National News - The Morning Sun

Smoke blows across the slope of Haleakala volcano on Maui, Hawaii, as a fire burns in Maui's upcountry region on Tuesday, Aug. 8. 2023. Several Hawaii communities were forced to evacuate from wildfires that destroyed at least two homes as of Tuesday as a dry season mixed with strong wind gusts made for dangerous fire conditions. (Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP)

What's driving Maui's devastating fires, and how climate change is fueling those conditions

A dangerous mix of conditions appear to have combined to make the wildfires blazing a path of destruction in Hawaii particularly damaging, including high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation. … more

By CLAIRE RUSH | 8/9/23

President Joe Biden stands in front of the flag of New Mexico as he speaks at the Arcosa Wind Towers, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Belen, N.M. Biden is making the case that his policies of financial and tax incentives have revived U.S. manufacturing. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Biden wants to compensate New Mexico residents sickened by radiation during 1945 nuclear testing

President Joe Biden says he’s open to granting assistance for people sickened by exposure to radiation during nuclear weapons testing, including in New Mexico, where the world’s first atomic bomb … more

8/9/23

Journalists seek regulations to govern fast-moving artificial intelligence technology

News organizations are seeking regulations to govern the fast-moving artificial intelligence technology that threatens upheavals for their businesses. Several sent an open letter on Wednesday calling … more

8/9/23

FILE - Brittany Tichenor-Cox holds a photo of her daughter, Isabella "Izzy" Tichenor, during an interview on Nov. 29, 2021, in Draper, Utah. The family of the Black fifth grader, Izzy, who died by suicide after being bullied by her classmates, will be paid $2 million by the Davis School District in a settlement announced on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

A Utah district will pay $2 million to the family of a bullied Black girl who died by suicide

A school district in Utah will pay $2 million to the family of a Black, autistic 10-year-old girl who killed herself after being harassed by her classmates. The settlement resolves the family's … more

By SAM METZ | 8/9/23

Attorney Roderick Edmond, from left, joined by Treveon Isaiah Taylor, Sr., Jessica Ross and attorney Cory Lynch, speaks during a news conference, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Atlanta, announcing a lawsuit against a doctor and Southern Regional Medical Center, a hospital south of Atlanta where Ross went on July 9 to have her son. A doctor used too much force and decapitated Ross's baby during delivery according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday, the attorneys said. (AP Photo/Sudhin Thanawala)

A lawsuit accuses a Georgia doctor of decapitating a baby during delivery

A lawsuit accuses a Georgia doctor of using too much force and decapitating a woman’s baby after it became stuck during delivery. Attorneys for the baby's mother and father said at a news … more

By SUDHIN THANAWALA | 8/9/23

FILE - In this long exposure photo, a streak appears in the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower at the Guadarrama mountains, near Madrid, in the early hours of Aug. 12, 2016. The best viewing for the annual shower visible around the world will be from Saturday night, Aug. 12, 2023, local time, into early Sunday morning, when viewers might be able to spot a meteor per minute. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)

The Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend and it's even better this year

The annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak this weekend. The best viewing will be from Saturday night into early Sunday morning, when viewers might be able to spot a meteor per minute. And the … more

By MADDIE BURAKOFF | 8/9/23

Volunteer Daniel Hyduke of Miami Beach, Fla., clips a fragment of coral to be transplanted from the coral nursery to the reef, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, off of Key Biscayne, Fla. Scientists from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science established a new restoration research site there to identify and better understand the heat tolerance of certain coral species and genotypes during bleaching events. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

High ocean temperatures are harming the Florida coral reef. Rescue crews are racing to help

In a race against time, multiple organizations are working to save the reef that runs along the Florida Keys during a heat wave that has already led to historic coral bleaching. After receiving … more

BY DANIEL KOZIN, WILFREDO LEE and FREIDA FRISARO | 8/9/23

FILE - A man pours cold water onto his head to cool off on a sweltering hot day in the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut, Lebanon, July 16, 2023. European climate monitoring organization made it official: July 2023 was Earth's hottest month on record by a wide margin. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

European scientists make it official. July was the hottest month on record by far

Now that July’s sizzling numbers are all in, the European climate monitoring organization made it official: July 2023 was Earth’s hottest month on record by a wide margin. July’s global average … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 8/9/23

Hip-hop and justice: Culture carries the spirit of protest, 50 years and counting

Hip-hop has been an integral part of social and racial justice movements. It’s also been scrutinized by law enforcement and political groups because of their belief that hip-hop and its artists … more

By AARON MORRISON | 8/9/23

Tulsa man pleads guilty to threatening violence at Tulsa VA

TULSA, Okla. – A Tulsa man who threatened to “murder people” at the Ernest Childers Outpatient Clinic (VA) in Tulsa pleaded guilty today in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney … more

Staff Reports / news@morningsun.net | 8/9/23

FILE - A hiker walks past the Hole-in-the-Rock at Papago Park during sunrise July 17, 2023, in Phoenix. Scientists say by far the biggest cause of the recent extreme warming is human-caused climate change and a natural El Nino. But some say there’s got to be something more. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Scientists look beyond climate change and El Nino for other factors that heat up Earth

Scientists are wondering if global warming and El Nino have an accomplice in fueling this summer’s record-shattering heat. The European climate agency Copernicus reported that July was one-third of … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 8/9/23

People pause on a bridge over the swollen Mendenhall River in Juneau, Alaska, on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023, for a closer look or photos after a glacial dam burst earlier in the weekend caused flooding along the river and Mendenhall Lake. The city said at least two buildings were destroyed. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

After a glacial dam outburst destroyed homes in Alaska, a look at the risks of melting ice masses

Residents in Alaska’s capital city have lived with periodic glacial dam outbursts for more than a decade. But the latest flood, which destroyed at least two homes over the weekend, was surprising … more

By BECKY BOHRER | 8/8/23

Artemis II crew members, from left, Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch, stand together at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in front of an Orion crew module on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. The U.S.-Canadian crew inspected the capsule during a visit late Monday and Tuesday. NASA plans to send the four around the moon and back late next year. (Kim Shiflett/NASA via AP)

Astronauts get first look at the spacecraft that will fly them around the moon

The four astronauts assigned to fly around the moon next year have gotten their first look at their spacecraft. They inspected their Orion capsule during a visit to Florida's Kennedy Space Center … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 8/8/23

A hiker pauses during her hike early Monday, July 10, 2023, in Phoenix. National Weather Service says Phoenix has had 10 consecutive days of 110 degrees or above. (AP Photo/Matt York)

How extreme heat takes a toll on the mind and body, according to experts

The Southwestern U.S. is bracing for another week of blistering temperatures. Forecasters with the National Weather Service in Phoenix have extended the excessive heat warning for the metro Phoenix … more

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN | 8/8/23

FILE - This photo provided by North Slope Borough Search and Rescue shows an aerial view of a shallow lake where a helicopter crashed on Alaska's North Slope near Utqiagvik, Alaska, on July 20, 2023. A helicopter that crashed on Alaska’s remote and vast North Slope in July, killing three state scientists and the pilot, stopped sending flight-status data to a real-time tracking system as it passed over the southeastern shoreline of an Arctic lake, according to a preliminary report on the crash released Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (North Slope Borough Search and Rescue via AP, File)

Federal report sheds new light on Alaska helicopter crash that killed 3 scientists, pilot

A helicopter that crashed on Alaska’s North Slope in July, killing three state scientists and the pilot, stopped sending flight-status data to a real-time tracking system as it passed over the … more

By MARK THIESSEN | 8/8/23

This image released by Netflix shows Alia Bhatt in a scene from "Heart of Stone." (Netflix via AP)

Bollywood superstar Alia Bhatt makes her Hollywood debut in Netflix's ‘Heart of Stone’

Alia Bhatt had been weighing her Hollywood options for a few years. A popular star of Hindi films for over a decade with nearly 79 million Instagram followers, she’d been interested in making an … more

By LINDSEY BAHR | 8/8/23

A sign announcing a face mask requirement is displayed at a hospital in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. COVID-19 hospital admissions are inching upward in the United States since early July 2023. It's a small-scale echo of the three previous summers. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

COVID-19 hospitalizations in the US are on the rise again, but not like before

COVID-19 hospital admissions are inching upward in the United States since early July. It's a small-scale echo of the three previous summers. Just over 9,000 people were admitted to the hospital in … more

By CARLA K. JOHNSON | 8/8/23

Iris Sidikman, harm reduction coordinator at the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia, poses for a portrait beside a syringe disposal box in the clinic parking lot on Thursday, August 4, 2023, in Charleston, W.Va. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)

West Virginia's capital officials reject abortion provider's proposal to start syringe service

City councilors in West Virginia’s capital city have voted against a proposal from the state’s long-time abortion provider to start a syringe service program in one of the country’s most … more

By LEAH WILLINGHAM | 8/8/23

An AEK Athens team flag is at half staff outside OPAP Arena as an ambulance drives past, following overnight clashes between rival supporters in Nea Philadelphia suburb, in Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. European governing soccer body UEFA says it has postponed a Champions League qualifying game between AEK Athens and Croatia's Dinamo Zagreb scheduled for Tuesday because of the violence. Eight fans were injured while Greek police said Tuesday they had made 88 arrests, mostly of Croatian supporters. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Fan dies in Greece after clashes between rival supporters. UEFA postpones Champions League qualifier

A 29-year-old Greek fan has died after overnight clashes between rival supporters in Athens. European governing soccer body UEFA says it has postponed a Champions League qualifying game scheduled for … more

By DEREK GATOPOULOS | 8/8/23

FILE - Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass waits to speak during a news conference in Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 2023. Thousands of Los Angeles city employees, including sanitation workers, engineers and traffic officers, walked off the job for a 24-hour strike alleging unfair labor practices. The union said its members voted to authorize the walkout because the city has failed to bargain in good faith and also engaged in labor practices that restricted employee and union rights. Bass disputed the allegations of unfair labor practices. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Thousands of Los Angeles city workers walk off job for 24 hours alleging unfair labor practices

Thousands of Los Angeles city employees, including sanitation workers, engineers and traffic officers, walked off the job for a 24-hour strike alleging unfair labor practices. Picket lines went up … more

8/8/23