National News - The Morning Sun

Former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student John Wilford testifies about encountering Nikolas Cruz at a McDonalds shortly after the school shooting. Wilford's sister Maddie was shot and severely injured in the shooting. Nikolas Cruz is in court for the penalty phase of his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, July 21, 2022. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Parkland school shooter acted casually after fleeing

A video played at the penalty trial of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz shows him walking calmly into a sandwich shop just minutes after he murdered 17 people. The video was played in the … more

By TERRY SPENCER | 7/21/22

FILE - A staff member poses for photographs with the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo's 1949 self-portrait "Diego y yo", Diego and I, at Sotheby's auction house in London, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021. The Mexican icon, whose art is as immediate and unsentimental as her own fight with adversity, will be the subject of an upcoming musical with music by Mexican composer Jaime Lozano and lyrics by the Obie Award-winning playwright Neena Beber, The Associated Press has learned, Thursday, July 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

Mexican icon Frida Kahlo to be subject of new stage musical

Painters have long been the subject of stage shows — think Mark Rothko, Seurat, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Lucian Freud. Next up is Frida Kahlo. The Associated Press has learned that the … more

By MARK KENNEDY | 7/21/22

This image provided by NASA, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev perform maintenance on the International Space Station on Thursday, July 21, 2022. Cristoforetti teamed up with Artemyev to work on the International Space Station’s newest robot arm. The 37-foot (11-meter) mechanical limb _ contributed by the European Space Agency _ rocketed into orbit with a Russian lab last July. (NASA via AP).

Italian, Russian share rare spacewalk amid Ukraine tensions

An Italian astronaut has teamed up with a Russian cosmonaut in a rare spacewalking show of unity. Thursday's spacewalk comes as tensions over Ukraine continue to ricochet 260 miles below. The … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 7/21/22

Mistrust lingers in Black communities amid 988 launch

Health officials are grappling with how people staffing the new national 988 crisis hotlines will contend with suspicion of the medical establishment in Black communities. The U.S. Justice … more

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG | 7/21/22

This 2019 photo shows a street in the village of East Glacier Park, Mont. Authorities said a man drove his pickup into a family as they walked through the tourist village on Sunday, July 17, 2022, then shot and killed an 18-month-old girl and her father before the toddler's aunt killed the assailant. (Rion Sanders/The Great Falls Tribune via AP)

Pickup driver hits family in Montana, kills 2 with shotgun

Montana authorities say a man drove his pickup truck into a family as they walked in a tourist village bordering Glacier National Park and opened fire at them with a shotgun. Two people were killed … more

By MATTHEW BROWN | 7/20/22

n this July 12, 2022, photo, Visitors walk past a makeshift memorial honoring those killed at Robb Elementary School, in Uvalde, Texas. Parents in Uvalde, Texas, are livid about the security lapses that contributed to the school shooting this spring. They're terrified to send their kids back to school. Yet further securing schools -- such as through additional lockdown drills -- is controversial. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, FILE)

Outcry after Uvalde focuses on school failures, solutions

The mass shooting that left 21 people dead inside Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, has parents there and across the nation demanding safer schools. A report found glaring errors at Uvalde, … more

By CAROLYN THOMPSON, ANNIE MA and JAKE BLEIBERG | 7/20/22

In this image taken from police bodycam video on July 11, 2022 and provided by the Lafayette, Ind., Police Department, Nick Bostic, 25, of Lafayette rescues a 6-year-old girl from a house fire in Lafayette, Ind. Bostic punched out a second-floor window and jumped out with the girl in his arms, sustaining multiple injuries, while the girl suffered a minor cut to her foot. He rescued four others from the house before that. (Lafayette Police Department via AP)

Man saves 5 from house fire; jumps out window to save baby

An Indiana man who ran into a burning home and saved five people, including a 6-year-old girl he jumped out of a second-floor window with, says he’s no hero and the serious injuries he suffered in … more

7/20/22

This image released by Netflix shows Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr. in a scene from "RRR." (Netflix via AP)

Global success of 'RRR' signals breakthrough for Tollywood

India’s film industry is one of the most vast and varied in the world. It's really not one but many separate industries, including Bollywood, Tollywood and others — yet few of the country’s … more

By JAKE COYLE | 7/20/22

This image from video provided by KOAT, shows scene where four people were killed in a crash of a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office helicopter that was headed back to Albuquerque after assisting firefighters near Las Vegas, N.M., on Sunday, July 17, 2022. Sheriff's officials say three people from the sheriff's office and a county firefighter were aboard the helicopter when it went down on Saturday evening. (KOAT via AP)

Fatally injured New Mexico helicopter crew member called 911

Emergency dispatch recordings show that one of the four first responders killed in last weekend's New Mexico helicopter crash managed to call 911 before succumbing to his injuries. It's not clear … more

7/20/22

FILE - Invited guests and NASA employees take photos as NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is rolled out of High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building for the first time, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, March 17, 2022. On Wednesday, July 20, 2022, the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, NASA said it’s shooting for a late August test launch of its giant, new moon rocket. (Aubrey Gemignani/NASA via AP, File)

NASA aiming for late August test flight of giant moon rocket

NASA is shooting for a late August launch of its giant, new moon rocket. Wednesday's announcement came on the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. NASA … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 7/20/22

A firefighter tries to extinguish the flames next to motorcycles during a wildfire near Megara town, west of Athens, Greece, Wednesday, July 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

AP PHOTOS: Wildfires surge across Europe in dry, hot weather

In a week of record-breaking heat in Europe, countries in the continent's warmer and drier southern belt have struggled to contain a swath of blazes that have stretched emergency services and … more

7/20/22

Soledad O'Brien, left, appears with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on the Hearst Media Production Group-produced program “Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien.” The program averages about 1.08 million viewers each weekend, roughly half the broadcast network panel shows like “Meet the Press” or “This Week” that it was designed to accompany, the Nielsen company said. (Hearst Television via AP)

Soledad O'Brien show makes impression in off-hours time slot

The Soledad O'Brien hosted show “Matter of Fact'' is making an impression as a weekend syndicated news program despite hours that are an insomniac's dream. Created as an alternative to Sunday … more

By DAVID BAUDER | 7/20/22

FILE - Alex Murdaugh awaits the beginning of his bond hearing in the Richland Judicial Center in Columbia, S.C., Oct. 19, 2021. A lawyer for disgraced South Carolina attorney Murdaugh said Tuesday, July 12, 2022, that investigators have indicated they intend to pursue murder charges against him for the deaths of his wife and son, who were fatally shot outside their home more than a year earlier. (AP Photo/Lewis M. Levine, Pool, File)

Alex Murdaugh pleads not guilty to murdering wife and son

The disbarred South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh has pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife and son. His defense lawyers and prosecutors have agreed to keep the evidence secret amid media … more

7/20/22

FILE - A home for sale is seen Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, in Orlando, Fla. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed for the fourth consecutive month in May as climbing mortgage rates and prices discouraged many would-be buyers. The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday, June 21, 2022, that existing home sales fell 3.4% last month from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.41 million. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

US home sales fell in June as prices reach new heights

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed for the fifth consecutive month in June as higher mortgage rates and rising prices kept many home hunters on the sidelines. The National Association of … more

By ALEX VEIGA | 7/20/22

FILE - This Sunday, April 5, 2020, file photo, shows an envelope containing a 2020 census letter mailed to a U.S. resident in Detroit. A U.S. Census Bureau director couldn't be fired without cause and new questions to the census form would have to be vetted by Congress under proposed legislation which attempts to prevent in the future the type of political interference into the nation's head count that took place during the Trump administration. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Secret memo links citizenship question to apportionment

Some Trump administration officials had initial doubts that it was legal to put a citizenship question on the 2020 census but pressed forward and attempted to add it anyways. That's according to an … more

By MIKE SCHNEIDER | 7/20/22

FILE - First lady Jill Biden and Spanish chef Jose Andres of the World Central Kitchen greet volunteers from the World Central Kitchen association during a visit to a reception center for Ukrainian refugees in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, June 28, 2022. Donations from Fidelity Charitable climbed 11% to a record $4.8 billion for the first half of 2022, the nation’s largest grantmaker announced Wednesday, July 20, 2022. Emergency relief organization International Medical Corps saw the number of Fidelity Charitable donors provide them a grant jump more than 1,000% compared to the first half of 2021, while World Central Kitchen grew more than 500%. (Oscar del Pozo/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Fidelity Charitable sets $4.8B record in grants for 6 months

Donations from Fidelity Charitable climbed 11% to a record $4.8 billion for the first half of 2022. The nation’s largest grantmaker says the growth in payouts from its donor-advised funds paints a … more

By GLENN GAMBOA | 7/20/22

FILE - Ivana Trump arrives for the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS benefit at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, in Cap d'Antibes, southern France, Thursday, May 20, 2010. Ivana Trump, who formed half of a publicity power couple in the 1980s as the first wife of former President Donald Trump and mother of his oldest children, has died in New York City, her family announced Thursday, July 14, 2022. She was 73. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)

Ivana Trump's life to be celebrated at a funeral Mass in NYC

The life of Ivana Trump is being celebrated at a funeral Mass at a Manhattan church following her death last week. Trump’s three children with former President Donald Trump are expected at the … more

7/20/22

Netflix Q2 subscriber loss widens, but not as much as feared

Netflix shed another 970,000 subscribers during the spring amid tougher competition and soaring inflation that’s squeezing household budgets, increasing the urgency behind the video streaming … more

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE | 7/19/22

FILE - A kidney dish with syringes containing the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine sits in a refrigerator ready for use at a vaccination center in Prisdorf, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel recommended the shots and final action will come from the agency's director. (Georg Wendt/dpa via AP, File)

CDC advisers endorse more traditional Novavax COVID shot

Government advisers say U.S. adults who haven’t gotten any COVID-19 shots yet should consider a new option from Novavax. The protein based shot is a more traditional kind of vaccine than the three … more

By LAURAN NEERGAARD | 7/19/22

Marcia Howard, activist and George Floyd Square caretaker, right, takes a moment as she lights candles during a vigil for 20-year old Andrew Tekle Sundberg Thursday, July 14, 2022 outside the apartment building where he was killed by Minneapolis Police in Minneapolis. Minneapolis police officers shot and killed Sundberg early Thursday after an overnight standoff that began after he allegedly fired shots inside an apartment building on the city's south side, according to city and state officials. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via AP)

Deadly Minneapolis police standoff revives racial concerns

The shooting of a young Black man whose family says he was experiencing a mental health crisis has revived some activists’ mistrust of Minneapolis’ troubled police department and their perception … more

By STEVE KARNOWSKI | 7/19/22