Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. HOUSTON — Despite brief breaks in the weather, much of Southeast Texas will be under a flood watch throughout the weekend, and officials in some communities were preparing for flooding into next week. Thousands of Texans have been displaced or under evacuation orders in places such as Polk, Montgomery and Harris counties. Schools and businesses have closed as roads and highways — especially in rural East Texas — were impassable. Emergency officials were comparing the amo ..read more

Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database. As of Saturday afternoon, both Zelenskyy and his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, featured on the ministry's list of people wanted on unspecified criminal charges. The commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Gen. Oleksandr Pavlyuk, was also on the list. Russian officials did not immediately clarify the allegations against any of the men. Mediazona, an independent Russian news outlet, claimed Saturday that both Zelenskyy and Poroshenko had been l ..read more

Airport security officers in Miami found a slithering surprise last week — a bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's pants. According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint. The post included a photo of two small snakes that were found in what appeared to be a sunglasses bag. TSA said the snakes were turned over to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ..read more

High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing more than 300 people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water. Others prepared to evacuate their property. Miguel Flores Sr. said he spends most weekends mowing his backyard in the northeast Houston neighborhood of Kingwood. But on Saturday, he and his family were loading several vehicles with clothes, small appliances and other items before flood waters inundated his home. Waters from the nearby San Jacinto River had swallowed his backyard and continued ..read more

The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Russian troops have been advancing in the area, pounding Kyiv’s depleted, ammunition-deprived forces with artillery, drones and bombs. Ukraine’s military has acknowledged the Russians have gained a “foothold” in Ocheretyne, which had a population of about 3,000 before the war, but says that fighting continues. Residents have scrambled to flee the village, among them a 98-year-old woman ..read more

Twenty horses stampeding toward the first turn in a battle for position. A screaming crowd of 150,000 and maybe some showers that dampen the Churchill Downs dirt strip. It's the 150th Kentucky Derby. Beyond a couple early wagering favorites, it's a wide-open race. Post time is 6:57 p.m. EDT Saturday. The forecast calls for 79 degrees (26 Celsius) under overcast skies and 82% humidity with a 20% chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. The dirt surface was listed as muddy to start the day's racing. Fans poured through the gates at Churchill Downs in colorful outfits and large hats with pl ..read more

The student protest movement disrupting university campuses, classes and graduation ceremonies over the war in Gaza is also roiling Senate contests across the nation as Democrats tread cautiously over an internal divide and Republicans play up their rivals' disagreements. The political impact of the protests on the White House campaign has drawn considerable attention, with opposition to President Joe Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war reverberating from Columbia to UCLA. The fast-evolving landscape of the demonstrations is shaping pivotal Senate races, too. Tent encampments have popped ..read more

Sadiq Khan, the Labour Party's mayor of London, romped to victory Saturday, securing a record third straight term at City Hall, on another hugely disappointing day for the U.K.'s governing Conservatives ahead of a looming general election. Khan won a little over a million votes, or nearly 44% of the vote, more than 11 percentage points ahead of his main challenger, the Conservative Party's Susan Hall. He did particularly well in inner London but struggled in several outer boroughs. There had been frenzied speculation on Friday that the result would be closer than previously thought, but Khan's ..read more

Warren Buffett's company reported a steep drop in earnings Saturday because the paper value of its investments fell and it sold off part of its massive Apple stake, but the tens of thousands of shareholders filling an Omaha arena to hear Buffett answer questions at the annual meeting later can take heart that Berkshire Hathaway's many businesses performed well. Berkshire reported a $12.7 billion profit, or $8.825 per Class A share, in the quarter. That's roughly one-third of the $35.5 billion, or $24,377 per A share, that Berkshire reported a year ago. But those figures were heavily swayed by ..read more

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. McALLEN — When federal agents raided the home and offices of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, just weeks before a competitive primary election in 2022, Democrats rallied behind him and he went on to secure another term in office. Now facing charges of bribery and money laundering, he might need them to do the same. Friday’s indictment threw a wrench in Cuellar and his party’s South Texas plans for 2024, a year in which he had been expected to cruise to reelection. He i ..read more