News

The Associated Press reports: The Italian cardinal at the heart of the Vatican’s “trial of the century” announced Tuesday he was withdrawing from participating in the upcoming conclave to elect a new pope for “the good of the church,” ending days of drama that had overshadowed the proceedings. Cardinal Angelo Becciu’s status has dominated discussions in the days after Pope …

CBS News reports: The House passed a bipartisan bill Monday that makes it a federal crime to post real and fake sexually explicit imagery online of a person without their consent, sending the legislation that was backed by first lady Melania Trump to the president’s desk. The bill, known as the “Take It Down Act,” cleared the lower chamber in …

EuroNews reports: Spain and Portugal experienced a widespread power outage on Monday, leaving millions without electricity in a snap blackout. In Portugal, official sources told domestic media that the outage, which hit around late morning local time, was nationwide, while similar reports emerged from Spain. Madrid’s Barajas International Airport and Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado were closed after being left without power, …

Reuters reports: Roman Catholic cardinals will meet in a secret conclave to elect the new leader of the global Church starting from May 7, a senior Vatican source said on Monday. The date was decided during a closed-door meeting of cardinals at the Vatican, the first since the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday, the source said. The official announcement …

Tampa’s ABC affiliate reports: The City of Clearwater says one person has died and multiple injuries have been reported following a boat crash near the Memorial Causeway bridge. ABC Action News spoke with the mayor of Clearwater, Bruce Rector, who says the Clearwater Ferry was in a collision with a privately owned boat. “We believe the boat responsible for hitting …

USA Today reports: With the passing of Pope Francis, who presided over the Roman Catholic Church and its estimated 1.4 billion followers for 12 years, attention now turns to the selection of his successor. The decision is made through a time-honored process known as the conclave, an election conducted in secrecy behind the locked doors of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. …

The CBC reports: Nine people have been killed and multiple others injured after the driver of a black SUV slammed into a crowd Saturday evening at a street festival in Vancouver celebrating the contributions of the Filipino-Canadian community, police say. It happened shortly after 8 p.m. near East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street, where the Lapu Lapu Day Block Party …

Philadelphia’s NBC affiliate reports: A teenager is accused of sparking the massive wildfire that continues to burn in Ocean County, New Jersey. Joseph Kling, 19, of Ocean Township (Waretown) was arrested and charged with aggravated arson and arson, officials announced on Thursday, April 24. “We are confident that he intentionally set a fire,” Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said during …

NBC News reports: A solemn procession of patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, canons and other priests chanted the names of the saints in Latin as they carried Pope Francis to St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of his funeral. He will now lie in state for three days, and the first of tens of thousands of mourners began filing in to pay their …

Wired reports: Starting today, Bluesky is rolling out a new verification system, complete with the familiar blue check marks popularized by Twitter. The social platform, which has experienced rapid growth since it opened to the public in early 2024, formerly relied on an unconventional self-verification system where users could “authenticate” themselves by including custom domains in their web handles. Now …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis’ funeral has been set for Saturday at 10 a.m. local time in St. Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals. Cardinals met at the Vatican to schedule Pope Francis’ funeral and burial, planning the conclave to elect his successor and make other decisions about running the Catholic Church …

USA Today reports: A Delta Air Lines flight caught fire on the ground in Orlando and was safely evacuated. According to the airline, flight 1213 was scheduled to travel between Orlando and Atlanta on Monday when flames were spotted in one of its engine tailpipes. A Delta spokesperson said there were 282 customers, 10 flight attendants and two pilots aboard …

From the potato marketing group Potatoes USA: Why put all your eggs in one basket? With food prices rising, families are embracing a playful, budget-friendly tradition— Easter potatoes! Potatoes USA is celebrating the growing Easter trend by painting, crafting, and cooking potatoes, proving that creativity and tradition go hand in hand. Durable, versatile, and already a pantry staple, potatoes make …

Houston’s ABC affiliate reports: The Houston Fire Department said that at about 11:15 a.m., the plane departing from Hobby was returning due to a reported engine fire. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire, including a small grass fire that ignited near the runway. The Boeing 737 was headed to Los Cabos International Airport in Mexico, according to the FAA. …

Denver’s ABC affiliate reports: An unusual animal encounter causing a scare in for passengers on a United Airlines flight. A rabbit somehow made it into the right engine of flight UA2325 from Denver to Edmonton on Sunday. The possible wildlife strike happened as the Boeing 737 with 159 people on board was taking off. “There was a loud bang and …

The New York Times reports: The search for life beyond Earth has led scientists to explore many suggestive mysteries, from plumes of methane on Mars to clouds of phosphine gas on Venus. But as far as we can tell, Earth’s inhabitants remain alone in the cosmos. Now a team of researchers is offering what it contends is the strongest indication …

ABC News reports: Six women, including pop star Katy Perry, are scheduled to be launched into space for about 11 minutes on Monday on a Blue Origin rocket, a lift-off that would mark the first all-female spaceflight since 1963, according to the company. The window for the latest New Shepard rocket launch is expected to open on Monday morning at …

ABC News reports: As markets around the world slumped and other countries plotted retaliation in reaction to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Democrat Maria Cantwell introduced bipartisan legislation Thursday that would require Congress to approve new tariffs. The Senate bill would require the president to notify Congress of new tariffs within 48 hours and for …

The Washington Post reports: Hungary announced plans Thursday to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, hours after Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu — who is sought under an ICC arrest warrant that accuses him of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza — arrived there for a state visit. “The government will initiate the withdrawal procedure on Thursday, in accordance …

Variety reports: Val Kilmer, who played Bruce Wayne in “Batman Forever,” channeled Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone‘s “The Doors” and starred as a tubercular Doc Holliday in “Tombstone,” died Tuesday in Los Angeles. His daughter Mercedes told The New York Times the cause was pneumonia. He was 65. He had been battling throat cancer for several years. The baby-faced blonde …