National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof poses during a photo call for the film "The Immigrant" at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France on May 24, 2013. Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison and lashings just ahead of his planned trip to the Cannes film festival, his lawyer told The Associated Press on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

Award-winning director Mohammad Rasoulof sentenced to prison in Iran ahead of Cannes

The award-winning Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison and lashings ahead of his planned trip to the Cannes film festival, his lawyer tells The Associated … more

By JON GAMBRELL | 5/9/24

Hristijan Mickoski, the leader of the opposition center-right VMRO-DPMNE party celebrates after a news conference in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Citizens voted in North Macedonia on Wednesday in a parliamentary election and presidential runoff dominated by the country's slow path toward European Union membership and its sluggish economy. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Winner of North Macedonia's parliamentary election to seek governing coalition partner

The head of a center-right 22-party coalition that emerged victorious in North Macedonia’s parliamentary election has fallen just short of gaining a parliamentary majority, leaving it reliant on … more

By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES | 5/9/24

FILE - Houston Police Chief Troy Finner speaks, Feb. 18, 2024, in Houston. Houston police said Thursday, April 11, 2024, they were still reviewing if DNA testing done in connection with thousands of sexual assault and sex crime cases that were dropped over manpower issues could have led officers to potential suspects and possible arrests. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

Houston mayor says police chief is out amid probe into thousands of dropped cases

The mayor of Houston has replaced the city's police chief. Mayor John Whitmire said Wednesday he accepted the retirement of Police Chief Troy Finner and appointed an assistant as acting chief. … more

By KEN MILLER and JUAN A. LOZANO | 5/8/24

FILE - Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost speaks during an election night watch party, Nov. 8, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio's top lawyer has advised the state's public universities that a law written to deter Ku Klux Klan demonstrations could be used to impose felony charges on students who wear face coverings while protesting the war in Gaza. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)

Ohio attorney general warns student protesters in masks could face felony charges under anti-KKK law

Republican Attorney General Dave Yost has advised Ohio's public universities that a law written to deter Ku Klux Klan demonstrations could be used to impose felony charges on students who wear face … more

By JULIE CARR SMYTH | 5/8/24

Beyond Meat revenue falls in Q1 on weak demand for plant-based meat in US and abroad

Beyond Meat is reporting higher-than-expected revenue in the first quarter despite lower demand for its plant-based meats in the U.S. and abroad. The El Segundo, California-based company said … more

By DEE-ANN DURBIN | 5/8/24

Pallbearers carry the casket of Frank Tyson out of Hear The Word Ministries church following funeral services Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Canton, Ohio. Tyson, a 53-year-old Black man, died April 18 after he was handcuffed and left facedown on the floor of a social club while telling officers he couldn't breathe. (AP Photo)

The Rev. Al Sharpton calls for justice in eulogy for Ohio man who died last month in police custody

The Rev. Al Sharpton and family members of an Ohio man who died in police custody last month told mourners at his funeral that they and the community must fight to see that he gets justice. Sharpton … more

By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI | 5/8/24

FILE - Demonstrators march and gather near the Texas Capitol following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, June 24, 2022, in Austin, Texas. A Texas man is petitioning a court to use an obscure legal action to find out who helped his former partner in an alleged out-of-state abortion, setting up the latest test to the limits of statewide abortion bans. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

How a Texas man is testing out-of-state abortions by asking a court to subpoena his ex-partner

A Texas man is petitioning a court for information over his former partner's alleged out-of-state abortion, setting up a first-of-its-kind legal test to the limits of statewide abortion bans. This … more

By ACACIA CORONADO | 5/8/24

Sergeant Michael Lank, of the Canton Police Dept. during cross examination at the murder trial of Karen Read at Dedham Superior Court on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read is facing charges including second degree murder in the 2022 death of her boyfriend Boston Officer John O’Keefe. (Stuart Cahill/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)

A woman accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend was framed, her attorneys say

Defense attorneys for a woman charged with killing her Boston police officer boyfriend are ramping up efforts to show that she was framed. Attorneys for Karen Read want to show that investigators … more

By MICHAEL CASEY | 5/8/24

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, shakes hands with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic greet the crowd at the Serbia Palace in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

China and EU-candidate Serbia sign an agreement to build a 'shared future'

China and European Union candidate Serbia have signed an agreement to build a “shared future” between the two states, making the Balkan country the first in Europe to agree on such a document … more

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC and JOVANA GEC | 5/8/24

FILE - A trainer walks with a service dog through the Terminal C at Newark Liberty International Airport while taking part of a training exercise, Saturday, April 1, 2017, in Newark, N.J. All dogs coming into the U.S. from other countries must be at least 6 months old and microchipped, according to new government rules published Wednesday, May 8, 2024. The new rules were prompted by concerns about dogs coming from countries where rabies is common, and applies to dogs brought in by breeders or rescue groups as well as pets traveling with their U.S. owners. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Dogs entering US must be 6 months old and microchipped to prevent spread of rabies, new rules say

New U.S. rules require all dogs coming into the U.S. to be at least 6 months old and microchipped to help prevent the spread of rabies. The new rules published Wednesday require vaccination for dogs … more

By MIKE STOBBE | 5/8/24

This illustration provided by NASA in 2017 depicts the planet 55 Cancri e, right, orbiting its star. A thick atmosphere has been detected around the planet that’s twice as big as Earth in a solar system about 41 light years away, researchers reported Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)

A scorching, rocky planet twice Earth's size has a thick atmosphere, scientists say

A thick atmosphere has been detected around a planet that's twice as big as Earth in a nearby solar system. Researchers reported Wednesday that the rocky planet 55 Cancri e is wrapped in a blanket of … more

By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN | 5/8/24

FILE - Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch poses for a new group portrait, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Gorsuch will have a book out this summer. Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Wednesday that ”Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law” will be released Aug. 6. The book is written by Gorsuch and one of his former clerks, Janie Nitze. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch co-authors book on laws. 'Over Ruled' to be released Aug. 6

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch will have a book out this summer on a subject he has commented upon often, the volume of laws in the U.S. Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced … more

By HILLEL ITALIE | 5/8/24

FILE - Merit badges and a rainbow-colored neckerchief slider are affixed on a Boy Scout uniform outside the headquarters of Amazon in Seattle. The U.S. organization, which now welcomes girls into the program and allows them to work toward the coveted Eagle Scout rank, announced Tuesday, May 7, 2024, that it will change its name to Scouting America as it focuses on inclusion. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they're now named Scouting America

The decision by Boy Scouts of America to rebrand after 114 years and become Scouting America marks another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change. With flagging … more

By JAMIE STENGLE | 5/8/24

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump reacts at a campaign rally in Freeland, Mich., May 1, 2024. Trump remains stuck in the courtroom listening to salacious details of an affair he denies. But another spectacle is playing out as his vice presidential tryouts get underway. The dynamic was on full display over the weekend at a fundraiser at his Mar—a-Lago club that doubled as a VP audition. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Trump in no hurry as he leans into the pageantry of vice presidential tryouts

Former President Donald Trump remains stuck in the courtroom listening to salacious details of an affair he denies. But another spectacle is playing out as his vice presidential tryouts get underway. … more

By JILL COLVIN, LISA MASCARO and ANDREW DeMILLO | 5/8/24

Cruise ship worker accused of stabbing 3 people with scissors on board vessel bound for Alaska

Authorities say a cruise ship worker from South Africa has been arrested in Alaska’s capital city after he was accused of attacking a woman and two security guards with scissors on board the … more

5/7/24

Boeing's Starliner capsule atop an Atlas V rocket is seen at Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station a day after its mission to the International Space Station was scrubbed because of an issue with a pressure regulation valve, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Boeing's first astronaut launch is off until late next week to replace a bad rocket valve

Boeing's first astronaut launch is off until late next week to replace a bad valve in the rocket. The countdown was halted Monday night after a pressure-relief valve in the Atlas rocket's upper stage … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 5/7/24

FILE - Abortion-rights supporters protest on the steps of the John Minor Wisdom United States of Appeals Fifth Circuit Building after the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, in New Orleans, Friday, June 24, 2022. Democratic lawmakers in Louisiana are pushing bills to add exceptions, including in cases of rape and incest, to the state’s near-total abortion ban. A GOP-dominated House committee began its review of those measures Tuesday, April 30, 2024, but similar proposals for loosening one of the country’s strictest abortion laws effectively died there last year. (Sophia Germer/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP, File)

Louisiana lawmakers reject adding exceptions of rape and incest to abortion ban

Despite pleas from Democrats and gut-wrenching testimony from doctors and rape survivors, a GOP-controlled legislative committee rejected a bill that would have added cases of rape and incest as … more

By SARA CLINE | 5/7/24

The collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge lays on top of the container ship Dali, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Body of last missing construction worker recovered from Baltimore bridge collapse site

Officials say the body of the last missing construction worker killed in the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March has been recovered. Salvage divers located the remains of … more

By LEA SKENE | 5/7/24

FILE - Tim McCanon, center, is rescued by the Community Fire Department during severe flooding on Friday, May 3, 2024, in New Caney, Texas. In a world growing increasingly accustomed to wild weather swings, the last few days and weeks have seemingly taken those environmental extremes to a new level. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via AP, File)

From flooding in Brazil and Houston to brutal heat in Asia, extreme weather seems nearly everywhere

In a world growing increasingly accustomed to wild weather swings, the last few days and weeks have seemingly taken those environmental extremes to a new level. Some climate scientists say they are … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN, SUMAN NAISHADHAM, SIBI ARASU and FABIANO MAISONNAVE | 5/7/24

In this courtroom sketch, Stormy Daniels testifies on the witness stand as Judge Juan Merchan looks on in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in New York.. A photo of Donald Trump and Daniels from their first meeting is displayed on a monitor. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Key takeaways from Stormy Daniels' testimony in Trump hush money trial

Porn actor Stormy Daniels has taken the witness stand in the hush money case against former president Donald Trump in the biggest spectacle yet of the historic first criminal trial of a former … more

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and MICHELLE L. PRICE | 5/7/24