National News - The Morning Sun

Passengers disembark from a cruise ship that has docked on June 12, 2023, in downtown Juneau, Alaska. As the Mendenhall Glacier continues to recede, tourists are flooding into Juneau. A record number of cruise ship passengers are expected this year in the city of about 30,000 people. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Crammed with tourists, Alaska's capital wonders what will happen as its magnificent glacier recedes

A record number of cruise passengers are expected this year in Alaska's capital, drawn by wonders such as the long-retreating Mendenhall Glacier. So many people are expected that the city’s … more

By BECKY BOHRER | 8/6/23

Ralph James sits in a classroom at a restored Rosenwald School made to look like it did when the school was open in St. George, S.C., on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Jewish businessman Julius Rosenwald donated money to help build 5,000 schools for Black students across the American South a century ago. Only about 500 are standing and roughly half of them have been restored. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

Rosenwald Schools helped educate Black students in segregated South. Could a national park follow?

In a small South Carolina town, a community is getting ready to show off a little-remembered part of the history of the segregated South. The restoration of the Rosenwald school in St. George is … more

By JEFFREY COLLINS | 8/6/23

Monica Lee sits outside her Braxton, Miss., home, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, and expresses her feelings about the investigation that led to six white former Mississippi law enforcement officers pleading guilty Thursday to federal civil rights offenses against two Black men who were brutalized during a home raid that ended when an officer shot one of the men in the mouth. Lee's youngest son, Damien Cameron, 29, who had a history of mental illness, died in July 2021 after being violently arrested by two Rankin County deputies, including Hunter Elward, one of the former officers who pleaded guilty Thursday. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Racist abuse by Mississippi officers reveals a culture of misconduct, residents say

Residents of the Mississippi county where a rogue group of officers carried out a racist assault say a culture of corruption and violence exists within the sheriff’s office. Six white former law … more

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG | 8/6/23

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., smiles while giving speaking at the Graves County Republican Party Breakfast at WK&T Technology Park in Mayfield, Ky., on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)

McConnell is warmly embraced by Kentucky Republicans amid questions about his health

U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell received a rousing welcome from the party faithful Saturday at a high-profile home-state political gathering amid renewed scrutiny of his health. The … more

By BRUCE SCHREINER | 8/5/23

In this image taken by video from WPVI, fire crews try to extinguish an fire at a home Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in Buena, southern N.J. An explosion has destroyed the house and left two people dead and two children seriously injured. Authorities are still searching for two other people they believe were inside. (WPVI-TV via AP)

4th body is found in New Jersey house that exploded; 2 injured children were rescued by civilians

Authorities say the body of a fourth victim has been found following an explosion and fire that destroyed a New Jersey house and seriously injured two children. The fourth body was found Friday … more

8/5/23

This image from video by WFTV shows emergency vehicles near the site of a shooting that critically injured two police officers on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, in Orlando, Florida. (WFTV via AP)

Florida shooting puts 2 officers in the hospital in critical condition, police chief says

Two Florida police officers have been shot and critically injured during a traffic stop. Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith says the officers stopped a vehicle around 11 p.m. Friday as part of an … more

8/5/23

Flooding debris is stacked along State Street, near the state capital building, as a vehicle drives past with a load of lumber tied to the roof in downtown, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Montpelier, Vt. The mostly gutted shops, restaurants and businesses that lend downtown Montpelier its charm are considering where and how to rebuild in an era when extreme weather is occurring more often. Vermont's flooding was just one of several major flood events around the globe this summer that scientists have said are becoming more likely due to climate change. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Vermont’s flood-wracked capital city ponders a rebuild with one eye on climate change

A beloved bookstore in Vermont’s small capital city moved across the street to a new spot farther from the Winooski River after an ice jam sent river water into the store in 1992. But the move to … more

By LISA RATHKE | 8/5/23

FILE - In this Aug. 4, 1977, photo provided by NASA, the "Sounds of Earth" record is mounted on the Voyager 2 spacecraft in the Safe-1 Building at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. On Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, NASA's Deep Space Network sent a command to correct a problem with its antenna. It took more than 18 hours for the signal to reach Voyager 2 _ more than 12 billion miles away _ and another 18 hours to hear back. On Friday, Aug. 4, the spacecraft started returning data again. (AP Photo/NASA, File)

NASA restores contact with Voyager 2 spacecraft after mistake led to weeks of silence

NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft is back in contact again, after flight controllers corrected a mistake that had led to weeks of silence. Hurtling ever deeper into interstellar space billions of miles … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 8/4/23

FILE - Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker participates in a debate with Republican gubernatorial challenger, state Sen. Darren Bailey, at the WGN9 studios, Oct. 18, 2022, in Chicago. Crisis pregnancy centers, which often pop up near abortion facilities to offer information about alternatives to the procedure, face penalties if they disseminate misleading or untruthful information after action by Pritzker on Thursday, July 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

US judge blocks new Illinois law allowing state to penalize anti-abortion counseling centers

A federal judge has blocked a new Illinois law that allows the state to penalize anti-abortion counseling centers if they use deception to interfere with patients seeking the procedure. U.S. District … more

8/4/23

FILE - "I Voted" stickers are ready to be distributed to each person who filled out their ballot, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, at a Brandon, Miss., precinct. Mississippi is violating the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment by permanently stripping voting rights from people convicted of some felonies, a federal appeals court panel ruled in a split decision Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Court blocks Mississippi ban on voting after some crimes, but GOP official will appeal ruling

Mississippi is violating the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment by permanently stripping voting rights from people convicted of some felonies. That's according to a split … more

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS | 8/4/23

FILE - Memphis police officers work the scene of a shooting at Margolin Hebrew School on Monday, July 31, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. A man suspected of trying to enter the Jewish school with a gun and firing shots outside the building has been charged with multiple crimes, the lead agency looking into the shooting said Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP, File)

Man who tried to enter Jewish school with a gun fired twice at a construction worker, police say

Authorities say a Tennessee man who attempted to enter a Jewish school with a gun fired shots at a construction worker there and later pointed his weapon at an officer before police wounded him on a … more

By ADRIAN SAINZ | 8/4/23

The legal team representing the family of Donovan Lewis address the media on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio, after a grand jury indicted former officer Ricky Anderson in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Donovan Lewis. From bottom left, Rebecca Duran, mother of Donovan Lewis, attorneys representing Lewis' family, Rex Elliott, and Michael Wright, and top right, Robert Gresham, and Kaela King, and Lewis' brother Tariq Stewart. (AP Photo/Patrick Orsagos)

Ohio K-9 officer is charged with murder in the death of a 20-year-old Black man shot in his bed

A former Columbus K-9 officer has been indicted on murder charges in the death of a 20-year-old Black man who was lying on his bed when he was shot by police trying to serve a warrant. Former … more

By PATRICK ORSAGOS | 8/4/23

FILE - In this image taken from video provided by ABC 33/40, Hoover, Ala., Police Department Chief Nick Derzis speaks at a news conference, Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Hoover. Authorities in Alabama said Monday, July 24, that a woman has confessed to fabricating a story that she was kidnapped after stopping to check on a toddler she saw walking on the side of the interstate. Derzis said Carlee Russell's attorney, Emory Anthony, provided a statement on Monday saying there was no kidnapping. (ABC 33/40 via AP, File)

Alabama authorities charge Carlee Russell for fabricating story about kidnapping, finding toddler

Authorities in Alabama say they have filed criminal charges against a woman who confessed to fabricating a story that she was kidnapped after stopping to check on a toddler she saw walking on the … more

By SUDHIN THANAWALA | 8/4/23

New Jersey house explosion leaves 3 dead, 1 missing, 2 children injured

An explosion has destroyed a house in southern New Jersey and left three people dead and two children seriously injured. The third victim was found Friday. Authorities are still searching for one … more

8/4/23

FILE - Michael Corey Jenkins stands outside Taylor Hill Church in Braxton, Miss., March 18, 2023. Six former law enforcement officers in Mississippi have been charged with federal civil rights offenses against two Black men who were brutalized for more than an hour during a home raid before an officer allegedly shot one of the men in the mouth. The charges were unsealed Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, as the former officers, all of whom are white, appeared in federal court. (AP Photo/HG Biggs, File)

'The Goon Squad': How rogue Mississippi officers tried to cover up their torture of 2 Black men

Six white former law enforcement officers in Mississippi have pleaded guilty to a racist assault on Michael Corey Jenkins and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker, who are Black. A roughly 90-minute … more

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG | 8/4/23

A billboard over Interstate 80 displays a Mega Millions lottery jackpot of $1.25 billion, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in Lodi, N.J. The odds of winning a $1.25 billion Mega Millions jackpot Friday night are infinitesimally small, but that doesn't stop players from some mighty big daydreams of what they would do if they won the giant prize. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

Mega Millions players will have another chance on Friday night to win a $1.25 billion jackpot

Lottery players will have a shot at an estimated $1.25 billion Mega Millions jackpot. There have been 30 straight drawings since the last time someone won the game’s jackpot on April 18. That has … more

By The Associated Press | 8/4/23

Residents walk near a vehicle washed away by floodwaters in the Mentougou district on the outskirts of Beijing, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. Chinese state media report some have died and others are missing amid flooding in the mountains surrounding the capital Beijing. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

AP Week in Pictures: Asia

July 28-Aug. 3, 2023 Flooding in China and the Philippines, Hindu rituals at rivers in India, the capsize of a passenger ferry in the Philippines and New Zealand sea lions hanging out at the … more

By The Associated Press | 8/4/23

Broken Arrow man sentenced for coercion, enticement of minor

TULSA Okla. – A Broken Arrow man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor in Indian Country, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. Christopher Dean Dana, … more

Staff Reports / news@morningsun.net | 8/4/23

Sunflowers are pictured behind rain drops on a car window at a field in the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa

July 28-Aug. 3, 2023 War continued in Ukraine during a week in which a Soviet emblem was removed from the shield of the Motherland Monument in Kyiv. In Moscow, Russia accused Ukraine of a … more

By The Associated Press | 8/4/23

FILE- A memorial is made outside the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 students and faculty were killed in a mass shooting in Parkland, Fla, Feb. 19, 2018. The re-enactment of the shooting at the school will take place early Aug. 2023, as part of a civil lawsuit and will use live ammunition. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Congressional delegation to tour blood-stained halls where Parkland school massacre happened

Nine members of Congress are expected to tour the blood-stained and bullet-pocked halls where the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school massacre happened. The six Democrats and three Republicans on Friday … more

By TERRY SPENCER | 8/4/23