National News - The Morning Sun

Palestinian men look over the site of a deadly explosion at al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)

AP visual analysis: Rocket from Gaza appeared to go astray, likely caused deadly hospital explosion

An Associated Press analysis of more than a dozen videos found that the deadly explosion at a Gaza hospital Tuesday was likely caused by a rocket fired from inside Palestinian territory that veered … more

By MICHAEL BIESECKER | 10/21/23

Evacuees live nomadic life after Maui wildfire as housing shortage intensifies and tourists return

Thousands of people displaced by the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century are facing uncertainty as they try to find housing in an expensive housing market that’s also in high demand as a … more

By AUDREY McAVOY | 10/21/23

Israel says Hamas has freed two American hostages who had been held in Gaza since militants rampaged through southern Israel Oct. 7. Judith and Natalie Raanan, an American woman and her teenage daughter, were released Friday and are being reunited with family. (Oct. 20)

The father of American teenage hostage freed by Hamas says she is 'doing very good'

The father of freed American teenage hostage Natalie Raanan says she's doing well after her release Friday by Hamas. Uri Raanan of Illinois told The Associated Press that he spoke to his daughter by … more

By CLAIRE SAVAGE, MELISSA PEREZ WINDER and LISA BAUMANN | 10/20/23

FILE - Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) national executive director Nihad Awad speaks during a news conference, Jan. 30, 2017, in Washington. The national Muslim civil rights group said Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, that it is moving its annual banquet out of a Virginia hotel that received bomb and death threats possibly linked to the group's concern for Palestinians caught in the Israel-Hamas war. Awad, who is Palestinian American, condemned the threats received by the organization and hotel staff. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Major US Muslim group moves Virginia banquet over bomb and death threats

A national Muslim civil rights group is moving its annual banquet out of a Virginia hotel it says received bomb and death threats. The Council on American-Islamic Relations says it will relocate its … more

10/20/23

Police: Maryland judge fatally shot in driveway of home

A Maryland circuit court judge was fatally shot in the driveway of his home, police say

Police say a Maryland circuit court judge was fatally shot in the driveway of his home. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office says Judge Andrew Wilkinson was found around 8 p.m. Thursday at the … more

10/20/23

FILE - A can of toddler nutritional drink sits on a shelf in a grocery store in Surfside, Fla., on Friday, June 17, 2022. Powdered drink mixes that are widely promoted as “toddler milks” for older babies and children up to age 3 are unregulated, unnecessary and “nutritionally incomplete,” the American Academy of Pediatrics warned Friday, Oct. 20, 2023 (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

So-called toddler milks are unregulated and unnecessary, a major pediatrician group says

A pediatricians' group is warning powdered drink mixes known as “toddler milks” are unregulated, unnecessary and nutritionally incomplete. The drinks are marketed for older babies and toddlers up … more

By JONEL ALECCIA | 10/20/23

Rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel over destroyed buildings following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)

AP Week in Pictures: Global | Oct. 13 - 19, 2023

Palestinians wounded in Israeli airstrikes arrive at a hospital in the Gaza Strip, mourners attend the funeral of an Israeli woman killed by Hamas militants in Holon, Israel, and a woman watches the … more

10/19/23

Dancers rehearse for the "2023 Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes" at St. Paul the Apostle Church on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

AP Week in Pictures: North America

OCTOBER 13 - 19, 2023 The Rockettes rehearse for a Christmas show in New York, mourners cry at the grave of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy who was fatally stabbed in Illinois, and people … more

10/19/23

Flowers are placed along along the Pacific Coast Highway, after a crash that killed four college students and injured two others, in Malibu, Calif. on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. Officials say police have arrested a 22-year-old driver on suspicion of manslaughter. Sheriff's officials say six pedestrians were struck at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday along Pacific Coast Highway, a few miles east of Pepperdine University. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Southern California university mourns loss of four seniors killed in Pacific Coast Highway crash

A Southern California university wrestling with the deaths of four seniors who were struck by a car sought to comfort students and faculty at a campus prayer service. The students at Pepperdine … more

10/19/23

FILE - Nebraska Gov.-elect Jim Pillen answers a question while taking part in a panel discussion during a Republican Governors Association conference, Nov. 16, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. Pillen is facing backlash after comments he made about the Chinese nationality of Flatwater Free Press reporter Yanqi Xu whose story cited environmental concerns at farms owned by the governor. In a column posted Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023, Flatwater Free Press Executive Director Matt Wynn wrote that the governor's comments infuriated him as an employer and saddened him as a believer in democracy and a free press. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

Nebraska governor silent after dismissing news story because reporter was Chinese

Advocates and Nebraska lawmakers are defending a reporter after Gov. Jim Pillen said her story about environmental concerns at his farms wasn’t worth discussing because the reporter was from … more

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH | 10/19/23

FILE - The Monastery of the Caves, also known as Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, one of the holiest sites of Eastern Orthodox Christians, is seen on March 23, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Ukraine's parliament overwhelmingly voted Thursday, Oct. 19, to advance legislation seen as effectively banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over its ties to Moscow, despite the church's insistence that it is fully independent and supportive of Ukraine's fight against Russian invaders. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

Ukraine's parliament advances bill seen as targeting Orthodox church with historic ties to Moscow

Ukraine’s parliament has overwhelmingly voted to advance legislation seen as effectively banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over its ties to Moscow. The church insists it is fully independent … more

By PETER SMITH | 10/19/23

Workers participate "drop, cover, and hold on" at a ShakeOut earthquake drill at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank in Los Angeles Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. Up and down the West Coast, the ShakeOut drill was scheduled to begin at 10:19 a.m. PDT with a cellphone-rattling test alert from the region's ShakeAlert earthquake warning system. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Residents of earthquake zones 'drop, cover and hold on' during annual ShakeOut quake drill

People ducked under desks and tables in California and around the world for an annual drill practicing ways to stay safe during earthquakes. Up and down the West Coast, the ShakeOut drill began at … more

10/19/23

FILE - A house sparrow is seen with an insect in its beak, May 25, 2020, in Lutherville-Timonium, Md. As climate change intensifies extreme heat, farms are becoming less hospitable to many nesting birds, including the house sparrow, a new study found on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Birds nesting in agricultural lands more vulnerable to extreme heat, study finds

Birds nesting in agricultural settings were significantly less likely to successfully raise their young during extreme heat events than birds nesting in forests under the same weather conditions, a … more

By MELINA WALLING | 10/19/23

FILE - A passenger disembarks from a ferry arriving from Peaks Island, Feb. 4, 2023, in Portland, Maine. United States winter looks likely to be a bit low on snow and extreme cold outbreaks, with federal forecasters predicting the North to get warmer than normal and the South wetter and stormier, officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, in releasing their winter outlook. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Federal forecasters predict warm, wet US winter but less snow because of El Nino, climate change

The upcoming United States winter looks likely to be a bit low on snow and extreme cold outbreaks, with federal forecasters predicting the North to get warmer than normal and the South wetter and … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 10/19/23

Lois Garlow of the Haudenosaunee Nationals lacrosse team heads toward the sideline during a match against Canada at the World Games in Birmingham, Ala., July 24, 2022. Members of the Haudenosaunee are hopeful they will have a chance to play the sport their people invented when lacrosse returns to the Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Paul Newberry)

Lacrosse at the Olympics gives Native Americans a chance to see their sport shine

Nearly 1,000 years after lacrosse was first played across the Haudenosaunee confederacy, the sport will be on the Olympic schedule in 2028. Whether the Haudenosaunee, a collection of six Native … more

By EDDIE PELLS | 10/19/23

FILE - Rescue workers with Tidewater Disaster Response wade through a tidal surge on a highway while looking for people in need of help after the Steinhatchee River flooded on, Aug 30, 2023, in Steinhatchee, Fla., following the arrival of Hurricane Idalia. With warmer oceans serving as fuel, Atlantic hurricanes are now more than twice as likely as before to rapidly intensify from wimpy minor hurricanes to powerful and catastrophic, a study said Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP, File)

Hurricanes are now twice as likely to zip from minor to whopper than decades ago, study says

A study says Atlantic hurricanes are now more than twice as likely as before to rapidly intensify from wimpy minor hurricanes to powerful and catastrophic in just 24 hours. Thursday's study says it's … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 10/19/23

Kayleigh Butler, a hair stylist, stands for a portrait at her studio in Atlanta on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. “Relaxers have taken an extreme decline ... as we became more knowledgeable about the effects of the relaxer on your hair and what it can do to your hair,” says Butler, who remembers getting relaxers when she was 5 years old. She added: “I think people just wanted to move away from that and live a healthier lifestyle.” (AP Photo/Kenya Hunter)

FDA is thinking about a ban on hair-straightening chemicals. Stylists say Black women have moved on

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering a ban on certain hair-straightening chemicals that have been used by Black women for years. Recent studies show the chemicals may increase the … more

By KENYA HUNTER | 10/19/23

In this handout frame released by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva pose for a photo during a work break at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty headquarters in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, March 6, 2013. A Russian-American journalist working for a U.S. government-funded media company has been detained in Russia and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent. Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva is the second U.S. journalist to be detained in Russia this year. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested for alleged spying in March.(Claire Bigg/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via AP)

Russian-American journalist charged in Russia with failing to register as a foreign agent

A Russian-American journalist working for a U.S. government-funded media company has been detained in Russia and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent. Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty … more

By The Associated Press | 10/19/23

The trees arrived with Polynesian voyagers. After Maui wildfire, there's a chance to restore them

After the deadly wildfire that destroyed the historic town of Lahaina this summer, people across the world focused their attention on the green leaves sprouting from a scorched, 150-year-old banyan … more

By ED KOMENDA and AUDREY McAVOY | 10/19/23

FILE - Burt Young, a cast member of the film "Rocky Balboa," gestures at the premiere of the film in Los Angeles, Dec. 13, 2006. Burt Young, the Oscar-nominated actor who played Paulie, the rough-hewn, mumbling-and-grumbling best friend, corner-man and brother-in-law to Sylvester Stallone in the “Rocky” franchise, has died. Young died Oct. 8, 2023 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

Burt Young, Oscar-nominated actor who played Paulie in 'Rocky' films, dies at 83

Oscar-nominated actor Burt Young has died. Young played Paulie, the angry, grumbling best friend and brother-in-law of Sylvester Stallone in six “Rocky” movies. His daughter, Anne Morea … more

By ANDREW DALTON | 10/18/23