'Incomprehensible tragedy': Dozens dead, 27 girls from Christian camp missing amid deadly Texas floods



Texas officials prepared early last week for heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding, ensuring that local first responders had what they needed to act quickly and decisively. They were, however, met with a downpour far worse than expected.

Officials in West Texas and the Hill Country momentarily were put on the back foot in the early hours of Independence Day by nearly a foot of rain, which triggered flash floods; Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that reportedly caused the Guadalupe River to rise at least 26 feet in a matter of 45 minutes.

'So many people have been swept up into an extraordinary catastrophe.'

Among the settlements swept by the floods was Camp Mystic — a Christian camp for girls near the Guadalupe River in Hunt. Of around 750 campers, 27 were still reported missing as of Saturday afternoon. The mother of 9-year-old Janie Hunt told CNN that her daughter, who was among the missing, has been confirmed dead.

In addition to the more than 1,000 responders and 800 vehicles the state has deployed, an army of local, federal, and volunteer rescuers have been working around the clock to save victims from the waters, reunify families, clear debris, and tend to the injured.

 

The Kerr County Sheriff's Office indicated that as of Saturday morning, first responders had evacuated over 850 uninjured people, including eight injured people. They also recovered the bodies of 27 people who perished in the floods.

Among the dead were nine children, one of whom has not yet been identified.

Shortly after signing a disaster declaration on July 4 for 15 counties the flooding has impacted, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott told reporters, "This is a time when we as a state, we as a community, need God more than ever."

"Little kids off at camp joyfully excited about the upcoming day to celebrate the Fourth of July; campers alongside the [Guadalupe] River doing the same thing and enjoying one of the beautiful spots in the State of Texas — asleep, probably just a few hours from waking up," said Abbott. "So many people have been swept up into an extraordinary catastrophe."

While emphasizing the need for prayer, Abbott indicated that search-and-rescue operations were underway and would continue as flooding continues across the state.

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President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that his administration was working with state and local officials and added, "GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!"

Lt. Gov. Patrick said Friday, "I've talked to several people at the White House. The president sent the message, 'Whatever we need, we will have.'"

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Friday activated the U.S. Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency resources and was working to get the Camp Mystic girls to safety, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said on social media.

 Photo by Eric Vryn/Getty Images

There also has been an outpouring of support and prayers for the victims of the floods and their families.

"Our nation's heart breaks for the victims in Texas and their families. Just an incomprehensible tragedy," wrote Vice President JD Vance. "I hope everyone affected knows they're in the prayers of my family, and of millions of Americans. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace."

 

The NFL's Houston Texans are among the organizations that have shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide support and resources to those impacted by the floods.

This is a developing story.

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Trump moves to halt Biden's 'potentially criminal' sale of border wall materials



President-elect Donald Trump filed an amicus brief Thursday evening over the Biden administration's "potentially criminal" sale of border wall materials.

Trump's amicus brief supports a motion filed Tuesday by Texas and Missouri, requesting a status conference to determine whether the Biden administration breached the court's permanent injunction. That injunction prohibited using taxpayer funds designated for border wall construction for any other purposes.

'At the very least, the reported conduct raises troubling concerns of potentially criminal behavior.'

After Biden halted the construction of Trump's border wall in January 2021, the administration began quietly selling the materials in 2023.

A defense official previously told Fox News that the unused materials had first been offered to "authorized recipients, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the states of Texas and California."

"The remaining 40% was sold to GovPlanet under a competitive sales contract process beginning in June 2024," the official stated. "The material currently being sold through GovPlanet online auctions no longer belongs to the U.S. Government, and DOD has no legal authority to recall the material or stop further resale of material it no longer owns."

On Thursday, Trump filed the amicus brief calling for the Biden administration to "immediately" stop the auctions.

"The Court should issue an order directing the Defendants to immediately stop any ongoing sale of border-barrier materials to private parties pending the Court's review of Defendant's conduct, and the Court should swiftly conduct a searching examination of the Government's conduct, by formal discovery if necessary, to examine the Government's compliance with the law, the Constitution, and the Court's injunction," the court filing read.

Trump claimed that if the administration is "deliberately selling off border-wall materials at a major financial loss to the Government to obstruct the pro-wall policy of Congress and President Trump, such conduct likely constitutes a criminal act, such as a conspiracy to defraud the United States."

"At the very least, the reported conduct raises troubling concerns of potentially criminal behavior," it read.

Trump has stated that he plans to restart construction on the southern border once he is back in office.

He stated on Monday, "They [the Biden administration] know we're going to use it, and if we don't have it, we're going to have to rebuild it. And it'll cost double what it cost years ago, and that's hundreds of millions of dollars because you're talking about a lot of, a lot of wall."

Texas officials have pledged to help Trump with border security in any way they can.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) committed to purchasing the auctioned border wall materials to return them to Trump.

"If there's any decent panels available anywhere, we'll buy them and we'll give them to President Trump when he comes in," he told Fox News on Monday.

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, who also joined the Texas and Missouri's motion this week, vowed to provide Patrick with land to store the border wall materials until Trump's return.

"If you buy it, I have a place to store it — on state land! The [Texas General Land Office] is standing by to help!" Buckingham said.

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Texas to buy border wall materials for Trump's return after Biden tried to scrap unused segments



Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) committed to buying the border wall segments that President Joe Biden tried to auction off to halt the continuation of President-elect Donald Trump's wall construction.

"I will bid on all of that wall, and we will buy it in Texas, and we will give it to Donald Trump," he said on an episode of Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle."

'This is pure evil against the American people.'

Patrick elaborated on Texas' plan in a post on X, saying that the state will purchase "any panels that make economic sense" and "give them to President Trump when he takes office."

He explained that the Texas Facilities Commission took a closer look at the material being auctioned and found it was "mostly junk, with most panels covered in concrete and rust."

"There were a few panels that might be usable but not worth the cost of shipping to Texas from Arizona," he said. "In short, this was a Biden ruse to gain favor with the radical left open border crowd, showing Biden was fighting President Trump to the bitter end."

During a Fox News interview on Monday, Patrick reiterated, "If there's any decent panels available anywhere, we'll buy them and we'll give them to President Trump when he comes in."

Patrick called Biden's attempts to thwart Trump's border security plan "evil."

"They've opened this border up to 14, 15 million people, terrorists, murders, rapists, child sex offenders," he continued. "This is pure evil against the American people."

Patrick stated that Texas is prepared to do everything within its power to assist Trump in curbing the illegal immigration crisis.

In response to Patrick's plan to purchase unused border segments, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said she can provide the land to store the material until Trump's return.

"If you buy it, I have a place to store it — on state land! The [Texas General Land Office] is standing by to help!" Buckingham declared.

In November, Buckingham offered the Trump administration more than 1,400 acres of land "to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation's history."

"My office has identified several of our properties and is standing by ready to make this happen on Day One of the Trump presidency," she stated.

Tom Homan, Trump's incoming border czar, has stated that the administration fully intends to take Texas up on its offer to utilize the land to facilitate its mass deportation plan.

Trump has also indicated that he is coordinating with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and others to retrieve the border wall materials.

"What they're doing is really an act, it's almost a criminal act," Trump said. "They know we're going to use it, and if we don't have it, we're going to have to rebuild it. And it'll cost double what it cost years ago, and that's hundreds of millions of dollars because you're talking about a lot of, a lot of wall."

Biden halted the construction of the border wall in January 2021 and began quietly auctioning off the already-purchased materials for pennies on the dollar in 2023.

A defense official told Fox News, "Through our reutilization, transfer and donation process, nearly 60% of those materials were transferred to authorized recipients, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the states of Texas and California."

"The remaining 40% was sold to GovPlanet under a competitive sales contract process beginning in June 2024," the official continued. "The material currently being sold through GovPlanet online auctions no longer belongs to the U.S. Government, and DOD has no legal authority to recall the material or stop further resale of material it no longer owns."

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Texas officials slam Biden's attempt to politicize Beryl, call his suggestion a 'complete lie'



Hurricane Beryl — now classified as a weakened tropical depression — made landfall on the Texas coast early Monday, causing significant flooding and knocking out power to millions of Americans. According to PowerOutage.us, approximately 1.7 million residents, primarily in the southeastern portion of the state, were still without power as of Wednesday morning.

President Joe Biden told the Houston Chronicle Tuesday that his administration had been unable to provide prompt emergency aid to the Lone Star State following the storm's landing due to the White House's inability to "track down" state leaders and obtain a formal request for a major disaster declaration.

"I've been trying to track down the governor to see — I don't have any authority to do that without a specific request from the governor," said Biden.

The Chronicle, which endorsed Biden earlier this year, originally published the Democratic president's suggestion without comment from state leaders. Its report also contained a line that has since been removed claiming that a White House spokesperson "said officials tried to reach Abbott and Patrick multiple times," apparently without success.

Texas officials have suggested that Biden's suggestion and the Chronicle's report did not track with the reality of the situation. Both Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (R) and Governor Greg Abbott (R) indicated Tuesday that Biden was either lying or suffering a memory malfunction.

'Biden's memory fails again.'

"I am disappointed that President Biden is turning Hurricane Beryl into a political issue," Patrick wrote on X. "We had a cordial call today that ended up with him granting my request for a major disaster declaration. But that's not good enough for him. He is falsely accusing me that I was not reachable."

Patrick indicated further that Biden, who has been facing intense scrutiny from friends and critics alike over his decrepitude, "obviously did not know his own employees from FEMA were side-by-side with me for 3 days!"

"All he had to do was call them and have them hand their phone to me. I even took a photo with them!" continued Patrick. "Before we made an official ask, we needed to determine what our outstanding needs were. We were working with local officials as we traveled the impacted areas. As I was being briefed today, the president called."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott traveled to Asia on Friday in order to cultivate and strengthen economic partnerships in Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. Until Abbott's return on Saturday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has been serving the Lone Star State as acting governor.

On July 5, days before the storm made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, Patrick declared a state of disaster, authorizing the use of all available state resources necessary to "cope with this disaster."

The governor's office confirmed Tuesday that Patrick had gone a step farther and had spoken to Biden, requesting a federal disaster declaration through the Federal Emergency Management Agency — a request that was granted.

Adopting one of Biden's go-to turns of phrase, Patrick said, "This is a load of malarkey, and he's shoveling it!"

On Wednesday morning, Patrick criticized "Biden's lie" further, summarizing the situation accordingly: "I asked for a federal disaster declaration at the proper time without delay and the president agreed. Sadly, President Biden is attacking Gov. Abbott and me, trying to score political points, for reasons that make no sense. Mr. President, as you like to say, 'C'mon, man!'

— (@)  
 

Abbott similarly shredded Biden's apparent attempt to suggest his administration had been unreachable.

"Biden's memory fails again," Abbott wrote Tuesday evening. "Not once did he call me during Beryl. He has my number & called me on Memorial Day after tornadoes hit Texas. I've had daily calls with state & local officials during Beryl. I spoke with FEMA Admin while on our trade mission but Biden never called."

Andrew Mahaleris, the governor's press secretary, said, "This is a complete lie from Biden, and frankly doesn't make any sense. Biden and his Administration know exactly how to get in contact with the Governor and have on numerous occasions in the past, most recently on Friday when FEMA called and spoke with him."

Mahaleris also blasted the Houston Chronicle, noting, "A lie travels halfway across the world before the truth puts it's [sic] boots on. @HoustonChron ran a false exclusive story on this nonsense, based off what an incoherent President said, before we had a chance to refute it. This is why Americans have lost faith in media."

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