National News - The Morning Sun

In this photo released by the Taliban Spokesman Office, Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban government who leads the Taliban delegation, center right, speaks with Russian Presidential Envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov, during a meeting in Doha, Qatar, Sunday, June 30, 2024. A Taliban delegation is attending a United Nations-led meeting in Qatar on Afghanistan after organizers said women would be excluded from the gathering. The two-day meeting is the third U.N.-sponsored gathering on the Afghan crisis. (Taliban Spokesman Office via AP)

The Taliban’s morality police are contributing to a climate of fear among Afghans, UN says

The Taliban’s morality police are contributing to a climate of fear and intimidation among Afghans. That's according to a U.N. report published Tuesday. The Taliban set up a ministry for the … more

By The Associated Press | 7/9/24

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures during a presidential debate with Joe Biden, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Trump returns to campaign trail with VP deadline nearing amid calls for Biden to withdraw

Former President Donald Trump is getting back on the campaign trail. He is rallying voters Tuesday at his flagship golf resort in the Miami suburb of Doral in a celebratory mood as Democrats face … more

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON | 7/9/24

Hassan Nofal, 53, who was displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, holds the keys to his home that he was forced to leave with his family at a makeshift tent camp in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Over nine months of war between Israel and Hamas, Palestinian families in Gaza have been uprooted repeatedly, driven back and forth across the territory to escape the fighting. Each time has meant a wrenching move to a new location and a series of crowded, temporary shelters. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

House keys carry symbolic weight for Gaza families repeatedly displaced by war

Over nine months of war between Israel and Hamas, Palestinian families in Gaza have been uprooted repeatedly, driven back and forth across the territory to escape the fighting. Each time has meant a … more

By MOHAMMED JAHJOUH and FATMA KHALED | 7/9/24

In a still frame from video provided by Rich Bono, an empty runaway boat speeds in circles, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, on Lake Winnipesaukee's Smith Cove, off Gilford, N.H. The empty runaway boat was brought safely to a stop by a teenager who jumped aboard from a personal watercraft. (Rich Bono via AP)

Teen safely stops runaway boat speeding in circles on New Hampshire's largest lake

A teenager is being called a hero for safely stopping an empty runaway boat speeding in circles on New Hampshire's largest lake. It happened Wednesday in Smith Cove on Lake Winnipesaukee. Rich Bono, … more

7/8/24

Karen Read smiles during a news conference in front of Norfolk Superior Court, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. A judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors deadlocked in the case of Read, who was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by striking him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Karen Read’s defense team says jurors were unanimous on acquitting her of murder

Defense lawyers for Karen Read say jurors unanimously concluded she was not guilty of murder or leaving the scene of a deadly accident, and were deadlocked on the remaining manslaughter charge before … more

By MICHAEL CASEY | 7/8/24

FILE- South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks in Oxon Hill, Md., Feb. 23, 2024. Longstanding social media accounts belonging to Gov. Noem and reaching hundreds of thousands of followers appear to have been deleted without explanation Monday, July 8. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

South Dakota Gov. Noem's official social media accounts seem to disappear without explanation

Longstanding official social media accounts belonging to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem appear to have been deleted without explanation. The accounts on Facebook, Instagram and X, the site formerly … more

Associated Press | 7/8/24

Theater director Zhenya Berkovich, right, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk are seen in a glass cage prior to a hearing in a court in Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 8, 2024. Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and Petriychuk, a playwright have been behind bars since early May. Authorities claim a play they staged, "Finist, the Brave Falcon," justifies terrorism, which is a criminal offence in Russia punishable by up to seven years in prison. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A Russian playwright and a theater director sentenced to prison on charges of advocating terrorism

A Russian court has convicted a theater director and a playwright of terrorism charges and sentenced them to six years each in prison. The rulings on Monday are the latest in an unrelenting crackdown … more

7/8/24

Commuters walk on railway tracks after trains were disrupted due to heavy rainfall in Mumbai, India, Monday, July 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

CLIMATE GLIMPSE: Heat and a hurricane descend on the U.S., other wild weather around the world

As Hurricane Beryl batters Texas, the world is set for another week of wild weather as human-caused climate change makes extremes like these more likely. Beryl is just one example of climate … more

By The Associated Press | 7/8/24

FILE - A housing development in Cranberry Township, Pa., is shown on March 29, 2024. The nation's housing market sales slump is dragging on into its third straight year, as evidenced by another weak spring home buying season. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

The US housing slump deepened this spring. Where does that leave home shoppers and sellers?

The nation’s housing market sales slump is dragging on into its third straight year, as evidenced by another weak spring homebuying season. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in the … more

By ALEX VEIGA | 7/8/24

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal walks back to the Prime Minister residence after delivering a speech following the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Paris. A coalition of the French left that quickly banded together to beat a surging far right in legislative elections won the most seats in parliament but not a majority, according to polling projections Sunday, a stunning outcome that threatens to plunge the country into political and economic turmoil. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

The Latest | Macron asks French prime minister to stay on for the sake of stability

French President Emmanuel Macron rejected the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal Monday, in the wake of a chaotic election result that left neither left, right, nor center with a majority in … more

By The Associated Press | 7/8/24

Demonstrators wave Israeli flags during a protest marking nine months since the start of the war and calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The Latest | Cease-fire talks expected to resume this week as Hamas appears to soften demands

Talks on a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip are expected to resume this week, with several officials saying the devastation caused by Israel's nine-month offensive likely helped push Hamas to soften its … more

By The Associated Press | 7/8/24

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a presidential debate hosted by CNN with President Joe Biden, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

National abortion ban splits the Trump campaign and Republican activists writing the party platform

Republicans may remove a vow to ban abortion from their party platform for the first time in 40 years. Former President Donald Trump is pressuring the committee writing the platform to do so. Trump … more

By THOMAS BEAUMONT | 7/8/24

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens to questions during a presidential debate with President Joe Biden, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. The future Republican vice presidential candidate's plane is currently parked in an undisclosed airplane hangar, an empty spot on its fuselage for where a decal featuring his or her name will soon be placed. All that's left is an announcement from Trump on who he'll pick. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

The plane is ready, the fundraisers are booked: Trump's VP search comes down to its last days

The future Republican vice presidential candidate’s plane is currently parked in an undisclosed hangar — an empty spot on its fuselage for where a decal featuring his or her name will soon be … more

By JILL COLVIN | 7/8/24

Children play in a water park on a hot day, Friday, June 21, 2024, in the Bronx Borough of New York. Tens of millions of Americans are facing major heat waves, with temperatures consistently exceeding 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius). (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Scorched by history: Discriminatory past shapes heat waves in minority and low-income neighborhoods

Millions of Americans are facing major heat waves with temperatures consistently exceeding 90 degrees. In big cities, the heat hits hardest for people of color and low-income residents. In New York, … more

By RYAN DOAN-NGUYEN | 7/8/24

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greet each other before their meeting in New Delhi, India on Dec. 6, 2021. Modi on Monday begins a two-day visit to Russia that is his first since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine, a conflict that has complicated the relationship between the longtime allies by pushing Russia closer to India's rival China. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)

Indian Prime Minister Modi makes first visit to ally Russia since the start of its war on Ukraine

India’s prime minister is kicking off a two-day visit to Russia, his first since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine — a war that has complicated the relationship between the longtime allies … more

By KRUTIKA PATHI and JIM HEINTZ | 7/8/24

Nate Golden, president of the Maryland Child Alliance, poses for a portrait with a petition form for the Baltimore Baby Fund, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

New parents in Baltimore could get $1,000 if voters approve 'baby bonus' initiative

A group of Baltimore teachers is asking voters to approve a program that would give $1,000 to new parents in hopes of reducing childhood poverty starting from birth. The “baby bonus” will appear … more

By LEA SKENE | 7/8/24

FILE - A woman uses a fan as she walks with her companion on a hot day in Beijing, June 16, 2024. June 2024 was the hottest June on record, according to Europe's Copernicus climate service on Monday, July 8. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

June sizzles to 13th straight monthly heat record. String may end soon, but dangerous heat won't

The European climate service Copernicus says Earth's more than year-long streak of record-shattering hot months kept on simmering through June. It was the 13th straight month of record warmth. … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 7/7/24

Four NASA volunteers who spent over a year sealed inside a simulated Mars habitat at the Johnson Space Center in Texas finally ended their mission on Saturday.

Crew of NASA's earthbound simulated Mars habitat emerge after a year

Four volunteer crew members who spent more than 12 months inside NASA’s first simulated Mars environment at Johnson Space Center in Houston have emerged from the artificial alien enviroment. Kelly … more

By BRIAN P. D. HANNON | 7/7/24

French PM Attal casts vote in pivotal runoff election that could propel the far-right to power

The Latest | France votes in pivotal runoff elections that could propel the far right to power

France is voting in pivotal runoff elections that could hand a historic victory to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and its nationalistic, anti-immigrant vision. Sunday’s snap elections … more

By The Associated Press | 7/7/24

Amtrak service between New York City and Boston restored after lightning causes malfunction

Amtrak rail service between New York and Boston has been restored after a lightning strike was believed to have caused a circuit breaker to malfunction. Service was restored late Saturday after the … more

7/7/24