National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - Actor Paul Hogan stands on the set of "Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles" on the Gold Coast, Australia Tuesday Aug. 29, 2000. (AP Photo/Steve Holland, File)

Burt, the huge Australian crocodile who had a cameo in ‘Crocodile Dundee,’ dies at 90

The Crocosaurus Cove reptile aquarium in Darwin, Australia, says the huge crocodile that rose to fame with a cameo in the movie “Crocodile Dundee” has died. The aquarium says Burt died over the … more

By NICK PERRY | 12/23/24

Officer fatally shot in a North Carolina supermarket, suspect in custody, police say

Authorities say a police officer has been fatally shot in a North Carolina supermarket and a suspect has been taken into custody. Police announced the officer’s death at a Monday afternoon news … more

12/23/24

FILE - A man paddles his canoe in the Niger Delta near the village of Ogboinbiri, Nigeria, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)

Nigerian agency 'failed completely' to clean up oil damage despite funding, leaked files say

In Nigeria, the first part of a $1 billion project to clean up Ogoniland in the Niger Delta, where there have been thousands of oil spills, was a “total failure.” Land has been left unusable for … more

By ED DAVEY | 12/23/24

FILE - New York Police officers clear a train at the Coney Island Stillwell Avenue Terminal, May 5, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, file)

New York City police working to ID woman set ablaze in subway and "person of interest" in her death

New York City police are working to identify the woman who died after being intentionally set on fire inside a stationary subway train. They were also trying to learn on Monday more information about … more

By SUSAN HAIGH | 12/23/24

Shoppers in Pittsburg exit the store, Friday. Big Lots is holding going-out-of-business sales at all of its stores in the U.S.

Big Lots stores closing

NEW YORK (AP) — Big Lots, located at 2804 N Broadway St., will shutter its doors in early 2025. The discount chain, which has been in Pittsburg for more than two decades, is having a going-out-of-business sale that is slated to end by early January. more

Staff and AP Reports | 12/23/24

Donald Trump suggested Sunday that his new administration could try to regain control of the Panama Canal that the United States “foolishly” ceded to its Central American ally, contending that shippers are charged “ridiculous” fees to pass through the vital transportation channel linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal

First it was Canada, then the Panama Canal. And now Greenland. President-elect Donald Trump is renewing calls he made during his first term for the U.S. to buy Greenland from its protectorate, … more

By WILL WEISSERT | 12/23/24

Nigerian agency 'failed completely' to clean up oil damage despite funding, leaked files say

In Nigeria, the first part of a $1 billion project to clean up Ogoniland in the Niger Delta, where there have been thousands of oil spills, was a “total failure.” Land has been left unusable for … more

By ED DAVEY | 12/23/24

Kathleen Krueger and her daughter, Megan, 28, sit together at their home in Racine, Wis., Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

How faith communities can be welcoming of believers with disabilities this holiday season and beyond

This holiday season, some religious congregations across the U.S. are holding events designed to be accomodating to and inclusive of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They … more

By MARIAM FAM and LUIS ANDRES HENAO | 12/23/24

A deportation officer with Enforcement and Removal Operations in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's New York City field office changes the handcuffs of Wilmer Patricio Medina-Medina from back to front after arresting him during an early morning operation, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Trump wants mass deportations. For the agents removing immigrants, it's a painstaking process

Donald Trump has promised to undertake mass deportations. That job would largely fall to the approximately 6,000 federal enforcement and removal officers nationwide. Heading their New York office is … more

By REBECCA SANTANA | 12/23/24

Relatives and neighbors, two of them holding guns, walk during the funeral procession of a victim of an Israeli strike on a home late Saturday that killed at least eight people, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. Some families in Gaza are armed to protect their homes from thieves in the camps.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Middle East latest: Israeli airstrikes on Gaza kill at least 20 people, Palestinian medics say

Palestinian medics say Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 20 people. One of the strikes overnight and into Monday hit a tent camp in the Muwasi area, an Israel-declared … more

By The Associated Press | 12/23/24

New York City police apprehend suspect in the death of a woman found on fire in a subway car

New York City police say they have taken into custody a person of interest in the death of a woman who may have fallen asleep on a stationary subway train before being lit on fire by a man she … more

By SUSAN HAIGH | 12/22/24

FILE - The sun shines onto Vasquez Cirque, new terrain for Winter Park Resort, Feb. 1997, Winter Park, Colo. (AP Photo/Byron Hetzler, File)

174 Colorado skiers and snowboarders rescued after a lift cracks

Officials are investigating what caused a crack in a Colorado ski lift that forced the evacuation of over 170 stranded skiers and snowboarders. The evacuation happened Saturday on a gondola lift at … more

12/22/24

Police cordon off houses that were hit by a plane in Gramado, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Mateus Bruxel, Agência RBS)

At least 10 are killed as a small plane crashes into a Brazilian town popular with tourists

Brazil’s Civil Defense Agency says a small plane has crashed into a Brazilian town that's popular with tourists and killed all 10 passengers and crew on board. More than a dozen people who were on … more

By The Associated Press | 12/22/24

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian celebrates with running back Quintrevion Wisner (26) after a first round game against Clemson in the College Football Playoff, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

College playoffs looks for good matchups after snoozy first round of blowouts

The average final score over the first week of the College Football Playoffs: Winners 36, Losers 17. This bold, new experiment was supposed to bring more programs from more parts of the country into … more

By EDDIE PELLS | 12/22/24

FILE - The sun shines through concertina wire on a fence at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La., April 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Louisiana often holds inmates past their release date, DOJ lawsuit claims

Louisiana’s prison system routinely holds people weeks and months after they have completed their sentences. That is according to a lawsuit filed Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice. The suit … more

By KATE PAYNE | 12/22/24

FILE - This April 13, 2014, file photo shows the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters building in Washington. (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File)

A million taxpayers will soon receive up to $1,400 from the IRS. Who are they and why now?

Approximately 1 million taxpayers will automatically receive special payments of up to $1,400 from the IRS in the coming weeks. The money will be directly deposited into eligible people’s bank … more

By SUSAN HAIGH | 12/22/24

FILE - This image made available by NASA shows an artist's rendering of the Parker Solar Probe approaching the Sun. It's designed to take solar punishment like never before, thanks to its revolutionary heat shield that's capable of withstanding 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,370 degrees Celsius). (Steve Gribben/Johns Hopkins APL/NASA via AP, File)

NASA's Parker Solar Probe aims to fly closer to the sun like never before

A NASA spacecraft is about to make the closest approach to the sun. The Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 to get a close-up look at the sun. On Tuesday, Parker will pass within a … more

By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN | 12/22/24

This image provided by KXXV shows police responding to a JCPenney at a shopping mall as people look on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Killeen, Texas. (KXXV via AP)

Fleeing motorist is dead after driving into Texas shopping mall and injuring 5

Authorities in Texas say law enforcement has fatally shot a fleeing motorist who drove into a JCPenney at a busy shopping mall Saturday. Five bystanders were injured. Sgt. Bryan Washko of the Texas … more

12/21/24

Red Square, the GUM department store, center, and the St. Basil's Cathedral, right, are decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities are seen through a window of the Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow in Moscow, Russia, on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

AP PHOTOS: Holiday lights illuminate the world

Holiday lights are everywhere – and everywhere they look a little different. In recent weeks, Associated Press photographers have captured glistening scenes around the globe. In Jemez Springs, … more

By The Associated Press | 12/21/24

Rabbi Peter Tarlow lights a candle on a menorah during a Chicanukah event at Holocaust Museum Houston on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Annie Mulligan)

What to know about Hanukkah and how it's celebrated around the world

Hanukkah — also spelled Chanukah or other transliterations from Hebrew — is Judaism’s “festival of lights.” On eight consecutive nightfalls, Jews gather with family and friends to light … more

The Associated Press | 12/21/24