Thousands rush to St. Peter's Square for Pope Francis' funeral, a ceremony he helped reimagine

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Tens of thousands of people are pouring into St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis' funeral. With hours to go, the piazza is filling up. The farewell ceremony reflects his priorities as pope and wishes as pastor: Presidents and princes will be on hand, but prisoners and migrants will welcome him into the basilica. Francis choreographed the ceremony himself when he revised and simplified the Vatican’s funeral rites and rituals last year. He aimed to emphasize the pope’s role as a mere priest and not “a powerful man of this world.” Francis is breaking with recent tradition and will be buried in the St. Mary Major Basilica.

The Latest: Mourners race to get standing room spot in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ funeral

VATICAN CITY (AP) — As many as 200,000 people are expected to attend Pope Francis’ funeral in St. Peter’s Square as he is being laid to rest. While dignitaries are to attend, prisoners and migrants will usher him Saturday into the basilica where he will be buried, reflecting his priorities as pope. U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, the U.N. chief and European Union leaders are joining Prince William and the Spanish royal family will be in attendance.   Francis is breaking with recent tradition and will be buried in the St. Mary Major Basilica, where a simple underground tomb awaits him with just his name: Franciscus.

What to know about the funeral and burial of Pope Francis

NEW YORK (AP) — Pope Francis died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 after a 12-year papacy. The death of the pontiff set off mourning across the Catholic world and days of ritual at the Vatican. The night before the funeral, the camerlengo presided over the closing and sealing of the coffin, in the presence of other senior cardinals. The pope's funeral is being held on Saturday in St. Peter’s Square. Francis will then be buried, according to his will: in a simple underground tomb at St. Mary Major Basilica. It will be followed by a conclave to elect a new pope.

Pope's burial place reflects his 'humble, essential' life, Rome's poor will pay him a final tribute

ROME (AP) — The head of the basilica that is housing Pope Francis's tomb says it reflects his “humble, simple and essential" life. Francis will be buried at St. Mary Major Basilica on Saturday after his funeral in St. Peter's Square. Archbishop Rolandas Makrickas says Francis initially demurred when he proposed St. Mary Major as the pope's last resting place. Makrickas had identified it because of Francis’ long association with it, its ties to Francis’ Jesuit order, its artistic and spiritual heritage and links to the papacy. But Makrickas told reporters on Friday that “After a week, he called me to Santa Marta and he said ‘Prepare my tomb.’’’

Trump will pay his respects to a pope who publicly and pointedly disagreed with him on some issues

ROME (AP) — President Donald Trump will be among more than 50 heads of state and other dignitaries attending the funeral for Pope Francis in Vatican City on Saturday. The late pontiff disagreed with Trump's approach on issues like immigration and the treatment of migrants. But after Francis died earlier this week, Trump remembered him as a “good man” who “loved the world.” Trump said he'll be “seeing a lot of people" on the sidelines of the funeral who are “important in what we're doing.” Trump is working to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and negotiate trade agreements with multiple countries.

Trump keeps contradicting himself on tariffs, making a fragile world economy nervous

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump can’t stop contradicting himself on his own tariff plans. Trump says he’s on a path to cut several new trade deals in a few weeks — but also suggests it’s “physically impossible” to hold all the needed meetings. The Republican president has said he'll simply set new tariff rates negotiated internally within the U.S. government over the next few weeks — although he already did that April 2, causing the world economy to shudder. The sure bet is uncertainty will persist in ways that employers and consumers alike expect to damage the economy and that leave foreign leaders scratching their heads in bewilderment.

Iran and the US prepare for expert talks in Oman over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program

MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — Iran and the United States are preparing to start in-depth negotiations in Oman over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, talks that likely will hinge on the Islamic Republic’s enrichment of uranium. Iranian state television suggested the talks could start mid-day Saturday in Muscat, the mountain-wrapped capital of this sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. However, neither Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi nor U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff offered any immediate specifics or details on the talks that they’ll lead. Witkoff on Friday was in Moscow meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin. He arrived Saturday to Oman.

Trump calls for Ukraine and Russia to meet for 'very high level' talks, says they are close to deal

ROME (AP) — President Donald Trump is calling for Ukraine and Russia to meet for “very high level talks,” saying they are “very close to a deal” after productive meetings. Trump posted on his Truth Social site shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis’ funeral that it was a “good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine." He said, “They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off,’” and added: “Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!” There was no immediate response from Ukraine or Russia.

Justice Department says it will resume practice of obtaining reporters' records in leak inquiries

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is poised to crack down on leaks of information to the news media, authorizing prosecutors to issue subpoenas to news organizations as part of leak investigations, serve search warrants when appropriate and force journalists to testify about their sources. New regulations, announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi in a memo to the staff obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, rescind a Biden administration policy that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations — a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups.

Trump's attack on diversity takes center stage as Boston remembers 1965 Freedom Rally led by MLK

BOSTON (AP) — Sixty years after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led a rally protesting housing discrimination and segregated schools in Boston, thousands of people are expected to gather at the same site to honor and reflect on the historic event. The rally Saturday will take place at the Boston Common near the site of 20-foot-high memorial to racial equity, which shows King embracing his wife, Coretta Scott King. The rally will be led by King's eldest son, Martin Luther King III, who acknowledged in an interview that more work is needed to ensure everyone has access to quality health care, a decent home and a good paying job.