Midday Roundup: Texas-sized deluge spreads Lone Star State misery

Too much. Heavy rain and flooding continue to plague Texas today as Houston residents scrambled for higher ground amid some of the worst street flooding in almost 15 years. The storm system that inundated Central Texas on Sunday morning washed away bridges, houses, and entire families. People staying in vacation homes in Wimberley, just south of Austin, had no idea how fast the water would rise until it was too late. Twelve people remain missing. Officials report 350 homes destroyed in Wimberley and San Marcos, with 1,000 people left homeless because of damage. In Houston, officials urged residents to stay home this morning as many of the city’s major highways are closed due to high water. As much as 9 inches of rain fell on the city overnight. Although Gov. Greg Abbott has declared states of emergency in many counties, the storm clouds did have something of a silver lining. The drought that has gripped the state for the last five years has been convincingly broken. More rain is expected throughout the day today and into the week.

Too little. While flooding wreaks havoc in Texas and the southern plains, at least 750 people are dead in India from a drought and massive heat wave. The sweltering heat moved in mid-April with temperatures soaring as high as 120 degrees. Crops and livestock have been hit hard, but the triple-digit temperatures are impacting livelihoods in urban areas, as well. In the city of Kolkata, taxis not equipped with air conditioning must stay parked through the five hottest hours of the day after two drivers died from heatstroke. Climatologists blame an El Niño weather event in the region for the prolonged drought and oppressive heat.

ISIS slaughter. Syrian state television reports Islamic State (ISIS) militants have slaughtered hundreds of women and children in Palmyra. The report fits a pattern of mass executions by ISIS when the group captures a city. U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told CBS’ Face the Nation the White House cannot allow ISIS to continue advancing: “Reports are now in Palmyra that they’re now executing people, leaving their bodies in the streets, meanwhile the president of the United States is saying the biggest enemy we have is climate change.” ISIS also killed 500 people when it captured the Iraqi city of Ramadi. Iraq and Syria launched separate counterattacks against ISIS over the weekend in an effort to retake the cities.

Mean streets. The streets of Cleveland were quiet Sunday and Monday after protestors rallied over the weekend in opposition to a jury acquittal of a white police officer on trial for killing two unarmed African-American men in 2012. The incident started when the men’s car backfired and someone mistook that for a gunshot. Police gave chase, and when the men were cornered, 13 officers opened fire. The officer who stood trial fired the final 15 of 137 shots. After that, the U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into the police department’s tendency to use excessive force. A federal official said today the city has reached a settlement with the federal government. In a report released in December, the government required the city to come up with a plan to reform its 1,500-member police department. Details on the terms of the settlement have not been released.

Grisly discovery. Malaysian officials announced Monday the discovery of at least 100 graves believed to hold the remains of sex-trafficking victims. The graves, some of which contain more than one body, are in a jungle camp near the country’s northern border with Thailand. Migrants on boats from Myanmar stream into the area, a major stop on the smuggling route to Southeast Asia. Many are Rohingya Muslims fleeing government-sponsored persecution. Discoveries of similar camps on the Thai side of the border triggered a crackdown on human trafficking that led to a crisis at sea. Smugglers, afraid of getting caught, abandoned their human cargo aboard modern-day slave ships with limited food and water. Police say they have been shocked by the signs of cruelty and torture they found at the border camps.

WORLD Radio’s Mary Reichard and Paul Butler contributed to this report.