National News - The Morning Sun

This illustration provided by researchers in June 2023 depicts gravitational waves stretching and squeezing space-time in the universe. On Wednesday, June 28, 2023, researchers reported signals from what they call low-frequency gravitational waves — changes in the fabric of the universe that are created by huge objects moving around and colliding in space. It took decades of work by scientists across the globe to track down the evidence for these super-slow wobbles. (Aurore Simonnet/NANOGrav Collaboration)

Scientists have finally 'heard' the chorus of gravitational waves that ripple through the universe

Scientists have observed for the first time the faint ripples caused by the motion of black holes that are gently stretching and squeezing everything in the universe. They reported Wednesday that … more

By MADDIE BURAKOFF | 6/28/23

FILE - Caroline Ouko, mother of Irvo Otieno, holds a portrait of her son at the Dinwiddie Courthouse in Dinwiddie, Va., March 16, 2023. In a letter dated Monday, June 26, 2023, but was released publicly on Wednesday, June 28, lawyers for the family of Otieno, a Virginia man who died of asphyxiation after he was pinned to the floor for about 11 minutes while being admitted to a psychiatric hospital, asked the U.S. Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. (Daniel Sangjib Min/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP, File)

Relatives of man who died during admission to psychiatric hospital seek federal investigation

Lawyers for the family of a Virginia man who died of asphyxiation after he was pinned to the floor for about 11 minutes while being admitted to a psychiatric hospital have asked the U.S. Department … more

By DENISE LAVOIE | 6/28/23

FILE - Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband, Eric Richins, then wrote a children's book about grieving, looks on during a bail hearing, June 12, 2023, in Park City, Utah. The estate of Kouri Richins’ late husband filed a lawsuit against her on Tuesday, June 27, seeking over $13 million in damages. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool, File)

Utah woman accused of killing husband after writing book about grief is sued for over $13 million

A lawsuit against a Utah woman who wrote a children's book about grief after her husband's death and now stands charged with his murder is seeking over $13 million in damages. The lawsuit was filed … more

By COLLEEN SLEVIN | 6/28/23

FILE - Madonna appears at the 30th annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York on May 4, 2019, in New York. Madonna has postponed her career-spanning 2023 ‘Celebration’ tour due to ‘serious bacterial infection’ and ICU stay, her manager Guy Oseary confirmed on Wednesday. The tour was set to kick-off in Vancouver on July 15. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Madonna postpones upcoming Celebration tour due to 'serious bacterial infection'

Madonna has postponed her career-spanning 2023 “Celebration” tour due to what her manager calls a “serious bacterial infection.” Manager Guy Oseary says the singer had spent several days in … more

By MARIA SHERMAN | 6/28/23

FILE - A makeshift memorial stands outside the Tree of Life Synagogue in the aftermath of a deadly shooting in Pittsburgh, Oct. 29, 2018. More than a week after convicting a gunman in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history, jurors will begin hearing arguments in federal court Monday, June 26, 2023, about whether he should receive the death penalty for killing 11 worshippers inside the Pittsburgh synagogue. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Pittsburgh synagogue killer has extensive history of mental illness, defense expert testifies

A neurologist says a gunman who massacred 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue has schizophrenia and epilepsy. Dr. Siddhartha Nadkarni testified Wednesday as a defense expert at Robert Bowers' … more

6/28/23

The Supreme Court is seen behind flowers, Tuesday, June 27, 2023, in Washington, as decisions are expected. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Charter school lost case over skirts rule for girls, but debate over charter autonomy isn't over

One of the mothers who successfully sued a North Carolina charter school over its requirement that girls wear skirts says she always knew she'd prevail. Bonnie Peltier told The Associated Press the … more

By BEN FINLEY | 6/28/23

FILE - Farmland in the Tulare Lake Basin is submerged in water in Corcoran, Calif., April 20, 2023. A warming world is transforming some major snowfalls into heavy rain over mountains instead, a new study found. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Warming causes more extreme rain, not snow, over mountains and scientists say that's a problem

A new study says climate change is turning major snowfalls into more extreme rain over mountains, somehow worsening both dangerous flooding like the type that devastated Pakistan last year and … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 6/28/23

A brushfire threatened dozens of homes in northern Scottsdale and prompted evacuations Tuesday night, fire officials said. More than 1,000 people were under evacuation orders. (June 28)

More than 1,000 people told to evacuate as brushfire threatens homes in Scottsdale, Arizona

A brushfire is threatening dozens of homes in northern Scottsdale, Arizona, and has prompted evacuations. Authorities say more than 1,000 people are under evacuation orders. The blaze, called the … more

6/28/23

Incarcerated graduates, who finished various educational and vocational programs in prison, wait for the start of their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Thousands of prisoners throughout the United States get their college degrees behind bars, most of them paid for by the federal Pell Grant program, which offers the neediest undergraduates tuition aid that they don’t have to repay. That program is about to expand exponentially next month, giving about 30,000 more students behind bars some $130 million in financial aid per year. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Thousands more prisoners across the US will get free college paid for by the government

Thousands of prisoners throughout the United States get their college degrees behind bars, most of them paid for by the federal Pell Grant program, which offers the neediest undergraduates tuition … more

By AARON MORRISON | 6/28/23

The sun sets over Oak Flat Campground, a sacred site for Native Americans located 70 miles east of Phoenix, on June 3, 2023, in Miami, Ariz. Oak Flat, or Chi’chil Bildagoteel, is a consecrated place used for prayer and ritual by many Native Americans in the region. Elders say the land was blessed by Usen, their Creator, and inhabited by Ga’an, the mountain spirits or angels who provide spiritual succor and guidance to seekers. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil)

Oak Flat: a tract in Arizona sacred to some Native Americans but proposed as a giant copper mine

Oak Flat, a mountainous area east of Phoenix, is an Apache sacred site where Native Americans gather to pray and perform coming-of-age ceremonies and sweat rituals. A multinational corporation has … more

By DEEPA BHARATH of The Associated Press and ALEJANDRA MOLINA of Religion News Service | 6/28/23

FILE - Poland's Iga Swiatek serves to Croatia's Jana Fett in a first round women's singles match on day two of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Tuesday, June 28, 2022. After watching her beat Karolina Muchova in three sets in the final at Roland Garros, French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said she thinks Swiatek has what it takes to thrive at the All England Club. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)

Iga Swiatek is No. 1 and owns 4 Grand Slam titles at age 22. Can she win Wimbledon, too?

Iga Swiatek is coming off her third title in the past four years on the French Open’s red clay. She also won a championship on the U.S. Open’s hard courts and reached the semifinals on that … more

By HOWARD FENDRICH | 6/28/23

The Supreme Court is seen behind flowers, Tuesday, June 27, 2023, in Washington. The Supreme Court gave a win for the democratic principle of checks and balances in affirming that state courts can weigh in on legislative decisions affecting federal elections, but justices also left an opening for future challenges. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Supreme Court rejects novel legislative theory, but leaves door open for 2024 election challenges

The U.S. Supreme Court shot down a controversial legal theory that could have changed the way elections are run across the country, but left the door open to more limited challenges that could … more

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and DAVID A. LIEB | 6/28/23

Nathan Hill cleans the gastrostomy tube on his son Brady, 14, at their home in Meridian, Idaho, June 19, 2023. Brady survived a rare brain cancer as a baby, but requires round the clock care. Each morning Nate and his wife spend about 3 hours with Brady performing his medical cares and getting him ready for the day. Families of severely disabled children across the country are worried about the future of crucial Medicaid payments they started receiving to provide care during the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Kyle Green)

Hazy future for caregiver payments expanded during pandemic worries families

Families of severely disabled children across the country are worried about the future of crucial Medicaid payments they started receiving to provide care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many state … more

By TOM MURPHY and AMANDA SEITZ | 6/28/23

FILE - The rear view on Chartres Street of the newly renovated home of the Louisiana Supreme Court located in the French Quarter of New Orleans, May 10, 2004. Louisiana’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, sidestepped a ruling on the constitutionality of legislation that gives victims of childhood sexual abuse a renewed chance to file lawsuits after the usual time limits for such suits has expired. (AP Photo/Judi Bottoni, File)

Sexual abuse victims' chance to file lawsuits in old cases remains in question after court ruling

Louisiana's Supreme Court has sidestepped a ruling on the constitutionality of legislation that gave adult victims of childhood sexual abuse a renewed chance to file lawsuits. Legislation passed in … more

By KEVIN McGILL | 6/27/23

CORRECTS FIRST NAME TO OF SHERIFF TO BRYAN, INSTEAD OF BRIAN FILE - Michael Corey Jenkins stands outside Taylor Hill Church in Braxton, Miss., March 18, 2023. The police shooting of Jenkins, who sustained critical injuries after he says a deputy put a gun in his mouth and fired, led the Justice Department to open a civil rights investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff's Office. Deputies said Jenkins was shot after he pointed a gun at them. Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said Tuesday, June 27, that an unspecified number of deputies involved in that encounter had been fired. (AP Photo/HG Biggs, File)

Deputies accused of abusing Black men are fired by Mississippi sheriff amid federal probe

Mississippi deputy sheriffs accused of beating and sexually assaulting two Black men before shooting one of them in the mouth have been fired. Michael Corey Jenkins and his friend Eddie Terrell … more

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG | 6/27/23

Doctors give mixed testimony on whether tests show brain damage in the Pittsburgh synagogue killer

Jurors considering a death sentence for Pittsburgh synagogue killer Robert Bowers heard mixed testimony from doctors about whether medical scans showed any significant brain damage — a central … more

By PETER SMITH | 6/27/23

FILE - Myrtle Felton, from left, Sharon Lavigne, Gail LeBoeuf and Rita Cooper, members of RISE St. James, conduct a live stream video on property owned by Formosa on March 11, 2020, in St. James Parish, La. The Biden administration has dropped an investigation into whether Louisiana officials put Black residents living in an industrial stretch of the state at increased cancer risk, despite finding initial evidence of racial discrimination, according to a federal court filing Tuesday, June 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

EPA retreats on Louisiana investigations that alleged Black people lived amid higher cancer risk

The Biden administration has dropped investigations into whether Louisiana officials put Black residents living in an industrial stretch of the state at increased cancer risk. They said in a court … more

By MICHAEL PHILLIS | 6/27/23

Local resident Kathleen Gibson-Dee describes her concerns about the recent Malaria infections in her area, Tuesday, June 27, 2023, in Terra Ceia, Florida. The Florida Department of Health issued a statewide mosquito-borne illness advisory on Monday, June 26, 2023, after four locally contracted cases of malaria were reported along the Gulf Coast south of Tampa. (AP Photo/Arthur Brice)

Florida ramps up mosquito control efforts due to 4 cases of locally contracted malaria

The Florida Department of Health has issued a statewide mosquito-borne illness advisory after four locally contracted cases of malaria were reported along the Gulf Coast south of Tampa. This week, a … more

By ARTHUR BRICE and FREIDA FRISARO | 6/27/23

FILE - Roberto Marquez, of Dallas, adds a flower a makeshift memorial at the site where officials found dozens of people dead in an abandoned semitrailer containing suspected migrants, June 29, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas. Federal authorities on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, announced the arrest of four Mexican nationals in connection to the 2022 human smuggling operation that killed 53 immigrants stuck in a tractor trailer in the Texas summer. Two other people had been arrested in July 2022. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

U.S. arrests 4 Mexican nationals in 2022 deaths of 53 migrants found trapped in hot tractor trailer

U.S. authorities have announced the arrests of four more people in last year’s smuggling deaths of 53 migrants, including eight children, who were left in a tractor trailer in the scorching Texas … more

6/27/23

This microscope photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a Fusarium sp. fungal organism in 1972. The U.S. CDC says the death toll has risen to six in an outbreak of fungal meningitis tied to surgical procedures in a city along the U.S.-Mexico border, and they have not been able to reach everyone who may be at risk of infection. Labs have detected fungal signals consistent with Fusarium solani species complex from the cerebrospinal fluid of patients receiving follow-up care in Mexico or the United States. (Dr. Lucille K. Georg/CDC via AP)

6 dead in a meningitis outbreak tied to Mexico clinics as officials struggle to reach more patients

U.S. health officials say the death toll from an outbreak of fungal meningitis tied to surgical procedures in a city along the U.S.-Mexico border has risen to six. More than 200 patients could be at … more

By CARLA K. JOHNSON | 6/27/23