Pope showing ‘improvement’ as he continues to recover in hospital
Candles and messages of healing for Pope Francis are laid at the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where the Pope is hospitalized with pneumonia, in Rome on February 26, 2025. (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
(ROME) — The Vatican press office has released a statement saying the pope had a peaceful evening of rest in hospital and is continuing his recovery in the hospital on Friday morning.
“As in recent days, the night passed peacefully and the Pope is now resting,” the Vatican said.
Officials said that Pope Francis’ condition continued to improve on Thursday, with the pontiff alternating between high-flow oxygen therapy and a ventimask, according to the Vatican.
“Given the complexity of his clinical condition, further days of clinical stability are needed to clarify the prognosis,” the Vatican said.
“For the second time, there is no mention of a critical condition,” Vatican sources told ABC News. “So we can say that we have come out of the most critical phase and we are back to what was previously described as a complex picture.”
On Thursday, the pope dedicated the morning to respiratory physiotherapy and rest. After a session of physiotherapy, in the afternoon, he gathered in prayer in the chapel of the private apartment on the 10th floor, receiving the Eucharist. The pope then dedicated himself to work activities, according to the Vatican.
“The bulletin again speaks of an improvement, a slight one, but an improvement, but the fact that the prognosis is reserved means that the doctors still have concerns,” Vatican sources told ABC News.
The pontiff, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, was diagnosed with pneumonia last week, according to the Vatican.
(NEW YORK) — An alleged leader of violence during the Rwandan genocide in 1994 has been living in an exclusive enclave on Long Island as a beekeeper. He was arrested Thursday and accused of concealing his role in horrific violence and human rights violations by making false statements in his applications for a visa, green card and for U.S. citizenship, according to the Justice Department.
Faustin Nsabumukunzi is charged with visa fraud and attempted naturalization fraud for allegedly lying on his application for a green card and for U.S. citizenship.
Nsabumukunzi was arrested at his home in Bridgehampton and pleaded not guilty Thursday in Islip federal court. He was released on $250,000 bond with home detention and GPS monitoring and will be allowed to keep working as a gardener for a private equity entrepreneur on Long Island who signed his bond.
“As alleged, Nsabumukunzi repeatedly lied to conceal his involvement in the horrific Rwandan genocide while seeking to become a lawful permanent resident and citizen of the United States,” said United States Attorney John Durham. “For over two decades, he got away with those lies and lived in the United States with an undeserved clean slate, a luxury that his victims will never have, but thanks to the tenacious efforts of our investigators and prosecutors, the defendant finally will be held accountable for his brutal actions.”
According to officials, Nsabumukunzi served as a local leader with the title of “Sector Councilor” in Rwanda in 1994 when the genocide began. Between April 1994 and July 1994, members of the majority Hutu population persecuted the minority Tutsis, committing acts of violence, including murder, rape and sexual violence. During the three-month genocide, an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus died.
According to the indictment, Nsabumukunzi used his leadership position as Sector Councilor to oversee the violence and killings of Tutsis in his local sector of Kibirizi and directed groups of armed Hutus to kill Tutsis. He set up roadblocks during the genocide to detain and kill Tutsis and participated in killings and violence, according to court documents.
Nsabumukunzi allegedly ordered a group of armed Hutus to locations where Tutsis were sheltering, and the Hutus killed them. Nsabumukunzi also allegedly facilitated the rape of Tutsi women by verbally encouraging Hutu men to do so. According to court filings, Nsabumukunzi has been convicted of genocide in absentia by a Rwandan court.
The suspect applied for refugee resettlement in the United States in August 2003 and then applied for and received a green card in November 2007. He later applied for naturalization in 2009 and 2015. Nsabumukunzi allegedly lied to United States immigration officials to gain admission to the United States as a refugee, by falsely denying in the applications under penalty of perjury that he ever engaged in genocide, federal prosecutors said.
He allegedly repeated those lies in his subsequent applications for a green card and for naturalization. Nsabumukunzi has lived and worked in the United States since 2003.
If convicted, Nsabumukunzi faces a maximum of 30 years in prison.
(DOMINICAN REPUBLIC) — The death toll continues to rise amid an ongoing search and rescue effort after the roof of a Dominican Republic nightclub collapsed during a concert.
At least 218 people were killed, Dominican authorities said on Thursday, and another 155 injured in the roof collapse at the Jet Set nightclub, located in the capital of Santo Domingo, according to national police.
The incident happened at 12:34 a.m. Tuesday, during a concert by the Dominican merengue singer Rubby Pérez, according to the police. The roof collapsed within seconds, police said.
Specialized technical teams were active throughout Wednesday, with heavy machinery employed for debris removal, officials said.
“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub,” Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said in a post on social media. “We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred. All relief agencies have provided the necessary assistance and are working tirelessly in the rescue efforts. Our prayers are with the affected families.”
Pérez, 69, a renowned singer in the country, was found dead in the collapsed club, according to the Dominican Republic’s National Police.
A tribute posted to his Instagram account said Pérez’s music and legacy “will live forever in our hearts.”
Former MLB players among those killed
The incident has impacted those with ties to Major League Baseball, with two former players among those killed and other athletes’ family members involved.
The deceased included former MLB player Octavio Dotel, 51, according to the Dominican Republic’s minister of interior and police, Faride Raful.
Dotel was pulled from the rubble by rescue crews but died in an ambulance while en route to a hospital, according to Col. Randolfo Rijo Gomez, head of the country’s 911 emergency services.
The Dominican pitcher played for 13 MLB teams, including the Mets, which held a moment of silence for Dotel before their game on Tuesday.
“We mourn the passing of Octavio Dotel,” the Mets said in a social media post. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy in the Dominican Republic.”
Dotel was part of a combined no-hitter against the Yankees in June 2003, a team he would play for three years later.
Another former MLB player, 44-year-old Tony Blanco, was also killed in the roof collapse, according to the Dominican Republic Ministry of Sports and Recreation. The Dominican baseball player played for the Washington Nationals as well as professionally in Japan and the Dominican Republic.
“His legacy will live on in the history of national baseball,” the ministry said in a statement on social media. “We share in their grief with their family, friends, and colleagues, and we offer our prayers for their eternal rest.”
Montecristi Gov. Nelsy Milagros Cruz Martinez was also among those killed, according to national police and Abinader’s office. She was the sister of former MLB star Nelson Cruz, who shared a statement from the Cruz Martinez family on social media that said her “legacy of service and love for others will live forever in our hearts.”
“Major League Baseball is deeply saddened by the passings of Octavio Dotel, Tony Blanco, Nelsy Cruz, and all the victims of last night’s tragedy in Santo Domingo,” MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. said in a statement on Tuesday. “We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of all those who have been affected and to our colleague Nelson and his entire family. The connection between baseball and the Dominican Republic runs deep, and we are thinking of all the Dominican players and fans across the game today.”
MLB Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez said Tuesday that he has family members missing in the rubble.
“We don’t know what happened to them, but we just want to be strong like we have always been,” the Dominican-born pitcher said in a video posted to Instagram. “We’re a country that prays a lot and remains united all the time. So I just hope that everybody has the same courage.”
Investigation underway
Fashion designer Martin Polanco died in the roof collapse, his family confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday. A fashion icon in the Dominican Republic, Polanco dressed artists including Daddy Yankee and Sergio Vargas as well as designed for Abinader.
At least one U.S. citizen was among those killed, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. U.S. lawful permanent residents also died in the collapse, according to Rubio, who did not specify how many.
“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones affected by this devastating event,” he said in a post on X on Wednesday. “The U.S. stands ready to support our Dominican allies amid this difficult time.”
Many families gathered at the scene looking for their loved ones who were inside the club, according to DJ Shakirax, who was at the nightclub and shared videos from the scene on Tuesday.
An investigation into the cause of the collapse is underway, police said.
There was a fire in 2023 that damaged part of the nightclub, authorities said.
ABC News’ Aicha El Hammar Castano and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.
Andrew Tate (left) and his brother Tristan Tate are pictured inside The Court of Appeal in Bucharest, Romania, on December 10, 2024. (Photo by DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP v
(LONDON) — Controversial influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate have landed in Florida, after Romanian officials announced that court restrictions prohibiting them from leaving Romania while awaiting trial were lifted.
The pair were traveling aboard a private jet after being allowed to leave Romania, according to a source close to the brothers.
Their spokesperson shared a live feed of the plane arriving in Fort Lauderdale late Thursday morning.
The charges against the Tates remain in force, and they will be expected to return to Romania for court appearances, according to a statement from Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, or DIICOT.
The brothers had been confined to Romania since late 2022 when they were arrested on allegations of human trafficking, sexual abuse, money laundering and forming an organized criminal group.
They were charged in 2023 and have denied the allegations.
The Tates’ departure follows reports that Trump administration officials had lobbied Romania to lift a travel ban on them while they are awaiting trial.
A lawyer for an American woman who is one of the key alleged victims in the Romanian criminal case against Andrew Tate condemned the Trump administration after he was allowed to leave Romania.
“It seems clear the U.S. intervened in Romania to assist the Tate brothers who are being prosecuted for sex trafficking over 35 women including minors,” Dani Pinter, senior vice president at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, said in a statement. “This is a slap in the face to all the victims of the Tate brothers especially the U.S. victim who is not being protected by her country.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said his office had no involvement in the case and found out through the media that the brothers were traveling to Florida.
“But the reality is, no, Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct in the air,” he said when asked by a reporter at an unrelated press conference on Thursday if Andrew Tate is welcome in Florida.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
