National News - The Morning Sun

In this photo provided by Laura Nirider, Brian Beals, center, who was exonerated on a murder charge and released from a downstate prison after 35 years behind bars, hugs his sister Pattilyn Beals, left, and niece Tamiko Beals outside Robinson Correctional Institution, in Robinson, Ill., on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (Laura Nirider via AP)

Judge vacates murder conviction of Chicago man wrongfully imprisoned for 35 years

A Chicago man who spent 35 years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit has been freed after a judge vacated his conviction. Brian Beals told The Associated Press after his release Tuesday that … more

By SOPHIA TAREEN | 12/12/23

FILE - Air traffic is seen on the runway at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022. A Russian man who flew on a plane from Denmark to Los Angeles on Nov. 4, 2023, without a passport or ticket told U.S. authorities he didn't remember how he got through security in Europe, according to a federal complaint filed in November by the FBI. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Russian man who flew on Los Angeles flight without passport or ticket charged with federal crime

A federal complaint filed by the FBI says a Russian man who flew on a plane from Denmark to Los Angeles without a passport or ticket told authorities he didn't remember how he got through security. … more

12/12/23

FILE - Demonstrators march and gather near the Texas state Capitol in Austin following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022. A pregnant Texas woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis asked a court Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, to let her terminate the pregnancy, bringing what her attorneys say is the first lawsuit of its kind in the U.S. since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Kate Cox sought an abortion in Texas. A court said no because she didn't show her life was in danger

The Texas Supreme Court's rejection of a mother of two's request for an exception under the state's restrictive abortion ban has laid bare the high threshold women in many states must meet to get the … more

By PAUL J. WEBER and JAMIE STENGLE | 12/12/23

13 cold stunned sea turtles from New England have been given holiday names as they rehab in Florida. (Dec. 12) (AP Video/Cody Jackson)

13 cold, stunned sea turtles from New England given holiday names as they rehab in Florida

This Rudolph won't be leading his pals Blitzen, Dasher, Dancer, Vixen, Comet and Cupid through the Christmas Eve sky. But maybe he'll lead them back out to sea someday. For now the seven Kemp's … more

12/12/23

This image made from video provided by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., Police Department shows officers attempting to put a woman in the back of a police car after arresting her. On Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, police released the video from the arrest in North Carolina last month, showing that before an officer repeatedly punched a Black woman while others held her down, the woman struck an officer in the face and he responded by hitting her back and knocking her off her feet. (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department via AP)

New police videos show broader view of violent encounter between woman and North Carolina officers

Police have released video from an arrest in North Carolina last month showing that before an officer repeatedly punched a Black woman while others held her down, the woman struck an officer in the … more

By SARAH BRUMFIELD, JOHN RABY and JAMES POLLARD | 12/12/23

This image provided by NASA in July 2023 shows the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, the closest star-forming region to Earth, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (STScI) Image Processing Alyssa Pagan (STScI) via AP)

AP PHOTOS: Moon, asteroids and new rockets topped the world's space news in 2023

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The moon, asteroids and brand new rockets topped the world’s space news in 2023. Elon Musk’s monster rocket made it to space on the second test flight before … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 12/12/23

FILE - Charlie Adelson looks at jurors as his defense attorney presents closing arguments, Nov. 6, 2023, in Tallahassee, Fla. A judge sentenced the South Florida dentist to life in prison on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023 in the 2014 shooting death of his former brother-in-law, a prominent professor at Florida State University, following a bitter custody battle. (Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat via AP, Pool, File)

Florida dentist gets life in prison in death of his ex-brother-in-law, a prominent professor

A judge sentenced a South Florida dentist to life in prison for the 2014 shooting death of his former brother-in-law, a prominent professor at Florida State University, following a bitter custody … more

12/12/23

FILE - A sign warns motorists as they approach a sobriety checkpoint on State Route 4 in Fairfield, Ohio June 15, 2007. U.S. auto safety regulators say they have taken the first step toward requiring devices in vehicles that prevent drunk or impaired driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, that it is starting the process to put a new federal safety standard in place requiring the technology in all new passenger vehicles. (AP Photo/The Enquirer, Glenn Hartong, File)/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP, File)

US agency takes first step toward requiring new vehicles to prevent drunk or impaired driving

U.S. auto safety regulators say they have taken the first step toward requiring devices in vehicles that prevent drunk or impaired driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration … more

12/12/23

In a photo provided by LIV Golf, Jon Rahm, left, and LIV Golf Commissioner and CEO Greg Norman pose for a photo in New York on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. Rahm announced Thursday he's joining LIV Golf. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/LIV Golf via AP)

Column: Rahm goes back on his word. But circumstances changed

Jon Rahm is the latest player to go back on his word by joining LIV Golf. He was among the early proponents of the history and legacy the PGA Tour provided. But consider all the words he said. Rahm … more

By DOUG FERGUSON | 12/12/23

Persons wait for traffic signal to change in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, in Tokyo. Asia markets opened higher following a positive close on Wall Street. Investors are eagerly awaiting a crucial U.S. inflation report later in the day, which will likely set the tone for the Federal Reserve’s final meeting of the year on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Stock market today: Asia markets rise ahead of US consumer prices update

Asian markets have advanced following a positive close on Wall Street. U.S. futures and oil prices also were higher. Data released on Tuesday showed wholesale prices in Japan rose by 0.3% from a year … more

12/12/23

A person walks past signs that read "stop war" and "go green" at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Dec. 8, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

AP PHOTOS: At UN climate talks in Dubai, moments between the meetings

Almost every day at COP28, this year's annual United Nations climate summit, an activist dons a costume of a dugong — a manatee-like creature that forages for seagrass in warm, shallow areas of the … more

12/11/23

Debris of former shops and businesses on Front Street in burn zone 11A is pictured Dec. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The area reopened Monday, Dec. 11, to residents and owners with entry passes. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Heart of Hawaii's historic Lahaina, burned in wildfire, reopens to residents and business owners

The heart of the historic town of Lahaina that burned in a deadly wildfire that killed at least 100 people on the Hawaiian island of Maui is reopening to residents and business owners holding day … more

By LINDSEY WASSON and AUDREY McAVOY | 12/11/23

Defendant Matthew Collins, right, demonstrates a lateral vascular neck restraint on his attorney Casey Arbenz during the trial of three Tacoma Police officers in the killing of Manny Ellis, at Pierce County Superior Court, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, in Tacoma, Wash. Tacoma Police Officers Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins and Timothy Rankine stand trial for charges related to the March 2020 killing of Ellis. (Brian Hayes/The News Tribune via AP, Pool)

Closing arguments begin in trial of 3 officers charged in Manuel Ellis' death

A prosecutor trying three Tacoma, Washington, police officers in the death of Manuel Ellis is making her closing arguments. She told the jury Monday that two officers knocked Ellis to the ground, … more

By MARTHA BELLISLE | 12/11/23

Firefighters continue to work the scene at a six-story corner of a Bronx apartment building that collapsed Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, in New York. There were no reports of injuries by early evening, but firefighters were continuing to search. (AP Photo/Joe Frederick)

Firefighters search for anyone trapped after corner of six-story Bronx apartment building collapses

A six-story corner of a Bronx apartment building has collapsed, leaving apartments exposed like a stack of shelves. Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh says there's no report of injuries so far after … more

12/11/23

The body of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI lies in state in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, as mourners file by to pay tribute, on Jan. 4, 2023. Benedict died Dec. 31, 2022. He was 95. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

The most memorable photos of 2023, selected by AP photo editors

Two moments, at opposite ends of the human experience. In the first, on July 20, a woman squats in the thick mud in Raigad, India, as she peers out from a plastic tarp that covers her body. Her … more

By TED ANTHONY | 12/11/23

FILE - Westhaven Memorial Funeral Home staff adjust the body bag with the remains of Dexter Wade, who died after being hit by a Jackson, Miss., police SUV driven by an off-duty officer, in Raymond, Miss., Nov. 13, 2023. A third family says they recently discovered a relative was buried in a Mississippi pauper’s cemetery without their knowledge. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump says it is the latest case in which families learned the whereabouts of a deceased loved one from news reports instead of from officials in Hinds County, Mississippi. Crump says Jonathan David Hankins is the third person to have been quietly buried in the paupers’ cemetery near the Hinds County Penal Farm in the Jackson suburb of Raymond. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, file)

Third Mississippi man is buried in a pauper's grave without family's knowledge

A third family says they recently discovered a relative was buried in a Mississippi pauper’s cemetery without their knowledge. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump says it is the latest case in which … more

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG | 12/11/23

Marvin Haynes, 35, is hugged by a supporter as he walks out of the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Stillwater in Bayport, Minn. on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, after a judge set aside his murder conviction in the 2004 killing of a man at a Minneapolis flower shop. Haynes was 16 when Randy Sherer, 55, was killed during a robbery. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)

Man imprisoned as teen for flower shop killing is released after judge throws out his conviction

A 35-year-old man who was sent to prison for the 2004 killing of a man in a Minneapolis flower shop was released after a judge ruled the eyewitness evidence on which his conviction rested was … more

By MARK VANCLEAVE and STEVE KARNOWSKI | 12/11/23

FILE - A captive frog, of the Telmatobius Culeus species, moves inside of a glass box at Huachipa Zoo, on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Nov. 6, 2019. The International Union for Conservation of Nature, the leading tracker of global biodiversity, released their new Red List of Threatened Species on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, at the United Nations climate conference in Dubai. Amphibians are particularly at risk, with 41% under threat of extinction. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, File)

Endangered species list grows by 2,000. Climate change is part of the problem

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, the leading tracker of global biodiversity, released their new Red List of Threatened Species on Monday at the United Nations climate conference in … more

By MICHAEL PHILLIS | 12/11/23

From left, Gabrielle Roitman, Kayla Seffing, Maddy Hiller and Casey Myer take a selfie in front of an "Oppenheimer" movie poster before they attended an advance screening of "Barbie," Thursday, July 20, 2023, at AMC The Grove 14 theaters in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

The Golden Globe nominees are out. Let the awards season of Barbenheimer begin – Analysis

Early awards in Hollywood’s unfurling awards season have gone to films like Celine Song’s tender relationship drama “Past Lives,” Jonathan Glazer’s piercing Holocaust film “The Zone of … more

By JAKE COYLE | 12/11/23

Russia says it will hold presidential balloting in occupied regions of Ukraine next year

Russian election authorities say balloting in next year’s presidential election will be conducted in four partially occupied Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed in 2022 following its … more

Associated Press | 12/11/23