National News - The Morning Sun

FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2019 photo, people visit Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California's Mojave Desert. The California Fish & Game Commission is holding a hearing on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, to consider whether to list the western Joshua Tree as a threatened species. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong,File)

California won't immediately list Joshua tree as threatened

California won’t be listing the iconic western Joshua tree as a threatened species for now. The California Fish and Game Commission voted 2-2 Thursday on whether to list the tree under state … more

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE | 6/16/22

FILE - Mia Wright, center right, and is seen after speaking with reporters on June 4, 2020, in Chicago. A Chicago police officer accused of dragging Mia Wright from a car by her hair and kneeling on her back and neck during a period of protests and unrest following George Floyd's killing should be fired, the head of the police department told a civilian oversight board. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford, File)

Chicago's top cop seeks officer's firing over mall arrest

Chicago’s police superintendent is recommending the firing of an officer accused of dragging a Black woman from a car by her hair and kneeling on her back and neck during a period of protests and … more

6/16/22

In this photo released by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, an aardvark cub explores her habitat at the San Diego Zoo on June 10, 2022. For the first time in more than 35 years, an aardvark pup has been born at the zoo. The female, which has not yet been named, was born May 10. Zookeepers say she is doing well and that her mother, Zola, is caring and attentive. (Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance via AP)

San Diego Zoo welcomes 1st aardvark birth in years

An aardvark cub born at the San Diego Zoo is said to be doing well and developing quickly. The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says the female cub was born May 10 and will nurse from mother Zola for … more

6/16/22

FILE - South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley celebrates after a college basketball game in the final round of the Women's Final Four NCAA tournament against UConn Sunday, April 3, 2022, in Minneapolis. South Carolina won 64-49 to win the championship. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

PHOTO GALLERY: Celebrating the impact of Title IX

The impact of the 1972 Title IX law barring discrimination in educational programs that receive federal aid is vast, but it has been particularly influential in athletics. Women’s and men’s … more

By The Associated Press | 6/16/22

Attorney General Merrick Garland. visits the Tops Friendly Market grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y., on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, the site of a May 14 mass shooting in which 10 Black people were killed. Garland was in Buffalo to announce federal hate crime charges against the 18-year-old shooter, Payton Gendron. (AP Photo/Carolyn Thompson)

Buffalo supermarket gunman due in court on hate crime counts

The white man who opened fire on Black people at a Buffalo supermarket, killing 10, is due in federal court, a day after authorities announced hate crime charges that could bring the death penalty. … more

By CAROLYN THOMPSON | 6/16/22

A man kisses the cross of Layla Salazar at a memorial outside Robb Elementary School to honor the victims killed in this week's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Saturday, May 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Uvalde 11-year-old was avid runner, is remembered for energy

Layla Salazar adored Koala bears and loved the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and dancing to TikTok videos. Her family said she wanted her grandparents to pick her up as often as possible from school because … more

6/16/22

Family members of El Monte Police Officer Michael Paredes grieve at a makeshift memorial for him and Officer Joseph Santana at El Monte City Hall and police station on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, in El Monte, Calif. The two officers and a suspect were killed in a shootout the day before while investigating a possible stabbing in a suburban Los Angeles motel. (Sarah Reingewirtz/The Orange County Register via AP)

Wife says she tried to warn police before deadly shooting

The wife of a man who killed two police officers in a Los Angeles suburb says she warned them he had a gun. Diana Flores tells KCBS-TV that Justin Flores had attacked her two days ago and she warned … more

By STEFANIE DAZIO and CHRISTOPHER WEBER | 6/16/22

Louise Billiot, a member of the United Houma Nation Indian tribe, talks inside the home of her friend Irene Verdin, which was heavily damaged from Hurricane Ida nine months before, along Bayou Pointe-au-Chien, La., Thursday, May 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

In Louisiana, Native Americans struggle to recover from Ida

As another hurricane season gets started, many Native American residents in southeast Louisiana are still struggling to recover from last year's Hurricane Ida. Native Americans have lived in the … more

By REBECCA SANTANA | 6/15/22

This photo provided by the Rincon Valley Fire District shows crews working a wildfire on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Rain in the forecast later this week could help firefighters battling the blaze. (Rincon Valley Fire District via AP)

Summer rainy season sets up across Four Corners region

As the summer rainy season known simply as the monsoon started Wednesday, concerns grew for neighborhoods below mountains that have burned repeatedly in northern Arizona. The monsoon runs through … more

By FELICIA FONSECA | 6/15/22

The Glacier Valley Elementary School is seen in Juneau, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. A dozen students and two adults were served floor sealant instead of milk at the school after containers were apparently mixed up, the superintendent said Wednesday. Several children complained of burning sensations in their mouth and throats, and at least one child was treated at the local hospital after the Tuesday morning mix-up, Superintendent Bridget Weiss said. (Ben Hohenstatt/The Juneau Empire via AP)

Alaska kids served sealant instead of milk at school program

A dozen students and two adults were served floor sealant instead of milk at a day care summer program at an Alaska elementary school. Juneau school officials say several children complained of … more

By MARK THIESSEN | 6/15/22

FILE - Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, listens during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 17, 2022. Fauci, who is fully vaccinated and has received two booster shots, tested positive for COVID-19, and was experiencing mild coronavirus symptoms, according to a Wednesday, June 15, 2022, press release posted by the NIH. (Shawn Thew/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Fauci tests positive for virus, has mild COVID-19 symptoms

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of America’s pandemic response through two White House administrations, has tested positive for the coronavirus. The 81-year-old Fauci is fully vaccinated and has … more

By CARLA K. JOHNSON | 6/15/22

FILE - Various grades of gasoline, with prices above seven dollars per gallon, are displayed at a Chevron gas station, May 22, 2022, in downtown Los Angeles. Americans cut their spending unexpectedly in May compared with the month before, underscoring how surging inflation on daily necessities like gas is causing them to be more cautious about buying discretionary items. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, file)

Retail sales in May slip 0.3% amid surging inflation

Americans cut their spending unexpectedly in May compared with the month before, underscoring how surging inflation on daily necessities like gas is causing them to be more cautious about buying … more

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO | 6/15/22

FILE - The site where the Champlain Towers South collapsed killing 98 people is shown on April 14, 2022, in Surfside, Fla. The federal investigation into the deadly collapse of a Florida beachfront condominium building is entering a new phase Wednesday, June 15, 2022, that involves cutting and drilling into concrete and steel to determine what role they played in the disaster, officials said. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

Florida building collapse probe to begin structural testing

The federal investigation into the deadly collapse of a Florida beachfront condominium building is entering a new phase that involves cutting and drilling into concrete and steel to determine what … more

By CURT ANDERSON | 6/15/22

FILE - A boy receives a dose of China's Sinovac COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center in Hong Kong on Feb. 25, 2022. U.S. government advisers met Wednesday, June 15, 2022 to decide whether to endorse COVID-19 shots for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, moving the nation closer to vaccinations for all ages. According to the World Health Organization, 12 countries are vaccinating kids under 5. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

FDA advisers weigh COVID-19 shots for babies, young children

U.S. government advisers met Wednesday to decide whether to endorse COVID-19 shots for the youngest children, moving the nation closer to vaccinations for all ages. Kids under 5 are the last … more

By LINDSEY TANNER and MIKE STOBBE | 6/15/22

Christine Lagarde, European Central Bank President explains the Governing Council's monetary policy decisions during a press conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, June 9, 2022. The European Central Bank said it would carry out its first interest rate increase in 11 years in July, followed by another hike in September. The bank made the surprise move Thursday, saying that inflation had become a "major challenge" and that inflationary forces had "broadened and intensified." (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

European Central Bank to gather after borrowing costs rise

The European Central Bank’s rate-setting council will hold an unscheduled meeting “to discuss market conditions” as borrowing costs for several countries have risen after the bank said it would … more

By The Associated Press | 6/15/22

This photo provided by Laura Short shows Eli Bundy on April 15, 2022 at Deception Pass in Washington. In South Carolina, where a proposed law would ban transgender treatments for kids under age 18, Eli Bundy hopes to get breast removal surgery next year before college. Bundy, 18, who identifies as nonbinary, supports updated guidance from an international transgender health group that recommends lower ages for some treatments. (Laura Short via AP)

Trans kids' treatment can start younger, new guidelines say

A leading transgender health association has lowered its recommended minimum age for gender transition treatment in teens, including starting sex hormones at age 14 and some surgeries at 15. The … more

By LINDSEY TANNER | 6/15/22

FILE - Jim Marchant attends a Republican election night watch party, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Las Vegas. Of the seven Republicans running to oversee elections in this political battleground state, Marchant stands out for his full-throated embrace of conspiracy theories and lies about the 2020 election and his promises to toss out voting machines. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Election skeptic wins GOP race for Nevada secretary of state

Nevada Republicans have selected a former state lawmaker who has been repeating the false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen as their nominee to oversee future elections in the … more

By SCOTT SONNER and CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY | 6/15/22

FILE - Tennis legend and equality rights advocate Billie Jean King, speaks at a Women's History Month event honoring women athletes in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, March 9, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. As the nation celebrates the 50th anniversary of Title IX, a new poll finds Americans are split on how much progress has come from the landmark women's rights law. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Men, women split on equity gains since Title IX, poll shows

As the nation celebrates the 50th anniversary of Title IX, a new poll finds Americans are split on how much progress has come from the landmark women's rights law. The AP-NORC/National Women’s … more

By COLLIN BINKLEY | 6/15/22

FILE - A sign indicating a "Medical Facility Quiet Zone" is displayed outside the Jackson Women's Health Organization clinic in Jackson, Miss., the state's only state licensed abortion facility, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. According to a report from the Guttmacher Institute released on Tuesday, June 15, 2022, fewer women were getting pregnant and a larger share of them chose abortion. About one in five pregnancies ended in abortion in 2020. There were 3.6 million births, a decline between 2017 and 2020. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

US abortions rise: 1 in 5 pregnancies terminated in 2020

The number and rate of U.S. abortions increased from 2017 to 2020 after a long decline. That's according to new figures released Wednesday by a research group that supports abortion rights. The … more

By CARLA K. JOHNSON | 6/15/22

Choir members are silhouetted as they get ready for a worship service at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, June 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Southern Baptists agree to keep list of accused sex abusers

The Southern Baptist Convention has voted overwhelmingly to create a way to track pastors and other church workers credibly accused of sex abuse. Delegates also agreed to launch a new task force to … more

By DEEPA BHARATH and PETER SMITH | 6/14/22