As search and rescue teams in Central Texas look for the more than 160 people still missing from last week's flash floods, President Trump has signed a "federal disaster declaration" at the request of Gov. Greg Abbott. This allows the FEMA to deploy resources to the area, which comes not long after the president said he wanted to shut the agency down.

Texas

President Trump has signed a federal disaster declaration for Texas at the request of Governor Greg Abbott, enabling FEMA to send resources to assist with ongoing search and rescue operations after severe flash floods left more than 160 people missing. This action follows recent statements by President Trump expressing a desire to phase out FEMA, though he has not addressed those plans since the floods.

Former FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell explained that FEMA's role is to support state and local authorities when disasters exceed their capacity, providing technical teams and coordinating federal assistance. She noted that while changes to FEMA may be necessary, any reforms should involve careful discussions with state and local partners to ensure effective disaster response.

Trump allows FEMA to deploy resources to Texas

And we are continuing to follow our top story tonight as search-and-rescue teams in Central Texas look for the more than 160 people still missing after last week's flash flooding. President Trump signed a federal disaster declaration at the request of Governor Greg Abbott. That allows FEMA to deploy its resources to the area. But this comes not long after the president said he wants to shut the agency down. Joining us now is Deanne Criswell. She served as the FEMA administrator under President Biden, I should say. And, Deanne, thank you very much for joining us. Can you explain how FEMA traditionally responds to disasters like what we're seeing in Texas? And what do you think of the government's response so far? Nancy, the role that FEMA plays and has always played is to support state and local jurisdictions if the incident that they're responding to exceeds their capacity. One of the things that we have always said is that it is locally executed, state managed, and federally supported. And state and local responders have that primary responsibility. I was a local emergency manager before I went to FEMA. And so I know what they're going through. The role that FEMA would play in this response is to send in those technical teams, those experts to help go through that debris and help recover anybody that is still missing, but also begin to send in experts and coordinate the rest of the federal family for things like debris removal or to assess hospitals or the water filtration systems. And then we would be sending in folks that would help individuals that have been impacted register for that critical assistance that they may need to help them start their recovery process. And, Deanne, President Trump has previously said he plans to begin phasing out FEMA after this hurricane season. But since these floods, he's avoided addressing that plan. What do you make of that possibility now? Well, again, I think there's a general misunderstanding nationally of the role that FEMA plays. We often hear, where is FEMA? And FEMA is not that firefighter that is going to come in there in the first few minutes after. They come in and support afterwards when it exceeds capacity. And when you look at a state like Texas, probably the most capable state in the United States, and they still needed to ask for assistance to come in and help, what does that mean if FEMA's not there and these smaller states or smaller jurisdictions also have a big event? Are they going to be able to handle it on their own? I think change is needed, absolutely, but it has to be a thoughtful conversation with our state and local partners to understand what they're frustrated with so we can make meaningful change and make government work for them. Given your experience, what do you see as some of those potential changes to improve FEMA going forward if it does continue? Well, everybody complains about the bureaucracy. And sometimes it's not just bureaucracy, but it's accountability. But the way that we can enforce accountability can be streamlined. We can bring all of the different federal requirements and regulations maybe under one umbrella. We can find ways to give states more autonomy with some of these smaller projects and focus some of the more detailed work in the large projects, complicated projects, into the system that works now and spread that information out and give states more control. These are all conversations that we had when I was there that continue to be had. There's ways to make this happen. I think we just need to, again, sit down and have meaningful conversations. And I know that the FEMA Review Council met today, and I'm hoping that they started those conversations. Deanne Criswell, we appreciate this conversation. Thank you very much for joining us. Thank you.

A partial tunnel collapse in Los Angeles temporarily buried 31 workers in Los Angeles, California. CBS News' Carter Evans reports on the rescue operation.

Los Angeles

31 trapped workers rescued after tunnel collapse

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed “disappointment and frustration” over continued Russian attacks on Ukraine and said new sanctions on Russia are a “real option.” Kylie Atwood has more details from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur

Global Tariffs

Rubio: New Russia sanctions a ‘real option’

With Russia again bombarding Ukraine with drones, U.S. President Donald Trump says he’s considering sending another missile defence system to Ukraine.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Trump muses missile defence system for Ukraine

Officials in Texas are promising to address concerns about flood warnings in parts of the state, but say the ongoing search-and-rescue efforts must be complete first.

Texas officials to address flood warnings after search complete

Linda Yaccarino is stepping down as CEO of X after two years leading Elon Musk's social media company. Yaccarino's departure comes one day after the company's Grok chatbot began pushing antisemitic tropes in responses to users.

San Francisco

Yaccarino steps down as CEO of Elon Musk's X

Parts of Ukraine were on fire overnight after Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine since the war unfolded. Just hours earlier, Trump directly called out Vladimir Putin for stalled peace talks.

Moscow

Trump calls out Putin for stalled peace talks

The Trump administration branded the event as one of the steps it is taking to reshape its relationship with the African continent.

Washington

Five African leaders have lunch with Trump

The search continues in central Texas for the more than 160 people still missing from the deadly floods that hit over the Fourth of July. CBS News reporter Karen Hua has more.

Kerr County

Recovery operations ongoing in Texas as more than 160 still missing

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on social media that he issued tariff letters to Algeria, Brunei, Iraq, Libya, Moldova and the Philippines.

Trump sends tariff letters to six more countries

Video released by the Houthi media center shows the bulk carrier ‘Magic Seas’ being attacked and later sinking in the Iran-backed rebel group’s first attack this year on a commercial shipping vessel in the Red Sea.

Sana'a

Middle East Conflict

Houthi rebels claim responsibility for attack on ship in Red Sea

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled Russia violated international law in Ukraine and was responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.

Top European court rules Russia violated international law in Ukraine

The death toll from the July Fourth flash flood that ravaged a swath of central Texas Hill Country rose on Tuesday to at least 109, many of them children, as search teams pressed on through mounds of mud-encrusted debris looking for scores of people still missing.

Texas flood death toll hits triple digits, tally of missing tops 180

U.S. President Donald Trump pushed back during his Cabinet meeting about a question regarding Jeffrey Epstein. The DOJ claims Epstein had no list of clients, which is drawing criticism from some of the president's supporters.

Trump questioned over report saying Epstein didn't have client list

The copper industry is facing new uncertainty after U.S. President Donald Trump said he will impose 50 per cent tariffs on all copper imports. More than half of all Canadian copper exports go to the U.S.

Ontario

Trump threatens 50% tariff on copper imports

CNN’s Josh Cambell reports on questions over a lack of flood warning signals and lagging investment in river gauges in Kerr County after deadly floods killed over 100 people in Central Texas.

Officials face questions over preparedness for Texas floods

Hundreds of firefighters battled a fast-moving wildfire that reached the outskirts of the southern French city of Marseille on Tuesday, forcing people to stay indoors and the nearby airport to close.

Marseille

France wildfire shuts down Marseille airport

Liverpool's Portuguese forward Diogo Jota was probably speeding when the Lamborghini car he was driving crashed in northwestern Spain, killing him and his brother, police said in a preliminary report.

Cernadilla

Liverpool's Jota likely speeding when car crashed, police say

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Britain on Tuesday for a state visit mixing royal pageantry with thorny political talks about stopping migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats.

London

UK royals welcome France's Macron for state visit

U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. will send more weapons to Ukraine as Russian attacks intensified in recent weeks. The decision comes after the U.S. halted certain shipments last week.

Trump says U.S. will send more weapons to Ukraine

Brazil hosted the second and final day of the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.

Rio de Janeiro

BRICS summit ends on health issues, role of global south countries

U.S. President Donald Trump, hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, said the United States had scheduled talks with Iran and indicated progress on a controversial effort to relocate Palestinians out of Gaza.

Netanyahu meets Trump as Israel, Hamas discuss ceasefire

Search teams continue to look for survivors after catastrophic flash floods overwhelmed parts of the US state of Texas. About 100 people have been killed and dozens more are missing. Officials say the National Weather Service didn't provide enough warning of the heavy rain.

Rising Texas death toll fuels anger over 'inadequate warning'

Leaders of BRICS have warned of the dangers of tariffs - saying they don't want a confrontation with US President Donald Trump. The group of emerging nations made the comments at their summit in Brazil. They also discussed Gaza and tensions in the Middle East.

BRICS summit rejects U.S. tariff threats, tackles trade and Gaza

Video captured by a BBC News crew shows French police slashing a boat filled with migrants trying to cross into the U.K. The crackdown comes ahead of a summit this week between the French president and British prime minister.

French police slashing migrants’ boat in crackdown

President Donald Trump's Justice Department and FBI released a memo concluding that there is no evidence Jeffrey Epstein had a "client list." The FBI confirmed that more than 1,000 victims were harmed by Epstein.

FBI: Epstein investigation turned up no 'incriminating client list'

The death toll from the devastating floods in Texas has risen to at least 90 as rescue workers continue to search for dozens of missing people. At least 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic in central Texas died in the floods.

Kerrville

At least 90 people killed in Texas floods

A shooter is dead after opening fire at a U.S. Border Patrol building in McAllen, Texas, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said. CBS News' Shanelle Kaul has the latest updates.

McAllen

Shooter killed after opening fire at U.S. Border Patrol building

Israel’s military launched airstrikes early on Monday targeting ports and facilities held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The strikes followed a suspected Houthi attack on a ship in the Red Sea.

Israel strikes Yemen ports held by Houthi rebels

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with U.S. President Trump at the White House on Monday. The two leaders are expected to discuss the ongoing conflict in Gaza and a potential ceasefire with Hamas.

Netanyahu set to meet Trump at White House amid ceasefire optimism

U.S. President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on global tariffs announced in April is nearing its expiration, and the White House warned that steeper tariffs could roll out at the beginning of August.