MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Friends and family of Minnesota Democratic lawmaker Melissa Hortman said the man sentenced Thursday to two life terms plus 40 years after pleading guilty to her murder failed to eliminate her spirit and her legacy, but caused enduring fear and fury as he changed their lives forever.

Tropical Storm Bertha crawled into southern Louisiana on Wednesday, making landfall and packing strong winds far from its center after closing beaches from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi.

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday honored the lives of four U.S. service members who were killed in the Middle East and returned to their families at an air force base in Delaware.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Torrential rains caused flash floods in West Virginia that inundated homes and businesses, washed out bridges and led to numerous water rescues. The state's governor said that some residents were unaccounted for as search operations continued Wednesday.

RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) — A U.S. soldier killed in Iraq during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone was a 30-year-old father from North Carolina who had served for nearly a decade, according to a military statement Tuesday and his family.

POWELL, Ohio (AP) — Five people died on a river in Ohio after several of them went into the water to help another person who was struggling to swim, authorities said Monday.

Infants, toddlers, and young children need outdoor activity to build strong bodies and minds, but they also require extra care in the heat. In the summer months, those twin imperatives can make parents anxious. How long should kids be out? How do I know they're OK? What should I avoid?

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — President Donald Trump presented the World Cup trophy to Spain, the winner of Sunday’s final against Argentina. But to him, the real victor of soccer’s premier tournament just might be the United States.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, on Sunday announced the birth of their fourth child, the first born to a sitting vice president in more than 150 years.

BICKNELL, Utah (AP) — Five family members who had set out for a day of hiking were killed when a flash flood swept through canyons of southern Utah on Friday, law enforcement officials said.

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Catastrophic flash floods in Texas have killed two people and forced hundreds of rescues in areas still reeling from devastating floods a year ago, Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump used a primetime address to the nation Thursday to call for new election-security measures, release documents related to past elections and renew his claims about vulnerabilities in the voting system.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met Thursday with accusers of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein following the demand by a Republican senator whose support is crucial to advancing his nomination to lead the Justice Department.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Rescuers were still searching for three people missing after a boat involved in a memorial service sank in the cold, fast-moving waters of San Francisco Bay near Alcatraz Island, authorities said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In rare congressional testimony, Supreme Court justices shared chilling stories Tuesday about the threats they increasingly face in public life and fielded questions about ethics and emergency appeals.

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Slow-moving storms with heavy rain were drenching a large swath of South Texas on Wednesday, spawning a tornado in San Antonio a day after downpours washed out roads and farmland and led to dozens of high-water rescues in the region.

WASHINGTON (AP) — There will be no turning back the clock if the House has its way. The House passed a bill Tuesday that would make daylight saving time permanent.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation cooled last month as the cost of gas, clothes, and used cars fell, providing some relief to consumers, while underlying price pressures also cooled more than expected.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, has been named as his temporary replacement in the U.S. Senate after his unexpected death over the weekend.

BIDDEFORD, Maine (AP) — An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a motorist in Maine on Monday, the second time in a week that ICE has used deadly force.

BIDDEFORD, Maine (AP) — A federal immigration agent fatally shot a motorist in Maine on Monday, the second time in a week that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have used deadly force.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump's closest allies in Congress who traveled the globe to advocate for a more aggressive U.S. foreign policy, died after a tear in his aorta, according to a preliminary medical examiner finding shared by his office.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump's closest allies in Congress who traveled the globe to advocate for a more aggressive U.S. foreign policy, has died after a “brief and sudden illness,” his office said. He was 71.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A proposed legal settlement with the U.S. government would require the Keystone Pipeline system's operator to pay a $26.9 million civil penalty over a major oil spill in Kansas in December 2022 and spend about $40 million more to prevent future accidents.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will let the bipartisan housing bill approved by Congress become law without his signature, saying Friday that he was refusing to put his name on it because of the little progress made in passing a strict voter ID bill that he has been pushing.