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FORT WORTH (AP) — Longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Kay Granger of Texas is having “unforeseen health challenges” that have worsened in the final months of her more than two decades in Congress, a statement from her office said Monday.

Granger, 81, has not cast a vote in Washington since July. In a statement provided by her office, Granger said she has been “navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year” but did not specify or elaborate.

“However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable,” the statement said.

Granger’s office did not immediately respond to questions emailed Monday about her condition or why they did not publicly disclose her health status earlier. Messages left with Granger’s family also were not immediately returned.

Granger announced in 2023 that she would not seek reelection, saying at the time that it was time for a new generation of leaders to step up. Granger also announced in March that she would step down as chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

First elected to Texas’ 12th Congressional District in 1996, Granger was the first Republican woman elected to represent the state in the U.S. House. Before that, she was the mayor of Fort Worth.

Her seat will be filled in January by Republican Craig Goldman, a former Texas House member, who was elected to the district that includes parts of Fort Worth, western Tarrant County and most of neighboring Parker County.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that it has launched an investigation into why several drones collided and fell from the sky during a holiday show over the weekend in downtown Orlando, Florida, injuring a 7-year-old boy who required surgery.

The drones fell into a crowd of thousands of people watching the show at the city’s Lake Eola Park Saturday night. The show was permitted through the FAA.

“Our thoughts are with the family and all those impacted by the outcome of this event,” the city of Orlando said in a statement. “The city remains in contact with the vendor and FAA who will conduct a thorough investigation.”

Adriana Edgerton told Orlando television station WESH that her son, Alexander, required surgery after being hit in the chest with a drone.

“The blade cut his mouth, but there’s an actual imprint of the drone on his chest,” Edgerton said.

Sky Elements Drone Shows, the Fort Worth, Texas vendor that put on the show, didn’t immediately respond to an emailed inquiry on Monday. On the company’s website, it said, “Every step of the way, we put accuracy, execution, and compliance first.”

Drone shows typically require a waiver to operate more than one drone at a time, and the FAA reviews each drone-show application to make sure “the flying public and people on the ground will be safe,” the agency said.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday struck down key parts of an Arkansas law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks found that elements of the law are unconstitutional.

“I respect the court’s ruling and will appeal,” Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The law would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible to children. The measure was signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in 2023, but an earlier ruling had temporarily blocked it from taking effect while it was being challenged in court.

“The law deputizes librarians and booksellers as the agents of censorship; when motivated by the fear of jail time, it is likely they will shelve only books fit for young children and segregate or discard the rest,” Brooks wrote in his ruling.

A coalition that included the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock had challenged the law, saying fear of prosecution under the measure could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry titles that could be challenged.

“This was an attempt to ‘thought police,’ and this victory over totalitarianism is a testament to the courage of librarians, booksellers, and readers who refused to bow to intimidation,” said Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas.

But supporters of the law, known as Act 372, say they will continue to fight for its implementation.

“Act 372 is just common sense: schools and libraries shouldn’t put obscene material in front of our kids,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement to KATV-TV. “I will work with Attorney General Griffin to appeal this ruling and uphold Arkansas law.”

The ruling comes as lawmakers in some conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books.

Laws restricting access to certain materials or making it easier to challenge them have been enacted in several other states, including Iowa, Indiana and Texas.

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This story removes a sentence in the penultimate paragraph of outdated material.

DALLAS – The Dallas Mornings News reports that American Airlines has settled the lawsuit filed by three Black men who were kicked off a flight in January over a “body odor” allegation, according to the law firms representing the men. Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph and Xavier Veal, all from New York, and five other Black men had boarded a flight from Phoenix to New York City in January, when a white flight attendant complained of someone’s odor, according to the suit. All eight men were then forced to deplane with no reason given. None of the men had known each prior to the incident, nor were they seated together. It was later that they learned of the body odor complaint, which they say they weren’t responsible for.

The plaintiffs alleged racial discrimination in their lawsuit, which was filed in May, and American has since “terminated the employment” of the flight attendants responsible, according to men’s law firms, Outen & Golden LLP and Public Citizen Litigation Group. “We are very pleased that American Airlines took our complaint seriously, and we hope that this never happens to Black passengers or any other people of color again,” the three plaintiffs said in the release Terms of the settlement are confidential. After the incident, American committed to conducting bias and discrimination training for employees and creating an advisory group focused on Black customers in order to prevent future discrimination. A statement from American emphasized its resolve to providing a “welcoming and inclusive” environment for fliers, and described the settlement as “amicable.”

AUSTIN – The Dallas Morning News reports that U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, wants to know why a Texas committee opted not to conduct in-depth investigations of pregnancy-related deaths from 2022 and 2023. Crockett and several other House Democrats wrote Thursday to Jennifer Shuford, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, requesting a briefing by Jan. 2 about the decision. Investigative news outlet ProPublica has identified several pregnant women in Texas who died after they couldn’t access timely reproductive care. Crockett accused Texas Republicans of trying to bury their stories. “We are demanding the Texas Department of State Health Services explain its reasoning behind its decision to stop reviewing maternal mortality deaths in the years following their abortion ban,” Crockett said in a news release. “The people of Texas deserve the truth.”

Texas Department of State Health Services officials did not respond Friday to an emailed request for comment. At issue is the 23-member Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee and its decision to skip over the two years in question and move on to reviewing 2024 cases in depth. That decision raised concern given the timing of the tight abortion restrictions adopted by the state. In 2021, Texas enacted a ban on abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy, followed by a near-total ban on abortion a year later. The law has an exception allowing abortions in life-threatening situations, but the scope of that exception has been the subject of continuing confusion for some medical providers. Some committee members have said the decision was not politically motivated and described it as an attempt to catch up on a backlog of data and provide more up-to-date reviews of maternal deaths.

AUSTIN (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the NCAA to block the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports, arguing that it tricks and misleads fans.

The lawsuit filed in state district court in Lubbock and announced Sunday, argues the NCAA violates the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by promoting women’s sports that may include a transgender athlete. The law is designed to protect consumers from being misled or tricked into buying products or services that are not as advertised, the lawsuit said.

The Texas lawsuit is the latest attempt by conservative politicians to target transgender athletes and push the NCAA into banning them from competition. President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to stop trans athletes from competing.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop the NCAA from allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports in Texas, or in sports that involve Texas programs. Or it wants the court to require the NCAA to stop marketing events as “women’s” sports if transgender athletes are allowed.

In a statement, Paxton appeared to reference the recent controversy involving San Jose State women’s volleyball, where several opponents forfeited matches this season on grounds the Spartans had a transgender player.

A federal court last month refused to block the school from playing in the Mountain West Conference championship.

“When people watch a women’s volleyball game, for example, they expect to see women playing against other women, not biological males pretending to be something they are not,” Paxton said. “Radical ‘gender theory’ has no place in college sports.”

The Associated Press is withholding the player’s name because she has not publicly commented on her gender identity and through school officials has declined an interview request.

Paxton accused the NCAA of “intentionally and knowingly jeopardizing the safety and wellbeing of women” and turning women’s sports into “co-ed competitions.”

The NCAA does not track data on transgender athletes among the 544,000 currently competing on 19,000 teams at various levels across the country. NCAA President Charlie Baker testified in Congress earlier this month that he was aware of fewer than 10 active NCAA athletes who identified as transgender.

“College sports are the premier stage for women’s sports in America, and while the NCAA does not comment on pending litigation, the Association and its members will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports and ensure fair competition in all NCAA championships,” the NCAA said in a statement Monday.

Brooke Slusser, the San Jose State volleyball co-captain who was among the group of players who sued the Mountain West Conference over her teammate’s participation, praised the Texas lawsuit on social media.

“Hey NCAA, just in case you haven’t realized yet this fight will just keep getting harder for you until you make a change!,” Slusser posted on X.

The NCAA established a policy in 2010 that requires trans athletes who were assigned male at birth to complete at least one year of testosterone suppression therapy before being eligible to compete on a women’s team.

Trans athletes who were assigned female at birth and transitioned to male can compete on a men’s team but if they have received testosterone treatment are ineligible to compete on a women’s team.

The athletes are required to meet their chosen sport’s standard for documented testosterone levels at various points during a season.

In 2022, the NCAA revised the policy in what the organization called an attempt to be aligned with national sports governing bodies. If a governing body does not have a trans athlete policy, then it scales up to the international federation that oversees the sport. If there is no international federation policy, previously established Olympic policy criteria would be followed.