In the news

President Barack Obama, mingling with schoolchildren and children from military families who went trick-or-treating at the White House, bestowed “top prize” on a toddler who was dressed as the pope and seated on a popemobile.

Francesco Paolo Tronca, a security prefect for Milan, will serve as interim mayor of Rome until elections can be arranged, after Mayor Ignazio Marino was forced to step down when several City Council members quit in protest against his administration, which has been struggling to reduce corruption.

Donald Trump, a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, unveiled a plan for veterans’ health care under which veterans could take their identification cards to any doctor or facility that accepts Medicare and be able to receive immediate treatment.

Wu Zeheng, who is the founder of the Huazang Zongmen cult in China and has been accused of swindling followers and seducing dozens of women with promises of supernatural powers, was sentenced to life in prison for rape and fraud, according to the Zhuhai City Intermediate People’s Court.

Canyon Boykin, a police officer involved in a fatal shooting during a traffic stop last month in Columbus, Miss., has been fired, Mayor Robert Smith said, because the officer did not turn on his body camera before the shooting and because his girlfriend was riding in the police car without permission.

Richard Defeudis, 32, who is accused of breaking into a house in Portland, Ore., getting into bed with a man and woman while naked and kissing the man, has pleaded innocent to charges of burglary and sexual abuse.

Angelic Valle, 23, who, according to witnesses at a Florida diner, removed her swimsuit, poured ketchup on herself and started performing a dance while lying on a table, was arrested by Miami Beach police.