Domestic Glance
Nearly a decade before catastrophic flooding in south Texas killed at least 95 people, including 27 girls and counselors from a beloved summer camp, the state’s Division of Emergency Management denied requests from the county where the camp is held for a $1 million grant to improve its flood warning system.
Summer camps were top of mind during county leaders’ discussions of the project, meeting minutes show. Then-County Commissioner Tom Moser envisioned designating point people at each camp who would monitor a website and alert camp counselors and attendees if evacuation was needed.
The Division of Emergency Management did not answer USA TODAY's specific questions about why the county's applications were rejected.
Texas county where campers died was denied money to boost warning systems
Flood-ravaged Texas faces more rain; death toll at 70; 11 campers missing
Authorities on Sunday were in a desperate search to find those still missing after historic flash floods swept across central Texas — including 11 children from a beloved all-girls camp — as the death toll rose and forecasters warned of more rain.
Officials said at least 70 people have died in flooding triggered by unrelenting rain Thursday night into Friday. Sheriff Larry Leitha of Kerr County, where the worst of the flooding occurred, said it had recovered the bodies of 38 adults and 21 children.
Among those still missing were 11 children and a counselor from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls' camp at the edge of the Guadalupe River, which surged over 26 feet in less than an hour as storms dumped six months' worth of rain over the Texas Hill Country.
It's unclear how many people were missing in the communities along the Guadalupe, where local officials say thousands of people came from out of town to celebrate Independence Day weekend. Forecasters expect several more inches of rain on Sunday and warned of additional flooding and a worsening of conditions on the ground.
For days, crews have been working around the clock to find the missing, traversing swollen waterways and scouring riverbanks littered with mangled trees and rubble. Rescuers have pulled residents from rooftops and found survivors clinging to trees. As of Sunday, about 650 people have been rescued, officials said.
Texas continues grim flood recovery with at least 43 killed, including 15 children
Rescuers by Saturday had begun the grim task of recovering the bodies of children and adults who were swept away in a deadly flash flood in Texas, caused by a powerful storm that killed dozens of people.
At an evening briefing, local officials said that 43 people had been confirmed dead, 15 of them children, with at least 27 girls from a summer camp still missing.
Texas continues grim flood recovery with at least 43 killed, including 15 children
Some two dozen girls still unaccounted for after summer camps swept away as Guadalupe River rises 26ft in 45 minutes
Oliver Milman, José Olivares and Robert Mackey
Sat 5 Jul 2025 19.58 EDT
Rescuers by Saturday had begun the grim task of recovering the bodies of children and adults who were swept away in a deadly flash flood in Texas, caused by a powerful storm that killed dozens of people.
At an evening briefing, local officials said that 43 people had been confirmed dead, 15 of them children, with at least 27 girls from a summer camp still missing.
Earlier in the day, Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas division of emergency management, acknowledged that the odds of finding more survivors diminished as the hours passed, but Texas governor Greg Abbott said that he had instructed responders to assume that every missing person was still alive.
Dalton Rice, the Kerrville city manager, said that 27 girls from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River, are still missing. He added that other people who were in the area but not at the camp could also be unaccounted for. Torrential rain caused the river to rise 26ft (8 meters) in just 45 minutes before dawn on Friday, washing away homes and vehicles.
US hit with mass shootings and fatal accidents on Fourth of July holiday
Friday’s US Independence Day holiday was marked by multiple shootings across the US, including one in Indianapolis that left at least two dead and five wounded as a police chief voiced frustration over the latest acts of violence in his city.
Indianapolis metropolitan police chief Chris Bailey told reporters early Saturday morning that the Fourth of July mayhem a day earlier was “completely unacceptable and unnecessary” – and that parents and guardians needed to better control their children.
“Hundreds of unsupervised kids down here,” he said, while speaking in the city’s downtown. “I don’t know how many times I had to say it: We are not your children’s keepers. You are! And parents and guardians have got to step up.”
Police said one minor had died at a hospital after the shooting.
Mass shootings – defined as cases where four or more shooting victims are injured or killed – were reported in other cities, including Philadelphia and Chicago and Brockton, Massachusetts, where six people were hospitalized following an early morning fight Saturday.
Michael Madsen, frequent Tarantino star of 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Kill Bill,' dies at 67
Michael Madsen, a prolific actor whose career was punctuated by a longstanding collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, has died at 67.
Madsen died Thursday, July 3, following a cardiac arrest, manager Ron Smith confirmed to USA TODAY.
Madsen, who appeared in some of Tarantino's biggest films, including "Reservoir Dogs," "Kill Bill: Vol. 2" and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," was known for playing a tough guy on screen and enjoyed success in the movie business for over four decades, racking up some 300 credits.
Dramatic Footage Shows Explosion At Fireworks Facility In Northern California
Seven people are missing after a fireworks warehouse near Esparto, Calif., caught fire Tuesday evening, which led to several explosions and multiple spot fires across 80 acres.
The Yolo County Sheriff’s Office reported Wednesday that the cause of the explosion remains unknown and that it’s still an active evacuation zone around the property. Footage of the area shows a destroyed facility.
“The fire will take time to cool, and once it does, explosive experts must safely enter the site to assess and secure the area,” the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook. “We strongly urge everyone to continue avoiding the area for the next several days so that fire crews, law enforcement, and emergency personnel can do their jobs safely and effectively.”
The Esparto Fire Protection District and CAL Fire said Wednesday that seven people remain unaccounted for and that first responders and investigators are “working diligently” to find them.
Ice raids leave crops unharvested at California farms: ‘We need the labor’
Lisa Tate is a sixth-generation farmer in Ventura county, California, an area that produces billions of dollars worth of fruit and vegetables each year, much of it hand-picked by immigrants in the US illegally.
Tate knows the farms around her well. And she says she can see with her own eyes how raids carried out by agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in the area’s fields earlier this month, part of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, have frightened off workers.
“In the fields, I would say 70% of the workers are gone,” she said in an interview. “If 70% of your workforce doesn’t show up, 70% of your crop doesn’t get picked and can go bad in one day. Most Americans don’t want to do this work. Most farmers here are barely breaking even. I fear this has created a tipping point where many will go bust.“
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