National News - The Morning Sun

In this photo provided by Grant County Sheriff's Office, animals are rescued by emergency responders after a truck fire near Marion, Ind., early Saturday, Jan. 27, 202. A truck hauling zebras and camels for a series of weekend circus performances caught fire early Saturday on the northeastern Indiana highway, prompting a police rescue of the animals. Sgt. Steven Glass with Indiana State Police says the tractor-trailer caught fire about 2 a.m. along Interstate 69 in Grant County about 60 miles northeast of Indianapolis. (Grant County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Zebras, camels and flames, oh my! Circus animals rescued after truck catches fire on Indiana highway

A truck hauling zebras and camels for a series of weekend circus performances caught fire early Saturday on a northeastern Indiana highway, prompting a police rescue of the animals. Sgt. Steven Glass … more

1/27/24

FILE - Argentina's Lionel Messi lifts the trophy after winning the World Cup final soccer match between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on Dec. 18, 2022. Just over a year on from Messi winning the World Cup, what sporting legacy has it left in Qatar? (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

Lionel Messi and the World Cup have left Qatar with a richer sports legacy

Reminders of Lionel Messi and the 2022 World Cup are not hard to find in Qatar. “Last chance” tournament souvenirs greet visitors on arrival at Doha’s Hamad International Airport. In the … more

By JAMES ROBSON | 1/27/24

FILE - Dancers perform in front of an image of St. Brigid projected onto The Wonderful Barn in Leixlip, Kildare, Ireland, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023 during the Herstory Festival of Light. Devotees of St. Brigid in Ireland plan to celebrate on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024, with the scheduled return of a relic associated with the so-called “matron saint of Ireland” — about a millennium after her remains were removed from her hometown of Kildare. It's part of a series of observances in Ireland and around the world marking the 1,500th anniversary of her death. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)

Who was St. Brigid and why is she inspiring many 1,500 years after her death?

Devotees of St. Brigid in Ireland plan to celebrate Sunday with the scheduled return of a relic associated with the so-called matron saint of Ireland — about a millennium after her remains were … more

By PETER SMITH | 1/27/24

FILE - Anti-death penalty signs placed by activists stand along the road heading to Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala., ahead of the scheduled execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. On Thursday, Alabama put Smith to death with nitrogen gas. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler, File)

What happened at the nation's first nitrogen gas execution: An AP eyewitness account

Witnesses including five reporters watched through a window at an Alabama prison as Kenneth Eugene Smith became the first person in the country to be put to death using nitrogen gas. Smith shook and … more

By KIM CHANDLER | 1/26/24

Chicago police work the scene where two high school students were shot and killed just blocks from Millennium Park, in Chicago, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Two teenage boys shot and killed leaving Chicago school

Chicago police say two teenage boys have been shot and killed while they were leaving school. Police say the boys, ages 16 and 17, were among a group of students walking out of the Innovations High … more

1/26/24

FILE - Flood waters remain on the destroyed fields at the Intervale Community Farm, July 17, 2023, in Burlington, Vt. Legislation introduced in December 2023 by Vermont U.S. Sens. Peter Welch and Bernie Sanders, and senators from Massachusetts, aims to create an insurance program better suited to small produce farms facing losses from the more frequent extreme weather. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Small farmers hit by extreme weather could get assistance from proposed insurance program

Since catastrophic flooding hit Vermont in July and upended plantings, some farmers are trying to figure out how to get to the next season. Water washed away seeds planted in the summer at Bear Roots … more

By LISA RATHKE | 1/26/24

FILE - West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice delivers the State of the State address in Charleston, W.Va., on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. A bill that passed Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, which would decriminalize all strips used to test deadly drugs in West Virginia, the state with the nation's highest overdose rate, is headed to the desk of Gov. Justice. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, File)

Bill decriminalizing drug test strips in opioid-devastated West Virginia heads to governor

A bill that would decriminalize all strips used to test drugs for deadly substances now goes to West Virginia's governor. Republican Jim Justice hasn’t said publicly whether he supports the bill, … more

By LEAH WILLINGHAM | 1/26/24

In this combo of images released by the North Dakota Attorney General's Office, Mohamad Barakat tries on a tactical vest, left, and minutes later loads weapons into a suitcase before leaving his apartment on the morning of July 14, 2023, in Fargo, N.D. Newly released investigative reports into a shooting ambush of police officers last year in Fargo, show the gunman preparing the night before the deadly attack, loading his weapons and visiting a gun range in the hours leading up to the shooting on July 14. (North Dakota Attorney General's Office via AP)

Investigation reveals Fargo gunman's movements before deadly police shooting

Newly released investigative reports into last year's deadly ambush of Fargo police officers show the gunman's movements in the hours before the shooting. Still images from Mohamad Barakat's … more

By JACK DURA | 1/26/24

Parents walk away with their kids from the Meijer's parking lot, where many students gathered following an active shooter situation at Oxford High School, Nov. 30, 2021, in Oxford, Mich. The mother of a Michigan school shooter is headed to trial on involuntary manslaughter charges. Prosecutors are trying to pin criminal responsibility on Ethan Crumbley's parents in the deaths of four students at Oxford High School in 2021. Jennifer and James Crumbley are not accused of knowing their son planned to kill fellow students. But prosecutors say they were grossly negligent by making a gun accessible to Ethan Crumbley and ignoring his mental health needs. (Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press via AP, file)

Mother ignored Michigan school shooter's texts about hallucinations because she was riding horses

Prosecutors are portraying the mother of a Michigan school shooter as an aloof parent more interested in horses than the mental health of her teenage son. They said Friday that Ethan Crumbley was … more

By ED WHITE | 1/26/24

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a keel laying ceremony for the 5th nuclear-powered icebreaker Leningrad (Project 22220) at the Baltiysky Shipyard in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (Pavel Bednyakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russia's Putin blames Ukraine for crash of POW's plane and pledges to make investigation public

Russian President Vladimir Putin is pledging to make public the findings of Moscow’s investigation into the crash of a transport plane that he alleges Kyiv’s forces shot down despite having been … more

By The Associated Press | 1/26/24

An approximately 5-week-old pit bull puppy that was found in a jacket pocket of larceny suspect out of Roseville, Mich., is held on Jan. 16, 2024. The puppy was turned over to Macomb County Animal Control. (Chris Hall/Detroit Free Press via AP)

Furry surprise in theft suspect's pocket: A tiny blue-eyed puppy

Officers in a Detroit suburb found a furry surprise when they patted down a theft suspect: A tiny blue-eyed puppy zipped inside the man’s jacket pocket. Roseville police found the palm-sized blue … more

1/26/24

FILE - Britain's King Charles III hosts a gathering of young UK community and faith leaders to discuss the challenges their communities face, at Buckingham Palace, in London, Dec. 13, 2023. King Charles III has arrived at a private London hospital to undergo a “corrective procedure” for an enlarged prostate, Buckingham Place said Friday Jan. 26, 2024. (Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP, File)

What are the symptoms of an enlarged prostate and how is it treated?

King Charles III is in a hospital to undergo a procedure for an enlarged prostate — an extremely common condition among older men. The 75-year-old king is in good company. The prostate gland … more

By CARLA K. JOHNSON | 1/26/24

Indian students of the Swaminarayan Gurukul pray after demonstrating a ritualistic bath called Magh Snan for the media in Ahmedabad, India, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. Devotees believe that a purification bath taken during the auspicious Hindu calendar month of Magh, which begins Thursday, will absolve them of their sins. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

AP Week in Pictures: Global

Jan. 19-25, 2024 Indian students pray, surfers take part in a big wave challenge, Palestinians flee from Khan Younis while Israeli women demand the release of the Israeli hostages, Taylor Swift … more

By The Associated Press | 1/26/24

FILE – Liberal Russian politician Boris Nadezhdin speaks to journalists in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, after submitting documents to Russia's Central Election Committee for the March 17 presidential election. Thousands of people across Russia are signing petitions to support Nadezhdin’s the longshot candidacy as he challenges President Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Putin opponent offers hope to thousands, although few expect him to win Russian election

Thousands of people across Russia are signing petitions to support the longshot candidacy of Boris Nadezhdin. This is a rare sign of protest, defiance and optimism in a country that has seen a … more

By EMMA BURROWS | 1/26/24

FILE - In this May 10, 2018, file photo, students walk past Sather Gate on the University of California at Berkeley campus in Berkeley, Calif. The University of California's governing board has postponed for a year a vote on a plan to allow immigrant students who lack legal status to apply for university jobs. The Board of Regents voted 9 to 6 on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, to shelve the plan until 2025 amid shouts of "Cowards!" from the audience. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

University of California board delays vote over hiring immigrant students without legal status

The University of California’s governing board has postponed for a year a vote on a plan to allow immigrant students who lack legal status to apply for university jobs. The Board of Regents voted … more

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ | 1/25/24

A car sits along a flooded road during a rain storm Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, in San Diego. Heavy rainfall around the U.S. on Monday prompted first responders in Texas to conduct water rescues and officials in California to issue evacuation warnings over potential mudslides in parts of Los Angeles County. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

AP Week in Pictures: North America

Jan. 19-25, 2024 The roof of a car peeks out from the surface of floodwaters in California, Marine One kicks up snow as it lands at the White House in Washington and fog surrounds New York's … more

By The Associated Press | 1/25/24

FILE - Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks in the Fulton County Government Center during a news conference, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. On Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, a judge ordered court records to be made public in the divorce involving a special prosecutor hired in the election case against Donald Trump and others, and who is accused of having an affair with Willis. The judge put off a final decision on whether Willis will have to sit for questioning in the divorce case, but delayed her deposition that had been scheduled for Tuesday. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Trump accuses DA Fani Willis of inappropriately injecting race into Georgia election case

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump say the district attorney in the Georgia election interference prosecution should be removed from the case. They say Fulton County District Attorney Fani … more

By KATE BRUMBACK | 1/25/24

This image provided by the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology shows surviving cold-stunned turtles waiting in line to be examined at CMAST in Morehead City, N.C. Scores of sea turtles stunned by cold temperatures have died after they were found along the North Carolina coast, officials said. The North Carolina State University Center for Marine Sciences and Technology took in 109 cold-stunned sea turtles from Cape Lookout on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024 but only 36 survived, the center said in a social media post this week. (CMAST via AP)

Scores of North Carolina sea turtles have died after being stunned by frigid temperatures

Officials say scores of sea turtles stunned by cold temperatures along the North Carolina coast have died. The North Carolina State University Center for Marine Sciences and Technology says it took … more

By The Associated Press | 1/25/24

FILE - A memorial for Jonathan Lewis Jr. is set up in an alleyway near Rancho High School in eastern Las Vegas, on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. Four high school students in Las Vegas pleaded not guilty Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, to second-degree murder in the fatal beating of their schoolmate that was caught on cellphone video and shared widely across social media. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil, File)

Four Las Vegas high school students plead not guilty to murder in deadly beating of schoolmate

Four high school students in Las Vegas pleaded not guilty Thursday to second-degree in the deadly beating of their schoolmate in November. The fight left 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis Jr. dead and was … more

1/25/24

FILE - In this image made available by NASA, the Mars Ingenuity helicopter hovers above the surface of the planet during its second flight on April 22, 2021. On Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, NASA announced that the 4-pound chopper can no longer fly because of rotor blade damage, and its mission is officially over. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS via AP, File)

NASA's little helicopter on Mars has logged its last flight

NASA says its little Mars helicopter has flown its last flight. The space agency announced Thursday that the 4-pound chopper named Ingenuity can no longer fly because of rotor blade damage, and its … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 1/25/24