National News - The Morning Sun

Covenant School parents and their attorneys huddle in prayer outside a courtroom before a hearing to decide whether documents and journals of a Nashville school shooter can be released to the public Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. A Tennessee judge will soon decide whether the journals of a Nashville school shooter can be released to the public, after nearly a year of legal wrangling over who can participate in the case. (AP Photo/Travis Loller)

Tennessee judge wants more information on copyright before ruling on school shooter's writings

A Tennessee judge is weighing whether to allow the release of a Nashville school shooter's writings after a two-day hearing concluded Wednesday. The judge seemed ready to agree with an attorney for … more

By TRAVIS LOLLER | 4/17/24

Vehicles sit abandoned in floodwaters covering a road in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, April 17, 2024. With cloud seeding, it may rain, but it doesn’t really pour or flood — at least nothing like what drenched the United Arab Emirates and paralyzed Dubai. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

Here's why experts don't think cloud seeding played a role in Dubai's downpour

With cloud seeding, it may rain, but it doesn’t really pour or flood — at least nothing like what drenched the United Arab Emirates and paralyzed Dubai. Meteorologists say cloud seeding, although … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN and BRITTANY PETERSON | 4/17/24

FILE - The Fifth Ward Elementary School and residential neighborhoods sit near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant, back, in Reserve, La., Sept. 23, 2022. More than 20 Republican attorneys general on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, asked the EPA to stop investigating environmental policies that disproportionately harm Black people but aren't intentionally discriminatory. The petition is unlikely to convince the Biden administration to back away from an issue EPA Administrator Michael Regan has taken pains to highlight, like visiting the industrial stretch of Louisiana typically called Cancer Alley. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Republican AGs attack Biden's EPA for pursuing environmental discrimination cases

Twenty-three Republican attorneys general are attacking the Biden administration's stated goal of pursuing environmental justice. They officials call it a form of “racial engineering.” They are … more

By MICHAEL PHILLIS | 4/17/24

FILE - Craig N. Ross Jr. is arraigned before Judge James A. Murphy III on charges related to the kidnapping of a 9-year-old from Moreau Lake State Park, Nov. 17, 2023, at Saratoga County Court in Ballston Spa, N.Y. Ross was sentenced Wednesday, April 17, 2024, to 47 years to life in prison for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl who went missing from a state park in upstate New York last year. (Will Waldron/The Albany Times Union via AP, File)

Man sentenced to 47 years to life for kidnapping 9-year-old girl from upstate New York park

A man was sentenced Wednesday to 47 years to life in prison for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl who went missing from a state park in upstate New York last year. Craig N. Ross … more

By MAYSOON KHAN | 4/17/24

FILE - In this June 16, 2020, image released by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a Russian Tu-95 bomber, top, is intercepted by a U.S. F-22 Raptor fighter off the coast of Alaska. Personnel changes proposed to take effect Oct. 1, 2024, at the national level may hinder the Alaska Air National Guard's ability to refuel U.S. and Canadian fighter jets when they scramble to escort Russian bombers nearing North American air space. (North American Aerospace Defense Command via AP)

Air National Guard changes in Alaska could affect national security, civilian rescues, staffers say

The Alaska Air National Guard flew 159 civilian search-and-rescue missions last year in the nation's largest state, often during vicious storms that prevented air ambulances from taking off. It also … more

By MARK THIESSEN | 4/17/24

This image provided by Matayah Utrayle-Shaylene Smith shows an escaped elephant crossing the road in Butte, Mont., on Tuesday, April 17, 2024. The sound of a vehicle backfiring spooked a circus elephant while she was getting a pre-show bath leading the pachyderm to break through a fence and take a brief walk, stopping noontime traffic on the city's busiest street before before being loaded back into a trailer. (Matayah Utrayle-Shaylene Smith via AP)

A vehicle backfiring startled a circus elephant into a Montana street. She still performed Monday

The sound of a vehicle backfiring spooked a circus elephant while she was getting a pre-show bath in Butte, Montana. The pachyderm broke through a fence and stopped noontime traffic on the city's … more

By AMY BETH HANSON | 4/17/24

Ian Cramer listens to state District Judge Bobbi Weiler during his court appearance on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at the McLean County Courthouse in Washburn, N.D. Cramer waived his preliminary hearing and pleaded not guilty to homicide while fleeing a peace officer and other felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with the pursuit and crash that resulted in the death of Mercer County Sheriff's Deputy Paul Martin, 53, on Dec. 6, 2023, near Hazen, N.D. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)

Senator's son pleads not guilty to charges from crash that killed North Dakota sheriff's deputy

The adult son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer has pleaded not guilty to homicide and other charges in connection with a Dec. 6 crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff's deputy. Forty-three-year-old Ian … more

By JACK DURA | 4/17/24

Fire officials in Maui County discuss an external agency review of their performance during the 2023 Hawaii wildfires that destroyed more than 3,900 buildings and displaced thousands of people

Maui Fire Department report on deadly wildfire details need for more equipment and mutual aid plans

When wildfires broke out across the Hawaiian island of Maui last August, some firefighters carried victims piggyback over downed power lines to safety and sheltered survivors inside their fire … more

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER, REBECCA BOONE and CLAUDIA LAUER | 4/17/24

FILE - The sun shines through clouds over wildfire wreckage in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug. 10, 2023. A dangerous mix of conditions appear to have combined to make the wildfires blazing a path of destruction in Hawaii particularly damaging, including flash drought, high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation. According to a new poll, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the United States are slightly more likely than the overall adult population to believe in human-caused climate change. The recent poll from AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 84% of AAPI adults agree climate change exists. In comparison, 74% of all U.S. adults hold the same sentiment. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders in the US more likely to believe in climate change: AP-NORC poll

Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the United States are slightly more likely than the overall adult population to believe in human-caused climate change. That's according to … more

By TERRY TANG and LINLEY SANDERS | 4/17/24

FILE - The Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III sits before speaking, Feb. 1, 2024, in Dallas. The Dallas pastor who took over leadership of the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s longtime civil rights organization resigned Tuesday, April 16, after less than three months on the job. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

New leader of Jesse Jackson's civil rights organization steps down just months on the job

A Dallas pastor who took over leadership of the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s longtime civil rights organization has resigned after just months on the job. The Rev. Frederick Haynes III tells The Associated … more

By SOPHIA TAREEN | 4/16/24

FILE - The Federal Correctional Institution stands in Dublin, Calif., Dec. 5, 2022. The federal Bureau of Prisons says it is planning to close a women’s prison in California known as the “rape club” despite attempts to reform the troubled facility after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant staff-on-inmate sexual abuse. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Closure of troubled California prison won't happen before each inmate's status is reviewed

Officails say the planned closure of a federal women’s prison in California notorious for staff-on-inmate sexual abuse won’t happen before each inmate’s status is reviewed. The Bureau of … more

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER | 4/16/24

FILE - Poland's President Andrej Duda addresses a media conference at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania during the Three Seas Initiative Summit and Business Forum in Vilnius, April 11, 2024. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday in New York. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis, File)

Trump to meet with Polish president Duda as NATO leaders call for additional support for Ukraine

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday in New York. The planned dinner comes as European leaders prepare for the … more

By STEVE PEOPLES | 4/16/24

FILE - This booking photo provided by the Chicago Police Department on May 16, 2019, shows Clarisa Figueroa, who is charged in the death of 19-year-old expectant mother Marlen Ochoa-Lopez. Figueroa, a Chicago woman accused of luring the pregnant teenager to her home and cutting her baby from her womb with a butcher knife nearly five years ago, pleaded guilty to murder Tuesday, April 16, 2024, and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. (Chicago Police Department via AP, File)

Chicago woman pleads guilty, gets 50 years for cutting child from victim's womb

A Chicago woman accused of luring a pregnant teenager to her home and cutting her baby from her womb with a butcher knife nearly five years ago has been sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading … more

4/16/24

Festivalgoers attend the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Indio, Calif. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)

Visa fees for international artists to tour in the US shot up 250% in April. It could be devastating

Performing in the U.S. for international musicians just got a lot more complicated. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has instituted a 250% visa fee increase. For those musicians … more

By MARIA SHERMAN | 4/16/24

FILE - DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston speaks during a news conference in front of the DeKalb County Courthouse in Decatur, Ga., Oct. 14, 2019. Boston is one of three Georgia district attorneys who sued again on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, to overturn a law that lets a new commission to discipline and remove prosecutors. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)

Georgia prosecutors renew challenge of a law they say undermines their authority

Three district attorneys in Georgia are asking a judge to strike down a law creating a commission to discipline and remove prosecutors. They argue that it violates both the U.S. and Georgia … more

By JEFF AMY | 4/16/24

A group of barges sit pinned against the Emsworth lock and dam in Pittsburgh, on Saturday, April 13, 2024. More than two dozen river barges broke loose from their moorings and floated down the Ohio River, damaging a marina and striking a bridge. (WTAE via AP)

Company believes it found sunken barge in Ohio River near Pittsburgh, one of 26 that got loose

A barge operator believes it has found a sunken barge in the Ohio River near Pittsburgh, one of 26 that broke loose and floated away during weekend flooding. Crews used sonar to locate an object in a … more

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM | 4/16/24

FILE - Esperanza Treviño, Melissa Lucio's mother, pleas to the public as she is surrounded by family and friends on the steps of the Cameron County Courthouse Administrative entrance in Brownsville, Texas, Feb. 7, 2022, that her daughter is innocent and was wrongfully sentenced to death for the murder of Lucio's 2-year-old daughter. A judge has recommended that the conviction and death sentence of Lucio, a Texas woman whose execution was delayed in 2022 amid growing doubts she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter, should be overturned amid findings that evidence in her murder trial was suppressed. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald via AP, File)

Texas inmate Melissa Lucio's death sentence should be overturned, judge says

A judge has recommended that the conviction and death sentence of Texas inmate Melissa Lucio should be overturned. Lucio's execution was delayed in 2022 amid growing doubts she fatally beat her … more

By JUAN A. LOZANO | 4/16/24

FILE - This Tuesday, March 12, 2019 file photo shows the iconic Tommy Trojan statue at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. University of Southern California officials have canceled a commencement speech by its 2024 valedictorian, a pro-Palestinian Muslim, citing “substantial risks relating to security and disruption” of the event that draws 65,000 people to campus. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

Citing safety, USC cancels speech by valedictorian who has publicly supported Palestinians

The University of Southern California has canceled a commencement speech by its 2024 valedictorian, a Muslim student who has expressed support for Palestinians, citing substantial security risks for … more

By JOHN ANTCZAK and JULIE WATSON | 4/16/24

FILE - This May 18, 2021, photo shows a woman typing on a laptop on a train in New Jersey. Record numbers of people are starting new businesses, and more and more of them are women and minorities, according to a new study. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Business boom: Record numbers of people are starting up new small businesses

Record numbers of people are starting new businesses, and more and more of them are women and minorities, according to a new study. New business applications jumped in 2020 as the pandemic started, … more

By MAE ANDERSON | 4/16/24

FILE - Clouds hang over a home destroyed in a wildfire in Kula, Hawaii, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. The Maui Fire Department is expected to release a report Tuesday, April 16, 2024, detailing how the agency responded to a series of wildfires that burned on the island during a windstorm last August. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Maui Fire Department to release after-action report on deadly Hawaii wildfires

The Maui Fire Department is expected to release a report Tuesday detailing how the agency responded to a series of wildfires that burned on the island during a windstorm last August. That includes … more

By REBECCA BOONE and JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER | 4/16/24