Texas Flash Floods, Trump's Next Priorities, Buy Now-Pay Later and Credit Scores.

Speaker 1 Heavy rains and slash flooding in the Texas Hill Country.

Speaker 2 At least two dozen people are dead after the region saw several months' worth of rainfall in just a few hours yesterday. I'm Scott Simon.

Speaker 1 I'm Aisha Roscoe, and this is Up First from NPR News.

Speaker 1 We'll have details on the situation in Texas in just a moment.

Speaker 2 Also, President Donald Trump's big, beautiful bill had its ups and downs, and now law.

Speaker 3 Promises made, promises kept, and we've kept them. This is the triumph of democracy on the birthday of democracy, and I have to say that the people are happy.

Speaker 2 So, what may be next on Trump's agenda?

Speaker 1 Also, how buy now pay later loans could impact credit scores.

Speaker 2 So, please stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.

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Speaker 2 In central Texas yesterday, heavy rains and flooding overwhelmed communities and left at least 24 people dead.

Speaker 1 Many more are missing, including a group of girls who were taking part in a Christian summer camp.

Speaker 2 And Per Sergio Martinez-Beltron was in Kerrville, Texas last night, one of the worst areas affected. Thank you for being with us, Sergio.
Hi, thank you. What's the latest information?

Speaker 7 So this is one of the worst floods in the history of Texas.

Speaker 7 Just so you have an idea, Scott, the river that runs through the area, the Guadalupe River, rose about 26 feet within 45 minutes, according to state officials.

Speaker 7 And this happened during the early hours of Friday when many were asleep. Texas officials say at least 24 people have died.
At least 20 people remain missing.

Speaker 7 And the devastation in this area, which is known as the hill country, is incredible. This is an area where lots of people vacation.

Speaker 7 There are resorts, resorts, summer camps, many RV parks and tent camping sites, but many of these places have been washed away.

Speaker 2 And Sergio, you went to a reunification center last night and was able to speak with some of the people who are still waiting to hear from loved ones, I gather.

Speaker 7 Yeah, I got there around 10 p.m. last night and there were more than 100 people at this elementary school, which served as a reunification center in Kerrville.

Speaker 7 There were parents who were able to meet with their sobbing children and the hugs they gave each other, it was so moving. They didn't want to let go.

Speaker 7 Those hooks were so tight and full of love and fear.

Speaker 7 And then there are folks who have yet to hear from their kids. That's the case of Tanya Powell.
Her 21-year-old daughter, Ella Rose, is missing.

Speaker 6 She was near the camp in a house with three of her friends.

Speaker 6 They go to school and they're college seniors in San Antonio.

Speaker 6 Yeah, and they were here for the weekend. And

Speaker 6 we lost lost touch with them about 4 a.m. and we haven't gotten any word from them.

Speaker 7 I checked in with Powell this morning and she has yet to hear back from Ella Rose.

Speaker 2 And of course we've heard about the young campers who may have gone missing. What do we know about this place, Camp Mystic?

Speaker 7 Yeah, they are from Camp Mystic. It's a private all-girls Christian summer camp.
It's been operating in this area for nearly 100 years.

Speaker 7 So it's a big part of the community here and it's the type of place where the campers become counselors when they grow up. Angela Trafton's granddaughter was at the camp.
Thankfully, she is alive.

Speaker 8 You're so grateful.

Speaker 8 This is her seventh year. I don't know that she'll ever come back now.

Speaker 7 Now, we still don't know how many of the campers are missing, but many parents have gone on social media to post photos of their missing children and ask for help finding them.

Speaker 2 And Sergio, last night, Governor Abbott talked about search and rescue efforts. What did he say?

Speaker 7 Yeah, so Scott, this is a multi-agency effort, and and it's 24-7, according to Governor Abbott.

Speaker 7 At least 500 emergency personnel are participating in the search and rescue efforts, including members of the Texas National Guard and state troopers.

Speaker 7 At least 237 people have been rescued so far, and the majority of them were rescued by helicopters.

Speaker 7 Now, Texas officials say some of the areas affected are without power or Wi-Fi, so there might be people in those areas that still need to be rescued.

Speaker 7 Governor Abbott says the state will continue to seek for anybody who is not accounted for.

Speaker 2 And Per Sergio Martinez-Beltron on the scene in Texas. Sergio, thanks so much for being with us.
You're welcome.

Speaker 1 Yesterday at the White House,

Speaker 1 President Trump wrapped a July 4th celebration around his signing of the so-called Big Beautiful Bill.

Speaker 3 It's never happened before. It's the biggest bill of its type in history.
We've never had anything like that before. Nothing like that they thought would be possible to get passed.

Speaker 2 It's a package that'll cut taxes, add more funding for border security, and also make cuts to major programs like Medicaid. NPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben joins us.

Speaker 2 Danielle, thanks so much for being with us.

Speaker 8 Yeah, good morning, Scott.

Speaker 2 And please tell us about yesterday's ceremony.

Speaker 8 Well, the event was outside the White House at a picnic for military families, including those who participated in Operation Midnight Hammer in Iran. At that event, B-2s flew overhead.

Speaker 8 Now, those are the planes that carried those massive bombs targeting those underground nuclear facilities in Iran.

Speaker 8 Trump came out on a balcony with First Lady Melania Trump, and he thanked the military members, but he quickly transitioned to celebrating his new policy bill.

Speaker 8 And then he came down from the balcony to sign it, surrounded by Republican Congress members.

Speaker 2 A 4th of July event, to be sure, but also a celebration of the administration.

Speaker 8 Oh, very much. That was also the case, by the way, in Iowa on Thursday night, too.

Speaker 8 I was there, it was in Des Moines, and it was meant to be a celebration for America, but really, it looked like any Trump campaign rally, which is to say it was deeply partisan.

Speaker 8 And there, too, he said he had a couple of weeks of winning that have just passed. After all, Congress passed that new major domestic policy agenda, albeit narrowly.

Speaker 8 And he had that major strike on Iran and then a ceasefire that is holding at the moment. And then there are also numbers showing that border crossings are way down.

Speaker 8 And he celebrated that on his trip to Florida this week to a new migrant detainment camp, which the administration is calling Alligator Alcatraz.

Speaker 2 The administration points to all of this and says it amounts to a lot of winning. Is there more to consider?

Speaker 8 Well, absolutely. For example, on Iran, it's still unclear how much of Iran's nuclear capabilities were truly destroyed, and it's unclear if or when they would start rebuilding their program.

Speaker 8 On that so-called Big Beautiful bill, that could push nearly 12 million people off Medicaid, according to the Congressional Budget Office or CBO, which has also found that the bill would benefit the wealthy most.

Speaker 8 Now, Democrats were very worried about that, as were some Republicans, and some Republicans were also upset about how much the bill would add to the debt.

Speaker 8 According to the CBO, it would add $3.3 trillion. That is a lot.
And then there's the fact that it's just not that popular, according to multiple polls.

Speaker 8 Now, Trump, for his part, simply dismisses that polling. Here he was talking yesterday.

Speaker 9 We just have to look forward, fellas. Look forward and just say what it is because it's the most popular bill ever signed in the history of our country.

Speaker 2 Danielle, you mentioned the Florida Detention Center. What challenges are there for President Trump and immigration right now?

Speaker 8 Well, as you know, immigration has been maybe the central issue for Trump since day one. And so people who vote for him vote for tighter immigration policy.

Speaker 8 But in practice, this administration's approach to immigration enforcement, it has faced a lot of opposition around the country, for example, in the form of protests.

Speaker 8 And also, some businesses are just concerned he'll deport their workers. And it's uncertain whether or to what degree that will happen.

Speaker 8 Trump has, in fact, waffled, for example, on whether he will ease up on raids on places like farms, which rely on a lot of immigrants.

Speaker 2 And what about tariffs?

Speaker 8 Well, he said he plans to make a lot of tariff moves in this next week. But first, let me remind you of where we are.
In early April, Trump announced tariffs on most countries.

Speaker 8 Then he backed off and set those tariffs at 10% temporarily. He said that on July 9th, the rates would jump back up.
But then, before then, he would negotiate rates country by country.

Speaker 8 Well, July 9th is coming, and he's negotiated rates with two countries-the UK and Vietnam. So now he says he'll send out letters simply notifying countries of their tariff rates.

Speaker 8 So soon, we're going to find out how much American businesses and likely consumers will be paying for imports.

Speaker 2 I'm Jares Danielle Kurtzleben. Thanks so much, Danielle.

Speaker 8 Thank you, Scott.

Speaker 1 The credit scoring company FICO recently announced it will add something new to some of its credit scores. Data from Buy Now Pay Later loans.

Speaker 2 Those are the loans that allow shoppers, usually online, to break up a purchase into installments, a way to pay that's become very popular.

Speaker 1 So, how will this affect people's credit? NPR personal finance correspondent Laurel Walmsley is here to talk us through it. Hey Laurel.
Hey Aisha.

Speaker 1 So I know a lot of people are using buy now pay later. I use it.
What is FICO doing here?

Speaker 10 Yeah, so a FICO score tells lenders about your credit worthiness. Lenders use it to decide whether to offer you a loan or a credit card and at what rate.

Speaker 10 Now right now that score doesn't include any data about any buy now pay later purchases. Now two of FICO scoring products will incorporate that data starting in the fall.

Speaker 10 And as you said these payment schemes are ubiquitous now when you're buying something online.

Speaker 10 If you're buying a pair of sneakers at checkout next to the credit card box, you'll see something that says, or pay in four installments with a service like a firm or Klarna.

Speaker 10 So I asked Julie Mae at FICO why the change, and she said it's because Buy Now, Pay Later is becoming a really big part of how people are managing their finances.

Speaker 11 And so FICO wanted to be able to manage and reflect that shift in the FICO score.

Speaker 10 And it has really grown in the last few years. Last year, 15% of American adults used Buy Now pay later.

Speaker 1 Okay, so who's in that 15%?

Speaker 10 Well, according to research at the Federal Reserve, it's more common among low- and middle-income folks, black and Hispanic people, and women. It's also more common among Gen Z and millennials.

Speaker 10 And they say they're using it for a few reasons. Number one is just to spread out payments.
A common format is breaking the cost into four flat payments with no interest if you pay on time.

Speaker 10 Some people are even paying their grocery bill this way. Other reasons folks are using this is to avoid credit cards and paying interest.

Speaker 10 And some said it was just the only way they could afford to make their purchase. But typically these loans are pretty small, averaging $142 in 2022.

Speaker 1 So if these loans haven't been a part of credit scores, it seems like that would be kind of a blind spot for lenders.

Speaker 10 Yeah, it has been. Here's how Adam Rust at the Consumer Federation of America explained it.

Speaker 12 In the past, when buying out payload loans have not been reported to credit bureaus, that has meant that credit card lenders couldn't see the presence of that debt when they were making a decision on how much credit to offer.

Speaker 12 And that set up a possibility where a lender might offer more credit than a person could reasonably afford to repay.

Speaker 10 FICO says lenders have been wanting this kind of data to give them a fuller picture of people's finances.

Speaker 1 So, what will be the impact of all of this on people's credit scores?

Speaker 10 Well, it'll depend on whether people make their payments on time.

Speaker 10 If you do that, it should help your credit on the FICO scores that use it, as long as the payment service shares that info with the credit bureaus.

Speaker 10 But if you miss payments, that can now ding your credit. And more people have been making late payments.
Almost a quarter of people using these services made a late payment last year.

Speaker 1 So taking a step back, do we know how using buy now, pay later tends to affect people's finances more generally?

Speaker 10 Well, Rust of the Consumer Federation of America said several studies have shown that most people use buy now, pay later sporadically and not as their primary form of credit.

Speaker 10 Even though people are using these loans a lot like they use credit cards, though, they don't offer the same protections, especially around disputes.

Speaker 10 For instance, consumers have had issues where they cancel an order, but they can't get refunded by the seller, and they're still on the hook for payments to these third-party companies.

Speaker 10 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had actually issued a rule last year that essentially treated buy-in pay-later lenders the same as credit card providers, giving consumers more protection.

Speaker 10 But in May, the Bureau, under the Trump administration, said it was pulling back from enforcing that rule.

Speaker 1 That's NPR's Laurel Walmsley. Thank you so much for joining us.

Speaker 10 You're welcome. Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 And that's up first for the 5th of July, 2025. I'm Aisha Roscoe.

Speaker 2 And I'm Scott Simon. Today's podcast was produced by Atlanta Tourek with help from Andrew Craig, Gabe O'Connor, and Fernando Naro.

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