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Pope Leo XIV has issued a major theological manifesto calling for aggressive global regulation and a deliberate slowdown in artificial intelligence development. The 42,300-word encyclical, titled “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), warns that unchecked technological expansion is destabilizing global peace and threatening the core of human dignity.

Signed on May 15, the document was intentionally timed to mark the 135th anniversary of “Rerum Novarum,” the 1891 papal text by Pope Leo XIII that championed workers’ rights during the Industrial Revolution. The current pontiff—a former mathematics student and history’s first American pope—emphasized that while “technology should not be considered, in itself, as a force antagonistic to humanity,” its rapid, profit-driven deployment poses unprecedented risks.

In a highly symbolic move, the Vatican presented the encyclical alongside Christopher Olah, co-founder of the multi-billion-dollar AI firm Anthropic. This partnership highlights the Holy See’s decade-long effort to engage tech leaders directly. Olah, who is not Catholic, welcomed the critique, acknowledging that tech labs function “inside a set of incentives and constraints that can sometimes conflict with doing the right thing.” He stressed the necessity of independent critics, noting: “we need more of the world — religious communities, civil society, scholars, governments — to do what His Holiness has done here: to take this seriously, to look closely, and to push events in a better direction.”

A central theme of the manifesto is the demand for “disarming AI,” which the Pope clarified “does not mean rejecting technology, but preventing it from dominating humanity.” Leo argued that “merely regulating it is insufficient; it must be disarmed, welcoming and accessible.”

The document outlines an expansive policy vision to protect society from corporate exploitation, including labor protections — asserting that “the pursuit of greater profits cannot justify choices that systematically sacrifice jobs,” societal stagnation which “creates a paradox of material progress and anthropological regression that undermines the foundations of a just and stable social peace,” and child safeguards, calling for immediate protections for youth against AI-generated misinformation and harmful content.

The encyclical levels sharp criticism at the military-industrial complex, stating that “the use of AI in warfare must be subject to the most rigorous ethical constraints, to guarantee respect for human dignity and the sanctity of life and to avoid a race to develop such arms.” Leo noted that “the growing ease with which autonomous weapons systems can be deployed makes war more ‘feasible’ and less subject to human control.” Because automated systems detach human judgment from lethal outcomes, the Pope declared traditional Catholic “just war” doctrines outdated. He cautioned that “humanity is slipping into a violent culture of power, where peace no longer appears as a responsibility to be taken on, but as a fragile interval between conflicts.”

In an unexpected addition to the text’s focus on human rights, Pope Leo XIV used a section on modern exploitation to issue the first explicit papal apology for the Vatican’s historical role in European colonialism, specifically condemning past decrees that legally sanctioned the enslavement of non-Christians.

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Southern California emergency officials announced on Monday that the immediate threat of a devastating, large-scale explosion has been avoided at an Orange County aerospace facility. The crisis, which began late last week, centers around a compromised industrial storage tank containing thousands of gallons of methyl methacrylate—a highly volatile, toxic, and flammable chemical used to manufacture resins and plastics.

Following days of mounting tension, the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) confirmed Monday morning that a worst-case scenario disaster is no longer an immediate danger, though public safety risks remain. The threat level was downgraded following a high-stakes, overnight mission on Sunday.

Firefighters and technical experts delayed a close-up inspection until nightfall, waiting for cooler ambient temperatures to lower the volatility around the tank. Upon closer inspection, crews confirmed that a crack had formed in the outer shell of the container. While a cracked chemical tank normally sparks alarm, engineering experts and fire officials revealed it was actually a best-case development. “We are happy to report that the threat of a BLEVE [Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion] is now off the table,” announced interim Orange County Fire Chief TJ McGovern on Monday morning. “That threat has been eliminated.”

The crack essentially acted as a makeshift pressure-relief valve. As the methyl methacrylate inside the tank underwent an uncontrolled, heat-generating chemical reaction, it began converting from a liquid into a gas. In a completely sealed container, this would build pressure until a catastrophic rupture occurred—similar to a soda can left in a hot car. The crack allowed the pressurized vapor to escape gradually, halting the dangerous pressure buildup. As a result of the pressure release and continuous water-spraying operations by first responders, the tank’s internal temperature dropped to 93°F (33.9°C) on Monday, down from a dangerous peak of 100°F (37.7°C) on Sunday.

Despite the breakthrough, local authorities emphasize that the area is not entirely out of the woods. Mandatory evacuation orders remain firmly in place for roughly 50,000 residents across parts of six Orange County cities: Garden Grove, Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park, and Westminster. OCFA officials clarified that while a catastrophic, wide-scale vapor cloud explosion is ruled out, the potential for smaller localized flashes or a chemical spill remains a threat.

Officials confirmed that no liquid chemical has escaped the tank as of Monday afternoon, and air monitoring at 20 different locations shows air quality remains within normal, safe limits. The structural integrity of the tank is still compromised, and the drainage valves remain broken or “gummed up,” meaning crews cannot yet easily pump the remaining chemical out.

Over the holiday weekend, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Orange County, and on Monday, President Donald Trump signed a federal emergency declaration. The move has mobilized the U.S. EPA, FEMA, and the Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center to assist local unified command with continuous air monitoring and contingency planning.

Meanwhile, GKN Aerospace—the British manufacturing firm that owns the facility—issued an apology on Monday, stating they are working “round the clock” to completely neutralize the site so residents can return home.

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Federal officials announced charges Thursday against 15 people accused of orchestrating massive Medicaid fraud schemes in Minnesota, describing the investigation as one of the largest healthcare fraud crackdowns the state has ever seen. Officials did not publicly identify all defendants or detail every charge during the announcement, though they said one suspect, Muhammad Omar, remains at large.

Authorities noted the pace and scale of the investigation as “unprecedented,” with the DOJ stating it recently created a national fraud enforcement division that has already launched hundreds of fraud-related actions nationwide since April. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Minnesota investigation is only the beginning, warning that additional enforcement actions are expected across the country.

At a news conference in downtown Minneapolis, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined federal prosecutors and law enforcement leaders to reveal allegations involving roughly $90 million in taxpayer losses across seven state-run Medicaid programs. The programs were intended to support vulnerable groups, including children with autism, people with disabilities, homeless residents and low-income families. Kennedy said officials are determined to “protect vulnerable children and restore integrity to the American health care system.”

According to prosecutors, the defendants repeatedly billed the government for services that either were never delivered or were exaggerated, then used the proceeds to fund luxury lifestyles that included expensive homes, jewelry and high-end vehicles. Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said disabled and vulnerable individuals were essentially exploited for profit, with suspects allegedly treating public assistance programs “as their personal piggy bank.”

One case involved a Medicaid program designed to help disabled adults live independently; prosecutors said one recipient who was supposed to receive constant care instead received no assistance and later died. Another investigation centered on Minnesota’s autism services program. Authorities allege two suspects paid kickbacks to families to bring children in for autism diagnoses regardless of medical necessity, then billed Medicaid for treatment services that were never provided. McDonald said spending tied to the autism program surged from about $600,000 several years ago to nearly $400 million today, which investigators believe was fueled heavily by fraud. Kennedy called that case “the largest autism fraud bust in American history.”

Federal officials also highlighted concerns over Minnesota’s housing stabilization program, originally created to help homeless residents secure long-term housing. Prosecutors said the program’s costs exploded from an estimated $2.5 million annually in 2020 to more than $104 million by 2024. McDonald claimed one related program eventually shut down after funds were depleted.

The announcement came the same day a federal judge sentenced Aimee Bock to more than 41 years in prison for her role in the massive ‘Feeding Our Future’ pandemic fraud scheme, which prosecutors said diverted hundreds of millions of dollars intended to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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In a narrowly divided 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Alabama’s effort to reinstate the death sentence of Joseph Clifton Smith, after deciding not to settle a broader dispute over how IQ scores should be evaluated in death penalty cases.

The 55-year-old inmate was sentenced to death for the 1997 killing of Durk Van Dam with a hammer during a robbery in Mobile County, Alabama. Prosecutors said Smith stole the victim’s boots, tools, and $140 before leaving his body in a wooded area.

A federal judge had overturned Smith’s death sentence in 2021, describing the matter as a “close case.” The judge also pointed to evidence of long-standing developmental and adaptive impairments, including childhood abuse, academic struggles, and a diagnosis in middle school that classified him as having mild intellectual disability. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later upheld that ruling.

Alabam’s case centered on whether Smith is intellectually disabled, which would make him ineligible for execution under the Supreme Court’s 2002 ruling in Atkins v. Virginia. Smith underwent five IQ tests over the years, with four scores landing in the low-to-mid 70s. Although Alabama argued none of the scores fell below 70, lower courts concluded that the margin of error on his lowest result — a 72 — could place his actual IQ under that threshold.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed Alabama’s appeal in an unsigned opinion, saying the case had been “improvidently granted,” meaning the justices decided they should not have agreed to hear it. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, wrote separately to explain that the court was not the right venue to resolve the broader legal question about weighing multiple IQ scores because the issue had not been fully addressed in lower courts.

“There is no reason for this Court to leapfrog the experts, state courts and federal lower courts to provide conclusive guidance at this level of detail in the first instance,” Sotomayor wrote. “Thus, for the reasons given above, the Court is correct today to dismiss this case as improvidently granted.”

Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. Thomas argued the court was effectively rewarding Smith’s attempts to prove he lacked the intellectual capacity to face execution. Alito criticized the majority for leaving unresolved what he called a major legal issue in death penalty cases. “Instead, the Court shies away from its obligation to provide workable rules for capital cases,” Alito wrote. “In doing so, the Court disservices its own death penalty jurisprudence, States’ criminal-justice systems, lower courts and victims of horrific murders.”

Smith’s attorney, Kacey Keeton, said the ruling means her client will be removed from death row and resentenced in state court. “Joseph Smith has spent decades on death row while courts examined whether the Constitution protects him. Today, it does,” Keeton said.

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