National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - Members of the Missouri House of Representatives recite the Pledge of Allegiance as they begin their annual legislative session, Jan. 5, 2022, in Jefferson City, Mo. Women who serve in the Missouri House will face a tougher dress code when they return to the floor this week after a debate that Democrats panned as a pointless distraction from the issues facing the state. The new rules require female legislators and staff members to wear a jacket such as a cardigan or blazer. The Republican lawmaker who introduced the change said it was done to ensure decorum and mirror the men’s dress code. Democrats called it ridiculous, saying women should not be policed for their fashion choices. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb, File)

Missouri Democrats say House dress code debate a distraction

Women who serve in the Missouri House will face a tougher dress code when they return to the floor this week after a debate that Democrats panned as a pointless distraction from the issues facing the … more

By JOSH FUNK | 1/15/23

The body of a humpack whale lies on a beach in Brigantine N.J., after it washed ashore on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. It was the seventh dead whale to wash ashore in New Jersey and New York in little over a month, prompting calls for a temporary halt in offshore wind farm preparation on the ocean floor from lawmakers and environmental groups who suspect the work might have something to do with the deaths. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Officials: Whale found dead in NJ likely struck by vessel

Officials say the most recent whale found dead on a New Jersey shoreline had apparently been struck by a vessel. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center said Sunday that preliminary results of a necropsy … more

1/15/23

FILE - A clock at the entrance to JFK Airport in New York is pictured on Aug. 15, 2003. Officials are investigating a close call at the New York airport that happened Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, between a plane that was crossing a runway and another that was preparing for takeoff. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson, File)

FAA investigates close call between two planes at NY airport

Officials are investigating a close call at a New York airport Friday night between a plane that was crossing a runway as another was preparing for takeoff. The Federal Aviation Administration said … more

By MAYSOON KHAN | 1/15/23

Aftermath of a house explosion on Ramapo Avenue in Pompton Lakes, N.J., on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. The New Jersey house where smoke had been reported exploded with volunteer firefighters inside, injuring several of them and sending a few to a hospital for treatment of burns, authorities said. (Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com via AP)

New Jersey home explodes with firefighters inside; 5 injured

Authorities say a New Jersey house where smoke had been reported exploded with volunteer firefighters inside, injuring five and sending two to a hospital for treatment of burns. The Pompton Lakes … more

1/15/23

‘Avatar 2,’ ‘M3GAN’ hold onto top spots at the box office

New movies like “Plane” and “House Party” were no match for “Avatar: The Way of Water” and the killer doll horror “M3GAN” at the box office this weekend. The two holdovers topped the … more

By LINDSEY BAHR | 1/15/23

FILE - Rocks and vegetation cover Highway 70 following a landslide in the Dixie Fire zone on Oct. 24, 2021, in Plumas County, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

EXPLAINER: Tackling threat of mudslides in soaked California

The record rainfall in California has soaked its steep hillsides, causing hundreds of landslides and heightening the threat to communities. So far the state has not seen another tragedy like the one … more

By JULIE WATSON and DOUG GLASS | 1/15/23

A police forensics officer works near to the scene of a suspected drive-by shooting, in north London, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. Reports say at least four people were injured. (James Manning/PA via AP)

7-year-old seriously wounded in London drive-by shooting

British police say two children and four women were injured in a drive-by shooting in central London. The Metropolitan Police said officers were called on Saturday afternoon to a church in the Euston … more

1/15/23

Thomas Rhodes smiles as he walked out of a Minnesota state prison on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Moose Lake, Minn. Rhodes had been convicted of murder in the 1996 death of his wife and had served 25 years before authorities vacated his murder conviction on Friday, citing flawed testimony from an expert witness. He instead pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Friday and got credit for time served. (Fong Lee via AP)

Minnesota man's murder conviction vacated in wife's death

A Minnesota man who spent nearly 25 years in prison in connection with his wife’s death has been freed after officials vacated his murder conviction. The Minnesota Attorney General's Office … more

By MARGARET STAFFORD | 1/14/23

Floodwaters cover South Davis Rd. near Salinas in Monterey County, Calif., as the Salinas River overflows its banks on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Storm-battered California gets more wind, rain and snow

Storm-battered California is getting more wind, rain and snow, raising flooding concerns, causing power outages and making travel dangerous. Bands of rain with gusty winds started Saturday in the … more

By JOHN ANTCZAK | 1/14/23

India's 'RRR' an unlikely underdog in Hollywood awards race

Hollywood’s awards season has found an unlikely underdog in “RRR.” S.S. Rajamouli’s three-hour maximalist action epic is one of India’s most expensive and top-grossing films of all time. It … more

By RYAN PEARSON | 1/14/23

This photo provided by Bloomington Police Department shows Billie Davis. Davis has been charged after an 18-year-old Indiana University student repeatedly was stabbed in the head on a public bus in an attack the school says was because the victim is Asian. The victim told investigators she was standing and waiting for the exit doors to open on a Bloomington Transit bus Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023 when another passenger began striking her in the head, Bloomington police said in a release. (Bloomington Police Department via AP)

University: Student stabbed on bus because she is Asian

A 56-year-old woman has been charged after an 18-year-old Indiana University student repeatedly was stabbed in the head on a public bus in an attack the school says was because the victim is Asian. … more

1/14/23

Palestinians look at a damaged car following an Israeli raid in the West Bank village of Jaba, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. Palestinians inspect a car that was damaged in an Israeli military raid in the West Bank village of Jaba, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. Palestinian medics say two Palestinian men were killed in the raid. The Israeli army said it fired at the vehicle after gunmen inside fired at them, and that an automatic weapon was later confiscated from the car. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Israeli forces kill 2 Palestinians, say troops were attacked

Palestinian medics say Israeli troops have shot and killed two Palestinian men during a military raid in the occupied West Bank, while a third man has died from wounds sustained in an earlier raid. … more

1/14/23

A billboard along Interstate 95 advertise the Mega Millions jackpot in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

What are the 10 largest US lottery jackpots ever won?

Maine scored its first Mega Millions jackpot when a ticket purchased in the state matched Friday’s winning numbers for the lottery’s estimated $1.35 billion grand prize. The largest jackpot ever … more

The Associated Press | 1/14/23

A commuter ferry makes its way down the East River on the the Upper East Side of the Manhattan borough of New York on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, where woolly mammoth tusks were allegedly dumped in the mid 1900s. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Claim of mammoth bones brings treasure hunters to NYC river

Several groups have flocked to the waterway off Manhattan in search of treasure. That's after hearing a guest on podcast host Joe Rogan’s show make a claim that a boxcar’s worth of prehistoric … more

By DEEPTI HAJELA | 1/14/23

Debris litters a local business that was destroyed by a tornado that passed through downtown Selma Ala., Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

In Alabama, tornadoes rattle historic civil rights community

As a deadly storm system that spawned tornadoes across parts of the U.S. South, Zakiya Sankara-Jabar’s cellphone buzzed relentlessly. Text messages and calls from loved ones in Alabama, many of … more

By AARON MORRISON | 1/14/23

People wait in line at "The Lotto Store at Primm" just inside the California border Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, near Primm, Nev. Mega Millions players will have another chance Friday night to end months of losing and finally win a jackpot that has grown to $1.35 billion. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Mega Millions drawing offers another chance at giant prize

The numbers for an estimated $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot were drawn and now all hopeful players can do is wait until word of a possible winner. The numbers drawn late Friday night were: 30, … more

1/13/23

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the U.S. Attorney's office shows Lawrence Ray, the ex-convict charged with sex trafficking and extortion for forcing young women into prostitution or forced labor after winning trust by posing as a father-figure. In a submission in Manhattan federal court late Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, prosecutors are seeking a life prison term for Ray. (U.S. Attorney's office via AP, File)

Prosecutors seek life term for man who abused college women

Prosecutors are seeking a life prison term for an ex-convict who extorted and forced into labor or prostitution some women he met at his daughter's on-campus housing at Sarah Lawrence College. … more

By LARRY NEUMEISTER | 1/13/23

Aram Wedatalla, a Hamline University senior and the president of Muslim Student Association (MSA), speaks during a news conference at CAIR-MN office, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Minneapolis. A Hamline University lecturer showed a painting of the Prophet Muhammad and Wedatalla was one of the students in the class when the image was displayed. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)

Hamline University under fire for art professor's dismissal

A Minnesota university’s dismissal of a professor for including depictions of the Prophet Muhammad in a global art course has put the small, private school at the center of a debate over how to … more

By KATHLEEN FOODY | 1/13/23

Elizabeth Fleisher talks with her son Sullivan, 6, by the newly unveiled gravestone for recently identified Joseph Augustus Zarelli at the Ivy Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. Zarelli, who was killed in 1957 and long known as "America's Unknown Child." (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Philly's newly ID'd 'Boy in the Box' gets grave marker at 70

A slain child at the center of one of Philadelphia's oldest cold cases now has his name on a grave marker. Mourners who gathered at the gravesite Friday are marking what would have been the 70th … more

By MARYCLAIRE DALE | 1/13/23

Rain-soaked California to see more rounds of stormy weather

State and federal officials are pleading with Californians to stay alert through several more rounds of stormy weather through the weekend and into next week. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell … more

By JANIE HAR and SOPHIE AUSTIN | 1/13/23