Pope personable

Pope Francis was the toast of St. Peter's Square on the first Sunday of his papacy, glad-handing surprised bystanders, throwing in off-the-cuff comments in his prepared remarks, and wishing Italians a "good lunch." (Page A2).

It was quite the contrast to Francis' dour predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, whose only moments of spontaneity was when he told kids to get off the papal lawn.

Don't know much about history: Fifty years ago today, in a decision treasured by liberals, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that state courts were required to provide legal counsel to criminal defendants who could not afford to hire an attorney on their own (Today in History, Page A2).

If current Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is in a really sour mood today, at least we know why.

If your friends could see you now: There's more trouble for the Carnival cruise line, as one of its ships canceled a port stop in the Caribbean because of propulsion system problems (Across the U.S., Page A3).

Carnival says the breakdown will be fixed in time for the ship's next sailing, but they're laying in an extra supply of plastic toilet bags just to be on the safe side.

-- Mark Carlson, Herald staff