Many Texans grabbed not only their valuables but also their dogs, cats, birds and other pets as they fled the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Harvey. “It seems like everyone coming off a boat is carrying a dog or cat,” said Monica Schmidt, a manager for the Houston Humane Society. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, rescue officials have stressed the importance of evacuees bringing their pets because in New Orleans some people refused to leave for fear of abandoning their animals. Authorities had to include pets in federal guidelines for disaster planning, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. But on Sunday night that caused confusion and anger outside Houston’s convention center, which has become a large shelter. Dozens of people with dogs arrived only to be told they could not bring them inside or that animal services were not available to care for their …

The muddy floodwaters now soaking through dry wall, carpeting, mattresses and furniture in Houston will pose a massive cleanup challenge with potential public health consequences. It’s not known yet what kinds or how much sewage, chemicals and waterborne germs are mixed in the water. For now, health officials are more concerned about drownings, carbon monoxide poisoning from generators and hygiene at shelters. In the months and years to come, their worries will turn to the effects of trauma from Hurricane Harvey on mental health.   At a shelter set up inside Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center, Dr. David Persse is building a clinic of doctors and nurses and trying to prevent the spread of viruses or having to send people to hospitals already stretched thin. “This is rapidly evolving,” said Persse, Houston Director of Emergency Medical Services. “I always worry in these large congregations of people about viral outbreaks …

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wants to speed up a proposal to block new gold mining claims on forested public lands in Montana near Yellowstone National Park and will also consider blocking other types of mining, agency officials said Monday.   Federal officials are undergoing a two-year review of mining on more than 30,000 acres among the towering peaks of the Absaroka mountains just north of the park.   The review was launched last year by Zinke’s predecessor, former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, in response to local concerns that two proposed gold mines could profoundly alter the character of a region heavily dependent on hikers, hunters and tourists.   Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift said Monday that Zinke wants to move forward as quickly as possible with a proposed 20-year withdrawal of future mining claims in the area north of the park, known as Paradise Valley. The review of that withdrawal …

Hundreds of ministers marched Monday in Washington on the anniversary of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, calling for an end to racism after recent violence in the country. The eldest son of King, Martin Luther King III, joined the rally along with the Reverend Al Sharpton and ministers from many religions, marching along parts of the same route that civil rights activists took 54 years ago. Sharpton’s National Action Network said in a statement Monday that his group was “not only disgusted by the lack of leadership in the current White House, but are also tired of the silence of others.” The march followed recent violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a man, described as a Nazi sympathizer, ran his car into a group of counterprotesters, killing one woman and injuring about 20 others. President Donald Trump was criticized …

Tropical Storm Harvey is a monster who is showing no mercy to his victims. Forecasters say the storm is slowly moving off the southeastern Texas coast back into the Gulf of Mexico, where it will suck up tons of additional moisture before making a second strike on the already flooded city of Houston. Rescuers are working non-stop to look for people stuck inside their flooded homes or who have sought safety on their rooftops. Highways and interstates normally filled with cars have become impassable rivers. Dirty brown water covers downtown Houston sidewalks which would normally be filled with officer workers, shoppers, and tourists. Television pictures show a gloomy, apocalyptic-like scene — boatloads of flood victims being pushed along what is normally a busy highway with stranded cars and trucks emerging from the water. Others follow behind, wading through the waist-deep floodwaters as the rain continues to fall. Of the rescues, …

U.S. President Donald Trump, who met with his Finnish counterpart at the White House on Monday, said the United States was “very protective” of the Baltic region, especially in terms of the northern European states’ relations with Russia. “We are very protective of that region,” Trump said at a joint news conference with visiting Finnish President Sauli Niinisto after the two held talks in the Oval Office. “That’s all I can say,” Trump added. “We are very, very protective. We have great friends there, great relationships there.” He added that he thought Russia respected Finland and that he hoped the United States would also develop a good relationship with Russia. “I say it loud and clear, I’ve been saying it for years,” Trump told reporters. “I think it’s a good thing if we have great relationships, or at least good relationships, with Russia. That’s very important.” Niinisto said “the U.S. …

Country music star Chris Young is donating $100,000 for disaster relief efforts in Texas.   Nashville-based Monarch Publicity says in a news release that Young lived in Arlington, Texas, before signing with RCA records and has family and close friends in Hurricane Harvey’s path.   Young says in the statement that communities in Texas “are going to be dealing with so much damage and loss of life for a long time to come.”   Young’s donation through his foundation will benefit the Red Cross and other disaster relief groups.  He says during tough times, “you turn to your friends to help those in need and that’s exactly what I’m doing.” He asked others to join his fundraising effort.   Young is a native of Murfreesboro, about 25 miles southeast of Nashville. …

Massive flooding caused by Tropical Storm Harvey along Texas’ refinery-rich coast could have long-standing and far-reaching consequences for the state’s oil and gas industry and the larger U.S. economy. The storm’s remnants left much of Houston underwater on Sunday, and the National Weather Service says it’s not over yet: Some parts of Houston and its suburbs could end up with as much as 50 inches (1.3 meters) of rain.   With the heavy precipitation expected to last for days, it’s still unclear how bad the damage will be, but there is already evidence of widespread losses. Key oil and gas facilities along the Texas Gulf Coast have temporarily shut down, and flooding in the Houston and Beaumont areas could seriously pinch gasoline supplies. Companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico have evacuated drilling platforms and rigs, crimping the flow of oil and gas. Experts believe gasoline prices could increase as …

The U.S. Navy says divers have recovered the remains of all 10 sailors from the USS John S. McCain, the naval ship that collided with a merchant vessel last week. Last Monday, the USS McCain became the second U.S. guided-missile destroyer to collide with a commercial vessel in as many months.   U.S. investigators are trying to determine what led to the collision with a Liberian oil tanker near the Strait of Malacca. Navy photos show a gaping hole below the waterline on the destroyer’s port (left) side. Some sleeping areas and communications rooms flooded as a result. Commander dismissed In response to the incident, the Navy ordered an immediate operational pause across the U.S. fleet and dismissed the commander of the 7th Fleet, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin. In the earlier collision involving a U.S. destroyer, seven sailors from the USS Fitzgerald died when their ship collided with a container …

As people waded in chest-high floodwaters, Houston turned its main convention center into a shelter Sunday, evoking memories of Hurricane Katrina, when breached levees in New Orleans stranded tens of thousands of people in squalid conditions at that city’s football stadium and convention center.   Elected officials have vowed to heed the lessons from Katrina in 2005, when about 30,000 evacuees spent days packed inside the sweltering Superdome with limited power and water and a roof that was shredded in the howling wind.   The fiasco exposed the failure of both the city and federal government to prepare adequately for the storm.   Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa told President Donald Trump on Twitter to “keep on top of hurricane Harvey” and not repeat the mistakes that President George W. Bush made with Katrina. Bush was heavily criticized for a slow federal government response to the storm, which left more …

After months of delays, President Donald Trump is expected to decide soon on the fate of so called “dreamers” who were brought into the country illegally as children as he faces a looming court deadline and is digging in on appeals to his base. Advocates on both sides of the issue are bracing for the possibility that Trump will halt the issuance of new work permits under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, a move that would effectively phase out a program that gave hundreds of thousands of young people a reprieve from deportation and the ability to work legally in the U.S. The White House, however, insisted Sunday that it had no announcement on an issue the president has openly wrestled with for months. The deliberations come as Trump has been under fire for his response to a white supremacists’ protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump further …

Hurricane Harvey has caused devastating floods in the Houston area of Texas and parts of Louisiana, home to millions of Americans. The weather disaster has overwhelmed rescuers trying to answer calls for help by stranded residents. Texas Governor Greg Abbott praised the federal government’s response Sunday, and the White House said President Donald Trump is expected to travel to Houston on Tuesday to view the rescue and recovery efforts. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports. …

When state emergency authorities pulled into the storm shelter in the small city of Rockport, Texas on Saturday, they asked the obvious first question: Who’s in charge here? Everyone pointed to Zachary Dearing, who didn’t exactly look the part. The 29-year old was wearing shorts, an olive-green T-shirt and curly blond hair pulled into a man-bun. Yet he seemed to have keen command of a desperate situation playing out in this beach community of about 10,000 people, which took catastrophic damage from a direct hit by Hurricane Harvey. Dearing rattled off basic facts and needs: The shelter had 126 people at last headcount. Six were medically fragile. Four needed oxygen. Two needed hospice care. Everyone was calm because they had just been fed, he said. “What service are you with?” Katie Contrera, of the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force recalled asking him. She was shocked to learn Dearing was a …

Former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio has said he is grateful to President Donald Trump for a criminal pardon, but that act of clemency is drawing criticism from some within the president’s own party. VOA’s Marcus Harton has more. …

Counterprotesters filled the streets of Berkeley, California, Sunday even though a scheduled far-right rally that had been the target of their demonstration was canceled. Sunday was the second day of demonstrations in the San Francisco Bay area. On Saturday, huge crowds of counterdemonstrators turned out to oppose another right-wing gathering, billed as a Patriot Protest rally, but that, too, was canceled. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee declared victory over a group he branded as inviting hate. Police in Berkeley, across San Francisco Bay from the larger city, had set up barricades around a park where the rally was to have taken place Sunday. Authorities also erected metal barricades manned by officers.By midmorning, police in riot gear stood guard at park entrances as dozens of people milled around across the street. People were allowed to enter the park once their bags were checked for banned items, including baseball bats and skateboards. …

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says President Donald Trump, who has faced criticism over his response to a recent white nationalist rally in Virginia, “speaks for himself” on his values. Tillerson, appearing on Fox News Sunday, made the comment when asked about Trump’s reaction to the rally, in which he blamed “many sides” for violence that erupted in the city of Charlottesville. “We express America’s values from the State Department.  We represent the American people, we represent America’s values, our commitment to freedom, our commitment to equal treatment of people the world over and that message has never changed,” the top U.S. diplomat said.  “I don’t believe anyone doubts the American people’s values or the commitment of the American government or the government’s agencies to advancing those values and defending those values.” Asked if he was separating himself from Trump on the matter, Tillerson said “I have spoken, I …

U.S. President Donald Trump’s new aid chief, Mark Green, kicked off an African tour in Sudan on Sunday, where he will assess whether Khartoum has done enough to get help into conflict areas to deserve eased sanctions. It is Green’s first trip as administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, a job he began two weeks ago amid talk of budget cuts and a wide-reaching reorganization of the agency by the Trump administration. He is due to visit aid projects in drought-hit zones including neighboring Ethiopia, at a time when Washington is considering an estimated 30-percent cut in the budget of the State Department and USAID. But his priorities will also include weighing whether Washington should reform one of its main diplomatic fronts in the region – a raft of sanctions imposed first over Khartoum’s perceived support of global terrorism, later its violent suppression of rebels in Darfur. U.S. …

Pakistani police have used tear gas and batons to disperse anti-U.S protesters in the southern port city of Karachi.   Police officer Irfan Baloch says police took action Sunday when a group of Shi’ite students tried to march toward the U.S. consulate and an officer was injured in the process.   U.S. President Donald Trump in a speech announcing a new strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia accused Pakistan of giving safe haven to extremists who kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan.   Pakistan has rejected the accusation saying its troops engage militants and the nation has sacrificed in the war on terror.   In Islamabad, a group held a peaceful “Defense of Pakistan” rally condemning U.S. policy Sunday.     …

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday the firing of three ballistic missiles by North Korea this week was a provocative act but that the United States will continue to seek a peaceful resolution. “We do view it as a provocative act against the United States and our allies,” Tillerson said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” “We’re going to continue our peaceful pressure campaign as I have described it, working with allies, working with China as well to see if we can bring the regime in Pyongyang to the negotiating table.” …

Tropical storm Harvey has left at least two people dead as flooding and tornadoes presented continuing danger for the residents of southeastern Texas. …

The mayor of Houston called on residents to “do their part” to ensure minimal loss of life in southeastern Texas as tropical storm Harvey caused unprecedented floods. “People are wanting the assistance right now, they’re dialing 911 and sometimes are frustrated they can’t get through, I understand that. But what I will say to you is that if we all work together – first responders, neighbors, good samaritans out there – the additional resources are being made available and are being deployed as we speak in different quadrants of the city,”  Sylvester Turner told a press briefing Sunday. “If we remain calm, and if everybody does his or her part, we will get through this with minimum loss of life, and this city will get right back on track and we’ll move right forward.” IN PICTURES: Unprecedented Rains in Southeastern Texas Turner said that over 2,000 calls asking for help …

House speaker Paul Ryan says he disagrees with President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, less than a month after he was convicted of criminal contempt in a case involving his department’s racial profiling policy. “Law-enforcement officials have a special responsibility to respect the rights of everyone in the United States. We should not allow anyone to believe that responsibility is diminished by this pardon,” Ryan spokesman Doug Andres said in a statement. Both Republican Senators from Arizona, John McCain and Jeff Flake, also were critcal of the move. In a statement late Friday, the White House said of Arpaio: “Throughout his time as sheriff, Arpaio continued his life’s work of protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration. Sheriff Joe Arpaio is now eighty-five years old, and after more than fifty years of admirable service to our Nation, he is a worthy …

Facing the digital wrath of a Republican president increasingly unhappy with legislative roadblocks, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told a GOP gathering in his home state on Saturday that people should not be surprised with the challenges that come with governing. “A lot of people look at all that and find it frustrating, messy. Well, welcome to the democratic process. That’s the way it is in our country,” McConnell said during the Republican Party of Kentucky’s Lincoln Dinner in Louisville. President Donald Trump has criticized McConnell for the Senate’s failure to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law despite years of promises, tweeting “that should NEVER have happened!” The perceived acrimony has fed a narrative of discord in the GOP that threatens the future of Trump’s agenda, including changing the tax code and passing a national infrastructure bill. McConnell sought to quash those sentiments on Saturday, vowing …