By Jade Walker

Access to the federal website on COVID-19 is no longer publicly accessible. The Covid.gov page now automatically forwards to a new site featuring a picture of President Donald Trump and what it hypes as the “true origins of COVID-19.” This site blames the coronavirus pandemic on a lab leak from China and blasts social distancing, mask mandates and lockdowns. It also claims “public health officials often mislead the American people.” There is nothing about how to avoid getting sick or how to treat COVID-19, no information about long COVID and no mention of the nearly 1.2 million Americans who have died from the illness. 

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The body of Pope Francis lying in a wooden coffin in the Casa Santa Marta residence at the Vatican on Monday. Francesco Sforza/Vatican Media/Reuters

Pope Francis

As people around the world grieve for Pope Francis, who died on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Vatican is preparing for the upcoming conclave that will choose his successor. The pontiff’s funeral has been scheduled for Saturday. After nine days of mourning events, cardinals from around the world will meet in the Sistine Chapel to conduct a secretive vote to elect the new pope. The process generally takes two to three weeks and all ballots are burned afterward. Once the new pope is chosen, white smoke will rise from the chapel's chimney, signaling a new era of leadership for the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. A mass to celebrate the 267th pope is expected to take place a few days later. In the meantime, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who was born in Ireland and became a naturalized American citizen, will serve as the “camerlengo” (or chamberlain). It will fall to him to prepare for the conclave and handle the day-to-day administration of the Vatican. 

Harvard

In an effort to bring elite US colleges and universities in line with its political ideology, the Trump administration has ordered institutions to change their hiring and admission requirements, eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs and alter rules for on-campus protests — or face major losses of federal funding. The White House has framed its demands as a fight against antisemitism. When Harvard resisted those changes, the administration announced plans to cut $2.2 billion in grants and contracts to the university. The IRS reportedly began working to rescind Harvard's tax-exempt status and the Department of Homeland Security threatened the school's ability to enroll foreign students. In response, Harvard has filed a lawsuit claiming the government’s actions were arbitrary, unlawful and violated its First Amendment right to free speech. “Under whatever name, the Government has ceased the flow of funds to Harvard as part of its pressure campaign to force Harvard to submit to the Government’s control over its academic programs. That, in itself, violates Harvard’s constitutional rights,” the lawsuit said.

Signal chat

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s position in the Trump administration appears to be safe despite new revelations that he created a second Signal group chat on his personal phone and allegedly shared sensitive details about US military airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen. “The President stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth, who is doing a phenomenal job leading the Pentagon,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday. Last month, it was revealed that Hegseth and other top officials had discussed the same attack in a group chat on the commercially available app, a conversation that inadvertently included a journalist. Hegseth's second chat group contained at least 12 people, including his wife, brother and lawyer. 

Student loans

The Department of Education has announced that it will resume collecting federal student loans that are in default on May 5. Such payments were placed on a pandemic-era pause roughly five years ago. In addition to canceling that hold, the department will restart a program that collects debts by garnishing wages, tax return refunds and Social Security benefits. Borrowers are urged to contact the student aid office’s Default Resolution Group to make repayment plans. The change comes just seven weeks after Trump signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to start the process of shutting down the department. Between the buyouts and layoffs that followed, nearly 50% of its workforce will be eliminated. Trump also said the Small Business Administration will absorb the Education Department’s student loan portfolio. 

Firearm injuries

Every 30 minutes, an emergency department in the US treats a firearm injury, a new report shows. Researchers at the CDC learned this after analyzing over 93,000 emergency department visits for firearm injuries from 2018 through 2023 in nine states and Washington, DC. They also discovered that there were more firearm injury cases at night, on weekends and some holidays, like Independence Day and New Year’s Eve. “Knowing when firearm injury emergency department visits are higher can help inform decisions about physician staffing, resource allocation and trauma preparedness to reduce delays in care and use resources most effectively,” the CDC said in an email to CNN. Although firearm injuries are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the US, the future of gun research is now in jeopardy due to layoffs and massive budget cuts proposed for federal health agencies.

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Shannon Sharpe sued for sexual assault
The former NFL star has been accused of multiple instances of assault, sexual assault, battery and sexual battery in a lawsuit filed by an anonymous woman and her attorneys. Sharpe's legal team said he “categorically denies all allegations of coercion or misconduct.”

The dark side of fame
Imagine having someone approach you for a photo. Now imagine that happening 20 times a day, every day, for years. British pop star Robbie Williams doesn’t need to imagine such a scenario — he lives it — and he wants people to understand that such requests can trigger anxiety and cause discomfort.

Ryan Gosling’s dream comes true
The “Barbie” actor, who had "Star Wars"-themed sheets on his childhood bed, will star in the new film “Star Wars: Starfighter.” The story will take place approximately five years after “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker,” but will serve as a standalone film.

A game changer for combating marine pollution
Hundreds of oil spills happen every year. Now, scientists are hoping to ease the environmental destruction by using artificial intelligence to automatically detect spills at sea.

Today is Earth Day
Which means it’s the perfect time to celebrate our planet’s wonders. Touch the grass. Listen to the birds. Watch a nature documentary. Admire some of the world’s most unusual landscapes. Start composting. Plant a tree. Or take part in a local cleanup event. 

5,000

That’s how many ants two Belgian teens allegedly collected in Kenya. They have been charged with wildlife piracy in what Kenyan authorities said was part of a trend in trafficking smaller and lesser known species.

“I’m not changing any plans for this mess. He doesn’t win, he doesn’t get that.”

— Florida State University student Madison Askins, who was injured in a mass shooting on campus last week, on her plans to graduate next spring.

Stunning gem embarks on world tour

It’s blue, bold, rare and up for auction.

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