National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - The Washington National Cathedral is seen at sunset, April 13, 2021, in Washington. The landmark Washington National Cathedral unveiled new stained-glass windows Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, with a theme of racial justice, filling the space that had once held four windows honoring Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. The new windows depict a march for justice by African Americans, descendants of the very people who would have remained in slavery after the Civil War if the side for which the officers fought had prevailed. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

National Cathedral replaces windows honoring Confederacy with stained-glass homage to racial justice

The landmark Washington National Cathedral has unveiled new stained-glass windows with a theme of racial justice. The windows fill the space that had once held windows honoring Confederate Gens. … more

By PETER SMITH | 9/23/23

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, embraces Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he is introduced during a rally at the Fort York Armoury in Toronto on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Trudeau pledges Canada's support for Ukraine and punishment for Russia

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced several support measures for Ukraine including military, economic and humanitarian assistance. Trudeau also pledged an additional show of … more

By BRIAN P.D. HANNON | 9/23/23

FILE - A woman is consoled as people mourn Sikh community leader and temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar during Antim Darshan, the first part of day-long funeral services for him, in Surrey, British Columbia, Sunday, June 25, 2023. Nijjar was gunned down in his vehicle while leaving the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib parking lot. The September 2023 accusation by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that India may have been behind the assassination of Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader, has raised several complex questions about the nature of Sikh activism in the North American diaspora. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

India-Canada tensions shine light on complexities of Sikh activism in the diaspora

The shocking allegation that India may have been behind the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada is shining the light on various layers of activism as well as diverse views on a … more

By DEEPA BHARATH | 9/23/23

A man straightens a flag of the Wagner private military contractor at the grave of Yevgeny Prigozhin at Porokhovskoye Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. Prigozhin, the head of Wagner, was killed on Aug. 23 when a private jet carrying him and his top lieutenants crashed while flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg, killing all 10 people aboard. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

A month after Prigozhin’s suspicious death, the Kremlin is silent on his plane crash and legacy

A month after Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a suspicious plane crash, the Kremlin seems to be succeeding in keeping the demise of the profane and outspoken Wagner chief as low-key as possible. What … more

By The Associated Press | 9/23/23

Herpetologist Harry Greene holds a Bolson tortoise released on Armendariz Ranch in Engel, New Mexico, on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

Biologists in slow and steady race to help North America's largest and rarest tortoise species

U.S. wildlife officials have finalized an agreement with Ted Turner’s Endangered Species Fund regarding the release of more Bolson tortoises on the media mogul’s Armendaris Ranch in central New … more

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN | 9/22/23

FILE - Hollis Watkins, national chairman of the Mississippi Freedom Summer 50th Anniversary conference, speaks at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, June 25, 2014. Watkins was a longtime civil rights activist who was 82 when he died Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, at his home in Clinton, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Hollis Watkins, who was jailed multiple times for challenging segregation in Mississippi, dies at 82

Longtime Mississippi civil rights activist Hollis Watkins has died. He was 82. Watkins started challenging segregation and racial oppression in his home state when he was a teenager, and he worked … more

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS | 9/22/23

Prime Minister of Haiti Ariel Henry, left, greets Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Alfred Nganga Mutua, right, before United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken addresses diplomats during a meeting on the security situation in Haiti in New York on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (Bing Guan/Pool Photo via AP)

US pledges $100M to back proposed Kenyan-led multinational force to Haiti

The Biden administration is pledging $100 million to support a proposed Kenyan-led multinational force to restore security to conflict-ravaged Haiti and urged other nations to make similar … more

By MATTHEW LEE | 9/22/23

FILE - The sun sets beyond the downtown skyline of Kansas City, Mo., as the autumnal equinox marks the first day of fall Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013. During the equinox, the Earth’s axis and its orbit line up so that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

The fall equinox is here. What does that mean?

Fall gets its official start this weekend in the Northern Hemisphere. This year's autumnal equinox arrives on Saturday. But what does that mean? The Earth's axis is tilted at an angle as it travels … more

By MADDIE BURAKOFF | 9/22/23

In this photo provided by UM News, United Methodist Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, foreground, attends her church trial on Sept. 19, 2023, in Glenview, Ill. Beside her are her two counsel, the Rev. Scott Campbell and Judge Jon Gray. A United Methodist Church court acquitted Carcaño, Friday, Sept. 22, of all charges in the first trial of one of church’s bishops in nearly a century. Carcaño, the first Latina bishop in the denomination and a prominent voice on behalf of immigrants, faced four charges of violating church law. (Paul Jeffrey/UM News via AP)

California bishop acquitted in first United Methodist court trial of its kind in nearly a century

A United Methodist Church court has acquitted a California bishop of all charges in the first trial of one of the church’s bishops in nearly a century. Bishop Minerva Carcaño faced four charges of … more

By PETER SMITH | 9/22/23

Lahaina residents brace for what they'll find as they return to devastated properties in burn zone

Lahaina residents are bracing for what they'll find when they return to the ruins of their homes after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century killed at least 97 people and destroyed … more

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER | 9/22/23

AP Week in Pictures: Global | Sept-15-21, 2023

A street dog walks in front of the presidential escort regiment during a military parade in Chile. Migrants rush to the U.S.-Mexico border and overwhelm border services. Formula One driver Sergio … more

9/21/23

FILE - A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II takes part in an aerial display during the Singapore Airshow 2022 at Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore, on Feb. 15, 2022. The crash of an F-35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft in South Carolina over the weekend has raised numerous questions about what prompted the pilot to eject after experiencing a malfunction and how the $100 million warplane was able to keep flying pilotless for 60 miles before crashing. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah, File)

911 call shows bizarre circumstances of F-35 ejection: 'Not sure where the airplane is,' pilot says

A military pilot whose advanced fighter jet went temporarily missing over the weekend is heard repeatedly requesting an ambulance in a perplexing 911 call from the South Carolina home where he had … more

By JAMES POLLARD and TARA COPP | 9/21/23

FILE - Connor Thonen-Fleck addresses reporters while his parents stand by his side, Monday March 11, 2019, in Durham, N.C., at the announcement of a lawsuit against North Carolina officials over how the state health plan is run. A federal appeals court is considering cases out of North Carolina and West Virginia that could have broad-ranging implications on whether individual states are constitutionally required to cover healthcare for transgender people with government-sponsored insurance. (AP Photo/ Jonathan Drew, FIle)

Appeals court takes up transgender health coverage case likely headed to Supreme Court

A federal appeals court is considering cases out of North Carolina and West Virginia that could have significant implications on whether individual states are required to cover health care for … more

By LEAH WILLINGHAM | 9/21/23

A sign advertising jobs for bus drivers is posted in Palatine, Ill., Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. On Thursday, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

US applications for jobless benefits fall to lowest level in nearly 8 months

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in eight months last week as the labor market continues to show strength in the face of elevated interest rates. Applications … more

By MATT OTT | 9/21/23

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, Russian peacekeepers guard a gate into a camp near Stepanakert in Nagorno-Karabakh. Thousands of Nagorno-Karabakh residents flocked to a camp operated by Russian peacekeepers to avoid the fighting, while many others gathered at the airport of the regional capital, Stepanakert, hoping to flee the region. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Talks have opened on the future of Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijan claims full control of the region

Talks have opened between representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh and the Azerbaijan government after Azerbaijan claimed full control of the breakaway region. The Azerbaijan State News agency says a … more

9/21/23

Volunteers hold country signs during team welcoming ceremony at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. The Asian Games are an attention grabber. For starters, they involve more participants than the Summer Olympics. Organizers say more than 12,000 will be entered as the opening ceremony takes place Saturday, Sept. 23 in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

The Asian Games: larger than the Olympics and with an array of regional and global sports

The Asian Games are an attention grabber. They involve more participants than the Summer Olympics. Organizers say about 12,500 competitors will be entered as the opening ceremony takes place Saturday … more

By STEPHEN WADE | 9/21/23

Darryl George, left, a 17-year-old junior, and his mother Darresha George, right, talks with reporters before walking across the street to go into Barbers Hill High School after Darryl served a 5-day in-school suspension for not cutting his hair Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, in Mont Belvieu. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Debate over a Black student's suspension over his hairstyle in Texas ramps up with probe and lawsuit

The debate over whether a Black high school student in Texas should be serving in-school suspension for wearing twisted dreadlocks to class has intensified as the student’s family and his school … more

By JUAN A. LOZANO | 9/20/23

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters after a weekly caucus meeting, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. Schumer criticized House Republicans, especially hard-right conservatives, for failing to pass appropriations bills due to GOP infighting. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate is set to confirm 3 military nominees but GOP senator still blocking hundreds of others

The Senate is poised to confirm a new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as Democrats try to maneuver around holds placed on nominations by Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville over Pentagon abortion … more

9/20/23

FILE - Caroline Ouko, mother of Irvo Otieno, holds a portrait of her son at the Dinwiddie Courthouse in Dinwiddie, Va., March 16, 2023. The family of Otieno, a man who died while handcuffed and pinned to the floor for about 11 minutes as he was being admitted to a Virginia psychiatric hospital, has reached an $8.5 million settlement, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, with the state, county and the sheriff whose deputies were involved in restraining the man. (Daniel Sangjib Min/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP, File)

Family of man who died while being admitted to psychiatric hospital agrees to $8.5M settlement

The family of a man who died while handcuffed and pinned to the floor for about 11 minutes as he was being admitted to a Virginia pscyhiatric hospital has reached an $8.5 million settlement with the … more

By SARAH RANKIN | 9/20/23

FILE - Abortion-rights activists protest outside of the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 23, 2022. The influential abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America announced Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, that it has changed its name to Reproductive Freedom for All to better reflect how people think about abortion access ever since the U.S. Supreme Court revoked the constitutional right to abortion little more than a year ago. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Abortion-rights group rebrands to Reproductive Freedom for All in post-Roe world

The influential abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America has changed its name to Reproductive Freedom for All. The group says the rebrand better reflects how people think about abortion access … more

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI | 9/20/23