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Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

Ted Cruz vacationed in Europe during deadly Texas flood: report

Current News / News & Features /

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz reportedly spent the weekend hitting tourists spots in Europe while a devastating Lone Star State flood killed at least 90 campers in the Hill Country.

The Republican lawmaker, who infamously fled his home state for Mexico in 2021 when a freezing winter storm shut down Texas’ power grid, was spotted in Greece checking out ...Read more

National Hurricane Center/National Hurricane Center/TNS

Chantal wasn't a hurricane but still caused big damage in NC. Here's why

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Tropical depressions may sound minor compared to hurricanes, but both weather events can cause major damage.

Chantal made landfall as a tropical storm in South Carolina and was later downgraded to a tropical depression.

The depression brought heavy rain to North Carolina late Sunday and early Monday, flooding parts of Orange, Durham and ...Read more

Jim Vondruska/Getty Images North America/TNS

In Texas, Florida and across the globe, warmer climate makes flooding 'more unprecedented'

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As the Texas flooding death toll reached 95 on Monday — at least 27 of them children — and Tropical Storm Chantal prompted dozens of water rescues in North Carolina, some Floridians were reminded of the disastrous “rain bomb” in 2023 that hit faster and harder than any hurricane in living memory.

Though no one died from the 2 feet of ...Read more

Jim Vondruska/Getty Images North America/TNS

Camp confirms worst fears as Texas flooding deaths exceed 90

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Three days after cataclysmic floods tore through a stretch of the Texas Hill Country, officials have confirmed the deaths of 27 children and counselors who had been missing from a girls’ summer camp. Authorities counted more than 90 deaths statewide and said the number was almost certain to climb as rescuers sorted through mounds of debris.

...Read more

Alex Kormann/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Gov. Tim Walz on guns at the Capitol, lawmaker security and Minnesota's response to Trump's big bill

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says he wants to “strike a proper balance” of keeping the State Capitol open to the public while also ensuring it’s secure.

Some lawmakers have said they want Capitol security tightened after the assassination of Rep. Melissa Hortman last month. She was shot and killed in her own home alongside her husband, Mark. ...Read more

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump administration freezes millions for NC public schools during review

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The Trump administration is withholding nearly $7 billion in federal education funding, including $168.8 million that North Carolina public schools had expected to get for the new school year.

On June 30, the U.S. Education Department notified states it was freezing $6.8 billion in funding for programs such as teacher training, after-school ...Read more

Matt Stone/Boston Herald/TNS

More Georgia sheriffs partnering with ICE while metro Atlanta holds out

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At the beginning of the year, just five Georgia sheriffs were signed up for a controversial federal program known as 287(g), which allows local law enforcement officers to perform some of the functions of immigration agents.

As of June 26, that number has grown to 24, with two additional Georgia sheriffs set to join the growing list when their ...Read more

Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post/TNS

Judge fines Mike Lindell's attorneys for filing AI-generated motion during defamation case

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A judge fined two attorneys for MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell $3,000 apiece Monday for filing a motion riddled with AI-generated errors in a case that resulted in a jury finding Lindell liable for defamation over false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.

Judge Nina Y. Wang, of the U.S. District Court in Denver, found attorneys ...Read more

Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

The key weather ingredients that fueled Texas' deadly floods

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In Kerrville, Texas, it only rained five times in June, and July started off with just a couple of showers. In fact, the surrounding county was 100% in drought at the start of July.

Ironically, that drought helped beget the deadly floods that swept through the region on Friday. It’s one of a number of factors, including the abnormally hot ...Read more

CRAIG KOHLRUSS/The Fresno Bee/TNS

California will not block trans athletes from school sports, defying White House

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California will not ban transgender athletes from competing in K-12 school sports or change its anti-discrimination policies to exclude them, becoming the second state after Maine to defy the Trump administration over the issue.

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon gave California 10 days from June 27 to rescind any sports prizes awarded to ...Read more

Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump administration plans to send Abrego Garcia to 'third country' as he awaits Tennessee trial

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GREENBELT, Md. — The Justice Department’s “current plan” is to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia again — not to El Salvador — if he is freed from federal custody as he awaits trial in Tennessee, a U.S. government attorney told a court Tuesday.

“The plan currently is to remove him to a third country,” Jonathan Guynn, the attorney, told...Read more

Ghost factories are a warning sign for green manufacturing's future

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The vast tract of land off Route 85 was meant to be a symbol of Made-in-America manufacturing. A billion-dollar battery factory was going to rise, bringing thousands of new jobs. The business announced, “Get Ready Arizona,” the governor said the state was thrilled and even the U.S. president gave the project a shoutout.

But here, in the ...Read more

Kaiden J. Yu/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

The 'Parker piles' of trash take their toll as residents navigate pest control and dumpster feuds in Philly's municipal workers strike

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Day 1 of a strike by 9,000 municipal workers in Philadelphia shocked even the most hardened olfactory senses as bags of seeping garbage quickly formed pungent mountains before the city skyline.

By Day 3, some had dubbed the city’s new contours “Parker piles,” laying blame at Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s feet, as the streets felt ...Read more

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Illinois-based American Academy of Pediatrics sues Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine changes

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The Illinois-based American Academy of Pediatrics and five other prominent medical groups are suing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., over changes made to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant women.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleges that a decision in May to remove COVID-19 ...Read more

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump announces set of tariff rates with new August deadline

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President Donald Trump unveiled the first in a wave of promised letters that threaten to impose higher tariffs rates on key trading partners, including levies of 25% on goods from Japan and South Korea beginning Aug. 1.

Trump also announced 25% rates on Malaysia and Kazakhstan, while South Africa would see a 30% tariff and Laos and Myanmar ...Read more

Trump yanks deportation protections for 50,000 Nicaraguans, Hondurans

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The Trump administration Monday ended protections from deportation for about 50,000 immigrants from Honduras and Nicaragua, most of whom have lived and worked in the U.S. for more than 25 years.

The Department of Homeland Security said it has revoked temporary protective status from people from the two Central American nations who were allowed ...Read more

Brandon Bell/Getty Images North America/TNS

New measles exposure reported over July 4th holiday, as cases in Kansas slow

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The number of new measles cases has slowed in recent weeks in Kansas, reaching 86 confirmed cases, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s 2025 Kansas Measles Case Data dashboard.

The number of patients infected with measles increased by six over the past two weeks, according to the data updated Monday.

All but three ...Read more

Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/TNS

Justice Department, driven by Trump policy, plans to go after naturalized U.S. citizens

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In his all-out war on illegal immigration, President Donald Trump has branded immigrants as “criminals,” “invaders” and “predators,” as his administration targets millions of Haitians, Latin Americans, gang members and foreign college students for deportation.

Now, the president has directed the Justice Department to bolster its ...Read more

Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump administration plans to send Abrego Garcia to 'third country' as he awaits Tennessee trial

Current News / News & Features /

GREENBELT — The Justice Department’s “current plan” is to send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a third country — not El Salvador — if the wrongly deported Maryland man is freed from federal custody as he awaits trial in Tennessee, a government attorney told a court Tuesday.

“The plan currently is to remove him to a third country,” ...Read more

Luis Tato/Getty Images of North America/TNS

11 dead in Kenya protests as police shut capital city down

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At least 11 people were killed in violent clashes between Kenyan police and protesters demanding the removal of President William Ruto.

In addition to the fatalities, 63 people were injured and 567 arrested, the police said on X Monday.

The protests held to commemorate the July 7 marches that marked the beginning of multi-party democracy in ...Read more