National News - The Morning Sun

Nearly one hundred protestors gather at the state capitol building in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, to ask Gov. Kay Ivey to stop the planned execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith. (Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)

Alabama set to execute inmate with nitrogen gas, a never before used method

Alabama will attempt to put an inmate to death with nitrogen gas, a never before used execution method that the state claims will be humane but critics call cruel and experimental. Kenneth Eugene … more

By KIM CHANDLER | 1/25/24

FILE - People sign "I love you" while gathered at a vigil for the victims of Wednesday's mass shootings, Oct. 29, 2023, outside the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston, Maine. A commission investigating the shooting that killed 18 people is scheduled to hear from a police agency that had contact with the shooter before he committed the killings. Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey assembled the commission to review the events that led up to the shootings at a bowling alley and a restaurant in Lewiston on Oct. 25. The commission, which is holding its second meeting Thursday, Jan/ 25, 2024 is also tasked with reviewing the police response to the shootings. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file)

Commission probing response to Maine mass shooting will hear from sheriff's office

A commission investigating a mass shooting that killed 18 people in Maine last year is scheduled to hear from a police agency that had contact with the shooter before he committed the killings. … more

By PATRICK WHITTLE | 1/25/24

FILE - The wreckage of the Sari night club and surrounding buildings are seen in this aerial view Oct. 15, 2002 in Kuta, Bali. Relatives of some of the more than 200 people killed in 2002 bombings on the resort island of Bali are testifying at a sentencing hearing at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Two Malaysian men, both longtime detainees at Guantanamo, have pleaded guilty in connection with the bombing. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, File)

Families of those killed in the 2002 Bali bombings testify at hearing for Guantanamo detainees

Relatives of some of the more than 200 people killed in 2002 bombings on the resort island of Bali are testifying at a sentencing hearing at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Two Malaysian men, both longtime … more

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER | 1/24/24

In this photo provided by researchers in January 2024, Dr. Yilai Shu examines a young patient at the Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai, China, after a gene therapy procedure for hereditary deafness. A small study published Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2024, in the journal Lancet, documents significantly restored hearing in five of six kids treated in China. (Courtesy Dr. Yilai Shu via AP)

Experimental gene therapy allows kids with inherited deafness to hear

Gene therapy has allowed several children born with inherited deafness to hear. A small study published Wednesday documents significantly restored hearing in five of six kids treated in China. On … more

By LAURA UNGAR | 1/24/24

FILE - Concertina wire lines the path as members of Congress tour an area near the Texas-Mexico border, Jan. 3, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. A divided Supreme Court on Monday, Jan. 22, allowed Border Patrol agents to cut razor wire that Texas installed on the U.S.-Mexico border, while a lawsuit over the wire continues. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Biden administration renews demand for Texas to allow Border Patrol to access a key park

The Biden administration is renewing demands for Texas to give Border Patrol access to a riverfront park that is a popular corridor for migrants illegally entering the U.S. A letter sent Tuesday to … more

By VALERIE GONZALEZ | 1/24/24

A helicopter team rescued a woman Tuesday morning who was trapped for almost 15 hours atop her overturned pickup truck in rushing waters after she tried to traverse a swollen creek after recent rains in Northern California. (Jan. 24)

Harrowing helicopter rescue saves woman trapped for hours atop overturned pickup in swollen creek

A woman survived nearly 15 hours atop her overturned pickup truck in a surging creek in Northern California before being rescued by a helicopter. California Highway Patrol Air Operations airlifted … more

By BEATRICE DUPUY | 1/24/24

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a primary election night party in Nashua, N.H., Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Voter fraud was one thing Trump didn't complain about after his primary win in New Hampshire. While Trump generally refrains from claiming voter fraud in elections he wins, he spends plenty of time laying the groundwork to cry fraud should he lose an upcoming vote. He's already been doing that with an eye toward November's general election. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Trump leans into voter fraud playbook, preparing to cry foul if he loses expected Biden rematch

GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump generally refrains from claiming voter fraud in elections he wins, but he is spending plenty of time laying the groundwork to cry fraud should he lose an … more

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and ALI SWENSON | 1/24/24

FILE - A sign for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health is displayed in Flourtown, Pa., Friday, April 28, 2023. The Washington state attorney general announced a $149.5 million settlement Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, more than four years after the state sued the company over its role in the opioid addiction crisis. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Washington state reaches a nearly $150 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson over opioid crisis

The Washington state attorney general has announced a $149.5 million settlement agreement with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, more than four years after the state sued the company over its role in the … more

By MANUEL VALDES and HALLIE GOLDEN | 1/24/24

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)

Jury seated in trial of Michigan mom whose son killed 4 at school

A jury has been selected in the trial of a Michigan woman who faces involuntary manslaughter charges in a school shooting committed by her teenage son. Jennifer Crumbley is accused of making a gun … more

By ED WHITE | 1/24/24

FILE - Family members of Ricky Cobb II, a Black man who was shot and killed by a Minnesota State Patrol trooper, speak at a news conference outside Hennepin County Government Center, Aug. 2, 2023, in Minneapolis. On Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, prosecutors charged Minnesota State Patrol Trooper Ryan Londregan with murder and two other counts in the shooting death of Cobb during a stop in July 2023. (AP Photo/Trisha Ahmed, File)

Minnesota trooper is charged with murder in shooting of motorist Ricky Cobb II during a traffic stop

A Minnesota State Patrol trooper has been charged with murder in the shooting of motorist Ricky Cobb II after he refused to get out of his car during a July traffic stop. Trooper Ryan Londregan is … more

By STEVE KARNOWSKI AND TRISHA AHMED | 1/24/24

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 inmate waiting to hear court ruling on scheduled nitrogen gas execution

An Alabama inmate scheduled to be the first person in the United States to be put to death with nitrogen gas is waiting to see if he will receive a last-minute reprieve from federal courts in his bid … more

By KIM CHANDLER | 1/24/24

This combination of photos shows "The Glass Constellation" by Arthur Sze, left, "The Bathysphere Book" by Brad Fox, center, and "Digging Stars" by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma. (Copper Canyon Press/Astra House/W. W. Norton & Co. via AP)

Works of poetry, fiction and nonfiction receive $10,000 "Science + Literature" awards

A poetry collection, a coming-of-age novel and a history of deep sea exploration are unlikely to be found in the same section of your favorite bookstore. But they all have enough in common to be this … more

By HILLEL ITALIE | 1/24/24

Delaine Spilsbury, an Ely Shoshone elder, stands among Rocky Mountain juniper trees on Nov. 11, 2023, in Bahsahwahbee, a site in eastern Nevada that is sacred to members of the Ely Shoshone, Duckwater Shoshone and the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation. Their ancestors were massacred by white people on several occasions at this site and tribal members believe their spirits live on in the trees. Spilsbury has worked for years on federal recognition for the sacred site. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Great Basin tribes want Bahsahwahbee massacre site in Nevada named national monument

Back in the 1800s, white attackers turned a lush high desert oasis in eastern Nevada into killing fields. They massacred hundreds of Native people there — a horrific history once retold in hushed … more

By BRITTANY PETERSON | 1/24/24

This undated photo provided by the British Antarctic Survey in January 2024 shows adult emperor penguins with a chick near Halley Research Station in Antarctica. Scientists have spotted previously unknown colonies of emperor penguins in new satellite imagery. At least some emperor penguins are moving their colonies as melting ice from climate change threatens breeding grounds. The British Antarctic Survey said Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, that the four newly found colonies likely existed for many years, but scientists hadn’t previously spotted them. (British Antarctic Survey via AP)

Scientists spot previously unknown colonies of emperor penguins in Antarctica

Scientists have spotted previously unknown colonies of emperor penguins in new satellite imagery. At least some emperor penguins are moving their colonies as melting ice from climate change threatens … more

By CHRISTINA LARSON | 1/23/24

FILE - Elder Patrick Kearon speaks at the First Presidency Christmas Devotional at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019. On Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, Kearon, the newest member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' top governing body, said every faith — including his — must do more to protect victims of sexual abuse and help facilitate a healing process. (Scott G Winterton/The Deseret News via AP, File)

New member of Mormon church leadership says it must do better to help sex abuse victims heal

Patrick Kearon, the newest member of the body that governs The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has said he would like see the faith better care for sex abuse victims. He said while the … more

By DEEPA BHARATH | 1/23/24

Oliver North enters court in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, in New York. North, the retired Marine who was pushed out as president of the National Rifle Association, testifies in a lawsuit over alleged financial misdeeds by leaders of the gun rights group. North says he was forced out after blowing the whistle on improprieties. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)

Oliver North says NRA reacted to misconduct allegations like a 'circular firing squad'

Oliver North says he was pushed out of the National Rifle Association after raising allegations of financial misconduct against the group's CEO, Wayne LaPierre. North is best known for his central … more

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ | 1/23/24

FILE - Katie Bryant, Daunte Wright's mother, is surrounded by community members and activists at the apartment building where activists say Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu lives after former officer Kim Potter was sentenced to two years in prison, Feb. 18, 2022, in Minneapolis. The city council of the Minneapolis suburb where Wright, a Black man, was killed by police in a 2021 traffic stop has rejected a resolution that would have limited when officers can pull over drivers. (AP Photo/Nicole Neri, File)

Minneapolis suburb where Daunte Wright was killed rejects police reform policy on traffic stops

The city council of the Minneapolis suburb where Daunte Wright was killed by police in a 2021 traffic stop has rejected a resolution that would have limited when officers can pull drivers over. The … more

1/23/24

FILE - Memphis Light Gas & Water makes repairs to a broken water main in north Memphis, Tenn., Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Memphis' water company lifted a boil-water advisory for more than 600,000 people on Tuesday, Jan. 23, five days after the precaution was put in place due to freezing temperatures that caused pipes to break throughout the southern city. (AP Photo/Karen Pulfer Focht, File)

Memphis utility lifts boil water advisory after 5 days

Memphis’ water company has lifted a boil-water advisory for more than 600,000 people, five days after the precaution was put in place due to freezing temperatures that caused pipes to break … more

By ADRIAN SAINZ | 1/23/24

FILE - A person holds drug paraphernalia near the Washington Center building on SW Washington Street, April 4, 2023, in downtown Portland, Ore. On Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, Democratic lawmakers in Oregon unveiled a sweeping new bill that would undo a key part of the state's first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law. The bill would recriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs as a low-level misdemeanor. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP, File)

With Oregon facing rampant public drug use, lawmakers backpedal on pioneering decriminalization law

Democratic lawmakers in Oregon have unveiled a sweeping new bill that would undo a key part of the state's first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law. The bill would recriminalize the possession … more

By CLAIRE RUSH | 1/23/24

Bernice King daughter of civil-right leader Martin Luther King Jr., wipes a tear as she speaks about her brother Dexter Scott King during a news conference Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, in Atlanta. Dexter died Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 at his California home after battling prostate cancer. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Martin Luther King's daughter recalls late brother as strong guardian of their father's legacy

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter says her late brother was a fierce and visionary steward of their father’s legacy. The Rev. Bernice King choked back tears at times on Tuesday as she … more

By SUDHIN THANAWALA | 1/23/24