U.S. President Barack Obama vowed Monday to push for police officer safety after a Texas sheriff's deputy was gunned down from behind and shot multiple times at close range.

Darren Goforth, 47, was killed late Friday in the Houston area, and local officials have blamed ramped-up rhetoric against police officers in the United States in protests against perceived police brutality.

A man who engaged police in a standoff at a Texas home has been charged with capital murder after the bullet-riddled bodies of six children and two adults were found inside, U.S. officials said Sunday.

The eight people were discovered Saturday by deputies performing a welfare check at the Houston-area residence after a concerned relative requested the search, officials with the Harris County Sheriff's Office said.

Police found the bodies of five children and three adults in a Texas home after a standoff that ended with a man's surrender, U.S. media reported Sunday.

The eight people were found in a Houston-area house after deputies from the Harris County Sheriff's Office were called to the residence at about 9:00 pm on Saturday, spokesman Thomas Gilliland told the KHOU news channel.

Torrential rain left much of central Texas swamped Tuesday after savage weather killed at least 28 people in the United States and Mexico, and Houston's mayor warned more deadly flooding could be in store.

The southern U.S. states of Texas and Oklahoma, and northern Mexico, have borne the brunt of several days of violent weather, including tornadoes, which have left scores dead, missing and injured on both sides of the border.

Torrential rain left large parts of Houston submerged Tuesday and trapped fans at an NBA basketball game, in savage weather that has killed nearly 20 people in the United States and Mexico.

The southern U.S. states of Texas and Oklahoma, and far northern Mexico, have borne the brunt of several days of wild weather, including tornadoes, which have destroyed homes, seen rivers swell to record levels and left cars submerged on highways.

A man believed to be the father of a patient has taken at least two people hostage at a Texas hospital Saturday, authorities said, though it was not immediately clear if he was armed.

The Harris County Sheriff's office indicated around 8:00 pm (01:00 GMT) that it had deployed its High Risk Operation Unit to Tomball Regional Medical Center outside Houston.

A Lebanese man has been accused of running an infant formula theft ring based in the U.S. State of Texas.

Wassim Hassan Elsaleh, also known as Sam Saleh, faced a court hearing Wednesday in Houston to secure an attorney.

A United Boeing 777 bound for Amsterdam was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing in Houston on Thursday after the plane's second engine shut down, officials said.

There were no injuries or further problems upon landing, United Airlines spokesman Luke Punzenberger told Agence France Presse in an emailed statement.

A deadly shootout erupted Monday near the Texas A&M University campus when a man being brought an eviction notice opened fire on a Texas law enforcement officer, leaving three people dead, including the officer and the gunman.

A 65-year-old man also died, while three other law enforcement officers and a 55-year-old woman were wounded, in the shootings at an off-campus home not far from the university's football stadium, College Station Assistant Police Chief Scott McCollum said.

Envelopes containing white powder initially feared to be anthrax arrived at six Israeli diplomatic missions in Europe and the U.S., Israeli media reported on Tuesday.

According to reports, embassies in The Hague, Brussels and London and consulates in New York, Houston and Boston on Monday received envelopes with the word "anthrax" on them, containing what turned out to be harmless white powder.