National News - The Morning Sun

In this photo provided by Brian Williams, a whale approaches his father, Kevin Williams, while he was paddleboarding in Prince William Sound near Whittier, Alaska, on July 13, 2023. Williams survived the close encounter with a humpback whale, not even getting wet during a tense few seconds caught on camera by friends and family as a whale surfaced near him. (Brian Williams

See how an Alaska paddleboarder escaped a close encounter with a humpback whale

An Alaska man on a paddleboard escaped a close encounter with a humpback whale that surfaced right in front of him. Kevin Williams feared he would be knocked off his paddleboard by the whale so … more

By MARK THIESSEN | 7/20/23

FILE - The fire-damaged Wellspring Health Access clinic is cordoned by tape, May 25, 2022, in Casper, Wyo. A judge is set to consider a plea deal Thursday, July 20, 2023, for an abortion opponent who investigators say burned Wyoming's first full-service abortion clinic in years. (AP Photo/Mead Gruver, File)

A woman who investigators say burned a Wyoming abortion clinic pleads guilty to arson

An abortion opponent who told investigators that anxiety and nightmares about a planned Wyoming abortion clinic led her to burn the facility has pleaded guilty to arson. A U.S. district judge … more

By JESSE BEDAYN | 7/20/23

This image from video provided by TMX shows an encounter between a female otter and a surfer off the coast of Santa Cruz, Calif., on Sunday, July 9, 2023. California wildlife officials are trying to capture and rehome the otter. (Hefti Brunhold/Amazing Animals+/TMX via AP)

The sea otter harassing surfers off the California coast eludes capture as her fan club grows

A sea otter launched into the national spotlight after social media images circulated of her aggressively wresting surfboards away from surfers off the coast of Santa Cruz, California is building a … more

By HAVEN DALEY and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ | 7/20/23

Co-founder and president of OBON Society Rex Ziak, left, and USS Lexington Museum on the Bay's executive director Steve Banta display Japanese soldier Shigeyoshi Mutsuda's good luck flag during a Japanese good luck flag repatriation ceremony aboard the museum in Corpus Christi, Texas, Thursday, July 20, 2023. (John Oliva/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP)

A flag carried by a Japanese soldier who was killed during World War II is returning to his family

A flag carried by a Japanese soldier killed in action during World War II is returning to the man's family. Known as a Good Luck Flag, it was displayed for 29 years at the USS Lexington Museum in … more

By KEN MILLER | 7/20/23

FILE - The Marathon Petroleum Refinery is seen in Reserve, La., Dec. 2, 2021. A screening tool the federal government is using to decide which neighborhoods have a disproportionate amount of pollution and climate risk could worsen air pollution exposure disparities along racial lines, according to a new analysis, published Thursday July 20, 2023. Researchers told The Associated Press it’s because race was excluded as a part of the equation that decides which communities are the most in-need. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Exclusion of race in federal climate justice screening tool could worsen disparities, analysis says

A screening tool the federal government is using to decide which neighborhoods have a disproportionate amount of pollution and climate risk could worsen air pollution exposure disparities along … more

By DREW COSTLEY | 7/20/23

Flames from the Donnie Creek wildfire burn along a ridge top north of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada, Sunday, July 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

AP PHOTOS: Canada's wildfires blacken thousands of square miles, upend lives

Canada's worst-ever wildfire season has choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months, coupling with deadly heat around the globe in a summer that's focusing the world's attention on … more

By NOAH BERGER | 7/20/23

This undated photo provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows James Barber. A federal appeals court on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, refused to stop Barber's upcoming execution in Alabama, rejecting his argument that the state has a history of botched lethal injections. Barber, 64, is scheduled to be put to death Thursday evening, July 20, at a south Alabama prison, in the first execution scheduled in the state since Gov. Kay Ivey paused them in November for an internal review. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP)

Alabama to carry out first lethal injection after review of execution procedures

Alabama plans to execute an inmate for the 2001 beating death of a woman as the state seeks to carry out its first lethal injection after a pause following a string of problems with inserting the … more

7/20/23

People buy Powerball tickets at Joe's Service Center, a Mobil gas station that previously sold the $2.04 billion-winning Powerball ticket at Woodbury Road and Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena, Calif., Wednesday, July 19, 2023. The Powerball jackpot rose yet again to an estimated $1 billion after no winning ticket was sold for the latest drawing. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

The wait is over as Powerball finally has a winner for its estimated $1 billion jackpot

A winning ticket has been sold in California for the Powerball jackpot worth an estimated $1 billion. The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were 7, 10, 11, 13, 24 and red Powerball 24. … more

The Associated Press | 7/20/23

FILE - This Feb. 11, 2023, booking photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows death row inmate Jemaine Cannon. Oklahoma is preparing to execute Cannon on Thursday, July 20, 2023, for stabbing 20-year-old Sharonda Clark to death with a butcher knife in 1995 after his escape from a prison work center. In a statement sent to The Associated Press this week, Cannon's attorney, Mark Henricksen, said the state's decision to proceed with Cannon's execution amounts to “historic barbarism.” But prosecutors from the attorney general's office and Clark's adult daughters have urged the state to execute Cannon. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP, File)

Oklahoma prepares to execute man for 1995 slaying of Tulsa woman

Oklahoma is preparing to execute a man for stabbing a Tulsa woman to death with a butcher knife in 1995. Fifty-one-year-old Jemaine Cannon is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Thursday morning … more

By SEAN MURPHY | 7/20/23

In this image taken from video provided by ABC 33/40, Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis speaks at a press conference, Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Hoover, Ala. Police in Alabama cast doubt Wednesday on the story of Carlee Russell who set off a frantic search when she disappeared for two days after calling 911 to report a toddler wandering on the highway. Derzis said detectives were still investigating her whereabouts, but had so far been “unable to verify most of Carlee's initial statement.” (ABC 33/40 via AP)

Police cast doubt on Carlee Russell's kidnapping claim after reporting toddler on an Alabama highway

Police are casting doubt on a 25-year-old Alabama woman's claim that she was kidnapped from the side of an interstate after calling 911 to report seeing a toddler. Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis … more

By SUDHIN THANAWALA | 7/19/23

FILE - Officers escort Richard Allen out of the Carroll County courthouse following a hearing, Nov. 22, 2022, in Delphi, Ind. Allen, charged with killing two teenage girls, will remain held at a northern Indiana prison after a judge concluded Wednesday, July 19, 2023, he's being treated better there than other inmates, after his attorneys requested to relocate him from the Indiana Department of Correction’s Westville Correctional Facility. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

Judge orders man charged with killing 2 teenage girls to remain at northern Indiana prison

An Indiana man charged with killing two teenage girls will remain in prison after a judge concluded he’s being treated better there than other inmates. Special Judge Fran Gull denied a request from … more

7/19/23

FILE - In this image taken from video, former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin addresses the court at the Hennepin County Courthouse, June 25, 2021, in Minneapolis. Chauvin was convicted in the killing of George Floyd. On Tuesday, July 18, 2023, the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected Chauvin’s request to hear his appeal of his conviction for second-degree murder in the killing of Floyd, and his attorney said Wednesday, July 19, that they will now take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Court TV via AP, Pool, File)

Ex-officer Derek Chauvin to ask US Supreme Court to review his conviction in murder of George Floyd

An attorney for former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin says they'll ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review his second-degree murder conviction in George Floyd's killing. The Minnesota Supreme … more

By STEVE KARNOWSKI | 7/19/23

A Star of David hangs from a fence outside the dormant landmark Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood on Thursday, July 13, 2023, the day a federal jury announced they had found Robert Bowers, who in 2018 killed 11 people at the synagogue, eligible for the death penalty. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh synagogue attack survivors testify about overcoming wounds both physical and emotional

Survivors of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue attack are testifying to the severe physical and emotional injuries they suffered during the deadliest antisemitic massacre in U.S. history. The testimony … more

By PETER SMITH | 7/19/23

This image, taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), shows the young planetary system PDS 70, located nearly 400 light-years away from Earth. Astronomers have discovered what could be two planets sharing the same orbit around their star. They say it's the strongest evidence yet of this bizarre cosmic pairing. long suspected but never proven. The researchers published their findings on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. (European Southern Observatory via AP)

Two planets sharing same orbit around their star? Astronomers find strongest evidence yet

Astronomers have discovered what could be two planets sharing the same orbit around their star. They say it's the strongest evidence yet of this bizarre cosmic pairing. long suspected but never … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 7/19/23

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Cillian Murphy in a scene from "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures via AP)

Movie Review: A bomb and its fallout in Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer'

Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” is a kinetic thing of dark, imposing beauty that quakes with the disquieting tremors of a forever rupture in the course of human history, AP Film Writer Jake … more

By JAKE COYLE | 7/19/23

FILE - A woman walks past beauty salons with window decorations which have been defaced in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021. A spokesman at Afghanistan's Vice and Virtue Ministry said Tuesday, July 4, 2023, the Taliban are banning women's beauty salons. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)

The Taliban use tasers, fire hoses and gunfire to break up Afghan women protesting beauty salon ban

Afghan women protesting a beauty salon ban say the Taliban used tasers, fire hoses and gun shots into the air to break up their demonstration. The closure of beauty salons earlier this month is the … more

By RIAZAT BUTT | 7/19/23

FILE - Amanda Zurawski, one of five plaintiffs, speaks in front of the state Capitol in Austin, Texas, March 7, 2023, as the Center for Reproductive Rights and the plaintiffs announced their lawsuit, which asks for clarity in Texas law as to when abortions can be provided under the "medical emergency" exception. All five women were denied medical care while experiencing pregnancy complications that threatened their health and lives. The women are headed to court Wednesday, July 19, as legal challenges to abortion bans across the U.S. continue a year after the fall of Roe v. Wade. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman via AP, File)

Women denied abortions in Texas ask court for clarity over state's exceptions to ban

Women who sued Texas after saying they were denied abortions despite serious risks to their health are asking a court to step in. A Texas judge on Wednesday is set to hear testimony from the women, … more

By PAUL J. WEBER | 7/19/23

FILE - Chinese navy sailors stand in formation on board the naval training ship, Qi Jiguang, as it docks at Manila's port, Philippines Wednesday, June 14, 2023. China says it's navy ships are preparing for joint exercises with Russia's sea forces in a sign of Beijing's continuing support for Moscow's invasion of neighboring Ukraine. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe, File)

China prepares for naval drills with Russia in sign of continuing support amid Ukraine conflict

China says it's navy ships are preparing for joint exercises with Russia's sea forces in a sign of Beijing's continuing support for Moscow's invasion of neighboring Ukraine. The move announced … more

7/19/23

FILE - Mega Millions cards are displayed at the Fuel On Convenience store in Pittsburgh, Jan. 9, 2023. The Mega Millions jackpot has risen to an estimated $720 million after no winning ticket was sold Tuesday, July 18. The estimated jackpot for the next drawing on Friday, July 21, would be the 7th highest ever in Mega Millions history. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

No winner in Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing. Jackpot reaches $720 million

The Mega Millions jackpot has risen to an estimated $720 million after no winning ticket was sold — again. No ticket for Tuesday’s drawing matched the white balls 19, 22, 31, 37, 54 and the gold … more

7/19/23

FILE - Chunks of ice float in Mendenhall Lake in front of the Mendenhall Glacier on April 29, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. An Alaska man inadvertently filmed his own drowning on the glacial lake with a GoPro camera mounted on his helmet, but authorities who recovered the camera have not yet found his body, officials said Tuesday, July 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)

Alaska man inadvertently films his own drowning on a glacial lake with helmet GoPro, officials say

Authorities say an Alaska man inadvertently filmed his own drowning on a glacial lake with a GoPro camera mounted on his helmet. But officials who recovered the camera have not yet found his body. … more

By BECKY BOHRER | 7/18/23