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Korva Coleman
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. There's word from the Vatican this morning. Pope Francis has died at his residence at the age of 88. The Pope's death comes one day after Christians celebrated Easter Sunday around the world. NPR's Silvia Pujoli reports. Francis was the first non European pope in about a thousand years.
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Silvia Pujoli
Jorge Maria Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, the son of Italian immigrants. He was the first Jesuit to become pope, the first to take the name of Saint Francis of Assisi, and the first pope from the global South. Francis was beloved for his common touch and his vision of a merciful and inclusive church. He described it as a field hospital after battle, healing the wounds of the faithful and going out to find those who have been hurt, excluded or fallen. A firm believer in the need to save the planet, Francis was not afraid to criticize Western societies for what he called their unfettered pursuit of money. He also made many enemies within the church for his efforts to reform and clean up the Vatican bureaucracy. Silvia Pogioli, NPR news, Rome.
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Korva Coleman
A U.S. republican senator is now criticizing the Trump administration's handling of Kilmar Abrego Garcia's illegal deportation to El Salvador, Louisiana. U.S. senator John Kennedy says he will watch President Trump's response to court orders. NPR's Luke Garrett reports.
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John Kennedy
Senator Kennedy told NBC News Abrego Garcia never should have been sent to El Salvador.
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Look, this was a screw up. In my opinion, the administration won't admit it.
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Kennedy also said Abrego Garcia should have received a hearing before his wrongful deportation to a Salvadorian prison. But when asked whether he believes Trump is in defiance of a court order to facilitate the man's return, Kennedy said.
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I don't believe that President Trump will defy a federal judge's order. If he does, I'll call him out on it.
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And Kennedy called Trump's proposal of sending Americans to El Salvador not, quote, appropriate or moral. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington.
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Korva Coleman
The National Science foundation is freezing its grant making process at the direction of President Trump's cost cutting entity, DOGE. NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports. The agency has stopped issuing new grants for basic research.
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Jonathan Lambert
The National Science foundation issues billions of dollars worth of research grants to scientists and institutions each year on a rolling basis. On Wednesday, that process came to a halt after DOGE gained access to internal systems. Sources told NPR all proposals that had been approved for funding were sent back to NSF staff for further review, though it's unclear why. Earlier this year, NSF reviewed all its grants, flagging many for diversity, equity and inclusion related terms. An NSF spokesperson told NPR the agency continues to issue new awards. Publicly available data reflect a stoppage that started Wednesday. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News.
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Korva Coleman
On Wall street, in pre market trading, Dow futures are down about 350 points. This is NPR. Ukraine's president claims Russia violated its own ceasefire the Kremlin declared for Easter. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia fired dozens of shells and drone strikes on Ukraine. Russia's Defense Ministry claims UK Ukrainian forces launched overnight attacks on their troops in eastern Ukraine. The Israeli military has released a report on the investigation into its killings of 15 Palestinian medics last month in Gaza. The report says it found professional failures. Israel had claimed that the medics vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire. Cell phone video recovered from one of the killed medics contradicted that account. And piya's Hadil Al Shilci reports Israel says it will take steps.
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Hadil Al Shilci
First, the military said that the field commander who started the shooting was going to be fired from his position. The commander of the brigade will receive a reprimand for making the decisions that happened after the shooting, including the burial of the medics. And then we pressed the spokespeople what, if anything, is going to change after this incident. They just insisted that this event was a, quote, operational misunderstanding. They said we trust in the good intentions of our soldiers, that they already have mechanisms in place to keep this from happening. But then we also know that Palestinians in Gaza and human rights organizations have repeatedly accused the Israeli military of mishandling its own investigations.
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Korva Coleman
And Piers Hadil Alshelchi reporting from Tel Aviv. Again, our top story, the Vatican says that Pope Francis has died today in his papal residence. He had just been seen yesterday greeting well wishers celebrating Easter in St. Peter's Square. Pope Francis was 88 years old. This is NPR.
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