By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis was up and receiving therapy on Monday after apparently overcoming a setback in his recovery from pneumonia. The Vatican said he is stable, off mechanical ventilation and is showing no sign of new infection following a respiratory crisis late last week.

“The pope rested well all night,” the Vatican said in its update from Gemelli hospital, where Francis has been hospitalized since Feb. 14.

On Monday, he had coffee and breakfast and was undergoing therapy.

Catholic faithful attend a nightly rosary prayer for the health of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

Earlier, doctors reported the 88-year-old pope spent all day Sunday without using the noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask that pumps oxygen into his lungs that he had to use following the coughing episode and crisis on Friday. Francis did continue to receive high flow supplemental oxygen through a nasal tube.

The respiratory crisis sparked fears of a new lung infection because Francis inhaled some vomit. Doctors aspirated it and said they needed 24 to 48 hours to determine if any new infection took hold.

On Sunday evening, they said Francis remained stable, with no fever or signs of an infection, indicating he had overcome the crisis. His prognosis remained guarded, however, meaning he wasn’t out of danger.

Francis on Sunday also received a visit from the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and his chief of staff, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra. The content of their talks wasn’t known, but even when at the Vatican, Francis meets at least weekly with them.

He again skipped his weekly noon blessing to avoid even a brief public appearance from the hospital. Instead, the Vatican distributed a message written by the pope from the 10th floor in which he thanked his doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers, and prayed again for peace in Ukraine and elsewhere.

“From here, war appears even more absurd,” Francis said in the message, which he drafted in recent days. Francis said he was living his hospitalization as an experience of profound solidarity with people who are sick and suffering everywhere.

“I feel in my heart the ‘blessing’ that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord,” Francis said in the text. “At the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people.”

The Argentine pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli on Feb. 14 after his bronchitis worsened and turned into a complex pneumonia in both lungs.

On Sunday night at the Vatican, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski presided over the evening Rosary prayer in St. Peter’s Square.

“Let us pray together with the entire church for the health of the Holy Father Francis,” said Krajewski, who is the pope’s personal Almoner, a centuries-old job of handing out alms. Francis has elevated the job to make it an extension of his own personal charity.

The American Cardinal Robert Prevost, who heads the Vatican’s powerful office for bishops, was celebrating Monday night’s prayer.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

By MEG KINNARD, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday night will deliver the first joint congressional address of his second presidency.

It’s not officially called the State of the Union, a title reserved for a president’s annual address to Congress during other years of an administration. But it is an opportunity for Trump to lay out his priorities for the year.

Here’s information on how to tune in to Trump’s joint address on Tuesday:

What time is the joint address?

Trump’s remarks to Congress are slated to begin Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.

What channel will carry the address?

A number of networks have said they plan to air the Republican president’s address across their broadcast and streaming platforms, with special programming before and afterward.

Where does the address happen?

Trump’s speech will take place in the U.S. House chamber. Larger than the Senate chamber, it can accommodate both House and Senate lawmakers as well as other officials who are typically invited to such events.

Who else will be there?

Members of the U.S. Supreme Court and Trump’s Cabinet will attend.

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There’s always one Cabinet member missing, though. Called the “designated survivor,” that person — who by position is in the presidential line of succession — is intentionally left out of such events to ensure that someone could assume the office of the president in case of a catastrophic or mass-casualty event.

The president typically invites guests who join the event from the balcony above the House floor and are seated with the first lady. Sometimes, there are personal connections, and other times the guests have an association with an issue the president intends to highlight in his remarks.

In his first joint address after taking office in 2017, Trump invited the widow of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, as well as the widows of two California police officers killed by a man living in the country illegally.

What happens afterward?

As there is a post-State of the Union address, the opposing party — in this case, the Democrats — will offer a message in response to the joint congressional address.

This year, Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who previously served in the House, will give the Democrats’ response, which is also televised. Democratic leaders have said that in her message, Slotkin will likely focus on economic issues.

The party has also tapped Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York, chair of the Hispanic Caucus, to give a Spanish-language response. On Saturday, Trump signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States, a measure that allows government agencies and organizations that receive federal funding to choose whether to continue to offer documents and services in languages other than English.

Why isn’t this called the State of the Union?

By tradition, a State of the Union address is intended as a look back on the prior year. Trump just took office — albeit for a second time — on Jan. 20, so he’s only been in office this go-round for just over a month.

Instead, newly inaugurated presidents typically use their first joint congressional addresses to look forward, setting a tone for their legislative agenda. According to the Congressional Research Service, the average number of policy requests in a first-year address is 42.

Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP.

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press Business Writer

Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen has resigned after an internal investigation into his personal conduct.

Kroger, the nation’s largest grocery chain, said Monday that the investigation into McMullen’s personal conduct was unrelated to the business, but was found to be inconsistent with its business ethics policy.

Board member Ronald Sargent will serve as chairman and interim CEO, effective immediately.

Sargent has been on Kroger’s board since 2006 and has served as the lead director of the company since 2017. He’s worked in several roles at the grocery chain across stores, sales, marketing, manufacturing and strategy. Sargent is also the former Chairman and CEO of Staples.

McMullen, 64, began his career with Kroger in 1978 as a part-time stock clerk and bagger at a store in Lexington, Kentucky. He worked his way up through the company, becoming chief financial officer in 1995 and chief operating officer in 2009. McMullen was named Kroger’s CEO in 2014 and became the company’s chairman the following year.

Kroger said its board was made aware of the situation on Feb. 21 and immediately hired an outside independent counsel to conduct an investigation, overseen by a special board committee.

The company said that McMullen’s conduct is not related to its financial performance, operations or reporting, and did not involve any Kroger associates.

Kroger will conduct a search for its next CEO, with Sargent agreeing to remain as interim CEO until someone is appointed to the role permanently.

Shares of Kroger, based in Cincinnati, fell about 1.3% before the opening bell.

By BERNARD CONDON, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk’s car company is required each year to report to investors all the bad things that could happen to it, and the latest version lists every imaginable threat from costly lawsuits to out-of-control battery fires to war and another epidemic.

But there’s barely any mention in the latest annual update of Musk’s full-bore entry into right-wing politics, which some experts say is turning off potential customers who don’t share his views.

“It’s marketing 101: Don’t involve yourself in politics,” said New York brand consultant Robert Passikoff. “People will stop buying your products.”

It may be too late.

Tesla sales plunged 45% in Europe in January, according to research firm Jato Dynamics, even as overall electric vehicle sales rose. That comes after a report of falling sales in California, its biggest U.S. market, and the first annual drop globally for the company last year.

“I don’t even want to drive it,” said Model 3 owner John Parnell, a Democrat from Ross, California, adding that he also is cancelling his order for the company’s Cybertruck, losing a $100 deposit. “He’s destroying the brand with his politics.”

Car industry analysts say it’s too early to say for sure how much damage Musk is causing to Tesla because so many other factors could explain its current troubles. It’s best selling vehicle, the Model Y, is coming out with a new version this year, leading potential Tesla buyers to hold off purchases right now. And European and Chinese manufacturers are finally catching up to the world’s EV leader, offering cars with battery life and dependability that are competitive.

But, if anything, that makes Musk’s political comments even more reckless, auto analysts say.

“Musk thinks he can say anything he wants to and doesn’t think Tesla will suffer any consequences,“ said Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein. “Tesla was in the sweet spot. Now it has competition.”

FILE – A person protesting Elon Musk’s actions in the Trump administration holds a sign outside a Tesla showroom in Seattle, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes, File)

The sales numbers were particularly bad in Germany and France in January, down roughly 60% each, more than the average decline for the more than two-dozen European countries surveyed. Sales in France fell another 26% in February.

More worrisome was the breakdown for Tesla’s individual models. Sales of Tesla’s Model 3 dropped 33% across all European countries even though that car is not being updated and there is no reason for buyers to wait

“Part of the population is not happy with his views, his political activism,” said Jato senior analyst Felipe Munoz who had shrugged off the boycott threat earlier this year, but is now having second thoughts.

Many Tesla buyers used to be wealthy, environmentally-conscious professionals, often liberal, who were attracted to Musk’s talk about how his EVs could help save the planet from fossil-fuel destruction.

Not anymore.

“I used to be adored by the left,” Musk said in an interview with Tucker Carlson on February 18 as his stock was halfway through a nearly 30% plunge for the month. “Less so these days.”

His decision to spend $270 million on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and publicly back him was risky enough for his business. Then he doubled down, pursuing a slash-and-burn strategy as head of Trump’s government efficiency team and taking his political revolution and incendiary talk abroad.

He has backed the far-right, pro-Russian, anti-Muslim party in Germany, called the British prime minister an “evil tyrant” who runs a “police state,” and stated recently about a U.S. neighbor and major Tesla market, “Canada is not a real country.”

The backlash has been fierce.

Tesla showrooms in the U.S. have been besieged by protesters, its vehicles vandalized and bumper stickers appearing on its cars with sayings such as, “I bought it before Elon went nuts.”

FILE – A Tesla with a sticker referring to the car’s purchase is shown on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Concord, Mass. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

An effigy of Musk was hung in Milan and image of him doing a straight-arm salute projected on a Tesla factory outside Berlin. In London, a bus stop poster of him above the word “swasticars” lit up social media. A Polish government minister called for a Tesla boycott.

“I will not buy a Tesla again,” said Jens Fischer, a 50-year-old microscope salesman in Witten, Germany, who thinks Musk is “destabilizing democracy” and has slapped one of those “Elon went nuts” stickers on his Model 3. “I’d sell if I got a good offer.”

Tesla investor Ross Gerber says Musk has somehow managed to marry the world’s best product with the world’s worst marketing.

“People want to buy stuff that makes them feel good, you don’t want politics involved,” said Gerber, a money manager whose portfolios hold nearly $60 million in Tesla stock. “It’s even worse when you have such divisive issues, whether it’s firing climate scientists or taking aid away from starving African children.”

Boycotts have a habit of fizzling out, and Morningstar’s Goldstein says that buying a car is too big a decision and costs too much to make them successful targets, anyway.

One Tesla owner, Londoner Harry Chathli, is unmoved by the backlash, saying he has no intention of getting rid of his Tesla S. He has nothing but praise for Musk who he calls a visionary for transforming “the way we think about transportation and the future of our planet.”

But if Tesla’s stock is any indicator, the company’s prospects are deteriorating, and Musk’s position in the Trump administration isn’t helping. As of Friday, it has dropped 37% since its Inauguration Day, a loss of $550 billion in investor wealth.

AP Business Writers Pan Pylas in London and David McHugh in Frankfurt contributed to this story.