—From Pilot Knob, NY.

Heavy Weather: Flash flood warnings have been declared in parts of Texas and evacuations are underway as rivers and creeks continue to rise. The floods have hit Houston while more rain is in the forecast.

So far, five people are reported dead and a dozen missing after a weekend of floods in Texas and Oklahoma. The dead include a high school girl driving home from her prom and a firefighter who was rescuing people from their homes.

The twelve missing are members of two families in vacation home that was swept off the banks of the Blanco River in Wimberley, Texas. About 350 homes were destroyed.

In the Mexican border city of Ciudad Acuña yesterday, a tornado ripped through seven blocks, killing at least 13 people.

Nation: The city of Baltimore marked the Memorial Day weekend with 28 shootings and nine people killed. The city has had 35 homicides this month, making it Baltimore’s deadliest month since 1999. Among those wounded were a nine-year-old boy shot in the leg and a man grazed in the head. City officials expressed their dismay with one councilman saying, “I don’t think any part of the city is immune to this.”

Channel Change: Charter Communications has reached a $55 billion deal to buy its larger competitor Time Warner Cable to create a cable and broadband giant. This comes only weeks after federal regulators concerned about the creation of a monopoly blocked an attempt by Comcast to buy Time Warner. Time Warner is the number-two cable provider. The deal would increase Charter’s subscriber base to 24 million customers, just three million less than Comcast.

Permawar: Iraq today announced the launch of an operation to re-take western Anbar province and the city of Ramadi which were lost to Islamic State fighters just last week.

Iraqi leaders were offended over the weekend when US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said the Iraqis didn’t have the will to fight. The Iraqis have complained about lack of coalition air support. The NY Times reports today that the US has held back from hitting easy targets, including headquarter buildings and armored vehicles in victory parades, for fear of killing civilians.

The Sports Page: The University of Denver beat Maryland 10-5 yesterday for its first NCAA lacrosse championship. It’s a shocker but also a mark of growth for a sport dominated by a handful of East Coast colleges and Universities. Denver is coached by the legendary Bill Tierney, who won six national championships at Princeton.

>The Chicago Bears released defensive end Ray McDonald after his arrest on charges of domestic violence in Santa Clara, Calif. Police say he assaulted a woman holding a baby at his home. It’s McDonald’s third arrest in nine months. He’s still under investigation for an accusation of sexual assault from last December. When that happened, he was dumped by the San Francisco 49ers after years with the team.

The Obit Page: Former Staten Island Congressman John Murphy, who was caught accepting a $50,000 cash payment in the infamous 1970s Abscam sting, has died at age 88. Murphy was one of seven Congressmen caught by the FBI taking bribes from fictitious Middle Eastern millionaires. He had represented Staten Island for 18 years before going to jail for 16 months.

Hillary, The Brand: The Hillary Clinton presidential campaign has gone commercial with a website offering bags, buttons and t-shirts for sale. Among the novelties are a pant-suit t-shirt, a “future voter” onesie, and a needlepoint pillow that says “A Woman’s Place is in the White House.” That will be $55, please.

-30-