National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel holds a gavel while speaking at the committee's winter meeting in Dana Point, Calif., Jan. 27, 2023. McDaniel has discussed leaving her role with former President Donald Trump. But both have agreed to delay a decision until after South Carolina’s Feb. 24 primary. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel has discussed stepping down, AP sources say. But no decision has been made

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel has discussed leaving her role with former President Donald Trump. But both have agreed to delay a decision until after South Carolina’s Feb. 24 … more

By STEVE PEOPLES | 2/6/24

State Rep. Alabas Farhat, right, D-Dearborn, speaks with House Speaker Joe Tate on the Michigan House floor, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, in Lansing, Mich. Farhat would later introduce a resolution to condemn an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal that called Dearborn “America’s jihad capital". (AP Photo/Joey Cappelletti)

Opinion piece about Detroit suburb is 'racist and Islamophobic,' Democrats say

Two Democratic lawmakers have introduced a resolution condemning an op-ed piece that called a Detroit suburb “America's jihad capital.” State Rep. Alabas Farhat and Michigan House Floor Leader … more

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI | 2/6/24

Ecuador officials name likely source of tainted cinnamon that poisoned U.S. children

Officials in Ecuador have named a likely source of contaminated ground cinnamon used in fruit pouches tied more than 400 cases of lead poisoning in U.S. children. Carlos Aguilera, a cinnamon … more

By JONEL ALECCIA | 2/6/24

A geologist surveys a mudslide Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, in the Beverly Crest area of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Record rainfall, triple-digit winds, hundreds of mudslides. Here's California's storm by the numbers

More than 380 mudslides. Nearly half of downtown Los Angeles' yearly rainfall in just two days. A wind gust of 102 mph (164 kph). Those are some of the big numbers from the slow-moving atmospheric … more

2/6/24

Meta says it will label AI-generated images on Facebook and Instagram

Facebook and Instagram users will start seeing made-by-AI labels on deepfake images that appear on their social media feeds, part of a broader tech industry initiative to sort between what’s real … more

By MATT O'BRIEN | 2/6/24

FILE - Maureen Reid, left, and her guide dog, Gaston, cross the intersection of Wood Street and Roosevelt Avenue with Sandy Murillo, center, and Geovanni Bahena, relying on an audible signal for the blind, on April 26, 2023, in Chicago. Faced with a growing backlash, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, that it is pausing plans to change how it asks people about disability in its most comprehensive survey, a move that would have overhauled how disabilities are defined by the nation's largest statistical agency. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, file)

Census Bureau pauses changing how it asks about disabilities following backlash

Facing growing backlash, the U.S. Census Bureau has paused plans to change how it asks people about disabilities in its most comprehensive survey. The move would have overhauled how disabilities are … more

By MIKE SCHNEIDER | 2/6/24

FILE - South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem listens to Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairwoman Janet Alkire, unseen, during a tribal flags ceremony, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, at the state Capitol in Pierre, S.D. South Dakota has apologized to and will pay $300,000 under a settlement with a transgender advocacy group that sued Gov. Noem and her health secretary last year after the state terminated a contract with it. Attorneys for the Transformation Project announced the settlement Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Jack Dura, File)

South Dakota has apologized and must pay $300K to transgender advocates

South Dakota has apologized and will pay $300,000 under a settlement with a transgender advocacy group that sued Gov. Kristi Noem and her health secretary. The settlement with the Transformation … more

By JACK DURA | 2/6/24

An adorable, furry baby Hoffman’s two-toed sloth has made its debut at a zoo in Florida. Zookeepers at the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society have been monitoring the baby sloth and its mother since witnessing the birth on Jan. 23. (Feb. 6) (AP Video/Cody Jackson)

Florida zoo welcomes furry baby Hoffman's two-toed sloth

An adorable, furry baby Hoffman’s two-toed sloth has made its debut at zoo in Florida. Zookeepers at the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society have been monitoring the baby sloth and its mother, … more

By CODY JACKSON and FREIDA FRISARO | 2/6/24

File - A shopper walks by a store, Nov. 18, 2020 in Pembroke Pines, Fla. Small business acquisition rates in 2023 were up and down, reflecting the increase in interest rates that threw a chill into the market. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Small business acquisitions leveled off in 2023 as interest rates climbed, but 2024 looks better

Small business acquisitions were up and down last year, reflecting the increase in interest rates that threw a chill into the market. But a strong fourth quarter, helped by a signal from the Federal … more

By MAE ANDERSON | 2/6/24

Hunter Prince, left, watches a video on his computer inside his mother and stepfather's bedroom as his little brother, Waylon, right, finishes brushing his teeth at Camp Graves, a nonprofit helping provide temporary housing, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in Water Valley, Ky. Two years after the tornado outbreak that killed dozens and leveled much of the real estate in Mayfield, many people, like the Prince family, are still living through another, slower disaster, the search for housing. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Two years after deadly tornadoes, some Mayfield families are still waiting for housing

Two years after the tornado outbreak that killed dozens and leveled much of the real estate in this western Kentucky town, many people are still living through another, slower disaster -- the search … more

By MELINA WALLING | 2/6/24

In this photo provided by America Media, from left, the Rev. James Martin, Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, N.M., and Rev. Eric Andrews attend the closing Mass for the Outreach conference at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle, in New York, June 18, 2023. Martin is the founder of Outreach, a unique Jesuit-run program of outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics. (Cristobal Spielmann/America Media via AP)

Jesuits in US bolster outreach initiative aimed at encouraging LGBTQ+ Catholics

Catholic dogma continues to repudiate same-sex marriage and gender transition. Yet one of the most prominent religious orders in the United States — the Jesuits — is strengthening a unique … more

By DAVID CRARY | 2/6/24

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks in Raleigh, N.C., Jan. 18, 2024. The White House is pressing Congress to extend a subsidy program that helps one in six families afford internet and represents a key element of Biden's promise to deliver reliable broadband service to every American household. "For President Biden. internet is like water," said Tom Perez, senior adviser and assistant to the president, on a call with reporters on Monday. "It's an essential public necessity that should be affordable and accessible to everyone." (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

White House renews calls on Congress to extend internet subsidy program

The White House is pressing Congress to extend a federal program that helps families afford internet. The Affordable Connectivity Program is projected to run out of money at the end of April. … more

By KAVISH HARJAI | 2/6/24

Palestinians wounded in Israeli bombardment receive treatment in a hospital t in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Live updates | Israel's evacuation orders cover 2/3 of the Gaza Strip, leaving Palestinians crammed

United Nations humanitarian monitors say Israel’s evacuation orders in the Gaza Strip now cover two-thirds of the territory, or 95 square miles. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian … more

By The Associated Press | 2/6/24

Crystal Martinez, who has been incarcerated for more than two years in Illinois’ largest prison for women for shooting a man, was resentenced on December 15th, 2023 under a rare Illinois law allowing judges to reduce jail time for some domestic violence survivors. (Feb. 6) (AP video by Melissa Perez Winder)

Imprisoned mom wins early release but same relief blocked for some other domestic violence survivors

A survivor of human trafficking who is imprisoned in Illinois for shooting a man sought and was granted a resentencing that will lead to her early release. Crystal Martinez relied on a 2016 Illinois … more

By CLAIRE SAVAGE | 2/6/24

Donald Trump deploys his oft-used playbook against women who bother him. For now, it's Nikki Haley

Donald Trump has a well-worn playbook against women who challenge him. For now, it's Nikki Haley's turn. The former South Carolina governor, like Trump a Republican, is the latest in a long line of … more

By LAURIE KELLMAN and BILL BARROW | 2/6/24

A man walks his dog on the edge of the Los Angeles River, carrying stormwater downstream Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. The second of back-to-back atmospheric rivers battered California, flooding roadways and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands and prompting a rare warning for hurricane-force winds as the state braced for what could be days of heavy rains. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Normally at a crawl, the Los Angeles River threatens to overflow during torrential rains

It’s easy to forget that a river runs through the heart of Los Angeles. Normally flowing at a crawl, much of it through nondescript concrete channels, the Los Angeles River picks up speed during … more

2/5/24

FILE - Residents evacuate on a motorcycle amid wildfires into Vina del Mar, Chile, Feb. 3, 2024. Scientists say climate change creates conditions that make the drought and wildfires now hitting South America more likely. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix, File)

How climate change contributes to wildfires like Chile's

At least 112 people have been killed by wildfires in central Chile. They have come amid a heat wave that pushed temperatures in the capital city of Santiago to about 37 degrees Celsius (nearly 100 … more

By ED DAVEY | 2/5/24

FILE — As rescue efforts continue in the rubble of the World Trade Center in New York, President George W. Bush, left, stands with New York City firefighter Bob Beckwith on a burnt fire truck in front of the World Trade Center during a tour of the devastation, Sept. 13, 2001. Beckwith, who became part of an iconic image of American unity after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has died at age 91. The retired firefighter died Sunday night, Feb. 4, 2024, in hospice care after dealing with cancer in recent years, his wife, Barbara Beckwith, said Monday. (AP Photo/Doug Mills, File)

Bob Beckwith, retired firefighter in famous image with Bush after 9/11, dies at 91

A retired firefighter who became part of an iconic image of American unity after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has died at the age of 91. Bob Beckwith’s wife said Monday that the Long Island … more

By PHILIP MARCELO | 2/5/24

This undated image provided by Amos Winter shows a sponge from the Caribbean. This sponge, a simple animal that filters water, and a handful of other centuries-old sponges are causing some scientists to think human-caused climate change began sooner and has heated the world more than they thought. Many sponge species live long, and as they grow they record the conditions of the environment around them in their skeletons. (Courtesy of Amos Winter via AP)

Ocean sponges suggest Earth has warmed longer, more than thought; some scientists dubious

A handful of centuries-old sponges from the Caribbean are causing some scientists to theorize that human-caused climate change began sooner and has warmed the world nearly a degree Fahrenheit more … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 2/5/24

FILE - Activists with Black Lives Matter protest in the Harlem neighborhood of New York, Tuesday, July 16, 2019, in the wake of a decision by federal prosecutors who declined to bring civil rights charges against New York City police Officer Daniel Pantaleo, in the 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner. The decision was made by Attorney General William Barr and announced one day before the five-year anniversary of his death, officials said. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)

The effect of police violence on Black Americans' health is documented in 2 new studies

Two new studies track the effect of police violence on Black Americans. One study ties police-involved deaths to sleep disturbances. The other finds a racial gap in injuries involving police use of … more

By CARLA K. JOHNSON | 2/5/24