National News - The Morning Sun

This undated photo provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California shows an ancient Roman-era mosaic that was illegally imported. A California man has been found guilty of illegally importing the ancient mosaic from Syria. The U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles says 56-year-old Mohamad Yassin Alcharihi was convicted Wednesday, June 21, 2023, of one count of entry of falsely classified goods. (U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California via AP)

California man convicted of illegally importing an ancient mosaic from Syria

A California man has been found guilty of illegally importing an ancient mosaic from Syria. The U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles says 56-year-old Mohamad Yassin Alcharihi was convicted Wednesday … more

6/22/23

Former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School School Resource Officer Scot Peterson sits at the defense table during his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla, on Thursday, June 22, 2023. Broward County prosecutors charged Peterson, a former Broward Sheriff's Office deputy, with criminal charges for failing to enter the 1200 Building at the school and confront the shooter as he perpetuated the Valentine's Day 2018 mass shooting there. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Witnesses to Parkland massacre describe their confusion in pinpointing gunshots' location

The courtroom battle over whether a Florida deputy should have confronted the Parkland school gunman is now centering on what witnesses heard. A deputy sheriff, teachers and students all gave … more

By TERRY SPENCER | 6/22/23

Group promoting plant-based eating wants a new name for Macon Bacon baseball team

A doctors' group that promotes animal rights is makin' a fuss over the Macon Bacon baseball team. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine wrote to the president of the Georgia collegiate … more

6/22/23

FILE - In this image released by Action Aviation, the submersible Titan is prepared for a dive into a remote area of the Atlantic Ocean on an expedition to the Titanic on Sunday, June 18, 2023. Rescuers are racing against time to find the missing submersible carrying five people, who were reported overdue Sunday night. (Action Aviation via AP, File)

Did initial delays in communication hamper tourist sub search?

About an hour and a half into its voyage, a missing submersible on an expedition to view the wreckage of the Titanic lost communications. It would take another nine hours before the Canadian research … more

By HOLLY RAMER, JENNIFER McDERMOTT and BEN FINLEY | 6/22/23

FILE - In this July 9, 1960, file photo, the U.S. Navy nuclear powered attack submarine USS Thresher is launched bow-first at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine. In 1963, the crew of a rescue ship listened helplessly after receiving an ominous message “exceeding test depth” before the USS Thresher disintegrated under the crushing pressure of the sea in 1963. Killed were 129 sailors and civilians on a routine test dive off Cape Cod. (AP Photo, File)

Past deep sea rescues show the challenges of saving those on board

The desperate search for a submersible that disappeared while taking five people to view the Titanic wreckage has drawn attention to other deep-sea rescues. Those rescue efforts — from a … more

By STEVE LeBLANC | 6/22/23

This is a new townhome development in Sewickley, Pa., on Saturday, June 10, 2023. On Thursday, Freddie Mac reports on this week's average U.S. mortgage rates. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Average long-term US mortgage rate falls to 6.67%, third straight drop since climbing to 2023 high

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell for the third time in as many weeks, a welcome boost for homebuyers facing a housing market that’s been held back this year by a tight inventory of … more

By ALEX VEIGA | 6/22/23

A for sale sign stands outside a single-family residence on the market Sunday, June 18, 2023, in Denver. On Thursday, the National Association of Realtors reports on sales of existing homes in May. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Home sales inch up in May amid record-low inventory and biggest annual drop in prices since 2011

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes edged higher in May and the national median sale price posted its biggest annual drop in more than a decade, even as the supply of available properties sank to … more

By ALEX VEIGA | 6/22/23

This photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions shows a submersible vessel named Titan used to visit the wreckage site of the Titanic. In a race against the clock on the high seas, an expanding international armada of ships and airplanes searched Tuesday, June 20, 2023, for the submersible that vanished in the North Atlantic while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP)

Live updates | Search for the missing Titanic submersible

Scientists, while remaining realistic about the chances of finding the Titan on the vast ocean floor, are still offering a glimmer of hope. Rob Larter is a marine geophysicist with the British … more

By The Associated Press | 6/22/23

FILE - A patient prepares to take the first of two combination pills, mifepristone, for a medication abortion during a visit to a clinic in Kansas City, Kan., on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022. Wyoming's first-in-the-nation ban on abortion pills will come before a state judge Thursday, June 22, 2023, as the court considers whether the prohibition should take effect as planned July 1 or be put on hold pending the outcome of a lawsuit. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Judge to weigh suspending Wyoming's first-in-the-nation ban on abortion pills

A judge is about to consider whether to allow Wyoming’s first-in-the-nation ban on abortion pills to take effect or be put on hold pending the outcome of a lawsuit challenging it. While other … more

By MEAD GRUVER | 6/22/23

Anti-abortion advocates celebrate outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 24, 2022, following the court's decision to end constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years. One year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rescinded a five-decade-old right to abortion, prompting a seismic shift in debates about politics, values, freedom and fairness. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Where abortion laws stand in every state a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe

State abortion policies have shifted quickly since the U.S. Supreme Court last year ended a nationwide right to abortion after nearly 50 years. Nearly every state has had changes made or attempted … more

By The Associated Press | 6/22/23

FILE - Emma Rousseau of Oakland, N.J., her mouth bound with a red, white and blue netting, attends a rally on the Fourth of July to protest for abortion rights, at Lafayette Park in front of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 4, 2022. One year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rescinded a five-decade-old right to abortion, prompting a seismic shift in debates about politics, values, freedom and fairness. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

A year after fall of Roe, 25 million women live in states with abortion bans or tighter restrictions

A year after the U.S. Supreme Court rescinded a five-decade-old right to abortion, 25 million women of childbearing age now live in states where the law makes abortions harder to get. Saturday is the … more

By GEOFF MULVIHILL, KIMBERLEE KRUESI and CLAIRE SAVAGE | 6/22/23

A billboard is seen in Scottsdale, Ariz., Saturday, June 10, 2023, near the health care facility of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which has been affected by a gigantic Medicaid fraud scheme involving sober living homes that promised help to Native Americans seeking to kick alcohol and other additions. Navajo National Attorney General Ethel Branch said Monday, June 12, 2023, that Navajo law enforcement teams that fanned out over metro Phoenix in recent weeks made contact with several hundred Native Americans from various tribes on the streets amid the state crackdown. (AP Photo/Anita Snow)

Navajo Nation declares widespread Medicaid scam in Arizona a public health state of emergency

A widespread Arizona Medicaid scam that has left an unknown number of Native Americans homeless on the streets of metro Phoenix is being declared a public health state of emergency by the Navajo … more

By ANITA SNOW | 6/21/23

FILE - The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Warren Deyampert is docked as a member of the Coast Guard walks past, Tuesday, June 20, 2023, at Coast Guard Base Boston, in Boston. Rescuers are racing against time to find the missing submersible carrying five people, who were reported overdue Sunday night, June 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

How search teams could use sound to find the Titan sub -- and why it's a challenge

Search teams racing to find the missing Titanic submersible have detected underwater noises but it won’t be easy to find the source of that sound in the ocean. There are many other potential … more

By MADDIE BURAKOFF | 6/21/23

FILE - OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush emerges from the hatch atop the OceanGate submarine Cyclops 1 in the San Juan Islands, Wash., on Sept. 12, 2018. Rescuers are racing against time to find the missing submersible carrying five people, who were reported overdue Sunday night, June 18, 2023. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times via AP, File)

A different frontier: Stockton Rush started Titanic sub company to expand access to the deep sea

As other entrepreneurs have pushed the edge of technology to bring well-heeled tourists to space, Stockton Rush saw new opportunities for exploring another frontier: the deep sea. OceanGate, the … more

By GENE JOHNSON and ED KOMENDA | 6/21/23

FILE - In this June 14, 2016, file photo, two people walk on the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie, Wyo. Sorority rules allow a transgender woman to belong to its University of Wyoming chapter and a court can't interfere with that, a sorority being sued over the matter says in seeking the lawsuit’s dismissal. The Kappa Kappa Gamma motion to dismiss, filed Tuesday, June 20, 2023. in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne, is the sorority's first substantive response to the lawsuit, other than a March statement by its executive director, Kari Kittrell Poole, that the complaint contains “numerous false allegations.” (Shannon Broderick/Laramie Boomerang via AP, FIle)

Rules allow transgender woman at Wyoming chapter, and a court can't interfere, sorority says

A sorority being sued because its University of Wyoming chapter admitted a transgender woman seeks to dismiss the lawsuit, saying sorority rules allow the woman's membership and a court can't … more

By MEAD GRUVER | 6/21/23

Outlook bleak for passengers on the Titan, despite massive rescue effort

Time is quickly running out for five people aboard a missing submersible that lost contact with its mother ship on Sunday as it descended to the wreck of the Titanic. As international search and … more

By MARK PRATT | 6/21/23

Broward Sheriff's Office Detective John Curcio becomes emotional while testifying during the trial of former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School School Resource Officer Scot Peterson at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. Broward County prosecutors charged Peterson, a former Broward Sheriff's Office deputy, with criminal charges for failing to enter the 1200 Building at the school and confront the shooter. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Homicide detective weeps in trial of deputy who failed to confront Parkland high school shooter

A veteran homicide detective wept in court as he testified about the 2018 massacre at a Parkland, Florida, high school. The Broward County Detective briefly cried as he testified Wednesday that … more

By TERRY SPENCER | 6/21/23

FILE - This screengrab shows the arrest in Raleigh, N.C., of Darryl Tyree Williams, who died after being stunned repeatedly with stun guns on Jan. 17, 2023. Williams died from "sudden cardiac arrest" related to cocaine intoxication and the police confrontation, according to the state's autopsy released on Wednesday, June 7. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner also labeled Williams' death a homicide. (City of Raleigh via AP, File)

North Carolina prosecutor won't charge officers involved in death of man during arrest

A prosecutor says she won’t seek charges against police in North Carolina’s capital city whose officers repeatedly used stun guns on a man who subsequently died. The report from Wake County … more

By GARY D. ROBERTSON | 6/21/23

FILE - In this artist depiction, Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, seated second from right, appears in U.S. District Court, in Boston, April 19, 2023. Teixeira, accused of leaking highly classified military documents on a social media platform, is due back in court on June 21, after being indicted on federal felony charges. (Margaret Small via AP)

Pentagon documents leak suspect Guardsman Jack Teixeira is due back in court on federal charges

The Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of leaking highly classified military documents on a social media platform is due back in court after being indicted on federal felony charges. … more

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER | 6/21/23

Gabrielle Jameson, a victim of a sexual assault, looks over photographs from her college thesis project, which she describes as part of her healing process, at the office of her attorney Tony Le Mon, in Covington, La., Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Woman whose sexual abuser was set free seeks new ruling after losing lawsuit against prosecutor

A Louisiana woman who was 16 when her boss coerced her to perform a sex act was aghast when a judge let the man walk free on probation. The victim, now 20, blames a St. Tammany Parish prosecutor who … more

By KEVIN McGILL and STEPHEN SMITH | 6/21/23