News

The Associated Press reports: Black smoke billowed from the Vatican’s chimney on Wednesday around 3:02 p.m. ET after the 133 cardinals tasked with electing the next leader of the Catholic Church made their first vote inside the Sistine Chapel. The black smoke indicates that no papal candidate secured the required two-thirds majority on the conclave’s first ballot. Voting will resume …

Tampa’s Spectrum affiliate reports: A private contractor and engineer are now taking over the investigation into the status of the ‘South Beach III’ condo on Sand Key. All units were evacuated yesterday after a crack was found in a support column. The building remains roped off Wednesday morning. Rescue officials said construction workers noticed the growing beam crack in the …

NBC News reports: Of all the many sights and sounds etched onto the memory of anyone who’s been alive long enough to witness a conclave, the white smoke billowing from the Sistine Chapel chimney and the ringing of the church’s bells signifying the appointment of a new pope are perhaps the most famous. With the second result of each pair …

CNN reports: All mobile phone signals will be deactivated in the Vatican on Wednesday ahead of the highly secretive conclave to elect the next pope, Italian state media reported. The Vatican also plans to use signal jammers around the Sistine Chapel to prevent electronic surveillance or communication outside the conclave that will see 133 cardinals vote on who will succeed …

ABC News reports: An 88-year-old man and a dog were killed in apparently separate bear attacks near the victim’s home in Florida, officials said. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said it received a call shortly after 7 a.m. Monday involving a “bear encounter.” The victim was identified as Robert Markel, a longtime resident of the Jerome area. Officials believe his …

The BBC reports: Germany’s conservative leader has unexpectedly fallen short of a majority in a parliament vote to become chancellor. Friedrich Merz needed 316 votes in the 630-seat Bundestag but only secured 310, in a significant blow to the Christian Democrat leader, two and a half months after winning Germany’s federal elections. His coalition with the centre left has enough …

Vatican News reports: Pope Francis’ legacy of peace continues to shine in our conflict-ridden world. The closeness he showed to the most vulnerable during his earthly mission is radiating even after his death, and this most recent surprise is no exception: His popemobile, the very vehicle from which he waved and was close to millions of faithful all around the …

The Miami Herald reports: Thirty-two people were rescued from a sinking yacht off Miami Beach this weekend, officials say. The rescue happened around 5 p.m. Saturday near Flagler Monument Island, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The small man-made island houses a 110 foot-tall obelisk monument that was built decades ago to honor Henry Flagler, a key developer of Florida’s …

Politico reports: At least 15,000 Agriculture Department employees have taken the Trump administration’s offers to resign, according to a readout of a USDA briefing with congressional staff that was shared with POLITICO. The departures represent a drastic contraction of a department that handles a diverse portfolio including flagship federal nutrition programs, food safety, farm loans and rural broadband initiatives. While …

Reuters reports: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s centre-left Labor Party was projected to win elections, broadcasters said on Saturday, in a comeback against once-resurgent conservatives powered by concerns about the influence of U.S. President Donald Trump. Supporters at Labor’s election party in Sydney cheered and hugged as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Sky News Australia announced Labor was likely to …

The Associated Press reports: Ruth Buzzi, who rose to fame as the frumpy and bitter Gladys Ormphby on the groundbreaking sketch comedy series “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” and made over 200 television appearances during a 45-year career, has died at age 88. Buzzi died Thursday at her home in Texas, her agent Mike Eisenstadt said. She had been diagnosed with …

Law & Crime reports: A Pennsylvania funeral home director allegedly bilked some 6,500 people out of more than $650,000 by promising to cremate their cats and dogs, but instead dumping the animal carcasses in a landfill and giving the pet owners fake ashes. Patrick Vereb, 70, is charged with several felony counts, including theft by deception, receiving stolen property and …

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 …