Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Wednesday.
The conclave’s first day ended with a puff of black smokeUnder the soaring frescoes of Renaissance masters, 133 scarlet-robed cardinals gathered this afternoon inside the Sistine Chapel to select a new pope to lead 1.4 billion Roman Catholics around the world. After more than three hours of intense seclusion, black smoke puffed out from the chapel’s chimney — signaling that the cardinals had not reached a decision during the first round of voting. Tens of thousands of people stood shoulder to shoulder in St. Peter’s Square to watch. When the smoke rose, many onlookers cheered; others groaned. Our Rome bureau chief, Jason Horowitz, told us that black smoke had been widely expected on the opening day. “The first vote is generally symbolic, testing the strength of candidates,” he said. Here’s how the voting works. The past two conclaves reached decisions within two days, but earlier votes have taken much longer. For now, the cardinals will retire to guest quarters at the Vatican — isolated during their deliberations, without phone or internet access and under oaths of total secrecy. They will vote tomorrow morning, and continue to cast ballots until a two-thirds majority agrees on a candidate. Oddsmakers suggested that two top contenders are Cardinal Pietro Parolin of Italy, who was Pope Francis’ second-in-command, and Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines, where the church is growing rapidly. The election in many ways will turn on whether the cardinals want a pope who will follow Francis’ path of openness and inclusion or forge a different one. He appointed a vast majority of the voters. Go inside: The food isn’t special (“Food you could eat at a train station,” one conclave veteran said), but the objects used in the voting are. Test your knowledge: Take our conclave quiz.
India and Pakistan traded blowsIndia’s attacks on Pakistan, which came in response to a terrorist massacre last month, killed more than 20 people and injured dozens of others. But evidence has emerged that at least two Indian jets went down during the attack — the sort of embarrassment that India had hoped to avoid after losing a plane to Pakistan in 2019. The question now is whether Pakistan will decide that it must answer India’s strikes with an attack of its own on Indian soil. For now, Pakistan says it is keeping all options open. But diplomats and analysts expressed some hope that the day’s events might offer the two sides an offramp to avert a spiral into all-out war.
House speaker ruled out an aggressive plan to cut MedicaidSpeaker Mike Johnson, the Republican leader in the House, ruled out one of his party’s most aggressive plans to cut Medicaid costs to help pay for President Trump’s agenda. It was an acknowledgment that passing any major Medicaid cuts could be difficult. The Congressional Budget Office reviewed the Republican plans for cutting the program. It found that the leading options could yield significant savings, but would also increase the share of Americans who are uninsured. In other news from Washington:
A study argued that Covid jumped from animals to peopleA team of scientists published a study today comparing the genome of Covid with that of SARS, which caused a pandemic in the early 2000s. The researchers argued that both viruses followed similar trajectories, jumping from bats to wild mammals in China, and eventually to humans, likely through the wildlife trade. The findings add to the debate around the origins of Covid. The White House argues that the virus leaked out of a lab in Wuhan, China; the F.B.I. and the C.I.A. agree, but with low certainty; Chinese officials suggest the virus came from a lab in the U.S. Scientists remain without enough evidence to prove any argument. More top news
The year’s best books, so farWe’re more than a third of the way through 2025, and our Book Review team has already written about hundreds of books. Some were good. Some were very good. And then there were the ones we couldn’t stop thinking about. Here are the 15 books — eight fiction, seven nonfiction — that top our list of recommendations. For more: Mother’s Day is around the corner. These new releases make for good gifts.
A little work now can make your lilacs shine next yearIn season, lilacs are an extravagance of color and fragrance. Once they finish blooming, though, they can present an extravagantly messy aftermath. Use that as a reminder to take out your shears and do a little pruning, as our gardening columnist Margaret Roach suggests. Margaret got more lilac advice from a curator at the New York Botanical Garden. For more: Here are 25 essential gardens to see in your lifetime.
Dinner table topics
Cook: This nearly effortless asparagus salad makes for a striking table centerpiece. Read: “The Peepshow” tells the stranger-than-fiction murder case that rocked 1950s London. Game: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a spectacular turn-based combat game. |
