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ROME — Pope Leo XIV, recovering from lung cancer surgery at a Rome hospital, spoke Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing what the Vatican described as “deep concern” over a grave humanitarian crisis in Russian-controlled territory of Ukraine, indicating that the Chicago-born pontiff is continuing official duties as he convalesces.
In the call, Leo pointed to the plight of the city of Oleshky, in the Kherson region, calling for a ceasefire to allow for the delivery of food, medicines and the safe evacuation of civilians, the Vatican said. A Russian readout noted that Putin wished Leo a “a swift recovery” and thanked the pope for “his readiness to contribute” to resolving the conflict.
Concern over the 71-year-old pope’s health has sharply escalated following a Vatican disclosure that Leo had a malignant nodule and part of his right lung removed in surgery Tuesday. The lung cancer diagnosis shocked Vatican City and the Catholic world, with top cardinals close to Leo signaling their surprise and musing about whether Leo’s steamroller pace may change.
The Vatican, however, has been eager to show Leo on the mend, and released photos Friday of the pontiff in green and white robes saying a private Mass at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he is receiving care. The Vatican had said Leo’s agenda has been cleared through Oct. 20 to allow for his recovery.
The Cook Political Report on Friday shifted 11 more House races toward Democrats’ favor as Republicans’ hopes of keeping their slim majority dim.
The election prognosticator moved five “likely Republican” races to “lean Republican,” and three “solid Republican” races to “likely Republican.” These re-rated races include two in Ohio and one each in South Carolina, Kansas and Nebraska — all traditional GOP strongholds. Republican Senate candidates in those states also face unexpectedly competitive races.
Additionally, Cook reclassified a “lean Democrat” district in Ohio held by Rep. Greg Landsman (D) to “likely Democrat” and moved Rep. Jared Moskowitz’s (D) reelection race in a new Florida district from “toss-up” to “lean Democrat.”
Cook also re-rated an open seat in Montana’s 1st District from “lean Republican” to “toss-up.” In a sign of how unfavorable the winds are looking for the GOP, President Donald Trump won that district by 12 points in 2024.
The Cook Political Report’s House analyst, Erin Covey, wrote that the re-ratings are largely a result of growing discontent with Republicans’ handling of economic issues.
Covey also noted that some districts that voted for Barack Obama before swinging toward the GOP are now looking “much more competitive.”
The Trump administration has moved forward with its effort to return a controversial Confederate statue to Arlington National Cemetery next year.
The Office of Army Cemeteries submitted final plans to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday to return the Confederate Memorial to a small section of the cemetery where more than 400 Confederate soldiers were reinterred in the early 1900s.
The Confederate Memorial, a 32-foot bronze statue designed by sculptor Moses Ezekiel, a Confederate veteran and the first Jewish graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, was commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It was unveiled in 1914 at a ceremony presided over by President Woodrow Wilson.
The statue was removed from the cemetery in 2023 as part of a congressional mandate to rid U.S. military property of names and symbols honoring the Confederacy. Critics said elements of the memorial glossed over the horrors of slavery and romanticized the pre-Civil War South.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last year the statue would return to Arlington. “It never should have been taken down by woke lemmings,” Hegseth posted on X in August 2025. “Unlike the Left, we don’t believe in erasing American history — we honor it.”
The Tesla parked itself at the top of an inverted ramp, defying gravity as its tires clung to the road. Then it reversed, driving into position for its next trick. It zoomed back up the ramp and into midair, where four SpaceX rocket thrusters fired, propelling it softly back to the safety of a test track.
Tesla on Thursday night demonstrated its Roadster supercar, a nearly decade-in-the-making vehicle that Elon Musk said represented “the culmination of incredible work by Tesla and SpaceX engineers working closely together.”
Tesla executives declared it the advent of the flying car. During the demo at a SpaceX facility in Texas, audience members watched as the Roadster performed a midair flip and also reached 0 to 60 mph in less than a second.
But don’t expect to be able to zip around in a flying car anytime soon. Tesla’s website shows the rocket-equipped version of the car, which boasts a “full flight system,” is “Invite Only” and “Not approved for public road use.” The version capable of the record-breaking 0-to-60 mph times is marked as “limited,” requiring a $250,000 commitment within 10 days of placing the reservation..
Musk said Tesla plans to put the Roadster into production in 2028.
Troy Jackson, the Democratic nominee in Maine’s hotly contested U.S. Senate race, told incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins to “shut up” during their fourth and final debate Thursday night.
The comment came after someone off-camera interrupted one of Collins’s answers to protest data centers.
“So, this is obviously one of Troy’s supporters,” Collins said.
“Oh, shut up,” Jackson replied. “I don’t even know that kid.”
“Oh, right,” Collins said.
Protestor interrupts @SenSusanCollins (R-ME) by yelling about AI data centers during Maine Senate debate: Collins: “So this is obviously one of Troy’s supporters.” Jackson: “Oh, shut up… I don’t even know that kid.” pic.twitter.com/Gy61ZIqBnF
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 15, 2026
Jackson and Collins are locked in one of the year’s tightest and most expensive races. Each candidate has questioned the other personally during the debates.
The Washington Post reported in July that Jackson’s temper was a feature of his leadership during his six years leading Maine’s Senate, an issue that Democratic lawmakers discussed among themselves and even raised with the governor.
The traditional way of buying a phone — from your wireless carrier, with interest-free payments running months into the future — will lock you out of some newer ways to get a phone online.
That’s because all three of the nationwide wireless carriers continue to lock phones they sell against use on competing services until the customers involved pay off any remaining balance.
That impedes you from saving money on wireless service by taking your business to another carrier with a better plan. It also stops you from using such short-term options as cheap prepaid eSIMS for international travel and SpaceX’s Starlink connectivity for phones in dead zones.
Fortunately, you don’t have to buy phones like that. You can purchase a phone unlocked directly from a manufacturer instead — without having to pay the full price up-front. Apple, Samsung and Google all offer zero-interest payment plans and let you trade in an older phone, much as the carriers do. (Some retailers offer similar deals.)
Those trade-in options allow time to transfer your data, apps, settings and account from the old device to the new one before you must ship in the old phone.
This process can involve a little extra work compared to handing over your current phone at a wireless carrier’s store and getting a new one in return. But it also represents a cheap price to escape purchase conditions that evoke the bad old days of carrier contracts with early-termination fees.
The Washington Post on Thursday published a secret list of all donors who committed to give $100,000 or more to President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project as of late September. The list, an internal spreadsheet used to track contributions for the fundraising effort, shows a total of $333 million from private donors, aligning with the administration’s public statements about the amount it has raised for the project.
Many of the donors on the list have not been previously reported. Others were known to be contributors, but The Post is for the first time publishing the amount of their gifts. Search the full list below.
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