AP - Fire crews were shoring up defenses around a Montana ski hill on Thursday, taking advantage of a lull in winds that had pushed a large wildfire to within a half-mile of the resort's summit.

AP - The homeless woman was nauseated, dizzy, drenched with sweat, dehydrated and sobbing with fear. She had heat exhaustion and was on the verge of heat stroke. But she had come to the right place, a church turned into a refuge from the overpowering heat.

AP - A judge denied bond Thursday for a part-time evangelist charged with murder in the death of his wife, a mother of eight whose body was kept in a freezer for at least three years.

AP - Four social workers were among nine people charged Thursday in the death of a disabled 14-year-old girl who authorities say wasted away from neglect before dying at 42 pounds.

AP - Joy Spring and Carla Barbano spent the day before their wedding the way many brides do: relaxing and primping at a spa. But unlike most, their wedding day had to wait until Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill Thursday that repealed a 1913 law that had blocked gay couples from outside Massachusetts from marrying here.

AP - Both environmentalists who have been fighting a proposed coal-fired power plant on the Navajo Nation and supporters of the project expected it: an air permit for the plant.

AP - A small jet crashed Thursday while preparing to land at a regional airport in Minnesota, killing eight people, including casino and construction executives.

AP - A judge denied bond Thursday for a part-time evangelist charged with murder in the death of his wife, a mother of eight whose body was kept in a freezer for at least three years.

AP - Residents are returning home Thursday after being forced to flee a wildfire raging outside Yosemite National Park, but some are wondering what they'll find when they get there.

AP - Scientists working to help astronauts regain balance after extended flights in zero gravity say they've found a way to use the research to help elderly people avoid catastrophic falls.

AP - Mike Cullipher used to juggle his farm chores and a full-time job, working 275 acres on nights and weekends. Now he's trying to make a go of it as a full-time farmer, and he's wondering about his father's plans for the property.

AP - A year after the worst U.S. bridge collapse in a generation brought calls for immediate repairs to other spans, two of every three of the busiest problem bridges in each state — carrying nearly 40 million vehicles a day — have had no work beyond regular maintenance.