National News - The Morning Sun

Amin Aaser prays before going live on his nightly "Ramadan Camp" livestream, Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Brooklyn Park, Minn. Aaser has worked nearly every night of Ramadan to present a free online interactive program called Noor Kids Ramadan Camp for Muslim children ages 5-12 from countries around the world. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

'Ramadan Camp' reaches Muslim children across the globe

A Minnesota man dedicated to giving Muslim children a sense of belonging and pride is reaching children across the globe with a special “Ramadan Camp.” Amin Aaser is executive director of Noor … more

By MARGARET STAFFORD | 4/16/23

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji, right, meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, upon his arrival at King Abdulaziz International Airport, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Syria will reopen its embassy in Tunisia, state media reported Wednesday, as Syria's top diplomat visited Saudi Arabia seeking to restore ties that have been severed for more than a decade. (SANA via AP)

Syria's FM to Algeria, Tunisia to revive diplomatic ties

Syria’s chief diplomat is on a visit to Algeria and Tunisia as part of efforts to revive diplomatic relationships in the Arab world. The move comes more than a decade after Syria was globally … more

4/16/23

In this photo posted to social media by the U.S. Coast Guard, a crew stands by ready to assist as emergency personnel respond to the Walla Walla passenger ferry, background right, which ran aground near Bainbridge Island west of Seattle, Saturday, April 15, 2023. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

Ferry runs aground near Seattle; no injuries reported

Authorities in Washington state say a passenger ferry carrying hundreds of people has run aground near Bainbridge Island west of Seattle, but there are no immediate reports of injuries or … more

4/15/23

Firefighters pour water on an industrial fire in Richmond, Ind., Thursday, April 13, 2023. Multiple fires that began burning Tuesday afternoon were still burning within about 14 acres of various types of plastics stored inside and outside buildings at the former factory site. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Chief: Indiana plastics fire reduced to a single hot spot

A fire chief says crews working to fully extinguish an Indiana plastics fire have reduced its smoldering areas to a single hot spot as officials prepared to decide if a dayslong evacuation order … more

4/15/23

Strikers march in front of Rutgers' buildings in New Brunswick, N.J., Monday, April 10, 2023. Thousands of professors, part-time lecturers and graduate student workers at New Jersey's flagship university have gone on strike — the first such job action in the school's 257-year history. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Rutgers, unions announce agreement, classes to resume

Rutgers University and union representatives have announced an agreement on a framework for new contracts with several faculty unions, allowing a halt to a five-day strike that was the first such job … more

4/15/23

A man cleans a carpet inside the Great Hall of the People prior to the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron, in Beijing, China, Thursday, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

AP PHOTOS: Behind the scenes as Macron visits China

Between the highly choreographed handshakes and scripted meetings, an Associated Press photojournalist who covered French President Emmanuel's trip to China wanted to capture the moments surrounding … more

By THIBAULT CAMUS | 4/15/23

AP News Summary at 6:49 p.m. EDT

High court temporarily blocks restrictions on abortion pill WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is temporarily keeping in place federal rules for use of an abortion drug, while it takes time to … more

4/15/23

Visitors walk on a pathway amid fields of blooming flowers at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, Monday, April 10, 2023, in Lancaster, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Wet winter gives way to colorful 'Superbloom' in US West

The tiny rain-fed wildflowers, no bigger than a few inches, are so vivid and abundant across California this year that their hues of purple and yellow look like paint swatches from space. From the … more

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press | 4/15/23

AP Trending SummaryBrief at 6:32 p.m. EDT

Wet winter gives way to colorful 'Superbloom' in US West The tiny rain-fed wildflowers, no bigger than a few inches, are so vivid and abundant across California this year that their hues of purple, … more

4/15/23

A visitor stands on a field of blooming flowers near the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, Monday, April 10, 2023, in Lancaster, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Wet winter gives way to colorful 'Superbloom' in US West

The tiny rain-fed wildflowers, no bigger than a few inches, are so vivid and abundant across California this year that their hues of purple, yellow and orange look like paint swatches from space. … more

By JULIE WATSON | 4/14/23

This photo provided by SpaceX shows the company's Starship rocket at the launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. (SpaceX via AP)

FAA gives OK for SpaceX's Starship test flight from Texas

SpaceX has cleared the final hurdle for launching its new giant Starship from Texas as early as next week on a first test flight. The Federal Aviation Administration issued the license on Friday. … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 4/14/23

Smoke rises from an industrial fire, Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at 358 NW F Street, in Richmond, Ind. (Zach Piatt/The Palladium-Item via AP)

Indiana plastics fire raises worries about health dangers

Experts say a fire at a plastics business in Indiana raises numerous health concerns. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says asbestos was found in debris from the fire, which was contained … more

By JOHN FLESHER | 4/14/23

FILE - Municipal workers collect dead pelicans on Santa Maria beach in Lima, Peru, Nov. 30, 2022, as thousands of birds died in November along the Pacific of Peru from bird flu, according to The National Forest and Wildlife Service (Serfor). A man in Chile is infected with a bird flu that has concerning mutations, according to a new lab analysis. But U.S. health officials said Friday, April 14, 2023, that the threat to people remains low. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo, File)

Bird flu: Scientists find mutations, say threat is still low

A man in Chile is infected with a bird flu that has concerning mutations, but the threat to people from the virus remains low. That's according to U.S. health officials. It appears the mutations are … more

By MIKE STOBBE | 4/14/23

FILE - This image made from video provided by WCVB-TV, shows Jack Teixeira, in T-shirt and shorts, being taken into custody by armed tactical agents on Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Dighton, Mass. Teixeira, who is accused in the leak of highly classified military documents, appeared in court Friday as prosecutors unsealed charges and revealed how billing records and interviews with social media comrades helped pinpoint the suspect. (WCVB-TV via AP, File)

Leak suspect yearned to join military but then regretted it

The Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking a highly classified documents that have caused an international uproar had set his sights on joining the military from an early age. But … more

NOMAAN MERCHANT and MICHELLE R. SMITH | 4/14/23

FILE - Clint Eastwood arrives at the AFI Awards on Jan. 3, 2020, in Los Angeles. . (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

Clint Eastwood set to direct 'Juror No. 2' for Warner Bros.

Clint Eastwood is getting back in the director’s chair. The “Unforgiven” and “Gran Torino” filmmaker is set to direct the legal drama “Juror No. 2” for Warner Bros., a person close to … more

4/14/23

FILE - Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., speaks before during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing, May 10, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Republican state lawmakers in Montana are advancing legislation that would alter next year's U.S. Senate primary in an apparent bid to thwart the re-election of Sen. Jon Tester, one of several Democrats on the ballot in GOP-leaning states. (Tom Williams/Pool via AP, File)

Montana GOP seeks to bar 3rd parties from key US Senate race

Libertarians lined up with Democrats on Friday against a proposal that would effectively block third party candidates from next year’s Montana U.S. Senate election. Republicans are trying to … more

By MATTHEW BROWN | 4/14/23

FILE - A red-shouldered hawk fluffs up it's feathers and spreads wings to facilitate drying after a thunderstorm in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Dec. 31, 2021. On April 6, 2023, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued a violation notice against one of its own sub-divisions accusing it of wrongly clearing 15 acres of a wildlife management area in southwestern New Jersey. The work was designed to create habitat for the American woodcock, but wound up destroying habitat for the barred owl, which is threatened, and the red-shouldered hawk, which is endangered. (Robin Rudd/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP, File)

NJ charges itself with damaging land it was bound to protect

New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection has issued a violation notice against itself for wrongly clearing nearly 15 acres of a wildlife management area. The work in February and March was … more

By WAYNE PARRY | 4/14/23

FILE - Police look on as students return to Richneck Elementary on Jan. 30, 2023, in Newport News, Va. The mother of a 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and wounded his teacher at Richneck Elementary had a series of miscarriages and post-partum depression in the year before the shooting, her attorney said Friday, April 14, 2023, after she was arraigned on charges of child neglect and failing to secure the handgun her son used in the shooting. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot via AP, File)

Attorney: Mom of Virginia boy who shot teacher was depressed

An attorney says the mother of a 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and wounded his teacher had a series of miscarriages and post-partum depression in the year leading up to the shooting. The mother's … more

By BEN FINLEY and DENISE LAVOIE | 4/14/23

FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media in the Florida Cabinet following his State of the State address during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives on March 7, 2023, at the state Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. The Republican-dominated Florida Legislature on Thursday, April 13, approved a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a proposal supported by DeSantis as he prepares for an expected presidential run. (AP Photo/Phil Sears, File)

DeSantis signs 6-week abortion ban in closed-door ceremony

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, giving the Republican a major conservative policy victory as he prepares to launch an expected presidential … more

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE | 4/14/23

Chief: Flames out, but Indiana plastic fire still smoldering

An Indiana fire chief says that firefighters have doused the flames at a major industrial blaze in Indiana fueled by tons of scrap plastics but that crews continue trying to extinguish hot spots. An … more

4/14/23