National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - District Attorney for Fulton County, Fani Willis speaks during an interview with The Associated Press on Dec. 12, 2023, in Atlanta. Accusations that Willis had an inappropriate relationship with a special prosecutor she hired to seek convictions of Donald Trump and others for interfering in Georgia's 2020 election have led to renewed calls to remove Willis from the case.(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Could Georgia's Fani Willis be removed from prosecuting Donald Trump?

Accusations that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had an affair with a special prosecutor she hired to seek convictions of Donald Trump and others for interfering in Georgia’s 2020 … more

By JEFF AMY and KATE BRUMBACK | 1/23/24

FILE - In this Feb. 8, 2022, photo, Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of Ethan Crumbley, appear in court in Rochester Hills, Mich. The mother of the Michigan school shooter is headed to trial on involuntary manslaughter charges. Prosecutors are trying to pin criminal responsibility on Ethan Crumbley's parents in the deaths of four students at Oxford High School in 2021. Jennifer and James Crumbley are not accused of knowing their son planned to kill fellow students. But prosecutors say they were grossly negligent by making a gun accessible to Ethan Crumbley and ignoring his mental health needs. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, file)

Michigan school shooter's mother to stand trial for manslaughter in 4 student deaths

The mother of a Michigan school shooter is headed to trial on involuntary manslaughter charges. Prosecutors are trying to pin criminal responsibility on Ethan Crumbley's parents in the deaths of four … more

By ED WHITE | 1/23/24

A woman walks by cars damaged by floods during a rainstorm in San Diego on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Flash floods inundate homes and overturn cars in San Diego as heavy rains sweep through much of US

Flash floods inundated homes and overturned cars in Southern California as torrential rain swept through a large swath of the U.S. Over a three-hour period on Monday, a whopping 3 inches of rain fell … more

By DENIS POROY and CHRISTOPHER WEBER | 1/22/24

FILE - This Oct. 9, 2014, file photo shows the gurney in the the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla. An execution scheduled Thursday, Jan. 24, 2024 in Alabama would be the first in the nation in which an inmate is put to death using nitrogen gas. It follows a long history of problems with lethal injection since Texas first used the method in 1982. Numerous other states that use lethal injection have encountered various problems. These include difficulty finding usable veins, needles becoming disengaged or problems obtaining or using the lethal chemicals. Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi all have authorized the untested use of nitrogen gas to execute prisoners, although none has actually used it. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

Why are states like Alabama, which is planning to use nitrogen gas, exploring new execution methods?

An Alabama execution this week would be the first in the nation to use nitrogen gas. It follows a long history of problems with lethal injection since Texas first used the method in 1982. Numerous … more

By SEAN MURPHY | 1/22/24

Snowmobile riders stop on a trail in Danville, Vt., Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. In Vermont, temperatures in the single digits to low teens didn’t stop ice anglers and snowmobilers from their sport, and young ski jumpers braved the cold as they competed in northern New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)

Memphis residents are on day 4 of a boil water notice while ice hits Arkansas and Missouri

The 600,000 residents of Memphis, Tennessee, are on their fourth day of living under a boil water notice. On Monday, repair crews were working to fix broken pipes that caused low water pressure … more

By ADRIAN SAINZ | 1/22/24

A Palestinian woman cries as she sits next to her girl wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip while receiving treatment at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, Southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)

Live updates | Gaza loses phone and internet, and Israeli families push for hostage release deal

Relatives of more than 100 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza stepped up their protests by disrupting a parliament committee meeting, yelling “You won’t sit here while they are dying there!” … more

By The Associated Press | 1/22/24

FILE - Members of the California Faculty Association rally and picket during a strike at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, in Pomona, Calif. More than 30,000 professors, librarians, plumbers, electricians, and other workers at California State University, the largest public university system in the U.S., are set to start a weeklong strike on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, the beginning of the spring semester. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)

California State University faculty launch weeklong strike across 23 campuses

More than 30,000 professors, librarians, plumbers, electricians and other workers in the California State University system have launched a weeklong strike. They’re demanding higher wages, more … more

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ | 1/22/24

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Ruslan Baysarov, Chairman of the Board of Group of companies Bamtonnelstroy-Most, back to a camera, during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. Baikal-Amur Railway Group of companies Bamtonnelstroy-Most is the largest construction enterprise in Russia with a half-century history that implements federal-scale infrastructure projects throughout the country from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Pro-Putin campaign amasses 95 cardboard boxes filled with petitions backing his presidential run

Vladimir Putin’s campaign has presented scores of boxes filled with signed petitions supporting his run in Russia's March presidential election, which he's almost certain to win. Putin is closely … more

By The Associated Press | 1/22/24

Health officials prepare to vaccinate residents of the Malawi village of Migowi, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019 where young children become test subjects for the world's first vaccine against malaria. Cameroon is beginning the world's first routine immunization program against malaria for children, a move that experts hope will mark the start of a campaign across Africa to dampen the impact of the parasitic disease. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Cameroon starts world's first malaria vaccine program for children

Cameroon will be the first country to routinely give children a new malaria vaccine as the shots are rolled out in Africa. The campaign is due to begin Monday in the Central African nation. It's … more

By The Associated Press | 1/22/24

FILE - In this undated photo released by the U.S Department of Justice is a sign used by a 13-year-old girl kidnapped in Texas. On Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, a statement received from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California said Steven Robert Sablan, 62, of Cleburne, Texas, admitted in a plea agreement that he sexually assaulted the victim while driving her from Texas to California. (U.S. Department of Justice via AP, File)

Texas man pleads guilty to kidnapping teen whose 'Help Me!' sign led to Southern California rescue

A Texas man has pleaded guilty to kidnapping a 13-year-old girl who was rescued in California last year when a passerby saw her hold up a “Help Me!” sign in a parked car. The U.S. Attorney’s … more

1/21/24

FILE - Alabama's lethal injection chamber at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala., is pictured in this Oct. 7, 2002 file photo. Kenneth Smith, 58, is scheduled to be executed Jan. 25, 2024, at a south Alabama prison by nitrogen gas, a method that has never been used to put a person to death. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Friday, Jan. 19, in Smith's bid to stop the execution from going forward. (AP Photo/File)

Alabama plans to carry out first nitrogen gas execution. How will it work and what are the risks?

Alabama is preparing to attempt the nation’s first execution using nitrogen gas. Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, is scheduled to be put to death Thursday by nitrogen hypoxia. The state plans to use a … more

By KIM CHANDLER | 1/21/24

FILE - The embalmed body of Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union, is seen on display in his mausoleum on Moscow's Red Square, Russia, on Wednesday, April 16, 1997. This year marks the 100th anniversary of his death. While he remains lauded by Communists with his body still on view, he is more of a curiosity than a leading force in Russia. (AP Photo/Sergei Karpukhin, File)

A century after Lenin's death, the USSR's founder seems to be an afterthought in modern Russia

A century after the death of Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union is largely an afterthought in modern Russia. The once-omnipresent face with the goatee and the intense gaze glares only … more

By JIM HEINTZ | 1/21/24

FILE - A worker walks through a destroyed property, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. The day after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century destroyed a seaside community on Maui, the barrage of 911 calls didn't stop: Reports of missing people, stranded family members and confused tourists trapped without food or water lit up the emergency lines every few minutes, interspersed with reports of new fires starting and older ones flaring back up. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

911 calls from Maui capture pleas for the stranded, the missing and those caught in the fire's chaos

The day after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century destroyed a seaside community on Maui, the barrage of 911 calls didn’t stop: Reports of missing people, stranded family members and confused … more

By REBECCA BOONE, CLAUDIA LAUER and LINDSAY WHITEHURST | 1/20/24

This image provided by Claire Marburger shows Perry High School principal Dan Marburger who died Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024 from injuries he sustained during a Jan. 4 shooting at the small Iowa school. A sixth grader was killed in the shooting and six others were wounded. The gunman also died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Marburger's funeral is scheduled to be held Saturday morning, Jan. 20. (Claire Marburger via AP)

Mourners fill church to remember the Iowa principal who risked life to save kids in school shooting

The longtime Iowa principal who risked his life to save students during a shooting earlier this month was remembered Saturday not just for his heroic actions that day but for the unconditional love … more

By JOSH FUNK | 1/20/24

Mark Palmquist cross country skis through the snowfall Friday, Jan. 19, 2024 at Baker Park in Frederick, Md. (Ric Dugan/The Frederick News-Post via AP)

Winter blast in much of U.S. poses serious risks like black ice, frostbite and hypothermia.

Freezing temperatures and wind speeds are creating dangerously cold conditions in a large part of the U.S. stretching from Montana to northern Florida. The region is not expected to begin thawing out … more

By SUDHIN THANAWALA | 1/20/24

CORRECTS DETAILS OF DEATH Relatives mourn 17-year-old American Tawfiq Ajaq at his funeral in his family’s Palestinian home village in Al-Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya, West Bank, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. Ajaq was killed Friday by Israeli fire and police say they have launched an investigation. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Father of American teen killed in West Bank by Israeli fire rails against US support for Israel

The father of an American teen killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank has railed against Washington’s military support for Israel. He spoke as hundreds of mourners buried the 17-year-old … more

By JULIA FRANKEL and NASSER NASSER | 1/20/24

FILE - Vyacheslav Volodin attends a session at the State Duma, the Lower House of the Russian Parliament in Moscow, on Oct. 18, 2023. A senior lawmaker says Russia's parliament will consider a law allowing for the confiscation of money and property from those deemed to spread “deliberately false information” about Moscow's military actions. Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house, said the measure would apply to those calling for “extremist activities” or the introduction of sanctions against Russia as well as those “discrediting” the armed forces, a criminal offense under a law adopted after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine. (The State Duma, the Lower House of the Russian Parliament via AP, File)

Russia will consider property confiscations for those convicted of discrediting the army

A senior lawmaker says Russia's parliament will consider a law allowing for the confiscation of money and property from those deemed to spread “deliberately false information” about Moscow's … more

By The Associated Press | 1/20/24

Chicago's iconic Rat Hole in the 1900 block of West Roscoe Street in the Roscoe Village neighborhood, Friday, Jan. 19, 2024 in Chicago. Earlier the Rat Hole was filled in with a plaster type substance but was cleaned out by neighbors. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Dirty rat! Culprit fills in Chicago neighborhood landmark known as the "rat hole"

You dirty rat! In a city infamous for its gangster past, some culprit filled in a Northside Chicago neighborhood landmark affectionately called by residents the “rat hole.” The indentation in the … more

1/20/24

FILE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talks to reporters after a meeting at the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 16, 2024. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's worried by the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House. In an interview with the U.K.’s Channel 4 News that aired Friday Jan. 19, 2024, Zelenskyy called Trump’s claim that he could stop Ukraine’s war with Russia in 24 hours “very dangerous.” (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Zelenskyy calls Trump's rhetoric about Ukraine's war with Russia 'very dangerous'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's worried by the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House. In an interview with the U.K.’s Channel 4 News that aired Friday, Zelenskyy … more

By The Associated Press | 1/20/24

An empty newspaper rack for the Ouray County Plaindealer is show on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2023 in Ouray, Colo. Nearly all the copies of the small-town Colorado newspaper were stolen from racks on the same day it published a story about charges being filed over rapes alleged to have occurred at an underage drinking party at the police chief's house while the chief was asleep. In response, the paper posted the story on social media, removed the newspaper website's paywall and published another 250 copies of this week's edition. (Mike Wiggins/Ouray County Plaindealer)

Small-town Colorado newspapers stolen after running story about rape charges at police chief's house

Nearly all the copies of a small-town Colorado newspaper were stolen from newspaper racks on the same day the Ouray County Plaindealer published a story about charges being filed over rapes alleged … more

By AMY BETH HANSON | 1/19/24