What Comes Next After the Passing of Pope FrancisBells rang out from Vatican City declaring that Pope Francis I is dead. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Catholic church’s camerlengo—the Vatican official responsible for announcing the pope’s death and overseeing funeral and burial preparations—is now tasked with leading the transition to a new pontificate.

Tributes poured from leaders around the world. President Donald Trump said he plans to attend the funeral with First Lady Melania Trump.

First, Pope Francis’s funeral arrangements will commence, the pope’s apartments will be sealed, and his signet ring bearing the seal of his reign will be destroyed. Second, a multi-day funeral procession will take place at the Vatican, attended by clerical and lay people from all over the world. Third, the College of Cardinals will convene for the Conclave and elect the next pope. The entire process could take around four weeks. Here’s what to expect.

Harvard Sues Trump Administration Over Funding FreezeHarvard University sued the Trump administration, asking a federal court to unfreeze billions of dollars in federal contracts and grants that the administration is withholding because of the Ivy League school’s refusal to end its diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements and combat campus anti-Semitism.

“The consequences of the government’s overreach will be severe and long-lasting,” Harvard President Alan Garber said. “Research that the government has put in jeopardy includes efforts to improve the prospects of children who survive cancer, to understand at the molecular level how cancer spreads throughout the body, to predict the spread of infectious disease outbreaks, and to ease the pain of soldiers wounded on the battlefield.”

The lawsuit came hours after a report that President Donald Trump is planning to withhold another $1 billion from Harvard University, bringing the total withheld in the ongoing dispute with the Ivy League school to $3.2 billion. (More)

China Issues Retaliatory Sanctions on US Congress Members Over Hong KongChina is sanctioning several U.S. Congress members, other government officials, and heads of nongovernmental organizations for what the regime has called “egregious behavior on Hong Kong-related issues.” The sanctions are in response to Washington’s sanctioning of six Chinese and Hong Kong officials in March for their alleged involvement in transnational repression and acts threatening to further erode Hong Kong’s autonomy. The regime provided no details about which U.S. officials are being targeted.

“We must warn the U.S. that Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said while announcing Beijing’s retaliatory sanctions.

Those sanctioned by Washington include Hong Kong Justice Secretary Paul Lam, Hong Kong security office director Dong Jingwei, and former Hong Kong police commissioner Raymond Siu. Sino-American tensions have been escalating in recent weeks, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods and the Chinese Communist Party’s retaliation with its own tariffs. (More)