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Pope: Algorithms lack "spark of humanity" Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios Pope Leo XIV is calling for the Catholic Church to work with artists to protect human creativity amid a glut of AI-generated content, Axios' Herb Scribner reports. 🤳 Leo wrote on X: "In this era of artificial intelligence, it is becoming urgent to distinguish human art from what machines produce." "There is an ontological difference, even before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others." "Algorithms lack the spark of humanity." 🤖 Leo has spoken out about AI and its influence on humanity before. In the first encyclical of his papacy, he said there was a need to "disarm" the technology to prevent it "from dominating humanity." He approved the creation of an AI commission in May to coordinate the church's policies and work around the emerging technology. Recently, Leo warned of a "paradise of machines" invading and taking over our daily activities. He also said that warnings from AI researchers should be "taken seriously." He told reporters on Monday: "We have to keep working. We can't just sit back and pretend nothing is going to happen." Go deeper.

👎 The House's unimpressive year Source: Ballotpedia, Congressional Record; Chart: Stef Kight/Axios The Senate is well on its way to claiming the congressional attendance trophy this year, spending 32 more weekdays in session than the House so far. Why it matters: Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson have both been torched by members for all the time off — not to mention by Democrats, who taunt them for their truancy. The Senate left town late Wednesday — two weeks after its House counterparts — putting both chambers out of town until after the Nov. 3 midterms. "I suppose I left the House two years too soon," Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) told us, joking about how many fewer days the House has worked compared to the Senate this Congress. Between the lines: Under the chambers' current calendars, the Senate is on pace to finish the year with about 126 weekdays in session, compared with 92 for the House. Zoom in: Some of the House's time off was unplanned. Johnson has repeatedly sent members home early when his razor-thin majority has run into trouble on the floor, or GOP rebels have blocked passage of a procedural "rule." "Canceling yet another day of votes is unacceptable," Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) wrote on X after Johnson canceled a session day. "The founders did not envision taking this much time off and still getting paid." The other side: Johnson repeatedly argues that his chamber has already done its job. "This House has been the second most productive in terms of legislation in the history of the institution since 1789," Johnson told reporters this month, saying the House had passed more than 900 pieces of legislation and roughly 700 were awaiting Senate action. Johnson's 900-plus figure includes resolutions that can't become law. The Washington Post found the House had passed 732 bills capable of becoming law through Aug. 31. — Stef Kight and Kate Santaliz

⚔️ Dems' double-edged sword House Democrats' dream election scenario risks becoming a real headache next year, trapping leaders between emboldened left-wing lawmakers and a potentially even larger group of newcomers from red districts. Why it matters: Democrats got an early taste of pain last month when Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) repeatedly broke with party leadership on key procedural votes. The defections from a pair of independent-minded frontliners unlocked a new fear for House Democrats: That safe-seat progressives aren't the only rebellious freshmen House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will have to worry about next year. It's a salient concern as Democrats put ever more Republican-leaning seats on their radar in anticipation of a "blue wave" on Election Day. Between the lines: This swing-district independent streak is bound to come into conflict with the rebellions that safe-seat insurgents are planning. Left-leaning Democratic lawmakers and candidates have told us they want votes on core policy issues such as Medicare for All, abolishing ICE and cutting aid to Israel. The kind of candidate that gets elected to a seat that President Trump carried by double digits in 2024 is not going to want to take those votes — in fact, they may be more likely to fund ICE and Israel. What they're saying: "I will stand up to Republicans; I will also stand up to Democrats. I talk a lot about this," said Michigan swing-district candidate Christina Hines. Minnesota Democratic nominee Jake Johnson said it's "no wonder people have historically low levels of confidence in Congress" because they "see a bunch of people put on red shirts and blue shirts ... and it's just not working." Montana candidate Sam Forstag pointed to housing as an issue on which he has broken with Democrats in his state, telling us: "When it comes to zoning reform, you know who I've seen be the biggest impediment to progress? Oftentimes, Democrats." "You bet your ass I'm going to work with Republicans," he said. The intrigue: Some of these red-seat candidates are quite openly progressive and partisan. The common denominator: They're all hearing voters' frustration with party leadership and, if elected, they would arrive on Capitol Hill with a mandate to shake up the system and remain independent. Missouri House candidate Fred Wellman, who told us he is "very Democrat" and "fairly progressive," said he was "disappointed" that Jeffries met with Jared Kushner in August. Wellman said he will "make a decision when I get there" about whether to vote for Jeffries as speaker and doesn't "intend to be a rubber stamp." Zoom in: Democratic operatives told us this leadership-skeptic attitude extends, in some cases, to candidates not wanting party leaders to campaign for them. "There's very little appetite for anyone in Democratic leadership," said one consultant of the battleground-district House campaigns they are working with. Matt Herdman, an adviser to Maine Democrat Matt Dunlap, offered us a curt response when asked if they would welcome Jeffries to their district: "They haven't offered and we haven't asked." The bottom line: None of this rebelliousness has so far turned off the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which Jeffries and his leadership allies control. The House Democratic campaign arm has been spending heavily to support Gluesenkamp Perez even after some of her colleagues called for her to be cut off. Fittingly, Gluesenkamp Perez declared in a coordinated ad with the DCCC released Tuesday: "I don't answer to any political party or any president." — Andrew Solender

In Lakeland visit, JD Vance says Angie Nixon ‘doesn’t belong in America’ LAKELAND — Vice President JD Vance said in Florida Thursday that it was almost “too easy” to attack the candidacies of the two top Democrats running on the statewide ballot next month, David Jolly for governor and Angie Nixon for U.S. Senate. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/01/in-lakeland-visit-j-d-vance-says-angie-nixon-doesnt-belong-in-america/? ps:What a piece of work he is!!!!! Uthmeier alleges Pfizer misled Florida about its COVID vaccine’s safety Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit Thursday against Pfizer Inc., alleging unfair and deceptive marketing of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/01/uthmeier-alleges-pfizer-misled-florida-about-its-covid-vaccines-safety/? ps:Wow are these guys pathetic!!!!! Mothers face barriers to accessing mental healthcare, survey shows Having theoretical access to healthcare doesn’t mean you can take advantage of it, as underscored by a report examining mothers’ experiences for themselves and their children. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/01/mothers-face-barriers-to-accessing-mental-healthcare-survey-shows/?

HORROR IN FLORIDA: Father Stabs 17-Year-Old Twins to Death Before Taking His Own Life in Orlando Home A horrifying family tragedy unfolded in Central Florida after authorities say a father stabbed his 17-year-old twins to death before taking his own life. Ivan Montiel Roa, 63, is believed to have murdered his teenage children, Carlo Montiel Infantino and Melanie Montiel Infantino, inside the family’s Orlando-area residence before dying by suicide, according to FOX 35 Orlando. Deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 1200 block of Courtney Chase Circle on Wednesday, September 30, for a well-being check. When deputies entered the residence, they discovered Carlo and Melanie dead in the living room. Both teenagers had suffered multiple stab wounds, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Their father was also found dead inside the home. “Detectives believe Ivan murdered Carlo and Melanie and then committed suicide,” the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said, according to FOX 35 Orlando. Authorities have not publicly disclosed a motive or established exactly when the killings occurred. The investigation remains ongoing. The teenage twins attended Cypress Creek High School in Orlando. Orange County Public Schools confirmed the deaths of two students and said grief counselors were being made available to students and staff affected by the devastating news, according to WESH 2. The family had already suffered a major loss only months earlier. According to Univision Orlando, the twins’ mother and Roa’s wife died in June. The outlet also reported that the Sheriff’s Office had no record of previous calls for service at the residence and that none of the three family members had criminal histories. Those revelations only deepen the mystery surrounding what could have driven a father to allegedly carry out such an unspeakable act against his own children. Neighbors were left stunned by the grisly discovery in what residents described as a normally quiet community. Florida State Rep. Rita Harris, who lives nearby, called the deaths “a tragedy” and said the community was heartbroken. “It’s devastating as a mom, as a human being,” Harris told WESH. Carlo and Melanie were just 17 years old. Investigators have not released further information about what may have happened inside the home before the killings. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigation remains active. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/10/horror-florida-father-stabs-17-year-old-twins/

Kushner Busted as Secret Dealings Come to Light Trump’s son-in-law’s company is profiting from one of the wars the president has sent him to help mediate. Jared Kushner has been helping broker an end to the war in Gaza while his company sits on a billion-dollar stake in a group investing in Israeli military suppliers. Kushner’s private equity group, Affinity Partners, has emerged as the largest shareholder in Phoenix Financial, a Tel Aviv group that has invested at least $456 million in nine companies that provide weapons and equipment to Israeli forces, CNN reports. Affinity, owned solely by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, does not directly hold stock in those nine firms, and the network said it found no evidence that Kushner’s diplomatic work for the Trump administration had affected Phoenix’s investment decisions. But the overlap has renewed questions about the potential for conflicts of interest in Kushner’s dual role as both a private investor and an unofficial White House representative in one of the world’s most sensitive and long-running conflicts. Affinity first bought a 4.95 percent stake in Phoenix for $128.5 million in July 2024. It roughly doubled that position less than a week before Trump, 80, returned to office in January 2025. The bet paid off handsomely after Affinity sold about a quarter of its Phoenix holdings in July for $340 million, a fivefold return on what it originally paid for those shares, according to CNN. It still owns a 7.4 percent stake in Phoenix, which was worth more than $1 billion at the time of the sale. Phoenix’s military-linked holdings include at least $265 million in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer. It also holds more than $68 million in drone-camera maker Next Vision, roughly $56 million in military-engine producer Bet Shemesh Engines, and at least $40 million in Reshef Technologies, which makes electronic fuses for artillery shells. Kushner has become one of Trump’s central Middle East intermediaries during the president’s second term, helping to negotiate the October 2025 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as well as working on Trump’s plans for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. The president’s son-in-law has also joined Trump envoy Steve Witkoff in negotiations aimed at ending Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as well as the U.S. war with Iran. He held no formal role in the White House before Trump named him a Special Envoy for Peace in February. Before then, he was not subject to the same financial-disclosure and transparency requirements imposed on officials. His new title does not make him a government employee, and it is unclear which federal ethics rules now apply to him. Kushner worked as an official senior adviser to the president during the first Trump administration. At the time, he resigned from the family real-estate business and agreed to shed foreign investments, stocks, and other assets to avoid conflicts of interest. His lawyer told CNN that he has “never participated in or directed Phoenix’s decisions” about its investments and had “no involvement in the decision to purchase, hold, or sell any of the nine companies” the network identified. The Daily Beast has contacted the White House, Kushner’s representatives, and Affinity for comment on this story. Democrats have already signaled that Kushner could face congressional scrutiny if the party takes control of the House after November’s midterms, ahead of which they hold an almost 9-point lead over the GOP. Rep. Jamie Raskin told Reuters last month that Kushner “is a corporate executive that we absolutely will need to talk to” if those polls go his party’s way. He added that Kushner had already failed to answer two letters about Affinity’s dealings with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates while he has worked on diplomacy for the administration. He has also set his sights on other members of the first family, including the president himself, who have faced separate conflict-of-interest accusations as their wealth has ballooned since Trump returned to the White House last year. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-son-in-law-jared-kushner-busted-as-secret-dealings-in-israel-come-to-light/? ps:This is even more Pathetic!!

Texas mom shoots daughter, 4, in murder-suicide hours after losing custody battle A Texas mom shot dead her 4-year-old daughter in a murder-suicide just hours after losing a custody battle with the girl’s dad. Cibelle Savella, 35, was supposed to hand over her daughter, Vivian, to her ex-husband, Aaron Savella, on Tuesday night – but instead shot her dead in her $824,000 Houston home and then turned the gun on herself, ABC13 reported. “There was a custody hearing earlier today that didn’t go well for the mother,” Houston Police Lieutenant Larry Crowson said. “She came home, shot her 4-year-old, and then shot herself.” The mom was initially hospitalized but died a day later. Savella, originally from Brazil, divorced Aaron in November 2024 after just four years of marriage, leading to a bitter legal battle over their daughter. In her latest loss just eight hours before the murder-suicide, the mom was banned from speaking to her daughter in her native Portuguese unless one of the supervisors could speak the language, the Mail reported, citing the filing. The mom was also banned from attending any school performances and extracurricular activities, ordered to pay child support to her ex and cover 50% of any out-of-pocket medical expenses. It was not immediately clear why Savella lost custody and was hit with such stringent restrictions over her daughter. The little girl’s surviving relatives said they were “devastated.” “Vivian was 4 years old. She was loved without limit by her father, Aaron, and by everyone whose life she touched. There are no words for what has been taken from us. “Aaron did everything the law asks of a parent who is trying to protect his child. He trusted the courts. “He followed every order. He waited for the process to work. On Tuesday, a judge placed Vivian in his primary care, and she was supposed to come home to him that evening. She never did.” Lawyer Charlotte Rainwater, who represented Aaron Savella, said “the family is devastated by this outcome,” KHOU reported. “I’ve been practicing family law for 28 years and have never experienced anything like this. “I don’t think anyone in this courtroom on Tuesday contemplated this could be the outcome.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/texas-mom-shoots-daughter-4-in-murder-suicide-hours-after-losing-custody-battle/ar-AA2dq0Te

Natalie Harp Forced to Watch Trump Thirst Over Younger Aide The president gushed about the “beautiful woman” from his rally stage. Donald Trump’s devoted 35-year-old aide Natalie Harp was forced to watch the president gush over an even younger colleague at a campaign rally. Trump, 80, plans to visit at least 17 states ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms as part of a MAGA blitz to keep Republican control of Congress. After a quick trip to Texas, Trump spoke in Oklahoma on Thursday evening at a rally for Republican gubernational candidate Mike Mazzei. His executive assistant Harp was once again part of his entourage, as was White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.However, while “Human Printer” Harp stood on the sidelines, Trump called up on stage his 31-year-old communications adviser, Margo Martin, praising her for almost two minutes and calling her a social media “sensation.”Martin regularly posts videos of Trump on her social media, and he once called her “the most beautiful photographer in the world.” Fox News has also previously mistaken Martin for first lady Melania Trump, and social media users have dubbed her “Fake Melania.” Trump said Martin, who grew up in Ada, Oklahoma, “is known for a number of things,” then said, “I can’t mention one, because if I do, my political career will be over.” The senior president went there anyway, saying, “You can never say that a woman is beautiful. If you say a woman is beautiful, that’s the end of your political career. But, I’ll say it anyway, she is a beautiful woman, inside and out.” Trump previously made the same claim during a speech for Women’s History Month in March, where he complained he was no longer allowed to call women “beautiful.” “Usually, it’s the end of your political career,” he said in March. “If you say a woman’s a beautiful woman, they say that’s the termination of his career.” On Thursday, the president then insisted the “shy” Martin come to the stage, saying, “Look at this. Look at this. And I’m not allowed... I’m not allowed to say she’s beautiful. You believe that, she is beautiful. But she’s beautiful inside and out, and she’s been so loyal.” Trump then gave Martin’s parents a shout-out, saying, “I see why she’s good-looking, actually. You know, I believe in the racehorse theory. Fast horses, right? Great mom and dad. Thank you very much. Great job, Margo.” The president has invoked his racehorse theory before, saying that humans are like racehorses and genetics dictates who succeeds, so fast horses produce fast horses. When Trump raised the theory in 2020, Jewish leaders pointed out it had links to the concept that selective breeding can improve a country’s performance, which Nazis used to foster goals of racial purity. “You have good genes, you know that, right?” Trump told a mostly white crowd of supporters in 2020. “You have good genes. A lot of it is about the genes, isn’t it? Don’t you believe? The racehorse theory. You think we’re so different? You have good genes in Minnesota.” At the time, Rabbi Mark Diamond, a senior lecturer on Jewish studies at Loyola Marymount University, said Trump’s remarks were “beyond reprehensible,” and said the selective breeding theory was “at the heart of Nazi ideology. This week, the president’s niece Mary called out his “creepy” relationship with females aides less than half his age, such as Harp and Martin. “One thing that constantly mystifies me is the extent to which people on the right overlook just how creepy all of this is,” Mary Trump wrote on her Substack. “I mean, his relationships with younger women, very young women. Why is that okay with people? It’s dysfunctional to the point of deviance.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/natalie-harp-forced-to-watch-trump-thirst-over-younger-aide-margo-martin/? ps:How pathetic!!

Mom accused of starving 2 young girls to death after family feared Lindsay Clancy copycat A South Carolina mom has been charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse after cops found her two infant children dead at her home, with the mother telling investigators she couldn’t remember when she last gave them anything to eat or drink. Justine Marie May told officers the last two weeks had been a “blur” and admitted to neglecting the two girls — 1-year-old Harlow and 2-year-old Emory Deacon — when they responded Tuesday to a welfare call at her home in Ladson outside Charleston, according to an affidavit obtained by WCIV. May’s relatives believed the 31-year-old was suffering from postpartum depression and wrote to her referencing the Lindsay Clancy murder trial in Massachusetts to express fears that she might do something similar and harm her children, the Post and Courier reported. “Lindsay Clancy is on trial right now for killing her 3 children!” wrote the female family member in the email to May in early September, referencing the triple-murder case that ended in a mistrial last month. “This has been the fresh hell your family has been living every day that you don’t communicate or let us see the girls,” the relative went on. “Would Justine do this? No. Would this dark entity that is behind Justine’s eyes do this? This haunts my worst nightmares,” the email went on. May posted screenshots of messages with her ex-boyfriend — Harlow and Emory’s father, Zachary Deacon — on her Facebook page in the weeks leading up to the two girls’ deaths, the Post and Courier reported. “This is not harassment. I am genuinely terrified for the kids,” Deacon wrote in one of the texts. “Are you going to hurt one of the kids to get back at me?” In a separate Facebook post on Sept. 9, May reportedly complained about persistent welfare checks at her home due to Deacon calling the police. “Of course, they found absolutely nothing wrong because I am an amazing mom,” she wrote. May reportedly responded to another family member’s message expressing concern about the kids and her “unhinged” social media presence in a Sept. 13 Facebook post. “I am perfectly capable of deciding who is best for my children. And they are having the time of their life wit [sic] people who have always wanted to be around them wit [sic] me begging for it,” she wrote. When police arrived on Tuesday, May came out of the house “and began crying and speaking incoherently,” according to the affidavit. Harlow and Emory’s bodies were found inside the home and were “obviously deceased,” the affidavit continued. May told officers she “did not remember the last time she fed or gave her two children something to drink,” and added that she “believed the children died because they did not eat,” according to the affidavit. https://nypost.com/2026/10/03/us-news/south-carolina-mom-allegedly-killed-her-daughters-family-referenced-lindsay-clancy/

A North Texas mother allegedly opened fire on her two young sons inside a mobile home, killing both before attempting to take her own life, authorities said Friday. Ellis County Sheriff’s deputies rushed to the trailer in the 500 block of Big Sky Drive in Waxahachie around 4 a.m. Thursday after Colleen Lemmon, 42, allegedly shot her kids in the head and slit her own wrists, according to police and reports. “It’s heartbreaking, and I’m praying for them,” neighbor Ida Brown told FOX 4. “I’m praying for God just to let me understand, you know. There is no understanding, I guess, but it just hurts, and I didn’t even know them and it hurts.” One victim, 21-year-old Christopher Pitre, was found dead inside the home, while his 15-year-old brother, Brian Pitre, was rushed to an area hospital in critical condition before later dying from his injuries, NBC 5 reported. Lemmon was slapped with two counts of capital murder and booked into the Wayne McCollum Detention Center in Waxahachie. Scott Pitre, the boys’ father, told NBC 5 that Brian had just celebrated his 15th birthday, and that he wants justice. Deputies discovered Lemmon drenched in blood with self-inflicted lacerations on her wrists and a handgun nearby, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by FOX 4. She reportedly confessed to responding officers: “I shot both my kids.” https://nypost.com/2026/10/03/us-news/north-texas-mom-fatally-shoots-two-sons-fails-to-kill-herself/

Mining and Merchants in Ancient Arabia Archaeological work at the site of Al-Ma’mala in Al-Aqiq Governorate, Al-Baha (Saudi Arabia) is beginning to reveal a substantial early Islamic settlement associated with mining, trade, and movement across southwestern Arabia. Reporting after the Heritage Commission’s fourth season of excavation, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) describes Al-Ma’mala as a center for the extraction of gold, silver, and copper across different historical periods. For readers of the Bible, the site presents a picture of economic activity that is consistent with earlier descriptions of the Arabian Peninsula found in the Bible. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/mining-and-merchants-in-ancient-arabia/?

This 2 year old was a severely impaired toddler with profound disabilities. Try taking care of a child like this sometime. Unless you want to care for the baby yourself, hold off on the judgment.

What went wrong was allowing executions to become a medical matter instead of a law enforcement issue. Some countries have routine executions without problem. A bullet to the back of the head is about as foolproof as one can get. If they had medical personnel on staff who knew enough about intravenous infusions, they would have realized when the victim started complaining about pain in her arm. It is called extravasation. The blood flows into the body rather than the vein. Starting IVs can be tricky. Most hospitals specially train and certify nurses to do difficult insertions. They develop and maintain their skills through continuous practice. The real problem is administration who have refused to have special executions teams with IV skills. Better yet, insist that executions be carried out by law enforcement personnel. Don't fool around with 9mm slugs. Use a .45.

Lot easier to lie than to remain celibate. A mother posting about her gay son claimed that, even though he was living with another gay boy, they were celibate. Anybody believeing that two gay young men living together are celibate doesn't understand the gay community or the nature of sin. Sin is not something people can control. Homosexuals usually can't just turn off their libido. Neither are they capable of being truthful about their activities. They may repress their desire, which can lead to other uncontrollable abominations. People can be delivered from homosexuality in the same way alcoholics and junkies are delivered from their addictions. Some may" hibernate" for awhile. In their hearts, they remain alcoholics, junkies whatever. Synanon operated a very successful live in treatment center, for various addictive behaviors, e.g., alcoholics, substance abusers, gamblers. Some stayed in the program for years, clean and sober. Even so, when they left the program, even after a decade or more "inside," many returned to their addictive habits. Some homosexuals "get the cure" marry, have children and still return to homosexuality. Read the book "Mindhunters" for insight on the workings of sociopathic minds.

Kennedy Center Honors to be held at Capital One Arena amid fight over adding Trump’s name This year’s Kennedy Center Honors will be held at Washington’s Capital One Arena, not the riverfront building that’s been at the center of a legal fight over adding President Donald Trump’s name to the building. https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-center-capital-one-arena-be02720cea36924402c8ed0630c1ce9f?

Pope Leo seeks status update of Francis’ divisive opening to divorced and remarried Catholics VATICAN CITY (AP) — Ten years after Pope Francis sent shock waves through the Catholic Church with his outreach to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, Pope Leo XIV is inviting church leaders to Rome next week to understand how Francis’ document has been implemented. https://apnews.com/article/pope-divorce-francis-heresy-809dc35f7389807e3340883257759f87?

Pete Hegseth creates a Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs reporting directly to him WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is launching an office of religious affairs, the latest of his faith-related reforms at the Pentagon. https://apnews.com/article/pete-hegseth-defense-department-pentagon-religion-41405eb6dd60ca5a3f45fe3387f82952?

Loud worship and other contrasts set apart Kenya's large community of Quakers Inside a Quaker meeting house in western Kenya, loud music complete with modern instruments can be heard from a few miles away, a sharp contrast to the silence that is the norm among Quakers in the U.S. There are an estimated 400,000 Quakers worldwide. About half live in Africa; most are in Kenya. Read more. Why this matters: In most Quaker houses of worship worldwide, there is no clergy, pulpit or altar. No one sings or chants, burns incense or lights candles. They do not speak until a message from God moves through them. In Kenya, the Quakers worship loudly. When Quaker missionaries arrived in Kenya in 1902, they introduced a version of Quakerism that featured slow hymns and evangelism. Over the years, Kenyan Quakers grew in numbers after adding more tempo to the music and incorporating modern instruments to attract young people, who found the previous music boring. Robert Wafula, head of a Quaker theological college in Kenya, says that Quaker doctrine, which is founded on peace, has been useful during ethnic tensions and postelection violence in Kenya, as well as in regional conflicts. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Young adults turn to Quakers’ silent worship to offset — and cope with — a noisy world Kenya to pay compensation to almost 2,000 victims of violent protests Quakers at a glance: A look at the faith’s beliefs and the tradition of activism and silent worship

Mamdani releases plan to combat antisemitism as concerns linger over his criticism of Israel Mayor Zohran Mamdani has unveiled a sweeping plan to combat antisemitism and hate crimes against Jewish people in New York City, moving to assuage concerns from critics who see his steadfast denunciations of Israeli policies as antisemitic. The strategy includes increased security funding for synagogues, an increased focus on folding Jewish history into public school education, and a pledge to highlight important Jewish cultural and religious sites in Mamdani's day-to-day governance of the city. Read more. Why this matters: Under the plan, City Hall will increase grant funding to community organizations that focus on hate crime prevention and survivor support. It will also work with public schools to address complaints of discrimination and launch public awareness campaigns on the city's human rights law and how to report suspected discrimination. Mamdani, the city's first Muslim mayor, has long been a vocal supporter of Palestinian civil rights and has accused the Israeli government of committing a genocide in Gaza. He says his criticism of Israel doesn't amount to antisemitism, though his opponents argue his heated rhetoric has made Jewish people feel unsafe in the city. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, praised elements of the mayor's plan but called on Mamdani to lower the temperature on his rhetoric about Israel. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ How Democrats in America’s most Jewish city embraced a critic of Israel for New York mayor NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani skips annual parade celebrating Israel Netanyahu says Mamdani endangers Jewish New Yorkers by spreading lies about Israel’s actions in Gaza As Abdul El-Sayed breaks a barrier, anti-Muslim vitriol surges on multiple fronts

US hiring slows and unemployment ticks higher with a month remaining before Americans head to polls WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a disappointing 29,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked up last month, the government reported Friday, a month before voters go to the polls in pivotal midterm elections at a time of discontent over the high cost of living and the state of the economy. https://apnews.com/article/jobs-unemployment-economy-ai-hiring-44b99f9ccbff863888af99402ddf535e?

🎉 Yahoo! It’s Friday! You made it. Notable quotable: “Absolutely not,” said Victor Wembanyama on Thursday when asked if he’d ever sign a deal with a sports betting company, as some of his peers have. “I would never do that. Honestly, I think it’s very sad to see some players promote it.” In today’s edition: Braves eliminate Phillies, Aces eliminate Fever, Browns improve to 3-1, Behind the Lens, the NHL’s wealthy youth movement, Weekend Watchlist, Guess the Logo, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   ⚾️ DIVISION SERIES 12 TEAMS ENTERED, 8 REMAIN Michael Harris II celebrates after Atlanta’s series-clinching victory. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) The Braves bounced back from a deflating Game 2 loss to defeat the Phillies, 6-2, on Thursday night in Atlanta and eliminate their division rivals, who have now lost four straight winner-take-all games dating back to 1980. ICYMI: Three shutdown innings from an improbable source, 32-year-old southpaw Ray Kerr, set the tone. Michael Harris II hopped on a first-inning Aaron Nola sinker for a three-run tank, and the rest was epilogue. The Braves now head to Los Angeles, where a familiar foe awaits. (Yahoo Sports) What’s next: All four best-of-five Division Series begin on Saturday, with Milwaukee, Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Los Angeles hosting Game 1. Brewers vs. Padres: Milwaukee’s prize for winning a franchise-record 103 games? A date with the hottest team in baseball. But let’s not forget who we’re talking about here. The Brewers went 15-3 down the stretch themselves, and get to start Jacob Misiorowski twice if the series goes long enough. Rays vs. Yankees: New York mashes homers and has MLB’s second-highest payroll, while Tampa Bay plays small-ball and has the fourth-lowest payroll. One notable similarity between these AL East rivals? They both shove. The Yankees led the majors in ERA (3.24), while the Rays led the majors in WHIP (1.14). Guardians vs. White Sox: Chicago led the AL Central for most of the summer before Cleveland stole the division with a September surge. Now they’ll meet in a series featuring some of MLB’s best rookies, including Chicago’s Munetaka Murakami (35 HR) and Cleveland’s Parker Messick (12-9, 2.56 ERA). Braves vs. Dodgers: Los Angeles’ bid to become baseball’s first three-peat champion since the 1998-2000 Yankees begins against a team that gave them fits all season. Atlanta won five of six meetings, but now faces a rested Dodgers rotation featuring Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. Go deeper: Division Series previews, predictions and more   📸 SNAPSHOTS THROUGH THE LENS (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) 🏈 Cleveland, Ohio The Browns are 3-1 and alone atop the AFC North after beating the Steelers, 27-24, on “Thursday Night Football” for their third straight victory. Pittsburgh erased a 14-point deficit and tied the game in the final two minutes, but Deshaun Watson led Cleveland into field-goal range and Andre Szmyt drilled a 56-yarder with 10 seconds left to win it. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images) 🏀 Las Vegas, Nevada For the second consecutive year, the Aces ended the Fever’s season — this time with a 94-83 victory in Game 3 to secure their eighth straight trip to the WNBA semifinals. Reigning MVP A’ja Wilson powered the home team with 36 points and 10 rebounds, while Chelsea Gray came alive late to tally 23 points alongside five assists. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) 🏒 New York, New York Igor Shesterkin beat the Lightning at both ends of the ice on Thursday, stopping 24 of 25 shots and scoring on an empty net to lift the Rangers to a 5-1 win in their home opener. He’s just the 18th goaltender in NHL history to score a goal and first to do it for the Rangers. Two games into the season, he’s tied for the team lead in goals.   📸 PHOTOGRAPHY BEHIND THE LENS (Maja Hitij/Getty Images) Each week, Yahoo Sports AM goes "Behind the Lens" with Getty Images to share the stories behind the best photographs in sports. This week's photo: The second wave of runners takes off along the famous Straße des 17. Juni at the start of the Berlin Marathon, as shot from the viewing platform of the Victory Column in the city center. Photographer: Maja Hitij Location: Berlin, Germany Date: Sept. 27 Behind the lens: Take it away, Maja… I usually run the Berlin Marathon myself, so it had been a few years since I photographed it. I was actually quite nervous I wouldn't make it in time, because during the race the city is heavily closed off and the distances between shooting locations can be quite long. So, I packed my gear into my backpack and set off by bike. First thing in the morning I went to check if the Victory Column was open to have a nice general view of the race. After climbing all 285 steps to the viewing platform I realized it was too high up to photograph the elite athletes, so I came back later and climbed up again for the second wave, which is where this image was taken. Around 56,000 runners started the 52nd edition of this World Marathon Major, and I wanted to capture the colors of the autumn trees in Tiergarten Park — quite a famous running spot in Berlin. Luckily, a little sunlight broke through at just the right moment, lighting up some of the trees as thousands of runners began their race. There's something special about watching everyone run past. It brings back memories of standing at that very same starting line myself — when your legs still feel fresh, the excitement is everywhere, and you have no idea how you will feel in the end when you eventually come back to the finish. Equipment and technique: Maja shot this with a Canon R1 100-300mm and a 145mm lens with f/7.1 at a shutter speed of 1/1600th of a second.   🏒 SHOW ME THE MONEY THE NHL'S WEALTHY YOUTH MOVEMENT This offseason brought the NHL's greatest riches to its youngest players, resuming a trend that was halted during and after the pandemic. Youth movement: Four of the top 10 highest-paid players (by average annual value of their contracts) are 22 years old or younger. The average age of those 10 players is 26, comfortably the youngest average of the last decade. Several young stars signed lucrative extensions this offseason, repeatedly usurping the throne as the NHL's highest-paid players in history. Among those shooting to the top of this season's rankings were Leo Carlsson of the Ducks and the Blackhawks' Connor Bedard. The list will likely get even younger next year, as the record extension signed this summer by 20-year-old Macklin Celebrini begins. Not sudden: The shift toward youth appears abrupt. In reality, it's the continuation of a trend that began pre-COVID, when a generation of elite stars like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews signed lucrative, long-term extensions. However, the salary cap flattened in the years following the pandemic, forcing the next wave into more modest bridge contracts. With little cap space to replace them, the NHL's incumbent high-earners remained at the top of the pay scale. The salary cap has returned to strong growth in recent seasons, with continued growth projected into the future. Those increases have allowed teams to resume spending heavily on young talent. The recent expiry of the league's CBA also created a rush of buzzer-beating big-money extensions, as the maximum number of years decreased from eight to seven under the new CBA. Growth investment: The league's teams are deeply invested in the next generation of superstars. Now, the NHL has to make them household names. This was written by Dylan Dittrich and will appear in today's edition of Yahoo Sports Biz, landing in inboxes soon.   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before last season's Vikings-Browns game. (Julian Finney/Getty Images) 🏈 NFL Sunday The Raiders host the Chiefs (4:25pm ET, CBS) in a matchup of undefeated teams, headlining a slate that also features Rams at Eagles (1pm, Fox), Jaguars at Bengals (1pm, CBS), Cowboys at Texans (1pm, Fox), Broncos at 49ers (4:25pm, CBS) and Lions at Panthers (8:20pm, NBC). London calling: Before any of those games kick off, the Commanders and Colts play at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (9:30am, NFL) in the first London game of the season. 🏈 College Football Saturday Kamario Taylor and No. 16 Mississippi State host Keelon Russell and No. 7 Alabama (12pm, ABC) in the latest installment of a rivalry that dates to the 19th century. The day’s other ranked matchups: No. 5 Ohio State at No. 14 Iowa (3:30pm, CBS) and No. 8 Florida at No. 25 Missouri (3:30pm, ABC). Best of the rest: No. 3 Notre Dame at North Carolina (12pm, ESPN); Auburn at No. 17 Tennessee (3:30pm, ESPN); No. 10 BYU at TCU (7pm, ESPN); No. 4 Miami at Clemson (7:30pm, ABC); Washington at No. 18 USC (7:30pm, NBC); No. 12 Texas Tech at Colorado (7:30pm, Fox). ⚾️ MLB Division Series All four series get underway tomorrow, with the Guardians hosting the White Sox (1pm, TBS), the Dodgers hosting the Braves (4pm, Fox), the Rays hosting the Yankees (6:30pm, TBS) and the Brewers hosting the Padres (8:30pm, FS1). On Sunday, the AL gets a breather and the NL plays Game 2. Must-see pitcher: Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski takes the bump today following one of the greatest regular seasons of all time. His .157 opponent batting average is the best ever, his 105.5 MPH fastball is the fastest ever by a starter, and his 0.802 WHIP is the third-lowest by a qualified starter, trailing only 2000 Pedro Martínez (0.737) and 1913 Walter Johnson (0.78). 🏀 WNBA Playoffs The Valkyries host the Wings tonight (9pm, ESPN2) in a winner-take-all Game 3 for the final spot in the semifinals. Can Golden State’s vaunted defense contain Arike Ogunbowale after she erupted for a WNBA postseason-record 45 points in Game 2? Final Four: The winner will join the Dream, Liberty and Aces in the semifinals, which tip off on Sunday. More to watch: ⚽️ Friendly: USMNT vs. Mexico (Sat. 10pm, TNT) … The rivals square off outside Phoenix as the Americans look to stay undefeated during this extended break. 🏒 NHL: Rangers at Red Wings (Fri. 6:30pm, TNT); Blues at Stars (Fri. 9pm, TNT); Kraken at Oilers (Sat. 7pm, NHL); Jets at Red Wings (Sun. 1pm, NHL) 🏀 NBA Preseason: Heat vs. Raptors (Sat. 7pm, NBA); Jazz vs. Nuggets (Sun. 7pm, NBA); Warriors vs. Clippers in Hawaii (Sun. 7pm, League Pass) … Preseason tip-off. 🏎️ F1: Bahrain Grand Prix (Sun. 3am, Apple) … Mercedes will look to continue its dominant run after winning 11 of the first 15 races this season. 🏁 NASCAR: Las Vegas (Sun. 5:30pm, USA) … After this weekend, the 10-race Chase will be halfway complete. Plus: 👊 UFC 332 in Salt Lake City (Sat. 8pm, Paramount+); ⛳️ PGA’s Bank of Utah Championship and LPGA’s Lotte Championship (Fri-Sun, Golf); ⚽️ NWSL Week 24 (Fri-Sun, Prime/ABC/CBSSN) Got plans this weekend? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city.   🔍 LET'S PLAY GUESS THE LOGO Question: Can you guess this college football team based on the first logo it used? Hint: West Coast. Answer at the bottom.   🏈 SATURDAY'S SLATE MAKE YOUR PICKS! (Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports) Another week, another chance to climb the leaderboard in our College Football Challenge. Make your picks: This week's games include No. 7 Alabama (-5.5) at No. 16 Mississippi State, No. 5 Ohio State (-13.5) at No. 14 Iowa, and No. 8 Florida (-4.5) at No. 25 Missouri, plus seven more matchups to pick against the spread. Who ya got?   🏎️ START YOUR ENGINES YAHOO SPORTS x APPLE TV (Apple) This weekend's Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2026 continues our season-long partnership with Apple TV for F1 coverage. Tune in: You'll have to burn the midnight oil to enjoy the proceedings this weekend. The final practice session (Sat. 12:30am ET) and qualifying (Sat. 4am) will air for free on Yahoo Sports, while Sunday's race (3am) will stream on Apple TV, the new U.S. home of Formula 1.   Trivia answer: Washington Huskies. The team's short-lived "Sun Dodger" mascot (1919-22) alluded to Seattle's rainy weather — a negative characterization many locals disliked. The school introduced the Husky at a basketball game in 1922, and the rest is history.

Trump’s shift from ‘Housing First’ is causing upheaval for homelessness programs and many they serve The Trump administration is shifting federal policy and dollars away from the “Housing First” approach, a model rooted in the belief that people need a stable place to live before addressing their other issues such as substance use disorder and job readiness. Across America, nearly 750,000 people were homeless last year, according to an estimate compiled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Read more. Why this matters: Many opponents of Housing First policies don't think services including addiction and mental health treatment should be optional. “Housing First has failed our most vulnerable and enabled addiction,” HUD said in an email. Housing organizations across the U.S. that depend on federal funds are now reluctantly making changes to comply with new government policies that favor the “Treatment First” approach and short-term “transitional” housing which favors mandatory services for addiction and serious mental illness — changes they fear will push people with extreme health risks back on the street. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: What Trump’s homelessness policy means for the most vulnerable FACT FOCUS: The poverty rate is at an all-time low, but there are other factors to consider Rural MAHA followers say Trump hasn’t improved health of their communities, an AP-KFF poll finds

Christa Pike is in critical condition after Tennessee’s failed execution attempt, her lawyers say Christa Pike was receiving “lifesaving care” at a hospital Thursday, her lawyers said, a day after a failed attempt to execute her pushed Tennessee’s governor to halt further executions this year and order an independent review. Read more. What to know: The Associated Press was among those who witnessed her failed execution, which one death penalty expert described as unprecedented. It was not immediately clear what went wrong. Attorney Randy Spivey said the execution team worked for an hour to administer the lethal drugs. Spivey called the process cruel and torturous. May Martinez, whose daughter was murdered by Pike and her boyfriend in 1995 and who traveled to Nashville to watch the execution, was also upset. “I didn’t get justice for my daughter,” Martinez told The Associated Press on Thursday. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: What AP witnessed during the failed lethal injection How Christa Pike’s failed execution unfolded, minute-by-minute Pentobarbital, the drug used in the failed execution, has come under past scrutiny Many states have backup execution plans, but failures still happen

Third aircraft carrier and thousands of troops head to Mideast as Trump weighs new Iran strikes The U.S. military is dispatching roughly 9,000 troops aboard a group of ships to the Middle East, a U.S. official said Thursday. The troop movement, which includes a third aircraft carrier, underscores the rapidly evolving dynamic of President Donald Trump’s war against Iran as he ponders his next move. Read more. Why this matters: Trump has threatened that a post-midterm election escalation — despite his initial promises to Americans of a campaign that would last a matter of weeks— remains a viable option. Further complicating matters, Trump told reporters Thursday that early indications suggest that Iran is linked to the FlyDubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain and tried to crash an Israel-bound flight on Wednesday. Trump added that if the link to Iran is established, the United States would retaliate. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Dual UK-Iranian national arrested over security incident at US-run air base in England Pete Hegseth creates a Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs reporting directly to him Supreme Court grants review of Trump administration’s mandatory detention policy for immigrants Trump administration says it has no plans for ICE officers at polls. Activists are preparing anyway DC judge permanently dismisses case charging ex-Olympian with vandalizing Reflecting Pool

October 2, 2026 By Sam Sifton Good morning. I want to share with you a moving collection of interviews with American librarians. But first, let’s get caught up on news about Cornell University’s investigation into an alleged rape at a fraternity house. The now-shuttered Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University. Heather Ainsworth for The New York Times In Ithaca This case has reverberated across the nation, provoking shock and anger and engulfing Cornell in crisis. Here’s the latest. The men accused of rape denied wrongdoing during interviews with university officials in 2024. Their accounts, detailed in hundreds of pages of investigative files obtained by The Times, were disjointed and sometimes contradictory. Read what they said. As details about Cornell’s investigation came to light yesterday, some students, alumni and victims’ advocates criticized the handling of the case by the school and the justice system. One reason for its twisted path: New York law says victims can’t claim to be “mentally incapacitated” if they are voluntarily intoxicated during an assault and therefore unable to consent. Some lawmakers in Albany proposed to update the statute this summer, but the speaker of the Assembly would not bring the bill to the floor for a vote. Cornell students gathered for a difficult meeting on campus. There were fiery testimonies, raw voices and pleas for action from school leadership. New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, named Letitia James, the New York State attorney general, to serve as special prosecutor to investigate the rape allegation. Parents across the country are talking to their kids about drinking, taking drugs, hooking up and getting consent. The conversations are difficult. Lyndon French for The New York Times In the stacks “My library is an archive of longings,” Susan Sontag wrote in her journal more than 40 years ago. It’s one of those lines that people like me see in a book — her son, David Rieff, published it in a collection of her journals — and write down in a notebook of their own as something to remember, to think about. Because all libraries are archives of longing: places to imagine, to investigate, to escape. They’re where the information is. They’re where people can go to dream, to plan, to think and above all to learn. Librarians make that possible. John Maher and Elisabeth Egan, colleagues on The New York Times Book Review, interviewed dozens of them this summer, asking about their jobs and lives and discussing what they provide and need to survive. Here’s what they told us. What does it mean to be a librarian in the United States right now? Librarians are defenders of democracy. We’re defenders of the freedom to read. We’re protectors of patron privacy. Libraries are one of the few places in this surveillance economy that are not trying to collect and sell your data to come and use our facilities. — Ed Garcia, Cranston, R.I., Cranston Public Library We’re a caring profession. We’re supposed to be helping people, not advocating. — Tamika Barnes, Atlanta, Georgia State University Library What challenges do libraries face today? Restricted access to information — whether that is book bans, or if people can’t get to a certain location, or if they’re immigrants or new Americans and they don’t even know exactly what a public library is. — Joan Firestein, Baltimore County, Md., Baltimore County Public Library The loudest voices in the room seem to be people that don’t like libraries. They’re the ones showing up to board meetings complaining about the books they don’t like. Some libraries are being defunded entirely. I don’t think most communities really want that. I don’t even think most conservative communities want that. I see a lot of home-school families with conservative backgrounds, and they’re using the library every day. — Holly Eberle, Algonquin, Ill., Algonquin Area Public Library District What were your most memorable interactions with people? A gentleman who had retired needed to go back to work. He did not have email, didn’t have a phone but knew he wanted to be a part-time cart pusher at Walmart because he could walk there and it would supplement his Social Security income. He came in, and we worked with him one day a week for about an hour. He would come back every now and again to check his email and then he stopped showing up. I went three, four months not knowing what happened to him. Then I went to Walmart one day and saw him pushing carts. He called me over and said, Hey, I got the job. — Conrrado Saldivar, Natrona, Wyo., Natrona County Library What would librarians do with $10,000 more in their budgets? I could completely overhaul my nonfiction section. When I started 10 years ago, a paperback was $4.99 or $5.99, and they are $9.99 or $10.99 now. Picture book hardcovers used to be $14 or $15, and now they’re at least $19 or $20. My budget has stayed stagnant or gone down, and book prices have only gone up. We still have Pluto books — Pluto doesn’t even exist as a planet anymore! With $10,000, I could buy every brand-new book that year. $10,000 feels like the moon. — Shawna Dees, Roseville, Minn., Roseville Area Schools What do they wish we knew about running a library? We are, in fact, educators. We don’t just sit behind the desk. We do more than just check out books. We educate the whole person. And we don’t know all the answers, but we can show you where to find the answers. — LeeSa McGhee, Milwaukee, Clarke Street School, Milwaukee Public Schools There’s so much more they told our reporters. And don’t sleep on the comments section! THE LATEST NEWS War in Ukraine Russia is planning to cut off major Ukrainian cities from power, heat and water this winter, according to Ukraine. Moscow also plans to spend more on the war, even if it brings more debt and health care cuts. Politics The Supreme Court will review the Trump administration’s policy of indefinitely detaining immigrants who illegally crossed the border years ago. Relatives of Renee Good sued the ICE agent who killed her in Minneapolis early this year, naming Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller and other current and former Trump officials as co-defendants. Botched Execution A lawyer for the Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike said she was in critical condition after lethal injections failed to kill her. Pike had received two doses of pentobarbital. The state’s governor suspended capital punishment, calling the botched execution “a tragedy.” How could someone survive two lethal doses of pentobarbital? A catheter carrying the drug may not have delivered the doses, or the drug may have been degraded, experts said. Read The Times’s profile of Pike, who was set to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. Other Big Stories A British-Iranian man was arrested on suspicion of terrorism after an incident at a British air base. When A.I. goes rogue, who should be responsible for the harm it causes? Many blame A.I. companies, but legal scholars say applying existing law could be messy. Two people were killed, two were taken to a hospital and the remains of a fifth were retrieved from the sea after a helicopter crash off Southern California. The rapper Rick Ross was arrested in Miami on domestic violence charges, including battery by strangulation, according to court records. OPINIONS Joe Biden’s administration struggled to earn trust. The Trump administration is making the same errors, Karine Jean-Pierre, Biden’s White House press secretary, argues. A.I. is technology. Stop talking to it like it’s human, a researcher argues. Friendships that are less active can still be strong ones, a psychologist writes. The Anniversary Sale ends soon: Morning readers, enjoy our best offer. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your interests with expert coverage of news, culture, business and more. Save now: $1/week for your first year. FREE TO READ Oxford Street: Look at these historic photos of London’s famous shopping road. A.I.: People in China are using chatbots for entertainment, relationships and farming advice. The government is trying to set limits. Is Claude conscious? Some people at Anthropic are trying to convince religious leaders it could be. Click the video below to watch. The New York Times TODAY’S NUMBER 270 — That is at least how many Catholic clerics abused nearly 1,000 children over a century across three Massachusetts dioceses, according to a report released this week by the state attorney general. Read about the investigation. SPORTS M.L.B.: The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 in the decisive Game 3 of their National League Wild Card series. W.N.B.A.: A’ja Wilson had 36 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Las Vegas Aces to a 94-83 closeout win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever. N.F.L.: Deshaun Watson led another go-ahead, fourth-quarter drive for the Cleveland Browns, who edged the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24. RECIPE OF THE DAY Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Taco soup has about as much to do with traditional Mexican cuisine as Dr Pepper has business with the C.D.C., but it’s still plenty delicious. Inspired by the hard-shell tacos filled with ground beef you may have eaten in middle school, but made grown-up with fire-roasted tomatoes, green chiles and jalapeños, it’ll provide a warm and cozy welcome to the weekend. Go wild with the toppings: Chopped avocado, pickled red onion, grated Cheddar, pickled jalapeños, sour cream, tortilla chips and lime wedges are all, to my mind, mandatory. Check out this recipe. COUNTRY QUEEN Miranda Lambert Katie McCurdy for The New York Times Miranda Lambert has been a country superstar for more than two decades, a self-described “gun-toting redneck” with songs — “Gunpowder & Lead,” “Kerosene” — to match. She came to The Times recently, poured herself a mug of “charm juice” (Tito’s and soda) and spoke with the “Popcast” hosts Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli about country music’s long-running cold war with female performers, the surrender of old grudges and the payoff of being “unmanageable.” It’s great. She produced “Choosin’ Texas” for Ella Langley! They talk about the work. More on culture I love a good pan. Here’s Manohla Dargis roasting Tom Cruise’s new movie, out today: “‘Digger’ is such a lumbering white elephant of a movie that it almost makes you sorry for everyone involved.” Please continue! Read this interview with the comedian Katt Williams, who has written a memoir, “Nine Lives, No Wives, and 69 Concubines.” Turns out he’s a big gardener. For The Times’s 175th anniversary, we’ve collected objects that shaped our reporting over the years. These include the front-page design we didn’t use after Trump won the White House in 2016; the headlamp one of our visual journalists wore in 2003, when he sketched Saddam Hussein’s spider hole in Iraq; a handwritten letter from Ted Kaczynski sent to the newsroom in 1995; and a whole lot more. The images and stories behind them are terrific. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Give your gums some love. Really. Forty-two percent of U.S. adults over age 30 show signs of gum disease. Look at Wirecutter’s Hall of Fame product recommendations. (This was the most clicked story in The Morning yesterday.) Deploy a robot mop-vacuum to keep your floors free of dust and grime. Our kitchen porters have found the very best one for performance and value. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was honeymooned. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Crossplay and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times and me. See you tomorrow. — Sam P.S. Because of an editing error, we put the wrong link on a video about the Kennedy Center yesterday. Here’s the right link. We’re sorry about that! Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Host: Sam Sifton Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren Deputy Editorial Director: Lauren Jackson