National News - The Morning Sun

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)

Census lawsuit tossed based on definition of 'whereby'

A federal judge has tossed out a public records lawsuit on the 2020 census based on the interpretation of one obscure word: “whereby.” The lawsuit dismissed Tuesday was over an even more obscure … more

By MIKE SCHNEIDER | 8/2/22

Ilan Alhadeff speaks angrily while giving his victim impact statement during the penalty phase of the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. Alhadeff's daughter, Alyssa, was killed in the 2018 shootings. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Grieving father erupts at Parkland school shooter's trial

A grieving father erupted in anger as he told jurors about the daughter school shooter Nikolas Cruz murdered along with 16 others four years ago. Ilan Alhadeff's voice rose Tuesday as he told jurors … more

By TERRY SPENCER | 8/2/22

FILE - This screen grab from Windsor, Va., Police body camera footage shows Lt. Caron Nazario being helped by an EMT after he was pepper-sprayed by Windsor police during a traffic stop in Windsor, Dec. 20, 2020. A special prosecutor in Virginia says a former police officer should not be criminally charged after he pepper-sprayed, struck and handcuffed the Black U.S. Army lieutenant. The traffic stop from December 2020 was captured on video and viewed by millions of people after it became public in April 2021. (Windsor Police via AP, File)

No charges for officer who pepper-sprayed Army lieutenant

A special prosecutor in Virginia says that a former police officer should not be criminally charged after he pepper-sprayed, struck and handcuffed a Black U.S. Army lieutenant. He did say, however, … more

By BEN FINLEY | 8/2/22

Firefighters battle a wildfire from the ground as a helicopter drops water above them in Springville on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. The fire started when a man tried to burn a spider with a lighter. (Kristin Murphy/The Deseret News via AP)

Utah man accused of causing wildfire by burning a spider

A Utah man has been arrested on accusations he started a wildfire while trying to burn a spider with his lighter. A probable cause statement says 26-year-old Cory Allan Martin told deputies that he … more

8/2/22

FILE - This photo provided by the Roberts family shows Cooper Roberts who along with his twin brother and parents attended the July 4, 2022, parade in Highland Park, Ill. Cooper was struck in the chest in a hail of gunfire that left dozens of others wounded and seven dead, said Tony Loizzi, a family spokesperson. Cooper's family said he was moved Sunday, July 31, 2022, to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a rehabilitation-focused hospital, from the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital. The family's statement released Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, said Cooper's medical team will focus on physical and occupational therapy along with other rehabilitation and mental health services. (The Roberts Family via AP, File)

Boy wounded in parade attack moves to rehab-focused hospital

An 8-year-old boy whose spine was severed in the shooting at a parade on July 4 has moved to a rehabilitation-focused hospital after spending nearly a month in a Chicago pediatric intensive care … more

By KATHLEEN FOODY | 8/2/22

Bill Deerr, a leader of Sea Turtle Recovery, holds Titan, a rehabilitated turtle before releasing it back into the ocean in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. on Aug. 2, 2022. Titan survived being gashed by a boat propeller, having part of a flipper bitten off by a shark, and was being attacked by a different shark when two fishermen intervened and saved him. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

World's toughest turtle? Survivor among 8 returned to ocean

If what doesn’t kill you truly makes you stronger, then Titan is the strongest turtle in the ocean. The juvenile Loggerhead turtle has been gashed by a boat propeller, had part of his front flipper … more

By WAYNE PARRY | 8/2/22

Shown is a King George III gold guinea, discovered in an excavation site at the Red Bank Battlefield Park in National Park, N.J., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. Researchers believe they have uncovered in a mass grave in New Jersey the remains of as many as 12 Hessian soldiers who fought during the Revolutionary War, officials announced Tuesday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Hessian remains unearthed at Revolutionary War battle site

Researchers believe they have uncovered at a battle site in New Jersey the remains of as many as 12 Hessian soldiers who fought during the Revolutionary War. Scientists from Rowan University and … more

By MATT ROURKE and SHAWN MARSH | 8/2/22

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