U.S. and world news for July 7

Death toll in Texas flooding climbs

The death toll from the floods that caused massive devastation in central Texas has climbed to at least 82. Dozens of people still are missing, including in hard-hit Kerr County, where 10 girls and one counselor from Camp Mystic are unaccounted for. Hundreds of first responders are participating in search and rescue operations, digging through debris for survivors and remains. The Texas Air National Guard is using remotely piloted military drones to look for those who were swept away by the raging waters. Other members of the community are providing free food to anyone in need. According to the National Weather Service, a flash flood threat is expected to last through Monday in parts of the Texas Hill Country. Additional rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches and isolated amounts of up to 10 inches could occur.

Eon Musk forms his own political party

Billionaire Elon Musk, who was the largest contributor to Donald Trump’s campaign for president last year, over the weekend announced the formation of a new political party named the American Party. Musk decided to go ahead with forming his own political party after his fallout with Trump and after Congress ignored his criticism of the tax cut and spending cut bill just signed into law by Trump. Trump called Musk’s third party ridiculous and said third parties just add confusion to politics and don’t work.

Israel stages new attacks in Yemen

Israel attacked Houthi targets in Yemen, launching strikes on ports and a power plant around midnight local time on Sunday night into Monday morning. The Israel Defense Forces also attacked the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship seized by the Houthis in November 2023. According to the IDF, the strikes were in retaliation for at least three Houthi ballistic missiles that were launched at Israel. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the strikes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to meet with President Trump in Washington, D.C., today.

Tropical depression Chantal forms

Chantal, the first named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season to hit the U.S., has deteriorated to a tropical depression since making landfall early Sunday. However, flash flooding remains a concern in parts of northern North Carolina and Virginia. Life-threatening surf and rip currents are also expected to continue at beaches from northeastern Florida to the mid-Atlantic states, the National Hurricane Center warned.

EPA investigates employees who raised concerns

The Trump Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency suspended about 140 employees and plans to investigate them just days after they signed a public letter expressing concern about the treatment of federal employees and the Trump Administration’s regulations on climate and public health. The letter outlined five key concerns: Undermining public trust; ignoring scientific consensus to benefit polluters; reversing the EPA’s progress in America’s most vulnerable communities; dismantling the Office of Research and Development; promoting a culture of fear and forcing staff to choose between their livelihood and well-being.

Measles cases continue to rise

With anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leading efforts to dismantle the reliance on science in setting health care policy, the number of measles cases in the U.S. continues to rise. There have been more measles cases this year than in any other year since the disease was declared eliminated a quarter-century ago. And experts say this year’s cases are likely to be severely undercounted because many go unreported. According to data from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Outbreak Response Innovation, there have been at least 1,277 confirmed cases of measles in 2025 so far. Two children and one adult have died, matching the total number of U.S. measles deaths from the previous 25 years. At least 155 people have been hospitalized with measles this year, CDC data shows, and 28% of cases have been in children younger than 5. The vast majority of this year’s cases have been in people who were unvaccinated.