National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - Tennis legend and equality rights advocate Billie Jean King, speaks at a Women's History Month event honoring women athletes in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, March 9, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. As the nation celebrates the 50th anniversary of Title IX, a new poll finds Americans are split on how much progress has come from the landmark women's rights law. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Men, women split on equity gains since Title IX, poll shows

As the nation celebrates the 50th anniversary of Title IX, a new poll finds Americans are split on how much progress has come from the landmark women's rights law. The AP-NORC/National Women’s … more

By COLLIN BINKLEY | 6/15/22

FILE - A sign indicating a "Medical Facility Quiet Zone" is displayed outside the Jackson Women's Health Organization clinic in Jackson, Miss., the state's only state licensed abortion facility, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. According to a report from the Guttmacher Institute released on Tuesday, June 15, 2022, fewer women were getting pregnant and a larger share of them chose abortion. About one in five pregnancies ended in abortion in 2020. There were 3.6 million births, a decline between 2017 and 2020. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

US abortions rise: 1 in 5 pregnancies terminated in 2020

The number and rate of U.S. abortions increased from 2017 to 2020 after a long decline. That's according to new figures released Wednesday by a research group that supports abortion rights. The … more

By CARLA K. JOHNSON | 6/15/22

Choir members are silhouetted as they get ready for a worship service at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, June 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Southern Baptists agree to keep list of accused sex abusers

The Southern Baptist Convention has voted overwhelmingly to create a way to track pastors and other church workers credibly accused of sex abuse. Delegates also agreed to launch a new task force to … more

By DEEPA BHARATH and PETER SMITH | 6/14/22

Children play in the Crown Fountain on Michigan Avenue, Tuesday afternoon, June 14, 2022, in Chicago. Much of the Midwest and a swath of the South braced for a potentially dangerous and deadly heat wave on Tuesday, with temperatures that could reach record highs in some places and combine with humidity to make it feel like it’s 100 degrees or hotter in spots. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Dangerous heat wave descends on parts of Midwest and South

A dangerous heat wave has washed over much of the Midwest and South, with temperatures hitting triple digits in Chicago and combining with the humidity to make it feel even hotter there and in other … more

By KATHLEEN FOODY and CLAIRE SAVAGE | 6/14/22

Washington County Sheriff Doug Mullendore prepares to speak at a news conference Thursday, June 9, 2022 in Smithsburg, Md. Authorities say an employee opened fire at a manufacturing business in western Maryland, leaving three coworkers dead and one other critically injured before the suspect and a state trooper were wounded in a shootout. (Colleen McGrath/The Herald-Mail via AP)

Worries aside, poll finds most journalists would do it again

Journalists face harassment, fight against misinformation and are keenly aware of the American public's dim view of their profession. Yet a survey released on Tuesday found that most journalists love … more

By DAVID BAUDER | 6/14/22

FILE - Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell participates in a swearing-in ceremony, Monday, May 23, 2022, in Washington. On Tuesday,, June 14, 2022, Treasurys, the IOUs the U.S. government gives to investors who lend it money, provided an indication that a recession may be more likely as two-year Treasurys traded at 3.39% while 10-year bonds were yielding 3.36%. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Treasury bond yield inversion raises worries over recession

One of the more reliable warning signals for an economic recession is shining alarmingly brighter. Treasurys, the IOUs the U.S. government gives to investors who lend it money are at the center of … more

6/14/22

FDA advisers consider Moderna's COVID shots for older kids

A government advisory panel is meeting to decide whether to recommend a second brand of COVID-19 vaccine for school-age children and teens. The expert panel will vote Tuesday on whether the vaccine … more

By MIKE STOBBE | 6/14/22

A Utah State University research team pulls in a gillnet net at Lake Powell on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, in Page, Ariz. They are on a mission to save the humpback chub, an ancient fish under assault from nonnative predators in the Colorado River. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

Biologists try to save ancient fish as Colorado River fades

A key fish that has dwelt in the Colorado River since ancient times, and whose presence indicates a healthy river, is now up against a threat from a giant dam above. The humpback chub has long been … more

By BRITTANY PETERSON and JOHN FLESHER | 6/14/22

Willie McLaurin, interim president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, speaks during the Southern Baptist Convention in Anaheim, Calif., on Monday, June 13, 2022. (John McCoy/The Tennessean via AP)

Southern Baptists who backed open abuse review win key roles

The top administrative committee for the Southern Baptist Convention has elected new leaders. The three Executive Committee members who won had all supported a more transparent investigation into … more

By DEEPA BHARATH and PETER SMITH | 6/13/22

FILE - Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra speaks during an interview in Washington on March 17, 2022. Another member of President Joe Biden’s cabinet has tested positive for COVID-19. U.S. Health Secretary Becerra tested positive for the virus on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, while visiting Berlin, a spokeswoman for the Health and Human Services Department said. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

HHS secretary Becerra tests positive for COVID-19 again

President Joe Biden’s top health official has again tested positive for COVID-19, less than a month after he came down with virus symptoms while on a trip to Germany. U.S. Health Secretary Xavier … more

By TOM MURPHY | 6/13/22

FILE - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, speaks during a news conference in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

Kentucky shatters its fatal overdose record; fentanyl blamed

A new state report says fatal drug overdoses rose nearly 15% in Kentucky last year. The report says the increased use of fentanyl was a common contributor to the record death toll. Fentanyl is a … more

By BRUCE SCHREINER | 6/13/22

FILE - In this Sept. 5, 1960, file photo, the medalists in the women's 200-meter event, from left, bronze medalist Dorothy Hyman, of Great Britain; gold medalist Wilma Rudolph, of the United States, and silver medalist Jutta Heine, of Germany, pose with their medals at the Olympic stadium in Rome, Italy. It has been 50 years since Title IX was signed into law by President Nixon. The measure barred discrimination against women when it came to programs that receive federal assistance. (AP Photo/File)

Title IX timeline: 50 years of halting progress across U.S.

It has been 50 years since Title IX was signed into law by President Nixon. The measure barred discrimination against women when it came to programs that receive federal assistance. It has a broad … more

By The Associated Press | 6/13/22

FILE - FBI agents and representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources set up a base in March, 2018, in Benezette Township, Elk County, Pa. A lawyer for a father-son team of treasure hunters is accusing the FBI of either lying to a federal judge about having video of its 2018 dig for legendary Civil War-era gold, or illegally destroying the video. The FBI has acknowledged it was looking for gold at the Pennsylvania site but says it found nothing of value. The duo believes the FBI recovered a huge cache of gold and have sued for information about the dig. (Katie Weidenboerner/The Courier-Express via AP, File)

Sanctions sought against FBI over Civil War gold dig videos

A lawyer for a father-son team of treasure hunters is accusing the FBI of either lying to a federal judge about having video of its 2018 dig for legendary Civil War-era gold, or illegally destroying … more

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM | 6/13/22

Part of the funds raised by the new Global Citizen initiative will go to the One Acre Fund so it can expand its work with Kenyan farm families to serve an additional 250,000 a year and grow an additional 250 tons of food. (Hailey Tucker/One Acre Fund via AP)

Will money-back guarantee win over wealthy donors?

The advocacy group Global Citizen and the finance firm NPX are engineering a new campaign that targets Forbes 400 billionaires, Giving Pledge members, and the wealthy generally — a group … more

By DREW LINDSAY of The Chronicle of Philanthropy | 6/13/22

FILE - Officers on horseback guard the entrance to designated demonstrator areas near Riverbend Maximum Security Institution as people wait to enter before the scheduled execution of inmate Oscar Smith on April 21, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has ordered an independent investigation of the state's lethal injections in early May, 2022, and paused all executions through the end of the year. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

Tennessee execution pause through 2022 could last longer

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has ordered an independent investigation of the state's lethal injections and paused all executions through the end of the year. He did so after putting an April execution on … more

By JONATHAN MATTISE | 6/13/22

This 2010 image released by CBS News shows Richard Schlesinger who is retiring after nearly four decades at the network. He's a fixture on the newsmagazine “48 Hours” and also does stories for “CBS Sunday Morning.” (Craig Blankenhorn/CBS via AP)

CBS News' Richard Schlesinger of '48 Hours' is retiring

Longtime CBS News correspondent Richard Schlesinger is retiring after nearly four decades at the network. He's a fixture on the newsmagazine “48 Hours” and also does stories for “CBS Sunday … more

6/13/22

FILE - A Texas Department of Public Safety officer keeps watch on June 3, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas, near a memorial outside Robb Elementary School created to honor the victims killed in last a school shooting. As public pressure mounts for more information on the deadly Uvalde school shooting, some are concerned that Texas officials will use a legal loophole to block records from being released — even to the victims' families — once the case is closed. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Texas shooting records could be blocked by legal loophole

Some Texas lawmakers and advocates are concerned that law enforcement authorities will use a legal loophole to block the release of further information related to the mass shooting at an elementary … more

By ACACIA CORONADO | 6/13/22

FILE - A Donetsk People's Republic militia's multiple rocket launcher fires from its position not far from Panteleimonivka, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, May 28, 2022. Day after day, Russia is pounding the Donbas region of Ukraine with relentless artillery and air raids, making slow but steady progress to seize the industrial heartland of its neighbor. With the conflict now in its fourth month, it’s a high-stakes campaign that could dictate the course of the entire war. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov, file)

The battle of Donbas could prove decisive in Ukraine war

Day after day, Russia is pounding the Donbas region of Ukraine with relentless artillery and air raids, making slow but steady progress to seize the industrial heartland of its neighbor. With the … more

By The Associated Press | 6/13/22

This June 10, 2022, aerial photo provided by the Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service shows a tundra fire burning near the community of St. Mary's, Alaska. The largest documented wildfire burning through tundra in southwest Alaska was within miles St. Mary's and another nearby Alaska Native village, Pitkas Point, prompting officials Friday to urge residents to prepare for possible evacuation. (Ryan McPherson/Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service via AP)

Tundra wildfire creeps closer toward Alaska Native community

A tundra wildfire has moved closer to an Alaska Native community in southwest Alaska, but mandatory evacuations have not been ordered. Fire officials Sunday said the East Fork fire was within 3.5 … more

By MARK THIESSEN | 6/12/22

Tundra fire slows, but still aiming at Alaska Native village

A large fire burning in the tundra of southwest Alaska continues to move toward an Alaska Native village, but fire managers say it is moving at a slower rate. The East Fork fire was started by … more

By MARK THIESSEN | 6/11/22