POPE-SOUTH AMERICA

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia — Pope Francis has cast himself as the spiritual and political leader of the world's oppressed with his mea culpa for the crimes of the Catholic Church against indigenous peoples during the colonial conquest of the Americas. He'll have a chance to embellish that reputation Friday when he visits Bolivia's notorious Palmasola prison. 

WHITE HOUSE-IRAN WAITING GAME

WASHINGTON — The final days of the high-stakes Iranian nuclear negotiations have been filled with a flurry of diplomatic wrangling in Vienna — but back at the White House, it's a waiting game. 

CONFEDERATE FLAG

COLUMBIA, South Carolina — With protracted emotional debates and raucous protests behind them, South Carolina officials prepared to quietly and quickly remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse where it has flown for more than a half-century. 

GOVERNMENT HACKED

WASHINGTON — The head of the U.S. government's personnel office is rejecting bipartisan calls for her resignation following revelations that hackers stole the personal information of more than 21 million people on her watch. 

JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, often called America's top military officer, actually commands nothing — no tanks, no planes, no ships, no troops.