Serial killers, set designers, and hordes of skeletons: welcome to the Halloween capital of America

Pope Leo XIV has become the first pontiff to vote in a U.S. election. The Vatican confirmed Friday that the American-born pope submitted a mail-in ballot in his native Chicago ahead of November's midterm elections, citing his longstanding belief in civic participation. The pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost , "has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so," the Holy See press office said. "The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes," the Vatican said in a statement.

The November 2026 midterm elections are just four days away. Candidates in key races — and President Trump — are making their closing arguments to voters.

Immigrants at Texas detention facility, protesting against harsh conditions, say they face threats of force-feeding Members of Congress sent a scathing letter to federal immigration officials this week demanding answers about conditions inside a Texas immigration jail, as detained immigrants on a prolonged hunger strike claim officials are retaliating against them and threatening them with force-feeding. A group of seven congressional Democrats sent the letter earlier this week to Markwayne Mullin, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary,…

Christa Pike said in a statement released by her attorneys on Friday that she is "recovering" but had been "deeply hurt by the incompetence" after her botched execution. "My body hurts. My arms hurt. My hands hurt. My throat hurts. I still struggle to speak. And the pain isn't just physical. There is pain in my mind and in my soul," she said. The statement, her first public comments since the failed execution, comes one month after her execution date.