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Pope Leo XIV opens a four-day visit to France this weekend that is expected to touch on church teaching about the value of all human life. His visit comes after France in 2024 enshrined abortion as a constitutional right and recently gave final approval to a bill allowing adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication. Leo has emphasized the need to protect the dignity of all human life, from immigrants to the sick and unborn, most significantly in his inaugural encyclical on safeguarding human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence. During the Sept. 25-28 trip, Leo is also expected to discuss AI at UNESCO.

Democrats are descending on Donald Trump’s midterm convention in Texas and urging voters to consider the reality of his presidency rather than the spectacle of his made-for-TV event. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential contender, says Trump is trying to distract voters from the Iran war, his trade wars with Canada and rising consumer prices. Texas Democrats, meanwhile, hope the convention spotlight ends up helping Senate candidate James Talarico and their nominee for governor, Gina Hinojosa. Talarico's campaign held a food drive Wednesday where the candidate compared his volunteers' efforts to wealthy Republican donors paying for access to Trump. Hinojosa met with women who have accused Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse.

A former missionary with an Ohio-based ministry has pleaded guilty to federal charges of sexually abusing two boys in Haiti. Authorities reached a plea agreement with 45-year-old Jeriah Mast and on Tuesday he admitted to the charges. The agreement could lead to a prison sentence of 25 to 33 years. Mast had previously confessed to molesting more than 30 boys in Haiti and four children in Ohio. He was arrested on federal charges last November after being released early from an Ohio state prison. Mast's case has highlighted broader issues of sexual abuse within conservative Anabaptist communities, including the Amish and Mennonites.

Erik and Lyle Menendez will face a parole board again in March 2027 after getting an early parole suitability hearing. They were initially eligible for a hearing in August 2028. The brothers were sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting their parents in 1989. Last year, the parole board rejected their parole petitions. A Los Angeles judge also denied a petition seeking a review of their convictions based on new evidence of alleged abuse by their father. Their family says they have worked to take responsibility and heal from past trauma.

The House has censured Rep. Chuck Edwards after an Ethics Committee investigation concluded he engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two young female staffers in his office. The 413-2 vote is the latest example of Congress grappling with revelations about lawmakers’ improper behavior toward female staffers. Edwards is a North Carolina Republican. He apologized to the former aides and his family but he also said he did not believe he committed sexual harassment. Ethics chairman Rep. Michael Guest said that while Edwards denied his conduct was intended to be sexual or romantic, his pattern of behavior would lead a reasonable person to interpret it as such.

Singer D4vd has lost his private lawyers and entered a new not guilty plea. He's facing charges of murder, sexual abuse and dismemberment of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. It's not clear why his high-profile attorneys, Blair Berk and her colleagues, withdrew. They were replaced by a public defender. The judge on Monday denied a request from the public defender to delay the arraignment and scheduled a status conference for October. Despite earning millions from his music, the indie-pop singer, born David Burke, qualified for a court-appointed lawyer. A trial date has not been set.