The Week in Review: Pope Leo's Surgery, a Nobel Prize and Trump vs. Zelensky
The seven biggest stories on Deniro News from Monday through Sunday: Pope Leo XIV’s lung surgery, the Nobel medicine prize, the Fort Hood firing squad decision and more.
It was a week of science, justice and geopolitics. The Nobel committee honored the scientists behind optogenetics. The Pentagon moved toward the first U.S. military execution in 65 years. And the pope announced he will undergo surgery, while Trump and Zelensky traded sharp words over Russian diesel. These were the seven biggest stories on Deniro News this week.
Pope Leo XIV to Undergo Surgery for a Small Lung Nodule
The pope told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square that doctors found a small, contained nodule on his lung during routine medical checks. The surgery is scheduled for the coming days, and recovery is expected to take about a week.
Read the full story: Pope Leo XIV to Undergo Surgery for a Small Lung Nodule →
Deisseroth, Hegemann and Nagel Win 2026 Nobel Medicine Prize for Optogenetics
Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries on light-gated ion channels, the work that made optogenetics possible. The prize comes with 12 million Swedish kronor, about $1.2 million, to share.
The breakthrough began with algae: Hegemann and Nagel showed an algal protein opens in response to light, and Deisseroth put the gene into rat nerve cells in 2005, making them fire on a blue-light signal. The technique is now used in vision-restoration trials for retinitis pigmentosa, with cochlear implants as the next hope.
Read the full story: Deisseroth, Hegemann and Nagel Win 2026 Nobel Medicine Prize for Optogenetics →
Trump Approves Firing Squad for Fort Hood Killer Nidal Hasan
The Pentagon announced Monday night that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended death by U.S. Army firing squad for Nidal Malik Hasan, and President Trump approved it. Hasan was convicted in 2013 of killing 13 people and wounding 32 in the 2009 attack at Fort Hood.
Hegseth replied with a single word: “Justice.” The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place. If carried out, it would be the first execution by the U.S. military since 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth.
Read the full story: Trump Approves Firing Squad for Fort Hood Killer Nidal Hasan →
Trump Stuck at Record-Low 32% as Midterm Enthusiasm Gap Widens
A Reuters/Ipsos poll of 4,506 adults found just 32 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, a record low matching his September mark. Other surveys land nearby: AP-NORC at 31 percent, Quinnipiac at 34 percent.
With the November 3 midterms four weeks out, 48 percent of Harris 2024 voters say they are “very enthusiastic” about voting, compared with 30 percent of Trump voters. The poll also shows men moving toward the Democrats 43 to 39.
Read the full story: Trump Stuck at Record-Low 32% as Midterm Enthusiasm Gap Widens →
Trump Says Ukraine Should Get a New Leader in Clash Over Russian Diesel Deal
A day after announcing a deal to bring Russian diesel to U.S. markets, President Trump told reporters outside the White House that it is “time for Ukraine to get a new president,” blaming Volodymyr Zelensky for Russia’s continuing war and for Kyiv’s refinery strikes driving up diesel prices. “He better damn well stop,” Trump said.
Zelensky answered Sunday, offering to halt the refinery strikes if Moscow stops hitting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. He also said the Zaporizhzhia death toll had risen to 23, including four children. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the diesel deal “provides Moscow with more revenues to wage war,” while UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham offered Zelensky “complete solidarity.”
Read the full story: Trump Says Ukraine Should Get a New Leader in Clash Over Russian Diesel Deal →
Delhi on Lockdown as Banned Election-Chief Protest Sparks Hundreds of Detentions
Delhi went under a massive security lockdown Saturday ahead of a banned protest by the Cockroach Janta Party demanding the election commissioner’s resignation over voter-roll deletions. More than 40,000 police and paramilitary personnel were deployed, 254 trains were cancelled, 45 metro stations shut, and internet service was suspended around central Delhi.
Police said permission was denied because the application came late and the protest posed a law-and-order risk; more than 600 people were preventively detained, including party founder Abhijeet Dipke. India’s chief justice intervened to release about 100 lawyers marching from the Supreme Court. The AAP called it a “black emergency”; the BJP said the opposition was trying to destabilize the capital.
Germany Arrests Suspected Leader of Qilin Ransomware Gang After Extradition From Japan
Germany announced it has arrested a 28-year-old Russian national suspected of being “one of the leading heads” of the Qilin ransomware group. He was picked up at an Osaka hotel in May while on vacation, and Japan handed him over despite having no bilateral extradition treaty.
German investigators say they secretly infiltrated the group and watched it for months. The gang has extorted nearly 4,000 companies and institutions worldwide since 2024, with ransom demands nearing $3 billion, and more than $140 million has been paid.
That’s the week. The daily column returns tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. ET.
