National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - Dr. Rahul Gupta, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, walks outside of the White House, Nov. 18, 2021, in Washington. The U.S. has named a veterinary tranquilizer as an “emerging threat” when it is mixed with the opioid fentanyl, clearing the way for more efforts to stop the spread of xylazine and develop an antidote. The Office of National Drug Control Policy announced the designation Wednesday, April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

US names veterinary drug, fentanyl mixture 'emerging threat'

The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy is designating the tranquilizer xylazine when mixed with fentanyl as an emerging threat. The drug was approved for veterinary uses more than 50 years … more

By GEOFF MULVIHILL | 4/12/23

Expelled State Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, delivers remarks outside the state Capitol Monday, April 10, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Pearson was expelled the previous week over his role in a gun-control protest on the House floor in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

2nd Black lawmaker could be returned to Tennessee House

Commissioners in Memphis are scheduled to decide whether to return a Black Democrat to the Republican-led Tennessee House. He and a colleague were kicked out of the Legislature last Thursday … more

By ADRIAN SAINZ | 4/12/23

Magnitude 4.0 earthquake recorded in central Oklahoma

CARNEY, Okla. (AP) — A magnitude 4.0 earthquake was among a series of six tremors that struck central Oklahoma on Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. No injuries or serious … more

4/12/23

FILE - Boxes of the drug mifepristone sit on a shelf at the West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., March 16, 2022. An anti-vice law from the 19th century is at the center of a new court ruling that could soon halt access to the leading abortion drug in the U.S. On Friday, April 7, 2023, a Trump-appointed judge in Texas sided with Christian conservatives in ruling that the Comstock, enacted in the 1870s, prohibits sending the long-used drug through the mail. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed, File)

Abortion pill rulings in conflict: What happens next?

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Texas case that could cut off access to the most commonly used abortion medication has started on a path through the legal system that could quickly lead to the Supreme Court. … more

By JESSICA GRESKO and MARK SHERMAN Associated Press | 4/12/23

FILE - Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters holds his hand over his heart while the national anthem plays during inauguration ceremonies, Jan. 9, 2023, in Oklahoma City. Walters is on his way out as Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's secretary of education. On Tuesday, April 11, Stitt announced in a press release that he is appointing Oklahoma State University professor of education Katherine Curry to serve on his cabinet in the role Walters has held since 2020. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

Stitt picks professor, not Walters, for education secretary

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma's Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters is on his way out as Gov. Kevin Stitt's secretary of education. Stitt on Tuesday announced in a press release that … more

4/12/23

FILE - District 12 District Attorney Matt Ballard talks at the Rogers County Courthouse on May 4, 2016, in Claremore, Okla. An Oklahoma man convicted of murder for stabbing another man to death in 2018 could get a new trial after Ballard acknowledged in a court filing on March 17, 2023, that two of his former prosecutors watched jurors deliberate via a video feed into the courtroom. In Oklahoma, it is a felony to listen to or observe jurors deliberate in a case. (Matt Barnard/Tulsa World via AP, File)

Oklahoma man could get new trial amid prosecutor misconduct

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma man convicted of murder for stabbing another man to death in 2018 could get a new trial after the district attorney acknowledged two of his former prosecutors … more

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press | 4/12/23

St. Louis suburb settles 'debtors' prison' lawsuit

A Missouri town will pay $3.25 million to settle a so-called debtors' prison lawsuit over allegations that thousands of people were unconstitutionally jailed and forced to pay fines and fees that … more

By JIM SALTER Associated Press | 4/12/23

Smoke rises from an industrial fire, Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at 358 NW F Street, in Richmond, Ind. (Zach Piatt/The Palladium-Item via AP)

Industrial fire prompts evacuation order in Indiana city

People have been urged to evacuate if they live near a large industrial fire in Richmond, Indiana, near the Ohio border. The order went out Tuesday after a major fire at a site where plastics are … more

4/11/23

Vanessa Oden, vice principal of elementary at Elite Public Schools in Vallejo, attends a Black in School Coalition rally and march at Capitol Park in Sacramento, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. A group of education advocates held a rally to voice opposition to Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed budget, saying it doesn't go far enough to close the academic achievement gap for Black students. (Renée C. Byer/The Sacramento Bee via AP)

California weighs how to improve outcomes for Black students

California lawmakers are considering a proposal by Gov. Gavin Newsom to increase funding for schools with a large share of low-income students. The proposal reworks a bill last year that aimed at … more

By SOPHIE AUSTIN | 4/11/23

FILE - This image from the body camera of Louisiana State Police Trooper Dakota DeMoss shows his colleagues, Kory York, center left, and Chris Hollingsworth, center right, holding up Ronald Greene before paramedics arrived on May 10, 2019, outside of Monroe, La. (Louisiana State Police via AP, File)

Officers plead not guilty in Ronald Greene's deadly arrest

Five Louisiana law enforcement officers have pleaded not guilty to state crimes in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene. Tuesday's arraignment came nearly five months after the officers were … more

4/11/23

FILE - Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signs one of three bills restricting access to abortion in Montana as sponsor of one of the bills, state Rep. Lola Sheldon-Galloway, R-Great Falls, watches in Helena, Mont., on April 26, 2021. Planned Parenthood of Montana filed a preemptive lawsuit Monday, April 10, 2023, seeking to stop legislation that would ban the abortion method most commonly used in the second trimester, arguing it's unconstitutional. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP, File)

Pending abortion ban can’t be prevented, Montana judge rules

A Montana judge says a bill to restrict abortions in Montana will become law — at least temporarily — if the governor signs it. The judge denied a request by Planned Parenthood of Montana to … more

4/11/23

A memorial for Joshua Barrick is on display, late Monday, April 10, 2023, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Louisville, Ky. A Louisville bank employee armed with a rifle opened fire at the bank Monday morning, killing Barrick and multiple others, including a close friend of Kentucky's governor, while livestreaming the attack on Instagram, authorities said. (AP Photo/Claire Galofaro)

Leaning on faith, Louisville mourns victims of mass shooting

Many in Louisville turned to their faith for impromptu church services hours after a gunman killed five of his coworkers at Old National Bank downtown and injured eight others. It was the day after … more

By CLAIRE GALOFARO, BRUCE SCHREINER and BEATRICE DUPUY | 4/11/23

EPA acts, finding cancer risk from sterilization chemical

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed Tuesday to limit the use of the chemical ethylene oxide after finding higher than expected cancer risk at facilities that use it to sterilize billions of … more

By MICHAEL PHILLIS | 4/11/23

A mourner draped in the Israeli flag attends the funeral for Lucy Dee at a cemetery in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Kfar Etzion, Tuesday, April 11, 2023. The British-Israeli woman died of wounds from an April 7 shooting attack that killed her daughters, Maia and Rina Dee, by Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Israeli army kills 2 alleged Palestinian gunmen in West Bank

The Israeli military shot and killed two Palestinians who allegedly opened fire at troops from their car in the northern West Bank, the latest incident in a wave of deadly violence gripping the … more

By ISABEL DEBRE | 4/11/23

FILE - This 1975 microscope image made available by the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria. U.S. health officials released data Tuesday, April 11, 2023, showing how chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis cases have been accelerating, but doctors are hoping an old drug will help fight the sexually transmitted infections. Experts believe STDs have been rising because of declining condom use, inadequate sex education and reduced testing during the COVID-19 pandemic.(Dr. E. Arum, Dr. N. Jacobs/CDC via AP)

Post-sex pill seen as new tool to fight rising STD rates

New data details the nation’s worsening tide of sexually transmitted infections, but health officials are hoping an old drug will help the fight. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on … more

By MIKE STOBBE | 4/11/23

FILE - Lori Vallow Daybell glances at the camera during her hearing in Rexburg, Idaho., on March 6, 2020. The investigation started roughly 29 months ago with two missing children. It soon grew to encompass five states, four suspected murders and claims of an unusual, doomsday-focused religious beliefs involving "dark spirits" and "zombies." On Monday, April 10, 2023, an Idaho jury will begin the difficult task of deciding the veracity of those claims and others in the triple murder trial of Lori Vallow Daybell. (John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register via AP, Pool, File)

A look at who's who in the murder trial of slain kids' mom

Prosecutors say the mother charged in a triple murder case took part in a complex conspiracy that included unusual spiritual beliefs and efforts to kill those who stood in the way of her goals. Lori … more

By REBECCA BOONE | 4/11/23

Next abortion battles may be among states with clashing laws

Since Roe v. Wade fell, states with strict abortion bans are trying to reach outside their borders to keep their residents from getting abortions in other states. But legal observers say there's no … more

By GEOFF MULVIHILL and JOHN HANNA Associated Press | 4/11/23

In this photo provided by the Louisville Metro Police Department, from left, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, Officer Nickolas Wilt and Louisville Metro Interim Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel pose for a photo, in Louisville, Ky., March 31, 2023. Wilt was shot while responding to a call where a bank employee armed with a rifle opened fire at his workplace early Monday, April 10. (Louisville Metro Police Department via AP)

What we know about victims of the Louisville bank shooting

Tributes are growing for the five people slain in a shooting at a Louisville bank. Friends shared details of their lives and mourners gathered at vigils Monday. Details were also emerging about some … more

By CLAIRE GALOFARO and BRUCE SCHREINER | 4/10/23

FILE - The Nashville, Tenn., skyline is shown July 11, 2022. Nashville officials on Monday, March 13, 2023, sued over a new Tennessee law that will cut the Democratic-leaning city's metro council in half, a move that follows the council’s rejection of efforts to host the 2024 Republican National Convention in Music City. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

Judges block Tennessee move to cut Nashville council in half

A panel of judges has temporarily blocked a new requirement passed by state Republican lawmakers that would cut the Democratic-leaning city of Nashville’s Metropolitan Council in half, from 40 … more

By JONATHAN MATTISE | 4/10/23

Expelled Rep. Justin Pearson waves, Friday, April 7, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn., the day after Pearson and another member of the Tennessee State Legislature were expelled. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Black lawmaker who was expelled to return to Tennessee House

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — One of the two Black Democrats who were expelled last week from the GOP-led Tennessee House has been reinstated. Nashville's governing council voted Monday to send Justin … more

By JONATHAN MATTISE and TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press | 4/10/23