A group of Texas death row inmates have filed a federal lawsuit against the state’s prison system over its policy of mandatory and indefinite solitary confinement for all prisoners who are awaiting execution. They say the policy causes severe physical and psychological harm and restricts their access to human interaction, medical care and legal representation. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Houston federal court. A state prison system spokeswoman says her agency does not comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit comes as a group of Texas prisoners have been on a hunger strike since Jan. 10 to protest the state’s use of solitary confinement.
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Boeing has pleaded not guilty to a criminal charge in a case revolving around two crashes of Boeing 737 Max planes. A federal judge in Texas took Boeing's plea Thursday. The judge is considering whether to appoint a special monitor to examine safety issues at the company. It's an unusual case because Boeing thought it had settled the issue when it reached a deal with federal prosecutors two years ago. But relatives of some of the passengers who died are challenging the settlement because they weren't informed about secret negotiations between Boeing and the Justice Department.
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The federal government is investigating whether Southwest Airlines knowingly scheduling more flights than it could handle in December, when it ended up canceling nearly 17,000 flights. The Transportation Department says scheduling too many flights would violate federal laws against deceptive practices. The department said Wednesday it’s in the early stages of its investigation, and it will also make sure that Southwest provides prompt refunds and reimbursements to customers who were stranded by the cancellations. Southwest's breakdown started with a winter storm and was compounded when its crew-scheduling system became overloaded. The airline has hired a consultant to study what went wrong.
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Art Walk brings creative flair to downtown Lufkin
