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  • New air traffic control overhaul plans detailed

    New air traffic control overhaul plans detailed


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    • Vatican crowds react to the announcement of a new pope.

      01:30

    • Pope Leo XIV is a Chicago native who led Augustinian order

      03:49

    • U.S. and U.K. announce new trade agreement

      01:49

    • Leo XIV elected as first American pope

      04:12

    • Chicago celebrates election of hometown pope

      01:33

    • ‘Dateline NBC’ obtains exclusive new footage and details in Idaho murders case

      01:47

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      New air traffic control overhaul plans detailed

      00:49

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      U.S. and China set for high-stakes talks amid trade war

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    • An urgent manhunt is underway for a Texas man accused of murder

      01:28

    • The California Academy of Sciences hopes to restart blue butterfly population

      01:31

    • Growing fears India and Pakistan are on the brink of war

      01:37

    • New protests break out at Columbia University

      00:55

    • Three ex-Memphis police officers found not guilty in death of Tyre Nichols

      01:49

    • FAA announces changes to alleviate Newark Airport problems

      01:58

    • Black smoke signals no new pope chosen on first day of conclave

      02:29

    • Man arrested after security incident at Jennifer Aniston’s home

      01:34

    • Fears of war as India and Pakistan exchange strikes

      00:50

    • Firefighters make daring rescue in Kentucky

      01:29

    • Massive lines as travelers prepare for Real ID deadline

      01:23

    • Secretive conclave to elect next pope set to begin on Wednesday

      01:57

    Nightly News

    The Trump administration is sharing new plans to change the air traffic control system. The plan will likely take three to four years and cost billions of dollars. The proposed changes include a brand new radio system, fiber optic data feeds and new radars. NBC News’ Tom Costello reports from Washington, D.C.

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  • Pope Leo XIV is a Chicago native who led Augustinian order

    Pope Leo XIV is a Chicago native who led Augustinian order


    IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

    • Vatican crowds react to the announcement of a new pope.

      01:30

    • Now Playing

      Pope Leo XIV is a Chicago native who led Augustinian order

      03:49

    • UP NEXT

      U.S. and U.K. announce new trade agreement

      01:49

    • Leo XIV elected as first American pope

      04:12

    • Chicago celebrates election of hometown pope

      01:33

    • ‘Dateline NBC’ obtains exclusive new footage and details in Idaho murders case

      01:47

    • New air traffic control overhaul plans detailed

      00:49

    • U.S. and China set for high-stakes talks amid trade war

      01:51

    • An urgent manhunt is underway for a Texas man accused of murder

      01:28

    • The California Academy of Sciences hopes to restart blue butterfly population

      01:31

    • Growing fears India and Pakistan are on the brink of war

      01:37

    • New protests break out at Columbia University

      00:55

    • Three ex-Memphis police officers found not guilty in death of Tyre Nichols

      01:49

    • FAA announces changes to alleviate Newark Airport problems

      01:58

    • Black smoke signals no new pope chosen on first day of conclave

      02:29

    • Man arrested after security incident at Jennifer Aniston’s home

      01:34

    • Fears of war as India and Pakistan exchange strikes

      00:50

    • Firefighters make daring rescue in Kentucky

      01:29

    • Massive lines as travelers prepare for Real ID deadline

      01:23

    • Secretive conclave to elect next pope set to begin on Wednesday

      01:57

    Nightly News

    Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago and worked extensively in Peru and Italy. His brother says he loves to play Wordle and recently watched the movie Conclave. NBC News’ Anne Thompson reports he was close to Pope Francis and wants a church that builds bridges.

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  • Justice Sonia Sotomayor urges lawyers to ‘stand up’ amid Trump tumult

    Justice Sonia Sotomayor urges lawyers to ‘stand up’ amid Trump tumult



    WASHINGTON — Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor urged lawyers Thursday night to “stand up” at a time when the profession is under attack from the Trump administration.

    Speaking at a meeting hosted by the American Bar Association, the nation’s biggest legal group, she said it was an “act of solidarity” to appear at the event in Washington.

    “In all of the uncertainty that exists at this moment, this is our time to stand up and be heard,” Sotomayor said.

    “Right now we can’t lose the battles we are facing,” she added.

    Follow live politics coverage here

    The Trump administration has targeted the American Bar Association itself as part of a broader assault on lawyers.

    Sotomayor gave what could be viewed as a pep talk for the assembled lawyers of the group’s Tort, Trial, and Insurance Practice Section.

    “If you’re not used to fighting losing battles, don’t become a lawyer,” she said. “Our job is to stand for people who can’t do it themselves.”

    “For me, being here with you is an act of solidarity,” she added, prompting enthusiastic applause from the audience of lawyers.

    Sotomayor has spoken out several times in recent months. In March, she talked about the need of the courts to be “fearlessly independent.”

    Chief Justice John Roberts also stressed the importance of independent courts in a public appearance in Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday.

    In total, three of the nine justices have defended the judiciary since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, the most outspoken being Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was more explicit in saying last week that the criticism and intimidation of individual judges were “designed to intimidate the judiciary.”

    The Trump administration has assailed the American Bar Association in part for its support of diversity efforts, with the Justice Department, among other things, barring lawyers from participating in its events.



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  • Trump abruptly fires Librarian of Congress

    Trump abruptly fires Librarian of Congress



    WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump fired the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, on Thursday, according to a copy of her termination email obtained by NBC News.

    In the email sent to Hayden, Trent Morse, the deputy director of presidential personnel, wrote: “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately.” 

    The email was shared with congressional Democrats and obtained by NBC News. 

    Principal Deputy Librarian Robert Newlen sent an email Thursday informing library employees of Hayden’s dismissal, according to a copy obtained by NBC News. Newlen said in the email that he will “assume the duties of acting Librarian of Congress until further instruction.”  

    A spokesperson for the Library of Congress later confirmed Hayden’s termination.

    “Tonight, the White House informed Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden that she has been relieved of her position effective immediately,” the spokesperson said. 

    Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress in the institution’s 225-year history, was appointed by President Barack Obama in February 2016 and confirmed by the Senate in July 2016 in a bipartisan vote of 74-18.

    She was the first woman and the first African American to occupy the role, milestones Obama called “long overdue.” In addition, she was the first Librarian of Congress to occupy the position without a lifetime appointment, with Obama signing a law in 2015 to establish a 10-year term for the Librarian of Congress. Her term was set to expire next year.

    Before her tenure as Librarian of Congress, Hayden was the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. 

    In testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday morning and then to the House Administration Committee that afternoon, she outlined her efforts to extensively modernize and optimize the library’s systems, processes and staff.

    She is the second official to have testified to Congress and then be fired this week after Cameron Hamilton was dismissed as acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

    Democrats have roundly criticized Hayden’s dismissal, with Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, which oversees the Library of Congress, accusing Trump of unfairly targeting a public servant.

    “The Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, has spent her entire career serving people — form helping kids learn to read to protecting some of nation’s most precious treasures. She is an American hero,” Morelle said in a statement, adding that he plans to introduce legislation to “guarantee that the Librarian of Congress is appointed by Congress.”

    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also called for congressional intervention.

    “We must assert our congressional prerogative by making the position of Librarian of Congress appointed by a Congressional commission— not by presidents that treat federal appointments like reality TV prizes,” he said in an emailed statement, calling the dismissal Trump’s “latest foray in his relentless campaign to dismantle the guardrails of our democracy.”

    House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called Trump’s decision “ignorant” and said it “will impact America’s libraries, our copyrighted economic interests, and service to the American people.”

    “Donald Trump’s unjust decision to fire Dr. Hayden in an email sent by a random political hack is a disgrace and the latest in his ongoing effort to ban books, whitewash American history and turn back the clock,” Jeffries added in a statement.

    A conservative nonprofit group, the American Accountability Foundation, has targeted Hayden in recent days, accusing her of being “woke” and claiming she promoted access to books about “radical gender identity.”

    The group praised Trump’s decision to terminate Hayden.

    “THANK YOU @POTUS !!!! Woke & radical Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden has been fired,” it said on X.



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  • Some podcasters fear Spotify’s new play count will crowd out smaller shows

    Some podcasters fear Spotify’s new play count will crowd out smaller shows



    Some podcasters raised concerns this week over a new Spotify feature that will publicly display how many plays each podcast episode gets.

    The streaming service on Tuesday announced the rollout of its “Plays” metric, calling the feature “another invaluable source of insight” for creators “as they look to optimize their content for success.” But after the announcement, some podcasters — particularly those with smaller, niche followings — said they think the new feature could actually turn listeners away. 

    “It’s like the social media-ification of podcasts now,” said Adrienne Cruz, a podcast manager who represents four small podcasts. 

    Traditionally, “podcasting has been such a good fertile ground for small creators,” said Cruz. The medium, which first emerged in the mid-2000s, was a small, niche market until the industry’s first big hit, “Serial,” helped propel it into the mainstream. In recent years, simpler, personality-driven shows have taken off, giving hosts like Joe Rogan massive success across platforms like Spotify, SiriusXM, YouTube and Apple. 

    With Spotify’s new feature, Cruz and others said they worry the already crowded podcasting space could turn into a “popularity contest.” 

    “Hey!!! As one of your biggest creators — WE DONT WANT THIS! This is going to hurt so many podcasts,”  “The Psychology of your 20s” podcast, which has almost 200,000 followers on Instagram, wrote on Spotify’s post announcing the news.

    “Public metrics don’t support the creator community — they discourage experimentation and amplify comparison. This doesn’t help us grow; it makes us hesitate,” another podcaster wrote.

    A spokesperson for Spotify declined to comment.

    In its blog post unveiling the feature, Spotify said it aims to “give creators more comprehensive insight into the scale and depth of their audience.” 

    “For creators, plays will be a key metric on the home dashboard, show overview, and individual episode analytics pages, offering a near-immediate snapshot of how content is performing based on active engagement,” the streaming service said.

    Some podcasters celebrated having more access to data. 

    Dr. Mikhail “Mike” Varshavski, a physician who talks about medical issues and hosts “The Checkup with Doctor Mike,” called the news “AWESOME.”

    “I’ve been desperate for this feature to roll out to begin building a better understanding of what episodes are performing well,” he said in a statement sent via Spotify to NBC News. “This has been foundational to success on YouTube, studying successful videos, and now we can do the same on Spotify.”

    But others responded to the news on social media by asking if Spotify would let them opt out of the new feature.

    They pointed out that the listens-per-episode number would only reflect the plays on Spotify, and not across platforms, possibly misleading audiences and potential brand partners. 

    “This is actually a disservice to a lot of smaller shows, and it won’t reflect the other places people listen to or watch podcasts,” “Gabbing with Gib” host Gibson Johns commented on Spotify’s announcement. “You should consider letting podcast creators hide this metric.”

    Cody Dueitt, the host of the “Pray Before Chips” podcast, said that while he’s happy with the base of core listeners he’s built, he thinks the feature could have a negative toll on podcasters with smaller followings.

    “What about the smaller ones? … we’ve been grinding and grinding and trying to make it happen, but we only have, you know, who knows how many listeners we have, truly,” he said.

    While he’s been podcasting since 2018, Dueitt estimates the most plays he’s ever gotten on an episode was about 200.

    Janny Perez, host of the “Latina Mom Legacy” podcast, worried her followers wouldn’t see her reach across other platforms. 

    “I have a larger audience in the whole scheme of things, right?” said Perez. If brands are making their decision to work with creators based on the number of listens an episode gets, Perez said, “that could potentially hurt you and prevent you from potentially earning money.” 

    Spotify said plays will be rounded to the nearest thousandth or millionth. For the first 24 hours after publishing, episodes will display a “new” label instead of a play count as they build up initial listens. After that period, episodes with fewer than 1,000 plays will display <1K and will refresh approximately every hour. Spotify also plans to improve the product over time.

    Play counts will be reflected across the Spotify app and in the Spotify for Creators and Megaphone dashboards “starting this week,” the platform said. 





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  • Up to 1,000 transgender troops are being moved out of the military in new Pentagon order

    Up to 1,000 transgender troops are being moved out of the military in new Pentagon order



    WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will immediately begin moving as many as 1,000 openly identifying transgender service members out of the military and give others 30 days to self-identify under a new directive issued Thursday.

    Buoyed by Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to enforce a ban on transgender individuals in the military, the Defense Department will begin going through medical records to identify others who haven’t come forward.

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who issued the latest memo, made his views clear after the court’s decision.

    “No More Trans @ DoD,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X. Earlier in the day, before the court acted, Hegseth said that his department is leaving wokeness and weakness behind.

    “No more pronouns,” he told a special operations forces conference in Tampa. “No more dudes in dresses. We’re done with that s—.”

    Follow live politics coverage here

    Department officials have said it’s difficult to determine exactly how many transgender service members there are, but medical records will show those who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, who show symptoms or are being treated.

    Those troops would then be involuntarily forced out of the service. And no one with that diagnosis will be allowed to enlist. Gender dysphoria occurs when a person’s biological sex does not match up with their gender identity.

    Officials have said that as of Dec. 9, 2024, there were 4,240 troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria in the active duty, National Guard and Reserve. But they acknowledge the number may be higher.

    There are about 2.1 million total troops serving.

    The memo released Thursday mirrors one sent out in February, but any action was stalled at that point by several lawsuits.

    The Supreme Court ruled that the administration could enforce the ban on transgender people in the military, while other legal challenges proceed. The court’s three liberal justices said they would have kept the policy on hold.

    Neither the justices in the majority or dissent explained their votes, which is not uncommon in emergency appeals.

    When the initial Pentagon directive came out earlier this year, it gave service members 30 days to self-identify. Since then, about 1,000 have done so.

    In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the 1,000 troops who already self-identified “will begin the voluntary separation process” from the military.

    Under the new guidelines, active duty troops will have until June 6 to voluntarily identify themselves to the department, and troops in the National Guard and Reserve will have until July 7.

    While it may be difficult to see which troops have changed their gender identity in their military records, it will be easier to determine who has gotten a gender dysphoria diagnosis because that will be part of their medical record, as will any medication they are taking.

    Between 2015 and 2024, the total cost for psychotherapy, gender-affirming hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery and other treatment for service members is about $52 million, according to a defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel issues.

    Pentagon officials in an earlier memo defended the ban, saying that “the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service.”

    The new Pentagon policy would allow for limited exemptions.

    That includes transgender personnel seeking to enlist who can prove on a case-by-case basis that they directly support warfighting activities, or if an existing service member diagnosed with gender dysphoria can prove they support a specific warfighting need, never transitioned to the gender they identify with and proves over 36 months they are stable in their biological sex “without clinically significant distress.”

    If a waiver is issued, the applicant would still face a situation where only their biological sex was recognized for bathroom facilities, sleeping quarters and even in official recognition, such as being called “Sir” or “Ma’am.”



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  • What to know about Robert Prevost, a multilingual Chicago native and Villanova graduate

    What to know about Robert Prevost, a multilingual Chicago native and Villanova graduate


    For centuries, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church were largely Italians until a cardinal from Poland was elected pope in 1978 and then succeeded by a German and an Argentine.

    Now, for the first time, the pope’s an American who has taken the name Leo XIV.

    And he’s from the South Side of Chicago, home of the beleaguered White Sox, the Daley political dynasty and, until they decamped for Washington and eventually the White House, Michelle and Barack Obama.

    Leo, who has spent much of his career ministering in Peru and leading the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was born Robert Francis Prevost on Sept. 14, 1955, at what was then called Mercy Hospital, at the corner of South Prairie Avenue and 34th Street.

    But while Prevost made his debut in Chicago, his parents and two older brothers were already living just south of the sprawling city in a working-class suburb called Dolton.

    Home was a tidy brick house the Prevosts bought new in 1949 on East 141st Place.

    Prevost’s father, Louis Prevost, served in the Navy during World War II and worked as a superintendent of schools in the south suburbs of Chicago.

    The future pope’s mother, Mildred Martinez Prevost, was a librarian with a master’s degree in education and two sisters who were nuns.

    But the focus of the family was St. Mary of the Assumption Parish on 137th Street, which was then a busy church and school that straddled the Chicago/Dolton border.

    It was there that the Prevost family regularly attended mass, which back then was still in Latin. And it was there that his classmates realized that Robert was already practicing what he would one day be preaching.

    “We used to pray with our hands, you know, our fingers pointing to heaven, and after a while you get tired of doing that, and you just want to fold them over,” former classmate Marianne Angarola, 69, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Robert Prevost never folded his hands over. He was just godly. Not in an in-your-face way. It was part of his aura, like he was hand-selected, and he embraced it. And he wasn’t weird. He was nice.”

    While most of the boys from St. Mary’s went on to local Catholic high schools like Mendel College Prep, Prevost left home and attended St. Augustine Seminary High School, a boarding school in Holland, Michigan, that was run by priests from the Order of St. Augustine.

    Upon graduating, he headed east to Villanova University in Pennsylvania, a private Catholic college, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in math in 1977. By then, he had found his calling, and in 1978 he officially joined the Order of St. Augustine.

    Four years later, in June 1982, Prevost was ordained a priest after having studied theology at Catholic Theological Union of Chicago. Then he was off to Rome, where he earned a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in 1987. 

    He returned to Chicago, but only briefly, before he was dispatched in 1985 to Peru, where he served the order as a missionary and taught canon law in the diocesan seminary in the city of Trujillo for 10 years.

    By 1999, Prevost was back in Chicago and appointed leader of the Augustinian order’s Midwestern region, which he oversaw until 2010.

    Part of his turf included Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, and it was during his tenure that allegations surfaced that the school’s president, the Rev. Richard McGrath, had abused at least one student and kept child pornography images on his phone.

    The Sun-Times reported last June that the Augustinians paid a $2 million settlement to the abused student and that Prevost never explained why he did not remove McGrath from his post. 

    By 2014, Prevost was back in Peru after Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo and later the bishop of Chiclayo.

    But in Peru, he was once again accused of failing to investigate and punish a priest accused of sexually abusing three sisters from 2007 to 2015.

    The Diocese of Chiclayo denied a cover-up, and Prevost has never been personally accused of abusing members of his flock.

    The allegations also did not derail his rise through the ranks.

    Francis promoted him to archbishop in January 2023 and made him a cardinal a year later.

    In public statements, Prevost often echoed Francis with calls for “reaching out to the poor, to the neediest, to those on the margins.”

    But while Francis promoted greater acceptance of LGBTQ people, Prevost in a 2012 took a less tolerant tone in an address to a group of bishops, to whom he complained that Western culture was fostering “sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel,” The New York Times reported.

    Meanwhile, Prevost’s other job as the person who runs the office that helps decide who will be appointed a bishop made him a contender for the top job at the Vatican, which he landed Thursday.

    Speaking in Spanish and Italian but not in English, Pope Leo stood on the balcony overlooking his cheering flock and thanked the pope who blazed the path for him. He also laid out a vision of the future that Francis would most likely have applauded.

    “We can be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges, that is always open to receive everyone — just like in this square, to welcome everyone, in charity, dialogue and love,” he said.



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  • Pope Leo roots for the White Sox, his brother says

    Pope Leo roots for the White Sox, his brother says



    Robert Francis Prevost, elected Thursday as the first pope from the United States, will soon have the opportunity to declare where he stands on some of the church’s most pressing topics.

    But first, many wanted to know his leanings on a different topic. Is Prevost, a Chicagoan, a fan of the Cubs or the White Sox?

    Prevost’s brother John told NBC Chicago that, contrary to speculation, his brother rooted for the city’s South Side team.

    “Whoever said Cubs on the radio got it wrong,” John Prevost said. “It’s Sox.”

    The question of his rooting interests was one of immediate fascination as soon as Prevost was announced Thursday as the newest leader of the 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide.

    Within hours of his election, the Cubs — 41 years after longtime broadcaster Harry Caray celebrated an unlikely victory by shouting, “The good Lord wants the Cubs to win!” — claimed Prevost as one of their own on social media.

    Their mother was a Cubs fan, having been raised on Chicago’s North Side, famously the home of the Cubs’ Wrigley Field, John Prevost told WGN-TV. Their father, he added, was a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals.

    Yet the man who would go on to become pope had a different belief system, his brother said.

    “He was never, ever a Cubs fan,” John Prevost told WGN.

    The White Sox, who have had little go right on the field in recent seasons, were quick to play up a rare bit of good news, saying they had already sent a jersey and a hat to the Vatican.

    “Family always knows best, and it sounds like Pope Leo XIV’s lifelong fandom falls a little closer to 35th and Shields,” the team told NBC Chicago. “Some things are bigger than baseball, but in this case, we’re glad to have a White Sox fan represented at the Vatican.”

    Though the new pope spent decades of his adult life working in Peru, his Chicago roots led to speculation and jokes on social media about his sports leanings.

    Though faith has dominated Prevost’s life, sports have also played a role. Prevost, a 1977 graduate of Villanova University, retweeted in 2016 a post congratulating the university on its recent NCAA men’s basketball national championship. And asked in a 2023 interview how he liked to spend his free time, he said, “I consider myself quite the amateur tennis player.

    “Since leaving Peru I have had few occasions to practice, so I am looking forward to getting back on the court,” he said. “Not that this new job has left me much free time for it so far.”

    Neither will his new one.



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  • Police release fatal traffic stop footage involving brother of ‘RHOC’ alum Lydia McLaughlin

    Police release fatal traffic stop footage involving brother of ‘RHOC’ alum Lydia McLaughlin



    “The Real Housewives of Orange County” alum Lydia McLaughlin shared a tribute to her brother amid his funeral and the release of bodycam footage from the traffic stop in April where he was fatally shot by police.

    McLaughlin’s brother Geoffrey Shyam Stirling was shot and killed by police in California on April 17 around 9:15 p.m. after they pulled over the motorcycle he was riding, the Newport Beach Police Department later wrote on Instagram. He was 45.

    McLaughlin shared photos of her brother and video footage from his funeral in an emotional Instagram post on May 5.

    “Yesterday, we laid my brother to rest,” she wrote. “Just six months ago, we stood in this same place, grieving the loss of my mom. My heart is broken, and the shock still hasn’t settled. 💔 But even in the sorrow, I cling to what I know is true: God is good. He is in control. I am not. My brother is now with my mom, and I hold onto the promise that one day, we’ll all be reunited. Until then, I will miss them every single day.”

    McLaughlin’s tribute came days before the Newport Beach Police Department released bodycam footage of the incident.

    The department said in the Instagram post in April that after Stirling was stopped for a traffic violation, he “became uncooperative and assaulted the officer. During the ensuing violent altercation, Stirling managed to remove the department-issued taser from the officer’s duty belt and attempted to deploy it multiple times against the officer. At that point, an officer-involved shooting occurred.”

    In the footage released on May 7, a motorcycle rider is shown being pulled over after police say he ran a red light on West Coast Highway.

    The video shows an officer repeatedly asking Stirling to sit down on the curb, and Stirling refuses. The officer also notes that Stirling has urinated in his pants.

    Stirling is then seen making a move toward the officer, which results in an altercation between the two. A freeze-frame of the video is highlighted with a moment where police say Stirling has the officer’s Taser and is holding it to the officer’s head.

    The officer pulls free and yells “Drop it!” at Stirling before firing his weapon six times. Stirling is shown dropping to the ground.

    Additional officers and the Newport Beach Fire Department then arrived at the scene, according to authorities. Stirling was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

    The California Department of Justice is now conducting an investigation into the shooting, according to Newport Beach Police Department Chief Dave Miner.

    McLaughlin shared her grief over her brother’s loss in an Instagram post on April 19, two days after his death.

    “My family has experienced an unimaginable loss,” she wrote. “My brother, Geoff, was tragically taken and our hearts are shattered.”

    “I can’t believe we’re facing this pain just 6 months after losing my best friend and mother,” she added. “I know they’re both with Jesus now, and He’s walking with me through this darkness. One step at a time.”





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  • New pope’s social media posts offer some insight into his politics

    New pope’s social media posts offer some insight into his politics


    In this day and age, even the holy leave a social media trail.

    The new pope’s online footprint was quickly dissected on Thursday just minutes after he elected the next head of the Catholic church, sparking a mixed reaction from some on the right.

    Before becoming Pope Leo XVI, Cardinal Robert Prevost occasionally posted on social media, including some messages that appeared to be critical of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance and their worldview.

    His most recent activity on X came in mid-April, when he shared a post on his account from a Catholic commentator who called out Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele for laughing about the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland. The post linked to an article published by the Catholic Standard newspaper, in which Bishop Evelio Menjivar asked of Catholics about Abrego Garcia: “Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?”

    In February, Prevost posted links to stories that were critical of Vance, including one from the National Catholic Reporter. Prevost repeated the headline on X: “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.” In the article, the writer rebutted the vice president’s claim from a Fox News interview that Christians prioritize loving people close to them before those from other countries.

    Reached for comment Thursday, the White House directed NBC News to a tweet posted by Vance.

    Pope Francis JD Vance
    Pope Francis meeting with Vice President JD Vance at the Vatican on April 20.Vatican Media via AFP – Getty Images file

    Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019 and happened to meet with Pope Francis the day before he died, congratulated Prevost on being elected the first American pope.

    “I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!” Vance wrote in a post on X.

    Trump also offered his congratulations. “It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope,” he wrote on Truth Social.

    “What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”

    Other reposts from Prevost’s X account have suggested he supports protecting immigrants, reducing gun violence and combatting climate change.

    The day after the Las Vegas mass shooting in October 2017, Prevost shared a post from Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., that said: “To my colleagues: your cowardice to act cannot be whitewashed by thoughts and prayers. None of this ends unless we do something to stop it.”

    Also in 2017, Prevost reposted someone who was defending immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children, known as Dreamers.

    “I stand with the #Dreamers and all people who are working toward an immigration system that is fair, just, and moral. #DefendDACA #DACA,” the post said.

    In a matter of hours, his X account had added more than 200,000 new followers.

    Still, the new pontiff has not been a prolific poster — and much of what he shared was fairly standard Catholic fare — so his social media posts don’t give a complete picture of all his political views.

    Some conservative commentators have already seized on Prevost’s posts and comments.

    Laura Loomer, a far-right commentator and close Trump ally, published a series of posts decrying Leo’s politics. “Just another Marxist puppet in the Vatican,” she wrote.

    Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was more neutral in his reaction to Prevost’s election.

    “Let’s just say, not so great tweets about having some willingness for open borders. We’ll see kind of how he is on that. Also some George Floyd stuff that I’m not too crazy about,” he said in a video posted on X. “But overall, it seems like he’s a pro-life warrior. There’s a lot yet to learn about this pope, but I hope that he will be a strong advocate for strong borders. And for sovereignty.”

    In 2020, Prevost reposted tweets offering prayers and a message of support for Floyd, whose murder by a Minneapolis police officer led to a national reckoning on race relations and policing.

    Other Republicans like former President George W. Bush had a more positive reaction, saying in a statement that it’s an “historic and hopeful moment for Catholics in America and for the faithful around the world.”

    Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat and only the second Catholic to be elected to the White House, also voiced support for the new pope on X: “Habemus papam — May God bless Pope Leo XIV of Illinois. Jill and I congratulate him and wish him success.”



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