TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – For the first time in a decade, hunters armed with rifles and crossbows are fanning out across Florida’s swamps and flatwoods to legally hunt the Florida black bear, over the vocal opposition of critics.

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) – Many of the voices were frantic and desperate. A few were steady and calm amid mounting, frightening danger, and in some cases, inescapable doom. They came from families huddled on rooftops to escape rising, swirling waters, mothers panicked for the wellbeing of their children and onlookers who heard people yell for help through the dark as they clung to treetops.

Spencer Deery’s son was getting ready for school when someone tried to provoke police into swarming his home by reporting a fake emergency.  Linda Rogers said there were threats at her home and the golf course that her family has run for generations. Jean Leising faced a pipe bomb scare that was emailed to local law enforcement.