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Continue reading the main storyVideoThe U.S. should use its power to heal the “open wounds” of a planet torn by hatred, greed, poverty and pollution, the pope said.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS on Publish Date September 24, 2015. Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times. Watch in Times Video »1. Watch: Francis,the first pope to address a joint meeting of Congress, gently urged a respectful chamber — and Americans at large — to protect immigrants, the poor, the environment and life itself, redefining politics as “an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one, the greatest common good.” He is the headline speaker at the U.N. General Assembly on Friday morning.
PhotoCredit Allison Shelley/Getty Images2. After the pope left to share a meal with the homeless, Congress went back to work, failing to advance a spending bill because of a partisan dispute over funding for Planned Parenthood. Lawmakers will vote next week on a measure that leaves the issue to the side but funds the government only until mid-December.
PhotoCredit Andrew Harnik/Associated Press3. Another high-profile visitor,President Xi Jinping of China, arrived in Washington before Francis left for New York, worsening the capital’s notoriously bad traffic. Mr. Xi will make a landmark commitment on Friday to start a national program in 2017 that will limit and put a price on greenhouse gas emissions, Obama administration officials said.
PhotoCredit European Pressphoto Agency4. Disaster struck the hajj, again. More than 700 people died in a stampede near Mecca, drawing criticism of the Saudis for perennially poor crowd control and inadequate infrastructure. A Saudi agency tweeted: “We ask God to grant the martyrs his mercy.”
PhotoCredit Luis Acosta/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images5. Colombia and FARC rebels started a six-month countdown to a final peace agreement, after announcing late Wednesday that talks in Cuba had resolved their biggest issues. Cuba’s president, Raúl Castro, orchestrated the handshake that sealed the commitment.
PhotoCredit Tannen Maury/European Pressphoto Agency6. The PGA Tour Championship began in Atlanta, the last leg of the FedEx Cup, golf’s richest playoffs. The overall winner pockets a $10 million bonus. Jordan Spieth, above, enters at No. 3, while Jason Day is No. 1. And either could be named player of the year.
PhotoCredit Guia Besana for The New York Times7. A Russian billionaire is returning two Picasso portraits valued at $30 million to the artist’s stepdaughter, who says they were stolen from her. The event plays into one of the biggest feuds in the art world: The billionaire collector has lodged many claims of being cheated by the dealer who sold him the works.
PhotoCredit Bertrand Guay/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images8. More art news: The Musée d’Orsay, one of Paris’s finest museums, was able to open its doors after a strike was suspended, letting the public finally see a major show on prostitution, “Splendor and Misery,” with paintings of courtesans and streetwalkers by Picasso, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec and Munch. France’s Parliament is, coincidentally, debating its prostitution laws.
PhotoCredit Alexandre Loureiro/Getty Images9. It was no prank this time. Vladimir Putin phoned Elton John, urging him not to be upset by the two Russian comedians who called Mr. John last week, pretending to be the Russian president and a translator for a chat about the country’s policies toward gays. A Kremlin spokesman said that, if schedules allowed, Mr. Putin was ready to meet with the singer “to discuss any questions that are of interest.”
PhotoCredit Kevin Lamarque/Reuters10. Mr. Putin and President Obama set up a meeting on the sidelines of their addresses to the General Assembly next week. Mr. Obama plans to press the Russian leader on Ukraine and Syria. Political disputes have diminished their contacts — though they did chat at a Group of 20 conference in Brisbane, Australia, last year, where both held this koala.
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