AP Top 25 football poll, so keep an eye for changes there that could foreshadow what you see in the CFP bracket.
There are eight teams that can feel pretty good about making the CFP, from Indiana to Ohio State and Georgia to Texas Tech and Ole Miss.
The final four slots are something else entirely. There is a lot of uncertainty on those and we will update you throughout the bracket release.
No organization has been ranking teams and naming a major college football national champion longer than The Associated Press, since 1936.
AP employees don’t vote themselves, but they do choose the voters. AP Top 25 voters comprise around 60 writers and broadcasters who cover college football for AP members and other select outlets. The goal is to have every state with a Football Bowl Subdivision school represented by at least one voter.
There is a 1-to-25 point system, with a team voted No. 1 receiving 25 points down to 1 point for a 25th-place vote. After that, it’s simple: The poll lists the teams with the most points from 1 to 25, and others receiving votes are also noted.
Voting is done online, and the tabulation is automated.
Indiana's Fernando Mendoza celebrates after the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game against Ohio State in Indianapolis, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
