National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - Jason Arnie Owens is shown at his sentencing in Clarksburg, W.Va., in December 2018. Owens was a pallbearer at his father's funeral, Aug. 24, 2022, when he was fatally shot by members of a U.S. marshal fugitive task force outside of a funeral home. Charges will not be brought against members of a West Virginia task force who fatally shot the pallbearer at his father’s funeral after an investigation found the fugitive was reaching for a concealed weapon, a special prosecutor said Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (Matt Harvey/The Exponent via AP, File)

No charges in police killing of pallbearer at dad's funeral

A special prosecutor in West Virginia says no charges will be brought against officers who fatally shot a pallbearer at his father's funeral. Grant County Prosecutor John Ours said he reviewed the … more

By JOHN RABY | 4/18/23

This illustration provided by NASA depicts the RHESSI (Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager) solar observation satellite. The defunct science satellite will plummet through the atmosphere Wednesday night, April 19, 2023, according to NASA and the Defense Department. Experts tracking the spacecraft say chances are low it will pose any danger. (NASA via AP)

Old NASA satellite falling to Earth, risk of danger 'low'

An old NASA satellite is expected to fall to Earth. But experts tracking the spacecraft say chances are low it will pose any danger. The defunct science satellite known as Rhessi will plummet through … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 4/18/23

FILE - This undated photo shows Emmett Louis Till, who was kidnapped, tortured and killed in the Mississippi Delta in August 1955 after witnesses claimed he whistled at a white woman working in a store. A cousin of Till filed a federal lawsuit on Feb. 7, 2023, seeking to compel the current Leflore County, Miss., sheriff, Ricky Banks, to serve an arrest warrant on Carolyn Bryant in the kidnapping that led to the brutal lynching of Till. She has since remarried and is named Carolyn Bryant Donham. In April 2023, Banks responded to the lawsuit by saying the arrest warrant is moot because a Mississippi grand jury declined to indict Donham in 2022; he also asked a judge to dismiss the suit. (AP Photo/File)

Sheriff: Arrest warrant moot for kidnapping of Emmett Till

A Mississippi sheriff says in a new court filing that there’s no point in serving an arrest warrant on a white woman in the 1955 kidnapping that led to the lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till. … more

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS | 4/18/23

Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, carries a casket through the halls of the state Capitol with Rev. William J. Barber, right, Monday, April 17, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Gun safety demonstrators carry caskets to Tennessee Capitol

Protesters calling for gun safety legislation were blocked from bringing caskets inside Tennessee’s Capitol, but a recently reinstated legislator escorted an infant-sized casket inside before he … more

By GEORGE WALKER IV | 4/18/23

Lucinda Williams poses for a portrait on Friday, March 24, 2023 in New York to promote her book, “Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You," out April 25. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Following stroke, Lucinda Williams back with book and album

Lucinda Williams is emerging with an autobiography and new album less than three years after a serious stroke. The celebrated singer-songwriter still can't play the guitar and moves slowly, but her … more

By DAVID BAUDER | 4/18/23

This cover image released by Crown shows "Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues" by Jonathan Kennedy. (Crown via AP)

Review: 'Pathogenesis' offers different lens on history

Great historical changes are often conceived of as being brought about by the genius and tenacity of great men, or occasionally women. Jonathan Kennedy's new book “Pathogenesis: A History of the … more

By TRAVIS LOLLER | 4/18/23

FILE - Elliot Mintz arrives at the Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS in West Hollywood, Calif., on Sept. 15, 2022. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Longtime Lennon-Ono insider Elliot Mintz writing memoir

Elliot Mintz, a longtime insider with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, will release a memoir next year that will weave in behind-the-scenes moments with the famous couple. The U.S. publisher Dutton and … more

The Associated Press | 4/18/23

After a months-long search, New York City has found the person to lead its battle against an old foe - rats. The Big Apples' new 'Rat Czar' Kathleen Corradi says New Yorkers will be seeing a lot of her and a lot less rats. (April 12)

Rat ambassadors try to counter bad press amid NYC's rat war

As an ambassador for rats, it’s never easy to win over the public. But Runa at the San Diego Zoo has been charged with teaching people the virtues of rats. The African giant pouched rat appears … more

By JULIE WATSON | 4/18/23

FILE In this image taken from video, former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin addresses the court at the Hennepin County Courthouse on June 25, 2021, in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday, April 17, 2023 upheld his second-degree murder conviction for the killing of George Floyd. (Court TV via AP, Pool, File)

Chauvin murder conviction upheld in George Floyd killing

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday upheld former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's second-degree murder conviction in the killing of George Floyd, and let his 22 … more

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press | 4/18/23

FILE - Secretary General of the Organization of American States, OAS, Luis Almagro addresses the OAS during the opening of the 52nd General Assembly of the OAS in Lima, Peru, Oct. 5, 2022. An outside investigation delivered Monday April 17, 2023, determined that the head of the Organization of American States showed a lack of good judgment by carrying out a romantic relationship with a younger staffer but didn't favor her in any salary or personnel decisions, according to a copy of the review seen by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo, File)

Probe faults OAS boss for work romance, finds no misconduct

An outside investigation determined that the head of the Organization of American States showed poor judgment by carrying out a romantic relationship with a younger staffer but didn’t favor her in … more

By JOSHUA GOODMAN | 4/17/23

In this photo provided by Christopher Hayden, a light baby blue spiral resembling a galaxy appears amid the aurora for a few minutes in the Alaska skies near Fairbanks, Saturday, April 15, 2023. The spiral was formed when excess fuel that had been released from a SpaceX rocket that launched from California about three hours earlier turned to ice, and then the water vapor reflected the sunlight in the upper atmosphere. (Christopher Hayden via AP)

Odd spiral appears amid northern lights in Alaska night sky

Northern light enthusiasts got a surprise mixed in with the green bands of light dancing in the Alaska skies: A light baby blue spiral resembling a galaxy appeared amid the aurora for a few minutes. … more

By MARK THIESSEN | 4/17/23

FILE - This is a poster on the stage during a news conference following the funeral service for Jayland Walker at the Akron Civic Center in Akron, Ohio, July 13, 2022. A grand jury in Ohio will hear evidence this week to decide whether police officers should face criminal charges in the shooting of Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Black man whose death sparked protests in Akron last summer. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Ohio officers won’t be charged in shooting of Jayland Walker

A grand jury has voted not to indict eight Ohio police officers who fired dozens of rounds at Jayland Walker after a car and foot chase that ended in the 25-year-old Black man being shot to death … more

4/17/23

FILE - E. Jean Carroll talks to reporters outside a courthouse in New York, March 4, 2020. A federal judge has rejected Donald Trump's latest attempt to delay his rape trial, saying the former president cannot make public statements to promote pretrial publicity and then claim its prejudicial to him and reason to delay his trial. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled Monday, April 17, 2023 that the civil trial on claims against Trump by a longtime columnist will begin as scheduled on April 25. Trump denies the rape happened. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Judge: If news taints rape-trial jurors, Trump shares blame

A federal judge has rejected Donald Trump's latest attempt to delay his rape trial, saying the former president cannot make public statements to promote pretrial publicity and then claim its … more

By LARRY NEUMEISTER | 4/17/23

Palm Springs City Councilmember Christy Holstege speaks during the Section 14 Survivors Group news conference in Los Angeles, on Nov. 29, 2022. Black and Latino residents in a Southern California neighborhood were displaced from their homes in a series of attacks in the 1950s and 1960s some have compared to the Tulsa Race Massacre. Now, as broader reparations proposals are being formulated in other parts of the state, survivors of this tragedy and their descendants are asking the City of Palm Springs to pay them for the harm caused to their families. (Taya Gray/The Desert Sun via AP )

Families displaced from California neighborhood seek $2B

Black and Latino Californians who were displaced from a neighborhood in Palm Springs are seeking $2.3 billion in compensation from the city. They allege the city pushed them out by hiring contractors … more

By SOPHIE AUSTIN and DAMIAN DOVARGANES | 4/17/23

This photo provided by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department shows Darrell Goodlow. An Indiana judge has sentenced the convicted serial rapist to more than 150 years in prison, a television station reported Monday, April 17, 2023. (Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department/WXIN via AP)

Report: Serial rapist sentenced to more than 150 years

A television station is reporting that a convicted serial rapist has been sentenced to more than 150 years in prison. Prosecutors charged Darrell Goodlow in 2021 with 57 counts, including rape, … more

4/17/23

Chauvin murder conviction upheld in George Floyd killing

Minnesota’s Court of Appeals has upheld Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's second-degree murder conviction for the May 2020 killing of George Floyd. The decision was handed down Monday. … more

By STEVE KARNOWSKI | 4/17/23

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources shows a northern long-eared bat. More than half of North America's bat species are likely to diminish significantly as climate change, disease and habitat loss take their toll, scientists warned Monday, April 17, 2023. (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources via AP, File)

Report: Climate change, disease imperil North American bats

Scientists say many North American bats are in trouble. A report by experts from the U.S., Canada and Mexico released Monday says more than half of the continent's 154 bat species are at risk of … more

By JOHN FLESHER | 4/17/23

FILE - Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian opposition activist arrives to lay flowers near the place where Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down, in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 27, 2021. The 25-year treason sentence imposed on prominent Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza on Monday April 17, 2023 was a particularly severe show of authorities' intensifying intolerance of criticism of the war in Ukraine and other dissenting opinions. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Opposition figure's sentence underlines Russian intolerance

The 25-year treason sentence imposed on prominent Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza on Monday was a particularly severe show of authorities’ intensifying intolerance of criticism of the … more

The Associated Press | 4/17/23

FILE - Malala Yousafzai arrives at HISTORYTalks on Sept. 24, 2022, at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington. Yousafzai, a Nobel laureate, is working on a new memoir, the latest book by the young activist from Pakistan known for her advocacy for education for girls and for surviving an assassination attempt by the Taliban. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard, file)

Malala Yousafzai working on new book, her 'most personal'

Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai is working on a new memoir, the latest book by the young activist from Pakistan known for her advocacy for education for girls and for surviving an assassination … more

4/17/23

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been evacuated unharmed after someone threw an explosive device at a campaign event in a western port city. (April 15)

Explosive targeting Japan PM renews worry of homemade arms

Japanese police have confiscated metal tubes, tools and possible gunpowder from the home of a suspect who threw what was believed to be a homemade pipe bomb at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a … more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | 4/17/23