National News - The Morning Sun

Tourists walk around New Year's Eve sign ahead of New Year's Eve in Times Square, Friday, Dec. 29, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Australians and New Zealanders preparing to be among first nations to ring in 2024 with fireworks

Australians and New Zealanders are making final preparations to become among the first nations to ring in 2024 as ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza cast a pall over celebrations. Rain in New … more

by The Associated Press | 12/31/23

Toronto Raptors guard Dennis Schroder, left, and center Jakob Poeltl (19) reach in on Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Pistons beat Raptors 129-127 to end NBA record-tying losing streak at 28 games

Cade Cunningham had 30 points and 12 assists as the Detroit Pistons ended their NBA record-tying losing streak at 28 games with a 129-127 win over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night. The Pistons, … more

By DAVE HOGG | 12/30/23

A very large wave breaks near the Ventura pier on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023 in Ventura, Calif. Similar waves overran beaches elsewhere Thursday on the California coast, flooding parking lots, streets and triggering evacuation warnings for low-lying areas.ave energy across coastal waters. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

High surf advisories remain in some parts of California, as ocean conditions begin to calm

Southern California's Ventura County issued a temporary evacuation warning for some residents living along the coast due to high surf. Officials warned that powerful waves, expected to reach up to 20 … more

By RICHARD VOGEL and SOPHIE AUSTIN | 12/30/23

China to ease visa requirements for U.S. travelers in latest bid to boost tourism

China will soon ease visa restrictions for people visiting from the United States. Starting Jan. 1, American tourists can visit the country without submitting round-trip air tickets, proof of hotel … more

12/30/23

FILE - OxyContin pills are arranged for a photo, Feb. 19, 2013, at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. In an agreement revealed late Friday, Dec. 29, 2023, consulting firm McKinsey and Co. has agreed to pay $78 million to settle claims from insurers and health care funds that its marketing work with Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, helped fuel an opioid addiction crisis. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

Consulting firm McKinsey agrees to $78 million settlement with insurers over opioids

Consulting firm McKinsey and Co. has agreed to pay $78 million to settle claims from insurers and health care funds that its marketing work with Purdue Pharma helped fuel an opioid addiction crisis. … more

By DEE-ANN DURBIN | 12/30/23

2024 glasses are displayed ahead of New Year's Eve in Times Square, Friday, Dec. 29, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Revelers set to pack into Times Square for annual New Year's Eve ball drop

Tens of thousands of New Yorkers, tourists and celebrities are expected to pack into Times Square on Sunday for the annual New Year's Eve bash. In recent days, organizers have readied heaps of … more

12/30/23

In this photo taken from video released by Russia Emergency Situations Ministry telegram channel on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023, firefighters extinguish burning cars after shelling in Belgorod, Russia. Russian officials have accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the Russian border city of Belgorod. Two children were killed in Saturday's attack, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a statement on social media. He also said that an unspecified number of people had been injured. (Russia Emergency Situations Ministry telegram channel via AP)

10 killed by shelling on Russia's Belgorod following Moscow's aerial assault against Ukraine

Russian emergency services say 10 people have been killed and 45 more injured by shelling on the border city of Belgorod. Russian officials accused Ukraine of carrying out Saturday's attack, which … more

By The Associated Press | 12/30/23

FILE - The Google app icon is seen on a smartphone, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. Google agreed Thursday, Dec. 28, to settle a $5 billion privacy lawsuit claiming that it continued spying on people who used the “incognito” mode in its Chrome browser — along with similar “private browsing” modes in other browsers — to track their internet use. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

Google settles $5 billion privacy lawsuit over tracking people using 'incognito mode'

Google has agreed to settle a $5 billion privacy lawsuit alleging it spied on people who used the “incognito" mode in its Chrome browser — along with similar “private” modes in other browsers … more

By The Associated Press | 12/29/23

FILE - West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey speaks with reporters to announce a $68 million settlement with the Kroger pharmacy chain over its role in perpetuating the opioid crisis, during a news conference at the state Capitol in Charleston, W.Va., May 4, 2023. West Virginia is issuing the first checks from a fund established by the settlement of opioid lawsuits in the state, which has by far the nation’s highest drug overdose death rate. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File)

West Virginia starts distributing funds from the settlement of opioid lawsuits

West Virginia is issuing the first checks from a fund established up by the settlement of opioid lawsuits. The Kanawha County Commission says it received a $2.9 million check and plans to discuss how … more

By JOHN RABY | 12/29/23

FILE - Alex Murdaugh , center, is led out of Colleton County Courthouse by sheriff's deputies after being convicted March 2, 2023, in Walterboro, S.C. Former South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Jean Toal plans to hold an evidentiary hearing late January 2024, in Murdaugh's appeal for a new murder trial. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)

Alex Murdaugh's pursuit of a new murder trial is set for an evidentiary hearing next month

The judge handling the fallout over Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions plans to hold an evidentiary hearing next month. According to a tentative schedule shared by a media liaison for former South … more

By JAMES POLLARD | 12/29/23

People watch as turbulent surf pounds the side of the pier in Manhattan Beach, Calif. on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Powerful Pacific swell brings threat of more dangerous surf to California

Bulldozers have built giant sand berms to protect beachfront homes in one of the California coastal cities hit hard this week by extraordinary waves generated by powerful swells from Pacific storms. … more

By MARCIO SANCHEZ and JOHN ANTCZAK | 12/29/23

In this photo provided by Karen Lopez, she and her husband, Jerry Lopez, are seen with their seven children in December 2023. Jerry Lopez, 39, was killed in Las Vegas two days after Christmas while on his way to work in what Las Vegas police say was the final carjacking in a crime spree. (Karen Lopez via AP)

Five officers fired at homicide suspect during deadly chase through Las Vegas, police say

Authorities on Friday said a total of five officers from two law enforcement agencies opened fire on a man who fatally shot his mother two days after Christmas and then led officers on a chase … more

By RIO YAMAT | 12/29/23

Police rope off the scene where two dead bodies were discovered on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. The dead bodies that Texas investigators believe to have been a pregnant woman and her boyfriend were found with gunshot wounds days after they were reported missing, police said Wednesday. (Jacob Beltran/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

Texas police release new footage in murder investigation of pregnant woman, boyfriend

A Texas police chief says surveillance video may lead to answers in the killings of an 18-year-old pregnant woman who disappeared before Christmas and her boyfriend. Authorities say 18-year-old … more

12/29/23

Media wait for the ceremony to mark the last trading day of the year at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Dec. 29, 2023. Asian shares were mixed in muted trading on Friday, Dec. 29, the last trading day of the year, with some regional markets logging solid gains in 2023 while many sagged.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Stock market today: Stocks drift on the final trading day of a surprisingly good year on Wall Street

Stocks are drifting on the final trading day of a year of surprisingly robust gains for Wall Street. The benchmark S&P 500 index is sitting just below the all-time high Friday and is up 24.6% for the … more

Associated Press | 12/29/23

Callum Bradford, a transgender teenager from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, talks about the difficulties obtaining personalized mental health care treatment. North Carolina is one of at least 22 states with laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. (Dec. XX) (AP video: Erik Verduzco)

For transgender youth in crisis, hospitals sometimes compound the trauma

A North Carolina hospital network is referring transgender psychiatric patients to treatment facilities that do not align with their gender identities. Though UNC Hospitals’ policy discourages the … more

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM | 12/29/23

For transgender youth in crisis, hospitals sometimes compound the trauma

A North Carolina hospital network is referring transgender psychiatric patients to treatment facilities that do not align with their gender identities. Though UNC Hospitals' policy discourages the … more

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM | 12/29/23

Sun rises as a motorist drives amidst morning smog in New Delhi, India, Monday, Dec. 25, 2023. Dense fog enveloped Delhi on Monday, bringing visibility down to zero and severely disrupting air, rail and road transport. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

AP Week in Pictures: Asia

Dec. 22-28, 2023 This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images in the Asia-Pacific region made or published by The Associated Press in the past week. Dense fog enveloped … more

By The Associated Press | 12/28/23

FILE - This undated photo provided by the U.S. Air Force shows an X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The U.S. military's X-37B space plane blasted off on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023, on another secretive mission that’s expected to last at least a couple of years.(U.S. Air Force via AP, File)

US military space plane blasts off on another secretive mission expected to last years

The U.S. military has launched its secret space plane on another mission that's expected to last at least a couple of years. Known as the X-37B, the mini space shuttle blasted off from NASA's Kennedy … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 12/28/23

American Family Radio's Don Wildmon sits at his desk in his Tupelo, Miss., office March 3, 2005. Wildmon, the founder of the American Family Association, a conservative Christian advocacy group, has died, the organization announced Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. The 85-year-old Mississippi native died Thursday from complications related to Lewy body dementia, an obituary published by WTVA-TV said. (C. Todd Sherman/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP)

Founder of the American Family Association dies in Mississippi

Donald Wildmon, the founder of the American Family Association, a conservative Christian advocacy group, has died. An obituary published by WTVA-TV says the 85-year-old Mississippi native died on … more

12/28/23

Beachgoers watch as turbulent surf pounds the coast at Manhattan Beach on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023 in Manhattan Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Huge surf pounds West Coast and Hawaii, flooding some low-lying areas

Powerful surf is rolling onto beaches on the West Coast and Hawaii as a big swell generated by the stormy Pacific Ocean pushes toward shorelines. Forecasters are urging people to stay off rocks and … more

By JOHN ANTCZAK and JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER | 12/28/23