Texas flash floods leave at least 2 dead in region devastated year ago

UVALDE, Texas — Authorities in Texas have rescued hundreds of stranded drivers and people trapped in homes and at least two people have died due to catastrophic flooding.

The region is still recovering from devastating floods a year ago. The governor said Thursday that the hardest-hit areas are expecting more rain and are not out of danger yet.

The National Weather Service says a “deadly flood wave” churned down the Guadalupe River that runs alongside Camp Mystic. That’s where two dozen children and two counselors were killed last July.

Gov. Greg Abbott said more than 2,000 first responders had been deployed and that some evacuations began before the worst of the flooding.

ICE officer in Maine shooting

has history of violent behavior

AUGUSTA, Maine) — The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot and killed a Colombian man in Maine this week is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood, according to close relatives who spoke to The Associated Press.

Several of David Brouillette’s close relatives say he told them he was the ICE officer who shot 25-year-old Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero on Monday.

They say Brouillette never should have been given a badge and gun, and they accuse him of attacking women in his life over the years. His troubling past further challenges how thoroughly the Department of Homeland Security has vetted recruits as it went on a hiring spree to help carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Hopes for US-Iran diplomacy alive

as fighting intensifies over strait

WASHINGTON — Fighting between the U.S. and Iran has intensified. But hopes for a possible diplomatic solution have shown stubborn signs of life.

Vice President JD Vance told podcaster Joe Rogan that the U.S. will not indefinitely bomb Iran and that “you’ve got to actually be willing to talk and to try to figure out the problem.”

Mediators from countries that include Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt also have been working to resume talks. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday that the parties eventually “will have to come to the negotiating table to settle all outstanding issues.”

Wildfire smoke makes air unhealthy

from the US Midwest to East Coast

NEW YORK (AP) — Heavy smoke from wildfires is darkening skies from the U.S. Midwest to the East Coast. The smoke on Thursday prompted warnings that breathing the air outside could be dangerous for people.

The smoke is coming from fires that are burning primarily in Canada but also in northern Minnesota. A National Weather Service Meteorologist in Detroit says a lingering high pressure system has trapped the smoke close to the ground.

Officials in many cities are urging residents to stay inside or wear masks outside as air quality reaches unhealthy to hazardous levels, meaning it’s unhealthy for anyone, regardless of health conditions.

Administration revives rule that

could deny green cards to immigrants

MIAMI — The Trump administration is reviving a rule that could deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits that could include food stamps, Medicaid, housing vouchers and more.

The policy appeared Thursday in the Federal Register and comes into effect Sept. 18. The policy was first implemented in February 2020 as one of President Donald Trump’s moves to limit legal immigration during his first administration, but it was reversed after Democratic President Joe Biden came to power.

Federal law already requires those seeking permanent residency or legal status to demonstrate that they will not become a public charge. The new rule broadens the grounds for disqualification.

Blanche meets with Epstein accusers

after demand from key GOP senator

WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has met with accusers of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein following the demand of a Republican senator whose support is crucial to his nomination to lead the Justice Department.

Blanche met for about an hour Thursday with a group of Epstein’s accusers at Justice Department headquarters in Washington.

After the meeting, he told reporters that he encouraged the accusers to come to the FBI with any information that could help investigators.

“It wasn’t all cordial,” Blanche said. One accuser called it a “mere ‘check-the-box’ exercise intended to secure votes for his confirmation.”

US investigators probe airline mishap

U.S. aviation safety investigators have taken over the investigation into what caused a window to dislodge on a Ryanair flight from Greece to Germany on July 10.

A man was partially sucked out of the plane before his wife and other passengers pulled him back inside. The National Transportation Safety Board says Thursday that the incident happened in Greek airspace, not over North Macedonia as initially believed. International aviation rules allow Greece’s safety authority to hand the investigation to the NTSB. The U.S. federal agency is now leading the probe with Greece participating. The flight was headed from Thessaloniki to Memmingen.

The Associated Press