National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - David Meredith, middle, hugs fellow observers after an approval vote at the United Methodist Church General Conference Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. When the United Methodist Church removed anti-LGBTQ language from its official rules in recent days, it marked the end of a half-century of debates over LGBTQ inclusion in mainline Protestant denominations. The moves sparked joy from progressive delegates, but the UMC faces many of the same challenges as Lutheran, Presbyterian and Episcopal denominations that took similar routes, from schisms to friction with international churches to the long-term aging and shrinking of their memberships. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)

Methodists end anti-gay bans, closing 50 years of battles over sexuality for mainline Protestants

When the United Methodist Church removed anti-gay language from its official rules last week, it marked the end of a half-century of debates over LGBTQ inclusion in America's mainline Protestant … more

By PETER SMITH | 5/5/24

FILE - College students from various nearby schools march down Commonwealth Avenue in Boston on Oct. 16, 1965 to attend rally on Boston Common protesting U.S. involvement in Vietnam. They’re hallmarks of American history: protests, rallies, sit-ins, marches, disruptions. They date from the early days of what would become the United States to the sights and sounds currently echoing across the landscapes of the nation’s colleges and universities. (AP Photo/Frank C. Curtin, File)

The American paradox of protest: Celebrated and condemned, welcomed and muzzled

They’re hallmarks of American history: protests, rallies, sit-ins, marches, disruptions. They date from the early days of what would become the United States to the sights and sounds currently … more

By DEEPTI HAJELA | 5/5/24

FILE - Co-pilots Dick Rutan, right, and Jeana Yeager, no relationship to test pilot Chuck Yeager, pose for a photo after a test flight over the Mojave Desert, Dec. 19, 1985. Rutan, a decorated Vietnam War pilot, who along with copilot Yeager completed one of the greatest milestones in aviation history: the first round-the-world flight with no stops or refueling, died late Friday, May 3, 2024. He was 85. (AP Photo/Doug Pizac, File)

Dick Rutan, co-pilot of historic round-the-world flight, dies at 85

Dick Rutan, along with copilot Jeana Yeager, completed one of the greatest milestones in aviation history: the first round-the-world flight with no stops or refueling. A decorated Vietnam War pilot, … more

By NICK PERRY | 5/4/24

Plaintiff's attorney Rus Rilee speaks to media after a $38 million ruling was awarded to David Meehan in the youth center abuse trial at Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood, N.H., Friday, May 3, 2024. The jury found the state liable for abuse at its youth detention center and awarded the sum to Meehan, a former resident who says he was beaten and raped as a teen. (David Lane/Pool Photo via AP)

Jury foreperson in New Hampshire youth center abuse trial 'devastated' that award could be slashed

Attorneys for a New Hampshire man who prevailed in a landmark lawsuit over abuse at a state-run youth detention center are asking for a hearing after the jury foreperson expressed dismay that the $38 … more

By HOLLY RAMER | 5/4/24

Law enforcement personnel respond to a report of a person armed with a rifle at Mount Horeb Middle School in Mount Horeb, Wis., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. The school district said a person it described as an active shooter was outside a middle school in Mount Horeb on Wednesday but the threat was “neutralized” and no one inside the building was injured. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

Investigators say student killed by police outside Wisconsin school had pointed pellet rifle

Authorities say a student who was killed by police outside a Wisconsin school pointed a pellet rifle at officers and had refused to drop the weapon. The Wisconsin Department of Justice released very … more

5/4/24

Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate during the University of Michigan's Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday, May 4, 2024.( Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP)

Small anti-war protest ruffles University of Michigan graduation ceremony

Protesters chanted anti-war messages and waved Palestinian flags during the University of Michigan’s commencement, as student demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war collided with the annual … more

By PHILIP MARCELO | 5/4/24

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy inspects the fortification lines in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list

Russian state media say Moscow has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, citing the interior ministry's database. The commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Gen. Oleksandr … more

The Associated Press | 5/4/24

This photo provided by Transportation Security Administration shows a bag detected by TSA agents that contained snakes hidden in a passenger’s pants at a checkpoint at the Miami International Airport on Friday, April 26, 2024. TSA said the snakes were turned over to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. (Transportation Security Administration via AP)

Snakes almost on a plane: TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants

Airport security officers in Miami found a slithering surprise last week. It was a bag of snakes hidden in a passenger’s pants. According to an X post by the Transportation Security … more

5/4/24

Parking attendant Andy Tinto uses laundry clips to put a blue towel over his cap to protect himself from the sun in Manila, Philippines on Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

AP PHOTOS: South and Southeast Asian countries cope with a weekslong heat wave

South and Southeast Asian countries have been coping with a weekslong heat wave rendering record high temperatures that have posed a severe health risk. Umbrellas to shield against blazing … more

By The Associated Press | 5/4/24

Minnesota Twins players celebrate after the Twins defeated the Chicago White Sox 10-5 in a baseball game in Chicago, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

The Twins and their lucky home run sausage are home safely with the winning streak still intact

The Minnesota Twins are no stranger to unique home-run celebrations. They introduced a fishing vest and toy fishing pole to the dugout last season. This year, a summer sausage has become the object … more

By DAVE CAMPBELL | 5/3/24

USAID Administrator Samantha Power talks with Mana operations director Harry Broughton during a tour of its factory in Fitzgerald, Ga., that produces emergency nutritional aid for starving children, on Friday, May 3, 2024. Power announced USAID is investing $200 million to increase nutritional aid for starving children in Gaza, Sudan and other places where conflict has increased needs. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

A new sea route for Gaza aid is on track, USAID says. Treating starving children is a priority

The U.S. expects to have arrangements in Gaza ready for humanitarian workers to start delivering aid this month through a new sea route. It’s timed to when the U.S. military expects to finish … more

By RUSS BYNUM and ELLEN KNICKMEYER | 5/3/24

The Rev. David Meredith, left, and the Rev. Austin Adkinson sing during a gathering of those in the LGBTQ community and their allies outside the Charlotte Convention Center, in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, May 2, 2024. They were celebrating after the General Conference of the United Methodist Church voted to remove the denomination's 52-year-old social teaching that deemed homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching." (AP Photo/Peter Smith)

United Methodist delegates repeal their church’s ban on its clergy celebrating same-sex marriages

United Methodist delegates have repealed their church’s longstanding ban on the celebrations of same-sex marriages or unions by its clergy. The action marked the final major repeal of a … more

By PETER SMITH | 5/3/24

Officials at Pier 39 in San Francisco have counted more than 1,000 sea lions lounging on barges in Fisherman's Wharf. Biologists say a spike in anchovies has attracted the record number, as they pass through the area to refuel before heading south for mating season. (AP Video: Haven Daley)

An anchovy feast draws a crush of sea lions to one of San Francisco's piers, the most in 15 years

San Francisco’s famed Fisherman’s Wharf district is seeing a surge in sea lions. First appearing at Pier 39 after the 1989 earthquake, the sea lions have become a well known tourist attraction. … more

By HAVEN DALEY | 5/3/24

Rabbi Levi Cunin, with Chabad on Campus, speaks during a pro-Israel rally at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Jewish students grapple with how to respond to pro-Palestinian campus protests

As pro-Palestinian student protests dominated college campuses across the country in recent weeks, Jewish students had fervent debates over how to respond. Like many Americans, Jewish students’ … more

By JESSE BEDAYN | 5/3/24

Riot police use a water cannon during an opposition protest against "the Russian law" near the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Clashes erupted between police and opposition demonstrators protesting a new bill intended to track foreign influence that the opposition denounced as Russia-inspired. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Why did bill to stem ‘foreign influence’ trigger protests in Georgia over country's media freedom?

Georgia has been engulfed by huge protests triggered by a proposed law that critics see as a threat to media freedom and the country’s aspirations to join the European Union. The bill would require … more

5/3/24

Police advance on pro-Palestinian demonstrators after defying orders to leave at an encampment on the UCLA campus, in Los Angeles, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

AP Week in Pictures: Global

April 26 - May 2, 2024 Tent encampments of protesters calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza have spread to multiple U.S. … more

By The Associated Press | 5/3/24

FILE - This file photo shows a portrait of Bolshevik revolutionary Leon Trotsky, founder of the Red Army, taken on Aug. 9, 1940, shortly before he was fatally attacked, Aug. 20, 1940, at his home in Mexico City. Once seen as the most likely successor to Vladimir Lenin as the leader of the Soviet Union, Trotsky lost a power struggle with Josef Stalin and fled abroad. A Soviet agent attacked Trotsky in 1940 with an ice axe, mortally wounding him. (AP Photo/File)

For decades, Moscow has sought to silence its critics abroad

From its earliest days, the Soviet Union’s intelligence services — whether known as the Cheka or the names of any of its successor agencies like the KGB — kept the government in power by … more

By EMMA BURROWS | 5/3/24

FILE – Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko, a former operative for the KGB and FSB, is seen at his home in London, on Friday, May 10, 2002. Litvinenko was viewed as a traitor by the Kremlin after fleeing to Britain in 2000. He died after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium-210 at a hotel in London. On his deathbed, Litvinenko claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin directly ordered his assassination. A British inquiry later found that Russian agents had killed Litvinenko, probably with Putin's approval. (AP Photo/Alistair Fuller, File)

Kremlin critics say Russia is targeting its foes abroad with killings, poisonings and harassment

Since President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, attacks and harassment of Russians abroad have been blamed on Moscow’s intelligence operatives across Europe and elsewhere. Despite … more

By EMMA BURROWS | 5/3/24

Thirteen people have died, and 21 are missing, according to Brazil's Civil Defense, after heavy rains hit south of the country since Monday. Rio Grande do Sul state Governor Eduardo Leite said Thursday the death toll was expected to rise in the state due to the difficult access to the landslide sites.

Death toll from heavy rains in southern Brazil jumps to 29, with 60 more still mising

The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state has jumped to 29, with another 60 people missing, according to the state’s civil defense agency. Brazil’s President … more

Associated Press | 5/2/24

FILE - This artist sketch depicts Salah Al-Ejaili, foreground right with glasses, a former Al-Jazeera journalist, before the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., April 16, 2024. Al-Ejaili, a former detainee at the infamous Abu Ghraib Prison, described to jurors the type of abuse that is reminiscent of the scandal that erupted there 20 years ago: beatings, being stripped naked and threatened with dogs, stress positions meant to induce exhaustion and pain. A judge declared a mistrial Thursday, May 2, after a jury said it was deadlocked and could not reach a verdict in the trial of a military contractor accused of contributing to the abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq two decades ago. (Dana Verkouteren via AP, File)

Judge declares mistrial after jury deadlocks in lawsuit filed by former Abu Ghraib prisoners

A judge declared a mistrial after a jury said it was deadlocked and couldn't reach a verdict in the trial of a military contractor accused of contributing to the abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib … more

By MATTHEW BARAKAT | 5/2/24