National News - The Morning Sun

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

FILE - Cigarette butts fill a smoking receptacle outside a federal building in Washington, Thursday, April 15, 2021. According to government survey data released Thursday, April 27, 2023, U.S. adults are smoking less. Cigarette smoking dropped to another new all-time low in 2022, with 1 in 9 adults saying they were current smokers. Meanwhile, e-cigarette use rose, to about 1 in 17 adults. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

US adult cigarette smoking rate hits new all-time low

U.S. adults are smoking less. Cigarette smoking dropped to another new all-time low last year, with 1 in 9 adults saying they were current smokers. Meanwhile, e-cigarette use rose, to about 1 in 17 … more

By MIKE STOBBE | 4/27/23

FILE - Students return to Richneck Elementary in Newport News, Va., on Jan. 30, 2023. The Virginia school district where a 6-year-old shot his teacher argues that her injuries fall under the state's workers compensation act and cannot be addressed through her $40 million lawsuit, according to court documents filed, Wednesday, April 26. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot via AP, File)

School board wants workers comp for teacher shot by boy, 6

The Virginia school district where a 6-year-old shot his teacher argues that her injuries fall under the state’s workers compensation act and cannot be addressed through her $40 million lawsuit. … more

By BEN FINLEY and DENISE LAVOIE | 4/26/23

Visitors take in the Invisible Worlds interactive display during a media preview of the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation, Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The Gilder Center opens to the public May 4. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Ants march, whales swoop in Museum of Natural History update

The American Museum of Natural History in New York will soon open its massive new building, complete with live insects and swooping architecture. The Gilder Center has been almost a decade in the … more

By MADDIE BURAKOFF | 4/26/23

FILE - This booking photo provided by the Westminster Police Department shows Jeremy Webster on June 15, 2018. The man who shot and killed a 13-year-old boy after a road rage confrontation and wounded the boy's mother, brother and a witness was not in control of his body or his emotions at the time of the 2018 shootings, his lawyers told jurors Wednesday, April 26, 2023. (Westminster Police Department via AP, File)

Colorado road rage shooter convicted of 1st-degree murder

A Colorado man who shot and killed a 13-year-old boy after a road rage confrontation and wounded the boy’s mother, brother and a witness was found guilty of first-degree murder. A jury issued the … more

By COLLEEN SLEVIN | 4/26/23

Ya Ya, a giant panda at the Memphis Zoo, eats bamboo, April 8, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. Ya Ya began its trip to China on Wednesday, April 26, from the Memphis Zoo, where it has spent the past 20 years as part of a loan agreement. (AP Photo/Karen Pulfer Focht, File)

Ya Ya the giant panda heading to China after 20 years in US

Ya Ya the giant panda has begun its trip to China from the Memphis Zoo, where it has spent the past 20 years as part of a loan agreement. The zoo said Ya Ya is being accompanied on its return to … more

4/26/23

A sign to a First Republic Bank location is shown in San Francisco, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. First Republic Bank’s stock plunged Tuesday after it said depositors withdrew more than $100 billion during last month’s crisis, with fears swirling that it could be the third bank to fail after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

First Republic Bank rout; unable to shake depositor anxiety

First Republic Bank's stock slid Wednesday in an ongoing rout that has erased more than 50% of its value just this week on concerns about the bank’s financial health in the wake of two other bank … more

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN | 4/26/23

FILE - This photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows death row inmate Richard Glossip on Feb. 19, 2021. Oklahoma's new Attorney General Gentner Drummond plans to ask the state's Pardon and Parole Board on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, to recommend sparing the life of Glossip, a highly unusual move for the state's top prosecutor's office that typically urges the board to reject clemency. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP, File)

Fate of Oklahoma death row inmate rests with parole board

An Oklahoma state board will decide whether to recommend clemency for a death row inmate who is scheduled to die next month and who even the state’s top prosecutor says deserves a new trial. The … more

By SEAN MURPHY | 4/26/23

This image released by Lionsgate shows Rachel McAdams, left, and Abby Ryder Fortson in a scene from "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." (Dana Hawley/Lionsgate via AP)

Review: Judy Blume goes Hollywood in ‘Are You There God?...’

Kelly Fremon Craig is the first director to get Judy Blume's blessing to adapt “Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret” for the big screen. It stars Abby Ryder Fortson as the titular protagonist … more

By LINDSEY BAHR | 4/26/23

FILE - Rolls of razor wire line the top of the security fencing at the Raymond Detention Center in Raymond, Miss., on Aug. 1, 2022. Four prisoners are on the loose after escaping over the weekend from the Mississippi jail already under federal scrutiny for alleged mismanagement. In an escape that began around 8 p.m. Saturday, the four detainees broke free from the Raymond Detention Center, a facility near the state capital of Jackson, through breaches in a cell and in the roof, Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said at a Monday, April 24, 2023 news conference. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Residents told to lock doors amid search for jail escapees

Authorities are still hunting for four inmates, including one suspected of killing a man and stealing his pickup truck, who escaped from a Mississippi jail that has been under federal scrutiny. … more

4/26/23

A U.S. M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) fires a missile during a Combined Joint Littoral Live Fire Exercise at the joint military exercise called "Balikatan", Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder in a Naval station in Zambales province, northern Philippines on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Thousands of American and Filipino forces hit a ship with a barrage of high-precision rockets, airstrikes and artillery fire in their largest war drills in Philippine waters facing the disputed South China Sea that would likely antagonize China. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

US, Filipino forces show power in drills amid China tensions

Thousands of American and Filipino forces have used a barrage of high-precision rockets, airstrikes and artillery fire in their largest war drills in Philippine waters facing the disputed South China … more

By JIM GOMEZ AND AARON FAVILA | 4/26/23

Harry Belafonte mourned by entertainment world Biden Obama

NEW YORK (AP) — Reaction poured in Tuesday from heads of state, civil-rights leaders and the entertainment world following the death of Harry Belafonte at age 96. As a prominent activist, … more

By The Associated Press | 4/26/23

An unidentified man sits in handcuffs after being arrested accused of having connections with pastor Paul Makenzi, in a forest near the village of Shakahola, near the coastal city of Malindi, in southern Kenya Monday, April 24, 2023. Kenya's president William Ruto said Monday that the starvation deaths of dozens of followers of pastor Paul Makenzi, who was arrested on suspicion of telling his followers to fast to death in order to meet Jesus, is akin to terrorism. (AP Photo)

Kenya case sparks memories of worst cult-related mass deaths

At least 90 bodies have been found at the ranch of a Kenyan pastor who is accused of telling his followers to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus. And the death toll could rise with the Kenya … more

By GERALD IMRAY | 4/25/23

In this image provided by the Clark County Desert Conservation Program taken from a video monitor, Mojave Max, top, and another desert tortoise emerge from their burrow, Monday, April 24, 2023, at the Desert Preserve in Las Vegas. Officials in Nevada say the emergence was the latest since 2000 for the critter compared locally with Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania. Biologists in Las Vegas think a wet and cold winter kept the soil temperature cool at the tortoise's burrow longer this year. (Clark County Desert Conservation Program via AP)

'Mojave Max' tortoise emerges in Vegas; latest since 2000

Officials in Nevada say a desert tortoise that is the focus of schoolchild predictions and local lore about the start of spring has emerged from its winter burrow at a nature preserve in Las Vegas. … more

4/25/23

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waits for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as he pays a courtesy call to Kishida at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo Monday, April 24, 2023. DeSantis is in Japan for a two-day visit. Japanese Foreign Ministry said that DeSantis's visit to Japan will be an opportunity to further strengthen relationship between Japan and Florida in broad areas including political and economic fields. (Kimimasa Mayama/Pool Photo via AP)

Florida GOP set to remove hurdle to DeSantis White House bid

Florida Republicans are poised to change state law to allow GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president without having to leave office. The proposal filed on Tuesday would exempt presidential … more

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE | 4/25/23

Patch, owned by Jennifer Hinton, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, sits on the throne after being crowned the winner of the 44th annual Drake Relays Beautiful Bulldog Contest, Monday, April 24, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. The pageant kicks off the Drake Relays festivities at Drake University where a bulldog is the mascot. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Patch crowned 'beautiful bulldog' at Drake University event

Patch, sporting a jean jacket as she strutted down the runway, was crowned the winner of Drake University’s Beautiful Bulldog Contest. The 2-year-old English bulldog beat out 28 other contestants … more

4/25/23

FILE - A model of a DNA molecule is displayed in the New York office of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research on Oct. 18, 1962. The discovery of DNA’s “twisted ladder” structure 70 years ago opened up a world of new science — and also sparked disputes over who contributed what and who deserves credit. In an opinion piece published Tuesday, April 25, 2023, in the journal Nature, two historians are suggesting that while James Watson and Francis Crick did rely on research from Rosalind Franklin and her lab without their permission — Franklin was more a collaborator than just a victim. (AP Photo/Anthony Camerano, File)

Rosalind Franklin's role in DNA discovery gets a new twist

The story of how scientists discovered DNA's shape may be getting another twist. Watson and Crick got the credit for figuring out the double helix shape 70 years ago. Many believed they cracked the … more

By MADDIE BURAKOFF | 4/25/23

This combination photo shows, from left, Tucker Carlson, host of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," Laura Ingraham, host of "The Ingraham Angle," and Sean Hannity, host of "Hannity" on Fox News. (AP Photo)

Tucker who? Fox News hosts avoid Carlson's name after ouster

Tucker who? Tucker Carlson was a non-person on the Fox News Channel prime-time the night he was fired. Former colleague Sean Hannity said “we’re not talking” about Carlson in the midst of a … more

By DAVID BAUDER | 4/25/23

A 2023 Cooper Clubman S sports-utility vehicle is displayed on the showroom floor of a Mini dealer on Thursday, April 20, 2023, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. On Tuesday, the Conference Board reports on U.S. consumer confidence for April. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

US consumer confidence falls for 3rd time in 4 months

Consumer confidence dipped again in April as anxiety over a slowing economy and possible recession weighed on American households. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence … more

By MATT OTT | 4/25/23

Kyan Cepin, who now resides in a motel after being displaced by the East Palestine train derailment walks his dog Opal in North Lima, Ohio, Monday, April 3, 2023. About half of East Palestine's nearly 5,000 residents evacuated when, days after the Feb. 3 derailment, officials decided to burn toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars to prevent a catastrophic explosion. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

East Palestine families living in limbo months after fire

Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, say they're still living in limbo almost three months after a fiery Norfolk Southern train derailment blackened the skies and sent residents fleeing. They’re … more

By TAMMY WEBBER | 4/25/23