National News - The Morning Sun

Workers install solar panels at the under-construction Adani Green Energy Limited's Renewable Energy Park in the salt desert of Karim Shahi village, near Khavda, Bhuj district near the India-Pakistan border in the western state of Gujarat, India, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. Nations have signed on to triple renewable energy by 2030. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Hottest year ever, what can be done? Plenty: more renewables and nuclear, less methane and meat

The shattering of global annual heat records last year is prompting people to ask: what can be done? There is a way forward. Nations have signed on to triple renewable energy by 2030. Proponents of … more

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT | 1/9/24

FILE - This image provided by the U.S. Department of Justice shows a reward poster for Cliver Alcala-Cordones that was released on March 26, 2020, as part of a federal indictment charging him and others in a conspiracy stretching back two decades to convert Venezuela into a launch pad for flooding the U.S. with cocaine. The retired Venezuelan army general is set to be sentenced Jan. 18, 2024 on two counts of providing support for a Colombian rebel army designated terrorist group by the U.S., charges the carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. (Department of Justice via AP, File)

Ex-Green Beret stands with Venezuelan coup plotter ahead of U.S. sentencing on terror charges

A U.S. veteran who plotted to overthrow Venezuela’s president is proudly standing with a former Venezuelan army general who pleaded guilty in New York on terrorism charges. Former Green Beret … more

By JOSHUA GOODMAN | 1/9/24

FILE - Tou Thao speaks during his sentencing hearing in Hennepin County District Court, Aug. 7, 2023, in Minneapolis, Minn. On Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the federal civil rights conviction of Thao, a former Minneapolis police officer who held back a concerned crowd while fellow officers pinned down a dying George Floyd. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via AP, File)

Supreme Court rejects appeal by ex-officer Tou Thao, who held back crowd as George Floyd lay dying

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the federal civil rights conviction of a former Minneapolis police officer who held back a concerned crowd while fellow officers pinned down a dying … more

1/9/24

Andrew Scott poses for a portrait to promote the film "All of Us Strangers" on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Christopher Smith/Invision/AP)

Even Andrew Scott was startled by his vulnerability in 'All of Us Strangers'

Andrew Scott, known to many as the “Hot Priest” of “Fleabag,” has found even greater acclaim for his latest performance. Scott stars in Andrew Haigh’s metaphysical drama “All of Us … more

By JAKE COYLE | 1/9/24

FILE - The cracked earth of the Sau reservoir is visible north of Barcelona, Spain, March 20, 2023. Earth last year shattered global annual heat records, the European climate agency said Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

Earth shattered global heat record in '23 and it's flirting with warming limit, European agency says

Earth shattered global annual heat records last year and it's flirting with the warming threshold that nations wanted to stay within to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. That's … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 1/9/24

A statue of William Penn stands at Welcome Park in Philadelphia, Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Park Service retracts decision to take down William Penn statue at Philadelphia historical site

The National Park Service is retracting a proposal to take down a statue of William Penn at a Philadelphia historical site as part of a renovation that touched off a torrent of criticism over the … more

By MARC LEVY | 1/8/24

Rudolph Williams stands for a portrait in his apartment Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, in Harvey, Ill. Williams was home in the Chicago south suburb when he realized that the doors and windows to his courtyard-style apartment had been boarded up with plywood, locking him inside.(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Video of 73-year-old boarded up inside his apartment sparks investigation

The viral video of a 73-year-old man who got boarded up inside his low-income apartment is sparking an investigation. Rudolph Williams was home in Harvey, Illinois, about 30 miles south of Chicago … more

By SOPHIA TAREEN | 1/8/24

Tape blocks all entrances at the Perry Middle School and High School building on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, in Perry, Iowa. A day after a shooting sent bullets flying inside the small-town Iowa high school, leaving a sixth grader dead and others wounded, the community of Perry is somber. (AP Photo/Bryon Houlgrave)

Parents of Iowa teen who killed 1 and wounded 7 in shooting say they had 'no inkling' of his plan

The parents of the 17-year-old who killed a sixth grader and wounded seven others in a shooting at his small-town Iowa high school last week said in a statement Monday that they “had no inkling he … more

By JOSH FUNK and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH | 1/8/24

Joel Bowman, center-left, seated with mask, listens to witness testimony during a bond hearing on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. Also pictured are his lawyer, Lauren Massey Fuchs, left, prosecutor Forrest Edwards, center-right, and prosecutor John Scott, right. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)

Memphis judge maintains $1 million bond for man charged with firing shots at Jewish school

A judge has declined to reduce a $1 million bond for a man charged with shooting at a contractor at a Jewish school in Memphis after his attorney requested a lower amount to allow him to secure his … more

By ADRIAN SAINZ | 1/8/24

FILE - Fifa executive committee member Franz Beckenbauer smiles during the FIFA Soccer World Cup award ceremony at the adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach near Nuremberg, southern Germany, on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

Franz Beckenbauer was a graceful and visionary 'libero' who changed the face of soccer

Franz Beckenbauer put himself a step ahead on the soccer field by taking a step back. The “libero” position is taken from the Italian word for “free” and describes a player who had a covering … more

By STEVE DOUGLAS | 1/8/24

FILE- Police tape cordons off the road to Schemengees Bar and Grille as law enforcement officers maintain their presence in the aftermath of a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. The 911 calls flooding into dispatchers as a gunman opened fire at Schemengees Bar and a bowling alley, reflect the chaos of the unfolding situation last October, in transcripts released Monday Jan. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

911 transcripts reveal chaotic scene as gunman killed 18 people in Maine

The 911 calls flooding into dispatchers as a gunman opened fire at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine, reflect the chaos of the unfolding situation last October. The 911 transcripts … more

By PATRICK WHITTLE and DAVID SHARP | 1/8/24

Nevada judge attacked by defendant during sentencing in Vegas courtroom scene captured on video

Man caught on camera accosting a Las Vegas judge in court is sentenced in an unrelated attack

A man caught on camera attacking a county judge in Las Vegas is being sentenced to 19 to 48 months in an unrelated case. Deobra Delone Redden was sentenced Monday for accosting someone with a … more

By KEN RITTER | 1/8/24

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick watches from the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Bill Belichick under contract, would take lesser role in personnel matters as Kraft meeting looms

Bill Belichick is open to letting someone else handle personnel duties if he remains with the New England Patriots. The Patriots coach also confirmed during his season-ending news conference that he … more

By KYLE HIGHTOWER | 1/8/24

FILE - Jonathan Majors leaves the Manhattan criminal courthouse in New York, Dec. 18, 2023. In his first interview since his assault and harassment conviction last month, Majors says he was shocked by the New York jury’s verdict, Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file)

Jonathan Majors says he was 'shocked' when assault case verdict was handed down

In his first interview since his assault and harassment conviction last month, actor Jonathan Majors says he was shocked by the New York jury’s verdict. In the interview that aired Monday on … more

By The Associated Press | 1/8/24

Rev. Byeong Cheol Han poses for a portrait at Korean Central Presbyterian Church of Atlanta Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023, in Chamblee, Ga. The slaying of a South Korean woman during an initiation process for a group that called itself Soldiers of Christ has shocked the large Korean American community in metro Atlanta. Community leaders say Korean Americans need to be more vigilant to protect against religious cults and the possible exploitation of new arrivals from South Korea. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)y

'Soldiers of Christ' killing unsettles Korean Americans in Georgia and stokes fear of cults

The slaying of a South Korean woman during an initiation process for a group that called itself Soldiers of Christ has shocked the large Korean American community in metro Atlanta. Community leaders … more

By SUDHIN THANAWALA | 1/8/24

President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pa., Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Biden will visit church where Black people were killed to lay out election stakes and perils of hate

President Joe Biden wants Americans to know what he believes is at stake in this year’s presidential election. As part of that effort, the Democratic president is revisiting some of the nation’s … more

By COLLEEN LONG and ZEKE MILLER | 1/8/24

Palestinians inspect the damage of a destroyed house following Israeli airstrikes on Khan Younis, Southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)

Live updates | Fighting near central Gaza hospital prompts medics, patients and others to flee south

Witnesses say that fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants near the main hospital in central Gaza has caused medics, patients and displaced people to flee. The withdrawal by Doctors … more

By The Associated Press | 1/8/24

Civil defense workers search for survivors inside an apartment following a massive explosion in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. The TV station of Lebanon's Hezbollah group says top Hamas official Saleh Arouri was killed Tuesday in an explosion in a southern Beirut suburb.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

With every strike and counterstrike, Israel, the US and Iran's allies inch closer to all-out war

In the last week alone, Israel has killed a senior Hamas militant in an airstrike in Beirut, Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets into Israel, the U.S. has killed a militia commander in Baghdad … more

By JOSEPH KRAUSS | 1/8/24

FILE - The exterior of the Georgia State Building seen from Liberty Plaza in downtown Atlanta, April 6, 2020. Georgia lawmakers are beginning their 2024 session on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)

Lawsuit limits and antisemitism are among topics Georgia lawmakers plan to take on in 2024

Georgia’s General Assembly begins its 2024 regular session Monday and the top intrigue is whether Republicans may agree to a further expansion of health care under the state’s Medicaid program. … more

By JEFF AMY | 1/8/24

FILE - South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem takes part in a panel discussion, Nov. 15, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has outlined her budget proposal for the Legislature, emphasizing tighter spending amid rising inflation. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

South Dakota lawmakers see alignment with Noem as session begins

South Dakota’s Republican-controlled Legislature convenes Tuesday in Pierre for its annual session, expected to last into early March. Second-term GOP Gov. Kristi Noem gave her budget address in … more

By JACK DURA | 1/8/24