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Overnight News Digest: Pope Francis died today 4/21/2025 [1]

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Date: 2025-04-21

Al Jazeera

Argentinians are mourning the death of their compatriot Pope Francis, who served as the archbishop of Buenos Aires and was known for working with the poor in the city before ascending to the top of the Roman Catholic Church. The Argentinian government has announced seven days of mourning for Francis, who died on Monday at age 88. “As Argentinians, we are orphaned,” street sweeper Javier Languenari told the AFP news agency outside the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral early on Monday. “He endured as much as he could.” Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 to Italian parents, Francis became the first Latin American pontiff in 2013 after his predecessor Pope Benedict stepped down. As he navigated the church through controversies, Francis emphasised compassion for the less fortunate.

This is an open thread where everyone is welcome, especially night owls and early birds, to share and discuss the happenings of the day. Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.

Uncharted Blue

Before JD Vance killed the pope, this column was going to be devoted to Trump Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth being exposed for leaking sensitive details about a military mission on Signal—again. But this time it wasn't to the gaggle of Trump underlings that stirred up controversy the last time we heard this story. No, this time we found out that Hegseth was blabbing about the mission to his wife, his brother, and his personal effing lawyer for some reason. Yes, on Signal again.

x The Vatican said Pope Francis suffered a stroke, which led to a coma and his heart to fail, as he recovered from a five-week hospitalization for double pneumonia. apnews.com/article/vati... Editor's note: This post recasts the description of the cause of death and replaces an earlier post.



[image or embed] — The Associated Press (@apnews.com) April 21, 2025 at 4:11 PM

BBC

US stocks and the dollar plunged again as President Donald Trump intensified his attacks on US central bank boss calling him "a major loser" for not lowering interest rates. In a social media post, Trump called on Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates "pre-emptively" to help boost the economy, saying Powell had been consistently too slow to respond to economic developments. "There can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW," he wrote. Trump's criticism of Powell's handling of the US economy comes as his own plans for tariffs have driven a stock market sell-off and raised fears of economic recession.

x A new drone service is delivering supplies such as ladders and oxygen cylinders on Mount Everest, making it safer for Sherpas and cutting the time it takes to get supplies up the mountain – as well as bringing trash down. cnn.it/3Y8BaSA



[image or embed] — CNN (@cnn.com) April 20, 2025 at 7:15 PM

NPR

The White House has begun the process of looking for a new leader at the Pentagon to replace Pete Hegseth, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly. This comes as Hegseth is again mired in controversy over sharing military operational details in a group chat. The defense secretary is under fire after revelations that he shared classified information in a group chat with his wife, brother and lawyer, according to the official. The source said Hegseth used the Signal messaging app on his personal smartphone, detailing minute-by-minute classified information about airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. It happened at about the same time in March that Hegseth shared similar details with top White House officials in a different Signal chat group that accidentally included a journalist. That leak, hours before air strikes hit, could have endangered U..S. pilots if that information about the timing of strikes was intercepted by U.S. adversaries. Already the Houthis have twice shot down American predator drones.

NPR

For decades, the U.S. financial system has been regarded as one of the most stable and powerful in the world. Now, there are fears that something unprecedented may be happening as a result of President Trump's tariffs: Investors everywhere may be losing their faith in the United States. The concerns come as Wall Street is being convulsed by an extremely rare event: Stocks, U.S. government bonds, and the dollar are all taking a hit at the same time — and not everybody can agree on why. Just on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 1,000 points, or more than 2%, while a key metric of the dollar against a basket of major currencies fell to a three-year low. The most pessimistic fear is that the sell-offs mean that investors around the world are losing trust in the U.S. as a result of Trump's unpredictable policies — and they are therefore cutting their investments across the board.

Al Jazeera

Russia has unleashed a barrage of missile and drone strikes on Ukraine after a short-lived and partially observed Easter ceasefire expired. The swift return to major hostilities came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the 30-hour pause on Saturday. Both sides quickly accused the other of repeated violations. “Military action has resumed,” Putin told state TV reporters on Monday after Ukraine’s air force reported that Russian forces had launched 96 drones and three missiles on eastern and southern Ukraine overnight. That assault targeted the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy regions, the air force wrote on Telegram. Air defence units intercepted 42 drones and redirected another 47, it said. No casualties or major damage was immediately reported although officials in the southern port city of Mykolaiv confirmed several missiles had landed.

Deutsche Welle

Harvard University is suing US President Donald Trump's administration, reports said on Monday, as the federal government seeks to cut billions of dollars in contracts and grants from the higher education institution. US news outlets The Washington Post and The New York Times reported about the lawsuit on Monday, along with campus news organization The Harvard Crimson. What do we know so far? The Massachusetts-based Harvard is suing the Trump administration to halt the freeze of over $2 billion (almost €1.75 billion) in federal grants. "The tradeoff put to Harvard and other universities is clear: Allow the Government to micromanage your academic institution or jeopardize the institution's ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions," Harvard attorneys wrote in the suit, as per The Harvard Crimson.

x Pete Hegseth hires a friend and...his friend goes to the media and says Hegseth needs to go. How bad of a manager have you got to be? @timmiller.bsky.social from today's Bulwark Podcast:



[image or embed] — The Bulwark (@thebulwark.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 1:25 PM

The Guardian

A Delta aircraft caught on fire on the tarmac at the Orlando international airport on Monday morning, forcing frightened passengers to evacuate the jet via slides. The Delta flight, which was headed for Atlanta, Georgia, had left its gate at about 11.15am ET when one of the aircraft’s engines caught fire, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Video of the aircraft posted to social media shows flames and smoke coming out of the back of the airplane’s engine. Staff on the runway helped usher passengers off the aircraft, as seen in later video. Those aboard the plane, including 282 passengers, 10 flight attendants and two pilots, were evacuated and taken to the airport’s terminal building. The fire was contained and put out, the FAA confirmed. No injuries were reported. “Delta flight crews followed procedures to evacuate the passenger cabin when flames in the tailpipe of one of the aircraft’s two engines were observed,” the airline said in a statement.

The Guardian

The US supreme court on Monday heard arguments in a case that could threaten Americans’ access to free preventive healthcare services under the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. At issue is the constitutionality of the US preventive services taskforce, which plays a critical role in determining which preventive services health insurers must cover without cost to patients. The 16-member panel of medical experts, appointed by the health secretary without Senate confirmation, has designated dozens of life-saving screenings and treatments as essential preventive care. If the justices uphold the lower court’s ruling, health associations said in a filing, life-saving tests and treatments that have been cost-free would become subject to co-pays and deductibles, deterring many Americans from obtaining them.

The Guardian

Venezuela’s chief prosecutor has accused El Salvador’s president of being a “tyrannical” human trafficker after Nayib Bukele offered to exchange the 252 Venezuelan migrants deported to his country’s prisons by Donald Trump for the same number of political prisoners in Venezuela. Bukele made the offer on Sunday night in a message addressed directly to his authoritarian counterpart Nicolás Maduro. “I want to propose a humanitarian agreement that includes the repatriation of 100% of the 252 Venezuelans who were deported, in exchange for the release and delivery of an identical number … of the thousands of political prisoners that you hold,” El Salvador’s leader posted. Hours later the proposal was rebuffed by one of Maduro’s top allies, the attorney general Tarek William Saab. In a televised address, Saab claimed the Salvadorian’s “cynical” offer exposed him as a narcissistic “neo-Nazi” who had “kidnapped” more than 250 Venezuelan migrants sent to a maximum-security jail in El Salvador by the Trump administration since mid-March.

Reuters

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump 's public approval rating edged down to its lowest level since his return to the White House, as Americans showed signs of wariness over his efforts to broaden his power, a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday found. Some 42% of respondents to the six-day poll approved of Trump's performance as president, down from 43% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted three weeks earlier, and from 47% in the hours after his January 20 inauguration.

x People experiencing pregnancy loss in states with abortion bans told us they wished they had known what to expect and how to advocate for themselves. We created this guide for anyone who finds themselves in the same position. (Published Dec. 2024)



[image or embed] — ProPublica (@propublica.org) April 21, 2025 at 4:15 PM

Reuters

JERUSALEM, April 21 (Reuters) - The head of Israel's domestic intelligence service said on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bid to sack him followed his refusal to fulfil requests that included spying on Israeli protesters and disrupting the leader's corruption trial. In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, the head of Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, said that Netanyahu's March move to dismiss him was not based on professional grounds but was prompted by unmet expectations of personal loyalty to the prime minister. In response, Netanyahu's office dismissed the affidavit, which it said was "full of lies". Netanyahu's move to sack Bar fuelled protests in Israel and was suspended by the Supreme Court, after political watchdogs and opposition lawmakers argued the dismissal was unlawful. Critics say that the government is undermining key state institutions and endangering the foundations of Israeli democracy. Netanyahu's Likud party has accused Bar of acting against the prime minister and turning parts of the Shin Bet service into "a private militia of the Deep State."

NY Times

A handbag belonging to the homeland security secretary Kristi Noem containing her passport, department security badge and $3,000 in cash was stolen on Sunday night at a restaurant in Washington, the department confirmed. Ms. Noem also confirmed the theft at the White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday morning. The department did not give specifics, but said it could confirm the details of a CNN article, which said that Ms. Noem’s bag also contained her driver’s license, medication, apartment keys and blank checks. “Her entire family was in town including her children and grandchildren,” the department said via email. “She was using the cash withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities and Easter gifts.”

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