Month: July 2025

Rescue teams are continuing their search into Day 6 for over 170 people still missing in Kerr County after the catastrophic flash floods that has devastated Central Texas, with the death toll now rising to over 120 – including 59 adults and 36 children.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said during a news conference that rescue operations remain underway to find anyone lost in the debris after the devastating weekend storm, which caused the Guadalupe River to swell rapidly to near-unprecedented levels. Abbott promised: “We will not stop until every missing person is accounted for,” as rescue crews continue to comb through the region, with the chances of finding survivors growing slim.

Abbott also said he has been in contact with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who said the Department of Health and Human Services will declare a public health emergency for the Texas Hill Country flash floods: “This will make it easier for health care and mental health providers from out of state to help both by traveling to the area and by telemedicine,” Abbott said.

President Trump has also signed a federal disaster declaration allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deploy its own teams to support local rescue and recovery efforts. Ongoing storms have made the efforts especially challenging, however the National Weather Service forecasts indicated conditions would begin to abate Tuesday.

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At least three people were killed after a flash flood due to torrential rain hit the area of Ruidoso, New Mexico.

The Rio Ruidoso, a river in Lincoln County, rose to a record-breaking 20 feet — 5 feet higher than the previous high-water mark, and at one river gauge water levels rose almost 19 feet in a half hour. One house was seen being carried downstream by the fast-moving water a year after the same area was devastated by two wildfires, prompting dozens of rescuers.

Spokesperson for the village of Ruidoso, Kerry Gladden, told CBS News early Wednesday that a 4-year-old girl, 7-year-old boy and 40-to-50-year-old man  “swept downstream by the unprecedented floodwaters that struck” and later found dead. The village said 50-60 swift-water rescues were carried out and search and rescue operations were still being conducted:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a statement that the National Weather Service issued a flood watch for the South Central Mountains, including Ruidoso, at 2:46 a.m. MT. and was to be in effect from noon until 8 p.m. local time. A flash flood warning was issued for the South Fork burn scar in Lincoln County, New Mexico, at 2:12 p.m., and included a “considerable” flooding tag, which NOAA said “automatically triggers a Wireless Emergency Alert to be issued for the warned area.”

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement that she signed an emergency declaration request to get federal response teams and repair resources on the ground immediately: “We’re encouraged that additional federal resources are already on the way. New Mexico is mobilizing every resource we have, but Ruidoso needs federal support to recover from this disaster. We’ve watched Texas receive the federal resources they desperately needed, and Ruidoso deserves that same urgent response.”

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President Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, after the two leaders discussed that issue and the strikes on Iran the previous day. Netanyahu, who also visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday, faces criticism from some lawmakers, who have accused the Israeli leader of trying to bring the U.S. into another war.

Netanyahu’s meeting with a bipartisan group of senators was delayed until Wednesday, but he met with House Speaker Mike Johnson Tuesday after meeting earlier in the day with Vice President JD Vance. In a statement, Johnson said he and Netanyahu discussed the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security and a ceasefire agreement in Gaza: “America and Israel’s strong stand in the 12-Day War dealt a devastating blow to the greatest enemy of peace in the region, leaving the Iranian regime weaker than at any point in decades. We are hopeful that this marks the dawn of a new chapter of peace in the Middle East.”

Following his meeting with Johnson on Tuesday afternoon, Netanyahu told reporters that the “resolute decision of president Trump to act with us against those who seek to destroy Israel and threaten the peace of the world has made a remarkable change in the Middle East. There are opportunities for peace that we intend to realize, we’re working together on this. We have still to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas’ military and governance capabilities because Gaza must have a different future for ours sake, for everyone’s sake.”

Trump and Netanyahu also reiterated their idea of relocating people from the Gaza Strip, despite widespread condemnation from Palestinians as well as close allies, the United Nations and human rights groups. Trump said at his meeting Monday with Netanyahu at the White House that there was “great cooperation” from Israel’s neighbors to take in Palestinians, while Netanyahu said they were “getting close to finding several countries” willing to do so. (per NBC News.)

Palestinian leaders have condemned the idea, with Mustafa Barghouti, a senior Palestinian politician and head of the Palestinian National Initiative political party, telling NBC News on Tuesday: “When they say it would be voluntary, that is so misleading, because when you bomb people every day, when you starve people for 126 days, who can call that a voluntary decision?”

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The Transportation Safety Administration (“TSA”) will not be requiring that passengers take off their shoes anymore while they go through security checkpoints at select airports. NBC News shared that a press release received Monday states the TSA is “exploring new and innovative ways to enhance the passenger experience and our strong security posture.”

ABC News reported that a memo went out to TSA officers nationwide last week that stated the new policy would start Sunday. The memo notes, however, those who set off an alarm while being screened will then be required to take their shoes off for additional screening.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also confirmed the change early Tuesday, retweeting a post which confirmed the information via Department of Homeland Security along the caption: “Big news from @DHSgov! ”

CBS News states that the change will be approached in phases, with the first airports where the no-shoes requirement is expiring include: Baltimore/Washington International Airport, Fort Lauderdale International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Portland International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport and Piedmont Triad International Airport in North Carolina. However, reporters from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport and Los Angeles International Airport on Monday said that they and other passengers were permitted to keep their shoes on during the screening process in those locations as well.

Shoe removal while being screened began in 2006, five years after Richard Reid unsuccessfully tried to blow up an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami with explosives packed in his shoes. The explosives failed to detonate and Reid was held down by fellow passengers and the flight crew as the plane safely landed in Boston.

However since then, travelers with TSA PreCheck are not required to remove their footwear. In order to have PreCheck, travelers must submit an application and go through a clearance process with the Transportation Security Administration.

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