The Chicago White Sox used a big first inning and a three-run homer from Chase Meidroth to propel them to a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday and sweep their American League wildcard series.
It’s the first time Chicago have won a playoff series since beating Houston in the World Series in 2005. Under the direction of second-year skipper Will Venable and with a letter of support from Pope Leo XIV, the White Sox advanced to face AL Central champion Cleveland in the AL Division Series beginning Saturday in Cleveland.
Elizabeth Dias, our national religion correspondent, and Cade Metz, one of our technology reporters, discuss Anthropic’s approach for instilling morality into Claude — which has involved consultations with religious leaders, including ones at the Vatican — and why it’s raising questions.
In a series of private meetings, the company consulted religious scholars to help instill morality into its A.I. models — and make the case that Claude could be conscious.
“To be clear,” Christopher Olah told me, “we don’t know if A.I. models are conscious. I don’t know. I’m genuinely uncertain. The thing that I care about is that we get to the right answer, whatever it is.”
Speaking in France, the pontiff lauded postwar efforts to unify the continent. Experts saw it as a critique of President Trump’s repeated berating of European leaders.
In Metz, in northeastern France, Pope Leo XIV spoke of a Europe that would “continue to flourish and to inspire the whole world.” President Emmanuel Macron of France looked on.
Asked about the Trump administration’s restrictions on journalists, Leo told reporters accompanying him on a flight to France that they were “all welcome.”
After visiting Africa, Pope Leo’s four-day trip to France shows how he is seeking to appeal to Roman Catholicism’s original heartlands as well as to the church’s newest strongholds.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who was the country’s most visible Roman Catholic clergyman of the 20th century, is one step closer to sainthood after a ceremony in St. Louis.
Beatification typically requires evidence of a miracle resulting from prayer to the person in question. In Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s case, the parents of a stillborn boy in the diocese of Peoria, Ill., in 2010 prayed to him to intervene.
Pope Leo XIV welcomed Ukrainian Greek Catholic pilgrims to the Vatican on June 28, saying their country has been "martyred" by Russia's "senseless war."
Greek Catholicism is Ukraine's second-largest Christian denomination, with adherents making up around one-tenth of the country's population. Prevalent mainly in western Ukraine, it has retained many rituals and practices of the Orthodox Church while under the pope's jurisdiction.
"I wish to express my closeness to the martyred Ukraine — to the children, the youth, the elderly, and especially to the families who mourn their loved ones," Pope Leo said in an address to Greek Catholic pilgrims at St. Peter's Basilica.
"I share in your sorrow for the prisoners and for the victims of this senseless war."
Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Head of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, was among the pilgrims greeted at the Vatican, along with other bishops, priests, and lay believers. The pilgrimage was made in honor of the Jubilee, a Catholic holy year last observed in 2015-2016. The theme of the 2025 Jubilee is "Pilgrims of Hope."
In his address, Pope Leo said that the faith of Ukrainians is being "sorely tested" by Russia's full-scale invasion.
"Many of you, since the war began, have surely asked: Lord, why all this? Where are you? What must we do to save our families, our homes and our homeland?"
The pope also offered a special blessing to mothers of soldiers killed on the front lines in Ukraine.
After Pope Leo's remarks at St. Peter's, President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the pontiff for his support.
Thank you, Your Holiness, for your continued prayers and compassion for Ukraine and our people," Zelensky wrote on X.
"Together we must stop this wanton Russian aggression and protect innocent lives. A just peace is needed. And we would also deeply appreciate your kind help in bringing back all our people — adults and children — held in Russian captivity against their will."
Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, was elected head of the Catholic Church in the conclave on May 8 after the death of his predecessor, Pope Francis. Zelensky met with Pope Leo at his inauguration mass on May 18 and described him as "a symbol of hope for peace." The two discussed the return of children forcibly deported by Russiaand other humanitarian issues.
Pope Leo has called for "a just and lasting peace" in Ukraine and has offered to host peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow at the Vatican — an offer Zelensky has welcomed and Kremlin officials have dismissed.
Early in June, Pope Leo spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging Russia to make "a gesture that would favor peace."
The pope's support for Ukraine has been viewed as a departure from his predecessor Pope Francis, whose legacy among Ukrainians was marred by his at times controversial comments about Russia. In 2024, Pope Francis called on Ukraine to have the "courage" to "raise the white flag" and negotiate with Moscow.
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