More Black Smoke: No Pope After Two Votes

Black smoke poured from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Thursday, meaning cardinals failed to pick a pope in their second round of voting, reports NBC News. They will try again at 11:30am Eastern.

• No surprise: Modern popes are rarely selected in the first or second round, notes the BBC. Pope Francis needed five ballots over two days, Benedict needed four ballots over two days, and John Paul II in 1978 needed eight ballots over three days. In fact, popes in the 20th century have required an average of seven ballots over three days.
• Secret: Because the popes are sequestered, the world has no idea which of the 133 cardinals in attendance are in contention. Their conclave began on Wednesday.

(More pope stories.)