Texas

US to review police response to Texas school shooting

Public anger is growing after it emerged that officers waited in the hallway as children trapped with the shooter made desperate 911 calls.

US President Joe Biden is in Uvalde to meet families devastated by the attack.

He will also meet survivors and first responders.

First Lady Jill Biden, herself a teacher, accompanied the president to a memorial at Robb Elementary School. They were seen comforting the school's principal Mandy Gutierrez, beside a carpet of floral tributes for the teachers, and children - all under 10 years old - who lost their lives.

Eighteen students and three adults killed in Texas school shooting

Senator Roland Gutierrez of Texas said he was briefed by state police on the latest fatalities at the deadly shooting in the Robb elementary school in Uvalde, a heavily Latino community about 85 miles west of San Antonio near the Mexico border.

Three people wounded in the attack remained hospitalized in serious condition, the senator said.

Texas police respond to synagogue 'hostage' situation

It is not known if he is armed or if anyone has been hurt.

The service was being streamed live when the incident started. The feed has since been taken down, but not before an angry man could be heard saying he did not want anyone to be hurt.

Police deployed special weapons teams and local people were evacuated.

At least four hostages - including the rabbi - are believed to be inside the synagogue, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Hurricane Laura ‘will cause unsurvivable storm surge’

Laura was upgraded to a Category 4 storm as it approached the coasts of Texas and Louisiana on Wednesday.

The NHC warned local residents to "rush" to complete preparations.

Half a million have been told to leave. Laura and another storm, Marco, earlier hit the Caribbean, killing 24.

Marco has already struck Louisiana, bringing strong winds and heavy rain on Monday.

Initially it was feared that both storms would hit Louisiana as hurricanes within 48 hours of each other - an unprecedented event - but Marco was downgraded to a tropical storm.

     

'Swift and dangerous turn' in Texas COVID-19 cases, says governor

"Over just the past few weeks, the daily number of cases have gone from an average of about 2,000, to more than 5,000," Mr Abbott said on Sunday.

Several southern and western states have recorded a surge in cases after lockdown restrictions were eased.

The number of reported infections in the US has now surpassed 2.5 million.

Over 125,000 Covid-19 patients are confirmed to have died nationwide - more than in any other country.

Deadly tornadoes batter southern US states

Tornadoes touched down in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi.

On Sunday, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agenda confirmed deaths across three counties.

In Louisiana, a number of homes were destroyed in the city of Monroe, with the city's official social media account initially reporting only minor injuries.

The National Weather Service said severe thunderstorms were likely through late Sunday into Monday, in particular across parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

Texas newlyweds die in helicopter crash while leaving their wedding

Will Byler and Bailee Ackerman Byler were both students at Sam Houston State University. Their deaths were first reported by the student newspaper.

The crash occurred near Uvalde, about 85 miles (135km) west of San Antonio.

On social media, wedding attendees have been posting their condolences in the captions of wedding photos.

"I'm absolutely devastated!" wrote one friend on Facebook, adding that the pilot of the aircraft was also killed.

Texas man nearly dies after being bitten by severed snake head

Jennifer Sutcliffe told local station KIII-TV that her husband was working in the garden when he saw the four-foot (1.25m) rattlesnake and decapitated it.

When he picked up the snake's remains to dispose of them, the head bit him.

A snake's bite reflex can be triggered up to several hours after it has died. Ms Sutcliffe told KIII-TV her husband immediately began to have seizures.

He was airlifted from his home near Corpus Christi to hospital where he was treated with the anti-venom CroFab.

Storm Harvey: 'Catastrophic' flooding expected to worsen

A record 30in of rain (75cm) has already fallen on the city of Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, turning roads into rivers.

But forecasters say that number could nearly double later this week.

On Monday President Donald Trump also approved an emergency declaration for neighbouring Louisiana.

Harvey made landfall as a category-four hurricane late on Friday, bringing flooding described by officials as "unprecedented". It was later downgraded to a tropical storm.

Hurricane Harvey barrels into Texas

Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a category-4 storm but CNN report it has since been downgraded to category 1.

The storm has brought down trees in Corpus Christi, with cities from northern Mexico to Louisiana bracing for flooding.

The town of Rockport appeared to be one of the hardest hit and the mayor told not leaving town should write their names on their arms for identification in case of death or injury.