National News - The Morning Sun

This photo provided by Morgan County (UT) Fire & EMS shows an abandoned litter of racoons that found at a construction site in northern Utah on found new homes a demolition crew on June 14, 2023. (Morgan County (UT) Fire & EMS via AP)

Demolition crew saves abandoned litter of baby raccoons in Utah

A demolition crew rescued an abandoned litter of baby raccoons from the site of a home they were tearing down earlier this week. The Morgan County Fire Department in northern Utah said the crew … more

6/16/23

FILE - Pamela Walker, mother of Jayland Walker, who was shot and killed by police in Akron, Ohio, is comforted prior to appearing before reporters about police reform, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Feb. 7, 2023. The eight police officers who shot Jayland Walker last summer used excessive force when they fired 94 bullets at him during a foot chase and participated in a “culture of violence and racism” within Akron's police department, according to a lawsuit filed in Ohio federal court Friday, June 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

Jayland Walker's family sues officers and city, alleging excessive force

The eight police officers who shot Jayland Walker last summer used excessive force when they fired 94 bullets at him during a foot chase, a new federal lawsuit alleges, and were part of a “culture … more

By SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON | 6/16/23

FILE - Secretary of the North Carolina Department Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen speaks during a briefing on the state's coronavirus pandemic response Tuesday, Dec.22, 2020 at the N.C. Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, N.C. The White House announced Friday, June 16, 2023, that Cohen will be the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She succeeds Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who last month announced she was resigning effective June 30. (Travis Long/The News & Observer via AP, File)

Former North Carolina health official is picked to be new CDC director

The White House has selected a former North Carolina health official to be the new director of the nation’s top federal public health agency. Dr. Mandy Cohen has been picked to head the Centers for … more

By MIKE STOBBE | 6/16/23

FILE - A screen displays a patient's vital signs at a hospital in Baltimore on Nov. 28, 2016. Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Friday, June 16, 2023, suggests testosterone replacement therapy is safe for men with “low T” who have cardiovascular disease or are at high risk for it. But doctors say men shouldn’t view the treatment as an “anti-aging tonic.” (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

New research suggests testosterone replacement therapy is safe for men with “low T” and who have cardiovascular disease or are at high risk for it. But doctors say men shouldn’t view the … more

By LAURA UNGAR | 6/16/23

FILE - Tennessee Valley Authority President Jeff Lyash speaks with the Chattanooga Times Free Press from the TVA Chattanooga Office Complex in Chattanooga, Tenn., April 23, 2019. TVA, the nation's largest public utility, released plans Friday, une 16, 2023, to build a new natural gas plant in Tennessee, largely dismissing renewable energy alternatives one day after the Biden administration proposed strict new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. (C.B. Schmelter/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP, File)

Conservation groups sue over federal utility's plan to replace coal plant with gas

Conservation groups have filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the nation’s largest public utility from replacing a coal-burning power plant in Tennessee with one using natural gas. In a federal lawsuit … more

By JONATHAN MATTISE | 6/16/23

Soccer players' union looks to hold FIFA accountable for player payments

The global soccer players’ union says is working with FIFA to make sure that payments promised to all players at the Women’s World Cup actually reach them. FIFA confirmed last week that the 732 … more

By ANNE M. PETERSON | 6/16/23

This photo of bullet-damaged prayer book in the Tree of Life synagogue building in Pittsburgh was entered May 30, 2023, as a court exhibit by prosecutors in the federal trial of Robert Bowers. He faces multiple charges in the killing of 11 worshippers from three congregations and the wounding of seven worshippers and police officers in the building on Oct. 27, 2018. The charges include the obstruction of the free exercise of religion, resulting in death. (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania via AP)

Jury resumes deliberating in trial of gunman who killed 11 at Pittsburgh synagogue

A jury has resumed deliberating in the trial of a truck driver who shot and killed 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in the nation’s deadliest attack on Jewish people. The defense … more

6/16/23

A bouquet of flowers and a photograph sits on the corner of Lenora St. and 4th Avenue, Thursday, June 15, 2023 in Seattle. A pregnant woman who was killed in what appears to have been a random shooting in downtown Seattle this week has been identified as the owner of a sushi restaurant near the city’s famed Pike Place Market. (Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times via AP)

Pregnant woman shot and killed was owner of Seattle restaurant near famed market

A pregnant woman who was killed in what appears to have been a random shooting in downtown Seattle this week has been identified as the owner of a sushi restaurant near the city’s famed Pike Place … more

6/15/23

FILE - People look up to the sky at an observatory near the village of Avren east of the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009. There's another chance to see five planets lined up in the sky, weather permitting. Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter, Uranus and Mercury will appear together before sunrise on Saturday., June 17, 2023. Jupiter and Saturn will be bright in the sky and easiest to see. Mercury will be the lowest to the horizon and harder to spot. And you'll need to break out binoculars or a telescope to find Neptune and Uranus. (AP Photo/Petar Petrov)

How to see 5 planets line up in the sky on Saturday morning

There's another chance to see five planets lined up in the sky. Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter, Uranus and Mercury will appear together before sunrise on Saturday, weather permitting. Jupiter and Saturn … more

By MADDIE BURAKOFF | 6/15/23

FILE - Rescue personnel work at the remains of the Champlain Towers South condo building, June 25, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. The swimming pool deck of the beachfront South Florida condominium where 98 people died when the building collapsed two years ago failed to comply with the original codes and standards, with many areas of severe strength deficiency, federal investigators said Thursday, June 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Pool deck at collapsed Florida condo building failed to comply with codes, standards, officials say

Federal investigators say the swimming pool deck of a beachfront South Florida condominium that collapsed two years ago, killing 98 people, failed to comply with original building codes and … more

By DAVID FISCHER | 6/15/23

FILE - Archbishop Timothy Broglio conducts an Easter Sunday Mass at Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, April 12, 2020. The leader of the nation's Catholic bishops weighed in on ongoing immigration issues Thursday, June 15, 2023, calling for effective border management while emphasizing the church's need to help migrants — and questioning political leaders who are transporting them to faraway states. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Catholic bishops' president calls for better border management, continued care for immigrants

The leader of the nation’s Catholic bishops weighed in on ongoing immigration issues during their spring meeting in Florida. Archbishop Timothy Broglio called for effective border management while … more

By PETER SMITH | 6/15/23

This photo of bullet damaged doors in the Tree of Life synagogue building in Pittsburgh was entered June 1, 2023, as a court exhibit by prosecutors in the federal trial of Robert Bowers. He faces multiple charges in the killing of 11 worshippers from three congregations and the wounding of seven worshippers and police officers in the building on Oct. 27, 2018. The charges include the obstruction of the free exercise of religion, resulting in death. (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania via AP)

Closings arguments set in trial of gunman in Pittsburgh synagogue massacre

Closings arguments are set to get underway in the federal trial of a truck driver who killed 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in the nation’s deadliest attack on Jews. Robert Bowers is … more

6/15/23

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 11, 2020 file photo, a technician prepares COVID-19 coronavirus patient samples for testing at a laboratory in New York's Long Island. Confidence in the scientific community declined among U.S. adults in 2022, a major survey shows, driven by a a partisan divide that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Confidence in science fell in 2022 while political divides persisted, poll shows

Confidence in the scientific community declined among U.S. adults in 2022, a major survey shows, driven by a a partisan divide that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest results from the … more

By MADDIE BURAKOFF | 6/15/23

FILE - A sign at Twitter headquarters is shown in San Francisco on Nov. 18, 2022. The Los Angeles District Attorney has left Twitter due to barrage of “vicious” homophobic attacks that were not removed by the social media platform even after they were reported, the office confirmed on Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Twitter worst among major social media platforms when it comes to LGBTQ safety, GLAAD says

All major social media platforms do poorly at protecting LGBTQ+ users from hate speech and harassment — especially those who are transgender, non-binary or gender non-conforming, the advocacy group … more

By BARBARA ORTUTAY | 6/15/23

A hiring sign is displayed at a retail store in Downers Grove, Ill., Wednesday, April 12, 2023. On Thursday, 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 claims is elevated for second straight week

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits remained elevated last week, a possible sign that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes over the past year may taking hold in what’s … more

By MATT OTT | 6/15/23

FILE - This booking photo provided by the Florida Department of Corrections shows Duane Owen. Owen, one of Florida's longest-serving inmates on death row, is scheduled to be executed Thursday, June 15, 2023, for the 1984 murder of a 14-year-old babysitter while two children she was watching slept and separately raping and killing a mother of two. (Florida Department of Corrections via AP, File)

Florida set to execute man convicted of 1984 murders, rapes while children slept nearby

One of the longest-held inmates on Florida's death row is set to be executed Thursday evening for two 1984 slayings. Duane Owen is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at Florida State Prison for … more

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON | 6/15/23

Huda Zaqqout shops for Hajj a few weeks before she travels to Mecca for the Muslim pilgrimage in Gaza City Wednesday, May 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

After long waits, new pilgrims prepare for return of Hajj, the first major one since COVID-19

This year’s Hajj is a landmark: the first full pilgrimage after a daunting period of three years when the COVID-19 pandemic sharply reduced the scale of one of Islam’s holiest rites. Millions of … more

By FARES AKRAM, NINIEK KARMINI, ABBY SEWELL, MARIAM FAM and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA | 6/15/23

Haze envelopes the Minneapolis skyline from smoke drifted over from the wildfires in Canada, Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in Minneapolis. An air quality alert has been issued for some parts of Minnesota. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Canadian wildfire smoke gives Minnesota city the worst air in the US

St. Paul, Minnesota, has the worst air quality in the United States as smoke from massive Canadian wildfires drifts across the state. It comes a week after similar smoke blanketed the northeastern … more

6/14/23

Man gets 18 years in federal prison for shooting, plan to rid Montana town of LGBTQ residents

A southwestern Montana man has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison after being convicted of a hate crime and firearms charges for threatening a woman with violent, homophobic slurs and … more

6/14/23

FILE - Montreal Canadiens' Henri Richard responds to questions in Ottawa, June 1, 2007. Richard’s family says the Hockey Hall of Famer has been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to concussions. Richard, who died in 2020 at the age of 84, was diagnosed with Stage 3 CTE – the second-most severe classification -- by Dr. Stephen Saikali at Université Laval in Québec City. (Paul Chiasson, Canadian Press via AP)

Henri 'Pocket Rocket' Richard, 11-time winner of Stanley Cup, diagnosed with CTE after death in 2020

Henri Richard’s family says the late Hockey Hall of Famer has been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy. CTE is a degenerative brain disease linked to concussions. Henri's son, Denis, … more

By JIMMY GOLEN | 6/14/23