Pope Leo XIV says that he was “proud to be an American and to exercise the right” to vote in U.S. midterm elections that gave control of Congress to the Democrats in a repudiation of U.S. President Donald Trump and his policies. Leo met with journalists en route to Latin America on Friday. He declined to comment on the outcome of the vote and pointed to a statement that the Vatican issued last week in confirming he had submitted a mail-in ballot in his hometown of Chicago.
A 90-year-old Holocaust survivor has died almost a year after she was wounded during the massacre of 15 people at a Sydney Hanukkah celebration. Romanian-born Eva Geller died Thursday night in a Sydney hospital, officials said Friday. She was one of around 40 people wounded when two gunmen allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group opened fire on a crowd at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14. Fifteen victims aged 10 to 87 died. One of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, was shot dead by police at the scene. Rabbi Aron Moss said Geller had been admitted to the hospital several times in recent weeks due to surgery complications.
Pope Leo XIV is kicking off a three-nation tour of Latin America with a visit to Uruguay, the region’s least Catholic and most secular country. The trip comes three weeks after he underwent lung cancer surgery that had put the entire trip into question. Leo is due to arrive in Montevideo after more than 13 flight from Rome. He has a packed three-day itinerary including a visit to a neighborhood plagued by gang violence and a Mass in Paysandú, some 320 miles from the capital and another Mass in Florida, about 60 miles away. Vatican officials say his stamina is “fantastic” and that he's eager to get on the road.
Pope Leo XIV is embarking on the longest and farthest trip of his pontificate three weeks after lung cancer surgery. The U.S.-born Leo is returning home to Peru, where the former Robert Prevost lived for two decades as a missionary priest and learned to be the pastor he is today. Leo is also going to Argentina, the home of his predecessor, Pope Francis. It will be a homecoming of sorts there, too, since Francis never returned to Argentina after his 2013 election, leaving a complicated legacy that Leo will now have to navigate. Leo starts his journey Friday in Uruguay, the least Catholic, most secular country in all of Latin America.
Malachi Toney, the star receiver for top-ranked Miami and a Heisman Trophy candidate, has been scheduled for surgery to address a high ankle sprain and will be sidelined for multiple weeks, a person with knowledge of the matter said Wednesday night. The initial timeline for Toney’s recovery won’t be known until after the surgery, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the player nor the school revealed those details publicly. It is a huge blow to the Hurricanes (8-0, No. 1 College Football Playoff), who play a showdown game at No. 4 Notre Dame (7-1, No. 11 CFP) on Saturday — and now will do so without one of the nation’s most dynamic players.
A onetime West Point cadet drugged his pregnant girlfriend in her barracks, gave her abortion pills while she was knocked out and caused a miscarriage. Then he went on to study at two Ivy League universities, starting at one of them after he pleaded guilty to assault. That's according to court records and a new lawsuit filed by the woman in New York last week. Caleb Suh pleaded guilty in June to the March 2022 assault. The victim was 19 at the time and in her second year at the U.S. Military Academy. Suh is scheduled to be sentenced in January.
Pope Leo XIV, followed by, from left, surgeon Stefano Margaritora, Archbishop Petar Rajič, prefect of the Papal Household, and Commander of the Vatican Gendarmerie Gianluca Gauzzi Broccoletti, leaves Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, after Tuesday's surgery to remove lung cancer. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Chet Holmgren will miss about two months because of a right knee injury, continuing the Oklahoma City Thunder’s run of bad injury news early in the season. Already potentially without Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace for the rest of the regular season, the Thunder said Holmgren began experiencing discomfort in his knee last Sunday. The team said that after a series of consultations with specialists, Holmgren underwent a biological treatment Friday to address a small patellar tendon tear. The Thunder said Holmgren was expected to return in eight to 10 weeks. Wallace also had surgery Friday for a labral tear in his left shoulder.
Shohei Ohtani needs offseason rest, not surgery, for knee and biceps injuries that led to his worst offensive numbers since he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers. President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman says the injuries were like a game of whack-a-mole, with issues calming and then getting irritated again. Ohtani and the Dodgers are excited about his return to two-way duties next season. Ohtani didn't pitch after July 3 due to injuries that also affected his hitting. How to manage his two-way workload for a potential full season in 2027 has yet to be discussed.
Pope Leo's doctors confirm that his lung cancer was localized, and no further treatment is needed. The Vatican released a statement Wednesday. Pope Leo returned to the Vatican on Saturday after having the lower lobe of his right lung removed. The surgery confirmed he had lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. His personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, said tests on the tissue removed during surgery confirmed the initial diagnosis and that the cancer had not spread. A subsequent oncology assessment confirmed no further treatment is necessary.
