US and world news for April 25

Why Pope Francis isn’t being buried in the Vatican

Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday, is breaking with tradition when it comes to where he will be laid to rest – choosing a light-filled basilica instead of the grottoes of the Vatican. Popes are usually buried within Vatican City, beneath St. Peter’s Basilica. But Francis will be the first pontiff in more than a century to be buried outside the Vatican, as he requested a “simple” tomb a couple of miles away in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore – also known as St. Mary Major. Francis’ funeral will take place on Saturday in St. Peter’s Square, before his body is taken to the basilica – on the other side of the river in central Rome – for burial. While Francis’ tomb will be humble, the basilica above it glitters with sunlight and gold. The ceiling is covered in gilded wood, and light pours in through high-up windows to illuminate intricate mosaics that line the nave. Mourners and visitors have flocked here in the days since Francis’s death, interested to see for themselves a place that he loved.

Father of Parkland shooting victim launches dashboard

CNN — A Florida father turned pain into purpose, launching a new school safety dashboard after the death of his 14-year-old son. Max Schachter, father of Parkland shooting victim Alex Schachter, launched “Safe Schools for Alex,” the first national online resource of its kind, offering a comprehensive collection of user-friendly, transparent school safety data in the country. The dashboard provides a website that organizes each state into counties and then gives safety-related statistics about every public school in each county. Seventeen students and staff members in total tragically lost their lives in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018.

Consumer sentiment plunges 8%

Americans are still dreading a recession and rising inflation, even after President Donald Trump paused his massive tariff hike on dozens of countries. Consumer sentiment plunged 8% in April from the prior month, to a final reading of 52.2, the University of Michigan said in its latest survey released Friday. That was a slightly smaller decline than a preliminary reading from earlier this month, which didn’t capture people’s reaction to Trump’s 90-day tariff delay announced on April 9. Sentiment in April was at its fourth-lowest level on records going back to 1952. Stocks briefly jumped off their lows as investors assessed the latest survey: The Dow was down 200 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 was down 0.15%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1%.

UN runs out of food in Gaza

The United Nations’ World Food Programme has run out of food in Gaza, the organization said Friday, almost two months into Israel’s humanitarian blockade of the besieged enclave. The agency says it delivered its final food stocks to kitchens in Gaza on Friday, and the kitchens are expected to deplete their supplies in the coming days. Israel imposed a humanitarian blockade of Gaza on March 2, cutting off food, medical supplies, and other aid to the more than 2 million Palestinians who live in the territory. Israel says the blockade, along with the military’s expansion of its bombardment of Gaza, is intended to pressure Hamas to accept a US-backed ceasefire proposal. The US has made clear that it will not push Israel to allow in more humanitarian aid.

Shein, Temu started raising prices ahead of tariffs

“Cheap goods” sold on Temu and Shein aren’t as cheap as they were 24 hours ago. On Friday, the two companies raised prices on many goods in advance of 120% tariffs set to take effect next week. The companies had informed shoppers of the coming price hikes last week. American customers of Temu and Shein, which source most of their products from China, have largely been able to avoid paying tariffs due to an exemption on shipments of goods worth less than $800. That exemption, known as “de minimis,” is expiring on May 2, the result of an executive order President Donald Trump signed earlier this month. Two patio chairs listed on Temu and reviewed by CNN had a $61.72 price tag on Thursday. By Friday, they were listed at $70.17. On Shein, CNN noted a bathing suit set cost $4.39 on Thursday; on Friday it cost $8.39, a 91% increase. Shein and Temu didn’t respond to CNN’s requests for comment.