National News - The Morning Sun

In this photo provided by Karen Lopez, she and her husband, Jerry Lopez, are seen with their seven children in December 2023. Jerry Lopez, 39, was killed in Las Vegas two days after Christmas while on his way to work in what Las Vegas police say was the final carjacking in a crime spree. (Karen Lopez via AP)

Five officers fired at homicide suspect during deadly chase through Las Vegas, police say

Authorities on Friday said a total of five officers from two law enforcement agencies opened fire on a man who fatally shot his mother two days after Christmas and then led officers on a chase … more

By RIO YAMAT | 12/29/23

Police rope off the scene where two dead bodies were discovered on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. The dead bodies that Texas investigators believe to have been a pregnant woman and her boyfriend were found with gunshot wounds days after they were reported missing, police said Wednesday. (Jacob Beltran/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

Texas police release new footage in murder investigation of pregnant woman, boyfriend

A Texas police chief says surveillance video may lead to answers in the killings of an 18-year-old pregnant woman who disappeared before Christmas and her boyfriend. Authorities say 18-year-old … more

12/29/23

Media wait for the ceremony to mark the last trading day of the year at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Dec. 29, 2023. Asian shares were mixed in muted trading on Friday, Dec. 29, the last trading day of the year, with some regional markets logging solid gains in 2023 while many sagged.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Stock market today: Stocks drift on the final trading day of a surprisingly good year on Wall Street

Stocks are drifting on the final trading day of a year of surprisingly robust gains for Wall Street. The benchmark S&P 500 index is sitting just below the all-time high Friday and is up 24.6% for the … more

Associated Press | 12/29/23

Callum Bradford, a transgender teenager from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, talks about the difficulties obtaining personalized mental health care treatment. North Carolina is one of at least 22 states with laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. (Dec. XX) (AP video: Erik Verduzco)

For transgender youth in crisis, hospitals sometimes compound the trauma

A North Carolina hospital network is referring transgender psychiatric patients to treatment facilities that do not align with their gender identities. Though UNC Hospitals’ policy discourages the … more

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM | 12/29/23

For transgender youth in crisis, hospitals sometimes compound the trauma

A North Carolina hospital network is referring transgender psychiatric patients to treatment facilities that do not align with their gender identities. Though UNC Hospitals' policy discourages the … more

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM | 12/29/23

Sun rises as a motorist drives amidst morning smog in New Delhi, India, Monday, Dec. 25, 2023. Dense fog enveloped Delhi on Monday, bringing visibility down to zero and severely disrupting air, rail and road transport. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

AP Week in Pictures: Asia

Dec. 22-28, 2023 This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images in the Asia-Pacific region made or published by The Associated Press in the past week. Dense fog enveloped … more

By The Associated Press | 12/28/23

FILE - This undated photo provided by the U.S. Air Force shows an X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The U.S. military's X-37B space plane blasted off on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023, on another secretive mission that’s expected to last at least a couple of years.(U.S. Air Force via AP, File)

US military space plane blasts off on another secretive mission expected to last years

The U.S. military has launched its secret space plane on another mission that's expected to last at least a couple of years. Known as the X-37B, the mini space shuttle blasted off from NASA's Kennedy … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 12/28/23

American Family Radio's Don Wildmon sits at his desk in his Tupelo, Miss., office March 3, 2005. Wildmon, the founder of the American Family Association, a conservative Christian advocacy group, has died, the organization announced Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. The 85-year-old Mississippi native died Thursday from complications related to Lewy body dementia, an obituary published by WTVA-TV said. (C. Todd Sherman/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP)

Founder of the American Family Association dies in Mississippi

Donald Wildmon, the founder of the American Family Association, a conservative Christian advocacy group, has died. An obituary published by WTVA-TV says the 85-year-old Mississippi native died on … more

12/28/23

Beachgoers watch as turbulent surf pounds the coast at Manhattan Beach on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023 in Manhattan Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Huge surf pounds West Coast and Hawaii, flooding some low-lying areas

Powerful surf is rolling onto beaches on the West Coast and Hawaii as a big swell generated by the stormy Pacific Ocean pushes toward shorelines. Forecasters are urging people to stay off rocks and … more

By JOHN ANTCZAK and JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER | 12/28/23

FILE - Snow is removed from the entrance of the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021. A Minnesota woman has sued her dentist after receiving four root canals, eight dental crowns and 20 fillings in a single visit that she says led to her disfigurement. Kathleen Wilson filed the lawsuit last week in Hennepin County District Court. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa, File)

Woman sues dentist after 4 root canals, 8 dental crowns and 20 fillings in a single visit

A Minnesota woman has sued her dentist after receiving four root canals, eight dental crowns and 20 fillings in a single visit that she says led to her disfigurement. The lawsuit accuses Dr. Kevin … more

12/28/23

FILE - Insurrections loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Documents unsealed this week say that a defendant who was sentenced in secret for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot cooperated with authorities investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and an unrelated case. The documents detail the reason for the unusual secrecy in the case of Samuel Lazar, who had been released from federal custody in September after completing his sentence in his Capitol riot case. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Jan. 6 rioter who was sentenced in secret provided information to authorities, court papers say

Court documents unsealed this week say that a Pennsylvania man who was sentenced in secret for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot cooperated with authorities investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and … more

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER | 12/28/23

FILE - A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's stocks' prices at a securities firm in Tokyo, Dec. 21, 2023. Asian shares powered higher on Thursday, Dec. 28 with Chinese benchmarks up more than 1%, after Wall Street logged modest gains in this holiday-shortened week. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Stock market today: Stocks edge higher on Wall Street in muted trading

Stocks edged higher on Wall Street in what’s expected to be another quiet day between the Christmas and New Year holidays. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% in early trading Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial … more

By ELAINE KURTENBACH and MATT OTT | 12/28/23

Election officials see a range of threats in 2024, from hostile countries to conspiracy theorists

The list of security challenges keeps growing for election officials preparing for the 2024 presidential election. Many of the concerns from four years ago persist. Those concerns include possible … more

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY | 12/28/23

A hiring sign is displayed at the Department of Motor Vehicles office in Deerfield, Ill., Tuesday, Dec.12, 2023. On Thursday, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

US applications for jobless benefits rise but labor market remains solid

More Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, but not enough to raise concern about the labor market or broader economy. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims rose … more

By MATT OTT | 12/28/23

FILE - A shareholder leaves the Squishmallows booth with a large bag of purchases in the exhibition hall of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Omaha, Neb. A judge in New York has ruled that Alibaba must face a lawsuit by a U.S. toymaker alleging that the Chinese ecommerce giant’s online platforms were used to sell counterfeit Squishmallows. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz, File)

US court rejects Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba's effort to quash faked Squishmallows case

A judge in New York has ruled that Alibaba must face a lawsuit by a U.S. toymaker alleging that the Chinese ecommerce giant's online platforms were used to sell counterfeit Squishmallows. Judge Jesse … more

By The Associated Press | 12/28/23

A Palestinian woman displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip sits outside a destroyed home in Rafah, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Live updates | UN warns of impeded aid deliveries as Israel expands offensive in Gaza

Fleeing Palestinians have packed into areas along Gaza’s border with Egypt and the southern Mediterranean coastline, where shelters and tent camps are overflowing. The U.N. humanitarian office says … more

By The Associated Press | 12/28/23

FILE - Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf attends a dedication ceremony for the rebuilt Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. Pennsylvania saw a tenfold increase in deaths of older adults following an abuse or neglect complaint over the past few years, according to state data, and as COVID-19 ravaged the nation, calls for help mushroomed while local agencies struggled to keep caseworkers on staff.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

As pandemic unfolded, deaths of older adults in Pennsylvania rose steeply in abuse or neglect cases

Pennsylvania saw a tenfold increase in deaths of older adults following an abuse or neglect complaint over the past few years. It came as COVID-19 ravaged the nation, complaints grew and local … more

By MARC LEVY | 12/28/23

FILE - Danny Masterson arrives at an event on March 24, 2014, in Los Angeles. Authorities said Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023, that 47-year-old Masterson has been admitted to North Kern State Prison to serve his sentence for two rape convictions. (Photo by Annie I. Bang/Invision/AP, File)

Danny Masterson sent to state prison to serve sentence for rape convictions, mug shot released

“That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson has been sent to a California state prison to serve his sentence for two rape convictions. Authorities said Wednesday that the 47-year-old Masterson has … more

12/27/23

The reputed last member of the famed American jungle fighting unit in World War II, nicknamed the Merrill’s Marauders, has died. Russell Hamler, 99, died on Tuesday, his son said. (Dec. 27) (AP Video: Javier Arciga)

Russell Hamler, thought to be the last of WWII Merrill's Marauders jungle-fighting unit, dies at 99

The reputed last member of the famed World War II American jungle fighting unit nicknamed the Merrill’s Marauders has died. Ninety-nine-year-old Russell Hamler died on Tuesday. That is according to … more

12/27/23

A man who had been trapped for days in his crashed pickup truck was rescued Tuesday after two fishermen spotted the wreckage, Indiana State Police said. The man was airlifted to a hospital. (Dec. 27)

Trapped in his crashed truck, an Indiana man is rescued after 6 days surviving on rainwater

Police in Indiana say a man was rescued after being trapped for six days in his crashed pickup truck and drinking rainwater to survive. The man was found Tuesday pinned in the wreckage hidden beneath … more

12/27/23