National News - The Morning Sun

In this frame grab from video provided by the European Space Agency, the second stuck part of the RIME antenna deploys, seen at right leaning vertically, on a spacecraft bound for Jupiter, Friday, May 12, 2023. Flight controllers in Germany freed the 52-foot antenna Friday, after nearly a month of effort. (European Space Agency via AP)

Stuck antenna freed on Jupiter-bound spacecraft

A crucial radar antenna on a spacecraft bound for Jupiter is no longer jammed. Flight controllers in Germany freed the antenna Friday after nearly a month of effort. The Juice spacecraft blasted off … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 5/12/23

This photo provided by Plumas Pines Resort and Bar shows a portion of the damage done to Plumas Pines Resort & Bar in Almanor, Calif., following a 5.5 earthquake in Lake Almanor at around 4:20 p.m. on Thursday, May 11, 2023. (Plumas Pines Resort and Bar via AP)

5.5 magnitude earthquake, large aftershock hit Northern California; minor damage reported

Earthquakes have rattled a large area of Northern California, with minor damage reported. The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 5.5 earthquake occurred Thursday at 4:19 p.m. A magnitude 5.2 … more

5/12/23

FILE - A memorial is placed inside the locked doors of the dormant landmark Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022. The head of security for Pittsburgh's Jewish community said Friday, May 12, 2023, there has been an “uptick in hate speech” on the internet, but no specific threats, in the early stages of the trial of the man accused of killing 11 worshippers at a synagogue here in 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Pittsburgh Jewish community monitoring hate speech amid trial of suspect in synagogue massacre

The head of security for Pittsburgh’s Jewish community says there has been an “uptick in hate speech” on the internet in the early stages of the trial of the man accused of killing 11 … more

By PETER SMITH | 5/12/23

This image provided by the U.S. Postal Service shows the new stamp honoring Native American civil rights leader Chief Standing Bear, issued on Friday, May 12, 2023. Standing Bear won a landmark court ruling in 1879 recognizing that Native Americans are entitled to inherent rights under the law. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp. (U.S. Postal Service via AP)

US Postal Service honors civil rights leader, Ponca tribe Chief Standing Bear, with stamp

A Ponca tribe chief whose landmark lawsuit in 1879 established that a Native American is a person under the law was honored with the unveiling of a U.S. Postal Service stamp that features his … more

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE | 5/12/23

This photo provided by Joey Santore shows a snapping turtle relaxing along a Chicago River. Footage of the plump snapping turtle relaxing along a Chicago waterway has gone viral after Joey Santore, who filmed the well-fed reptile, marveled at its size and nicknamed it “Chonkosaurus." (Joey Santore via AP)

'Chonkosaurus,' plump Chicago snapping turtle captured on video, goes viral

Footage of a plump snapping turtle relaxing along a Chicago waterway has gone viral after the man who filmed the well-fed reptile marveled at its size and nicknamed it “Chonkosaurus.” Joey … more

5/12/23

FILE - A United Airlines jetliner taxis to a runway for take off from Denver International Airport, Dec. 27, 2022. United Airlines reports earnings on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

United pilots to picket; airline unions press for higher pay

The peak summer travel season is almost here, and pilots are stepping up their pressure on major airlines for new contracts that will include higher pay. United Airlines pilots plan to walk picket … more

By DAVID KOENIG | 5/12/23

This combo from photos provided by Philadelphia Dept. of Prisons shows from left, Nasir Grant, left, and Ameen Hurst. Authorities searched Tuesday, May 9, 2023, for two inmates, one accused of killing four people, who were gone from a Philadelphia prison for nearly 19 hours before officials knew they were missing. Hurst, 18, and Grant, 24, escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center around 8:30 p.m. Sunday by cutting a hole in a fence surrounding a recreation yard, the Philadelphia Department of Prisons said.(Philadelphia Dept. of Prisons via AP)

Authorities capture 1 of 2 inmates who escaped from Philadelphia prison

Authorities say they have captured one of two inmates who escaped Sunday night from a Philadelphia prison. A U.S. Marshals Service official says a fugitive task force was conducting surveillance in … more

5/12/23

FILE - This photo shows tanks (in gray, beige and blue) storeing water that was treated but is still radioactive after it was used to cool down spent fuel at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Feb. 27, 2021. Officials from Japan and South Korea are discussing a visit for South Korean experts at the Fukushima nuclear plant later this month to see preparation for a controversial plan to release to sea treated but radioactive water, one of their major sticking points between the two sides that are quickly thawing their long-strained ties. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)

Japan, South Korea eye visit by team of experts as Fukushima nuclear plant prepares water release

Officials from Japan and South Korea are eyeing a potential visit by South Korean experts to the Fukushima nuclear plant before it begins the controversial release of treated but radioactive water to … more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | 5/12/23

Dr. Catherine Casto, right, talks with Catherine Burns, left, of Millsboro, Del., during a visit to a Chesapeake Health Care office in Salisbury, Md., Thursday, March 2, 2023. Burns has been seeing Dr. Casto for 25 years. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Federal government's $1 billion effort to recruit next generation of doctors at risk

Thousands of doctors and nurses signed on to work in the country’s most desperate regions during the COVID-19 pandemic in exchange for forgiveness of medical school debt. But now, with the public … more

By AMANDA SEITZ | 5/12/23

CAPTION ADDITION: CONFIRMED METEORITE: This image provided by Hopewell Township Police Department shows a confirmed meteorite on a hardwood floor at a residence in Hopewell Township, N.J. The meteorite punched a hole in the roof of the central New Jersey home, smashing into a hardwood floor and bouncing around a bedroom. The family who owns the home discovered the black, potato-sized rock in a corner — still warm. (Hopewell Township Police Department via AP)

Experts: Metallic object that crashed into New Jersey home was a meteorite

A metallic object that punched a hole in the roof of a central New Jersey home this week, smashing into a hardwood floor and bouncing around a bedroom, was a meteorite. Scientists with The College of … more

5/11/23

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources shows a northern long-eared bat. The U.S. Senate on Thursday, May 11, 2023, proposed dropping a 2022 federal designation of the northern long-eared bat as endangered. The Fish and Wildlife Service declared the northern long-eared bat endangered last November, raising its status from threatened. It is among 12 bat types hammered by white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that has reduced its numbers by 97% or more in some areas. (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources via AP, File)

Senate votes to limit critical habitat designation for imperiled species and drop bat's protections

The U.S. Senate has voted to overturn two Biden administration policies intended to protect endangered species. Senators narrowly called for reinstating a rule adopted under former President Donald … more

By JOHN FLESHER | 5/11/23

The children of Lt. Gen. Hal and Julia Moore join the command team at what's now Fort Moore during the unveiling the new sign, Thursday morning, May 11, 2023, at Doughboy Stadium in Fort Moore, Ga. The Army's training hub in Georgia was renamed Fort Moore from Fort Benning during a ceremony Thursday, replacing the name of a Confederate officer that had adorned the base for more than a century with that of a decorated Vietnam War commander and his wife. (Mike Haskey/Ledger-Enquirer via AP)

Army officially designates Fort Moore, dropping Confederate name Benning

The Army's training hub in Georgia is now officially called Fort Moore. The Army completed a name change Thursday that's been a year in the making at the base known previously as Fort Benning. The … more

5/11/23

FILE - Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., speaks during the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade on Commodity Programs, Credit and Crop Insurance hearing at Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Tuberville is facing backlash for remarks he made about white nationalists in an interview about his blockade of military nominees, saying that while Democrats may consider such people to be racist, “I call them Americans.” Tuberville's office later said he was expressing skepticism at the idea that white nationalists were in the armed services. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Sen. Tuberville criticized for remarks on white nationalists: 'I call them Americans'

Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville is facing backlash for remarks he made about white nationalists in an interview about his blockade of military nominees. He said that while Democrats may consider … more

By MEG KINNARD | 5/11/23

FILE - State Sen. Aisha Wahab listens to speakers during a news conference where she proposed SB 403, a bill that adds caste as a protected category in the state's anti-discrimination laws, in Sacramento, Calif., March 22, 2023. On Thursday, May 11, 2023, the California Senate voted 34-1 in favor of legislation outlawing caste discrimination in the state. If it passes, California could become the first state in the nation to make caste bias illegal by adding it as a protected category in the state's anti-discrimination laws. (AP Photo/José Luis Villegas, File)

Bill to outlaw discrimination based on caste clears California Senate

The California Senate voted 34-1 Thursday in favor of legislation outlawing caste discrimination in California. If it also passes in the state Assembly and is enacted, California could become the … more

By DEEPA BHARATH | 5/11/23

Irina Tsybaneva, 60, stands in a courtroom in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Tsybaneva was charged with desecrating a grave after she left insulting words on the grave of Russian President Vladimir Putin's parents last October. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Russian woman who left note on grave of Putin's parents convicted amid dissent crackdown

A Russian court has given a two-year suspended sentence to a St. Petersburg woman who left a note on the grave of President Vladimir Putin’s parents that said they had “raised a freak and a … more

5/11/23

New Homes dot the landscape in Middlesex Township, Pa., on Thursday, Apr. 19, 2023. Long-term mortgage rates have mostly edged lower in recent weeks, welcome news for prospective homebuyers looking for some relief after years of soaring home values. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Average long-term US mortgage rate falls to 6.35% this week, lowest level in 5 weeks

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell this week to its lowest level in five weeks, welcome news for house hunters looking for an edge as they navigate a housing market constrained by a … more

By ALEX VEIGA and MELISSA WINDER | 5/11/23

This image provided by European Southern Observatory shows the L1688 region in the Ophiuchus constellation. Astronomers have created a stunning mosaic of stellar nurseries hiding in our galactic backyard. The montage, published Thursday, May 11, 2023, reveals five vast star-forming regions less than 1,500 light-years away. T(European Southern Observatory/Meingast via AP)

Stunning mosaic of baby star clusters created from 1 million telescope shots

Astronomers have created a stunning mosaic of baby star clusters hiding in our galactic backyard. The montage, published Thursday, reveals five vast stellar nurseries less than 1,500 light-years … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 5/11/23

This undated image provided by Roots of Peace shows Heidi Kühn and her son Christian. The California peace activist, who has worked to remove land mines from war-torn regions and replace them with grapes, fruit trees and vegetables, was named the 2023 World Food Prize laureate on Thursday, May 11, 2023, at a ceremony in Washington. (Roots of Peace via AP)

For turning 'mines to vines,' founder of Roots of Peace wins World Food Prize

A California peace activist who has worked to remove land mines from war-torn regions and replace them with grape vines, fruit trees and vegetables has been named the 2023 World Food Prize laureate. … more

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE | 5/11/23

A man rests on a bench by a mural reading ''Boulevard Ratko Mladic" in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The avenue is not officially named after the Bosnian Serb general who was convicted of genocide by an international court for war crimes committed by his troops during the clashes in the Balkans in the 1990s. It carries the name of Serbia's first pro-Western Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic who was gunned down by a sniper bullet in front of his government's offices in Belgrade on March 12, 2003. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's mass shootings prompt national reckoning for war-scarred nation

When a 13-year-old boy last week opened fire on his fellow students in a school in Belgrade, and a day later a man killed people at random in villages south of the Serbian capital, the country came … more

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC | 5/11/23

This cover image released by Callaway Arts & Entertainment shows “Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine,” a 600-page book of images from the archives of singer-songwriter. The book, expected in the fall, will include dozens of essays, with novelist Michael Ondaatje, critic Greil Marcus and former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo among the contributors. (Callaway Arts & Entertainment via AP)

New book on Bob Dylan will feature hundreds of rare images

Hundreds of rare photos and other images from the archives of singer-songwriter Bob Dylan will be featured in “Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine,” coming out this fall. The new release also will … more

5/11/23