National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - People sign "I love you," while gathered at a vigil for the victims of mass shootings days earlier, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023, outside the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston, Maine. Two senators from Maine are asking the U.S. Army inspector general to provide a full accounting of interactions with a reservist before he killed multiple people at a bowling alley and bar. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

US senators seek answers from Army after reservist killed 18 in Maine

Two senators from Maine are asking the U.S. Army inspector general to provide a full accounting of interactions with a reservist before he killed 18 people at a bowling alley and bar. U.S. Sens. … more

11/6/23

Palestinians look for survivors of an Israeli bombardment in the Maghazi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Live updates | Israeli warplanes hit refugee camps in Gaza while UN agencies call siege an 'outrage'

Health officials say Israeli airstrikes have hit two refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, killing scores of people. The strikes came as the U.S. keeps urging Israel to take a humanitarian pause … more

By The Associated Press | 11/6/23

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses attendees at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Can a Floridian win the presidency? It hasn't happened yet as Trump and DeSantis vie to be first

Florida is the third largest state in the nation, yet it has never fielded a winning presidential candidate. Nationally known politicians like former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sens. Bob Graham and Marco … more

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON | 11/6/23

This image shows part of the user guide for Adoption-Share's Family-Match software in Florida, Georgia and Virginia dated April 2023. An Associated Press investigation found that Adoption-Share's tool – among the few adoption algorithms on the market in 2023 – has produced limited results in the states where it has been used, according to the organization’s self-reported data that AP obtained through public records requests from state and local agencies. (AP Photo)

Does an AI tool help boost adoptions? Key takeaways from an AP Investigation

Former social worker Thea Ramirez has developed an artificial intelligence-powered tool that she says helps social service agencies find the best adoptive parents for some of the nation’s most … more

By SALLY HO and GARANCE BURKE | 11/6/23

Liverpool's Luis Diaz celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Luton Town and Liverpool, at Kenilworth Road, in Luton, England, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023.Luis Diaz has returned to Liverpool's squad for its Premier League match against Luton with his father still missing after being kidnapped by a guerrilla group in Colombia. (Alastair Grant)

Luis Diaz sends a message for his kidnapped father after scoring for Liverpool

Luis Diaz lifted his Liverpool jersey to reveal a T-shirt with the words “Libertad Para Papa” (“Freedom for Papa”) after scoring a late equalizer in his first appearance for the team since … more

By STEVE DOUGLAS | 11/5/23

Dale Swanson, chair of the Spotsylvania County GOP, displays an official GOP sample ballot she was handing out at an early voting location in Fredericksburg, Va., on Oct. 17, 2023, while lamenting a campaign that is seeing "dirty tricks being played all over the place." She and Democrats alike were upset that a candidate for Spotsylvania County clerk of court was distributing sample ballots that resembled those of the parties, until a judge barred him from doing so. Swanson said civility is lacking in many races for local offices, including school boards, and "we need a better, kinder America." (AP Photo/Cal Woodward)

Virginia school board elections face a pivotal moment as a cozy corner of democracy turns toxic

Over the past three years, local school board elections have become the place where America’s deep political divisions are on full display. In Tuesday's races in Virginia, far-right candidates are … more

By CALVIN WOODWARD and ALI SWENSON | 11/5/23

Tiffany Wilburn, 41, a Jackson, Miss., based social activist, says she has been reinvigorated to go to the polls thanks to her close friends, her children and voting rights advocacy groups, during a roundtable discussion on elections, race and voter fatigue, Oct. 25, 2023, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Mississippi has a history of voter suppression. Many see signs of change as Black voters reengage

Mississippi's long history of voter suppression has created widespread voter fatigue among Black residents in a state where they account for nearly 40% of the population. But this year's elections … more

AYANNA ALEXANDER | 11/5/23

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves as he boards his plane to depart after meetings, amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Amman, Jordan, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool Photo via AP)

Blinken meets Palestinian leader in West Bank, stepping up Mideast diplomacy as Gaza war escalates

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has traveled to the occupied West Bank for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his latest bid to ease civilian suffering in the Gaza Strip. … more

By MATTHEW LEE | 11/5/23

A soldier of the Ukraine's National Guard 1st brigade Bureviy (Hurricane) ride an APC during combat training at a military training ground in the north of Ukraine Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

A Ukrainian missile strike on a shipyard in Crimea damages a Russian ship

The Russian military says a Ukrainian missile strike on a shipyard in annexed Crimea had damaged a Russian ship. The Russian Defense Ministry said late Saturday that Ukrainian forces fired 15 cruise … more

By The Associated Press | 11/5/23

Palestinians inspect the damage of a house destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)

Live updates | Israeli warplanes hit refugee camp in Gaza Strip, killing at least 33 people

Israeli airstrikes have hit a refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, killing at least 33 people, health officials said. The strikes early Sunday came a day after the U.S. tried to persuade Israel to … more

By The Associated Press | 11/5/23

Leo Ortega and his wife walk around their property, surrounded by blue agave plants, in Murrieta, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. Ortega started growing blue agave plants on the hillsides of his Southern California home because his wife liked the way they looked. Today, his property is littered with what some say could be a promising new crop for water-challenged California. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Californians bet farming agave for spirits holds key to weathering drought and groundwater limits

Some California entrepreneurs and farmers are betting agave could be a promising crop for the state. They're seeking to grow something that doesn't need much water after several years of drought and … more

By AMY TAXIN | 11/5/23

Live updates | Palestinians report deadly Israeli airstrikes as US urges humanitarian pause

The U.S. is trying to persuade Israel to take a humanitarian pause from airstrikes on Gaza, where Palestinians reported multiple fatalities across the besieged enclave. U.S. Secretary of State Antony … more

By The Associated Press | 11/4/23

This June 7, 2023, image provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows the female Mexican gray wolf F2754 during a health check before being released into the wild in southeastern Arizona. Federal biologists confirmed, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, that the wolf has traveled beyond the boundaries of the Mexican gray wolf recovery area for the second time and has been located west of Jemez Springs, New Mexico. (Aislinn Maestas/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)

Biologists are keeping a close eye on a rare Mexican wolf that is wandering out of bounds

Northern New Mexico or bust. That seems to be the case for at least one Mexican gray wolf that is intent on wandering beyond the boundaries set for managing the rarest subspecies of gray wolf in … more

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN | 11/4/23

This photo released by NASA shows astronaut Ken Mattingly. Mattingly, who is best remembered for his efforts on the ground that helped bring the damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft safely back to Earth, has died Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023, NASA announced. (NASA via AP)

Ken Mattingly, astronaut who helped Apollo 13 crew return safely home, dies at age 87

Ken Mattingly, an astronaut who is best remembered for his efforts on the ground that helped bring the damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft safely back to Earth, has died. He was 87. NASA says Mattingly died … more

By ROBERT JABLON | 11/4/23

FILE - In this image taken from Jacksonville (Florida) Sheriff's Office body camera video, suspect Le'Keian Woods lies on the ground after being beaten and tased with a Taser stun gun during his arrest, Sept. 29, 2023, in Fla. The U.S. Department of Justice has closed its review of the case of Woods, who was repeatedly punched, elbowed and kneed by police officers during a traffic stop in northeast Florida, officials said Friday, Nov. 3. A Justice Department criminal section chief wrote in a letter that the arrest of Woods does not give rise to a prosecutable violation of federal civil rights laws. (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office via AP, File)

Justice Department ends probe into police beating of man during traffic stop in Florida

Officials say the U.S. Department of Justice has closed its review of the case of a drug suspect who was repeatedly punched, elbowed and kneed by police officers during a traffic stop in northeast … more

11/3/23

FILE - James Heaps appears in the Los Angeles Superior Court on June 26, 2019. Heaps, a former gynecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles who was sentenced to prison for sexually abusing two patients, can be retried on charges involving four other women, a judge ruled Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool, File)

Judge says ex-UCLA gynecologist can be retried on charges of sexually abusing female patients

A judge says a former UCLA gynecologist who was sentenced to prison for sexually abusing student patients can be retried on charges involving four other women. The judge on Friday granted a … more

11/3/23

Former President Donald Trump arrives at a commit to caucus rally, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023, in Sioux City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Appeals courts temporarily lifts Trump's gag order as he fights the restrictions on his speech

A federal appeals court is temporarily lifting a gag order on Donald Trump in his federal election interference case in Washington. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision on Friday … more

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER | 11/3/23

This photo provided by NASA shows a photo taken by the Lucy spacecraft during Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023 flyby of asteroid Dinkinesh, 300 million miles from Earth. It turns out Dinkinesh, which is only a half-mile across, has a dinky sidekick ... just one-tenth of a mile across. This little companion was a surprise to everyone. (NASA via AP)

NASA spacecraft discovers tiny moon around asteroid during close flyby

The little asteroid visited by NASA's Lucy spacecraft this week had a big surprise for scientists _ a mini moon. The spacecraft made the discovery during Wednesday's close flyby of the asteroid … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 11/3/23

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Russian pop singer Alla Pugacheva pose for a photo during an awards ceremony in Moscow's Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 22, 2014. The Russian Orthodox Church on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, called for an apology from Alla Pugacheva, the country's most renowned pop singer who returned home this week, over her criticism of Russia's war on Ukraine. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

A Russian singer who condemned the war in Ukraine is back home. The Orthodox Church wants an apology

The Russian Orthodox Church has called for an apology from Russia's most renowned pop singer who returned home this week over her criticism of the war in Ukraine. The 74-year-old Alla Pugacheva has … more

By The Associated Press | 11/3/23

FILE - This Saturday, Jan. 8, 2005 file photo shows Oconee Nuclear Station in Seneca, S.C. A driver tried to crash through the exit gates of a South Carolina nuclear plant Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023 about an hour after security asked the same car to leave when it tried to enter, authorities said.(AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain, File)

Car crashes through gate at South Carolina nuclear plant before pop-up barrier stops it

Authorities say a driver tried to crash through the exit gates of a South Carolina nuclear plant about an hour after security asked the same car to leave when it tried to enter. Investigators say a … more

11/3/23