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In the news today: The risk of life-threatening flooding was still high in Texas after a deluge killed at least 82 people; Elon Musk says he’s forming a new political party; and French police have intensified efforts to stop migrants crossing the English Channel by slashing boats. Also, South Africa’s first Black female beer brewery owner is aiming to shake up the industry.

Officials comb through the banks of the Guadalupe River on Saturday after a flash flood swept through the area, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

U.S. NEWS

Risk of further floods in Texas during search for missing as death toll tops 80 

With more rain on the way, the risk of life-threatening flooding was still high in central Texas on Monday as crews searched for the missing following a holiday weekend deluge that killed at least 82 people, including children at summer camps. Read more.

What to know:

• Officials said the death toll was sure to rise. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said 41 people were unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing. Survivors shared terrifying stories of being swept away and clinging to trees as rampaging floodwaters carried trees and cars past them. Others fled to attics, praying the water wouldn’t reach them.
  
  
• Authorities faced growing questions about whether enough warnings were issued in an area long vulnerable to flooding and whether enough preparations were made. Authorities and elected officials have said they did not expect such an intense downpour, the equivalent of months’ worth of rain for the area. President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration Sunday for Kerr County and said he would likely visit Friday: “I would have done it today, but we’d just be in their way.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• A young Alabama student, a grandparent and a camp director among those killed in Texas floods
  
  
• Quick action by one Texas summer camp leads to timely evacuations ahead of deadly flood
  
  
• Photos of the flooding aftermath along the Guadalupe River in Texas

POLITICS

Musk says he’s forming a new political party after split with Trump over tax cuts law

Elon Musk said he’s carrying out his threat to form a new political party after his fissure with President Donald Trump, announcing the America Party in response to the president’s sweeping tax cuts law. Read more.

Why this matters:

• The formation of new political parties is not uncommon, but they typically struggle to pull any significant support away from the Republican and Democratic parties. But Musk, the world’s richest man who spent at least $250 million supporting Trump in the 2024 election, could impact the 2026 elections, determining the control of Congress if he is willing to spend significant amounts of money.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Deep-blue Arizona congressional district is up for grabs. Who will fill Raúl Grijalva’s shoes?

   

• Trump and the Republican Party target ballots arriving after Election Day that delay counts and feed conspiracy fears

   

• Pardon applications are being carefully crafted with one man in mind: Donald Trump

   

• In Sinaloa’s capital, news of a boxing scion’s US arrest causes unease

   

• Foreign medical residents fill critical positions at US hospitals, but are running into visa issues

   

• Pressure from Trump for trade deals before Wednesday deadline, but hints of more time for talks

   

• BRICS condemns US tariff plans without naming Trump

   

• Trump and Netanyahu may take a victory lap on Iran, but the Gaza war looms over their meeting

WORLD NEWS

French police are slashing boats but migrants are still determined to reach the UK

French police have intensified efforts to stop migrants crossing the English Channel. Under pressure from U.K. authorities, France’s government is preparing to give an even freer hand to police patrols that, just last week, were twice filmed slashing boats carrying men, women, and children. Migrants say the crossings are dangerous but worth the risk. Read more.

What to know:

• The French Interior Ministry told AP that police haven’t been issued orders to systematically slash boats. But the British government — which is partly funding France’s policing efforts — welcomed what it called a “toughening” of the French approach.
  
  

• According to U.K. government figures, more than 20,000 people made the crossing in the first six months of this year, up by about 50% from the same period in 2024, and potentially on course toward a new annual record.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Poland reinstates border controls with Germany and Lithuania to discourage asylum-seekers
  
  
• A bill setting new limits on asylum-seekers passes in the Dutch parliament

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IN OTHER NEWS

READ

Pakistan: Days of monsoon rains and flash floods kill at least 72

Death penalty: Executions in Saudi Arabia reach a record high mostly over drug cases, Amnesty says

Poisonous mushrooms: Australian woman is convicted of 3 murders for poisoning her in-laws

South America: Suriname’s parliament elects the country’s first female president amid economic turmoil

France: Unusual bee attack leaves 24 injured, 3 critically

Hard-rock royalty: Ozzy Osbourne says farewell to live performance with a hometown show for 40,000 fans

Today in History: In 2005, terrorist bombings in three Underground stations and a double-decker bus killed 52 victims and four bombers in the worst attack on London since World War II

WATCH

Mexico City: Protests against surging mass tourism end in vandalism, harassment of tourists

Cage left unlocked: Lion owners arrested after an attack on woman and her 2 children

Ashoura: Shiite Muslims commemorate the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson