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Christian girls summer camp devastated by floods holds decades-long history with presidents, Texas politicos
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More than two dozen children have died from the devastating flash floods gripping Texas’ Hill Country, which is home to popular youth summer camps, including Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ summer program that holds deep roots with Texas politicians and presidential families stretching back decades.
Flash floods inundated Kerr County, Texas, and the surrounding area in central Texas’ Hill Country early on the Fourth of July holiday. Warnings over the flooding were issued Thursday, but the devastation hit the area in the early morning hours of Friday, taking residents by surprise.
Kerr County, Texas, is home to a handful of youth summer camps, including Camp Mystic, a Christian girls summer camp established in 1926 by University of Texas football and basketball coach «Doc» Stewart.
At least 27 campers and counselors were confirmed dead, and the camp was devastated by the waters that flooded the Guadalupe River and tore through the surrounding communities, according to Camp Mystic’s website.
TEXAS FLOODING KILLS MORE THAN 80 AS SEARCH CONTINUES FOR DOZENS OF PEOPLE
Heavy rainfall caused flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas with multiple fatalities reported. (Eric Vryn/Getty Images)
«Today I visited Camp Mystic. It, and the river running beside it, were horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I’ve seen in any natural disaster,» Abbott posted to X Saturday. «The height the rushing water reached to the top of cabins was shocking. We won’t stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins.»
The camp describes itself as one that focuses on promoting spiritual growth and bringing out the best in campers during their stays, according to its website.
«Camp Mystic is a private Christian summer camp for girls,» the camp says on its website. «Established in 1926, Mystic is nestled among cypress, live oak, and pecan trees in the hill country of west-central Texas on the banks of the beautiful Guadalupe River. Mystic is located near the geographical center of Texas, 18 miles northwest of Kerrville. The staff at Mystic strives to provide young girls with a wholesome Christian atmosphere in which they can develop outstanding personal qualities and self-esteem.»
TEXAS SUMMER CAMP EVACUATED 70 STAYING NEAR RIVER AHEAD OF FLOODING: ‘SAW IT COMING’
Camp Mystic has long and deep roots with Texas politicians and their families, including former first lady Laura Bush, who worked as a counselor there while attending Southern Methodist University in her youth, and former President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent his daughters to the camp.
Former U.S. President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush published a statement on the devastation in Texas following flash floods that have claimed dozens of lives.
Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, said in a media appearance on Monday that her mother worked as a drama counselor at the camp in her youth, while many of her friends attended the camp or sent their children to the camp.
«My mom was a counselor there, but also so many of my friends were raised at this camp,» Bush Hager said on NBC’s «Today» show Monday. «Texas camps are institutions, as you just heard, where were many family members — generations — this camp was 100 years old, so grandmothers, mothers, kids have all gone there.»
«The stories that I heard over the last couple days were beautiful and heartbreaking,» she said. «Texas has a type of resilience where they’re generous people, where people want to reach out and help.»
NEW JERSEY COAST GUARD SWIMMER RESCUES NEARLY 200 PEOPLE IN DEADLY TEXAS FLASH FLOODS
The former first daughter continued that families flock to the Hill Country’s summer camps despite the hot Texas weather because «of the love that’s there.»
Officials inspect an area at Camp Mystic along the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (Julio Cortez/The Associated Press)
«Texas camps are really special because you’re thinking about 90-degree weather, no air conditioning,» she added. «My kids are at camp in Texas, and my husband said, ‘Why are we sending our kids to Texas, to camp? It’s hot!’ And it’s because of the love that’s there.»
Former President George W. Bush released a statement on the devastation and death Sunday, saying he and his wife are heartbroken by the loss.
TEXAS FLOODING VICTIMS INCLUDE DALLAS CATHOLIC SCHOOL SISTERS, CAMP COUNSELOR, WALMART EMPLOYEE
«On this day of prayer, Laura and I are holding up our fellow Texans who are hurting,» he said on Sunday of the tragedy. «We are heartbroken by the loss of life and the agony so many are feeling. Those who have lost their precious children are facing a grief no parents should ever know. We are grateful to the first responders and volunteers who are working to find the missing and comfort the grieving at Camp Mystic and along the Guadalupe. We know our words cannot help, but we believe the prayers of so many Americans will,»
Debris at Camp Mystic after deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, U.S., July 5, 2025. The girls’ camp has long attracted attendance from the families of Texas politicians. REUTERS/Sergio Flores. (REUTERS/Sergio Flores )
The camp also drew multiple generations from former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s family. A digital copy of Texas Monthly’s May 1975 edition outlined that Johnson’s two «daughters were also Mystic campers,» while the Texas Tribune reported recently that the 36th president’s granddaughters and great-granddaughters also attended the camp.
YOUNG TEXAS CAMP SURVIVOR DESCRIBES HARROWING MOMENT SHE PREPARED FOR WORST DURING DEADLY FLOOD
At least three generations of former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s family attended Camp Mystic across the decades, according to local media. (Getty Images)
The camp, across its nearly 100 years in operation, has seen multiple Texas political families take part, including former Govs. Dan Moody, Price Daniel and John Connally sending their daughters to the camp, according to Texas Monthly, while James Baker, who served as chief of staff to former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, also sent his daughter and a granddaughter to Camp Mystic.
Officials ride a boat as they arrive to assist with a recovery effort at Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area, July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo)
Republican Texas Rep. August Pfluger’s daughters and Georgia Republican Rep. Buddy Carter’s granddaughters were attending the camp during the flooding and survived the tragedy.
The camp’s longtime director and co-owner, Dick Eastland, was among those who tragically died in the floods while trying to rescue the campers. Eastland purchased the camp in 1974, Fox Digital previously reported.
«Camp Mystic’s Dick Eastland no doubt gave his life attempting to save his campers,» Pfluger wrote on X of the death. «For decades he and his wife Tweety poured his life into loving and developing girls and women of character. Thank you Mr. Eastland. We love you and miss you.»
TEXAS SCHOOL GATHERS SUPPLIES TO HELP FLOOD-IMPACTED LOCALS AFTER SPOTLIGHT MOVES ON
President Donald Trump signed a disaster declaration Sunday for Kerr County, Texas, and told the media he will likely visit the area Friday.
«These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing,» Trump posted to Truth Social Sunday of the devastation in Texas. «The Trump Administration continues to work closely with State and Local Leaders. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was on the ground yesterday with Governor Greg Abbott, who is working hard to help the people of his Great State. Our incredible U.S. Coast Guard, together with State First Responders, have saved more than 850 lives. GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!»
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«We wanted to leave a little time. I would have done it today, but we’d just be in their way. Probably Friday,» Trump added in comment to reporters from New Jersey on Sunday when asked about plans to visit.
Fox News Digital’s Stephan Sorace contributed to this report.
INTERNACIONAL
Rusia y Ucrania concluyeron su primera jornada de diálogo en Ginebra sin avances tras horas de “negociaciones muy tensas”
Negociadores ucranianos y rusos concluyeron este martes el primero de dos días de conversaciones de paz mediadas por Estados Unidos en Ginebra, aunque ninguna de las partes dio señales de estar más cerca de poner fin al conflicto más mortífero en Europa desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Las negociaciones se reanudarán el miércoles.
Estados Unidos ha estado presionando para que se ponga fin a la guerra de casi cuatro años, pero no ha logrado mediar un compromiso entre Moscú y Kiev sobre el tema clave del territorio.
Dos rondas previas de negociación entre ambas partes en Abu Dabi no lograron producir un avance significativo.
Las últimas conversaciones “fueron muy tensas”, dijo una fuente cercana a la delegación rusa.
REUTERS/Nina Liashonok
“Duraron seis horas. Ya han concluido”, añadió la fuente, hablando bajo condición de anonimato.
El presidente ucraniano, Volodimir Zelensky, dijo en su discurso vespertino que estaba listo “para avanzar rápidamente hacia un acuerdo digno que ponga fin a la guerra”, pero cuestionó si Rusia hablaba en serio sobre la paz.
“¿Qué es lo que quieren?”, añadió, acusándolos de priorizar los ataques con misiles sobre la “diplomacia real”.
Rusia lanzó su invasión a gran escala de Ucrania en febrero de 2022.
El conflicto resultante ha provocado una ola de destrucción que ha dejado ciudades enteras en ruinas, decenas de miles de soldados y civiles muertos y ha obligado a millones de personas a huir de sus hogares.
Consejo de Seguridad y Defensa de Ucrania / REUTERS
Zelensky ha dicho repetidamente que a su país se le está pidiendo que haga concesiones desproporcionadas en comparación con Rusia.
El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, presionó el lunes a Ucrania para que llegue a un acuerdo, diciendo que “más vale que vengan a la mesa, rápido”.
Rusia ocupa alrededor de una quinta parte de Ucrania —incluida la península de Crimea que se anexionó en 2014— y áreas que los separatistas respaldados por Moscú habían tomado antes de la invasión de 2022.
Está presionando por el control total de la región de Donetsk, al este de Ucrania, como parte de cualquier acuerdo, y ha amenazado con tomarla por la fuerza si las conversaciones fracasan.
Pero Kiev ha rechazado esta demanda profundamente impopular, que sería política y militarmente arriesgada, y ha señalado que no firmará un acuerdo sin garantías de seguridad que disuadan a Rusia de invadir de nuevo.
Ministerio de Defensa ruso/Folleto vía REUTERS
Rusia ha estado capturando territorio lentamente a lo largo de la extensa línea de frente durante meses.
Sin embargo, sus preocupaciones económicas en tiempos de guerra están aumentando, con un crecimiento estancado y un déficit presupuestario cada vez mayor a medida que los ingresos petroleros —asfixiados por las sanciones— caen a un mínimo de cinco años.
Las fuerzas ucranianas lograron recientemente sus avances más rápidos en dos años y medio, recuperando 201 kilómetros cuadrados la semana pasada, según un análisis de la AFP de los datos del Instituto para el Estudio de la Guerra (ISW).
Ese total incluye áreas que Kiev y los analistas militares dicen que están controladas por Rusia (72 kilómetros cuadrados), así como aquellas reclamadas por el ejército de Moscú (129 kilómetros cuadrados).
Los contraataques probablemente aprovecharon la interrupción del acceso de las fuerzas rusas a Starlink, dijo el ISW, después de que el jefe de la firma de internet satelital, Elon Musk, anunciara “medidas” para poner fin al uso de la tecnología por parte de Rusia.
REUTERS/Nina Liashonok
Para las conversaciones en Ginebra, el Kremlin reinstaló al halcón nacionalista y ex ministro de Cultura, Vladimir Medinsky, como su negociador principal.
El secretario de seguridad nacional ucraniano, Rustem Umerov, lideraba el bando de Kyiv.
Las esperanzas de un avance son bajas.
Incluso antes de que las conversaciones estuvieran en marcha, Ucrania acusó a Rusia de socavar los esfuerzos de paz al lanzar 29 misiles y 396 drones en una serie de ataques nocturnos que, según las autoridades, mataron al menos a cuatro personas, hirieron a otras y cortaron la electricidad a decenas de miles en el sur de Ucrania.
“La medida en que Rusia ignora los esfuerzos de paz: un ataque masivo con misiles y drones contra Ucrania justo antes de la próxima ronda de conversaciones en Ginebra”, escribió el ministro de Relaciones Exteriores ucraniano, Andriy Sybiga, en las redes sociales.
Un ataque de drones rusos mató a tres empleados de una planta de energía en la ciudad de Sloviansk, en el frente de batalla en el este de Ucrania, según el ministro de Energía, Denys Shmygal.
Otra persona murió en la región de Sumy, en el noreste, dijeron funcionarios locales.
Mientras tanto, Rusia acusó a Ucrania de lanzar más de 150 drones durante la noche, principalmente sobre las regiones del sur y la península de Crimea —ocupada por el Kremlin en 2014.
Un depósito de petróleo en el sur de Rusia se incendió, según los funcionarios.
El portavoz del Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, dijo a los periodistas que no esperaran grandes noticias del primer día de conversaciones.
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Judge orders migrant deported in ‘error’ free from ICE custody with criminal case looming
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A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from re-arresting Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia into federal immigration custody — an update that comes just days before he is slated to appear in Nashville for a key court date in a separate criminal case.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis agreed to convert her previous emergency order blocking ICE from immediately re-detaining Abrego Garcia into a longer-term form of injunctive relief sought by his lawyers.
She said Tuesday that the Trump administration failed to provide the court with any «good reason to believe» that they plan to remove him to a third country in the «reasonably foreseeable future.» Instead, she said, they «made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success.»
The order clears the way for Abrego Garcia to participate in a key hearing in Nashville next week on whether a separate federal judge should dismiss his criminal case on the grounds of «vindictive» and selective prosecution.
ABREGO GARCIA REMAINS IN US FOR NOW AS JUDGE TAKES CASE UNDER ADVISEMENT
President Donald Trump and a protester holding a sign urging the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Getty Images )
Xinis also said the government has «done nothing» to show the court that Abrego Garcia’s continued detention in ICE custody is «consistent with due process.»
«Respondents have done nothing to show that Abrego Garcia’s continued detention in ICE custody is consistent with due process,» Xinis said Tuesday.
She ticked through a list of the Trump administration’s efforts to remove Abrego Garcia to a list of four African nations it had identified as so-called «third countries» of removal in the months between August, when Abrego was re-detained by ICE, and December, when Xinis ultimately ordered his release.
The Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Xinis said Tuesday that the administration «refused to procure Abrego Garcia’s immediate removal to Costa Rica,» the location he had identified as his preferred third country of removal, in favor of what she said was attempted «phantom removals» by the government to send Abrego to «three (maybe four) African countries.»
«Indeed, since Abrego Garcia secured his release from criminal custody in August 2025, respondents have made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success,» Xinis said.
ABREGO GARCIA LAWYERS ASK US JUDGE TO ORDER RETURN TO MARYLAND AMID ONGOING CRIMINAL CASE
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, right, and his brother Cesar Abrego Garcia, center, arrive at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
The Trump administration previously tried and failed to remove Abrego Garcia to the African countries of Liberia, Eswatini, Uganda and briefly, Ghana.
Xinis noted in late November that the government could not take any of those steps without the final notice of removal order, which she reiterated Tuesday in the memo order that the government had not obtained.
«Thus, he must remain on the stringent release conditions already imposed by ICE and in the Tennessee Criminal Matter,» Xinis said.
US JUDGE VOWS TO RULE ‘SOON’ ON ABREGO GARCIA’S FATE AFTER MARATHON HEARING
Abrego Garcia’s status has been at the center of a legal and political maelstrom since March, when he was deported to his home country of El Salvador, in violation of a 2019 court order and in what Trump officials acknowledge was an «administrative error.» Xinis ordered then that Abrego Garcia be «immediately» returned to the U.S.
He was eventually returned to the U.S. in June, where he was taken into federal custody in Nashville and detained on human smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop.
The Justice Department later told Xinis it had opened the criminal investigation and presented it to a grand jury at the same time that Abrego Garcia was detained in a Salvadoran prison, and at the same time as government lawyers were telling the court that the U.S. was powerless to order his return.
A woman holds a photo of Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia in front of the U.S. District Court in Nashville. A judge ordered Trump officials to testify in court in January to weigh Abrego’s motion to dismiss on the grounds of «vindictive» prosecution. (Getty Images )
Next week’s hearing in Nashville will be centered on a motion to dismiss Abrego Garcia’s criminal case for «vindictive» and selective prosecution.
The judge overseeing that case, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, had ruled in October that Abrego Garcia had established a «reasonable likelihood» that the criminal case against him was the result of vindictive prosecution by the Justice Department.
Crenshaw had ordered the Trump administration to produce for the court internal documents and government witnesses to testify about its decision to bring the case.
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Senior DHS and Justice Department officials previously suggested they would appeal Xinis’ orders. Trump officials have been sharply critical of Xinis and other federal judges presiding over deportation cages, whom they have repeatedly accused of overstepping their authority as a district judge.
«This order lacks any valid legal basis, and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts,» DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in response to the court’s earlier emergency order.
donald trump,politics,immigration,supreme court,federal courts,crime world,foreign policy,national security
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Russia sentences American to 4 years for allegedly trying to take Kalashnikov rifle stocks: report
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An American was sentenced Tuesday to four years in jail in Russia for allegedly trying to fly out of an airport in Moscow with the stocks of Kalashnikov assault rifles in his suitcase, a report said.
The unnamed U.S. citizen, who collects Kalashnikov weapons, did not make a customs declaration after purchasing two stocks and checking a suitcase containing the items at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, Reuters reported, citing the RIA Novosti state news agency.
He later was found guilty under an article of Russian criminal code relating to the smuggling of weapons, it added.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department for comment.
RUSSIA UPS JAIL SENTENCE OF US CITIZEN TO 10 YEARS FOR BEATING PRISON STAFF
AK-47 rifles are seen during a training session at a shooting range outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, on the left, in July 2023. On the right are passenger jets at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport. An American reportedly was jailed after trying to transport Kalashnikov rifle stocks in a suitcase at the airport. (STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images; Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Russian state media is also claiming the American partially admitted guilt, according to Reuters.
The State Department warns Americans not to travel to Russia «for any reason due to terrorism, unrest, wrongful detention and other risks.»
CHINA PLEDGES AID TO UKRAINE AS US OFFICIALS WARN BEIJING IS QUIETLY FUELING RUSSIA’S WAR
A Kalashnikov of a Ukrainian soldier participating in shooting training is seen in Donetsk region of Ukraine on July 31, 2024. (Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has limited ability to assist in the case of a detention of a U.S. citizen. There is no guarantee that the Russian government will grant the U.S. Embassy consular access to detained U.S. citizens,» the State Department said. «U.S. citizens may serve their entire prison sentence without release. The risk of wrongful detention of U.S. citizens remains high. Even if a case is determined wrongful, there is no guarantee of release.»
A terminal at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, in August 2023. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)
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«Russian officials often question and threaten U.S. citizens without reason. Russian security services have arrested U.S. citizens on false charges,» it added. They have denied them fair treatment and convicted them without credible evidence. Russian authorities have opened questionable investigations against U.S. citizens for their religious activities.»
russia,crime,state department,world
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