Pope Leo reiterated the Catholic Church's teaching that the death penalty is "inadmissible," in a video message released hours after the Justice Department said it would allow firing squads for federal executions.

Gunfire and explosions have rocked Mali's capital Bamako and other key cities in one of the most significant coordinated attacks in years, as armed groups, including jihadist insurgents and separatist rebels exploit worsening insecurity in the Sahel region.

Two runners in this week's Boston Marathon stopped to help a racer who had collapsed just short of the finish line. NPR's Scott Simon says their generosity is its own kind of "personal best."