National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - Alderson Broaddus senior Troy Cantrell, with ball, is watched by Gannon University defenders during a men's basketball game in Erie, Pa., Nov. 29, 2019. The lives of hundreds of students were thrown into disarray after Alderson Broaddus announced Monday, July 31, 2023, that it plans to cease operations. (Greg Wohlford/Erie Times-News via AP, File)

Students' lives thrown into disarray after West Virginia college announces plans to close

The lives of hundreds of students at a small university in West Virginia have been turned upside down after the school announced just before the start of fall classes that it plans to cease … more

By JOHN RABY | 8/2/23

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston discusses a lawsuit that seeks to strike down a Georgia law restricting prosecutors on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023 in Decatur, Ga. Boston and three other Georgia district attorneys filed the suit, saying the law unconstitutionally intrudes on their authority to make decisions about who to prosecute. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Georgia prosecutors are suing to strike down a new state law that undermines their authority

Four district attorneys in Georgia are asking a judge to strike down a law creating a commission to discipline and remove prosecutors, arguing it violates the U.S. and Georgia constitutions. The … more

By JEFF AMY | 8/2/23

In this 2023 artist illustration by Alberto Gennari, Perucetus colossus is reconstructed in its coastal habitat, with an estimated body length: ~20 meters. A new species of ancient whale might be the heaviest animal ever found. Researchers describe the new species named Perucetus colossus, or “the colossal whale from Peru," in the journal Nature on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. (Alberto Gennari/Nature via AP)

The heaviest animal ever may be this ancient whale found in the Peruvian desert

A new species of ancient whale might be the heaviest animal ever found. Scientists reported Wednesday that the creature could challenge the blue whale’s title as the heaviest animal to live on … more

By MADDIE BURAKOFF | 8/2/23

This image provided by the Florida Department of Corrections shows James Phillip Barnes. The Florida man is set to be executed Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 after dropping all appeals in the 1988 slaying of a woman who was sexually assaulted and beaten to death with a hammer, her body set ablaze in her own bed. James Phillip Barnes is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Thursday at Florida State Prison in Starke. (Florida Department of Corrections via AP)

Florida set to execute inmate James Phillip Barnes in nurse's 1988 hammer killing

Florida is preparing to execute a man convicted of strangling his wife and brutally murdering another woman years earlier. The execution of 61-year-old James Phillip Barnes is expected to proceed on … more

By CURT ANDERSON | 8/2/23

FILE - A person walks along a trail as the sun sets, Sunday, July 16, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. Human-caused global warming made July hotter for four out of five people on Earth, according to a new report issued Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, by Climate Central. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Climate change made July hotter for 4 of 5 humans on Earth, scientists find

A new quick study finds that human-caused global warming made July hotter for four out of five people on Earth. And more than 2 billion people felt added warmth from climate change every single day … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 8/2/23

People stroll at embankment of the Moscow River in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, with the "Moscow City" business district in the background. The glittering towers of the Moscow City business district were once symbols of the Russian capital's economic boom in the early 2000s. Now they are a sign of its vulnerability, following a series of drone attacks that rattled some Muscovites shaken and brought the war in Ukraine home to the seat of Russian power. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)

Drone attacks in Moscow’s glittering business district leave residents on edge

The glittering towers of the Moscow City business district were once symbols of the Russian capital's economic boom in the early 2000s. Now they are a sign of its vulnerability, following a series of … more

By EMMA BURROWS | 8/2/23

The supermoon rises behind a minaret of a mosque in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. The moon appears slightly brighter and bigger than normal because it is closer than usual, just 357,530 kilometers (222,159 miles) away, thus the supermoon label. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

AP PHOTOS: The first supermoon in August rises around the world

The first of two supermoons in August graced the skies on Tuesday. A supermoon is broadly defined as a full moon that is closer to the Earth than normal. That makes it appear slightly brighter … more

By The Associated Press | 8/1/23

CORRECTS SPELLING TO BEIMDIEK NOT BEIMBIEK FILE - Johnny Johnson, left, listens as his attorney Bevy Beimdiek speaks during his sentencing hearing in St. Louis County Court in Clayton, Mo., March 7, 2005. Johnson who abducted and beat to death a 6-year-old girl was scheduled to be executed on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Missouri, as his attorneys pressed claims that he is mentally incompetent. (Gabriel B. Tait/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File)

Missouri man executed for 2002 abduction, killing of 6-year-old girl lured to abandoned factory

A Missouri man who abducted and beat a 6-year-old girl to death at an abandoned factory two decades ago has been executed. Authorities say 45-year-old Johnny Johnson received a lethal injection … more

By DAVID A. LIEB | 8/1/23

Rex A. Heuermann, the architect accused of murdering at least three women near Long Island’s Gilgo Beach, appears before Judge Timothy P. Mazzei in Suffolk County Court on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Riverhead, N.Y. (James Carbone/Newsday via AP, Pool)

Prosecutors in Gilgo Beach killings are giving Rex Heuermann's defense a vast trove of evidence

Weeks after charging Long Island architect Rex Heuermann in a string of killings known as the Gilgo Beach murders, prosecutors say they’ve begun providing his lawyer with reams of evidence. That … more

By MICHAEL R. SISAK | 8/1/23

Ethan Crumbley listens to testimony from Dr. Colin King during his hearing at Oakland County Circuit Court, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Pontiac, Mich. A Michigan judge is expected to hear the third and final day of testimony Tuesday at a unique sentencing hearing for the Oxford High School shooter. (Clarence Tabb Jr./Detroit News via AP, Pool)

Oxford school shooter was 'feral child' abandoned by parents, defense psychologist says

A psychologist is testifying in a Michigan court where a judge must decide whether the Oxford school shooter gets life in prison. Colin King says Ethan Crumbley was like a “feral child,” raised … more

By ED WHITE | 8/1/23

U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan argues before a federal jury that 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue attack defendant Robert Bowers should receive the death penalty, Monday July 31, 2023. Bowers, wearing green, was previously found guilty of killing 11 people in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. (Dave Klug via AP)

Jury weighs death penalty or life in prison for Pittsburgh synagogue shooter

A jury has ended deliberations for the day without reaching a decision on whether the man who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue should be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole. … more

8/1/23

FILE - This image taken from police body cam video shows a police dog attacking Jadarrius Rose, 23, of Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday, July 4, 2023, in Circleville, Ohio. An Ohio police department has fired an officer who released his police dog on a surrendering truck driver even after state troopers told him to hold the dog back. A statement issued Wednesday, July 26, 2023, by Circleville police said Ryan Speakman “did not meet the standards and expectations we hold for our police officers” and that he has been “terminated from the department, effective immediately.” (Ohio State Highway Patrol via AP, File).

Ohio police chief says K-9 handler was deceptive during probe of dog attack on surrendering trucker

Documents surrounding the firing of an Ohio police officer who released his police dog on a surrendering truck driver show he was disciplined days before his termination for his behavior afterward. … more

By PATRICK ORSAGOS | 8/1/23

US players wait for a corner kick during the Women's World Cup Group E soccer match between Portugal and the United States at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Cornaga)

The US lacks that 2019 magic at this Women's World Cup

The United States is clearly not the dominant team that won the 2019 Women’s World Cup. The Americans have advanced to the knockout stage at this edition, but just barely after a 0-0 draw with … more

By ANNE M. PETERSON | 8/1/23

FILE - The awnings of a store advertise the sale of lottery tickets, including Mega Millions, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in New York. The Mega Millions prize has grown to an estimated $1.05 billion for the Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, drawing. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

$1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot drawing offers shot at 6th largest prize ever

An estimated $1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot will be up for grabs, giving lottery players a chance to snap an unlucky streak that has stretched on for months. No one has won the Mega Millions … more

By The Associated Press | 8/1/23

Metal fans walk on the muddy festival grounds ahead of the beginning of the Wacken Open-Air (WOA) Festival, in Wacken, Germany, Tuesday Aug. 1, 2023. WOA Festival takes place from August 2 to August 5, and is considered the largest heavy metal festival in the world. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

Organizers of heavy metal festival in Germany ask visitors to leave cars at home due to bad weather

The organizers of the famous heavy metal music festival of Wacken in northern Germany have issued a travel ban for visitors with vehicles due to the muddy terrain of the festival grounds. They said … more

8/1/23

In this image taken from video, shoppers load purchased items into their vehicle Monday, July 31, 2023, at a Walmart in Lincolnton, N.C., where police say migrant workers were intentionally hit by an SUV in the parking lot of the store a day earlier. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

Driver who hit 6 migrant workers in North Carolina Walmart parking lot turns himself in to police

A North Carolina man who drove his car into a group of migrant workers in a Walmart parking lot has turned himself in to police. The Lincolnton Police Department arrested 68-year-old Daniel Gonzalez … more

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM | 8/1/23

Springfield man pleads guilty to $14 million fraud scheme

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Missouri business owner has pled guilty in federal court to his role in a nearly $14 million wire fraud conspiracy that utilized his businesses, as well as … more

Staff Reports / news@morningsun.net | 8/1/23

FILE - A neighborhood of single-family homes is shown Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015, in Honolulu. Two-thirds of the single family homes on Hawaii's most populous island have no hurricane protections. This year's return of El Nino is highlighting this weakness because it boosts the odds that more tropical cyclones will travel through Hawaii's waters this summer and fall. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy, File)

Hawaii could see a big hurricane season, but most homes aren't ready

Two-thirds of the single-family homes on Hawaii's most populous island have no hurricane protections. This year’s return of El Nino is highlighting this weakness because it boosts the odds that … more

By AUDREY McAVOY | 8/1/23

A man smokes as he walks through a village damaged by floodwaters in the Mentougou District as continuous rainfall triggers alerts in Beijing, Monday, July 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

11 dead and 27 missing in flooding around Beijing after days of rain, Chinese state media report

Chinese state media report 11 people have died and 27 are missing as rains flood the capital, Beijing, and the mountains surrounding it. Days of heavy rains have prompted authorities to close train … more

8/1/23

FILE - MSNBC television anchor Rachel Maddow, host of the Rachel Maddow Show, moderates a panel, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, at a forum called "Perspectives on National Security," at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, on the campus of Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass. Maddow’s next book will be an exploration into right-wing extremism in the U.S., including a plot to overthrow the government at the start of World War II. Crown, an imprint of Penguin Random House, announced Monday, July 31, 2023, that Maddow’s “Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism” will be published Oct. 17. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

In her next book 'Prequel,' Rachel Maddow will explore a WWII-era plot to overthrow US government

Rachel Maddow’s next book will be an exploration into right-wing extremism in the U.S., including a plot to overthrow the government at the start of World War II. Crown, an imprint of Penguin … more

7/31/23