POPE

MEXICO CITY — Pope Francis heads into the heart of Mexico's troubled drug-trafficking country Tuesday for a meeting with young people, whom he is holding up as the hope for a better future. 

OBAMA-ASEAN

RANCHO MIRAGE, California — President Barack Obama opens a meeting of leaders from a 10-nation bloc of Southeast Asian nations, calling the landmark gathering on U.S. soil a reflection of his personal commitment to an enduring partnership with the diverse group of countries. 

PRESIDENTIAL RACE

CHARLESTON, South Carolina — George W. Bush never mentioned Donald Trump. But with his folksy touch, the former president unleashed a tough takedown Monday of the billionaire businessman who has upended a Republican Party his family has long led. 

PRESIDENTIAL RACE-GETTING NASTY

WASHINGTON — Front-runner Donald Trump is in a profanity-laced campaign for the Republican nomination that has seen multiple candidates hurl insults and disparaging remarks. 

PRESIDENTIAL RACE-NEVADA-ASIAN-AMERICANS

LAS VEGAS — As Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders compete for every vote before Saturday's Nevada caucuses, they are looking for support among members of the nation's fastest-growing ethnic group. Asian-Americans comprise 6 percent of the U.S. population, and their numbers have increased 56 percent since 2000. In Nevada, Asian-Americans are 9 percent of the population. 

SCALIA-SENATE

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans united behind Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in insisting that President Barack Obama's successor fill the Supreme Court vacancy after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Democrats looking to reclaim the Senate majority immediately accused them of putting politics ahead of their constitutional responsibility. 

ZIKA-PARALYSIS SYNDROME

CUCUTA, Colombia — People in the Americas are already alarmed by the suspected link between the Zika epidemic and birth defects, and now frontline physicians believe a surge in Guillain-Barre paralysis cases may also be related.