National News - The Morning Sun

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

FILE - Aurora, Colo., police officer Nathan Woodyard attends an arraignment hearing after being charged in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, Jan. 20, 2023, at the Adams County Justice Center in Brighton, Colo. Closing arguments are scheduled Friday, Nov. 3, in the trial of the police officer charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of McClain, a 23-year-old Black man stopped as he walked home from the store after someone reported that he was suspicious. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via AP, File)

Closing arguments scheduled Friday in trial of police officer charged in Elijah McClain's death

Closing arguments are scheduled to take place in the trial of a police officer charged with manslaughter in the death of Elijah McClain. The 23-year-old Black man was stopped in 2019 as he walked … more

By COLLEEN SLEVIN | 11/3/23

FILE- San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers answers a question after a news conference, April 30, 2023, in Cleveland, Texas. The FBI is investigating allegations of wrongdoing by the Texas sheriff who faced complaints of corruption from his own deputies for years before drawing broader scrutiny for his agency's response to a mass shooting, according to a woman interviewed by federal agents. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

The FBI is investigating a Texas sheriff's office, a woman interviewed by agents says

A woman interviewed by FBI agents says they are investigating allegations of wrongdoing by a Texas sheriff who faced complaints of corruption for years before drawing broader scrutiny for his … more

By JAKE BLEIBERG | 11/3/23

Peer support worker Jesse Johnson of the Family Resource Center looks to her client Tyler Baker as they talk in the driveway of Baker's home in Findlay, Ohio, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. Peer support services for people in recovery are a major component of Hancock County's strategy for addressing the opioid epidemic. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

As billions roll in to fight the US opioid epidemic, one county shows how recovery can work

Legal settlements could provide local and state governments $50 billion to fight the deadly U.S. opioid overdose crisis. What could that look like? One Ohio community is already doing many of the … more

By GEOFF MULVIHILL and CARLA K. JOHNSON | 11/3/23

Dr. Ray Mendez, right, examines Moises Abraham Hidalgo Sarmiento, 30, of Peru outside of the 1st District police station where migrants are camped, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, in Chicago.. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Volunteer medical students are trying to fill the health care gap for migrants in Chicago

A group of volunteer doctors in Chicago is spending their Saturdays providing street medicine for the growing number of migrants. The doctors are mostly students from Chicago universities and visit … more

By SOPHIA TAREEN | 11/2/23

FILE - Chelsey Napper, the neighbor of Breonna Taylor, testifies during the trial of former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison, March 1, 2022, in Louisville, Ky. Breonna Taylor’s neighbor recalled her horror as police bullets flew into her apartment near her sleeping son as a federal trial for Hankison, the former Louisville officer who fired those shots, began on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, Pool, File)

Breonna Taylor's neighbor testified son was nearly shot by officer's stray bullets during 2020 raid

The federal trial of a former Louisville police officer charged in the deadly Breonna Taylor raid has begun. Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison fired shots during the botched raid that … more

By DYLAN LOVAN | 11/2/23

FILE - The sun rises above a highway in Frankfurt, Germany, Aug. 2, 2022. Former NASA top scientist James Hansen is warning that global warming is accelerating faster than most models are showing, a contention that other scientists think is overblown. He argues that since 2010 there is more sun energy in the atmosphere, and less of the particles that can reflect it back into space thanks to efforts to cut pollution. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

Pioneering scientist says global warming is accelerating. Some experts call his claims overheated

One of modern climate science’s pioneers is warning that the world isn’t just steadily warming, but is dangerously accelerating. But some other scientists are calling the work a bit overheated. … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 11/2/23

FILE - Varieties of disposable flavored electronic cigarette devices manufactured by EB Design, formerly known as Elf Bar, are displayed at a store in Pinecrest, Fla., Monday, June 26, 2023. A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, shows fewer high school students are vaping. About 10% of high school students said they used electronic cigarettes in the previous month, down from 14% from the same survey conducted last year. Fewer high schools students also smoked cigarettes and cigars. The use of e-cigarettes among middle school students was about the same as last year. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Vaping by high school students dropped this year, says US report

A new government report shows fewer high school students are vaping. About 10% of high school students said they had used electronic cigarettes in the previous month. That's down from 14% from the … more

By MIKE STOBBE and MATTHEW PERRONE | 11/2/23

FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. A growing list of Israeli officials have accepted responsibility for failing to prevent Hamas’ brutal attack on Israeli communities during the Oct. 7 incursion that triggered the current Israel-Hamas war. Conspicuously absent from that roll call is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, Pool, File)

Netanyahu has sidestepped accountability for Hamas attack, instead taking aim at his security chiefs

A growing list of Israeli officials have accepted responsibility for failing to prevent Hamas’ brutal attack on Israeli communities. Conspicuously absent from those names is Prime Minister Benjamin … more

By TIA GOLDENBERG | 11/2/23

A hiring sign is displayed at a retail store in Wheeling, Ill., Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. On Thursday, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

US applications for jobless benefits inch higher but remain at historically healthy levels

The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits inched up last week but remains low by historical standards, even with the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes meant to cool the … more

By MATT OTT | 11/2/23