National News - The Morning Sun

An election official walks past ballot boxes and election material laid out for distribution at an auditorium of a school in Dhaka, Bangladesh,Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Fear of violence looms over a contentious Bangladesh election as polls open

Polls have opened in Bangladesh as voters began casting their ballots in an election fraught with violence and a boycott from the main opposition party. At least 18 arson attacks have been reported … more

1/6/24

A Russian Orthodox Church priest makes the sign of the cross during an Orthodox Christmas service at the Church of the Holy Martyr Tatiana near the Kremlin Wall in Moscow, Russia, late Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Orthodox mark Christmas, but the celebration is overshadowed for many by conflict

Orthodox Christians packed churches on Saturday night for Christmas Eve services, a holiday overshadowed for many believers by conflict. Patriarch Kirill is the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, … more

By The Associated Press | 1/6/24

Duke Divinity School celebrate its 90th Baccalaureate service, May 14, 2016, in Duke Chapel with Eboni Marshall Turman, then a professor at Duke and now a professor at Yale Divinity School, preaching. Marshall Turman filed a lawsuit in December 2023 accusing Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York of sex discrimination for rejecting her application to become Abyssinian's senior pastor. (Duke Divinity School via AP)

Prominent Black church in New York sued for gender bias by woman who sought to be its senior pastor

A Yale professor has filed a federal gender discrimination lawsuit against a prominent Harlem church after it did not hire her for its senior pastor job. The suit brought by Eboni Marshall Turman … more

By DARREN SANDS | 1/6/24

Hazera Khatun, 70, holds a portrait of her son Sajedul Islam Sumon, a BNP local politician who has been missing for over 10 years, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. Khatun founded Mayer Daak, or Mother's Call, a platform for family members of victims of enforced disappearances in Bangladesh after the disappearance of her son. In August, Human Rights Watch said Bangladesh's security forces have committed over 600 enforced disappearances since 2009, when prime minister Sheikh Hasina came to power for the second time. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Thousands of opposition activists languish in prison as Bangladesh gears up for national election

In the months leading to Bangladesh’s national election on Sunday, thousands of opposition supporters and politicians have been arrested. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party claims 10 … more

By KRUTIKA PATHI | 1/6/24

FILE - A Japan Airlines plane is on fire on the runway of Haneda airport in Tokyo, on Jan. 2, 2024. The 379 passengers of Japan Airlines Flight JAL-516 didn't expect their plane to burst into flames just as it was about to touchdown at Tokyo’s Haneda airport Tuesday evening. A smaller coast guard Bombardier Dash-8 aircraft, preparing to take off to deliver urgent aid to quake-hit central Japan, was using the same runway when the two collided. The Associated Press collected accounts from witnesses, officials and transcripts of the traffic controls communication. (Kyodo News via AP, File)

A timeline of key moments leading to Japan planes colliding. Human error is seen as a possible cause

It has only taken 18 minutes to evacuate the 379 passengers of Japan Airlines Flight 516 after their plane burst into flames just after touchdown at Tokyo’s Haneda airport Tuesday evening. A … more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | 1/6/24

FILE - A girl prays for Stephen Perkins during a vigil outside Decatur, Ala., City Hall/Police Department, Oct. 5, 2023. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Tuesday, Dec. 26, that it has completed an investigation into a fatal police shooting where Perkins was killed in his front yard during a dispute with a tow truck driver. (Jeronimo Nisa/The Decatur Daily via AP, File)

Former Alabama police officer charged with murder in shooting of Black man

A former Alabama police officer has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a Black man in front of his own home during a dispute with a tow truck driver. Morgan County District Attorney … more

By KIM CHANDLER | 1/5/24

FILE - Fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah carry out a training exercise in Aaramta village in the Jezzine District, southern Lebanon, Sunday, May 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

From Houthis to Hezbollah, a look at the Iran-allied groups rallying to arms around Middle East

Missiles, rockets and drones struck targets around the Middle East this week as the United States, Israel and others clashed with Iran-allied militant groups. Attacks hit in vital Red Sea shipping … more

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER | 1/5/24

The "Inverness Shipwreck" sits in disarray on the shores of Tomales Bay in Inverness, Calif. Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. Time is apparently running out for the old wooden boat that became an Instagram star as it rotted on a shoreline north of San Francisco. Recent storms have made a shambles of the forlorn vessel Point Reyes, a landmark that was already deteriorated from the over-attention of visitors to the Marin County coast. (Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Time running out for landmark old boat that became a California social media star

Time is apparently running out for California’s “Inverness Shipwreck,” an old wooden boat that became an Instagram star as it rotted on a shoreline north of San Francisco. Recent storms have … more

1/5/24

Abigail Zwerner, center, a teacher who was shot at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va., by her 6-year-old student last year, listens as one of her attorneys talks to reporter Peter Dujardin, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, in Virginia Beach, Va. (Stephen M. Katz /The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

The teacher shot by a 6-year-old still worries, a year later, about the other students in the room

The former teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student in a Virginia classroom said she still worries about the other children who saw it happen. She said she hopes their happiness “wasn’t … more

1/5/24

FILE - A sign for flu and covid vaccinations is displayed at a pharmacy store in Palatine, Ill., Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. The flu season in the U.S. is getting worse but it's too soon to tell how much holiday gatherings contributed to a likely spike in illnesses. New government data posted Friday, Jan. 5, 2024 for the previous week _ the holiday week between Christmas and New Year's _ show 38 states with high or very high levels for respiratory illnesses with fever, cough and other symptoms. That's up from 31 states the week before. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Flu and COVID infections got worse over the holidays, with more misery expected, CDC says

The flu season in the U.S. is getting worse with 38 states reporting high or very high levels for respiratory illnesses. That’s up from 31 states the week before. But it’s too soon to tell how … more

By MIKE STOBBE | 1/5/24

FILE - Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan ecology and natural resources minister, attends a plenary stocktaking session at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Babayev has been named to lead the United Nations' annual climate talks later this year, prompting concern from some climate activists over his former ties to the state oil company in a major oil-producing nation.(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

Azerbaijan names a former oil exec to lead climate talks. Activists have concerns

Azerbaijan’s ecology minister has been named to lead the United Nations’ annual climate talks later this year. That's prompting concern from some climate activists over his former ties to the … more

By SIBI ARASU | 1/5/24

A removal work is underway at the site of a planes collision at Haneda airport in Tokyo Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Cranes were dismantling the Japan Airlines Flight 516 Airbus A350 that caught fire after hitting a Coast Guard aircraft while it was landing Tuesday at the airport. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japanese air safety experts search for voice data from plane debris after runway collision

Transport safety officials are searching for the voice recorder from a Japan Airlines airliner that caught fire after a collision with a coast guard plane. They hope the recorder will containe … more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | 1/5/24

FILE- This photo provided by the California Department of Transportation shows an early morning fire along Interstate 10 near downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Since an arson fire damaged a key Los Angeles freeway, the state has hired security guards to watch out for smoke and other trouble at three other sites deemed equally risky under Interstate 10. (Caltrans District 7 via AP, File)

California hires guards to monitor businessman's other sites under I-10 after freeway fire

Since an arson fire damaged a key Los Angeles freeway, the state has hired security guards to watch out for smoke and other trouble at three other sites deemed equally risky under Interstate 10. All … more

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER, JULIE WATSON and KAVISH HARJAI | 1/5/24

A woman bikes amid damaged houses in Noto town in the Noto peninsula facing the Sea of Japan, northwest of Tokyo, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, following Monday's deadly earthquake. A series of powerful earthquakes that hit western Japan have damaged thousands of buildings, vehicles and boats. Officials warned that more quakes could lie ahead. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

AP Week in Pictures: Asia

Dec. 29, 2023-Jan. 4, 2024 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. A series of … more

By The Associated Press | 1/4/24

Nevada judge attacked by defendant during sentencing in Vegas courtroom scene captured on video

Nevada judge is back to work a day after being attacked by defendant who jumped atop her

A Nevada judge was back to work Thursday after being injured in an attack by a defendant in a felony battery case who charged forward and launched himself over the judge’s bench when it became … more

By KEN RITTER and RIO YAMAT | 1/4/24

Bernice King daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., speaks during a news conference at the King Jr Center Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

King's daughter says wars, gun violence, racism have pushed humanity to the brink

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter says the world urgently needs to study and adopt her father’s philosophy of nonviolence to avoid self-destruction. The Rev. Bernice King used an address … more

By SUDHIN THANAWALA | 1/4/24

This photo shows Vanessa Joy. Despite receiving enough signatures to appear on the ballot, Vanessa Joy, a transgender woman has been disqualified from an Ohio House race because she omitted her previous name, raising concern that other transgender candidates nationwide may face similar barriers. Joy found out Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (Vanessa Joy via AP)

A transgender candidate in Ohio was disqualified from the state ballot for omitting her former name

A transgender woman has been disqualified from running for the Ohio House after omitting her former name from circulating petitions to get on the ballot. Vanessa Joy's disqualification raises concern … more

By SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON and GEOFF MULVIHILL | 1/4/24

FILE - Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear reacts to a question during an interview in the State Reception Room of the state Capitol, Nov. 8, 2023, in Frankfort, Ky. Access to medical marijuana in Kentucky should expand to include a longer list of severe health conditions, Gov. Beshear said Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in advocating a change that would make hundreds of thousands more people eligible for treatment when the program begins next year. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

Kentucky governor backs longer list of conditions eligible for treatment under medical marijuana law

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says access to medical marijuana in the state should expand to include more health conditions. He says the change would make 437,000 more Kentuckians eligible for treatment … more

By BRUCE SCHREINER | 1/4/24

FILE - U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, introduces state Sen. Royce West at a rally where West announced his bid to run for the U.S. Senate, in Dallas, Monday, July 22, 2019. Johnson, a nurse from Texas who helped bring hundreds of millions of federal dollars to the Dallas area as the region's most powerful Democrat, died Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023. She was 88. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

Influential former Texas US Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson dies at 89

Trailblazing former U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson has died at 89. The nurse from Texas helped bring hundreds of millions of federal dollars to the Dallas area as the region's most powerful … more

1/4/24

FILE - Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs (1) celebrates making the game-winning basket against UCLA during overtime in a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Gonzaga won 93-90. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

The AP Top 25 remains a college basketball mainstay after 75 years of evolution

The AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll has been a mainstay for 75 years, but much like the game itself, it has evolved with the times. What was once a top 20, and contracted to a top 10, reached … more

By DAVE SKRETTA | 1/4/24