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United News of India
5 hours ago
- Climate
- United News of India
At least 13 dead, over 20 kids missing in central Texas flooding
Houston, July 5 (UNI) At least 13 people were killed and more than 20 children from summer camps along the Guadalupe River went missing during the major flash flooding caused by heavy rain overnight in central Texas. There are currently "about 23" kids unaccounted for at Camp Mystic, a private Christian summer camp for girls, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick told a news conference Friday afternoon. The camp hosts about 750 children. He said at least 14 helicopters, 12 drones and more than 500 people are searching around the camp, and multiple adults and children have been rescued from trees nearby. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha told a news conference that at least 13 people died in the county due to the severe flooding and several people remain unaccounted for. Leitha said he expects more fatalities will be reported in the county. "We are still actively trying to find those that are out and those that are needing assistance," Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said. At about 4 a.m. local time (0900 GMT), the National Weather Service upgraded its flash flood warning, which allows wireless emergency alerts to be sent to cell phones for residents and campers along the river, NBC News reported. The service also warned that a "large and deadly flood wave" was moving down the Guadalupe River. The Guadalupe River in Kerr County rose from 7.5 feet (about 2.3 meters) to nearly 30 feet overnight and is expected to crest at 34 feet in Spring Branch on Friday afternoon, said the service. Cars, campers and mobile homes were swept away as the section of the Guadalupe River surged in the county, online videos showed. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on X that the state is "surging all available resources" to respond to the flooding. "The immediate priority is saving lives," the governor said. Over half a million people in central Texas were under flash flood warnings as of Friday afternoon. UNI XINHUA AKT RKM
Hans India
6 hours ago
- Climate
- Hans India
13 dead, over 20 kids missing in Texas flooding
At least 13 people were killed and more than 20 children from summer camps along the Guadalupe River went missing during the major flash flooding caused by heavy rain overnight in central Texas, authorities updated. There are currently "about 23" kids unaccounted for at Camp Mystic, a private Christian summer camp for girls, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick told a news conference on Friday. The camp hosts about 750 children, Xinhua news agency reported. He said at least 14 helicopters, 12 drones and more than 500 people are searching around the camp, and multiple adults and children have been rescued from trees nearby. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha told a news conference that at least 13 people died in the county due to the severe flooding and several people remain unaccounted for. Leitha said he expects more fatalities will be reported in the county. "We are still actively trying to find those that are out and those that are needing assistance," Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said. At about 4 a.m. local time (0900 GMT), the National Weather Service upgraded its flash flood warning, which allows wireless emergency alerts to be sent to cell phones for residents and campers along the river, NBC News reported. The service also warned that a "large and deadly flood wave" was moving down the Guadalupe River. The Guadalupe River in Kerr County rose from 7.5 feet (about 2.3 metres) to nearly 30 feet overnight and is expected to crest at 34 feet in Spring Branch on Friday afternoon, said the service. Cars, campers and mobile homes were swept away as the section of the Guadalupe River surged in the county, online videos showed. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on X that the state is "surging all available resources" to respond to the flooding. "The immediate priority is saving lives," the governor said. Over half a million people in central Texas were under flash flood warnings as of Friday afternoon.
NBC News
9 hours ago
- Business
- NBC News
Social Security Administration sends misleading email lauding Trump's new tax cuts law
WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration has sent a misleading email to beneficiaries stating President Donald Trump's sweeping tax-cuts and spending law eliminates taxes on Social Security benefits for most recipients. 'The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits, providing meaningful and immediate relief to seniors who have spent a lifetime contributing to our nation's economy,' said the email, which multiple beneficiaries shared with NBC News. 'The new law includes a provision that eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries, providing relief to individuals and couples,' it said. An identical note was posted to the SSA's website on Thursday, the same day multiple beneficiaries told NBC they received the email. The emails came before Trump prepared to sign his massive tax-cuts and spending package, what he's called the 'big, beautiful bill,' into law in a July Fourth ceremony at the White House. The Trump domestic policy package, which Congress sent to his desk on Thursday, extends the president's expiring tax cuts he enacted in 2017, and also creates a temporary tax deduction for earnings from tips and overtime. But it does not eliminate federal taxes on Social Security. Budget reconciliation, the arcane process Senate Republicans used to pass the bill while avoiding a Democratic filibuster, does not allow changes to be made to Social Security. The Trump package does, however, include a temporary tax deduction of up to $6,000 for seniors, ages 65 and older, and $12,000 for married seniors. Trump's Council of Economic Advisers argued last month that nearly nine in 10 seniors would not pay any federal taxes on their Social Security benefits because the new deduction would eliminate their tax burden. 'Under the One Big Beautiful Bill, 51.4 million seniors — 88% of all seniors receiving Social Security income — will pay no tax on their Social Security,' the council wrote. Trump, who promised on the campaign trail in 2024 he would kill taxes on Social Security, has been repeating the false claim the legislation does just that. He made the claim at a rally in Iowa on Thursday night and at Friday's bill-signing ceremony. "After this kicks in, our country is going to be a rocket ship economically," Trump said at the White House ceremony, "and we've delivered no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security for our great seniors." Spokespeople for both the White House and SSA did not respond to requests for comment. Trump's top political appointee at the SSA, Commissioner Frank Bisignano, said in the email that the new tax cuts represent a "historic step forward for America's seniors." 'For nearly 90 years, Social Security has been a cornerstone of economic security for older Americans. By significantly reducing the tax burden on benefits, this legislation reaffirms President Trump's promise to protect Social Security and helps ensure that seniors can better enjoy the retirement they've earned," Bisignano wrote in the email. Former SSA officials and congressional Democrats said they were appalled by what they viewed as a highly political email being sent to Americans by a federal agency. "This email went to every Social Security subscriber and every word of it is a lie. Social Security benefits are still taxed. This big, ugly bill doesn't change that," New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote on X. "It's disturbing to see Trump hijack a public institution to push blatant misinformation." Jeff Nesbit, a former top Social Security Administration official during the Biden administration, said the political emails were highly unusual, slamming them as "unbelievable" and "unconscionable." "I was deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Appointed by President Biden. The agency has never issued such a blatant political statement," Nesbit, who also served in the George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, posted on X. "The fact that Trump and his minion running SSA has done this is unconscionable."
The Star
10 hours ago
- Climate
- The Star
2nd LD: At least 13 dead, over 20 kids missing in central Texas flooding
HOUSTON, July 4 (Xinhua) -- At least 13 people were killed and more than 20 children from summer camps along the Guadalupe River went missing during the major flash flooding caused by heavy rain overnight in central Texas, authorities updated Friday afternoon. There are currently "about 23" kids unaccounted for at Camp Mystic, a private Christian summer camp for girls, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick told a news conference Friday afternoon. The camp hosts about 750 children. He said at least 14 helicopters, 12 drones and more than 500 people are searching around the camp, and multiple adults and children have been rescued from trees nearby. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha told a news conference that at least 13 people died in the county due to the severe flooding and several people remain unaccounted for. Leitha said he expects more fatalities will be reported in the county. "We are still actively trying to find those that are out and those that are needing assistance," Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said. At about 4 a.m. local time (0900 GMT), the National Weather Service upgraded its flash flood warning, which allows wireless emergency alerts to be sent to cell phones for residents and campers along the river, NBC News reported. The service also warned that a "large and deadly flood wave" was moving down the Guadalupe River. The Guadalupe River in Kerr County rose from 7.5 feet (about 2.3 meters) to nearly 30 feet overnight and is expected to crest at 34 feet in Spring Branch on Friday afternoon, said the service. Cars, campers and mobile homes were swept away as the section of the Guadalupe River surged in the county, online videos showed. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on X that the state is "surging all available resources" to respond to the flooding. "The immediate priority is saving lives," the governor said. Over half a million people in central Texas were under flash flood warnings as of Friday afternoon.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
'Please pray': Texas official gets emotional amid flooding
Officials in Kerr County, Texas, said there are multiple people missing and would not specify the number of fatalities as floodwaters overcome the area unexpectedly after overnight storms. NBC News' George Solis reports on the reaction from Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr.
