National News - The Morning Sun

Ryan Michelle Bathe, left, and Sterling K. Brown arrive at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

March 8 - 14, 2024 Celebrities arrive at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, youths look at buggies during a “mud sale” in Pennsylvania’s Amish country and a baseball player crashes … more

By The Associated Press | 3/14/24

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., joined by fellow Republicans, speaks during a news conference ahead of the State of the Union at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Republicans are seeking unity at an idyllic West Virginia retreat. Many didn't bother to come

House Republicans are huddling in West Virginia for a strategy-planning retreat designed to unify the often-fractious conference as they head into the final months before the November election. But … more

By STEPHEN GROVES | 3/14/24

Russians head to polls in a vote set to extend Putin's rule. His foes are in jail, in exile or dead

Voters are heading to the polls in Russia for a three-day presidential election that is all but certain to extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule by six more years after he stifled dissent. The … more

By DASHA LITVINOVA | 3/14/24

FILE - Olivia Munn arrives at the Governors Awards on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, at the Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. When Munn revealed in March 2024 that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy, she urged people to ask their doctors to figure out their score on a breast cancer risk calculator, a questionnaire on the National Cancer Institute’s website that is designed for health care providers to use with patients. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

What is the breast cancer risk calculator recommended by Olivia Munn?

Olivia Munn's breast cancer diagnosis is drawing attention to a frequently used breast cancer risk calculator. The actor says her score prompted further tests and the discovery of an aggressive form … more

By CARLA K. JOHNSON | 3/14/24

Attorney for Minnesota Andrew Luger speaks at a news conference in Minneapolis on Thursday, March 14, 2024, to announce charges against an alleged straw buyer of the guns used in the killings of three first responders at a home in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville in February. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

Woman's 'illegal buying spree' armed killer of 3 Minnesota first responders, prosecutor says

Federal authorities say a woman has been charged with illegally buying guns used in the killings of three Minnesota first responders in a standoff at a home in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville. … more

By STEVE KARNOWSKI | 3/14/24

FILE - Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin speaks with reporters outside the White House, March 29, 2020, in Washington. Mnuchin says he's going to put together an investor group to buy TikTok, a day after the House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban the popular video app in the U.S. if its China-based owner doesn't sell its stake.(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says he's putting together investor group to buy TikTok

Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says he’s going to put together an investor group to buy TikTok after the House passed a bill that would ban the popular video app in the U.S. if its … more

By HALELUYA HADERO and MICHELLE CHAPMAN | 3/14/24

A couple walk past billboards which promote the upcoming presidential election with words in Russian: "Your voice is important" in a street in Luhansk, the capital of Russian-controlled Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine, on Thursday, March 14, 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday called on people in Ukraine's occupied regions to vote, telling them and Russians that participation in the elections is "manifestation of patriotic feeling," Presidential elections are scheduled in Russia for March 17. (AP Photo)

Ukrainians living under Russian occupation are coerced to vote for Putin

Ukrainians living in regions illegally annexed by Russia are being coerced to vote in the presidential election of their wartime occupier, Vladimir Putin, an exercise denounced by Ukraine as an … more

By YURAS KARMANAU and EMMA BURROWS | 3/14/24

A hiring sign is displayed at a retail store in Chicago on Monday, March 11, 2024. On Thursday, March 14, 2024, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Number of Americans filing for jobless benefits remains low as labor market continues to thrive

The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits last week inched up but largely stayed at historically low levels as the labor market continues to thrive despite elevated interest rates. The … more

By MATT OTT | 3/14/24

FILE - Employees arrange a display at a Kohl's store in Clifton, N.J., Jan. 26, 2024. On Thursday, March 14, 2024, the Commerce Department releases U.S. retail sales data for February. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Retail sales up 0.6% in February, bouncing back from decline to start the year

Shoppers picked up their spending in February after a pullback the previous month, reflecting the mixed feelings Americans have in an economy where prices are up, but jobs are plentiful. Retail sales … more

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO | 3/14/24

Please see this frame grab showing The Colorado State Capitol is covered in snow early Thrusday, March 14, 2024 in Denver. A major snowstorm has hit Colorado, closing numerous schools and government offices Thursday and shutting down sections of highways leading to the Denver area as meteorologists warned of difficult to nearly impossible travel. (KMGH via AP)

Major snowstorm hits Colorado, closing schools, government offices and highways

A major snowstorm is hitting Colorado, closing numerous schools and government offices and shutting down sections of highways leading to the Denver area. Meteorologists are warning of difficult to … more

3/14/24

Jessie Wooden, owner of the Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery, sits on a crypt, Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, in the Brownsville neighborhood of Miami. Wooden bought the cemetery after finding out that his mother, who died when he was an infant, was buried there. “All my life I didn’t know her. All I knew that mom was gone,” he says. “For me to be able to come where she’s resting at and be able to just to say a little prayer and talk to her, oh, that means so much to me.” (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

As threats to Black cemeteries persist, a movement to preserve their sacred heritage gains strength

As the national debate over Black history continues, one aspect of the legacy of race in America is undergoing something of a rebirth: Black cemeteries that were established in the era of … more

By GIOVANNA DELL'ORTO and DARREN SANDS | 3/14/24

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks while encouraging Russian citizens to participate in the upcoming presidential election scheduled for March 15-17, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russia says Ukraine has fired more missiles at a border region on the eve of election favoring Putin

Russian officials say Ukraine has fired at least eight missiles at the Belgorod border region, killing one person and wounding six. Kyiv’s forces apparently are keeping up their efforts to disrupt … more

By EMMA BURROWS | 3/14/24

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey holds a news conference at the Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Healey said she would issue pardons for tens of thousands of people convicted of misdemeanor marijuana charges going back decades in the latest example of a state ambitiously seeking to forgive low-level drug offenders. (AP Photo/Steve LeBlanc)

Massachusetts governor to pardon those convicted of misdemeanor cannabis possession

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey says she'll issue pardons for tens of thousands of people convicted of misdemeanor marijuana charges going back decades in the latest example of a state ambitiously … more

By STEVE LeBLANC | 3/13/24

FILE - A jet takes flight from Sky Harbor International Airport as the sun sets over Phoenix, July 12, 2023. Public health officials in Arizona’s most populous county on Wednesday, March 13, 2024 reported it has confirmed there were a staggering 645 heat-associated deaths last year — another consecutive annual record in arid metro Phoenix. The numbers in the preliminary report alarmed officials in America's hottest big city and county, raising concerns about how to better protect vulnerable groups such as homeless people and older adults from the blistering summer heat. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

Arizona's most populous county has confirmed 645 heat-associated deaths in metro Phoenix last year

Public health officials in Arizona’s most populous county report they confirmed a staggering 645 heat-associated deaths last year. That is another consecutive annual record in arid metro Phoenix. … more

By ANITA SNOW | 3/13/24

FILE - A photograph of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died a day after a fight in a high school bathroom, is projected during a candlelight service at Point A Gallery, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Oklahoma City. Federal officials will investigate the Oklahoma school district where Benedict died, according to a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education, Friday, March 1, 2024. (Nate Billings/The Oklahoman via AP, File)

Death of nonbinary teen Nex Benedict after fight ruled a suicide, Oklahoma medical examiner says

The death of a nonbinary student the day after a fight inside an Oklahoma high school restroom has been ruled a suicide by the state medical examiner's office. A summary autopsy report released on … more

3/13/24

FILE - In this Friday, April 27, 2018 photo, attorney Paul Alexander looks out from inside his iron lung at his home in Dallas. Alexander died Monday, March 11, 2024 at a Dallas hospital, said Daniel Spinks, a longtime friend. He said Alexander had recently been hospitalized after being diagnosed with COVID-19 but did not know the cause of death. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

Texas man who used an iron lung for decades after contracting polio as a child dies at 78

A Texas man who spent decades using an iron lung after contracting polio as a child has died at the age of 78. Paul Alexander's longtime friend Daniel Spinks says he died Monday at a Dallas hospital. … more

By JAMIE STENGLE | 3/13/24

Connecticut State Trooper Brian North testifies during his trial in Connecticut Superior Court, Friday, March 8, 2024, in Milford, Conn. North is charged with first-degree manslaughter for shooting 19-year-old Mubarak Soulemane in January 2020 in West Haven after a chase from Norwalk on Interstate 95. (Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, Pool)

Jury begins deliberating manslaughter case against Connecticut trooper who killed man in stolen car

A prosecutor has told a jury that a Connecticut state trooper’s fatal shooting of the 19-year-old man who had just crashed a stolen car following a high-speed chase was “overkill” and showed an … more

By DAVE COLLINS | 3/13/24

FILE - Former DeKalb County police officer Robert Olsen prepares to be processed after his sentencing, Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Decatur, Ga. An appeals court has overturned the convictions of Olsen, Wednesday, March 13, 2024, who shot and killed an unarmed, naked man. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Appeals court overturns convictions of former Georgia officer who fatally shot naked man

An appeals court has overturned the convictions of a former Georgia police officer who shot and killed an unarmed naked man. Robert “Chip” Olsen responded to a call of a naked man behaving … more

By KATE BRUMBACK | 3/13/24

Olivia Munn arrives at Chanel's 15th Annual Pre-Oscar Awards Dinner on Saturday, March 9, 2024, at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Olivia Munn reveals she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy

Olivia Munn has revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy, thanking her doctors and urging fans to calculate their own risk assessment. She says in an … more

By The Associated Press | 3/13/24

FILE - Immigrants stand outside a shelter in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, Dec. 19, 2023. Officials have confirmed seven cases of measles among shelter residents since Thursday, March 7, 2024, prompting a push to boost vaccinations with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

A CDC team joins the response to 7 measles cases in a Chicago shelter for migrants

Seven people living at a Chicago shelter for migrants have tested positive for measles since last week. A team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is supporting local officials' … more

By KATHLEEN FOODY | 3/13/24