National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - Dead Rio Grande silvery minnows lie in the dry Rio Grande riverbed on July 26, 2022, in Albuquerque, N.M. Environmentalists on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, accused the U.S. government of not doing enough to ensure the survival of the Rio Grande silvery minnow as drought tightens its grip on one of the longest rivers in the West. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson, File)

US agencies sued over fate of rare Rio Grande minnow

Environmentalists say the federal government isn’t doing enough to ensure the survival of the Rio Grande silvery minnow as drought tightens its grip on one of the longest rivers in the West. In a … more

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN | 11/30/22

FILE - Protesters gather calling for justice for George Floyd gaterh on May 26, 2020, in Minneapolis. The American Civil Liberties Union announced Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, that the city of Minneapolis reached a $600,000 settlement with 12 protesters who were injured during demonstrations after the May 2020 police killing of Floyd. (Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via AP, File)

Minneapolis settles with 12 hurt in George Floyd protests

The city of Minneapolis has reached a $600,000 settlement with 12 protesters who were injured during protests after the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd. The American Civil Liberties Union of … more

11/30/22

A store manager surveys the damage to Phantom Fireworks in West Melbourne Fla., on Tuesday, after it was destroyed by fire on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Authorities say a Florida man drove his SUV into the fireworks store, sparking a massive fire in a crash that also killed the driver. (Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)

SUV crashes into Florida fireworks store, sparking huge fire

Authorities say a Florida man drove his SUV into a fireworks store, sparking a huge fire in a crash. The driver was killed. Florida Today reports that the Phantom Fireworks store in West Melbourne, … more

11/30/22

FILE - A woman walks by a Yale sign reflected in the rainwater in the street on the Yale University campus in New Haven, Conn., Aug. 22, 2021. Yale University is being accused in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, of discriminating against students with mental health disabilities, including pressuring some to withdraw from the prestigious institution and then placing “unreasonable burdens” on those who seek to be reinstated. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

Yale University sued over student mental health policies

Yale University is being accused of discriminating against students with mental health disabilities, including pressuring some to withdraw from the prestigious institution and then placing … more

By SUSAN HAIGH | 11/30/22

This photo provided by Dennis Senibaldi, a transfer station supervisor, shows the wedding rings recovered from a 20-ton trash trailer on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022, in Windham, N.H. A celery stalk sighting and a little luck came together to help a man find his wife’s rings, wrapped in a napkin that he had accidentally thrown away. (Dennis Senibaldi via AP)

Celery stalk in trash, luck, lead to lost wedding rings

A celery stalk sighting and a little luck came together to help a New Hampshire man find his wife’s wedding rings in a 20-ton trash trailer, wrapped in a napkin that he had accidentally thrown … more

11/30/22

This photo provided by Rebecca Thompson shows Rebecca Thompson, in her office at her parent’s house, plans to buy a home with help from her employer, Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity. (Rebecca Thompson via AP)

Dallas Habitat for Humanity helps staff purchase homes

The Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity is using part of the $9 million gift it received from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in March to provide its staff members a new employee benefit — $13,500 in … more

By JIM RENDON of The Chronicle of Philanthropy | 11/30/22

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the second day of the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs, in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Ukraine welcomes arms offers, no word on Patriot missiles

Ukraine’s foreign minister says top NATO diplomats have given him a “number of new commitments” on arming his nation, but has declined to say whether that includes promises of badly wanted … more

11/30/22

Lauren Gilbert, a senior manager at the Center for Jewish History (CJH), participate in a global online conference to launch genealogy testing for Holocaust survivors, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, in New York. CJH is offering Ancestry/DNA testing kits for free to Holocaust survivors and their children to help increase the possibly of finding family connections torn apart in World War II. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Holocaust survivors offered DNA tests to help find family

The New York-based Center for Jewish History is launching a project offering DNA testing kits for free to Holocaust survivors and their children. It's an effort to help possibly find family … more

By DEEPTI HAJELA | 11/30/22

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis kneels in front of a memorial set up outside Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colo., Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. Polis, the first openly gay man to be elected governor in the United States, paid tribute to the victims who were killed in a mass shooting at the gay nightclub on Nov. 19. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Colorado governor visits gay club shooting memorial

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has visited the memorial outside a gay club where five people were killed in a shooting attack last week. He solemnly walked on Tuesday past flowers, crosses and photos of … more

By JESSE BEDAYN | 11/29/22

Linda Gamble, center, mother of Lorenzo Gamble, 43, of Chesapeake, Va., is comforted during a prayer vigil held by the Chesapeake Coalition of Black Pastors at The Mount (Mount Lebanon Baptist Church) in Chesapeake, Va., Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, for the six people killed at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Va., including Lorenzo Gamble, when a manager opened fire with a handgun before an employee meeting Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Walmart shooting claims teen, young woman, father, mother

Six families are mourning loved ones who were killed in the mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia. The victims include Randy Blevins, a longtime Walmart employee who liked working the … more

By BEN FINLEY, JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM | 11/29/22

FILE - A collection of illegal guns is displayed during a gun buyback event, Saturday May 22, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Individuals received pre-paid card payments of $25 up to $250 for firearms - with a bonus iPad for certain handguns or assault rifles, at the no-questions-asked event, co-sponsored by state and county attorney generals and the NYPD. According to a study published by JAMA Network Open on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, the U.S. gun death rate in 2021 hit its highest mark in nearly three decades, and the rate among women has been growing faster than that of men. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

Study: U.S. gun death rates hit highest levels in decades

A new study says the U.S. gun death rate last year hit its highest mark in nearly three decades. And the rate among women has been growing faster than that of men. The paper was published Tuesday by … more

By MIKE STOBBE | 11/29/22

FILE - Remnants and old vehicles can be seen through the barbed wire at 4077 Union Hill Road, Aug. 31, 2022, in Piketon, Ohio, at the site where Christopher Rhoden Sr. and Gary Rhoden were killed in 2016. A prosecutor said Monday, Nov. 28, that the first defendant to face trial in the slayings of eight people from an Ohio family should be convicted regardless of whether he was a triggerman. (Ty Wright/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)

Defense: Man had no reason to help family in killings of 8

A defense attorney for an Ohio man accused of helping his family kill eight members of another family says he had no reason to take part. George Wagner IV's attorney said Tuesday during closing … more

11/29/22

FILE - Moscow's Mikhail Grigorenko, left, fights for the puck against Dinamo's Mathew Maione during the KHL World Games 2018 between Dinamo Riga and CSKA Moscow at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland, on Nov. 28, 2018. In a ruling whose details were released Monday, Nov. 28, 2022, New Jersey gambling regulators fined Caesars Sportsbook $500 for wrongly refusing to pay out $27,000 in winnings to a gambler who wagered on a Dec. 22, 2021, game involving Dinamo Riga. The dispute involved whether goals scored in overtime should count toward the bet; the regulators ruled that they should. (Ennio Leanza/Keystone via AP, File)

Caesars Sportsbook fined for wrongly denying hockey payout

New Jersey gambling regulators have fined Caesars Sportsbook for wrongly refusing to pay out over $27,000 to a gambler who made winning bets on an international hockey game last year. The dispute … more

By WAYNE PARRY | 11/29/22

FILE - Signs advertise deals and low prices at a Walmart in Secaucus, N.J., Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. On Tuesday the Conference Board reports on U.S. consumer confidence for November. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

US consumer confidence falls in November for 2nd month

U.S. consumer confidence fell for the second straight month in November amid ongoing high inflation, rising interest rates, and layoff announcements by several large tech companies. The Conference … more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER | 11/29/22

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources shows a northern long-eared bat. On Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, the Biden administration declared the northern long-eared bat endangered, a last-ditch effort to save a species driven to the brink of extinction by a deadly fungus. This is the third species of bat recommended for the designation this year due to white-nose syndrome. (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources via AP, File)

US bat species devastated by fungus now listed as endangered

The Biden administration is designating the northern long-eared bat as an endangered species. Officials say that the bat's situation has worsened since it was classified as threatened in 2015. The … more

By JOHN FLESHER | 11/29/22

FILE - This photo provided by the Missouri Department of Corrections shows Kevin Johnson. A federal judge has denied a request from a 19-year-old woman to allow her to watch Johnson, her father’s death by injection. The decision upholds a Missouri law that bars anyone under 21 from witnessing an execution. Kevin Johnson is set to be executed Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, for killing Kirkwood, Missouri, Police Officer William McEntee in 2005. (Missouri Department of Corrections via AP)

Missouri prepares to execute man for killing officer in 2005

A Missouri inmate convicted of ambushing and killing a St. Louis area police officer he blamed in the death of his younger brother is scheduled to be executed Tuesday, though his lawyers are seeking … more

By JIM SALTER | 11/29/22

FILE - Mourners visit a makeshift memorial on Aug. 12, 2019, near the Walmart in El Paso, Texas, where people were killed in a mass shooting. On Monday, Nov. 28, 2022, a Texas prosecutor, facing mounting criticism over the handling of the 2019 Walmart mass shooting in El Paso, resigned after the county took the extraordinary step of moving to remove her from elected office. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio, File)

Texas prosecutor resigns amid 2019 Walmart attack criticism

A Texas prosecutor facing mounting criticism over the handling of the 2019 Walmart mass shooting in El Paso that killed 23 people has resigned. The decision by El Paso County District Attorney Yvonne … more

11/28/22

FILE - In this photo released by the National Park Service a wolf from the Wapiti Lake pack is silhouetted by a nearby hot spring in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., on Jan. 24, 2018. A lawsuit from environmentalists is challenging Montana rules that made it easier to kill wolves in the state, including those that wander out of Yellowstone. (Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service via AP, File)

Montana judge to decide on wolf hunting limits

A Montana judge said he would decide Tuesday whether to continue temporary limits on wolf hunting in the state or to restore quotas and hunting methods before a trial over whether the public was … more

By AMY BETH HANSON | 11/28/22

Wanda Farris, the mother of slain teenager Leesa Gray, second from right, is surrounded by supporters as she leaves the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022, after they listened to several hours of arguments about Mississippi's three-drug protocol for executions. Thomas Edwin Loden Jr. pleaded guilty in 2001 to capital murder, rape and four counts of sexual battery in the 2000 death of Gray, a 16-year-old waitress from north Mississippi. Loden is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. The Mississippi Supreme Court has scheduled his execution for Dec. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Judge mulls arguments in Mississippi death penalty protocol

A federal judge will decide whether to block Mississippi from using three drugs when it puts inmates to death. His ruling could determine whether the state carries out its next execution in about two … more

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS | 11/28/22

This photo provided by the Riverside Police Department shows Austin Lee Edwards, the suspect in a triple homicide in Southern California who died in a shootout with police Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. Edwards is believed to have driven across the country to meet a teenage girl before killing three members of her family, police said. (Riverside Police Department via AP)

California police: Virginia man killed family, took teenager

The suspect in a triple homicide in Southern California who died in a shootout with police is believed to have driven across the country to meet a teenage girl before killing three members of her … more

11/28/22