POPE FRANCIS in St. Peter’s Square in 2013 (Wikipedia).

Pope Francis, leader of the world-wide Roman Catholic Church, passed away on Easter Monday at the age of 88.

The Associated Press reports that the pontiff, a native of Argentina, was the first from Latin America. He presided over the church of 1.4 billion people for over 12 years.

He had been in poor health for weeks from double pneumonia. He suffered a stroke which led to a coma and heart failure.

Pope Francis had made his final public appearance on Easter Sunday at St. Peter’s Basilica at Vatican City.

“Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter,” he said.

What will follow is a period of mourning, a funeral and a conclave of cardinals to select a successor.

Harvard sues Trump Administration

Harvard University, widely considered to be the world’s wealthiest and possibly the most influential institute of higher learning, filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY seal (Wikipedia).

According to The New York Times, the legal action comes in response to threats from the White House to cut billions of dollars worth of research funding if the college didn’t comply with demands for oversight of its operations.

Alan Garber, president of Harvard, said that President Donald Trump was seeking to impose “unprecedented and improper control.”

The White House had no immediate response to the legal action

Weather : Back to the Sixties

The cooling trend that’s come to our West Orange County cities will likely continue all the way to the weekend, although it will be accompanied by sunnier skies. The forecast for Tuesday is for a daytime high of 69 with an overnight low of 56. The morning is expected to have clouds, giving way to the sun in the afternoon. Wednesday should be similar but slightly cooler at 66 (55). Expect partly cloudy skies on Thursday with a run of sun right through next Tuesday.