FORTUNE

Pope Francis is currently in critical condition after experiencing a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis on Saturday morning. According to a statement from the Vatican, the pontiff required high flows of oxygen and underwent a blood transfusion due to conditions associated with anemia. Despite the challenges, Pope Francis remains alert and spent the day in his armchair. Vatican says Pope Francis is in critical health condition. Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images A setback in the pope's recovery The Vatican's statement indicates a potential setback in Pope Francis' weeklong battle with pneumonia. Although doctors previously stated that the pope's condition posed no immediate threat to his life, he remains at risk and will continue to receive hospital care for at least another week. The 88-year-old pontiff has been hospitalized due to an increasingly complex health issue. Pope Francis' health issues Pope Francis has been struggling with vario...

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to expand access to and reduce the cost of in vitro fertilization. U . S . President ' Donald Trump. ' Andrew Harnik/Getty Images The decree, which instructs government agencies to provide policy recommendations that safeguard IVF access while reducing costs for both individuals and insurance, did not specify how the expenditures would be reimbursed. It would also address current rules, including some needing legislation, that increase the cost of treatment, according to a White House information sheet. "President Trump promised to advance IVF and help American families with the associated costs so American families can have more babies, building on his record of supporting family formation and stability," the White House said. During his election campaign, Trump said that if won, he would mandate the government or insurance companies to cover IVF reproductive procedures. Not all states no...

Danielle Sassoon, Manhattan's chief federal prosecutor, was in charge of all federal crime investigations in the Southern District of New York, including the corruption prosecution against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, which the Trump administration has ordered abandoned. Danielle Sassoon exits court in New York on October 5 , 2023. Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images Sassoon, the district's acting US attorney, wrote in her resignation letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi that the New York mayor's lawyers "repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo" to assist Trump with immigration if the matter was dismissed. "I remain baffled by the rushed and superficial process by which this decision was reached, in seeming collaboration with Adams's counsel and without my direct input on the ultimate stated rationales for dismissal," the lawyer wrote. The Justice Department charged Adams, a Democrat, with public corruption last year,...

The Trump administration has pressed ahead with plans to close the US Agency for International Development, causing chaos for many employees. On Tuesday, the administration announced that it was removing practically all USAID employees from the field worldwide and would place the majority of direct-hire personnel on administrative leave by Friday. USAID employees have told of the chaos engulfing the agency in the wake of Trump's orders. Mykola Tys/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images According to an update from 2020, the agency's Foreign Service employs around 1,700 personnel. USAID officials in the United States have been working remotely for the past two days after learning on Monday that the office would be shuttered. Two USAID employees, who requested anonymity to protect their careers, said that some personnel lost access to their work computers throughout the day on Tuesday in an apparent random pattern. According to one of the sources, USAID's HR team...

President Donald Trump will impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, as well as 10% tariffs on goods from China, beginning Saturday, the White House said, but it did not say whether there would be any exemptions to the measures, which could result in sharp price increases for US consumers. ' President Donald Trump. ' Joe Raedle/Getty Images Trump has threatened tariffs to ensure better cooperation from countries in combating illegal immigration and the smuggling of chemicals used in fentanyl production, but he has also vowed to use tariffs to stimulate home manufacturing and increase federal government income. "Those tariffs will go into effect tomorrow," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. "These are promises made and promises kept by the president." The tariffs pose both political and economic concerns to Trump, who is only two weeks into his second term. Many people supported the Republican on the promise ...

A regional plane operated by American Airlines Group Inc. crashed in midair with a military helicopter near Washington, DC, suspending operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and triggering a search and rescue effort in the Potomac River. Lights from emergency vehicles are seen as rescue personnel assemble along the Potomac River at Reagan National Airport in Washington , DC , following an air disaster on January 29 , 2025. A passenger plane from Kansas crashed into Washington 's Potomac River after colliding with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport , officials said Wednesday, triggering a large rescue reaction and halting all flights. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images The jet, flown by subsidiary PSA Airlines, collided with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter as it approached Reagan Airport at 9 p.m. local time, according to a Federal Aviation Administration statement Wednesday night. The flight left from Wichita, Kansas. W...