Authorities in Nepal have warned of further flooding after heavy rainfall, as China sheds more light on the scale of the disaster in its Tibet region.
Five days after floodwaters unleashed by a glacier collapse buried communities under thick mud, rescuers in Nepal were still struggling to reach devastated areas as the full extent of the destruction came into focus.
“The disaster here is overwhelming,” Ferrin Cole, an operations director with the U.S.-based Crisis Response International, told NBC News on Sunday. “The flood that came down that mountain just wiped out cities. We’re going in as fast as we can to get people the help that they need.”
About 100 Americans are among those missing across Nepal and China’s Tibet region, the State Department said Saturday.
We know the severity of it, but still, you know, there’s a ray of hope for us to find our loved ones.
Divya Chandrashekar, sister-in-law of american missing in nepal
In Nepal, the death toll has risen to 781, with more than 2,500 people still missing, including 592 foreign nationals, according to the country’s disaster agency. The Nepal Tourism Board said 289 foreign nationals have been rescued.
China has separately reported 16 deaths and 546 people missing in the Tibet region, including 261 foreign nationals. It remains unclear how much overlap exists between the Chinese and Nepali missing-person counts.
NASA launches its next-generation space telescope
NASA on Sunday launched a next-generation space telescope expected to survey hundreds of millions of stars and billions of galaxies, while helping unlock clues to dark energy, dark matter and some of the universe’s biggest mysteries.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope lifted off at 7:26 a.m. ET from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
After 31 minutes and 41 seconds, the telescope separated from the rocket and began its journey to orbit around the second sun-Earth Lagrange point, a gravitational balance point roughly 1 million miles from Earth.
Often compared to the iconic Hubble Space Telescope, the Roman observatory is expected to revolutionize humanity’s understanding of the universe — and our place in it.
U.S. forces strike Iranian rocket launchers on Strait of Hormuz in first military action in weeks
U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in their first military action in a month Sunday. Iran swiftly vowed to retaliate for what it called a deadly attack.
Forces with the Revolutionary Guard Corps were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait, according to a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command. The U.S. military last week completed clearing sea mines from the strait’s international shipping routes.
The attack comes just days after the Trump administration said it would turn its focus to increasing economic pressure — rather than military action — to try to end its war with Iran.
‘Meet the Press’
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, renewed his call for free and fair elections in Venezuela, just two days after the Trump administration announced that the U.S. would take over 65 billion barrels of oil from the South American nation.
“There need to be democratic, free elections in Venezuela,” Cruz told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” adding later in the interview that elections should take place there “midway through next year.”
The senator also praised the oil deal, adding that he doesn’t think the U.S. needs to prioritize free and fair elections in Venezuela over the deal.
Rep. Jiames Clyburn, D-S.C., told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that Democrats should not prioritize impeaching Trump if they win control of the House in the upcoming midterm elections, but instead should focus on making life more affordable for Americans.
The South Carolina representative also said that he regretted his support for Clarence Thomas during the Supreme Court justice’s confirmation hearings in 1991.
“I had no idea that Clarence Thomas would rebel the way he has against his own background and experiences,” Clyburn said.
Politics in brief
- Nominee’s apology: Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, apologized for comments he made after an attack on a synagogue in March, which he tied to Israel’s actions in the Middle East.
- The lake divide: Google Maps has changed the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for U.S. users to reflect Trump’s executive order renaming the lake, according to a Google statement.
At least 1 dead, more than a dozen missing at Grand Canyon after extreme flash flooding
At least one person is dead and more than a dozen others are missing or unaccounted for after flash floods overwhelmed a remote area of the Grand Canyon, including a historic lodge near the bottom of the site, park officials said Sunday afternoon.
The National Park Service is asking for information about anyone who may have been hiking or backpacking along Bright Angel Creek in Arizona, as well as campers with plans to stay at Phantom Ranch or the Bright Angel Campground.
Officials are also trying to track down travelers who might have been stranded along the North Kaibab Trail.
Minnesota Supreme Court rejects Mike Lindell’s bid to recount primary loss
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Saturday rejected Mike Lindell’s bid for a full recount of his loss in the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary.
Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson wrote in a six-page ruling that the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office and its State Canvassing Board provided a recount plan that follows the law and are “not committing any wrongful act, omission, or error” as Lindell claimed.
The MyPillow founder, a longtime 2020 election denier, told NBC News in a phone call that he plans to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I’m willing to pay even more money. I don’t care what it costs,” Lindell said.
He previously pledged to pay an estimated $825,000 to cover a full hand recount and audit of the race but refused to pay the money on Monday, which marked the state’s deadline.
Taylor Swift donates $50,000 to mom injured while saving teens from highway crash
Taylor Swift donated $50,000 to help a Rhode Island mother who was left seriously injured in a car accident last month, NBC News confirmed.
Ashley Taunton was driving on I-95 in Hopkinton during a torrential rainstorm when she saw a car in front of her hydroplane off the road.
She pulled over and ran to help the teenagers inside the crashed vehicle, her husband told NBC affiliate WJAR of Providence. As she was helping them, another vehicle hydroplaned and barreled toward them, he said, leaving her with severe injuries.
After Swift’s donation, Taunton posted on social media: “This is unbelievable and I am overwhelmed with gratitude.”
In case you missed it
- Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei urged Muslim countries, particularly those in the Gulf, to unite against what he called their “real enemy,” in a written statement.
- A Russian strike on a Ukrainian warehouse killed 38 people in the war’s deadliest attack this year. Four people are still missing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media.
- Masked Israeli settlers attacked and injured a Palestinian woman and members of an NBC News team reporting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Saturday.
- At least eight people died after a ferry carrying nearly 270 passengers and crew capsized off northern Cyprus on Sunday, Turkish media reported. A search is underway for those still missing.
- Milo Yiannopoulos, a controversy-baiting internet personality who once vehemently backed Trump, was deported to the United Kingdom, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said.
- Four baby goats from a North Carolina mobile petting zoo tested positive for rabies and were euthanized.
- Icelanders voted to reject a reopening of European Union membership talks. The government had framed it as a matter of national security, but voters were instead focused on interest rates, fishing rights and the cost of living.
