A man says his side hustle of cleaning graves has enabled him to buy his first home. Shaun Tookey, 31, has cleaned more than 300 graves since he began his side business in May 2023.

In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Friday, a mid-level appeals court in New York has upheld a law that shifts many local elections to even-numbered years — a policy meant to align county and town elections with statewide and federal races but that has led to pushback from Republicans.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers have reached a tentative agreement to issue so-called “inflation refund” checks to millions of residents, offering direct payments of up to $400 later this year as part of the state’s $254 billion budget plan.

And overseas, Catholic cardinals broke with tradition Thursday and elected the first U.S. pope, making Chicago-born missionary Robert Prevost the 267th pontiff to lead the Catholic Church in a moment of global turmoil and conflict.