Pope Francis Dies at 88, and Another Hegseth Signal Chat
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From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Traci Mumford. Today's Monday, April 21st. Here's what we're covering. The Vatican announced this morning that Pope Francis has died at 88 years old. The Catholic leader was just in public yesterday. He met with Vice President J.D. Vance and made an appearance in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City for Easter Mass, where he blessed the tens of thousands of people who had gathered to see him. Dear brothers and sisters,

His weak and raspy voice was a reminder of the health issues the Pope had faced in recent months, including pneumonia and other complications. His death will set off mourning around the world. There are more than one billion Catholics. Francis was the first Pope from Latin America. He was born in Buenos Aires to immigrant parents who fled Italy during the rise of fascism.

He said he knew from the age of 16 that he wanted to be a priest, though he hid it from his family, who wanted him to be a doctor. When he finally told his mother his plans, he said, quote, I'm going to study the medicine of the soul. As a priest, he rose to the ranks of the Catholic Church in Argentina, focusing on outreach to the poor. And it was something of a surprise that he became pope at all. He came to the position only after the previous pope, Benedict XVI, made the rare decision to resign.

My colleague Ruth Graham, who covers religion, says in some ways, Pope Francis rocked the institution from his very first days. So right out of the gate, Francis jumped into one of the most polarizing topics, not just in the church, but sort of in global politics, which is homosexuality. He was asked about the question of gay priests and whether gay men should be able to become priests in the Catholic Church. And he said, who am I to judge? Right.

That exploded like a bombshell in the church and beyond. A real hint of his approach for a lot of people, very hopeful that he would be able to really shift the church on these questions of sexuality.

Over the course of his papacy, he kind of made gestures in different directions on that. He allowed priests to bless gay couples, but then he also, like, reaffirmed church teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman. So it's sort of mixed on that, but he was often sort of gesturing rhetorically in the direction of open and welcomeness. Ruth says Pope Francis also pushed a number of other progressive topics—

discussing the need to accept migrants and refugees, and talking about the consequences of capitalism and climate change. His willingness to discuss all of this earned him some backlash from more conservative Catholics. And it leaves the church at a crossroads now, as cardinals from around the world gather in Vatican City to choose Francis' successor.

So looking forward, you know, the question is, is the Catholic Church going to continue in the same mode of Francis's more pastoral approach, his focus on issues that are maybe perceived as more liberal, or will it tack back to a more conservative bent?

At this point, Francis has appointed a majority of the cardinals who will be voting. But anything can happen in the conclave, and it's not totally clear that they all share his political priorities. So it's actually really unknown, and it will be really interesting to watch. The Times has learned that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed information on military strikes in Yemen in another group chat back in March.

Hegseth has been under intense scrutiny since it came to light that he posted details for forthcoming military strikes in a chat on the app Signal that inadvertently included the editor of The Atlantic. According to people familiar with the messages, Hegseth also posted some of those same details in a separate Signal group that included his wife, his brother, his personal lawyer, and others from his inner circle.

Unlike the previously known group, this one was not made up of government officials with reason to track the progress of the strikes. One person familiar with the chat told The Times that HEGSAS aides had warned him just days before the strikes not to discuss sensitive operational details on Signal, since the messaging app is not considered as secure as government channels.

If details of an airstrike were to leak before it was carried out, military experts say that could endanger the lives of the pilots involved. In the face of the controversy, the White House has stood by Hegseth. In a statement, a White House spokeswoman called the new revelations a, quote, non-story. Some Democratic lawmakers, however, say the second group chat is fresh proof that Hegseth should be removed from his position.

This morning, four Democratic lawmakers are in El Salvador to call for the release of Kilmar Armando Abrego-Garcia, the man who was wrongly deported by the Trump administration. The congressional representatives from California, Florida, Arizona, and Oregon landed yesterday. Their visit comes days after Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen visited the country and met with Abrego-Garcia. The lawmakers say they're also there to find out the status of other migrants the federal government deported to El Salvador.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration from using a wartime law to deport another group of migrants this weekend. Before the decision, the administration had been preparing to send more than 50 Venezuelans out of the country, presumably to El Salvador. It's claimed that the men are gang members affiliated with Trende Aragua and that the Alien Enemies Act gives the administration the right to remove them without legal hearings.

But around 1 a.m. Saturday, the court issued a one-paragraph order directing the government to not remove any of the detainees until, quote, further order of this court. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.

I literally lose sleep over this. I have nightmares about this. After five years of not penalizing student loan borrowers if they missed a payment, the federal government's leniency has ended. My payments are so insanely high. I can't really put money in savings. I'm not contributing to 401k.

And people's struggle to start paying again has become clear. As of today, I can't even log into the account. Right now, only one-third of the 38 million Americans who borrowed money to pay for school are making the payments they're supposed to be. Those who aren't have seen their credit scores plunge in the last few months. And loan companies say a record number of people are at risk of defaulting.

Industry experts point to two primary factors driving the issue. First, borrowers and the companies involved have been through years of major changes and reversals on how and when loans should be paid back, sowing confusion and backlog at all levels. And second, after such a long pause, many people are just unable to fit the payment back into their budget. They've gotten out of the habit and may now have additional credit card debt or a mortgage.

The growing number of people behind on their payments has implications for the broader economy. Lower credit scores can keep people from buying or renting homes, and it can also push them toward riskier options, like payday loans. One economist told The Times, quote, It's not a problem we want to add to the pile. For more on how student loans could affect the U.S. economy, listen to today's episode of The Daily. ♪

And finally... Just for starters, how long had you lived in the Palisades? Just about 40 years. 40 years. Okay, wow. More than three months after wildfires swept through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles, some residents are deciding not to rebuild. You know, work through the numbers. And besides the three years, which is what we've been told it would take to rebuild...

The money just didn't work. My colleague Jesus Jimenez has been speaking with homeowners who've decided to put what's left of their property up for sale. There have been more than 200 real estate listings recently for charred lots with nothing but debris on them. Some of the sellers are older residents who say they don't have the energy to start from scratch. Others worry that even if they did rebuild, it would mean years of living in a massive burned construction zone.

Still, the Times talked with real estate agents who say there is a market for the lots. So far, some of them have been going for $2 or $3 million just for the dirt. Those are the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.