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1 Authorities Still Looking For Over 160 Missing People In Texas, At Least 110 Others Confirmed Dead
Flash floods along the Guadalupe River keep delivering grim news. By yesterday afternoon, officials said 110 people were confirmed dead and more than 160 were still missing after weekend storms sent the river up 26 feet in just 45 minutes. Hardest hit was Kerr County’s Camp Mystic, where floodwaters tore through cabins packed with 750 girls; 27 campers and counselors died, and rescue teams are still searching for five campers and one counselor. Crews from local, state, and federal agencies have made more than 160 air rescues while boats, drones, dogs, and divers comb miles of debris-choked riverbanks. President Trump approved a federal disaster request, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is readying a public-health emergency to help bring in outside medical help more quickly. Five other counties have reported deaths, and the toll may climb as searchers work against more expected rain. Some residents say phone alerts never came; Kerr County lacks a siren system, and leaders admit past grant bids for alarms failed. State lawmakers promise to review warning systems in an upcoming special session. While families wait at reunification centers and volunteers rush supplies, officials call this the deadliest Hill Country flood in decades and vow to rebuild and to prepare better next time.
2 Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration To Proceed With Government Firings And Reorganization
The Supreme Court gave President Trump a green light yesterday to start his sweeping plan to reorganize 21 federal agencies and cut thousands of jobs. In a brief, unsigned order, the justices lifted a lower-court block, saying the government is “likely to succeed” in proving the executive order is legal. The ruling lets the White House begin drafting reduction-in-force and merger plans, though the Court stressed it was not ruling on those specific layoffs yet. Justice Sonia Sotomayor agreed to lift the block but reminded everyone that the real fight over any final RIF plans is still ahead. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissent in the decision, calling it “hubristic and senseless” in a 15-page opinion. Labor unions, nonprofit groups, and local governments from six states who brought the case said the order “puts services the American people rely on in grave jeopardy” and vowed to keep battling in court. For now, however, agencies like Commerce, Health and Human Services, and State can begin drafting shake-up blueprints, marking another high-court win for Trump as he pushes to shrink and reshape the federal workforce.
3 President Trump Defends AG Bondi Over Jeffrey Epstein Files Controversy
President Trump defended Attorney General Pam Bondi after she faced criticism from his supporters over the Jeffrey Epstein files during yesterday’s Cabinet meeting. The Justice Department released a memo saying no more documents would be released from the Epstein investigation. Many conservatives were upset because they hoped to see a client list that Bondi had talked about. The department said there was no such list and that most materials were sealed to protect victims. Bondi had earlier suggested thousands of videos showed Epstein with children, but the department said these were actually child porn downloaded by Epstein. Trump scolded reporters for asking about Epstein during a Cabinet meeting, however, he was the one who made a campaign promise to release all documents.