At least 45 people die in western Kenya as floodwaters sweep away houses and cars

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Flash floods and a landslide swept through houses and cut off a major road in Kenya, killing at least 45 people and leaving dozens missing on Monday, the Interior Ministry said.

Police official Stephen Kirui initially told The Associated Press that the Old Kijabe Dam, located in the Mai Mahiu area of the Great Rift Valley region that is prone to flash floods, had collapsed, carrying with it mud, rocks and uprooted trees.

But in a statement late Monday the Nakuru County said that the water mass that caused the flash floods was a clogged railway tunnel.

Vehicles were entangled in the debris on one of Kenya's busiest highways and paramedics treated the injured as waters submerged large areas.

The Kenya Red Cross said 109 people were hospitalized while 49 others were reported missing.

William Lokai told Citizen TV that he was woken up by a loud bang and shortly after, water filled his house. He escaped through the roof together with his brother and children.

Ongoing rains in Kenya have caused flooding that has killed at least 169 people since mid-March, and the country's Meteorology Department has warned of more rainfall.

Kenya’s Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki ordered the inspection of all public and private dams and water reservoirs within 24 hours starting Monday afternoon to avert future incidents. The ministry said recommendations for evacuations and resettlement would be done after the inspection.

The Kenya National Highways Authority issued an alert warning motorists to brace for heavy traffic and debris that blocked the roads around Naivasha and Narok, west of the capital, Nairobi.

The wider East African region is experiencing flooding due to the heavy rains, and 155 people have reportedly died in Tanzania while more than 200,000 people affected in neighboring Burundi.

A boat capsized in Kenya's northern Garissa county on Sunday night, and the Kenyan Red Cross said it had rescued 23 people but more than a dozen people were still missing.

Kenya’s main airport was flooded on Saturday, forcing some flights to be diverted, as videos of a flooded runway, terminals and cargo section were shared online.

More than 200,000 people across Kenya have been hit by the floods, with houses in flood-prone areas submerged and people seeking refuge in schools.

President William Ruto had instructed the National Youth Service to provide land for use as a temporary camp for those affected.

Follow AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

People try to clear the area after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)

People try to clear the area after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)

People walk through an area swept away after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)

People gather near a damaged house after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)

A child walk through an area swept away after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)

People walk through an area swept away after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)

People try to clear a bus that was washed away after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)

People try to clear the area after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)

A child carrying a suitcase, walks, after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)

A view of a swept away car after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village, Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)

A chair stuck in the muddy water after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village, Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)

People gather around a bus that was swept away after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)

Children fleeing floodwaters that wreaked havoc at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The East African country has seen weeks of heavy rains and severe flooding in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, as well as in the country's western and central regions. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

People cross a flooded area at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April. 28, 2024. Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands of people, according to the U.N. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

A man swims from a submerged church compound, after the River Tana broke its banks following heavy rains at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April. 28, 2024. Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands of people, according to the U.N. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

People cross a flooded area where another boat carrying a group of people has capsized at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April 28, 2024. According to the Kenya Red Cross, over a dozen people have been rescued, while others still remain missing as search and rescue operations continue. Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands of people, according to the U.N. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

People cross a flooded area where another boat carrying a group of people has capsized at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April 28, 2024. According to the Kenya Red Cross, 23 people have been rescued, while others still remain missing as search and rescue operations continue. Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands of people, according to the U.N. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Paramedics carry an injured woman after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)

People try to clear the area after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)

Paramedics carry an injured woman after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)

People gather on the main road after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors' star witness in the hush money case against Donald Trump was back in the hot seat Thursday as defense lawyers tried to chip away at Michael Cohen’s crucial testimony implicating the former president.

The trial resumed in Manhattan with potentially explosive defense cross-examination of Cohen, whose credibility could determine the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s fate in the case.

Cohen is prosecutors’ final witness — at least for now — as they try to prove Trump schemed to suppress a damaging story he feared would torpedo his 2016 presidential campaign, and then falsified business records to cover it up.

The trial is in its 18th day. The defense is not expected to call many witnesses.

Over two days on the witness stand, Cohen placed Trump directly at the center of the alleged scheme to stifle negative stories to fend off damage to his White House bid. Cohen told jurors that Trump promised to reimburse him for the money he fronted and was constantly updated about efforts to silence women who alleged sexual encounters with him. Trump denies the women’s claims.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts.

The case is the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president and the first of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury.

Currently:

— The jurors are getting a front row seat to history — most of the time

— Lies, loyalty and a gag order upheld: Tuesday’s Trump hush money trial takeaways

— Speaker Mike Johnson’s appearance is a remarkable moment

— Trump hush money case: A timeline of key events

— Key players: Who’s who at Trump’s hush money criminal trial

Here's the latest:

Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen entered the courtroom in the ex-president's hush money trial carrying a bottle of water and his eyeglasses case in his left hand.

He strode confidently and briskly to the witness stand, not looking in Trump’s direction. Trump also did not look toward Cohen, instead gazing straight ahead.

The defense's cross-examination of Cohen resumed soon after.

Beforehand, an officer instructed lawmakers in the audience to put their cellphones away, a rule that applies to everyone in the courtroom to watch the trial.

“People are going to ask about it,” the officer said, noting the big concern is people taking pictures of the proceedings, which is forbidden.

Donald Trump returned to court Thursday in his hush money trial and once again complained about it, telling reporters before entering the courtroom that “the crime is that they’re doing this case.”

Trump was flanked by a large group of congressional allies, including Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Bob Good of Virginia. Trump said the members joining him are “up in arms over this.”

He also complained about the security presence outside the courthouse.

“Outside it’s like Fort Knox, you can’t get within three blocks of this place if you’re a civilian,” Trump said, even though the area is accessible to the public.

Trump folded papers in his hand as he entered, followed by his lawyers, a cadre of Republican lawmakers and support staff.

Some lawmakers who joined Trump in court were forced to sit in the back row of the gallery because there wasn’t enough room in the rows reserved for the entourage.

The chair of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Bob Good, of Virginia, appeared Thursday morning with Rep. Matt Gaetz, of Florida, outside Trump Tower to support Donald Trump shortly before the indicted former president left for court.

Gaetz is not a member of the Freedom Caucus but is a top Trump ally. Several other Republicans were expected Thursday at the court.

The House Oversight Committee, led by Republicans, postponed a morning meeting until evening, as GOP lawmakers made their way to New York.

As part of their attack on the justice system, Republicans on the panel are considering Thursday a contempt-of-Congress resolution against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in a separate matter, over their investigation of President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents.

The former president waved before getting into his motorcade and heading to the courthouse for the day.

After months of questions about whether general election debates would happen, President Joe Biden and Republican nominee Donald Trump have agreed to participate in two of them: one in June and one in September.

The first debate will play out in a jam-packed and unsettled political calendar, before either candidate becomes his party’s official nominee at the summer conventions.

The June 27 match-up will come after the expected conclusion of Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York, foreign trips by Biden in mid-June to France and Italy, and the end of the Supreme Court’s term.

The second debate would take place before most states begin early voting — though some overseas and military ballots may already be in the mail.

Some of the most explosive moments in Donald Trump’s hush money trial have played out for most of the world to see — except for the people who are actually deciding his fate: the jury.

The 12-person panel is shown evidence and witness testimony so they can decide whether the former president is guilty of a scheme to buy up and bury seamy stories in an effort to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election. But it’s a highly curated experience; jurors are not getting the full picture seen by those who follow along each day.

They don’t even witness Trump enter or exit the courtroom. He’s already there by the time they are brought into the room, and he stays until they are dismissed. This is by design.

Donald Trump is seeking to have New York’s highest court intervene in his fight over a gag order that has seen him fined $10,000 and threatened with jail for violating a ban on commenting about witnesses, jurors and others connected to his hush money criminal trial.

The former president’s lawyers filed a notice of appeal Wednesday, a day after the state’s mid-level appellate court refused his request to lift or modify the restrictions. The filing was listed on a court docket, but the document itself was sealed and not available.

It wasn’t until after a decade in the fold, after his family pleaded with him, after the FBI raided his office, apartment and hotel room, Michael Cohen testified Tuesday, that he finally decided to turn on Donald Trump.

The complicated break led to a 2018 guilty plea to federal charges involving a payment to the porn actor Stormy Daniels to bury her story of an alleged sexual encounter with Trump and to other, unrelated crimes.

And it’s that insider knowledge of shady deals that pushed Manhattan prosecutors to make Cohen the star witness in their case against Trump about that same payment, which they say was an illegal effort to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)

Michael Cohen reacts as he testifies during direct examination in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in New York. Donald Trump's fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen returned to the witness stand Tuesday, testifying in detail how former president was linked to all aspects of a hush money scheme that prosecutors say was aimed at stifling stories that threatened his 2016 campaign. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Defense attorney Todd Blanche cross examines Michael Cohen in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in New York. Cohen returned to the witness stand Tuesday, testifying in detail how former president was linked to all aspects of a hush money scheme that prosecutors say was aimed at stifling stories that threatened his 2016 campaign. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Cohen, former President Donald Trump’s fixer-turned-foe is returning to the witness stand for a bruising round of questioning from the former president’s lawyers. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Former President Donald Trump arrives for talking to the media outside Manhattan criminal court in New York, on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)