AP

By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday found the extreme heat in Texas prisons is “plainly unconstitutional,” but declined to order the state to immediately start installing air conditioning, which could cost billions. The judge affirmed claims brought by advocates of people incarcerated in the state, where summer

By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A pilot rescued with two young family members after they survived a night on the wing of an airplane partially submerged in an Alaska lake is a student pilot who was not authorized to fly with passengers, according to a U.S. official and federal aviation records.

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press is returning to a federal courtroom on Thursday to ask a judge to restore its full access to presidential events, after the White House retaliated against the news outlet last month for not following President Trump’s executive order to rename the Gulf of

By JACK DURA Associated Press A once-powerful former North Dakota lawmaker was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison for traveling to Europe with the intent to pay for sex with a minor. Former state senator Ray Holmberg’s attorney, Mark Friese, confirmed the sentence to The Associated Press but declined to comment after the hearing,

By JENNIFER PELTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Someone tucked a heart-shaped note of encouragement into socks packed for Luigi Mangione to wear to court last month in the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder case, according to court documents made public Wednesday. A court officer intercepted the handwritten note, which urged the

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Social Security Administration is partially backtracking on a plan that would require all new and existing beneficiaries to travel to a Social Security field office to verify their identity. The Social Security Administration on Wednesday said that people applying for Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicare, or

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — A House Republican pushing the Trump administration’s government efficiency efforts called for dismantling and defunding the nation’s public broadcasting system following a contentious hearing Wednesday featuring the heads of PBS and NPR. “We believe that you all can hate us on your own dime,” said Georgia

By BEN FINLEY and ALLEN G. BREED Associated Press NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — When Alyssa Myatt’s husband served on an aircraft carrier last year, she and other U.S. Navy spouses had to follow strict security protocols that meant driving to the ship’s home port just to learn that its deployment was being extended. Texting, phone

By ALI SWENSON and GARY FIELDS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — With the stroke of his pen, President Donald Trump restructured the way Americans can register to vote and when they can cast their ballots. Or did he? After the president signed his executive order Tuesday calling for broad election changes, such as proof of

By DEVI SHASTRI AP Health Writer A measles outbreak in Kansas doubled in less than a week to 23 cases and has “a possible link” to outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico that have sickened more than 370, the state health department said Wednesday. And health officials in Ohio say a single case identified in