PopeTour: After drawing crowds in the streets of Washington yesterday, Pope Francis this morning is to become the first Pope to address a joint session of Congress. He’ll be speaking to one of the most divided political bodies in the world about the issues that divide them the most; climate change, immigration, and poverty.

Yesterday Francis canonized Father Junipero Serra, the Franciscan monk who was responsible for founding a string of missions in California. It was the first sainthood ceremony held in the US.

Francis was invited to Congress by House Speaker John Boehner, a former altar boy. Boehner told the Associated Press, “He appeals to our better angels and brings us back to our daily obligations.” We’ll see whether Mr. Speaker answers the call.

Stampede: At least 453 people are reported dead after a stampede at the annual Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabian officials say. Another 719 people are reported injured. Massive deaths in stampedes at the Hajj are not unusual. In 1990, 1,426 pilgrims died in a stampede inside a tunnel.

Out Foxed: Donald Trump announced via Twitter that he feels poorly treated by Fox News and won’t appear on any of their shows, “for the foreseeable future.” Trump threw a Twitter tantrum after his scheduled appearance on “The O’Reilly Factor” was cancelled.

A Fox statement said Trump, “engages in personal attacks on our anchors and hosts, which has grown stale and tiresome. He doesn’t seem to grasp that candidates telling journalists what to ask is not how the media works in this country.”

Drivers Wanted: Volkswagen’s worldwide CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned yesterday in the wake of revelations that 11 million of his company’s diesel vehicles were programmed to cheat on emissions tests. He said in a released statement, “I am stunned that misconduct on such a scale was possible in the Volkswagen Group,” and that, “I am not aware of any wrong doing on my part.” The company’s stock lost a third of its value this week.
 The scandal has rocked Germany’s modern image of itself as Europe’s center of moral and technical leadership.

World: Two amphibious assault ships built in France for the Russian navy will be sold to Egypt instead, the French government announced. France withheld delivery of the ships to Russia and refunded $1 billion after the Russian seizure of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, President Obama has agreed to see Russian President Vladimir Putin in New York next week for the first meeting between the two men since the Ukraine takeover. Obama has been freezing out Putin, but with the Russians building a base in Syria and becoming a major player in the Middle East meltdown, the two have a lot to talk about.

China Syndrome: In a sweep through Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province, Chinese authorities have arrested 19,000 members of the organized crime gangs known as triads. The crimes include drug dealing, gambling, prostitution, and loan sharking. In Hong Kong alone, police seized $100 million in cash, drugs, pirated DVDs, weapons and contraband cigarettes.

Nation: Nine current and former Washington journalists have been subpoenaed to testify in the lawsuit of a woman who was a sideline figure in the Gen. David Petraeus sex scandal. Tampa Socialite Jill Kelley and her husband are suing the federal government claiming leaks to the news media about Kelley’s friendly relationship with Petraeus violated their privacy. They want the reporters to give up their sources, which is unlikely to happen.

Among the journalists are Justin Fishel, formerly with Fox and now with ABC News; former Washington Post reporter Doug Frantz, now a senior State Department official; and former Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran.

Elements of Style: Today is National Punctuation Day, so let’s make sure everyone puts their apostrophe’s in the right place’s.

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