The Department of Justice has launched an investigation of child sex abuse within Pennsylvania's Roman Catholic Church, sending subpoenas to dioceses across the state seeking private files and records to explore the possibility that priests and bishops violated federal law in cases that go back decades, NPR has learned.

Boston's pitchers held the Houston Astros to just five hits, and Red Sox third-baseman Rafael Devers continued his surprising postseason with a three-run homerun Thursday night as the Red Sox won the American League Championship Series.

Boston will advance to the World Series, where they'll face the National League series winner. The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 in that series, and can wrap it up in Game 5 on Friday (Fox Sports, 8:30 p.m. ET).

The Washington Post has published the last column Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi wrote before he disappeared on Oct. 2 after entering the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul.

"We held on to this column he filed the day before he entered the consulate in the hopes that we could edit it with him, as we normally did," Fred Hiatt, who runs the Post's Opinions section, told NPR.

On Thursday, Californians took part in an annual statewide earthquake preparedness event called The Great Shake Out. The event encouraged people to practice safety drills, check quake supplies and go over emergency plans with family, schools and employers.

While many Californians now know the mantra to "drop, cover and hold on," there's growing concern that people and companies are not adequately covered for the days after.