National News - The Morning Sun

A Palestinian woman cries as she sits next to her girl wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip while receiving treatment at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, Southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)

Live updates | Gaza loses phone and internet, and Israeli families push for hostage release deal

Relatives of more than 100 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza stepped up their protests by disrupting a parliament committee meeting, yelling “You won’t sit here while they are dying there!” … more

By The Associated Press | 1/22/24

FILE - Members of the California Faculty Association rally and picket during a strike at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, in Pomona, Calif. More than 30,000 professors, librarians, plumbers, electricians, and other workers at California State University, the largest public university system in the U.S., are set to start a weeklong strike on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, the beginning of the spring semester. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)

California State University faculty launch weeklong strike across 23 campuses

More than 30,000 professors, librarians, plumbers, electricians and other workers in the California State University system have launched a weeklong strike. They’re demanding higher wages, more … more

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ | 1/22/24

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Ruslan Baysarov, Chairman of the Board of Group of companies Bamtonnelstroy-Most, back to a camera, during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. Baikal-Amur Railway Group of companies Bamtonnelstroy-Most is the largest construction enterprise in Russia with a half-century history that implements federal-scale infrastructure projects throughout the country from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Pro-Putin campaign amasses 95 cardboard boxes filled with petitions backing his presidential run

Vladimir Putin’s campaign has presented scores of boxes filled with signed petitions supporting his run in Russia's March presidential election, which he's almost certain to win. Putin is closely … more

By The Associated Press | 1/22/24

Health officials prepare to vaccinate residents of the Malawi village of Migowi, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019 where young children become test subjects for the world's first vaccine against malaria. Cameroon is beginning the world's first routine immunization program against malaria for children, a move that experts hope will mark the start of a campaign across Africa to dampen the impact of the parasitic disease. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Cameroon starts world's first malaria vaccine program for children

Cameroon will be the first country to routinely give children a new malaria vaccine as the shots are rolled out in Africa. The campaign is due to begin Monday in the Central African nation. It's … more

By The Associated Press | 1/22/24

FILE - In this undated photo released by the U.S Department of Justice is a sign used by a 13-year-old girl kidnapped in Texas. On Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, a statement received from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California said Steven Robert Sablan, 62, of Cleburne, Texas, admitted in a plea agreement that he sexually assaulted the victim while driving her from Texas to California. (U.S. Department of Justice via AP, File)

Texas man pleads guilty to kidnapping teen whose 'Help Me!' sign led to Southern California rescue

A Texas man has pleaded guilty to kidnapping a 13-year-old girl who was rescued in California last year when a passerby saw her hold up a “Help Me!” sign in a parked car. The U.S. Attorney’s … more

1/21/24

FILE - Alabama's lethal injection chamber at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala., is pictured in this Oct. 7, 2002 file photo. Kenneth Smith, 58, is scheduled to be executed Jan. 25, 2024, at a south Alabama prison by nitrogen gas, a method that has never been used to put a person to death. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Friday, Jan. 19, in Smith's bid to stop the execution from going forward. (AP Photo/File)

Alabama plans to carry out first nitrogen gas execution. How will it work and what are the risks?

Alabama is preparing to attempt the nation’s first execution using nitrogen gas. Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, is scheduled to be put to death Thursday by nitrogen hypoxia. The state plans to use a … more

By KIM CHANDLER | 1/21/24

FILE - The embalmed body of Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union, is seen on display in his mausoleum on Moscow's Red Square, Russia, on Wednesday, April 16, 1997. This year marks the 100th anniversary of his death. While he remains lauded by Communists with his body still on view, he is more of a curiosity than a leading force in Russia. (AP Photo/Sergei Karpukhin, File)

A century after Lenin's death, the USSR's founder seems to be an afterthought in modern Russia

A century after the death of Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union is largely an afterthought in modern Russia. The once-omnipresent face with the goatee and the intense gaze glares only … more

By JIM HEINTZ | 1/21/24

FILE - A worker walks through a destroyed property, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The day after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century destroyed a seaside community on Maui, the barrage of 911 calls didn't stop: Reports of missing people, stranded family members and confused tourists trapped without food or water lit up the emergency lines every few minutes, interspersed with reports of new fires starting and older ones flaring back up. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

911 calls from Maui capture pleas for the stranded, the missing and those caught in the fire's chaos

The day after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century destroyed a seaside community on Maui, the barrage of 911 calls didn’t stop: Reports of missing people, stranded family members and confused … more

By REBECCA BOONE, CLAUDIA LAUER and LINDSAY WHITEHURST | 1/20/24

This image provided by Claire Marburger shows Perry High School principal Dan Marburger who died Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024 from injuries he sustained during a Jan. 4 shooting at the small Iowa school. A sixth grader was killed in the shooting and six others were wounded. The gunman also died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Marburger's funeral is scheduled to be held Saturday morning, Jan. 20. (Claire Marburger via AP)

Mourners fill church to remember the Iowa principal who risked life to save kids in school shooting

The longtime Iowa principal who risked his life to save students during a shooting earlier this month was remembered Saturday not just for his heroic actions that day but for the unconditional love … more

By JOSH FUNK | 1/20/24

Mark Palmquist cross country skis through the snowfall Friday, Jan. 19, 2024 at Baker Park in Frederick, Md. (Ric Dugan/The Frederick News-Post via AP)

Winter blast in much of U.S. poses serious risks like black ice, frostbite and hypothermia.

Freezing temperatures and wind speeds are creating dangerously cold conditions in a large part of the U.S. stretching from Montana to northern Florida. The region is not expected to begin thawing out … more

By SUDHIN THANAWALA | 1/20/24

CORRECTS DETAILS OF DEATH Relatives mourn 17-year-old American Tawfiq Ajaq at his funeral in his family’s Palestinian home village in Al-Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya, West Bank, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. Ajaq was killed Friday by Israeli fire and police say they have launched an investigation. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Father of American teen killed in West Bank by Israeli fire rails against US support for Israel

The father of an American teen killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank has railed against Washington’s military support for Israel. He spoke as hundreds of mourners buried the 17-year-old … more

By JULIA FRANKEL and NASSER NASSER | 1/20/24

FILE - Vyacheslav Volodin attends a session at the State Duma, the Lower House of the Russian Parliament in Moscow, on Oct. 18, 2023. A senior lawmaker says Russia's parliament will consider a law allowing for the confiscation of money and property from those deemed to spread “deliberately false information” about Moscow's military actions. Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house, said the measure would apply to those calling for “extremist activities” or the introduction of sanctions against Russia as well as those “discrediting” the armed forces, a criminal offense under a law adopted after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine. (The State Duma, the Lower House of the Russian Parliament via AP, File)

Russia will consider property confiscations for those convicted of discrediting the army

A senior lawmaker says Russia's parliament will consider a law allowing for the confiscation of money and property from those deemed to spread “deliberately false information” about Moscow's … more

By The Associated Press | 1/20/24

Chicago's iconic Rat Hole in the 1900 block of West Roscoe Street in the Roscoe Village neighborhood, Friday, Jan. 19, 2024 in Chicago. Earlier the Rat Hole was filled in with a plaster type substance but was cleaned out by neighbors. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Dirty rat! Culprit fills in Chicago neighborhood landmark known as the "rat hole"

You dirty rat! In a city infamous for its gangster past, some culprit filled in a Northside Chicago neighborhood landmark affectionately called by residents the “rat hole.” The indentation in the … more

1/20/24

FILE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talks to reporters after a meeting at the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 16, 2024. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's worried by the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House. In an interview with the U.K.’s Channel 4 News that aired Friday Jan. 19, 2024, Zelenskyy called Trump’s claim that he could stop Ukraine’s war with Russia in 24 hours “very dangerous.” (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Zelenskyy calls Trump's rhetoric about Ukraine's war with Russia 'very dangerous'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's worried by the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House. In an interview with the U.K.’s Channel 4 News that aired Friday, Zelenskyy … more

By The Associated Press | 1/20/24

An empty newspaper rack for the Ouray County Plaindealer is show on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2023 in Ouray, Colo. Nearly all the copies of the small-town Colorado newspaper were stolen from racks on the same day it published a story about charges being filed over rapes alleged to have occurred at an underage drinking party at the police chief's house while the chief was asleep. In response, the paper posted the story on social media, removed the newspaper website's paywall and published another 250 copies of this week's edition. (Mike Wiggins/Ouray County Plaindealer)

Small-town Colorado newspapers stolen after running story about rape charges at police chief's house

Nearly all the copies of a small-town Colorado newspaper were stolen from newspaper racks on the same day the Ouray County Plaindealer published a story about charges being filed over rapes alleged … more

By AMY BETH HANSON | 1/19/24

FILE - Dani Thayer, left, and Marina Lanae, right, both of Tulsa, Okla., hold pro-choice signs outside the state Capitol, Wednesday, April 13, 2022, in Oklahoma City. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Friday, Jan 19, 2024, an Oklahoma hospital did not violate federal law when doctors told a woman with a nonviable pregnancy to wait in the parking lot until her condition worsened enough to qualify for an abortion under the state's strict ban. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki File)

US government rejects complaint that woman was improperly denied an emergency abortion in Oklahoma

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says an Oklahoma hospital did not violate federal law after doctors told a woman with a nonviable pregnancy to wait in the parking lot until her … more

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI | 1/19/24

Historically Black Missouri college in turmoil after suicide of administrator who alleged bullying

A historically Black college in Missouri is in turmoil after the suicide of an administrator who alleged bullying by the school's president. Known for keeping her office door open and greeting … more

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and SUMMER BALLENTINE | 1/19/24

FILE - Investigators stand outside a house where five immigrants from Senegal were found dead after a fire in suburban Denver on Aug. 5, 2020. One of three teens accused of starting the fire -- apparently in revenge for a stolen iPhone mistakenly traced to the residence -- pleaded guilty on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024to one count of second degree murder. Under the plea agreement, Gavin Seymour, 19, faces between 16 and 40 years in prison when he is sentenced on March 15. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert, File)

Teen pleads guilty in Denver house fire that killed 5 from Senegal

One of three teens charged with starting a house fire in suburban Denver that killed five members of a Senegalese family has pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder. Investigators learned … more

1/19/24

FILE - A pedestrian wears a heavy coat against the cold in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. January can be the worst month for respiratory illnesses and vaccination rates are low. When relatives, friends and co-workers are coming down with coughs, nasal congestion, fatigue and fever, keeping viruses at bay means thorough hand-washing, good ventilation and wearing a mask in crowded areas. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

How to stay healthy during cold, flu and COVID-19 season

Getting through winter healthy means trying to protect yourself from respiratory viruses. January can be the worst month for these illnesses and vaccination rates are low. When relatives, friends and … more

By CARLA K. JOHNSON | 1/19/24

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith, who was convicted in a 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher's wife. Alabama will be allowed to put Smith to death with nitrogen gas later this month, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, clearing the way for what would be the nation’s first execution under a new method the inmate’s lawyers criticize as cruel and experimental. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP, File)

Alabama inmate asking federal appeals court to block first-ever execution by nitrogen gas

An Alabama inmate set to be the first person put to death by nitrogen gas will ask a federal appeals Friday to block the upcoming execution. Kenneth Smith is scheduled to be executed by the … more

By KIM CHANDLER | 1/19/24