Catastrophic flooding struck central Texas on Friday, causing a surge of 20 to 26 feet on the Guadalupe River near Kerrville, leading to widespread damage and washing out roads.
Dozens of people were killed over the weekend; the death toll at 5 p.m. ET Sunday was 79 across six counties. In Kerr County, officials reported 68 deaths — including those of 28 children — and 11 children were still missing from Camp Mystic.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service extended the flood watch over much of south-central Texas as several inches of rain fell on the region.
President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County. The declaration will allow first responders to have access to the resources they need as they continue search and recovery efforts.
- Were the warnings adequate? Critics blamed recent cuts by the Trump administration for damaging officials’ ability to properly warn residents about incoming flood conditions. A White House spokesperson pushed back against the claims, telling NBC News the accusations were “disgusting” lies to target political opponents. On Saturday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also was challenged about whether the federal government did enough to warn Texans.
- ‘I had to swim through the window’: The flash floods left residents to escape through rising waters with nothing but their lives.
- Hoping for a miracle: Xavier Ramirez’s family had been at a campground when the waters began to quickly rise, leaving five of his family members missing.
Trump signs ‘big, beautiful bill’ into law
Trump on Friday signed into law his sweeping tax cut and spending package, which he has called the “big, beautiful bill,” in a Fourth of July ceremony packed with patriotic pomp and symbolism.
The White House ceremony took place alongside a military picnic. It included an armed forces flyover, and it was attended by jubilant Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, both of Louisiana, who helped muscle the legislation through the House by a razor-thin margin.
“Our country has had so much to celebrate this Independence Day as we enter our 249th year. America’s winning, winning, winning like never before,” Trump said before he signed the bill.
In getting his sweeping domestic agenda passed, Trump displayed a mastery over his party that many of his predecessors would have envied.
Politics in brief
- Deep freeze: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth halted a weapons shipment for Ukraine despite military analysis that the aid wouldn’t jeopardize U.S. readiness, blindsiding the State Department, Ukraine, European allies and members of Congress, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter.
- Shaken, not stirred: GOP Sen. Thom Tillis’ surprise retirement announcement has shaken up not only North Carolina’s Senate race, but also the broader fight for the majority in the Senate heading into next year’s midterm elections.
- Another goodbye: Centrist Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the House, said he doesn’t have the “hunger” for another grueling re-election campaign and won’t run for a sixth term next year.
- Tinker to Evers to … chance? In Wisconsin, one of the country’s most closely divided battleground states, there’s one big question on both parties’ minds: Is Gov. Tony Evers going to run for a third term next year?
- The Octagon vs. the Ellipse: UFC plans to host a fight card on the White House grounds, a spokesperson for the promotion confirmed to NBC News.
The ‘Prince of Darkness’ rises again
Ozzy Osbourne rose from beneath the stage on a leather throne adorned with a bat and two diamond-eyed skulls. It was part rock ’n’ roll theater, part medical necessity. At 76, the “Prince of Darkness” has Parkinson’s disease, his spine is held together with screws and plates, and his ailing voice sometimes struggles for pitch.
But this was an emotional display of bloody-minded defiance.
On Saturday night in Birmingham, England, Osbourne forced his battered body through the final concert of his band, Black Sabbath, the godfathers of heavy metal formed in 1968. It capped a 10-hour marathon featuring the biggest names in hard rock, from Metallica and Guns N’ Roses to supergroups packed with A-listers from Aerosmith, Rage Against the Machine, the Smashing Pumpkins and even Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones.
- The heavy metal masters weren’t the only British band to make a return. Oasis, who split up in 2009, returned from their 16-year hiatus with a show in Cardiff, Wales.
Housebuilding hammered by tariff uncertainty
The total cost of building a mid-range single-family home could rise by more than $4,000 as a result of Trump’s tariffs, an NBC News analysis of building materials shows — an estimate that industry experts who reviewed the analysis called conservative.
Products from China, Mexico and Canada — which are tariffed at high rates — are responsible for the largest projected cost increases, calculated using a weighted tariff rate for each item based on the share of imports from each country.
Materials primarily imported from China would add $1,708 to per-home costs, Canadian products would contribute $1,300, and Mexican imports would add $981.
Robert Dietz, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders, said the tariffs have an impact beyond their direct cost as they send uncertainty rippling through the supply chain and leave builders unsure how to plan for the future.
“About three-quarters of homebuilders right now are having difficulty pricing their homes for buyers because of uncertainty due to construction input costs,” Dietz said.
Notable quote
If you’re going to cancel an international trip, it’s not going to be because of the dollar.
Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate
Traveling to Europe is getting cheaper — kind of. Flight prices might be going down, but everything is more expensive once you get there as a weaker dollar takes a bite out of Americans’ budgets abroad and global economic uncertainty looms over travel.
In case you missed it
- Actor Julian McMahon, who was known for playing Dr. Doom in the early-2000s “Fantastic Four” movies and starring in fan-favorite shows including “Nip/Tuck” and “Charmed,” died of cancer at 56.
- Human remains were found at the site of a massive fireworks warehouse explosion that detonated in Northern California, officials said.
- The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama, turned 90 after a week of celebrations by followers, during which he riled China again and spoke about his hope to live beyond 130 and reincarnate after he dies.
- Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made a public appearance, the first time he has been seen amid conflict Israel and the United States.
- Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and several teammates gathered in Portugal to attend the funeral of Diogo Jota and his brother, André Silva, who died in a tragic car crash.
- Famed competitive eater Joey Chestnut reclaimed his title at the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot-dog eating contest after he skipped last year’s gastronomic battle in New York for the coveted Mustard Belt.
- The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said two U.S. security workers were injured in a targeted attack at a food distribution site in Gaza.
