National News - The Morning Sun

Destroyed homes and cars are shown, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii officials urge tourists to avoid traveling to Maui as many hotels prepare to house evacuees and first responders on the island where a wildfire demolished a historic town and killed dozens. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Maui officials and scientists warn that after the flames flicker out, toxic particles will remain

Officials in Maui are warning residents that it remains too early to return to some parts of the island where firefighters have extinguished flames. The fire melted metals and plastics from cars, … more

By SAM METZ and CLAIRE RUSH | 8/14/23

FILE - An anti-police brutality activist looks back at the entrance to the Rankin County Sheriff's Office in Brandon, Miss., Wednesday, July 5, 2023, as the group called for the termination and prosecution of Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey for running a law enforcement department that allegedly terrorizes and brutalizes minorities. Six former Mississippi law officers, including some who call themselves the "Goon Squad,” will plead guilty to state charges Monday, Aug. 14, for their racist assault on two Black men that ended with an officer shooting one man in the mouth. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Former Mississippi officers expected to plead guilty to state charges for racist assault

Six former Mississippi law officers who tortured two Black men will plead guilty to state-level charges for the racist assault. The episode ended with one officer shooting one of the victims in the … more

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG | 8/14/23

FILE - Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis watches proceedings during a hearing to decide if the final report by a special grand jury looking into possible interference in the 2020 presidential election can be released Jan. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. Just one month after Donald Trump’s January 2021 phone call to suggest Georgia’s secretary of state could overturn his election loss, Willis announced she was looking into possibly illegal “attempts to influence” the results. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

How Fani Willis oversaw what might be the most sprawling legal case against Donald Trump

Just one month after Donald Trump’s January 2021 phone call to suggest Georgia’s secretary of state could overturn his election loss, district attorney Fani Willis announced she was looking into … more

By KATE BRUMBACK | 8/14/23

Deputy Chief Larry Snelling, center, talks with officers before a prayer service in memory of Officer Ella French outside the 22nd District, 1900 W. Monterey Ave., on Aug. 11, 2021, in Chicago. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, named Snelling, the police department's counterterrorism head, as his choice for police superintendent of the nation's third-largest city. (John J. Kim/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Chicago mayor names the police department’s counterterrorism head as new police superintendent

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has named Larry Snelling, the police department’s counterterrorism head, as his choice for police superintendent of the nation’s third-largest city. The announcement … more

8/13/23

The wildfire wreckage on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities as firefighters battled the stubborn blaze that has already claimed 36 lives, making it the deadliest in the U.S. in recent years. (Aug. 10)

Death toll in Maui rises to 93 with 2,200 structures destroyed or damaged. Follow live updates

Maui County says the number of confirmed deaths from the wildfires on the island has risen to 93, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than 100 years. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green says there were … more

By REBECCA BOONE | 8/13/23

Two firefighters stand on the debris around the smoldering wreckage of the the three houses that exploded near Rustic Ridge Drive and Brookside Drive in Plum, Pa., on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023. (Samuel Long/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

5 people, including a child, are dead after an explosion destroys 3 homes and damages 12 others

Authorities say five people, including an adolescent, were found dead after a house explosion in western Pennsylvania that destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others. Plum Borough … more

8/13/23

Wildfire damage is shown, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

As Maui rescue continues, families and faith leaders cling to hope but tackle reality of loss

For scores of families still hoping to reunite with loved ones, it was not yet time to give up, even as Hawaii authorities predict that more remains would be found in the ashes left behind by a … more

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and GIOVANNA DELL'ORTO | 8/13/23

FILE - Crowds of people line up to get a ballot at a Republican caucus site, Feb. 23, 2016, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Dueling GOP presidential nominating contests in Nevada raise concerns about voter confusion

Republicans in Nevada could have two chances next year to vote for who they want to be their party’s presidential nominee, but only one will count. The Nevada GOP is insisting on holding its own … more

By GABE STERN and CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY | 8/13/23

Virginia running back Mike Hollins (7) runs up the middle for a gain against North Carolina during the first half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Charlottesville, Va. Hollins, who was wounded in a shooting attack last November that left three of his teammates dead, knows he will never be the same, and admits that the position of football on his priorities list “has shrunk." He still can’t wait to run onto the field with his Cavaliers brothers for their opener this season. (AP Photo/Mike Caudill, File)

Virginia player wounded in deadly attack returns for a new season as an inspiration to his teammates

Virginia running back Mike Hollins knows he will never be the same. He also says the importance of college football has shrunk. But he can't wait to run onto the field with his teammates this season. … more

By HANK KURZ Jr. | 8/13/23

FILE - The Harriott II riverboat sits docked in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. A riverfront brawl occurred on Aug. 5 when a crew member was punched for trying to move a pontoon boat that was blocking the riverboat from docking. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler, File)

Alabama riverfront brawl videos spark a cultural moment about race, solidarity and justice

Bystanders who trained their smartphone cameras on an Alabama riverfront dock, as several white boaters pummeled a Black riverboat co-captain, couldn’t have known the footage would elicit a … more

By AARON MORRISON, AISHA I. JEFFERSON and KIM CHANDLER | 8/13/23

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - The carcass of a dog lies next to burned-out vehicles on Front Street in Lahaina, Hawaii on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

In deadly Maui wildfires, communication failed. Chaos overtook Lahaina along with the flames

In the hours before a wildfire engulfed the town of Lahaina, Maui County officials failed to activate sirens that would have warned the entire population of the approaching flames and instead relied … more

By REBECCA BOONE, JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER and AUDREY MCAVOY | 8/12/23

Jonesville Historic Gullah Neighborhood resident Josephine Wright stands between her home and an orange safety fence that boarders the 29-acre construction site, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Hilton Head Island, S.C. A Georgia-based developer's planned 147-unit short-term rental complex that broke ground last summer. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Developers have Black families fighting to maintain property and history

All along the booming South Carolina coast, developers looking to profit on vacation getaways and new homes are targeting land owned by the descendants of enslaved people. From Myrtle Beach to Hilton … more

By JAMES POLLARD | 8/12/23

FILE - Chris and Nancy Brown embrace while searching through the remains of their home, leveled by the Camp Fire, in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 12, 2018. The Camp Fire bears many similarities to the deadly wildfire in Hawaii. Both fires moved so quickly residents had little time to escape. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

They lost everything in the Paradise fire. Now they're reliving their grief as fires rage in Hawaii

As wildfires tear through the Hawaiian island of Maui, residents of a Northern California town are reliving their own harrowing experience with a similar conflagration. The town of Paradise was … more

By ADAM BEAM | 8/12/23

People stroll through the space formerly known as Calhoun Square in Savannah, Ga., on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Savannah's city council voted in November 2022 to remove from the square the name of former U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun, an outspoken advocate for slavery in the decades before the Civil War. As the city council prepares to vote on a new name, a list of recommended finalists includes the names of four Black people, a Native American tribe and a group of women. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

Savannah considers Black people and women for city square to replace name of slavery advocate

The historic downtown of Savannah, Georgia, boasts nearly two dozen public squares. All the people they honor were white men. Soon, one of the squares could be named for a Black person or a woman for … more

By RUSS BYNUM | 8/12/23

FILE -In this photo provided by the Alaska SeaLife Center, a Pacific walrus pup rests his head on the lap of a staff member after being admitted to the center's Wildlife Response Program in Seward, Alaska, on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. A walrus calf found on its own miles from the ocean on Alaska’s North Slope last week and who received cuddles as part of his care after being rescued died on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. (Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center via AP, File)

Rescued walrus calf that was receiving cuddles as part of his care in Alaska dies

A walrus calf found alone and miles from the ocean on Alaska’s North Slope last week and who received cuddles as part of his care after being rescued has died. The nonprofit research facility and … more

8/11/23

FILE - Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen delivers his State of the State on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, at the the state Capitol in Lincoln, Neb. A Nebraska judge on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023 rejected an effort to block a ban on abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy and restrictions on gender-affirming surgery. Lancaster County District Court Judge Lori Maret sided with the state and allowed a law approved by the Nebraska Legislature earlier this year to remain in effect. (Anna Reed/Omaha World-Herald via AP, File)

Nebraska judge allows abortion limits and restrictions on gender-affirming surgery

A Nebraska judge is allowing a ban on abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy and restrictions on gender-affirming surgery to remain in effect. Lancaster County District Court Judge Lori Maret on … more

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE | 8/11/23

This image from video shows the family of Tashawn Bernard, a 12-year-old who was handcuffed by a police officer on Thursday, in what the Lansing (Mich.) Police Department described as an “unfortunate case of ‘wrong place, wrong time,’” speaks during a virtual press conference with their lawyers, Ayanna and Rico Neal, left, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023 in Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Joey Cappelletti)

Michigan police detained a Black child who was in the 'wrong place, wrong time,' department says

A Michigan police department says a white officer handcuffed a Black child who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Lansing Police Department says Friday on Facebook that the officer … more

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and COREY WILLIAMS | 8/11/23

Sunrise on the first day of school at the Jefferson County Public Schools Detrick Bus Compound at 3686 Parthenia Ave., Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Louisville, Ky. Kentucky's largest school system cancelled the second and third day of classes after a disastrous overhaul of the transportation system that left some children on buses until just before 10 p.m. on opening day. (Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal via AP)

Kentucky school district rushes to fix bus route snarl that canceled classes and outraged parents

Louisville school district officials say a total overhaul of bus routes created too steep a learning curve for the system. The logistical meltdown forced classes to be canceled for two days this week … more

By BRUCE SCHREINER, DYLAN LOVAN and TRAVIS LOLLER | 8/11/23

Children cool off in a fountain at VDNKh (The Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy), in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa

Aug. 4-10, 2023 Children cool off in a fountain in Moscow in warm weather as people gather for the annual SUP board festival in St. Petersburg. Catholics gather to see Pope Francis in … more

By The Associated Press | 8/11/23

Myrna Ah Hee reacts as she waits in front of an evacuation center at the War Memorial Gymnasium, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Wailuku, Hawaii. The Ah Hees were there because they were looking for her husband's brother. Their own home in Lahaina was spared, but the homes of many of their relatives were destroyed by wildfires. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

'Nothing left': Future unclear for Hawaii residents who lost it all in fire

The fire that tore across a coastal Maui town and caught many by surprise has already claimed dozens of lives and burned more than 1,000 buildings. It has turned a centuries-old hamlet beloved by … more

By AUDREY McAVOY | 8/11/23