Pope Francis was in stable condition Tuesday and breathing with just the help of supplemental oxygen after respiratory crises a day earlier, but will resume using a ventilation mask at night, the Vatican said.

In its late update, the Vatican said Francis had no further respiratory episodes during a day spent praying, resting and undergoing respiratory physiotherapy to try to help him fight double pneumonia.

The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, had two respiratory crises on Monday in a setback to his recovery.

Doctors extracted “copious” amounts of mucus from his lungs. They put him on a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe and he slept with it through the night, but was stable enough on Tuesday morning to use just high flows of supplemental oxygen delivered by a nasal tube.

Doctors planned to resume using the mask while he sleeps Tuesday night, so that oxygen is pumped into his lungs via a mask that covers his nose and mouth.

Doctors said his clinical condition was stable and that his prognosis remained guarded, meaning he is not out of danger.

Floyd-inspired D.C. mural may be removed

The mayor of Washington, D.C., suggested Tuesday night that the giant Black Lives Matter mural that was painted in the summer of 2020 on a street within view of the White House would be painted over.

The announcement from Mayor Muriel E. Bowser about “the evolution of Black Lives Matter Plaza” came just a day after Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., introduced legislation threatening to withhold millions in federal funds from the city unless the giant yellow words were removed from the street and the plaza renamed.

In a post on social platform X, the mayor said that the plaza would instead be part of a citywide project in which students and artists would create new murals to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday.

The mural was painted on the morning of June 5, 2020, just days after federal authorities used chemical spray and smoke grenades to clear protesters so that President Donald Trump could walk to a historic church near the White House and pose for photographs holding a Bible.

At the time, cities across the country were convulsing with demonstrations over the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd.

Wyoming gov. vetoes ultrasound requirement

A bill that would require women seeking medication abortions to get ultrasounds has been vetoed by Wyoming’s Republican governor, who questioned whether it was reasonable and necessary especially for victims of rape and incest.

“Mandating this intimate, personally invasive, and often medically unnecessary procedure goes too far,” Gov. Mark Gordon wrote in a letter explaining his veto late Monday.

The bill stood a chance of becoming law anyway after a 45-16 vote by Wyoming’s House to override Gordon’s veto. As of late Tuesday, the bill had yet to be taken up again by the state Senate where a two-thirds override vote would make it law.

Groups working to maintain abortion access in Wyoming — the first state to attempt to explicitly outlaw medication abortions — praised the veto even though Gordon over the past three years has signed into law several bills seeking to ban the procedure.

Suicide attacks kill 12 at Pakistani base

Two suicide bombings breached a wall at a military base in northwestern Pakistan before other attackers stormed the compound and were repelled in violence that killed at least 12 people and wounded 30

others, according to officials and a local hospital.

A group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, and said that dozens of members of Pakistani security forces were killed. The military didn’t immediately confirm any casualties, but Bannu District Hospital said that at least a dozen people were dead.

The attack happened after sunset, when people would have been breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

China to increase defense spending

China said Wednesday it will increase its defense budget 7.2% this year, as it continues its campaign to build a larger, more modern military to assert its territorial claims and challenge the U.S. defense lead in Asia.

The budget, which adds up to about $245 billion, was announced at the National People’s Congress, the annual meeting of China’s legislature. The Pentagon and many experts say China’s total spending on defense may be 40% higher or more because of items included under other budgets.

The increase is the same percentage as last year, far below the double-digit percentage figures of previous years and reflecting an overall slowdown in the economy. The nation’s leaders have set a target of around 5% growth for this year.

Nevertheless, China’s military spending remains the second largest behind the U.S. and it already has the world’s largest navy.

— From news services