National News - The Morning Sun

A memorial to the seven people killed and others injured in Monday's Fourth of July mass shooting grows at a veterans memorial Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Highland Park, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Red flags missed: How July 4 suspect slipped through system

Illinois’ “red-flag” law could have stopped, or at least slowed down, the suspect in the Independence Day parade shooting from being able to buy the gun he is accused of using to kill seven … more

By BERNARD CONDON and JIM MUSTIAN | 7/7/22

This undated photo released by the San Francisco Zoo & Gardens, shows, a male Magellanic penguin, called Captain EO, at the zoo in San Fransisco. The oldest Magellanic penguin at the San Francisco Zoo & Gardens — one of the oldest penguins living under human care anywhere in the world — died Wednesday, July 6, 2022, at the age of 40, the zoo reported. The species' average life expectancy is 20 to 30 years. (San Francisco Zoo & Garden via AP)

Oldest Magellanic penguin at San Francisco Zoo dies at 40

The oldest Magellanic penguin at the San Francisco Zoo & Gardens has died at the age of 40. The zoo said the male, called Captain Eo, died Wednesday. He was one of the oldest penguins living under … more

7/7/22

FILE - Tonya Isabell, left, speaks on June 18, 2020, during a vigil for her cousin Charleena Lyles, pictured at right, on the third anniversary of her death, in Seattle. An inquest jury found Wednesday, July 6, 2022, that two Seattle police officers were justified in fatally shooting Lyles, a mentally unstable, pregnant, Black mother of four children, inside her apartment when she menaced them with knives in 2017. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren,File)

Inquest: Seattle police shooting of pregnant woman justified

An inquest jury has determined that two Seattle police officers were justified in fatally shooting a mentally unstable, pregnant, Black mother of four children inside her apartment when she menaced … more

7/6/22

Yesenia Hernandez, granddaughter to Nicolas Toledo, who was killed during Monday's Highland Park., Ill., Fourth of July parade, writes on a memorial for Toledo along with the six others who lost their lives in the mass shooting, Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Highland Park. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

EXPLAINER: Should red-flag law have stopped parade shooting?

Days after a rooftop gunman killed seven people at a parade, attention has turned to how the assailant obtained multiple guns and whether the laws on Illinois books could have prevented the … more

By MICHAEL TARM | 7/6/22

Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testifies about how former President Donald Trump reacted in his vehicle after being told he was not able to go to the Capitol from the Ellipse on Jan. 6, as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Hutchinson's Jan. 6 committee testimony a television hit

Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony before the Jan. 6 committee was a big hit with TV viewers. The Nielsen company said an estimated 13.2 million people watched the hearing, called … more

By DAVID BAUDER | 7/6/22

A Gadsden County Sheriff's Office van in parked at their main office, Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Quincy, Fla. (AP Photo/Anthony Izaguirre)

Rural Florida county shocked by fentanyl deaths over holiday

A small, rural county just west of Florida’s capital is stunned by an unheard-of spike in deadly drug overdoses believed to be caused by fentanyl mixed with other illegal drugs. It's a sign that … more

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON | 7/6/22

FILE - National Guardsmen stands watch over a fence near the International bridge where thousands of Haitian migrants have created a makeshift camp, on Sept. 18, 2021, in Del Rio, Texas. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating potential civil rights violations in Texas' multibillion-dollar border security mission that has given the National Guard arrest powers and seen state authorities bus migrants to Washington, D.C., according to public records. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Report: Justice Department probing Texas' border mission

Records show the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating potential civil rights violations in Texas’ multibillion-dollar border security mission. Operation Lone Star has given the National … more

7/6/22

FILE - Seen on the screen of a device in La Habra, Calif., new iPhone 13 smartphones are introduced during a virtual event held to announce new Apple products on Sept. 14, 2021. Apple plans to roll out a “lockdown" option for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers intended to protect against spyware unleashed by state-sponsored hackers — although enabling it will also make these devices less useful. The safeguard was announced on Wednesday, July 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Apple to add 'lockdown' safeguard on iPhones, iPads, Macs

Apple plans to roll out a “lockdown” option for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers intended to protect against spyware unleashed by state-sponsored hackers — although enabling it will also make … more

Associated Press | 7/6/22

FILE - Film scholar Jacqueline Stewart arrives at the BET Awards in Los Angeles on June 26, 2022. Stewart has been named the next director and president of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. The organization’s board of trustees said Wednesday that Stewart, who previously served as the museum’s chief artistic and programming officer, would succeed Bill Kramer to guide the vision of the museum beginning on July 18. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Jacqueline Stewart to lead Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

Film scholar Jacqueline Stewart has been named the next director and president of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. The organization’s board of trustees said Wednesday that … more

By LINDSEY BAHR | 7/6/22

FILE - Graduates of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley attend their commencement ceremony at the schools parking lot on Friday, May 7, 2021, in Edinburg, Texas. A deadline is fast approaching for teachers, librarians, nurses and others who work in public service to apply to have their student loan debt forgiven. New figures from the U.S. Department of Education show 145,000 borrowers have had the remainder of their debt canceled through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. (Delcia Lopez/The Monitor via AP, File)

What to know about public service loan forgiveness

More than 145,000 U.S. borrowers have had the remainder of their student loan debt canceled through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, and officials say many more likely qualify. The … more

The Associated Press | 7/6/22

FILE - In this May 17, 2018, file photo, new graduates line up before the start of the Bergen Community College commencement at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. A deadline is fast approaching for teachers, librarians, nurses and others who work in public service to apply to have their student loan debt forgiven. New figures from the U.S. Department of Education show 145,000 borrowers have had the remainder of their debt canceled through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Work at a school or nonprofit? You could erase student loans

A deadline is fast approaching for teachers, librarians, nurses and others who work in public service to apply to have their student loan debt forgiven. New figures from the U.S. Department of … more

By CORA LEWIS and ADRIANA MORGA | 7/6/22

Brooke and Matt Strauss, who were married Sunday, look toward the scene of the mass shooting in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb, after leaving their wedding bouquets near the scene of Monday's mass shooting, Tuesday, July 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Police: July 4 mass shooting thwarted in Virginia's capital

Police in Richmond, Virginia, say they thwarted a planned July 4 mass shooting after receiving a tip that led to arrests and the seizure of multiple guns. Police announced the alleged plot in a news … more

By DENISE LAVOIE | 7/6/22

This photo provided by UMBC, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Professor Weihong Lin, second from left, works with students in her biological sciences lab. (Marlayna Demond/UMBC via AP)

Biomedical grantmakers' diversity push gains new momentum

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, one of the nation’s wealthiest philanthropies, announced a $1.5 billion effort designed to help scientists of color advance in their careers. This is one of … more

By SONO MOTOYAMA of The Chronicle of Philanthropy | 7/6/22

Broken walls are seen at the Kuje maximum prison in Abuja after a rebel attack, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. At least 600 inmates escaped in a jailbreak in Nigeria's capital city, officials said Wednesday, blaming the attack on Islamic extremist rebels. About 300 have been recaptured, authorities said. (AP Photo/Chinedu Asadu)

Jihadis attack jail in Nigeria's capital, 600 inmates escape

A Nigerian official says that at least 600 inmates escaped in a jailbreak in Abuja, the capital. Shuaib Belgore, permanent secretary of Nigeria’s Ministry of Interior, blamed the attack on Boko … more

By CHINEDU ASADU | 7/6/22

This image released by Paramount+ shows, from left, Rebecca Romijn as Una, Ethan Peck as Spock, background, Melissa Navia as Ortegas and Anson Mount as Pike in a scene from the series "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds." (Marni Grossman/Paramount+ via AP)

Star Trek’s ‘Strange New Worlds’: In defense of episodic TV

High-end TV today is all about intricate story arcs, deep serialization, a requirement for sequential viewing and a serious attention span. That’s a lot of commitment, even for a binger. And that's … more

By TED ANTHONY | 7/6/22

FILE - Police officers detain demonstrators in St. Petersburg, Russia, Feb. 24, 2022. When President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine, a massive wave of outrage and anti-war sentiment swept Russia. The Kremlin in response insisted that what it called a “special military operation” in Ukraine attracted overwhelming public support, and moved swiftly to suppress any dissent. (AP Photo, File)

Some Russians won't halt war protests, despite arrest fears

Despite a massive government crackdown on protests of the invasion of Ukraine, some Russians persist in speaking out against the invasion. One woman in the Ural Mountains city of Perm posts signs in … more

By The Associated Press | 7/6/22

Deadly July 4 parade: Shots, then a frantic rush to escape

For many people, the mass shooting that killed at least seven people and injured 30 others in a Chicago suburb on July 4 was yet another reminder that any place, any event in the U.S. can turn … more

By MICHAEL TARM and SARA BURNETT | 7/5/22

FILE - A rescue helicopter hovers over the Punta Rocca glacier near Canazei, in the Italian Alps in northern Italy, July 4, 2022, a day after a huge chunk of the glacier broke loose, sending an avalanche of ice, snow, and rocks onto hikers. Italy was enduring a prolonged heat wave before a massive piece of the Alpine glacier broke off and killed hikers on Sunday and experts say climate change will make those hot, destabilizing conditions more common. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

Warming world creates hazard for Alpine glaciers

Italy endured a prolonged heat wave before an Alpine glacier broke off and killed seven hikers and left others unaccounted for. Hotter temperatures are linked to climate change and can destabilize … more

By MICHAEL PHILLIS | 7/5/22

Officers close the casket for Floyd County Deputy William Petry at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg, Ky., Tuesday, July 5, 2022. Dep. Petry was killed when a man with a rifle opened fire on police attempting to serve a warrant Thursday, June 30. (Silas Walker/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)

Funerals begin for 3 Kentucky officers killed in ambush

The first of three Kentucky police officers killed in an ambush last week has been laid to rest. Dozens of uniformed officers attended the funeral Tuesday for Floyd County Deputy William Petry. Petry … more

By DYLAN LOVAN | 7/5/22

Attorney Paul T. Ferrell Jr. asks West Virginia Circuit Court Judges Alan Moats and Derick Swope for a continuance in the opioid trial scheduled to begin Tuesday, July 5, 2022, in the Kanawha County Ceremonial Courtroom in Charleston, W.Va. Lawyer Bob Fitzsimmons sits at the table to Ferrell's right. (Chris Dorst/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP)

After West Virginia opioid verdict, another case postponed

The trial for a lawsuit accusing three major U.S. drug distributors of causing a health crisis throughout West Virginia has been postponed. Tuesday's continuance came a day after the companies … more

By JOHN RABY | 7/5/22