National News - The Morning Sun

Museum curator Nikki Walsh holds up two Revolutionary War musket balls, which are believed to be fired at the British by colonial militia men, at Minute Man National Historical Park, Monday, July 15, 2024, in Concord, Mass. Archeologists say the musket balls date back nearly 250 years and were fired during one of the first battles in the Revolutionary War. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Archeologists find musket balls fired during 1 of the first battles in the Revolutionary War

Archeologists with the National Park Service say they have found musket balls that date back nearly 250 years and were fired during one of the first battles in the Revolutionary War. The five musket … more

By MICHAEL CASEY | 7/17/24

Scientists are monitoring wild rattlesnakes through a webcam in remote northern Colorado, observing rattlesnake activity around the clock. The livestream is part of a community science initiative called Project RattleCam.

Webcam monitors hundreds of rattlesnakes at a Colorado 'mega den' for citizen science

A “mega den” of rattlesnakes at a remote location in northern Colorado is now available for live, round-the-clock viewing online. California Polytechnic State University scientists recently put … more

By MEAD GRUVER and KENDRIA LaFLEUR | 7/16/24

FILE - Utility crews work to restore electricity in Houston, Thursday, July 11, 2024. Houston’s prolonged outages following Hurricane Beryl has some fed-up and frustrated residents taking out their anger on repair workers who are trying to restore power across the city. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi, File)

Anger over Houston power outages after Beryl has repair crews facing threats from some residents

Houston’s prolonged outages following Hurricane Beryl has some fed-up and frustrated residents taking out their anger on repair workers who are trying to restore power across the city. Authorities … more

By JUAN A. LOZANO | 7/16/24

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump appears during the Republican National Convention Monday, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

FACT FOCUS: Trump falsely claims babies can be seen to change 'radically' after vaccination

In an excerpt of a recent conversation between former President Donald Trump and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted online, Trump suggested vaccines given to children to … more

By The Associated Press | 7/16/24

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talks during a campaign event, in West Hollywood, Calif., Thursday, June 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Kennedy apologizes after a video of him speaking to Trump leaks

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has apologized after a video was posted online showing part of a private phone call between the independent presidential candidate and Donald Trump. The video shows Kennedy … more

By JONATHAN J. COOPER | 7/16/24

FILE — In this photo provided by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, DEC officers secure an 11-foot (3.4-meter) alligator for transport after it was seized from a home where it was being kept illegally in Hamburg, N.Y., March 13, 2024. Tony Cavallaro, whose alligator Albert was seized, is suing the state Department of Environmental Conservation in an effort to get him back, saying the agency was wrong not to renew a license for the pet he'd raised for more than 30 years. (New York DEC via AP, File)

Albert the alligator's owner sues New York state agency in effort to be reunited with seized pet

An upstate New York man whose 750-pound alligator was seized is suing the state Department of Environmental Conservation in an effort to get him back, saying the agency was wrong not to renew a … more

By CAROLYN THOMPSON | 7/16/24

This photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows death row inmate Ruben Gutierrez. Gutierrez is set to receive a lethal injection on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)

Texas man facing execution for 1998 killing of elderly woman for her money

A Texas man is set to be executed for the killing of an elderly woman decades ago in what prosecutors said was an attempt to steal money the woman had hidden in her Brownsville home. Ruben Gutierrez … more

By JUAN A. LOZANO | 7/16/24

FILE - A demonstrator holds a sign protesting the U.S. Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade outside the Arkansas Capitol, June 24, 2022, in Little Rock, Ark. Supporters of a proposal to ask voters scale back Arkansas’ abortion ban sued the state on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, for rejecting their petitions to get the measure on the November ballot. (AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo, File)

Supporters of scaling back Arkansas abortion ban sue state for rejecting ballot measure petitions

Supporters of a proposal to scale back Arkansas’ abortion ban are suing the state for rejecting the petitions they submitted to get the measure on the November ballot. The lawsuit filed Tuesday … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 7/16/24

FILE - A shop holds a sidewalk sale on Feb. 10, 2023, in Providence, R.I. Small business sales growth slowed in June, 2024, as consumers took a pause on spending. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Summer pause: Small business sales growth tapers in June as consumers take a breather on spending

Small business sales growth slowed in June as consumers took a pause on spending. That’s according to new data from financial services and payments provider Fiserv. Consumers have been reining in … more

By MAE ANDERSON | 7/16/24

FILE - Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, left, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma, right, sign healthcare waivers at the state Capitol in Atlanta, Oct. 15, 2020. Pathways to Coverage launched last July and is the only Medicaid plan in the country that requires beneficiaries to work or engage in other activities to get coverage. As of June, it had about 4,300 members. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File)

Judge refuses to extend timeframe for Georgia's new Medicaid plan, only one with work requirement

A federal judge has ruled that the Biden administration complied with the law when it declined to grant an extension to Georgia’s year-old Medicaid plan, which is the only one in the country that … more

By SUDHIN THANAWALA | 7/16/24

FILE - The sign is seen above the headquarters of Kaspersky Lab in Moscow, Jan. 30, 2017. Beginning July 25, 2024, the cybersecurity firm Kaspersky said it will begin to "gradually wind down" all of its operations in the United States, just weeks after the Commerce Department banned the use of the company's software in the country. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

Kaspersky to shutter US operations after its software is banned by Commerce Department, citing risk

Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky says it’s shutting down all of its operations in the United States, just weeks after the Commerce Department banned the use of the company’s software in the country. … more

7/16/24

FILE - A holiday sale sign is displayed at a retail store in Rosemont, Ill., June 25, 2024. On Tuesday, July 16, 2024, the Commerce Department releases U.S. retail sales data for June. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

Retail sales unchanged in June from May as inflation moderates

Shoppers paused their spending June from May as they deal with moderating inflation but still high interest rates that have made buying anything on credit more expensive. Retail sales were unchanged … more

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO | 7/16/24

A number of Palestinians were killed, including a baby boy and his grandmother, in separate Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Monday.

The Latest | Israeli police shoot and kill a Palestinian who stabbed an officer in the West Bank

Israeli police say officers have shot and killed a Palestinian after he stabbed a police officer in the occupied West Bank. Police said the officer was lightly wounded in the attack Tuesday and … more

By The Associated Press | 7/16/24

Lori Ellinger becomes emotional while talking about the death of her son, Trea Ellinger, Monday, July 1, 2024, at her home in Glen Burnie, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

A Baltimore man died after being sedated and restrained by medics. His mom wants answers

The mother of a Baltimore man who died in police custody after being sedated by medics wants to know whether the actions of first responders caused his death. Experts say first responders failed to … more

By LEA SKENE | 7/16/24

FILE - Gary Zerola, of Boston, stands Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008, while on trial at Suffolk Superior Court, in Boston. Zerola, a former Boston lawyer and prosecutor who was once named one of People magazine's most eligible bachelors, was sentenced Monday, July 15, 2024, to between five and 10 years in state prison for rape dating to 2021. (AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfaye, Pool, File)

Boston lawyer once named 'most eligible bachelor' is sentenced to 5-10 years for raping 21-year-old

A former Boston lawyer and prosecutor who was once named one of People magazine’s most eligible bachelors has been sentenced to between five and 10 years in state prison for rape. … more

7/15/24

Fans wait to enter the stadium prior to the Copa America final soccer match between Argentina and Colombia in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Colombia's soccer federation president and son among 27 arrested in chaos at Copa America final

Police say Colombia’s soccer federation president and his son were among 27 people arrested during the crowd control issues that broke out Sunday at the Copa America final between Argentina and … more

By ALANIS THAMES | 7/15/24

This photo provided by the International Fund for Animal Welfare shows a IFAW staff member, left, and a trained volunteer, right, working among stranded dolphins, in Wellfleet, Mass., on Cape Cod, Friday, June 28, 2024. The recent stranding of more than 100 dolphins on Cape Cod, the largest such event involving dolphins in U.S. history, is due in part to the natural geography of the cape, with its gently sloping sand flats, tidal fluctuations, proximity to productive feeding grounds, and the hook-like shape of the cape itself. (International Fund for Animal Welfare via AP)

Cape Cod's fishhook topography makes it a global hotspot for mass strandings by dolphins

The recent stranding of more than 100 dolphins on Cape Cod is the largest such event involving dolphins in U.S. history. The stranding is partly due to the peninsula’s geography which includes … more

By STEVE LeBLANC | 7/15/24

A health worker administers the malaria vaccine Oxford-Serum R21 to a child in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Diomande Ble Blonde)

A 'new era' in malaria control has begun with a vaccination campaign for children in Ivory Coast

Health workers in Ivory Coast have begun giving children the latest malaria vaccine. It's the beginning of a regional campaign that experts hope might curb the impact of one of Africa’s top … more

By HILAIRE ZON | 7/15/24

Some displaced Palestinians returned on Sunday to Gaza City's Tal al-Hawa neighborhood after Israeli troops withdrew from parts of the area. The district was reduced to rubble by intense Israeli bombardment in the military's ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The Latest | Israeli drone strike kills a prominent Syrian businessman with close ties to Assad

An Israeli drone strike on a car near the Lebanon-Syria border has killed a prominent Syrian businessman who was sanctioned by the United States and had close to Syrian President Bashar Assad's … more

By The Associated Press | 7/15/24

FILE - A plane passes in front of the moon, Aug. 30, 2023, in Chicago. Scientists have confirmed a cave on the moon, not far from where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed 55 years ago this week, and suspect there are hundreds more that could house future astronauts. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, file)

Scientists have confirmed a cave on the moon that could be used to shelter future explorers

Scientists have confirmed a cave on the moon, not far from where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed 55 years ago. Researchers suspect there could be hundreds more caves and tunnels that could … more

By MARCIA DUNN | 7/15/24