National News - The Morning Sun

An assortment of vegan, organic, locally sourced, and wild caught food products all using plastic packaging, sit in a shopping cart at a grocery store in New Orleans, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. People are increasingly breathing, eating and drinking tiny particles of plastic, however, there are simple things people can do at the grocery store if they want to use less plastic. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Earth Day: How one grocery shopper takes steps to avoid 'pointless plastic'

Nature wraps bananas and oranges in peels. But in some modern supermarkets, they’re bagged or wrapped in plastic too. For Judith Enck, that’s the epitome of pointless plastic. The global theme … more

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and MICHAEL HILL | 4/21/24

FILE - The Universal Studios Hollywood officially reopens to the public at 25% capacity with COVID-19 protocols in place in Los Angeles, on April 16, 2021. A tram accident at Universal Studios in Los Angeles injured multiple people Saturday night, April 20, 2024, authorities and the company said. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

15 people suffer minor injuries in tram accident at Universal Studios theme park in Los Angeles

A tram accident at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park in Los Angeles has injured 15 people. The Los Angeles County Fire Department says units were dispatched to the park on Lankershim … more

4/21/24

This photo provided by Penobscot County Sheriff's Office shows the seizure of 40 pounds of processed marijuana from a hidden grow operation by a Chinese citizen in Maine. Court documents detailing how Xisen Guo, a Chinese man came to Maine to transform a rural house into a high-tech, illicit grow operation were detailed in court files unsealed this week with the arrest of the alleged operator, Friday, April 19, 2024. (Penobscot County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Marijuana grow busted in Maine as feds investigate trend in 20 states

Federal law enforcement officials have brought charges against a man accused of creating an illicit marijuana-growing operation off the beaten path in rural Maine. The bust of the home marked the … more

By DAVID SHARP | 4/21/24

FILE - 155 mm M795 artillery projectiles are stacked during manufacturing process at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pa., Thursday, April 13, 2023. The Pentagon could get weapons moving to Ukraine within days if Congress passes a long-delayed aid bill. That's because it has a network of storage sites in the U.S. and Europe that already hold the ammunition and air defense components that Kyiv desperately needs. The House approved $61 billion in funding for the war-torn country Saturday, April 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

A look at what's in the $95 billion foreign aid package passed by the House

The House's $95 billion foreign aid package provides military aid to Ukraine and Israel, replenishes U.S. weapons systems and gives humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. After House approval … more

By The Associated Press | 4/20/24

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who has been banned from running for office, attends a rally where she asked supporters to keep the faith, in San Antonio, Venezuela, April 17, 2024. On Friday, April 20, 2024, all 10 parties in the chief opposition coalition announced they would back an unknown former diplomat, Edmundo González, to be their candidate on the July 28th ballot. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

Venezuela's opposition backs unknown former diplomat in latest gambit to unseat Maduro

Venezuela’s opposition is rallying behind an unknown former diplomat to challenge Nicolas Maduro in this summer’s presidential election. It's the latest gambit to unseat the self-declared … more

4/20/24

FILE - David Pryor, dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, poses, Jan. 24, 2006, at the school in Little Rock, Ark. Former Arkansas governor and U.S. Sen. David Pryor, a Democrat who was one of the state’s most beloved political figures and remained active in public service in the state long after he left office, has died. He was 89. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)

David Pryor, former governor and senator of Arkansas, dies at age 89

David Pryor, a former Arkansas governor and U.S. senator who was one of the state’s most beloved and active political figures, has died at the age of 89. His son, former two-term Democratic U.S. … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 4/20/24

FILE - Chairs for the Bibas family, hostages held in Gaza, are seen at a Passover seder table set, Thursday, April 11, 2024, at the communal dining hall at Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, where a quarter of all residents were killed or captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Passover is a major Jewish holiday, celebrated over seven or eight days each year, commemorating the exodus of ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt, as recounted in the Bible. To many Jews, it symbolizes freedom and the birth of a Jewish nation. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

War, hostages, antisemitism: A somber backdrop to this year's Passover observances

Passover is a major Jewish holiday, celebrated over seven or eight days each year. It commemorates the exodus of ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt, as recounted in the Bible. To many Jews, it … more

By DAVID CRARY | 4/20/24

A young Palestinian wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip is brought to the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, early Saturday, April 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)

Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children

Gaza hospital officials say an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in the territory's southernmost city of Rafah has killed at least nine people, six of them children. The strike late … more

By MOHAMMAD JAHJOUH and SAMY MAGDY | 4/20/24

This image released by O&M/DKC shows the musicians during a performance of "Stereophonic" on Broadway, in New York, April, 1, 2024. (Julieta Cervantes/O&M/DKC via AP)

Theater Review: 'Stereophonic' is a brilliant 'Behind the Music' play on Broadway

A five-piece rock band enters a recording studio in 1976 at the beginning of “Stereophonic” on Broadway. Playwright David Adjmi is telling the story of a Fleetwood Mac-like band with five members … more

By MARK KENNEDY | 4/20/24

FILE - Brian Steven Smith watches proceedings during the opening day of his double murder trial, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, in Anchorage, Alaska. Federal prosecutors want to revoke the U.S. citizenship of Smith, a South Africa man convicted of killing two Alaska Native women for allegedly lying on his naturalization application for saying he had neither killed nor hurt anyone. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

South Africa man convicted in deaths of 2 Alaska Native women faces revocation of U.S. citizenship

Federal prosecutors want to revoke the U.S. citizenship of a South Africa man convicted of killing two Alaska Native women for allegedly lying on his naturalization application for saying he had … more

By MARK THIESSEN | 4/19/24

Closing arguments begin in the trial of an Arizona rancher charged with fatally shooting an unarmed migrant on his property near the U.S.-Mexico border

Jury weighs case against Arizona rancher in migrant killing

The jury has resumed deliberations Friday in the trial of a 75-year-old Arizona rancher accused of fatally shooting a migrant on his property. The jury in Nogales near the Mexico border got the case … more

By ANITA SNOW | 4/19/24

FILE - Fran Allison, right, comforts her daughter, Brooke, after they were reunited following a shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., April 20, 1999. Twenty-five years later, The Associated Press is republishing this story about the attack, the product of reporting from more than a dozen AP journalists who conducted interviews in the hours after it happened. The article first appeared on April 22, 1999. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)

AP Was There: Shock, then terror as Columbine attack unfolds

On April 20, 1999, two teenage boys dressed in black trench coats went on a killing rampage at Columbine High School in suburban Denver. They shot and killed 12 classmates and a teacher and wounded … more

4/19/24

In this screen grab taken from video, Tunde Onakoya, 29- years old, a Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate, left, play a chess game in Times Square, New York, Thursday, April, 18, 2024.A Nigerian chess player and child education advocate is attempting to play chess nonstop for 58 hours in New York City's Times Square to break the global record for the longest chess marathon and raise $1m for the education of children across Africa. (AP Video/John Minchillo)

A Nigerian chess champion is trying to break the world record for the longest chess marathon

A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate is attempting to achieve a Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon. Tunde Onakoya started the attempt on Wednesday in New York … more

By CHINEDU ASADU and JOHN MINCHILLO | 4/19/24

FILE – A Su-25 plane is seen firing rockets over Ukraine in a video frame grab. The video was taken from inside another Su-25 plane and released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Jan. 22, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

Russia pummels exhausted Ukrainian forces with smaller attacks ahead of a springtime advance

Russian troops are ramping up pressure on exhausted Ukrainian forces across the front line to prepare to grab more land this spring and summer. With a vital U.S. aid package for Kyiv slowed down in … more

By The Associated Press | 4/19/24

The Rev. Dr. Chauncey Brown poses for a portrait at Second Baptist Church, Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago's response to migrant influx stirs longstanding frustrations among Black residents

Chicago is one of several big American cities grappling with a surge of migrants. With help from state and federal funds, the city has spent more than $300 million to provide housing, health care and … more

By MATT BROWN | 4/19/24

In this photo taken with a fisheye lens, people visit the Columbine Memorial, April 17, 2024, in Littleton, Colo. The 12 students and a teacher killed in the Columbine High School shooting will be remembered Friday, April 19, 2024, in a vigil on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the tragedy. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

12 students and teacher killed at Columbine to be remembered at 25th anniversary vigil

The 12 students and one teacher killed in the Columbine High School shooting will be remembered in a vigil on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the tragedy. Friday's gathering is the main public … more

By COLLEEN SLEVIN | 4/19/24

James Parker listens to the parole boards decision during his parole hearing, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Concord, N.H. Parker who served more than half of his life in prison for his role in the 2001 stabbing deaths of two married Dartmouth College professors as part of a plan to rob and kill people before fleeing overseas has been granted parole. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Man granted parole for his role in the 2001 stabbing deaths of 2 Dartmouth College professors

A man who’s served more than half of his life in prison for his role in the 2001 stabbing deaths of two married Dartmouth College professors as part of a plan to rob and kill people before fleeing … more

By KATHY McCORMACK | 4/18/24

Trial of a southern Arizona rancher charged in fatal shooting of unarmed migrant goes to the jury

The trial of a 75-year-old southern Arizona rancher accused of fatally shooting a migrant on his property near the U.S.-Mexico border last year is now in the hands of a jury. George Alan Kelly was … more

4/18/24

FILE - The Federal Correctional Institution stands in Dublin, Calif., Dec. 5, 2022. The federal Bureau of Prisons says it is planning to close a women’s prison in California known as the “rape club” despite attempts to reform the troubled facility after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant staff-on-inmate sexual abuse. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Feds push back against judge and say troubled California prison should be shut down without delay

Federal officials are pushing back against a judge’s order that would delay the planned closure of a troubled women’s prison in California where inmates suffered sexual abuse by guards. The … more

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER | 4/18/24

FILE - This 1972 microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a Treponema pallidum bacterium which causes the disease syphilis. With syphilis cases in U.S. newborns skyrocketing, a doctors group is now recommending that all pregnant women be screened three times for the sexually transmitted infection. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued updated its guidance to doctors on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Susan Lindsley/CDC via AP)

As syphilis cases among US newborns soar, doctors group advises more screening during pregnancy

With syphilis cases in U.S. newborns skyrocketing, a doctors group is now recommending that all pregnant patients be screened three times for the sexually transmitted infection. The American College … more

By LAURA UNGAR | 4/18/24