Dwally Saikautau

Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Dwally Saikautau.

It was a rainy Christmas Day at the Vatican, where Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, used his Christmas Day blessing to urge more than 1.4 billion Catholic followers to act with humility and responsibility.

He highlighted conflicts in Sudan, in Yemen, in Gaza, and he told his faithful, if he would truly enter into the suffering of others and stand in solidarity with the weak and oppressed, then the world would change.

Indeed, God, who created us without us, will not save us without us, that is, without our free will to love.

As rain drizzled outside St.

Peter's Basilica, the Pope asked the crowd to not turn away from the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold.

And later, Leo spoke of Ukraine, of how a ceasefire remains out of reach.

In Turkey, authorities have detained more than 100 suspected members of the Islamic State group.

The individuals are said to have been planning attacks on Christmas and New Year's celebrations.

The BBC's Sebastian Usher has the latest information released by the chief prosecutor's office.

The BBC's Sebastian Usher reporting.

An NPR analysis of immigration court records showed an increase in people being ordered deported because they did not show up to their appointments.

NPR's Jimena Bustillo reports fear of arrest and logistical challenges cause these no-shows.

North Korea is making progress toward having a nuclear-powered submarine.

This is NPR News from New York.

A good number of people got lucky last night winning some cash prizes in Powerball, the lotto game that's been played since 1992 in 45 states, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

But one ticket holder in Arkansas has won the jackpot, $1.8 billion.

That person or perhaps group of people who purchased the ticket together

can cash it all out for almost $835 million.

The Iowa Lottery CEO and Powerball Group chair Matt Strawn says this is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize.