National News - The Morning Sun

Andy Huynh, left, and Alex Drueke, far right, are seen hugging their loved ones after arriving at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Ala., Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. The U.S. military veterans disappeared three months ago while fighting Russia with Ukrainian forces. They were released earlier this week by Russian-backed separatists as part of a prisoner exchange. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler)

'We got our miracle': Freed Americans back home in Alabama

Two U.S. military veterans who disappeared three months ago while fighting with Ukrainian forces have arrived in their home state of Alabama. The men were greeted Saturday by hugs and cheers at the … more

By KIM CHANDLER | 9/24/22

This image released by Netflix shows Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth in "The Crown." (Alex Bailey/Netflix via AP)

'The Crown' back in November for season 5 with new queen

“The Crown” will return to its Netflix throne in early November. The streaming service says the series about Queen Elizabeth II and her family circle will begin its fifth season on Nov. 9. The … more

By LYNN ELBER | 9/24/22

Acting Prime Minister of Mali Abdoulaye Maiga addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Mali prime minister lashes out at France, UN, regional bloc

Mali's prime minister is lashing out at everyone from the U.N. secretary-general to former colonizer France. In a speech before the U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maiga took aim at … more

By KRISTA LARSON | 9/24/22

This satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Ian over the central Caribbean on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. (NOAA via AP)

DeSantis declares emergency as storm expected to hit Florida

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 24 counties as Tropical Storm Ian gathers strength over the Caribbean and is expected to bring heavy rain and hurricane-force winds to … more

9/24/22

FILE - South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, center, checks her phone before taking off, Monday, July 26, 2021 in Pierre, S.D. Noem is under investigation for using a state-owned airplane to fly to political events and bring family members with her on trips. But the decision on whether to prosecute the Republican governor likely hinges on how a county prosecutor interprets an untested law that was passed by voters in 2006. (AP Photo/Stephen Groves)

South Dakota investigation weighs Noem's use of state plane

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is under investigation for using a state-owned airplane to fly to political events and bring family members with her on trips. But the decision on whether to prosecute … more

By STEPHEN GROVES | 9/24/22

Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad gestures as she speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Dissident: 'Iranian women are furious' over headscarf death

Iranian activist Masih Alinejad says the videos and messages she’s been receiving in recent days from women in Iran are showing how angry they are following a young woman’s death in police … more

By The Associated Press | 9/24/22

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

The AP Interview: Marcos wants to 'reintroduce' Philippines

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants to “reintroduce the Philippines” to the world. He has ambitious plans for his nation on the international stage and at home. That is, if the twin … more

By TED ANTHONY | 9/24/22

FILE - In this image obtained from Fort Worth Police Officer William Martin's body camera footage, Dec. 21, 2016, Martin holds Jacqueline Craig's daughter down in Fort Worth, Texas. The Texas city has settled a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Craig, a Black mother, after she and her daughter were wrestled to the ground and arrested by Martin, a white police officer, following a dispute with a neighbor. The city agreed to settle the lawsuit for $150,000, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. (Fort Worth Police Department via AP, File)

Mother settles lawsuit over Texas arrest captured on video

A Texas city has settled a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a Black mother after she and her daughter were wrestled to the ground and arrested by a white police officer following a dispute with … more

9/23/22

FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2020, file photo, Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey answers a question during a news conference in Phoenix. A new Arizona law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy takes effect Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022 as a judge weighs a request to allow a pre-statehood law that outlaws nearly all abortions to be enforced. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool, File)

Arizona's 15-week abortion ban coming as other ban looms

A new Arizona law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy takes effect Saturday, even as a judge weighs whether a pre-statehood law that outlaws nearly all abortions will be enforced. The … more

By BOB CHRISTIE | 9/23/22

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the 77th United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. (David 'Dee' Delgado/Pool Photo via AP)

US steps up diplomatic efforts with China on Taiwan, Russia

The Biden administration is ramping up diplomatic efforts to press China to end provocative actions against Taiwan and keep it from active support for Russia's war against Ukraine. U.S. officials say … more

By MATTHEW LEE | 9/23/22

FILE - A demonstrator carries an image of Elijah McClain during a rally and march in Aurora, Colo., June 27, 2020. A Colorado judge on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022 responded to a request by a coalition of news organizations to release an amended autopsy report for Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died after a 2019 encounter with police, by ruling the report be made public only after new information it contains is redacted. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Amended autopsy: Black man died due to sedative, restraint

A Black man who died after a police encounter in a Denver suburb in 2019 died because he was injected with a powerful sedative after being forcibly restrained. According to an amended autopsy report … more

By COLLEEN SLEVIN | 9/23/22

FILE - The NASA moon rocket stands on Pad 39B before a launch attempt for the Artemis 1 mission to orbit the moon at the Kennedy Space Center, Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. On Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, a storm in the Caribbean is threatening to delay NASA's third attempt to launch the rocket. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

Approaching storm may delay launch try for NASA moon rocket

NASA's new moon rocket could face more launch delays, this time by tropical weather. An approaching storm may force NASA to not only delay next week's launch attempt, but also move the rocket from … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 9/23/22

Darrell Brooks Jr., left, speaks with his attorney Jeremy Perri, during a jury status hearing on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022 in Waukesha County Court in Waukesha, Wis. Brooks, accused of killing six people and injuring dozens of others when he allegedly drove his SUV through a Christmas parade in Wisconsin last year, withdrew his insanity plea Friday. (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)

Man wants to defend himself in fatal Wisconsin parade attack

A man accused of killing six people and injuring dozens of others by driving an SUV through a Christmas parade in Wisconsin last year wants to represent himself in a trial that is scheduled to begin … more

By GRETCHEN EHLKE | 9/23/22

Students and community members place flowers and candles at Helen Bernstein High School where a teenage girl died of an overdose on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, in Los Angeles. Authorities said multiple Los Angeles teenagers have overdosed on pills likely laced with fentanyl over the past month, including the 15-year-old girl who died on the high school campus. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via AP)

After student's death, LA schools to carry overdose antidote

The Los Angeles Unified School District will provide all its schools with a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses. That's after at least seven teenagers overdosed on pills likely laced with … more

9/23/22

Nelson Cirino's home stands with its roof torn off by the winds of Hurricane Fiona in Loiza, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. President Joe Biden said Thursday the full force of the federal government is ready to help Puerto Rico recover from the devastation even as Bermuda and Canada’s Atlantic provinces were preparing for a major blast from the Category 4 storm. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)

AP Week in Pictures: Latin America and Caribbean

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9/23/22

FILE - Evidence markers dot the scene, Aug. 10, 2022, on Richmond, Ind., where Richmond Police Department Officer Seara Burton was critically wounded and a man was injured in a shootout following a traffic stop. Burton died Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022 at a Reid Health facility surrounded by her family, the department said in a statement posted to Facebook. (Mike Emery/The Palladium-Item via AP, File)

Funeral procession set for officer shot during traffic stop

The funeral procession Monday for an eastern Indiana police officer who died after being shot in the head during a traffic stop will follow U.S. 40 to Indianapolis. The Richmond Police Department … more

9/22/22

FILE - Booster shots of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are displayed during a vaccine clinic in Townshend, Vt., on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. U.S. health officials say 4.4 million Americans have rolled up their sleeves for the updated COVID-19 booster shot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted the count Thursday as public health experts bemoaned President Joe Biden’s recent remark that “the pandemic is over.” (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)

4.4M Americans roll up sleeves for omicron-targeted boosters

More than 4 million Americans have rolled up their sleeves for the new omicron-specific booster shots. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted the count Thursday. The new shots are … more

By CARLA K. JOHNSON | 9/22/22

FILE - This undated photograph provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows inmate Alan Eugene Miller, who was convicted of capital murder in a workplace shooting rampage that killed three men in 1999. Miller, scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on Sept. 22, 2022, says the state lost the paperwork he turned in selecting an alternate execution method. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP, File)

Alabama asks US Supreme Court to let it carry out execution

A federal appeals court has rejected Alabama’s attempt to proceed with the scheduled evening execution of an inmate who claims the state lost his paperwork selecting an alternative to lethal … more

By KIM CHANDLER | 9/22/22

Iran President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a press conference, while on his visit for the United Nations General Assembly, Thursday Sept. 22, 2022, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Iranian leader vows 'steadfast' probe of young woman's death

Iran's president says the death of an Iranian woman in the custody of the country’s morality police for violating the dress code must be “steadfastly” investigated. But he also turned the … more

By AYA BATRAWY | 9/22/22

FILE - This photo provided by the Roberts family shows Cooper Roberts who along with his twin brother and parents attended the July 4, 2022, parade in Highland Park, Ill. Cooper was struck in the chest in a hail of gunfire that left dozens of others wounded and seven dead, said Tony Loizzi, a family spokesperson. Cooper's family said he was moved Sunday, July 31, 2022, to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a rehabilitation-focused hospital, from the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital. The 8-year-old boy has now returned home after 2.5 months in the hospital, healing from injuries sustained from the Highland Park shooting that killed seven and wounded dozens. (The Roberts Family via AP, File)

Boy shot in July 4 parade massacre returns home to family

An 8-year-old suburban Chicago boy is back home after more than two months of treatment for severe injuries he sustained during the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, his … more

By CLAIRE SAVAGE | 9/22/22