Pope Leo XIV submitted a mail-in ballot in Illinois for the US midterm elections, the Vatican said Friday.

The Chicago-born pope is a US citizen and the first pontiff to vote in a US election.

He sent the ballot ahead of the November 3 election, which will help determine which party controls Congress.

The Vatican said Leo has voted whenever eligible, including during his years as a missionary and bishop in Peru.

Donald Trump reversed plans to cancel rallies in Kansas and Iowa after the events were called off a day earlier.

He said Republicans still have a chance in the November 3 US midterm elections.

The vote will decide which party controls Congress, and polls show close races in the two traditionally Republican states.

The cancellations had raised questions about Trump's health and the state of the race, but the reports give no further health details.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi urged Russia to release a detained journalist during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Atlanta.

The journalist, who works for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, was detained on Sakhalin Island on October 13 on suspicion of espionage and remains in custody.

The meeting took place alongside a Group of 20 foreign ministers gathering and was the countries’ first formal foreign-minister talks since September 2021.

Japan and Russia have strained relations over Russia’s war in Ukraine, Japanese sanctions on Moscow and a long-running dispute over islands claimed by Japan and held by Russia.

US technology stocks fell sharply on Friday as investors questioned whether the AI boom has pushed share prices too high.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.8%, its biggest one-day fall since June, while the Nasdaq fell 2.9% and the Dow lost 1.1%.

Intel shares plunged 28.6% after its profit forecast fell short of analysts’ expectations, and Amazon also fell after reporting weaker-than-expected profit.

Major technology companies are spending heavily on AI infrastructure, including data centres and computer chips, but investors are increasingly asking whether those investments will deliver enough profit.

Drupal says attackers are exploiting an access bypass flaw in its Commerce Core module, which helps run online stores.

The flaw affects versions up to 2.41 and versions 3.0.0 through 3.3.13, and attackers do not need to log in.

More than 42,000 websites use the module, according to Drupal’s statistics.

The weakness could let attackers reach order and payment functions, potentially changing prices, totals or payment details and costing store owners money.

Green Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson was taken to hospital during Thursday's game against the Carolina Panthers.

He went down after catching a 53-yard pass and landing hard on the ball.

The Packers listed him as questionable to return with a chest injury, and a sideline reporter said he was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Watson walked to an ambulance under his own power, but the broadcast showed him being taken away before halftime.

Silvana Bini, known as Nonna Silvi, has died at 85 at her home in Montespertoli, Tuscany.

Her grandson began sharing videos of her cooking in 2022, and her traditional recipes, humor and direct style quickly attracted a large online audience.

She built a following of millions on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, reaching viewers beyond Italy.

Bini had gained experience cooking at her son’s Forno Martini bakery in Castelfiorentino, which opened in 2006.

Researchers tested sitting and standing in 52 healthy men aged 18 to 39.

Each volunteer urinated in both positions, with at least 24 hours between tests.

The researchers measured urine flow rate and volume, and found no significant difference between the positions.

Standing took slightly longer to reach peak flow, but the researchers said this was unlikely to matter medically.