National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - High school students run at sunset as they practice for the track and field season Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, in Shawnee, Kan. New research hints that even simple exercise just might help fend off memory problems. While physical activity helps keep healthy brains fit, it's not clear how much it helps once memory starts to slide. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Even simple exercise may help aging brain, study hints

New research hints that even simple exercise just might help seniors with mild memory problems. While physical activity helps keep healthy brains fit, it's not clear how much it helps once memory … more

By LAURAN NEERGAARD | 8/2/22

In this satellite photo provided by Maxar Technologies, a view of the Olenivka detention center, in Eastern Donetsk province, after an attack on the prison reportedly killed Ukrainian soldiers captured in May after the fall of Mariupol, a Black Sea port city where troops and the Azov Regiment of the national guard famously held out against a months-long Russian siege. Separatist authorities and Russian officials said the attack killed 53 Ukrainian POWs and wounded another 75. (Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies via AP)

Russia declares Ukrainian military unit a terrorist group

The Russian Supreme Court has declared Ukraine’s Azov Regiment a terrorist organization banned in Russia, a designation that may expose Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Moscow to terrorism … more

8/2/22

Sheriff's Deputy Johnson stands at a burned home as search and rescue workers recover the remains of a McKinney Fire victim on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Progress made in fight against California fire that killed 2

Rainy and cloudy weather has helped firefighters battling a wildfire in Northern California that killed at least two people and burned 100 homes and other buildings. The McKinney Fire remains out of … more

By NOAH BERGER and CHRISTOPHER WEBER | 8/2/22

A car passes between a pile of storm debris and a damaged home, Wednesday, July 27, 2022, nearly four months after a small tornado shattered Branch Heights, a rural housing community in Eutaw, Ala. Some worry the continuing recovery shows how hard it may be to get over a big storm as the heart of hurricane season approaches the U.S. Gulf Coast. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)

Frustrating recovery could be hurricane harbinger for South

The continuing recovery from a small tornado that hit a poor Southern community shows how hard it may be to get over a big storm as the heart of hurricane season approaches the U.S. Gulf Coast. A … more

By JAY REEVES | 8/2/22

In this aerial image, the river is still high around the homes in Breathitt County, Ky., on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Recovery has begun in many of the narrow hollers after historic rains flooded many areas of Eastern Kentucky killing more at least two dozen people. A layer of mud from the retreating waters covers many cars and homes. (Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal via AP)

More rain, more bodies in flooded Kentucky mountain towns

Another round of rainstorms are hitting flooded Kentucky mountain communities. The rain fell Monday as more bodies emerged from the sodden landscape, and the governor warned that high winds could … more

By REBECCA REYNOLDS | 8/1/22

The International Fountain at Seattle Center is packed with children as they run from the water that is showering on them Wednesday, July 27, 2022 in Seattle. (Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times via AP)

At least 14 potential heat deaths in Oregon after hot spell

Oregon authorities are investigating four additional deaths potentially linked to last week's heat wave, bringing the total number of suspected hyperthermia deaths to 14. The Oregon State Medical … more

By CLAIRE RUSH | 8/1/22

A celebration outside the Supreme Court, Friday, June 24, 2022, in Washington. The Supreme Court has ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years — a decision by its conservative majority to overturn the court's landmark abortion cases. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Abortion ruling prompts variety of reactions from states

When the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established a right to abortion, it sparked legal changes and court challenges in states nationwide. In some states, … more

By The Associated Press | 8/1/22

FILE - In this Friday, June 24, 2022, file photo, abortion rights protesters cheer at a rally following the United States Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, federally protected right to abortion, outside the state capitol in Lansing, Mich. The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, that county prosecutors can enforce the state's 91-year-old abortion ban, paving the way for abortion to become illegal in parts of the state. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Judge's order further freezes Michigan abortion ban

A judge has blocked enforcement of a 1931 Michigan ban on abortion. It came just hours after the state Court of Appeals said county prosecutors were not covered by a May order and could enforce the … more

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI | 8/1/22

Water Recovery authorities comb the Apple River with metal detectors after five people were stabbed while tubing down the river, Saturday, July 30, 2022, in Somerset, Wis. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP)

Minnesota man charged in deadly Wisconsin river attack

A 52-year-old Minnesota man was charged Monday with killing a teenager and stabbing four other people in a dispute that allegedly began with a lost cellphone during a weekend tubing excursion on a … more

8/1/22

FILE - Climate activists Elizabeth Wathuti of Kenia, Vanessa Nakate of Uganda and Helena Gualinga of Ecuador attend the climate protest alongside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, May 26, 2022. A group of top climate scientists say the world needs to think about the ultimate climate catastrophe, human extinction, and how possible it is. They are calling on the world's main climate science body to look at the ultimate climate catastrophes, no matter how remotely unlikely they are. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

Chances of climate catastrophe are ignored, scientists say

A group of top climate scientists say the world needs to think about the ultimate climate catastrophe — human extinction — and how possible it is. They are calling on the world's main climate … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 8/1/22

In this photo released by the National Park Service, is the damaged intersection of Kelbacker Road and Mojave Road in the Mojave National Preserve, Calif., Sunday, July 31, 2022. Roads in and out of Death Valley National Park were closed after lanes mud and debris inundated lanes during weekend flash floods in eastern California, western Nevada and northern Arizona. Storm cells dumped localized heavy rain across the region, prompting closures of highways and campgrounds. (National Park Service via AP)

Flash floods close roads into Death Valley National Park

Officials have closed some roads in and out of Death Valley National Park after they were inundated over the weekend with mud and debris caused by by flash flooding. The floods that hit southeastern … more

8/1/22

FILE - Rosnano Chairman Anatoly Chubais, center, attends the inauguration of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin's Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 7, 2018. Chubais, who resigned as a high-ranking adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin and left Russia shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, was reported to be in intensive care in a European hospital for a neurological disorder, a Russian television personality and family friend of Chubais, said Sunday, July 31, 2022. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

Ex-Putin adviser Chubais reported to be in European hospital

Anatoly Chubais, who resigned as a high-ranking adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin and left Russia shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, was reported to be in intensive care in a European … more

8/1/22

A man passes by graffiti depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin, reading: "Kosovo is Serbia" in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. Kosovo's authorities early Monday moved to ease mounting ethnic tensions in the country by delaying a controversial order on vehicle license plates and identity cards that triggered riots by minority Serbs who put up roadblocks, sounded air raid sirens and fired their guns into the air. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Kosovo delays measure stirring tensions with minority Serbs

Kosovo’s authorities have postponed a decision to implement a law on vehicle license plates and identity documents after minority Serbs rioted by blocking roads, turning on air raid sirens and … more

By ZENEL ZHINIPOTOKU and LLAZAR SEMINI | 8/1/22

Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, left, and his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama talk during the welcoming ceremony at the government headquarters in Tirana, Albania, Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. Sanchez is in Albania for a one-day official visit. (AP Photo/Franc Zhurda)

Spain fully backs Western Balkan integration into EU

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said the Western Balkans are an integral part of the European Union, repeating his country's full support of the region's integration into the 27-member bloc. … more

By LLAZAR SEMINI | 8/1/22

FILE - A launch truck fires the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) at its intended target during the African Lion military exercise in Grier Labouihi complex, southern Morocco, on June 9, 2021. Ukraine has received about a dozen American-built HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and has used them to strike Russian ammunition depots, which are essential for maintaining Moscow's edge in firepower. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)

Ukraine seeks to retake the south, tying down Russian forces

Even as the Russian war machine crawls across Ukraine’s east, trying to achieve the Kremlin’s goal of securing a full control over the country’s industrial heartland of the Donbas, Ukrainian … more

By The Associated Press | 8/1/22

FILE - Actor Nichelle Nichols speaks during the Creation Entertainment's Official Star Trek Convention at The Westin O'Hare in Rosemont, Ill., Sunday, June 8, 2014. Nichols, who gained fame as Lt. Ntoya Uhura on the original "Star Trek" television series, died Saturday, July 30, 2022, her family said. She was 89. (Photo by Barry Brecheisen/Invision/AP, File)

'Star Trek' alums, more react to death of Nichelle Nichols

Trailblazer was a word used by many to mourn the passing of actor Nichelle Nichols, who died Saturday at age 89. Nichols broke barriers for Black women in Hollywood when she played communications … more

By The Associated Press | 7/31/22

FILE - This image from video provided and taken by Barry Mehler shows Mehler during a 14-minute YouTube video at the start of a new term at Ferris State University. The Michigan professor who was suspended in January 2022 for making a profanity-filled video to welcome students settled his legal dispute with the university by accepting $95,000 and agreeing to a three-year gag order. (Barry Mehler via AP, File)

Michigan prof who made vulgar video quits, settles for $95K

A Michigan professor who was suspended in January for making a profanity-filled video to welcome students settled his legal dispute with a university by agreeing to accept $95,000. Barry Mehler also … more

By ED WHITE | 7/31/22

17-year-old killed, 4 hurt in stabbings on Wisconsin river

A 17-year-old boy from Minnesota died and four other people were in critical condition after they were stabbed while tubing down a Wisconsin river Saturday afternoon. St. Croix County Sheriff Scott … more

7/31/22

FILE - Broward Sheriff's Office Sgt. Richard Van Der Eems describes the scene he encountered at the school after the mass shooting as he testifies during the penalty phase trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz, Friday, July 22, 2022, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool, File)

Parkland trial a rare, curtailed look at mass shooting gore

Few Americans outside law enforcement ever see the most graphic videos or photos from the nation’s worst mass shootings. In most states, such evidence is only displayed at trial and most such … more

By TERRY SPENCER | 7/31/22

Evelyn Smith of Cary, Ky., gathers clothing at the Knott County Sportsplex in Leburn, Ky., Friday, July 29, 2022. Smith lost everything as fast rising floodwaters forced her from her home, and the sportsplex is being used as a evacuation center. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Floods strike new blow in place that has known hardship

Some people lost everything in the floods that devastated eastern Kentucky, and many didn't have much to begin with. The rains brought another blow to a region that is among the poorest in America. … more

By BRUCE SCHREINER, ANDREW SELSKY and DYLAN LOVAN | 7/31/22