National News - The Morning Sun

Gabe Kipers, a neighbor of Dr. John Cheng, kneels at a memorial for him outside his office building on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, in Aliso Viejo, Calif. Cheng, 52, was killed in Sunday's shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Alleged gunman sent diary to newspaper before church attack

The man accused of opening fire on a Southern California church congregation because of his political hatred for Taiwan sent a newspaper a seven-volume diary before the attack. The Chinese-language … more

By AMY TAXIN and STEFANIE DAZIO | 5/19/22

FILE - Flowers sit outside crime scene tape at Geneva Presbyterian Church on May 17, 2022, in Laguna Woods, Calif., where a shooting at the church on Sunday left one dead and five injured. Officials in California's Orange County are still trying to determine why a gunman opened fire in the church. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, FILE)

Gunman targets Taiwanese faith with long pro-democracy link

Officials in California's Orange County are still trying to determine why a gunman opened fire in a Taiwanese Presbyterian church in Laguna Woods. They say 68-year-old David Chou, who has links to … more

By DEEPA BHARATH | 5/19/22

Roommate: No warning signs before deadly church attack

Prosecutors are calling the man charged in a deadly California church shooting a crafty monster but his Las Vegas roommate says he seemed to be kind and generous — if it wasn't all just an act. … more

By AMY TAXIN and STEFANIE DAZIO | 5/18/22

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Butte County District Attorney shows Ryan Scott Blinston. Blinston, a tree trimmer in rural Northern California was found guilty in a series of throat-slashing attacks that left three people dead, prosecutors announced Wednesday, May 18, 2022. A jury in Butte County on Tuesday found Blinston, 37, guilty of murder, attempted murder and arson, the Tehama County District Attorney's office said.(Butte County District Attorney via AP)

California tree trimmer guilty in deadly throat-slashings

Prosecutors say a tree trimmer in rural Northern California was found guilty in a series of throat-slashing attacks that left three people dead. The Tehama County District Attorney’s office said … more

5/18/22

Pedestrians walk by the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 18, 2022 in New York. Stocks closed sharply lower on Wall Street Wednesday as dismal results from Target renewed fears that inflation is battering U.S. companies. The S&P 500, the benchmark for many index funds, fell 4%. Target lost a quarter of its value, dragging other retailers down with it, after saying its profit fell by half in the latest quarter as costs for freight and transportation spiked. That comes a day after Walmart cited inflation for its own weak results. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

EXPLAINER: Why is Wall Street close to a bear market?

The bears are rumbling toward Wall Street. The stock market’s skid this year has pulled the S&P 500 close to what’s known as a bear market. Rising interest rates, high inflation, the war in … more

By STAN CHOE and ALEX VEIGA | 5/18/22

This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a monkeypox virion, obtained from a sample associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. On Wednesday, May 18, 2022, Massachusetts has reported a rare case of monkeypox in a man who recently had traveled to Canada, and investigators are looking into whether it is connected to recent cases in Europe. (Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP)

US case of monkeypox reported in Massachusetts man

Massachusetts has reported a case of monkeypox in a man who recently traveled to Canada. Health officials said Wednesday they are looking into whether the case is connected to small outbreaks in … more

By MIKE STOBBE | 5/18/22

Shannon Waedell-Collins pays her respects at the scene of Saturday's shooting at a supermarket, in Buffalo, N.Y., Wednesday, May 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Buffalo shooter let some people see plans just before attack

Shortly before police say he opened fire, the white gunman accused of killing 10 Black people at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket allowed a small group of people to see his long-simmering plans for … more

By MICHAEL R. SISAK | 5/18/22

FILE - Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra speaks during an interview in Washington on March 17, 2022. Another member of President Joe Biden’s cabinet has tested positive for COVID-19. U.S. Health Secretary Becerra tested positive for the virus on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, while visiting Berlin, a spokeswoman for the Health and Human Services Department said. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

US health secretary tests positive for COVID on Germany trip

President Joe Biden’s top health official has tested positive for COVID-19, the latest member of his Cabinet to be infected with the virus. A spokeswoman for U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra … more

By FRANK JORDANS and TOM MURPHY | 5/18/22

FILE - Clifton A. Blackwell, accused of throwing acid on a Latino man's face during a racist attack, appears in a Milwaukee County Court in Milwaukee on Nov. 6, 2019. A judge sentenced Blackwell to a decade in prison Wednesday, May 18, 2022, for throwing acid in a Latino man's face at a Milwaukee bus stop. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, File)

Wisconsin man gets 10 years in prison for racist acid attack

A judge has sentenced a white Milwaukee man to a decade in prison for throwing acid in a Latino man's face in a 2019 racist attack. A jury convicted Clifton Blackwell last month of first-degree … more

By TODD RICHMOND | 5/18/22

Eric Clapton cancels shows after testing positive for COVID

Eric Clapton, a critic of coronavirus vaccines and pandemic restrictions, has tested positive for COVID-19 and canceled two upcoming European gigs. Clapton’s upcoming shows in Zurich on Tuesday and … more

By The Associated Press | 5/18/22

This combination of photos provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, shows Thomas Lane. The former Minneapolis police officer pleaded guilty Wednesday, May 18, 2022, to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd. As part of the plea deal, Lane will have a count of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder dismissed. Lane, along with J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, has already been convicted on federal counts of willfully violating Floyd's rights during the May 2020 restraint that led to the Black man's death.(Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Ex-cop pleads guilty to manslaughter in George Floyd’s death

A former Minneapolis police officer has pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. As part of Wednesday’s plea deal, Thomas … more

By AMY FORLIITI and STEVE KARNOWSKI | 5/18/22

FILE - Archbishop John C. Wester, head of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, N.M., tells reporters on Nov. 29, 2018, the diocese will be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection the following week as clergy sex abuse claims have depleted its reserves. The Archdiocese of Santa Fe, one of the oldest Catholic dioceses in the United States, announced a settlement agreement Tuesday, May 17, 2022, to resolve the bankruptcy case. “The church takes very seriously its responsibility to see the survivors of sexual abuse are justly compensated for the suffering they have endured,” Wester said in a statement. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)

$121.5M settlement in New Mexico clergy sex abuse scandal

One of the oldest Catholic dioceses in the United States has announced a settlement agreement to resolve a bankruptcy case in New Mexico that resulted from a clergy sex abuse scandal. The tentative … more

5/17/22

FILE - This Dec. 6, 2018 image made available by NASA shows the InSight lander. The scene was assembled from 11 photos taken using its robotic arm. The spacecraft is losing power because of all the dust that's accumulated on its solar panels. NASA said Tuesday, May 17, 2022, it will keep using the spacecraft's seismometer to detect marsquakes until its power peters out. Officials expect operations to cease in July, almost four years after InSight's arrival at Mars. (NASA via AP, File)

Dusty demise for NASA Mars lander in July; power dwindling

A NASA spacecraft on Mars is losing power and is headed for a dusty demise. The InSight lander has just a couple more months of science work before succumbing to the Martian dust on its solar panels. … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 5/17/22

FILE - A pedestrian walks on a bridge above vehicle traffic in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019, as the city is enveloped under thick smog. The air quality index exceeded 400, about eight times the recommended maximum. A study released on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, blames pollution of all types for 9 million deaths a year globally, with the death toll attributed to dirty air from cars, trucks and industry rising 55% since 2000. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)

Global pollution kills 9 million people a year, study finds

A new study says pollution of all types is killing 9 million people a year. About three quarters of that is air pollution. Tuesday’s study says overall pollution deaths haven’t changed much from … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 5/17/22

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Nevada Department of Corrections shows Las Vegas socialite Margaret Rudin. A judge on Sunday, May 15, 2022, vacated Rudin's murder conviction after she spent 20 years in prison for the 1994 killing of her millionaire husband before being paroled. Margaret Rudin was found guilty in 2001 of murder in the death of real estate mogul Ron Rudin. (Nevada Department of Corrections via AP, File)

Murder conviction vacated for Vegas real estate mogul's wife

A judge has vacated the murder conviction of a 78-year-old Las Vegas woman who spent 20 years in prison for the 1994 killing of her millionaire husband until she was paroled in 2020. Margaret Rudin … more

5/17/22

This cover image released by Random House shows "The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley" by Wesley Morgan, winner of this year’s winner of the William E. Colby Award for military and intelligence writing. (Random House via AP)

Wesley Morgan wins Colby award for 'The Hardest Place'

Author and journalist Wesley Morgan is this year’s winner of the William E. Colby Award for military and intelligence writing. He was cited for his book “The Hardest Place: The American Military … more

5/17/22

Helen Mirren appears at the 14th annual L'Oreal Paris Women of Worth Gala in New York on Dec. 4, 2019, left, and Harrison Ford appears at the premiere of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" in Los Angeles on Dec. 16, 2019. Mirren and Ford will headline a Paramount+ series with the working title “1932,” which joins “1883” as part of what the streaming service called the “origin story” of its “Yellowstone” drama series.(AP Photo)

Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford to star in 'Yellowstone' prequel

Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford will bring their star power to the newest addition to the “Yellowstone” franchise. The pair will headline a Paramount+ series with the working title “1932,” The … more

By LYNN ELBER | 5/17/22

FILE - Wedding dresses are displayed at a bridal shop in East Dundee, Ill., on Feb. 28, 2020. Far fewer Americans were married during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the number of U.S. marriages in 2020 being the lowest recorded since 1963, according to statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford, File)

Pandemic wedding blues: Fewer US couples said 'I do' in 2020

A new report finds far fewer Americans said “I do” during the first year of the pandemic when wedding plans were upended. There were 1.7 million weddings in 2020, a drop of 17% from the year … more

By MIKE STOBBE | 5/17/22

Marseille's Matteo Guendouzi, left, duels for the ball with PSG's Idrissa Gueye during the League One soccer match between Paris Saint Germain and Marseille, at the Parc des Princes stadium, in Paris, France, Sunday, April 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

PSG player criticized for missing anti-homophobia day game

A group fighting homophobia in soccer has called on the French league and Paris Saint-Germain to ask player Idrissa Gueye for an explanation after he missed a game last week amid reports that he … more

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN | 5/17/22

This image released by ABC shows Hilary Swank in a scene from the new series "Alaska." (Darko Sikman/ABC via AP)

ABC tries something brave: drama with journalist as hero

ABC is teaming Hilary Swank and the writer of the “Spotlight” movie for a new series with a journalist as a hero. ABC entertainment chief Craig Erwich says it's a brave show for this era, and is … more

By DAVID BAUDER and LYNN ELBER | 5/17/22