National News - The Morning Sun

In this photo provided by eGenesis, a genetically modified pig liver is removed in Massachusetts for transportation to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in December 2023. On Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, the university announced surgeons externally attached the pig liver to a brain-dead human body and watched it successfully filter blood, a step toward eventually trying the technique in patients with liver failure. (eGenesis via AP)

A first-ever experiment shows how pigs might one day help people who have liver failure

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have externally attached a pig liver to a brain-dead human body and watched it successfully filter blood. The experiment is a step toward one day trying … more

By The Associated Press | 1/18/24

FILE- Vials of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine sit in a cooler at the Rockland County Health Department in Pomona, N.Y., March 27, 2019. A midwife on New York's Long Island, who gave nearly 1,500 children homeopathic pellets instead of required vaccinations, has been fined $300,000, the state's health department announced this week. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NY midwife who gave kids homeopathic pellets instead of vaccines fined $300K for falsifying records

A New York midwife who gave nearly 1,500 children homeopathic pellets instead of required vaccinations has been fined $300,000. The state health department said Wednesday that Jeanette Breen … more

By PHILIP MARCELO | 1/18/24

FILE - Amalija Knavs, mother of first lady Melania Trump, walks on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, June 18, 2017. Funeral services for former first lady Melania Trump's mother, Amalija Knavs, are scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 at a church not far from the family's Mar-a-Lago estate. Private services for Knavs, 78, will be at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, the congregation former President Donald Trump sometimes attends and where he and his wife were married in 2005. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Melania Trump remembers her mother as 'a ray of light in the darkest days'

Former First Lady Melania Trump remembered her mother as “a ray of light in the darkest of days” during a funeral service at a church not far from the family’s Mar-a-Lago estate. The former … more

By TERRY SPENCER | 1/18/24

FILE - A woman cries as she leaves the Uvalde Civic Center, Tuesday May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas, after a mass shooting. AA federal report into the halting and haphazard law enforcement response to a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, was scheduled to be released Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, reviving scrutiny of the hundreds of officers who responded to the 2022 massacre but waited more than an hour to confront and kill the gunman. (William Luther/The San Antonio Express-News via AP, File)

What to know about the Justice Department's report on police failures in the Uvalde school shooting

A Justice Department report details a myriad of failures by law enforcement who responded to the shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas, when children waited desperately for over an hour before police … more

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and CLAUDIA LAUER | 1/18/24

FILE - Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court, in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 14, 2023. An estimated 320 journalists around the world were imprisoned because of their work toward the end of 2023. That's from the Committee to Protect Journalists, which on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 issued its annual census as of Dec. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov, file)

More than 300 journalists around the world imprisoned because of their work, report says

An estimated 320 journalists around the world were imprisoned because of their work toward the end of 2023. That's from the Committee to Protect Journalists, which on Thursday issued its annual … more

1/18/24

File - A hiring sign is displayed at a restaurant in Mount Prospect, Ill., Dec. 4, 2023. On Thursday, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

US applications for jobless benefits fall to lowest level since September 2022

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level in more than a year, underscoring the resilience of the labor market amid elevated interest rates. … more

By MATT OTT | 1/18/24

Missouri abortion-rights campaign backs proposal to enshrine access but allow late-term restrictions

Missouri activists are throwing support behind a constitutional amendment to restore abortion rights while also allowing the procedure to be restricted in later stages of pregnancy. The group … more

By SUMMER BALLENTINE | 1/18/24

Attorney General Merrick Garland, right, and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, left,tour of murals of shooting victims, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, in Uvalde, Texas. The Justice Department is planning this week to release findings of an investigation into the 2022 school shooting. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

US Justice Department to release report on halting police response to Uvalde school massacre

A federal report into the halting and haphazard law enforcement response to a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, is about to be released. The Department of Justice review will likely revive scrutiny … more

By ACACIA CORONADO and JAKE BLEIBERG | 1/17/24

The South Dakota Capitol stands in Pierre, S.D., on Jan. 10, 2024. The South Dakota House passed a bill on Wednesday, Jan. 17, that would make xylazine, a large-animal sedative that is being mixed with deadly fentanyl and then used by people, a controlled substance. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)

South Dakota House passes bill that would make the animal sedative xylazine a controlled substance

The South Dakota House has passed a bill that would make xylazine a controlled substance. Xylazine is a large-animal sedative that is being mixed with fentanyl and then used by some people. The … more

1/17/24

In this photo provided by New Haven CT Emergency Management Director Rick Fontana, New Haven Fire Department vehicles line a street adjacent to a Yale University-owned building where nine construction workers and five Yale employees who were renovating it were hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, in New Haven, CT. One of the workers was found lying unconscious outside of the building, which is a couple of blocks from Yale's New Haven, campus, and was taken to a hospital's hyperbaric chamber in Brooklyn, NY, where he was in critical condition. (Rick Fontana/New Haven Emergency Management via AP)

Take these steps to protect yourself from winter weather dangers

The arctic blast of winter weather that is gripping much of the U.S. this week is also bringing with it various hazards that people have to contend with to keep warm and safe. These dangers can … more

By JUAN A. LOZANO | 1/17/24

FILE — Michelle Troconis listens to arguments at the start of her trial, Jan. 11, 2024, in Stamford, Conn. A nanny, Lauren Almeida, who cares for five children whose mother went missing in Connecticut in 2019, recalled in court on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, in the trial of Troconis, the frantic day Jennifer Dulos vanished, kicking off a search that eventually turned into a murder investigation. (Richard Harbus/Dailly Mail via AP, Pool, File)

'My stomach just sank': Nanny describes frantic day Connecticut mother of five disappeared

A nanny has testified about the frantic time in 2019 when a Connecticut mother of five went missing and her efforts to find her. The testimony on Wednesday came during the murder conspiracy trial of … more

By DAVE COLLINS | 1/17/24

An image of a dairy cow is seen on the back of a Kemps tractor trailer as it moves along the snowy eastbound lane of U.S. Highway 20 during a blizzard near Holstein, Iowa, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

AP Photos: This is what it looks like as winter blasts the US into a deep freeze

Winter turned its icy glare on the U.S. this week, blanketing cities and states from east to west with snow and sending temperatures into an Arctic spiral. In Buffalo, New York, residents trekked … more

By The Associated Press | 1/17/24

A Texas Department of Public Safety officer guards an entrance to Shelby Park, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. The Justice Department on Friday, Jan. 12, asked the Supreme Court to order Texas to stop blocking Border Patrol agents from a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border where large numbers of migrants have crossed in recent months, setting up another showdown between Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration over immigration enforcement. (Sam Owens /The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

What to know about Texas' clash with the Biden administration over Border Patrol access

Texas’ refusal to allow Border Patrol agents into a park along the U.S.-Mexico border is a new marker in the state’s deepening rift with the Biden administration over immigration. For nearly a … more

By VALERIE GONZALEZ and PAUL J. WEBER | 1/17/24

FILE - Heather Mack from Chicago, Ill., stands inside a cell before a trial in Bali, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Mack, who pleaded guilty to helping kill her own mother and stuffing the body in a suitcase during a luxury vacation in Bali was sentenced by a federal judge, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, to 26 years in prison. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati, File)

US woman gets 26 years in prison for helping kill her mother in Bali and stuffing body in a suitcase

A federal judge has sentenced an American woman to 26 years in prison for helping to kill her mother at a luxury resort in Bali then stuffing her body into a suitcase. U.S. District Judge Matthew … more

By CLAIRE SAVAGE | 1/17/24

FILE - Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, left, and Baltimore Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Worley walk to a news conference in the Shipley Hill neighborhood of Baltimore, May 11, 2023. The Baltimore Police Department has reached compliance with two sections of its court-ordered reform agreement — including a piece that governs transportation of people in custody, which landed the agency under federal oversight in the first place following the 2015 death of Freddie Gray. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun via AP, file)

Baltimore police make progress in court-ordered reform effort

Federal prosecutors say the Baltimore Police Department has completed its first official step toward fulfilling a series of court-ordered reforms. The consent decree was imposed in 2017 after federal … more

By LEA SKENE | 1/17/24

Workers begin demolition Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at the Tree of Life building in Pittsburgh, the site of the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history, as part of the effort to reimagine the building to honor the 11 people who were killed there in 2018. The demolition work began slowly, with crews picking away at the building's exterior. Most the building will be removed, although portions of the sanctuary walls will be preserved. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tree of Life synagogue demolition begins ahead of rebuilding site of deadly antisemitic attack

Demolition is underway at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, which was the site of the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. The work that began Wednesday is part of the effort to … more

By GENE PUSKAR and BROOKE SCHULTZ | 1/17/24

This cover image released by Polydor/Universal shows the live edition of "Hackney Diamonds" by the Rolling Stones. (Polydor/Universal via AP)

Music Review: Rolling Stones' 'Hackney Diamonds' live album will give you serious party FOMO

The Rolling Stones' ‘Hackney Diamonds’ live album is a feat. “How ya doing?” Mick Jagger asks the crowd, arriving for a club gig in Manhattan. Yes, you read that right: A club gig. With the … more

By JOCELYN NOVECK | 1/17/24

FILE - Shoppers visit the Christmas Village in Philadelphia, Dec. 13, 2023. On Wednesday, the Commerce Department releases U.S. retail sales data for December. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Retail sales up 0.6% as strong job marked helped to fuel a strong holiday sales season

Americans stepped up their spending in December more than expected, closing out the holiday season and the year on an upbeat tone. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that retail sales rose 0.6% … more

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO | 1/17/24

FILE - Consumer credit cards are posed in North Andover, Mass., March 5, 2012. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to propose rules this week that further rein in banks’ ability to charge customers a fee when they overdraw their bank account. Opponents of the fees often cite the example of a $3 cup of coffee costing someone $40. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

Overdraft fees could drop to as low as $3 under new Biden proposal

The cost to overdraw a bank account could drop to as little as $3 under a proposal announced by the White House, the latest move by the Biden administration to combat fees it says pose an unnecessary … more

By KEN SWEET and CORA LEWIS | 1/17/24

Kristina Amyot sits on the porch of a sober-living home, where she resided for about two years, at the Hope on Haven Hill, a residential, outpatient and recovery support service provider for pregnant, post-partum and parenting women, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, in Rochester, N.H. Amyot, 36, spent more than half her life struggling with addiction, mainly to heroin. Drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire have increased in recent years, and some residents want to hear more from the presidential candidates about how they'd help. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Some New Hampshire residents want better answers from the 2024 candidates on the opioid crisis

Drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire have increased in recent years, and some residents want to hear more from the presidential candidates about how they'd help. Much of the talk from the Republican … more

By HOLLY RAMER | 1/17/24