AP Top News at 1:01 p.m. EDT

Pope Francis’ funeral to be held Saturday, with public viewing starting Wednesday

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis will be laid to rest Saturday after lying in state for three days in St. Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met Tuesday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.

While Pope Benedict XVI resigned, Francis saw his duty to be ‘ad vitam’

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI stunned the world when he announced his resignation in 2013, the first in 600 years. That led some to wonder if, as he grew increasingly frail and sick, Pope Francis would follow that precedent. While Francis kept open the possibility, and even had a resignation letter prepared, he said more recently that he believed that the papacy was for life. And he ultimately lived out that belief, serving in his ministry until his death on Monday, at the age of 88. Benedict, even before his resignation, he had argued that a pontiff should step aside if he got too old or infirm to do the role.

In Argentina, debates over Pope Francis’ legacy lead to one question: Why didn’t he return?

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Jorge Mario Bergoglio, born in Buenos Aires, never set foot in his homeland after becoming Pope Francis in 2013. That left many of the faithful in Argentina feeling puzzled and snubbed by the world’s first Latin American pope. The question of why he never returned quickly dominated airwaves and headlines on Tuesday in Buenos Aires. Francis, who died Monday, said little about his decision to steer clear of Argentina. But Vatican insiders and interlocutors said the pontiff wanted to avoid getting swept up in the polarizing politics that characterized his country. “It’s sad, because we should have been proud to have an Argentine pope,” said Ardina Aragon, 94, a longtime friend and neighbor from the middle-class neighborhood of Flores where Francis was born in 1936.

Wall Street rallies and recovers all of Monday’s slide as the dollar and US bond market steady

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rallying Tuesday after companies reported fatter profits than expected, and other U.S. investments are also steadying a day after falling sharply on worries about President Donald Trump’s trade war and his attacks on the head of the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 was 2.8% higher in afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1,071 points, or 2.8%, as of 12:24 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 3.3% higher. Every major index has so far recovered from their sharp drop on Monday. The value of the U.S. dollar also stabilized after sliding against the euro and other competitors, while Treasury yields held steadier.

What do ‘expert level’ talks signal for the progress of the Iran-US nuclear negotiations?

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program will move to what’s known as the “expert level” — a sign analysts say shows that the talks are moving forward rapidly. However, experts not involved in the talks who spoke with The Associated Press warn that this doesn’t necessarily signal a deal is imminent. Instead, it means that the talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff haven’t broken down at what likely is the top-level trade — Tehran limiting its atomic program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Hegseth pulled airstrike info from secure military channel for Signal posts, NBC News reports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pulled the airstrike information he posted into Signal chats with his wife, brother and dozens of others from a secure communications channel used by U.S. Central Command, raising new questions as to whether the embattled Pentagon head leaked classified information over an open, unsecured network. NBC News first reported that the launch times and bomb drop times of U.S. warplanes that were about to strike Houthi targets in Yemen — details that multiple officials have said is highly classified — were taken from secure U.S. Central Command communications. A person familiar with the second chat confirmed that to The Associated Press.

Indian police say gunmen kill at least 20 tourists at a Kashmir resort

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Gunmen shot dead at least 20 tourists at a resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Tuesday, in what appeared to be a major shift in the regional conflict in which tourists have largely been spared. Police described the incident as a “terror attack” and blamed militants fighting against Indian rule. “This attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” Omar Abdullah, the region’s top elected official, wrote on social media. Two senior police officers said at least four gunmen, whom they described as militants, fired at dozens of tourists from close range.

Karen Read’s second murder trial revives debate over who killed her Boston police officer boyfriend

DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — Karen Read’s second murder trial began Tuesday with a prosecutor saying the defendant’s own words will bolster evidence that she killed her police officer boyfriend three years ago and a defense attorney calling the case “the definition of reasonable doubt.” Read is accused of striking her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, with her SUV in 2022 and leaving him to die alone in the snow outside of a house party in Canton, a suburb about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Boston. She has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene.

RFK Jr. plans to phase out eight artificial dyes from the US food supply

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials said they plan to phase out eight petroleum-based artificial colors from the nation’s food supply, triggering an overhaul of scores of brightly hued products on American store shelves. Details of the plan are expected to be announced Tuesday afternoon by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, who have advocated the change as part of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. The officials are expected to spell out a regulatory path for removing the color additives, a process that typically requires public notice and agency review. It would be a sweeping change for U.S.

Sharks drew crowds who swam with them off Israel’s coast — until one man disappeared

HADERA, Israel (AP) — Israeli police on Tuesday were scouring the coast for a swimmer they fear may have been attacked by a shark in an area that has long seen close encounters between marine predators and beachgoers who sometimes seek them out. A shiver of endangered dusky and sandbar sharks has been swimming close to the area for years, attracting onlookers who approach the sharks, drawing pleas from conservation groups for authorities to separate people from the wild animals. Nature groups say those warnings went unheeded. On Monday, police launched a search along the Mediterranean coast after reports that a shark attacked a swimmer on a beach near the city of Hadera.