National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - This Aug. 26, 2003, image made available by NASA shows Mars as it lines up with the Sun and the Earth. A new study suggests water on Mars may be more widespread and recent than previously thought. Scientists reported the finding from China's Mars rover in Science Advances on Friday, April 28, 2023. (NASA/J. Bell - Cornell U./M. Wolff - SSI via AP, File)

China's Mars rover finds signs of recent water in sand dunes

A new study suggests water on Mars may be more widespread and recent than previously thought. Scientists reported the finding from China's Mars rover in Science Advances on Friday. The rover spotted … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 4/28/23

In this undated photo provided by the European Space Agency, a 1:18 scale model of the Juice mission's RIME antenna – Radar for Icy Moons Exploration, mounted on top of a simplified spacecraft model during tests in the Hertz facility at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. The European Space Agency said Friday, April 28, 2023, that the 52-foot radar antenna on its Juice spacecraft unfolded only one-third of the way following liftoff. (European Space Agency via AP)

Key radar antenna stuck on Europe's Jupiter-bound spacecraft

A critical antenna is jammed on a Jupiter-bound spacecraft launched two weeks ago. The European Space Agency said Friday that the 52-foot radar antenna on its Juice spacecraft unfolded only one-third … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 4/28/23

FILE - Hundreds of people crowded the Nebraska State Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, in Lincoln. Neb., to protest a so-called heartbeat bill that would outlaw abortion at a point before many women even know they're pregnant. North Dakota adopted a new abortion ban, while South Carolina and Nebraska lawmakers failed to and Washington and Minnesota protected abortion access. (AP Photo/Margery A. Beck, File)

State lawmakers across US pass 1 abortion ban but 2 defeated

With measures to protect abortion access becoming law in two states, a ban in a third state and court action elsewhere, the status of abortion law in the U.S. remains unsettled. The issue has been a … more

By GEOFF MULVIHILL | 4/28/23

Recovery work is shown at the scene of a train derailment along Hwy 35 Thursday, April 27, 2023 in Crawford County just south of DeSoto, Wis. A freight train derailed along the Mississippi River in southwestern Wisconsin Thursday, possibly injuring one crew member and sending two cars into the water, officials said. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)

Derailed train cars removed from river in Wisconsin

Authorities say crews have removed two rail cars from the Mississippi River after a freight train derailed in southwestern Wisconsin, leaving four railway employees with minor injuries. BNSF Railway … more

4/28/23

A southern California landslide has closed a cultural center, shut down some rail service and forced the evacuation of nearby residences. (April 28)

California landslide halts rail service, homes evacuated

Officials in Southern California say a landslide closed a historic cultural center, shut down rail service in the area and forced the evacuation of nearby residences. San Clemente city officials say … more

4/28/23

FILE - Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrives to meet with Indigenous leaders at Caracarana Lake Regional Center in Normandia, on the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous reserve in Roraima state, Brazil, March 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File)

Brazil's Lula resumes recognition of Indigenous land areas

Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has approved the creation of six Indigenous territories, the first such move after a five-year hiatus in Indigenous demarcation. Lula’s action delivers … more

By CARLA BRIDI and FABIANO MAISONNAVE | 4/28/23

Activists protest outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Friday, April 21, 2023. Extinction Rebellion and other environmental groups are protesting for four days from Friday to Monday, with an event they are calling "The Big One". (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa

April 21-27, 2023 A week in which climate activists demonstrated in various cities across Europe, while victims of a religious cult were exhumed in Kenya. Anzac Day was commemorated, the national … more

By The Associated Press | 4/28/23

A person walks to Tokyo Stock Exchange building Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Tokyo. Shares advanced in Asia on Friday after Wall Street rallied to its best day since January. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Stock market today: Asia shares gain as BOJ stands pat

Shares are mostly higher in Asia after Wall Street rallied to its best day since January and the Bank of Japan kept its ultra-lax monetary policy unchanged. In its first policy meeting under its new … more

By ELAINE KURTENBACH | 4/28/23

This mage released by Warner Bros. Pictures showsRyan Gosling, left, and Margot Robbie in a scene from "Barbie." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Summer Movies: Indy, Barbie, 'Fast X' zooming to theaters

Hollywood's summer movie season kicks off on May 5 with the release of Disney and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and runs through Labor Day. Since “Jaws,” the summer season has … more

By LINDSEY BAHR | 4/28/23

This combination of photos shows promotional art for films, top row from left, "Barbie," "Blue Beetle," "Book Club: The Next Chapter," "Every Body," "The Flash," second row from left, "Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3," "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," "The Little Mermaid," "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part I," "Oppenheimer," bottom row from left, "Past Lives," "Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken," "Talk To Me," "White Men Can't Jump," and "You Hurt My Feelings." (Warner Bros., Warner Bros., Focus Features, Focus Features, Warner Bros., Marvel Studios, LucasFilms, Disney, Paramount, Universal, A24, Universal, A24, 20th Century Studios and A24 via AP)

Summer Movie Guide: What to watch from May through Labor Day

There is something for everyone at the movies this summer, both in theaters and streaming at home. In May, audiences can bid farewell to the Guardians of the Galaxy, go to Italy with Jane Fonda, … more

4/28/23

Dennis Maliq Barnes speaks during an interview at International High School of New Orleans in New Orleans, Thursday, April 27, 2023. To date, Barnes has been accepted into 175 colleges and universities and has been offered a total of more than $9 million in scholarships from close to 130 schools. Officials at the school are trying to determine if Barnes has set a record for U.S. high school students. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

New Orleans student's scholarship offers surpass $9 million

He is a senior at 16. His grade point average is 4.98. Even before graduating from high school, he has earned 27 college credits. But perhaps the most impressive numbers for Dennis Maliq Barnes of … more

By KEVIN McGILL | 4/27/23

FILE - The Holyoke Soldiers' Home is seen on May 29, 2018, in Holyoke, Mass. Massachusetts’ highest court overruled a lower court judge Thursday, April 27, 2023, and reinstated criminal neglect charges against two top former officials at the veterans’ home. Nearly 80 veterans died at the Veterans’ Home in Holyoke after contracting the coronavirus in one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in a long-term care facility in the nation. (Patrick Johnson/The Republican via AP, File)

Court reinstates charges against leaders of veterans' home

Massachusetts’ highest court has overruled a lower court judge and reinstated criminal neglect charges against two top former officials at a veterans’ home. Nearly 80 veterans died at the … more

4/27/23

FILE - Gunnar Kaasen and with his dog Balto, the heroic dogsled team leader, sit for a portrait in the early 1920s. As a part of the Zoonomia Project, with 11 papers published Thursday, April 27, 2023, in the journal Science, by comparing Balto’s genes to those of other dogs, researchers found he was more genetically diverse than modern breeds and may have carried genetic variants that helped him survive harsh conditions. The Zoonomia Project is an international effort comparing the genetic blueprints of an array of animals, including this species, and some of the discoveries were shared in 11 papers published Thursday, April 27, 2023, in the journal Science. (AP Photo, File)

Zoonomia: Genetic research reveals all we share with animals

Scientists from around the world are comparing the genetic blueprints of an array of animals to gain new insights into our own species. It's called the Zoonomia Project. It's the subject of 11 papers … more

By LAURA UNGAR | 4/27/23

FILE - The sun rises above the Atlantic Ocean as waves crash near beach goers walking along a jetty, Dec. 7, 2022, in Bal Harbour, Fla. The world's oceans have suddenly spiked much hotter and well above record levels, with scientists trying to figure out what it means and whether it forecasts a surge in atmospheric warming. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

Earth in hot water? Worries over sudden ocean warming spike

The world's oceans are suddenly considerably hotter than just a month or two ago and well above record levels. Scientists are trying to figure out why, and whether it forecasts an upcoming surge in … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 4/27/23

FILE - This 1955 file photo shows Carolyn Bryant. Carolyn Bryant Donham, the white woman who accused Black teenager Emmett Till of making improper advances before he was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 has died Tuesday night, April 25, in hospice care in Louisiana, according to a death report filed Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office in Louisiana. She was 88. (AP Photo/Gene Herrick, File)

Carolyn Bryant Donham, at center of Emmett Till death, dies

The white woman who accused Black teenager Emmett Till of making improper advances before he was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 has died in hospice care in Louisiana. Carolyn Bryant Donham was 88. … more

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS | 4/27/23

In this image from video provided by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, Drug Enforcement Administration chief Anne Milgram speaks during a meeting with the committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, April 27, 2023. During the session, lawmakers questioned Milgram over millions of dollars in no-bid contracts that are the subject of a watchdog probe into whether the agency improperly hired some of her past associates. (U.S. House Appropriations Committee via AP)

DEA chief grilled over probe into no-bid contracts, hiring

Lawmakers grilled U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief Anne Milgram over millions of dollars in no-bid contracts that are the subject of a watchdog probe into whether the agency improperly … more

By JOSHUA GOODMAN and JIM MUSTIAN | 4/27/23

In this photo provided by Washington University, Jeff Backus is fitted with a vest of electrodes in St. Louis on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, to map how his heartbeat goes awry. Doctors are zapping the heart with radiation normally reserved for cancer, a bid to better treat people with life-threatening irregular heartbeats who've exhausted other options. (Huy Mach/Washington University, St. Louis via AP)

Putting radiation to the test to heal irregular heartbeat

Doctors are zapping the heart with radiation normally reserved for cancer in a bid to better treat a dangerous kind of irregular heartbeat. It's highly experimental. But researchers at Washington … more

By LAURAN NEERGAARD | 4/27/23

A hiring sign seeking bus drivers stands in Palatine, Ill., Wednesday, April 19, 2023. On Thursday, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Jobless claims fall again with labor market churning along

Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell last week as the labor market continues to show strength despite some weakness in other parts of the economy. The number of Americans filing … more

By MATT OTT | 4/27/23

A worker distributes free traditional roti or bread among needy people at a restaurant, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Sunday, April 16, 2023. People are suffering from recent price hike in food, gas, fuel, and power in Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

Food prices fall on world markets but not on kitchen tables

Around the world, food prices are persistently, painfully high. Puzzlingly, too. On global markets, the price of grains, vegetable oil, dairy and other agricultural commodities has fallen steadily … more

By PAUL WISEMAN and EVELYNE MUSAMBI | 4/27/23

Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, walks out of the Montana House of Representatives after lawmakers voted to ban her from the chamber on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in the State Capitol in Helena, Montana. Zephyr was barred from participating on the House floor as Republican leaders voted Wednesday to silence her for the rest of 2023 session after she protested GOP leaders’ decision earlier in the week to silence her. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP)

Montana lawmaker silenced but not silent, vows to fight on

When debate over a gender-affirming care ban escalated into a lengthy fight over civil discourse in statehouses, it vaulted Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr into the national spotlight. Zephyr was … more

By AMY BETH HANSON and SAM METZ | 4/27/23