The Vatican's veil of secrecy is beginning to lift, shedding light on how 133 cardinals from around he world unexpectedly coalesced behind Chicago native Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV.
The big picture: Prevost benefitted from being the "least American" of the U.S. cardinals, from being an acolyte of Pope Francis' but not a "photocopy," and from his reputation as a good listener and quietly effective administrator, his fellow cardinals revealed on Friday.
The U.S. and China have been trading jabs and flexing ahead of this weekend’s trade talks.
But with the fates of businesses, consumer products, and jobs hanging in the balance, the two global superpowers are locked in the world’s most expensive game of chicken.
Why it matters: The pain that has already reverberated from the sky-high tariff rates between the world’s two largest economies won’t fade quickly — even if they broker a deal this weekend.
The Library of Congress has acquired the photographs and manuscripts of Raúl Ruiz, a leading journalist in the Chicano Movement in Los Angeles during the 1960s and 1970s.
Why it matters: The acquisition was one of the last obtained underLibrarian of Congress Carla Hayden before President Trump fired her late Thursday.
The United Arab Emirates has made it clear to the Israeli government that it won't cooperate with a new Gaza aid mechanism at this stage — a blow to the initiative backed by Israel and the U.S. to resume aid but keep it out of Hamas' hands, according two sources familiar with the details.
Why it matters: Israel has frozen all shipments of food, water and medicine to Gaza for two months, and food supplies could run out within days. Israel argues the new mechanism will allow aid to flow more securely, but the UN and all aid organizations in Gaza have rejected it.
President Trump on Friday suggested possibly cutting tariffs on China to 80%, ahead of trade talks in Switzerland scheduled for Saturday.
Why it matters: Reducing the 145% levy to80% would still be higher than Trump's original reciprocal tariff on China, and also significantly more than early reports suggested was possible.
Don't expect Pope Leo XIV to file comments in EPA dockets, but he could build upon the late Pope Francis' unprecedented Vatican focus on climate change.
Why it matters: The pope has a massive bully pulpit as leader of a church with 1.4 billion members worldwide, and reaches people well beyond that.
Pope Leo XIV — the first U.S.-born pontiff, who is of Spanish and Creole descent and served in Latin America — is uniquely positioned to help ease deep divisions between the country's white and Latino Catholics.
Why it matters: The new pope has been an outspoken defender of migrant rights, and his family's immigration story touches an issue that has split many U.S. Catholics along cultural and political lines.
Pope Leo XIV is not only the first American to serve as Bishop of Rome, the City of New Orleans notes he also has "Creole of color roots" there.
The big picture: The 69-year-old newly elected pontiff's brother John Prevost told the New York Times from his Chicago home late Thursday this "discovery is just an additional reminder of how interwoven we are as Americans."
President Trump has fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden amid a purge of government employees he believes oppose his policies or promote diversity.
Why it matters: Hayden won praise for her focus on saving photos and documents about people of color, but had faced criticism from conservatives, accusing her of promoting children's books with "radical" content.
President Trump met Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Thursday and discussed the nuclear talks with Iran and the war in Gaza, according to two sources briefed on the meeting.
Why it matters: The meeting at the White House, which was not made public by the U.S. or Israel, took place ahead of the fourth round of nuclear talks between the U.S and Iran on Sunday in Muscat and President Trump's trip to the Middle East starting on Monday.
