National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - Archbishop Timothy Broglio conducts an Easter Sunday Mass in an empty sanctuary at Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, Sunday, April 12, 2020. For the October 2023 synod at the Vatican, the U.S. delegation consists of members widely viewed as ideological rivals. There are six clerics appointed by Pope Francis who support his aspirations for a more inclusive, welcoming church. And there are five clerics chosen by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, including its president, Broglio, who reflect a more conservative outlook. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Ideological rifts among U.S. bishops are in the spotlight ahead of momentous Vatican meeting

Early next month, the Vatican will open an unprecedented gathering of Catholic clergy and laypeople from around the world. The synod is intended to be a collegial, collaborative event. But the agenda … more

By DAVID CRARY | 9/24/23

FILE - From left, Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak and Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti meet together in Brussels, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. Kosovo’s Prime Minister on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, accused the European Union special envoy in the normalization talks with Serbia of not being “neutral and correct” and “coordinating” with Belgrade against Pristina. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)

1 Kosovo police officer killed and 1 wounded in an attack in the north, raising tensions with Serbia

Kosovo’s prime minister says one police officer has been killed and another wounded in an attack he blames on support from neighboring Serbia. The attack raises tensions between the two former war … more

By ZENEL ZHINIPOTOKU and LLAZAR SEMINI | 9/24/23

Busts of Neanderthal and hominins line a table at the studio of paleoartist John Gurche in Trumansburg, N.Y., Wednesday, May 31, 2023. Along with more fossils and artifacts, DNA findings are pointing us to a challenging idea: We're not so special. For most of human history we shared the planet with other kinds of early humans — and those now-extinct groups were a lot like us. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)

Science paints a new picture of the ancient past, when we mixed and mated with other kinds of humans

The science of human evolution has made big leaps in recent years, and it’s painting a new picture of our origins. We’re closer than ever to our extinct cousins like the Neanderthals, thanks to … more

By MADDIE BURAKOFF and LAURA UNGAR | 9/24/23

FILE - Migrants sit in a queue outside of The Roosevelt Hotel that is being used by the city as temporary housing, Monday, July 31, 2023, in New York. Beleaguered by a continuing influx of asylum seekers, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is further tightening shelter rules by limiting adult migrants to just 30 days — to help ease pressures on the city's already struggling shelter system and perhaps dissuade more migrants from coming.(AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

As foreign minister speaks at UN blocks away, Venezuelan asylum-seekers strain New York City

As asylum-seekers stream in to New York City, officials have scrambled to open new emergency shelters. They've turned to tent facilities, school gyms and parks to comply with a state law requiring … more

By DAVID BILLER and REGINA GARCIA CANO | 9/23/23

Pope Francis leaves at the end of a press conference on his flight back from Marseille to Rome, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. Francis just ended a two-day visit to Marseille where he joined Catholic bishops from the Mediterranean region on discussions largely focused on migration. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, Pool)

Pope blames weapons industry for Russia-Ukraine war and 'martyrdom' of Ukrainian people

Pope Francis is labeling the weapons industry as being a key driver of the “martyrdom” of Ukraine’s people in Russia’s war. And he says even the withholding now of weapons is going to … more

By NICOLE WINFIELD | 9/23/23

Models wear creations as part of the Ferragamo women's Spring Summer 2024 collection presented in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

In Milan, Ferragamo's Maximilian Davis woos the red carpet with hard-soft mix and fetish detailing

Every look in Ferragamo creative director Maximilian Davis’ latest collection, shown on the fourth day of Milan Fashion Week, offered a little mystery to unravel, some detail to marvel. At just 26, … more

By COLLEEN BARRY | 9/23/23

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