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One hundred and ninety-seven nations amend the Montreal Protocol to include a phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons.
Regular scans could catch lung cancers like Pope Leo XIV’s sooner, but many people at risk don’t qualify for screening. Doctors want to change that.
Confusion about the U.S. stance has mounted in Kyiv amid restrictions on how the military version of Starlink is used.
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For years, Ukraine’s armed forces have relied on satellite communication services developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Recent restrictions have hampered its war effort.
The Pentagon is expanding its fight against drug traffickers, even as the plans recall a long and bloody history of U.S. intervention in the region.
The S&P 500 fell 1.1 percent on Wednesday, the steepest drop in more than two months.
The campaign is set to be more expensive than the 2024 presidential election cycle, and has already exceeded the ad total booked by the N.F.L. last season.
September’s Consumer Price Index report will keep pressure on President Trump and the Federal Reserve to tame intensifying price pressures.
President Trump’s deal with Russia will probably not lower diesel prices that have soared because of his war with Iran and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries.
Lung cancer is still a leading cause of cancer death, but that rate is half what it was in the 1990s, partly because newly developed treatments are working.
The Trump administration had filed an emergency application asking the justices to intervene in a long-running dispute over political ad rates.
Pope Leo XIV was diagnosed with a common form of lung cancer on Tuesday. The Vatican said that his postoperative tests showed normal results.
With control of Congress hanging in the balance, nominees have attacked their rivals’ records, stock portfolios and families, with varying degrees of accuracy.
She spent decades building an identity as a wife and mother. Could she disrupt “a perfectly good family dynamic” to live her own truth?
Consumer prices in September jumped 3.7% from a year ago. The Social Security Administration said benefits will increase next year to help keep pace with the rising cost of living. (Image credit: Isabelle Souriment/Hans Lucas)
After thousands of troops deployed by the president have patrolled Washington for more than a year, a three-judge panel interrogated whether the deployment could continue indefinitely.
Xavier Becerra is a heavy favorite to become California’s first Latino governor in the modern era, though he does not talk much about the milestone.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. '/> We got to play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time early. Here are our impressions of the remake and its elaborate new style. (Image credit: Nintendo)
WASILLA, Alaska — Three weeks out from Election Day, President Donald Trump took a helicopter to a plane to another helicopter to a motorcade to an ice hockey rink in Alaska's Matanuska-Susitna Valley, traversing nearly 4,000 miles over more than eight hours to turn out his base here to help Republicans defend the Senate. But Trump’s trek might not be enough to save Sen. Dan Sullivan, who’s running in a tougher-than-expected race against Democrat Mary Peltola in a state where the president’s approval rating is underwater and independents outnumber both Republicans and Democrats. Alaska strategists and voters who spoke to POLITICO acknowledged that Sullivan faces a difficult path to reelection, despite Trump’s time investment and the outside money pouring in. “Very conservative MAGA voters can’t vote for you harder,” said Scott Kendall, a veteran political strategist who worked on two of Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s campaigns and was chief of staff to former Alaska Gov. Bill Walker. “Donald Trump’s support in this current climate is both a blessing and a curse.” Even some Trump supporters at the Tuesday night rally admitted the outlook appeared bleak. “I think Alaska’s turning blue,” said Matt Niessink, a 45-year-old general contractor from Wasilla. He said he had voted for Trump three times and planned to support Republicans this year. What did he wish the president would do differently? “I wish he’d shut his mouth sometimes and not be such a pompous ass,” Niessink said. The president was in Wasilla — population 10,556 — because the outlook is darkening for his party in a state he carried by 13 points just two years ago. In a midterm year defined by the cost of gas and groceries, the Last Frontier has been hit particularly hard, with the average price of diesel nearing $7 per gallon. In the Senate race, Peltola is flush with cash and leads Sullivan in most polls. MAGA Inc., the cash-rich Trump-aligned super PAC, is increasingly focusing on Alaska as one in a slate of states that can help Republicans hold the Senate. Enter Trump, who has been spending the cycle’s crucial final weeks holding rallies in red states to juice support among his base, which tends to see depressed turnout in years when he’s not on the ballot. “That was a lot of flying,” the president said at the top of his remarks. “In fact, they were thinking about canceling. They said, ‘Sir, you’re very busy, this is very tough.’” But, Trump continued, he refused to cancel for a state he won three times. Echoing his comments at other red-state rallies, Trump asked the roaring crowd for “one big favor” — to “pretend that I'm on the ballot, because every time I've been on the ballot, we win.” He repeated his promise that Americans will receive $5,000 dividends if Republicans hold both chambers. “What this is about is getting out the vote,” Sullivan told reporters before Trump’s speech. “A rising tide of enthusiasm lifts all the candidates.” Unlike some other Republican candidates in tight races, Sullivan has shied away from distancing himself from the least popular aspects of Trump’s presidency. Sullivan proclaimed on stage at the rally that “the conflict in the Middle East is temporary. The true forever war is the national Democrats’ war against Alaska oil and gas and our jobs.” And although a campaign aide released a statement condemning Trump’s move to import Russian diesel, Sullivan did not join four of his Republican Senate colleagues, including Murkowski, who called on Trump to reverse the decision. Art Hackney, a veteran Republican strategist in Alaska, said that “most of the people who support” Sullivan “think that he should” break more with the president. Hackney, who runs a pro-Sullivan super PAC called “We Stand with Dan,” attributed that choice to loyalty — but suggested the president’s demand of fealty, and treatment of frequent dissenter Murkowski, could also be part of Sullivan’s calculus. “A lot of his longtime supporters and the people who are in the industries that would benefit from that wish he would be more blunt,” Hackney said. “But with what Murkowski has done, if Dan did something considered a disrespectful trigger or something, what do you think would happen? It could well have implications for things that affect Alaska's economy.” Like this content? Consider signing up for POLITICO's Playbook PM newsletter .
With the midterm elections just three weeks away, a new inflation report shows prices rising faster than expected, putting more pressure on Americans struggling with the cost of everyday essentials. To discuss what the latest numbers mean for Americans, Amna Nawaz spoke with Heather Long, vice president and chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union.
Michelle Parker disappeared the same day that an episode of "The People's Court" aired that featured Parker and the suspect, Dale Smith Jr., in a contentious dispute over an engagement ring.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris will also rally for Democratic candidates in Georgia and Nevada.
In our news wrap Wednesday, Iran says a cargo ship sank after hitting a mine in the Strait of Hormuz, the Vatican says Pope Leo is eating and walking again following surgery to remove a cancerous portion of his lung, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a privacy case rooted in the era of VHS tapes and Netflix is cutting about 6% of its global workforce.
Inflation accelerated to 3.7% in September as energy costs soared amid President Trump's war with Iran, a new CPI report shows. CBS News reporter Emily Pandise has more.
“I’m running for re-election to the Senate,” the Democrat said during a debate on Tuesday. Barack Obama said the same thing 20 years ago.
A key component of Ukraine's communications network was partially disabled on Wednesday. The Starshield satellite network, funded by the Pentagon and operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX, was not operating at full capacity, hampering communications within the Ukrainian military. Liz Landers reports and Amna Nawaz discusses the developments with retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery.
Traders on Kalshi are starting to think Democrats will take control of the Senate. CBS News executive director of elections and surveys Anthony Salvanto digs into the trends. Kalshi is sponsoring the use of its prediction market data in CBS News election coverage this year.
Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson, disagreed over the war in Iran and President Trump in the third of four debates in a key race.
A federal judge has once again ordered the White House to restore access for three news organizations President Trump banned last month over their coverage of his administration. The judge ordered full access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico while their legal challenge moves forward. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Ted Boutrous, the attorney representing the three outlets.
Federal officials conducted raids at over 40 so-called "laptop farms" across Texas that the Justice Department says are controlled by North Korea as part of a scheme aimed at fraudulently securing remote jobs to help fund its nuclear program. Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike senior vice president, and Brett Leatherman, FBI Cyber Division assistant director, join to discuss.
Nature, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03202-z Assimilating the latest technology into health systems is a key challenge facing the field.
The fallout from sexual assault allegations at Cornell University continues. Faculty members plan to introduce a resolution of no confidence in how leadership handled an alleged gang rape at a fraternity. The university has suspended fraternity parties through the academic year and committed to "a thorough review of fraternity life." Amna Nawaz discussed more with Jud Horras and John Hechinger.
Inflation rose in September to 3.7%, according to the latest Consumer Price Index, three weeks before the midterm elections. The increase is largely driven by energy costs. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, joins CBS News to discuss.
Nature, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03307-5 Analysis suggests number of protected areas is hugely underestimated but biodiversity is still in peril — plus, a huge study looking at the health effects of brown fat.
This year's increase is 3.6%, based on inflation data, amounting to a little more than $900 next year.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched new attacks against Saudi Arabia Wednesday, including a ballistic missile that was intercepted over Riyadh, a Saudi military spokesman said. Matt Kroenig, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, joins "The Takeout" with analysis.
Nature, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03114-y An endless blessing.
Digital Realty is offering utility and property tax credits to residents of De Soto, Kansas, in a bid to win public support for a data center facility.
Roman Catholics across South America responded to news of Pope Leo XIV's lung cancer diagnosis with an outpouring of prayers and support, along with concerns about whether the first American pope would go ahead with his highly anticipated and physically demanding visit to the region next month.
Nature, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03081-4 Governments around the world have pledged to conserve 30% of the terrestrial realm by 2030, but official data suggest that the target is barely halfway to being met. A combined global and national-level data set now shows that up to 27% of land area is conserved, but gaps in ecological representation remain.
CBS News polling has shown Latino support for Republicans is far below what it was in 2024. Pollster Frank Luntz joins "The Takeout" to discuss the state of the midterms with 20 days until Election Day.
Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook's lawyers say that a committee set up by the White House last week to investigate an accusation against her is "demonstrably biased," though they did not close the door on the possibility that she would appear before the panel.
Nature, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02442-3 A researcher in Latin America seeks advice on the best way to present themselves when applying for faculty positions in Europe and North America.
The economic backdrop of the 2026 midterms is causing political heartburn for many Republicans. CBS News congressional correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns joins "The Takeout" with takeaways from the Maine, Georgia and Iowa Senate debates.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels hit the headquarters of the Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco in an overnight strike, two regional officials said Wednesday, damaging the offices of the firm's chief executive and other top officials.
Nature, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03206-9 A description of the terminology and methodology used in this supplement, and a guide to the functionality that is available free online at natureindex.com.
Voters in Nebraska will hear from the two major party candidates seeking to replace retiring Rep. Don Bacon during a debate Wednesday.
As artificial intelligence bots spread, we are increasingly glimpsing how these digital entities interact and what they talk about with one another.
Nature, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11242-8 Catalytic transfer of carbon atoms enables spirofusion of C–C σ-bonds
Organized criminal rings target SNAP recipients because of the government program's outdated security features. But upgrading the tech costs money and states' SNAP budgets are getting squeezed. (Image credit: Octavio Jones for NPR)
Mayor Karen Bass and her former ally, the City Council member Nithya Raman, attacked each other’s records on Tuesday night in the last televised debate before the election.
Nature, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03301-x High-speed camera footage reveals the visual tricks butterflies use to evade predators.
For years, customers have complained of aggressive sales tactics and charges at mall skincare stores. NPR investigated the business that connects many of them.
Nature, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11267-z Author Correction: Wafer-scale epitaxy growth of high-mobility p-type boron carbon nitride
Free samples, high-pressure pitches and $50,000 bills: An NPR investigation reveals how a network of mall skincare stores systematically targeted older adults and people with disabilities across the U.S.
Nature, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03239-0 Pollution from transport across the Pacific Ocean is raising ozone levels above a region whose own emissions have dropped.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy sits down with NPR to talks about the ongoing war in his country, Pope Leo has lung cancer, the Vatican announced, U.S. ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle resigns.
Look closely at almost anything and you'll find data—lots of it. But what are those numbers really saying about who we are and what we believe? Harry Enten is on a mission to find out.
Pope Leo XIV had surgery on Tuesday to remove a cancerous growth in his lung, the Vatican announced.
Go beyond the soundbites and get to know some of the most interesting players in politics.
A federal judge ruled late Tuesday that President Trump cannot ban news organizations from covering him at the White House because he does not like the nature of their coverage - at least, not until the matter goes to a formal trial. (Image credit: Graeme Sloan)
The political news you need to know, in 10 minutes or less. Hosted by David Chalian.
The Justice Department has ordered California to review a list of people whom the federal government believes may have received mail-in ballots for the upcoming election despite not being U.S. citizens.
Consulting firm McKinsey & Company is going to ask some entry-level candidates to have a 10-minute conversation with an AI simulation of a client as part of the interview process, according to The Wall Street Journal . The AI simulation "aims to reflect 80% of the scenarios McKinsey consultants might encounter in their day-to-day work," the WSJ says, and it isn't designed to "mimic an unhinged client." The AI won't score the candidates - humans will be in the room to assess the candidates and see how well they deal with the simulated situations. The McKinsey tool will be in testing for undergrads seeking business-analyst jobs in "some" offi … Read the full story at The Verge.
Ukrainian drones lost some of their fighting capacity after restrictions were suddenly imposed on the battlefield use of the country's U.S.-made Starlink communication terminals, officials said Wednesday as the capital endured another night of missile attacks.
Researchers at McGill University have found that urbanization is weakening one of Earth's most enduring ecological patterns: the tendency for biodiversity to increase toward the tropics, a pattern known as the latitudinal diversity gradient.
The Trump administration sharply criticized a legal complaint filed in Lebanon against the country's ambassador to Washington over her reported outreach to her Israeli counterpart.
Sometimes it can be hard for parents to agree on how to raise children. One parent might insist their child's homework has to be finished before they're allowed to use devices. The other may think a bit of screen time before studying is perfectly reasonable. Rules and consequences might be the preferred strategy of one parent, while the other favors a more flexible approach.
The layoffs will affect the company's product, tech, legal and HR teams, Netflix leaders said in a memo to employees.
A watchdog group filed suit Wednesday alleging President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s current role as a top envoy for the administration is unlawful and raises numerous conflict-of-interest concerns.
A federal judge on Tuesday extended an order blocking President Donald Trump's administration from banning reporters for three news outlets from the White House, a pivotal operational development for the organizations as the extraordinary case — pitting the president against the media that cover him — makes its way through the legal system. In a victory for media organizations at a time when tension between the White House and journalists is high, U.S. District Judge...
Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
Lisa Vanderpump joins "CBS Mornings" with her dog Donut to talk about her new cookbook, "Home at Villa Rosa: Cooking and Living the Vanderpump Way."
The race in Maine, which could decide Senate control, is testing whether there is still room for Ms. Collins’s brand of moderation during a sharply polarizing presidency.
Joni Mitchell can see both sides of the U.S.-Canada border freely now.
Discarded plastic packaging materials, old CDs and even LEGO bricks can be transformed into materials that capture significant amounts of moisture from the air. Materials chemists Anastasiia Naryshkina, Paul Schweng and Robert Woodward at the University of Vienna have converted several types of plastic waste into water-attracting polymer networks that take up water even in dry climates and release it again under moderate heating, for example, using sunlight. The study, published in Chem Circularity, offers a route to give plastic waste a second life as an adsorbent for atmospheric water harvesting.
The fines on America's second-biggest bank amount to the third-largest in the department's history.
Most kinds of coral spawn once a year. In an enormous multiday event synchronized to specific phases of the moon, they release vast slicks of eggs and sperm into the ocean to be mixed together by the drifting currents.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats will be united on reinstating Affordable Care Act tax breaks, reversing Republican Medicaid cuts, holding votes against the Iran war and undoing President Donald Trump's tariff regime.
The Wellcome Sanger Institute's Tree of Life program plans to accelerate publication of genome notes from approximately 30 per month to 200, expanding access to research that is supporting advances in agriculture, conservation and medicine. This increase will be facilitated by a new specialized workflow developed by F1000 and the Wellcome Sanger Institute for Wellcome Open Research.
60 Minutes' investigative journalists Michael Rey and Oriana Zill de Granados sit down with "CBS Mornings" to discuss their new book, "The Havana Syndrome: Secret Weapons, a Government Cover-Up, and the Greatest Spy Mystery of Our Time."
Apple’s HomeView smart display seems tailor-made for the kitchen. (That aluminum base looks like it will hold up better than my now off-white kitchen HomePod.) I'm just going to come right out and say it. I love the approach Apple has taken with the HomeView . I think it's the shared, always-available household interface that my family might finally use. Is Apple's first smart display my dream smart home dashboard? No. But is it the right product for Apple Home at this moment? Absolutely. A lot of initial reactions to the $299 HomeView (which looks like a giant Apple Watch on a flatter metallic HomePod Mini) ask why you would want it when you can do most of what it offers on your iPhone or iPad . And yes, its features replicate many of the things you already do on the devices you use all the time . B … Read the full story at The Verge.
U.S. inflation rose higher than economists predicted amid high energy prices, the most recent Consumer Price Index report shows. Axios markets reporter Matt Phillips shares his thoughts.
Flat is fine for a sheet of paper, but many of the most useful molecules need depth. Now, researchers from Japan have found a way to give them that depth using nothing more than a single carbon atom.
Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton are neck and neck in the Texas Senate race. Texas Republican Party chair D'rinda Randall shares her thoughts.
The gut microbiome is teeming with hundreds of bacterial species and trillions of bacteria. These microorganisms influence many aspects of health, including digestion, and assist with numerous functions in the body. Gut bacteria compete for the limited nutrients available in their environment, while also interacting with each other in ways that can influence the stability of the microbial community.
This would not be an easy job under any circumstances.
American audiences will be able to watch an English-dubbed version of "Ramayana," a Hindi film based on a South Asian epic tradition, in theaters in November 2026.
The FBI arrested an OpenAI engineer for allegedly planting a recording device in a company office. CBS News' Jo LIng Kent reports.
Federal agents seized Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s phone when they searched her Washington, D.C., home as part of a federal investigation into potential immigration-related crimes. NBC News' Kelly O'Donnell reports on the subpoenas sent in the case, including to members of her family.
His post-operative tests are normal following surgery to remove a cancerous mass from his lung, the Vatican said Wednesday.
A new study examining how tropical cyclone activity near Hawai'i could change in a warmer future finds a shift toward stronger storms, even though substantial uncertainty remains about whether the total number of storms near the islands will increase.
Gas, clothes, and air fares got more expensive, evidence that rising prices remain an economic challenge just a few weeks before the midterm elections that have focused heavily on issues related to affordability.
Many of the Australian animals most at risk of extinction are extremely tough to track down. That's because they live in small pockets of disappearing nature, such as rare grasslands or ancient forests, in worryingly low numbers.
Individual retirement benefits will climb an average of about $75 per month, according to an advocacy group.
With a close race in Michigan, Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers resisted accusations he would be a ‘rubber stamp’ to the president’s agenda. He speaks to Tom Llamas on Nightly News tonight.
Michael Kotlikoff addressed concerns over the university’s handling of a former student’s claims that she was gang-raped at a fraternity party.
OpenAI is facing a new wave of lawsuits from eight US states that accuse the company of harming children and misleading customers about the safety of ChatGPT, as reported earlier by Reuters . The lawsuits, filed separately by Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, and Montana, allege OpenAI unlawfully put profits over safety when developing ChatGPT. The string of complaints claims that OpenAI violated local consumer protection laws by failing to warn customers about the dangers of ChatGPT, citing several lawsuits filed by the family members of teens and adults that allege the AI chatbot played a role in their loved … Read the full story at The Verge.
Ukrainian officials and military units accused Elon Musk’s SpaceX of throttling a technology at the heart of their battlefield communications and drone operations.
Retiring Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) joins Meet the Press NOW to share his confidence in Republicans holding onto Congress in the midterms and his distaste for President Trump’s diesel deal with Russia.
For a pope who appeared to have time on his side, cancer has raised questions about his longevity and brought a new urgency to his plans for the Church.
A huge attack cut power to 600,000 people in Kyiv, and a Pentagon-funded satellite internet program appeared to be curbed without warning.
An investigation is underway into an unprecedented cyberattack on hundreds of French supermarkets that is still spreading across the country. Hackers are taking over refrigeration systems, overriding temperature settings and pushing some refrigeration units above 120 degrees while stores were closed. Now, many are worried about how vulnerable these systems could be in any country. NBC's Tom Costello reports for TODAY.
We've all gotten a scam text about a nonexistent parking ticket or a fake package delivery, but hopefully you'll start seeing fewer of them. Microsoft says it helped dismantle a marketplace for scammers sending phishing messages like those around the world. Through an investigation with Japan's National Police Agency, it tracked scam activity back to a marketplace called YAM Store and a pair of phishing kits, CoGUI and Iron Man: Since January 2026, YAM Store, CoGUI and Iron Man have collectively enabled more than one billion malicious messages targeting over 75,000 organizations worldwide, including more than 750 million messages geared to … Read the full story at The Verge.
The store owner at the center of the now-viral dispute with Kelly Clarkson is speaking out about the incident and the impact it’s had on his shop. “We are afraid for the safety of our shopkeepers. People are being threatened on the street.” It comes as security footage of their interaction emerges. NBC’s Chloe Melas reports for TODAY.
Sea Change. '/> As polar ice melts in the Arctic, shipping lanes are opening up, making the region a new zone of superpower competition. Writer Rana Foroohar explains the stakes in Sea Change.
In an interview with The New York Times, Michael Kotlikoff addressed his administration’s handling of sexual assault accusations brought by a former student.
Last week, Anthropic and OpenAI looked like they had the AI race to themselves, pulling ahead with increasingly powerful models that left their rivals in the dust. Google seemed hopelessly far behind, while Meta, despite spending billions to revive its floundering AI ambitions , had yet to establish itself as a serious contender. Even the latest models coming out of China , impressive as they were, appeared to be playing catch-up. Then, in the space of a few days, everything changed. Google and Meta both unveiled frontier models they claim can go toe to toe with the best from OpenAI and Anthropic. Suddenly, the race is back on - and it's anyo … Read the full story at The Verge.
Cornell University is now suspending all fraternity parties and social events for the rest of the school year, and promising tough new measures to safeguard students. It comes as Cornell’s president is acknowledging missteps in the school’s handling of the Jane Doe case and offering a formal apology for the first time. NBC’s Erin McLaughlin reports for TODAY.
The justices will consider how the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 applies in the digital age of streaming videos, email newsletters and targeted advertisements.
Pope Leo XIV gestures during a visit to the Maqam Echahid Martyrs' Monument in El Madania, Algeria, on April 13, 2026. —Alberto Pizzoli—Getty Images Pope Leo XIV is expected to remain hospitalized for around a week after he had part of his right lung removed in an operation on Tuesday. The Vatican said tests had confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer worldwide. The Pontiff’s first night in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital was “calm,” the Vatican shared in an update Wednesday morning, and doctors have since said that Leo’s tests show his “recovery is progressing normally.” He has undergone respiratory physiotherapy, has begun walking around his room, and has “resumed eating normally.” Leo will be observed while further tests are performed on his removed cancer tissue, as doctors determine what treatments might be needed next. Leo, 71, had publicly addressed his health during Sunday prayers in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, during which he said doctors had discovered a “localized nodule” in his lung that required surgery. He thanked everyone for their "spiritual closeness" and said he entrusted himself to their prayers. Following the news of Leo’s diagnosis, people across the world have sent their well wishes. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Catholic, offered his prayers to the first American Pope. President Donald Trump, who has previously criticized Pope Leo , has yet to publicly comment. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen wished Leo a “full and speedy recovery,” while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the Pope as “a source of hope and inspiration for billions around the world.” As head of the Catholic Church, Leo leads an institution with an immense global following. Figures released in March by the Central Office of Church Statistics of the Secretariat of State show that the number of Catholics worldwide stood at just over 1.422 billion in 2024. While Leo focuses on his recovery, all papal audiences have been canceled until Oct. 20. His time away from the Vatican has prompted questions about who, if anyone, oversees the church while a Pope is hospitalized. Here’s what to know about the role of the Pope and how the Vatican will run in his absence. What is the role of the Pope? The Pope is the Bishop of Rome and, under Catholic canon law , is described as “the head of the college of bishops, the Vicar of Christ, and the pastor of the universal church on earth,” granting him “supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary power in the church.” Miles Pattenden, a historian of the Catholic Church at the University of Oxford, says the Pope is essentially “the man who makes executive decisions about how the church is to be run [from] the appointment of bishops, cardinals, the canonisation of saints, [to] anything else that involves the Pope's personal legislative or doctrinal authority.” Beyond his role within the church, the Pope is also a key international figure, frequently speaking out on high-profile topics such as artificial intelligence and immigration , and making apostolic journeys abroad. In June, Leo made his first major European trip to Spain in honor of Pope Francis, who in the final years of his life had expressed a desire to visit the Canary Islands, a major arrival point for migrants crossing the Atlantic from West Africa into Europe. In September, Leo also embarked on a four-day visit to France. The Pope is scheduled to take a 12-day trip to Latin America on Nov. 6, which is set to include a stop in Peru, where Leo holds citizenship. The trip is set to go ahead as planned. TIME has reached out to the Holy See press office for comment. What happens if a Pope becomes sick, incapacitated, or is hospitalized? The Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to transfer papal power if a Pope dies or resigns. But none of them apply when he is sick or even unconscious. Unlike other positions within the church, Catholic canon law does not provide a clear mechanism for transferring the Pope's authority if he becomes unable to carry out his responsibilities. Canon 335 declares that when the Holy See is “vacant or entirely impeded, nothing is to be altered in the governance of the universal church.” The papacy becomes vacant only if the Pontiff dies or resigns, with a resignation required to be “made freely and properly manifested.” “There is no alternative rule. The Pope is in charge, and there's no mechanism to say the Pope can't be in charge. There's no rules on that,” says Pattenden. "When the Pope is incapacitated, that's a serious problem for the governance of the church.” In February 2013, Pope Benedict XVI, then 85, gathered the cardinals and announced his resignation as leader of the Catholic Church, citing his “ advanced age. ” He became the first Pontiff to step down voluntarily in nearly 600 years . Pope Francis confirmed in 2022 that he had prepared a resignation letter shortly after being elected Pontiff in 2013, "in case of impediment due to health reasons." The letter, the contents of which are unknown, was not used, as Francis remained in office until his death aged 88 in April 2025 . His final weeks included an extended stay in the hospital as he battled a number of health issues . “The church doesn't have a process or a procedure like, for instance, the U.S. Constitution, there's no equivalent to the 25th Amendment , and there's no ‘Vice Pope’ like the Vice President,” Pattenden says, remarking on the lack of a deputy as something that can be perceived as a “weakness in the church's constitution.” As such, “anything that requires [the Pope’s] personal or doctrinal authority” during a hospital stay would have to wait until the Pope is able to address such matters. Pope Leo, who is fully conscious and already walking around, remains contactable and will likely be able to liaise with church officials, should any pertinent issues arise during his hospital stay. On Wednesday, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presided over a mass in place of Leo, and read out a homily prepared by the Pope. Interestingly, other positions within the church have clearer arrangements in place for periods of incapacity. For instance, canon law provides for circumstances in which a diocesan bishop becomes unable to govern his diocese, allowing its day-to-day administration to pass to an auxiliary bishop, vicar general, or another designated official. What does the Roman Curia do? The Pope already delegates the day-to-day running of the Vatican and church to a group of officials who operate whether he is in the Apostolic Palace or not, and whether he is conscious. The Roman Curia is the central administrative institution of the Holy See, supporting the Pope in governing the Catholic Church and carrying out its wider responsibilities. “It has lots of departments, called dicasteries, which continue running according to their present structure and instructions,” says Pattenden. “For instance, there's a dicastery of education that is involved in the running of Catholic universities, setting up links for them, seminaries, and schools, and so on, and there are lots of officials with delegated authority.” Among the most senior officials is the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, whom Pattenden describes as “the second most important person in the Vatican .” Parolin addressed Leo's surgery early Tuesday, expressing concern, while praising Pope Leo’s calm manner. Other senior church roles include the Dean of the College of Cardinals—a position recently assigned to Cardinal Tagle. The dean is known for playing a key role in papal transitions and is often considered a top contender himself. The camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church , a role currently held by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, also takes on specific administrative responsibilities when the papacy becomes vacant following a Pope's death or resignation. The camerlengo helps oversee the Holy See's administration and finances during this period, but notably does not assume the Pope's authority or become an acting Pontiff during hospitalization. As for now, the Vatican has not indicated that Leo is in any way incapable of performing or delegating his duties. “It's very clear that Pope Leo wants to be as transparent as possible,” says Pattenden, who notes that “being reminded of the Pope's mortality in this way will cause people to think about the kind of broader questions about what might happen to a Pope who's in ill health.”
For more than a decade, conservative activists held that a single atomic bomb could, without killing Americans directly, lay waste to the country — a claim that built fervor for war with Iran.
Ukrainian president accused US president of picking the other side after four years of war Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he feels personally betrayed by Donald Trump after it emerged that Ukraine’s military has had its access to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite squeezed, raising doubts about long-term US support for Kyiv. The Ukrainian president, on a visit to London, accused Trump of picking the other side after more than four years of war, risking a breakdown in relations already strained by the US agreeing to buy diesel from Moscow . Continue reading...
For many election cycles, civil rights groups and political parties have fanned out to monitor polling places, but the charged midterm environment has many organizations stepping up efforts this year. (Image credit: Olivier Touron)
An artist's rendering of the extinct dodo. —Colossal Biosciences There are a whole lot of reasons to have a whole lot of concerns about the harm artificial intelligence can cause, which explains why the technology has so many detractors. But even the harshest critics might smile at the news coming out of Dallas-based Colossal Biosciences . There, researchers have just announced that AI may help hasten the return of the extinct dodo, with the flightless bird, which vanished from the world more than 350 years ago, likely walking among us again sometime in the early 2030s. With so few ancient samples of dodo DNA surviving—and that which does exist having degraded over the centuries—the analytic and number-crunching power of AI is just what’s needed to fill in the genetic blanks. “De-extinction is as much a data problem as a biology problem,” said Colossal CEO and co-founder Ben Lamm in a statement. “[AI] learns how regulatory DNA shapes living birds, then identifies the genetic switches that may have contributed to the dodo’s distinctive anatomy.” Colossal established its de-extinction bona fides in 2025, when it announced that it had sequenced ancient DNA from the long-extinct dire wolf, used that to rewrite the genome of the extant gray wolf, and brought the Ice Age dire wolf back to life, more than 10,000 years after it vanished. Animals that are also on the company’s de-extinction to-do list include the woolly mammoth , the Tasmanian tiger, the ostrich-like moa , and the antelope-like quagga. The dodo, with its waddling gait, its stubby wings, its goggly eyes, and its preposterous beak, has none of the power, grace, or charisma of those other animals—but that’s part of its charm. “The dodo never had a chance,” wrote New York Herald Tribune writer Will Cuppy , in his 1941 book How to Become Extinct . “He seems to have been invented for the sole purpose of becoming extinct and that was all he was good for. I’m not blaming the dodo, but he was just a mess. The Portuguese called the birds doudos , or fools, because they would associate with the Portuguese on friendly terms and allow themselves to be hit on the head with clubs.” But what inspires mockery inspires love too—and it will take plenty of that to bring the dodo back. De-extincting a placental mammal like a dire wolf is a comparatively straightforward process. Colossal researchers first harvested cells from a living gray wolf and made 20 edits to 14 genes, coding for the dire wolf’s white coat, larger size, more powerful jaws, cold weather metabolism, and more. They then extracted the nucleus of that rewritten cell and inserted it into a gray wolf ovum whose own nucleus had been removed. Next, the fertilized egg was allowed to develop into an embryo and was implanted in the womb of a large domestic hound. Just over 60 days later, that mama dog gave birth to a puppy wolf. De-extincting a bird, which does its gestating outside of any womb, will be harder. For the dodo, the researchers will first harvest primordial germ cells (PGCs)—nascent cells that give rise to eggs and sperm—from the nicobar pigeon, the dodo’s closest living relative. The PGCs will then be rewritten to add dodo traits, in the same way the gray wolf was edited. Those cells will then be injected through the shell of a domestic chicken egg into a microscopic chick embryo. The PGC’s will migrate to the embryonic gonads of the chick-to-be, taking up residence there. When the edited female chick hatches and grows and mates with an edited male, she will lay eggs that will produce not a chicken like her, but a dodo. —Lon Tweeten for TIME “In an ideal world, if we had hundreds of nicobar pigeon [eggs] we would use the pigeon as the surrogate,” says Anna Keyte, Colossal’s avian species director. “But nicobars are seasonal breeders. They only lay for a couple of months out of the year and they usually lay just two eggs in a clutch. Chicken eggs are super easy to get. Some chickens will lay an egg a day. You can just get vastly more surrogate eggs from a chicken than you can from a nicobar.” But editing the PGCs in the first place will be no small thing, simply because there are so many sites on the dodo genome that code for the species’s traits—especially its ice-cream-scoop-shaped beak. It’s not precisely the genes that the researchers are reading in their work, but the regulatory elements—or the parts of the genome that determine which genes get switched on and off. And for the beak alone, that’s a heavy lift. There are more than 650 regulatory elements associated with beak size and nearly 1,700 with beak thickness and breadth. Worse, the fragmentation of DNA in the ancient samples gives an imperfect record of which of those regulatory switches are to be flipped which way. A new AI platform the company calls GenoMorph can fill in those gaps. To develop GenoMorph, Colossal scientists built an atlas showing how the genetic switches that control facial development turn on and off as embryos grow in chickens, quail, ducks, and pigeons. They then compared genomes and skull shapes from more than 70 bird species, including the dodo’s closest living relative, the Nicobar pigeon. The result is the list of about 2,350 genetic switches that may help explain the dodo’s unusual beak, which the team is now testing one by one. That work builds on a separate achievement: a remarkably complete dodo genome, assembled from a single well-preserved specimen using software Colossal originally developed for its dire wolf project. “For an ancient genome, this one is extraordinary,” says Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s chief science officer. “There are a few small holes, but far fewer than we usually see with ancient DNA. We’re really not missing much of the dodo genome.” The beak might be the most dramatic dodo feature, but there are plenty of others, written in the two billion letters that make up the dodo genome—which is why Colossal scientists urge patience for the five or so years it will take to bring a dodo back into the world. In the same way that some of the work Colossal did to read and analyze the dire wolf genome helped in the later work developing GenoMorph to read the dodo genome, the dodo work can similarly pay itself forward to reading and editing the genomes of other species to be de-extincted. “It’s been rewarding to see that an approach developed for the dire wolf is now producing value across another species program,” said Shapiro in a statement. “Every scientific breakthrough becomes part of a scalable technology platform that can accelerate the programs that follow.” For now, the dodo remains biological vaporware—but it’s vaporware that could, before too long, take shape in the 21st century.
Kansas voters could send a Democrat to the Senate for the first time in nearly a century — and flip the governor's office back to Republican control, even in what could be a tough year for the GOP. (Image credit: Stephen Fowler)
Exclusive: Israel has not permitted US-led project to house 150 international troops to move forward Israel is refusing to allow a key military outpost project for Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to proceed in Gaza, the Guardian has learned. In early August, the Board of Peace, the international organization authorized in 2025 by the UN and chaired by the US president, issued its first construction contract for Gaza : Louisiana-based Arkel International would construct a military outpost for 150 international troops that would be the vanguard of an international stabilization force. Continue reading...
New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed a years-long multi-state investigation against Character.AI as they now seek to require protections on consumer data sold through its bankruptcy proceeding. James is among 40 bipartisan AGs who filed a notice of interest in Character.AI's bankruptcy case "to put all parties on notice of the regulatory issues that will need to be addressed in any sale or transfer of the Debtor's business or assets." Character.AI announced Tuesday it was filing for Chapter 11 and selling some assets to Disney. But the AGs warn there could be serious risk involved in the transfer of the technology due to the "hi … Read the full story at The Verge.
Katie Zacharia describes herself as a lawyer but no public record shows she has been licensed in the US states where she resided Donald Trump ’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, has repeatedly described herself as a lawyer. But when asked after her inaugural press briefing on Tuesday to name the state where she passed the bar exam, she replied curiously: “when I moved to China”. No public record shows she has ever been licensed to practice law in the US states where she resided, and her answer to reporters’ questions on Tuesday only deepened scrutiny. Continue reading...
Some top congressional Republicans have privately concluded that it is likely impossible for them to keep control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, and they are now focused on limiting the scale of the defeat and salvaging the party’s Senate majority. Five senior Republican lawmakers, all granted anonymity to speak candidly about their party’s dire position, told POLITICO the House had all but slipped away. One senior House Republican said the GOP’s goal at this point was to “save as many Republican seats as we can.” The president, this person said, was not helping. “President Trump has made this election all about himself,” the lawmaker said. “Now we have to survive that political storm.” A second Republican member of Congress said the movement of campaign advertising made plain which side was in control of the midterms. This lawmaker predicted Democrats would pick up about 10 seats, more than enough to take control of the chamber. Even in newly redistricted red states like Florida and Texas, this person said, Republican candidates were “hanging on with their fingernails.” Republicans have already fallen back from several contested House districts that they feel are no longer winnable, including those held by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa and Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey. Trump carried their districts just two years ago. The party last week gave up on an Omaha-based district held by retiring Rep. Don Bacon. Trump officials and other top GOP operatives say more candidates may be cut off in the coming days, in order to shift advertising money to races where it can make more of a difference. Republican groups have already given up on multiple races where they once hoped to unseat Democratic lawmakers. The Republican Party is under extreme pressure across the Midwest, where it is now spending heavily to defend Senate seats in once-reliably MAGA states like Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. Bacon, a maverick often at odds with the White House, said there was no mystery in his party’s political tribulations. “I’ve talked to some who are making these decisions: The biggest problem is the president’s polling numbers and unfavorables,” Bacon said. White House officials insist they’re not giving up on either chamber of Congress. In a statement, White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said Trump remained “committed to maintaining Republican majorities in both the House and Senate.” As he departed Tuesday to campaign in Alaska for embattled GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan, Trump professed optimism about the midterms but acknowledged that sitting presidents typically see their party lose seats in the off year. “But I'm doing a tour right now and I'm doing rallies,” Trump added. “The level of enthusiasm for the Republican Party is way up.” House Speaker Mike Johnson went even further, flatly declaring during a campaign stop in deep-red Texas that “the polling is wrong” in showing his party on the brink of a broad defeat. Yet at a tactical level, the Republican Party’s shift in focus away from defending the House and toward saving the Senate is clear enough. In recent days, the Congressional Leadership Fund, the top super PAC for House Republicans, canceled advertising for key House candidates in Nebraska and Iowa to move that money to other House races. That allowed the Senate Leadership Fund — a Republican group focused on the upper chamber — to swoop in and claim the airtime to support Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts and Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is running for Senate in Iowa. “These are not the moves of a party that’s going to keep the House,” a third Republican lawmaker said. In statements to POLITICO, both CLF and the National Republican Congressional Committee said they had no intention of giving up on the fight for control of the House. NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella said districts are won "one by one," and that the GOP has "the financial firepower and ground game needed to win." Chris Winkelman, president of CLF, said his group would keep moving money around to maximize the impact nationally. The goal, he said, was to “keep the pressure on the most vulnerable Democrats and preserve a path to 218 seats.” Former Rep. Carlos Curbelo, a Florida Republican who lost his swing seat in Trump’s first midterm election eight years ago, said his former colleagues were clear-eyed about where the election seemed to be headed. “The environment is about as tough as one could expect,” Curbelo said. “There is no one who has privately stated that they believe Republicans can hold the House — not in recent weeks, anyway.” Megan Messerly, Lauren Fedor, Lisa Kashinsky and Myah Ward contributed to this report. CLARIFICATION: This article has been updated to make clearer the CLF's ad reservation changes in Iowa and Nebraska.
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Updated October 14 at 10:58 PM
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