National News - The Morning Sun

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

Justin Brooks works on clearing trees that fell around his home on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in Lake Oswego, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

The Pacific Northwest braces for a new round of ice and freezing rain after deadly weekend storm

The Pacific Northwest is bracing for more hazardous winter weather after a weekend storm that resulted in at least seven deaths. Tens of thousands of people remained without power on Tuesday as a … more

By CLAIRE RUSH | 1/16/24

FILE - Protesters walk by a mural of Manny Ellis after the verdict is read during the trial of three Tacoma police officers in the death of Ellis, Dec. 21, 2023, at Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Wash. Three Washington state police officers who were cleared of all criminal charges last month in the 2020 death of Ellis will each receive $500,000 to leave the Tacoma Police Department, according to documents released, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Maddy Grassy)

The 3 officers cleared in Manuel Ellis' death will each receive $500,000 to leave Tacoma police

Three Washington state police officers who were cleared of all criminal charges last month in the 2020 death of Manuel Ellis will each receive $500,000 to leave the Tacoma Police Department. Ellis … more

By GENE JOHNSON | 1/16/24

FILE - A worker pauses while removing snow from Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., Jan. 14, 2024. While the U.S. is shivering through bone-chilling cold, most of the rest of world is feeling unusually warm weather. Scientists Tuesday, Jan. 16, say that fits with what climate change is doing to Earth. (AP Photo/ Jeffrey T. Barnes, File)

US in deep freeze while much of the world is extra toasty? Yet again, it's climate change

While the U.S. is shivering through bone-chilling cold, most of the rest of world is feeling unusually warm weather. Scientists Tuesday say that fits with what climate change is doing to Earth. … more

By SETH BORENSTEIN | 1/16/24

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis greets supporters during a caucus night party, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Iowa Republicans sent a vivid signal this week that their party belongs to Donald Trump

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ team had knocked on 947,000 doors across Iowa while the candidate had visited all 99 counties. It turns out Iowans just weren’t into him. On Monday, Iowa Republican … more

By THOMAS BEAUMONT | 1/16/24

FILE - A couple visits murals created to honor the victims of the shootings at Robb Elementary School, Aug. 25, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. Department of Justice officials will release their findings of an investigation into the law enforcement response to the Uvalde school shooting this week, 18 months after the massacre that left 21 people dead. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Justice Department report into Uvalde school shooting expected this week

The Justice Department is planning this week to release findings of an investigation into the 2022 Uvalde, Texas, school shooting. The department has been looking into the law enforcement response at … more

1/16/24

Texas Department of Public Safety officers work inside a fenced off 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)

Biden administration asks Supreme Court to intervene in its dispute with Texas over border land

The drowning deaths of three migrants have brought new urgency to an extraordinary showdown between the Biden administration and Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. The state has seized a city park in … more

By VALERIE GONZALEZ | 1/16/24

FILE - Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan poses for photographers on March 29, 2018, in Los Angeles. The retired wrestler and a friend rescued a teenage girl who was trapped in an overturned vehicle after a crash in Florida. Hogan said on X that he used a ball point pen to puncture the car’s air bag and free the girl after witnessing the accident Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024 in Tampa. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, file)

Wrestler Hulk Hogan helps rescue teenage girl trapped after Florida car crash

Retired wrestler Hulk Hogan and a friend rescued a teenage girl who was trapped in an overturned vehicle after a crash in Florida. Hogan said in a post on X that he used a ball point pen to puncture … more

1/16/24

Banks prepare to take on the Biden administration over billions of dollars in overdraft fees

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 … more

By KEN SWEET and CORA LEWIS | 1/16/24

This image released by Routledge shows "Out of Hiding, Extremist White Supremacy and How it Can Be Stopped" by Kathleen M. Blee, Robert Futrell and Pete Simi. (Routledge via AP)

Book Review: Scholars analyzes extremist white supremacy’s grip on U.S. politics and culture

Three sociologists who have studied racist movements in the U.S. for decades chronicle in “Out of Hiding, Extremist White Supremacy and How It Can Be Stopped” the history of U.S. white supremacy … more

By JASON DEAREN | 1/16/24

Groceries are displayed on a counter in Bellflower, Calif., on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023. Student and legal advocacy groups are petitioning the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lift the interview requirement for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applicants to receive food aid. SNAP helps low-income families supplement their budgets so they can buy groceries, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages. An estimated 42 million Americans currently receive the benefits at an average of $212 per person or $401 per household. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File)

Advocacy groups are petitioning for the end of SNAP interview requirements

Student and legal advocacy groups are petitioning the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lift the interview requirement for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program applicants to receive food aid. … more

By CORA LEWIS | 1/16/24

FILE - Celeste Saulo, of Argentin, a poses after she was elected as Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva, Switzerland, June 1, 2023 during the U.N. climate and weather agency's congress in Geneva. The new head of the United Nations weather agency said Tuesday that strengthening early warning systems that monitor when and where extreme weather will happen is a key priority area for her administration that will help reduce the risk of natural disasters that are exacerbated by climate change. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP, File)

In first public statement, new UN weather chief calls to bolster warning systems for extreme weather

Celeste Saulo, the new secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization, has said her administration will prioritize the strengthening of early warning systems to help reduce the risk of … more

By CARLOS MUREITHI | 1/16/24

FILE - Rex Heuermann appears with his lawyer Michael J. Brown, left, at Suffolk County Court, Sept. 27, 2023, in Riverhead, N.Y. Long Island prosecutors say they are planning a major announcement in Gilgo Beach serial killing suspect Heuermann’s case on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, months after he was charged with murdering three women and was named as the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman. (James Carbone/Newsday via AP, File)

Gilgo Beach serial killing suspect returning to court as prosecutors plan major announcement

Long Island prosecutors say they are planning a major announcement in Gilgo Beach serial killing suspect Rex Heuermann’s case. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney is set to make the … more

1/16/24

Matty Matheson, center, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach kiss as "The Bear" wins the award for outstanding comedy series during the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Emmy Moments: 'Succession' succeeds, 'The Bear' eats it up, and a show wraps on time, thanks to Mom

The 75th Emmy Awards piled honors on three main shows Monday, while delivering a nostalgia-filled night with popular presenters and cast reunions. And somewhat surprisingly, the show ended on time … more

By JOCELYN NOVECK and MARK KENNEDY | 1/16/24

FILE - E. Jean Carroll leaves Manhattan federal court, Oct. 23, 2023, in New York. A federal judge said Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, that former President Donald Trump can wait a week to testify at a New York defamation trial where he could face millions of dollars in damages after a jury concluded that he sexually abused columnist Carroll in the 1990s. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

Ex-President Donald Trump set to face jury over sex abuse and defamation claims

Former President Donald Trump plans to attend the penalty phase of a New York civil defamation trial stemming from a columnist's claims that he sexually attacked her in a department store dressing … more

By LARRY NEUMEISTER | 1/16/24