Is it wrong to talk about politics? Over a hundred people are dead or missing after floods swept through central Texas. Some say we must grit our teeth for difficult conversations.
Flash flood washes away summer camp
Tragedy: The Guadalupe river rose suddenly and dramatically in the early hours of 4 July, America's Independence Day, as many holiday campers were sleeping. Glossary
Harbingers - Someone or something that announces the approach of something else. An indicator.
Texas - A US state with a population of 29 million.
Trump administration - The US government run by Donald Trump.
Federal - In the USA laws are made both by individual states and the federal government, which governs all states together.
Quandary - A difficult situation in which you are uncertain what to do.
Callous - Cold and uncaring.
Republican Party - Also known as the Grand Old Party or GOP, it is one of the USA's two major political parties. Its first president was Abraham Lincoln. It sits on the right of the political spectrum.
Donald Trump - An American politician, media personality, and businessman serving as the 47th president of the United States since January 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.
Consensus - General agreement. It was originally a Latin word.
Bad-faith - Intentionally dishonest or otherwise unacceptable behaviour.