Tim Russert Dies of Heart Attack

Tim Russert has died of a heart attack at the age of 58. Family members say NBC's Tim Russert has died. They tell The New York Times that Russert died of an apparent heart attack. The host of NBC's "Meet the Press" was 58. Longtime NBC anchor Tom Brokaw has now confirmed Russert's death, in a special report on NBC. Brokaw ...

Pope Benedict Our German Shepherd

Henry Farrell recounts getting stuck in pope-security-related traffic, contrasts the differences between this trip and John Paul II's 1979 visit to Ireland, and takes this photo: Henry muses that it "seemed to me to have dark undertones that were presumably not intended by the person who was waving it about." Personally, I find the canine overtones amusing enough.

More TV Politics in Venezuela

Cross-posted from PoliBlog: Via the BBC: Second Venezuela TV is under fireVenezuela's government has accused a TV station of inciting a murder attempt on President Hugo Chavez, hours after taking another network off the air. It said footage shown on Globovision implicitly called for Mr Chavez to be killed. The station denies the claim. It would appear that the government is watching ...

Khalid Sheik Mohammed Confesses . . . to Everything

Khalid Sheik Mohammed has signed a two page confession taking responsibility for the 9/11 attacks and dozens of other terrorist operations in a hearing at Guantanamo Bay over the weekend. WaPo: Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, confessed at a Guantanamo Bay military hearing that he planned and funded that al-Qaeda operation and said ...

Is the Pope Catholic?

Steve Bainbridge, both on his blog and in a TCS column, answers the title question in the affirmative.

Mehmet Ali Agca, Man Who Shot Pope, to Be Freed

Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who tried to assassinate the late Pope John Paul II, has been released from prison and will be drafted into the army, according to the AP. A court has approved the release from prison the man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, saying he completed his sentence for crimes he committed in Turkey, ...

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Saving endangered species through better pharmaceuticals.

Benedict Keeps John Paul II’s Staff

Benedict Keeps Cardinal As Vatican's No. 2 (AP) Pope Benedict XVI confirmed Cardinal Angelo Sodano in the Vatican's No. 2 post Thursday and kept all other top officials, avoiding any immediate shakeup in the late John Paul II's administration. It was a sign that the new pope, a doctrinal hard-liner, wants to show continuity with the popular John Paul. Sodano, the Vatican's ...

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Becomes Pope Benedict XVI

"God's Rottweiler" arises from the white smoke: Thousands Cheer in St. Peter's Square as New Leader Emerges (NYT | RSS) Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope today, taking the name Benedict XVI, then telling a wildly cheering crowd from a balcony on St. Peter's Basilica, "I entrust myself to your prayers." The 265th leader of the Roman Catholic Church, smiling broadly, was introduced ...

A New Pope Has Been Chosen

A new pope has been chosen on just the second day of the conclave. His name has not yet been announced. If precedent is any indication, we should know within hours. A New Pope Has Been Chosen (WaPo) White smoke from the Sistine Chapel's chimney and the pealing of bells Tuesday signaled that the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church ...

Papal Candidates: Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, Brazil

In 2002, Frei Betto, a renowned liberation theologian, declared that, if Cardinal Hummes were to reach the papacy, "he would be even more socially engaged than John Paul II.” It was a bold statement, but perhaps not ill-informed. After all, how many church leaders can claim to have opened diocesan facilities for labor and political meetings? How many have provided ...

Vatican Begins Anti-surveillance Operation

The Vatican has deployed countermeasures in an attempt to keep enterprising reporters from spying on the papal selection conclave. Vatican mobilises anti-surveillance op (The Register) If press reports are to be believed, then next Monday's gathering of cardinals in the Sistine Chapel will represent the biggest counter-surveillance operation since the Posh/Becks royal wedding. Indeed, so busy will the Vatican be blocking laser ...

Catholic Church Facing Financial Crisis

Despite its enormous riches, the Roman Catholic church is in financial crisis, according to an AP report. New pope to face enormous financial issues The next pope will not only have to care for the souls of his 1.1 billion-member flock worldwide, but also the church's accounts, hit by the falling dollar, sex abuse settlements and a growing diplomatic mission. Like ...

Cardinals Lobby for Swift Sainthood for John Paul II

The New York Times reports that cardinals are likely to bow to popular pressure to make the late Pope John Paul II a saint and to do so ahead of the standard schedule. Cardinals Lobby for Swift Sainthood for John Paul II The cardinals electing a successor to Pope John Paul II are facing unusual popular pressure to declare him a ...

Betting on a New Pope

John Tierney argues that speculators at Intrade may give us the best insights as to who will be the next Pope. If you listened to journalists during last year's presidential campaign, you heard about a tight race with oscillating polls and shifting momentum. The weekend before the election, we painstakingly analyzed the battleground states and bravely proclaimed them too close to ...