National News - The Morning Sun

iPhones are displayed during an event in Cupertino, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. A 12-year-old girl in Tennessee has been charged with murder, accused of smothering her 8-year-old cousin as the younger girl slept on July 15, 2024. A relative said they had been arguing over an iPhone. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

A 12-year-old girl is accused of smothering her 8-year-old cousin over an iPhone

A 12-year-old girl has been charged with murder, accused of smothering her 8-year-old cousin as the younger girl slept. A relative said they had been arguing over an iPhone while visiting their … more

7/20/24

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the press after a bilateral meeting with Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martinez Acha at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Blinken points to wider pledges to support Ukraine in case US backs away under Trump

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Ukraine is on its way to being able to “stand on its own feet” militarily and more than 20 other countries have pledged to maintain their own military and … more

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER | 7/20/24

Firefighters battle a fire at First Baptist Dallas church on Friday, July 19, 2024, in Dallas. (Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

A fire severely damages the historic First Baptist Dallas church sanctuary

Firefighters in Texas have contained a fire that all but destroyed the historic church sanctuary at First Baptist Dallas. The blaze sent smoke billowing over the city but caused no deaths or … more

7/20/24

FILE - Pastor Ryan Burge, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and author of "The Nones," poses for a portrait at at First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, Ill., Sept. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski, File)

As a scholar, he's charted the decline in religion. Now the church he pastors is closing its doors

First Baptist Church of Mt. Vernon, Illinois, plans to hold the last service of its 156-year history on Sunday. It's among many U.S. churches that close their doors each year. But there’s a … more

By PETER SMITH | 7/20/24

FILE - Children cool off at the Hamilton Fish pool, July 18, 2017, in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. In most cases, there’s no need to wait at least 30 minutes after eating to go for a swim, doctors say. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Do you really have to wait to go swimming after eating?

No, you don't really have to wait 30 minutes after eating to go swimming. Doctors say there’s no need in most cases to wait. That old warning stems from worry that people might drown or struggle … more

By TOM MURPHY | 7/20/24

FILE - White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, May 22, 2024. Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday, July 19, at separate panels in Colorado, that Iran is talking more about getting a nuclear bomb, and has made strides in developing one key aspect of a weapon in recent months. Sullivan says he has seen no sign Iran has decided to actually weaponize its nuclear program. Blinken says Iran recently has stepped up work on fissile material to fuel a bomb. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

US says Iran moving forward on a key aspect of developing a nuclear bomb

Two top Biden administration officials say Iran is talking more about getting a nuclear bomb, and has made strides in developing one key aspect of a weapon in recent months. Secretary of State Antony … more

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER | 7/19/24

FILE - Gov. Bill Lee responds questions during a news conference after a bill signing ceremony Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. HIV-positive people who were convicted in Tennessee of sex work under a decades-old aggravated prostitution law will no longer be required to face a lifetime registration as a “violent sex offender” under a lawsuit settlement finalized this week, Friday, July 19, 2024.(AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

Tennessee will remove HIV-positive people convicted of sex work from violent sex offender list

HIV-positive people who were convicted in Tennessee of sex work under a decades-old aggravated prostitution law will no longer be required to face a lifetime registration as a “violent sex … more

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI | 7/19/24

People ride the newly reopened Giant Slide at Belle Isle in Detroit on Friday, July 19, 2024. (Neo Hopkins/Detroit News via AP)

Detroit's giant slide is back. There will probably be fewer bruises this time

Ready, set, go! A six-lane giant slide has reopened in Detroit at Belle Isle state park. In 2022, the slide made headlines, got a mention on Jimmy Kimmel's TV show and even inspired a song. Viral … more

7/19/24

Blinken points to wider pledges to support Ukraine in case US backs away under Trump

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Ukraine is on its way to being able to “stand on its own feet” militarily and more than 20 other countries have pledged to maintain their own military and … more

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER | 7/19/24

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, second left, stands listening to the verdict in a glass cage of a courtroom inside the building of "Palace of justice," in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on Friday, July 19, 2024. A Russian court convicted Gershkovich on espionage charges that his employer and the U.S. have rejected as fabricated. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison after a secretive and rapid trial in the country's highly politicized legal system. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

What to know about Evan Gershkovich's conviction for espionage in Russia

The trial of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich ended Friday with his conviction on espionage charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government have dismissed as fabricated. He was … more

The Associated Press | 7/19/24

FILE - Residents wade through a street flooded by rains brought on by Hurricane Idalia, in Batabano, Cuba, Aug. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)

Humans caused climate change. Amid the suffering, now they must solve it

NEW YORK (AP) — For decades, scientists warned that continued burning of oil, gas, and coal would have devastating climate impacts. Those impacts are being felt around the world. Climate change … more

By The Associated Press | 7/19/24

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents after an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

AP Week in Pictures: Global

July 12-18, 2024 Just five days after an assassination attempt, a bandaged Donald Trump accepted the Republican party’s presidential nomination in Milwaukee. Kate, the Princess of Wales, … more

By The Associated Press | 7/19/24

FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko emerges from a polling booth after marking his ballot in a national referendum in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 24, 1996. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)

Key events in Alexander Lukashenko's 30 years as the iron-fisted leader of Belarus

Hard-line President Alexander Lukashenko has led Belarus for 30 years and intends to seek yet another term in office. The former collective farm manager has harshly stifled the opposition with … more

By The Associated Press | 7/19/24

FILE - A pedestrian traverses the rotunda inside the New Mexico Capitol, March 16, 2023, in Santa Fe, N.M. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is urging the Democratic-led Legislature to consider longer minimum sentences for gun-toting felons, restrictions on panhandling and an expansion of involuntary detention and treatment for mental health problems and addiction. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee, File)

New Mexico Democrats mostly rebuff calls from Democratic governor to address high crime rates

Democrats in the state legislative majority have rebuffed calls by New Mexico’s governor to address the “dangerous intersection” of crime and homelessness. At a special legislative session … more

By MORGAN LEE | 7/18/24

FILE - This undated image provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows Keith Edmund Gavin. The Alabama prison system in a statement Friday, July 12, 2024, said it has agreed to forgo an autopsy on Muslim death row inmate Gavin, scheduled to be executed Thursday, July 18, who said the post-mortem procedure would violate his religious beliefs. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP, File)

Alabama set to execute man for fatal shooting of a delivery driver during a 1998 robbery attempt

Alabama is set to execute a man for the 1998 shooting death of a delivery driver during a robbery attempt near an ATM. Keith Edmund Gavin is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Thursday night at … more

By KIM CHANDLER | 7/18/24

This photo provided by the Denver Downtown Aquarium shows Crush, a rare orange lobster, sent to the aquarium on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. Crush is named after the Denver Broncos Orange Crush defense from 1976 to 1986. (Meghan Bailey/Denver Downtown Aquarium via AP)

Colorado Red Lobster restaurant finds rare orange lobster in shipment, takes it to Denver aquarium

The Downtown Aquarium in Denver has a new resident — a rare orange lobster that was rescued from a shipment of crustaceans delivered to a Red Lobster restaurant in Pueblo, Colorado. A long-term … more

By AMY BETH HANSON | 7/18/24

FILE - Bakhodir Jalolov, of Uzbekistan, takes a shot in the nose from Great Britains' Frazer Clarke during their super heavy weight +91kg semifinal boxing match at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. A sport that has been a staple of Olympic programs for over a century, boxing could be dropped before the Los Angeles Games if big changes in governance don't happen in the next year or two. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, FIle(

Beleaguered Olympic boxing has a new look in Paris: Gender parity, but the smallest field in decades

Olympic boxing in Paris will see big changes to the sport's traditional structure. Give or take a few last-minute additions or dropouts, half of the 248 boxers in Paris will be women. That's a … more

By GREG BEACHAM | 7/18/24

Thousands gather during the National Eucharistic Congress opening ceremonies, July 17, 2024, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)

For Catholic pilgrims, all roads lead to Indy for an old-style devotion in modern stadium setting

Catholics from across the U.S. have converged for five days of traditional devotions at the Indianapolis Colts’ football stadium in what they’re calling the National Eucharistic Congress. It’s … more

By PETER SMITH | 7/18/24

This June 2024 photo provided by Survival International shows members of the Mashco Piro along the Las Piedras River in the Peruvian Amazon near the community of Monte Salvado, in Madre de Dios province, Peru. (Survival International via AP)

Group says photos of reclusive tribe on Peru beach show logging concessions are 'dangerously close'

An advocacy group for Indigenous peoples has released photographs of a reclusive tribe’s members searching for food on a beach in the Peruvian Amazon. Survival International calls it evidence that … more

By STEVEN GRATTAN | 7/18/24

FILE - The James M. Fitzgerald U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, is pictured on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. Prosecutors said former U.S. District Court Judge Joshua Kindred of Alaska, who resigned after a scathing investigation found he had engaged in inappropriate conduct with staff and attorneys, did not disclose conflicts of interest in 23 criminal cases before him. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

Alaska judge who resigned in disgrace didn't disclose conflicts in 23 cases, investigation finds

Prosecutors say a federal judge in Alaska who resigned after a scathing investigation found he had engaged in inappropriate conduct with staff and attorneys did not disclose conflicts of interest in … more

7/18/24