Get relief from news overload with bi-daily updates of what’s happening now.
On Monday, a jury will be selected in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering trial; additionally, pickleball season has officially kicked off in NYC and more.
Table of Contents
Pope Leo XIV is formally inaugurated
VATICAN CITY – Before we know exactly how Pope Leo XIV plans to lead the Catholic Church, his inaugural mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday must first take place and Cardinal Electors remain mum on why Prevost was chosen as Pope Leo XIV.
But already there are signs he will alter the church’s course. He urged priests to show humility and make themselves small – an echo of some of Pope Francis’ priorities – while giving a scripted homily hinted that he might be more closely aligned to tradition than his predecessor was. Many expect he will also maintain some progressive policies such as blessing same-sex couples by priests or standing up for immigrants.
Guatemala extradites a suspected drug trafficker
While the Trump administration has praised Mexico for being willing to extradite criminal suspects to the US, Guatemalan officials have been much less cooperative, making it more challenging to prosecute high-level Guatemalan drug traffickers in America.
On Friday, the Department of Justice announced that a Guatemalan man has been extradited to the US on charges related to international cocaine trafficking and maritime smuggling in San Diego’s Southern District Court. Elio Elixander Lorenzana Barillas made his initial court appearance today in San Diego.
The defendant was an integral member of Los Pochos drug trafficking organization, allegedly providing multi-ton quantities of cocaine to high-level Guatemalan and Mexican drug traffickers including members of Sinaloa cartel. He is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Damien Diggs; investigation was handled by North Texas Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force; Dallas Field Office DEA; Laredo Field Offices of Homeland Security Investigations; as well as Guatemala City Field Offices for Homeland Security Investigations with significant assistance from Office of International Affairs.
President Trump says a new U.S. trade pact with the U.K. can serve as the basis for more trade deals
White House officials believe the trade deal reached between Britain and the US can serve as the foundation of future agreements, and are working on additional deals worldwide.
However, details remain sparse and Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and British Trade Minister Keir Starmer all agreed that details will be worked out over time – which shouldn’t come as any surprise as trade agreements often take months or years to negotiate successfully.
As it currently stands, what we know of this deal is that it will grant American agricultural products such as beef and ethanol access to U.K. markets with greater ease; reduce or remove non-tariff barriers that discriminate against U.S. products; and expedite customs processing of imports into Britain more rapidly.
The agreement also contains a provision to protect luxury carmakers such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Jaguar as a recognition of the market’s significance to UK economy.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated the numbers of measles cases
Measles is an infectious, potentially severe rash illness spread by viruses that is highly contagious and highly contagious, with serious medical implications including pneumonia and blindness for children. Although vaccination has reduced most measles cases since its elimination from the United States in 2000, recent outbreaks may still occur as misinformation regarding vaccine safety may fuel outbreaks.
As of April 9, there have been 884 confirmed measles cases nationwide, including 864 linked to outbreaks and 89 isolated cases usually associated with international travel. Two people have died this year from measles: both unvaccinated school-age children in an outbreak in Texas that has spread into Oklahoma and New Mexico.
Measles outbreak has been driven by declining vaccination rates. 97% of cases this year involved people who were unvaccinated or had unknown status regarding vaccination.