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Senate Committee Approves $500 Million For Ukraine In Defence Bill Draft
The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved $500 million in security aid for Ukraine in its draft Fiscal Year 2026 defence bill, which also limits A-10 aircraft retirements.
The National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) is an annual policy bill that authorises funding levels and provides authorities for the U.S. military.
It ensures that American forces have the necessary resources to carry out their missions and is closely watched by weapons makers like Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co.
Ukraine Aid Extended
The NDAA, passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee with a vote of 26-1 on July 9, 2025, includes a provision to extend the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through 2028, increasing authorised funding to $500 million from $300 million in 2025.
The initiative aims to bolster Ukraine’s defence capabilities as it battles Russian forces, which invaded in 2022.
The bill also prohibits a controversial request made in President Donald Trump’s June budget request to retire the Air Force A-10 fleet. The draft requires that the inventory of the A-10 cannot drop below 103 aircraft in FY26, ensuring the continued operation of these close air support planes.
The draft of the bill will make its way through the legislative process in the coming months. The lower House of Representatives kept Ukraine’s support at $300 million in its version.
Boosting Defence Budget
The NDAA supports a total of $925 billion in funding for national defence, with $878.7 billion allocated to the Department of Defence and $35.2 billion to the Department of Energy. The bill also allows for up to $6 billion in general transfer authority for unforeseen higher-priority needs.
In addition to Ukraine, the NDAA addresses various global security challenges, including threats from China, Iran, and North Korea.
It emphasises the need for technological advancements in areas such as artificial intelligence, unmanned technology, and hypersonic weapons to maintain U.S. military superiority.
(With inputs from Reuters)
EU Aims To Finalise Climate Target Deal By September
Most European Union (EU) countries support reaching a deal on the bloc’s new climate target by September, sources familiar with the talks said on Friday.
EU countries are negotiating their new 2040 climate change target, which the Commission last week proposed should be a 90% emissions reduction from 1990 levels, although countries would be allowed to buy international carbon credits to meet a limited share of the goal.
Denmark Pushes Climate Consensus
Denmark, which took over the EU’s rotating presidency this month and is chairing negotiations among countries on the target, aims to strike a deal at a summit of ministers in September, Denmark’s energy and climate ministry said in a statement on Friday.
“It is extremely important that we unite the EU around new climate goals… We have a very small window to put a bow on these negotiations,” Danish climate minister Lars Aagaard said, following a meeting of EU countries’ climate ministers in Aalborg, Denmark, which concluded on Friday.
In the meeting, most of the EU’s 27 member countries backed the plan to land a deal on the 2040 climate target in September, three sources familiar with the talks said.
Opposition Slows Deal
But a handful of countries, including Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, opposed a fast-tracked deal – while others demanded changes to the Commission’s proposal, the sources said.
“This is not a decision that we can just take lightly, it’s affecting the whole economy. Working under such time pressure is just not reasonable,” Polish deputy climate minister Krzysztof Bolesta told Reuters, of the proposed September deadline.
Spokespeople for Hungary and the Czech Republic’s EU representations each confirmed their governments opposed the September deadline.
Climate Goals Spark Tensions
Climate change has made Europe the world’s fastest-warming continent, fuelling deadly heatwaves and fires. But the 2040 target has stoked political tensions over how ambitious to be in tackling climate change, at a time when Europe is sharply raising defence spending and attempting to support struggling local industries.
To attempt to win over sceptical governments, the Commission proposed flexibilities that would soften the 90% emissions target for European companies.
Bolesta said countries had raised concerns in Friday’s meeting over issues including a lack of clarity on how these flexibilities would work.
The EU faces a mid-September deadline to submit a new 2035 climate target to the U.N. – which the Commission has said should be derived from the 2040 goal.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Preliminary Air India Crash Report Reveals Cockpit Confusion Over Engine Switches
A preliminary investigation into last month’s Air India crash that killed 260 people indicates confusion among the flight crew moments before the disaster. The report states that the aircraft’s engine fuel cutoff switches were triggered nearly simultaneously, cutting off fuel supply to the engines and leading to the fatal crash.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London from the Indian city of Ahmedabad immediately began to lose thrust and sink down, according to the report on the world’s deadliest aviation accident in a decade released on Saturday by Indian accident investigators.
The report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) about the June 12 crash shortly after takeoff raises fresh questions over the position of the critical engine fuel cutoff switches, while suggesting that Boeing and engine maker GE had no apparent responsibility for the accident.
The crash is a challenge for Tata Group’s ambitious campaign to restore Air India’s reputation and revamp its fleet, after taking the carrier over from the government in 2022.
Fuel Switches Malfunction
Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, CCTV footage shows a backup energy source called a ram air turbine had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines.
In the flight’s final moment, one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. “The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report said.
It did not identify which remarks were made by the flight’s captain and which by the first officer, nor which pilot transmitted “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” just before the crash.
The commanding pilot of the Air India plane was Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, who had a total flying experience of 15,638 hours and, according to the Indian government, was also an Air India instructor. His co-pilot was Clive Kunder, 32, who had 3,403 hours of total experience.
The fuel switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff just after takeoff. The preliminary report did not say how the switches could have flipped to the cutoff position during the flight.
Experts have said a pilot would not be able to accidentally move the fuel switches.
“If they were moved because of a pilot, why?” asked U.S. aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse.
The switches flipped a second apart, the report said, roughly the time it would take to shift one and then the other, according to U.S. aviation expert John Nance. He added that a pilot would normally never turn the switches off in flight, especially as the plane is starting to climb.
No Emergency Cited In Report
Flipping to cutoff almost immediately cuts the engines. It is most often used to turn engines off once a plane has arrived at its airport gate and in certain emergency situations, such as an engine fire. The report does not indicate there was any emergency requiring an engine cutoff.
At the crash site, both fuel switches were found in the run position and there had been indications of both engines relighting before the low-altitude crash, said the report, which was released around 1:30 a.m. IST on Saturday (2000 GMT on Friday).
Air India acknowledged the report in a statement. The carrier said it was cooperating with Indian authorities but declined further comment.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board thanked Indian officials for their cooperation in a statement and noted that there were no recommended actions in the report aimed at operators of Boeing 787 jets or the GE engines.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said its priority was to follow the facts where they lead and it was committed to promptly addressing any risks identified throughout the process.
Boeing said it continued to support the investigation and its customer, Air India. GE Aerospace did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Crash Probe
The AAIB, an office under India’s civil aviation ministry, is leading the probe into the crash, which killed all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 others on the ground.
Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, with a preliminary report due 30 days after the accident according to international rules, and a final report expected within a year.
The plane’s black boxes, combined cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders, were recovered in the days following the crash and later downloaded in India.
Black boxes provide crucial data such as altitude, airspeed and final pilot conversations which help in narrowing down possible causes of the crash.
Air India has been under intense scrutiny since the crash.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it plans to investigate its budget airline, Air India Express, after it was reported the carrier did not follow a directive to change engine parts of an Airbus A320 in a timely manner and falsified records to show compliance.
India’s aviation watchdog has also warned Air India for breaching rules for flying three Airbus planes with overdue checks on escape slides and in June warned it about “serious violations” of pilot duty timings.
India is banking on a boom in aviation to support wider development goals, with New Delhi saying it wants India to be a job-creating global aviation hub along the lines of Dubai, which currently handles much of the country’s international traffic.
(With inputs from Reuters)
U.S. Acknowledges Report Of American Citizen Killed In West Bank Settler Violence
The U.S. State Department said on Friday it is aware of reports that a U.S. citizen was killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The statement follows accounts that Israeli settlers fatally assaulted a Palestinian American.
Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing the local health ministry, said Saif al-Din Kamel Abdul Karim Musallat, in his 20s, died after he was beaten by Israeli settlers on Friday evening in an attack that injured 10 others in a town north of Ramallah.
A second person was also found dead in the area, a Palestinian medical source said. There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Relatives of Musallat, who was from Tampa, Florida, were quoted by the Washington Post as saying he was beaten to death by Israeli settlers.
“We are aware of reports of the death of a U.S. citizen in the West Bank,” a State Department spokesperson said, adding the department had no further comment “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones” of the reported victim.
Settler Violence
The Israeli military said Israel was probing the incident in the town of Sinjil. It said confrontations between Palestinians and settlers broke out after Palestinians threw rocks at Israelis, lightly injuring them.
The military said forces were dispatched to the scene and used non-lethal weapons to disperse the crowds.
Settler violence in the West Bank has risen since the start of Israel’s war against Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza in late 2023, according to rights groups.
Dozens of Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian street attacks in recent years and the Israeli military has intensified raids across the West Bank.
Israeli killings of U.S. citizens in the West Bank in recent years include those of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Palestinian American teenager Omar Mohammad Rabea and Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.
The United Nations’ highest court said last year Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, and settlements there were illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible.
Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war. The West Bank is among the territories that Palestinians seek for an independent state.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Rubio Dismisses Strain, Says US-Japan Ties Strong
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday dismissed concerns over ties with key ally Japan, stating there is no “drama or division”, even as the Japanese Prime Minister spoke of Tokyo’s need to reduce its dependence on the United States.
In remarks to reporters, Rubio also disputed reports of US pressure on Japan to significantly increase its defence spending, saying that while Washington was “encouraging” Tokyo to invest in certain capabilities, this did not amount to a “demand”.
“It’s less to do with the amount of money and more to do about certain things they can do,” he said after attending a regional meeting in Malaysia.
‘Not Going To Change’
Japanese media reported last month that the Trump administration was demanding that Japan and other Asian allies boost defence spending to 5% of GDP in line with demands on NATO members.
A Financial Times report last month said Japan canceled an annual defence and foreign ministers meeting with the US after it called on Tokyo to boost defence spending beyond what it requested earlier.
President Donald Trump further upset Japan this week by announcing a 25% tariff on Japanese imports starting August 1 as part of his global tariff strategy.
On Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Japan needed to wean itself from US dependence in security, food, and energy.
Asked about Ishiba’s remarks, Rubio said the United States has “a very strong and very good relationship with Japan, and that’s not going to change”.
“Anyone who’s looking for, like, drama or division there … shouldn’t be doing it because the truth of the matter is our relationship with Japan is very solid.”
He said Ishiba’s comment should not be viewed negatively.
Encouraged By Japan’s Military Might
“The idea that Japan’s military would become more capable is not something we would be offended by; it’s something we would actually be encouraged by,” he said.
Christopher Johnstone, a former Biden White House official now with the Asia Group consultancy, said trade frictions, pressure on defence spending, and uncertainty about US defence commitments meant US-Japan tensions were probably at their worst in a generation, but reducing Tokyo’s reliance on the US was easier said than done.
“If the two countries reach a trade agreement by August 1, it could fade,” he said. “But Ishiba’s comments reflect sentiment that is real and widespread.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
Russian Strike Hits Kharkiv Maternity Hospital, Forcing Patients To Flee In Panic
A Russian drone assault on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Friday struck a maternity hospital, officials said, causing windows to shatter and glass to fall onto patients’ beds. The attack sent families running to protect their newborns and seek shelter amid the chaos.
Three women and three newborns suffered acute stress and received medical help, according to Kharkiv’s regional prosecutors.
Oleksandra Lavrynenko was at the Kharkiv hospital after just giving birth. “We woke up and heard a very loud whistle. My husband and I got up and quickly went to our little one, and at that moment there was a hit and the windows shattered,” she said.
They rushed to shelter one-day-old Maksym underground.
“It was very scary, because I was so full of adrenaline that I probably forgot that I had stitches. Now I am slowly recovering from the shock,” Lavrynenko said.
“It is very difficult and scary to give birth at this time,” she said, laying next to her son.
Shards of glass littered the medical facility’s floors and beds and patients and staff prepared to evacuate.
Russian Aerial Attacks Intensify
Oleksandr Kondriatskyi, one of the doctors, said the attack damaged the side of the building where the delivery and surgery rooms were located.
“Everyone, both the staff and the women, suffered severe stress,” he said, adding that some of the patients only gave birth a couple days ago and had had surgery.
Russia has increased the intensity of aerial attacks in recent weeks, and carried out more missile and drone strikes across Ukraine.
It has frequently targeted Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, located in the northeast of the country, since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Nine people were injured in Kharkiv and an apartment building was also damaged in the attack. One person died and at least five more were injured as a result of various Russian attacks over the past day in the surrounding region, governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Trump Admin Fires 1,350 In State Department Overhaul
The US State Department on Friday began terminating the services of over 1,350 domestically-based employees, as President Donald Trump’s administration pushes forward with an unprecedented restructuring of the country’s diplomatic corps—a move critics argue could weaken America’s ability to safeguard and advance its interests globally.
The layoffs, which affect 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service officers based in the United States, come at a time when Washington is grappling with multiple crises on the world stage: Russia’s war in Ukraine, the almost two-year-long Gaza conflict, and the Middle East on edge due to high tension between Israel and Iran.
‘Streamlining Domestic Operations’
“The Department is streamlining domestic operations to focus on diplomatic priorities,” an internal State Department notice that was sent to the workforce said. “Headcount reductions have been carefully tailored to affect non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices, and offices where considerable efficiencies may be found,” it added.
The total reduction in the workforce will be nearly 3,000, including the voluntary departures, according to the notice and a senior State Department official, out of the 18,000 employees based in the United States.
The move is the first step of a restructuring that Trump has sought to ensure US foreign policy is aligned with his “America First” agenda. Former diplomats and critics say the firing of foreign service officers risks America’s ability to counter the growing assertiveness from adversaries such as China and Russia.
‘One Of The Most Ridiculous Decisions’
“President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio are once again making America less safe and less secure,” Democratic senator Tim Kaine from Virginia said in a statement.
“This is one of the most ridiculous decisions that could possibly be made at a time when China is increasing its diplomatic footprint around the world and establishing an overseas network of military and transportation bases, Russia is continuing its years-long brutal assault of a sovereign country, and the Middle East is careening from crisis to crisis,” Kaine said.
Dozens of State Department employees crowded the lobby of the agency’s headquarters in Washington holding an impromptu “clap-out” for their colleagues who have been fired. Dozens of people were crying, as they carried their belongings in boxes and hugged and bid farewell to friends and fellow workers.
Outside, dozens of others were lined up continuing to clap and cheer for them with some holding banners that read, “Thank you America’s diplomats.” Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen attended the demonstration.
‘Transition Day Out Processing’
Several offices were set up inside the building for employees who are being laid off to turn in their badges, laptops, telephones and other property owned by the agency.
The offices were marked by posters that read “Transition Day Out Processing”. One counter was labeled an “Outprocessing service center” with small bottles of water placed next to a box of tissue. Inside one office, cardboard boxes were visible.
A five-page “separation checklist” that was sent to workers who were fired on Friday and seen by Reuters tells the employees that they would lose access to the building and their emails at 5 p.m. EDT on Friday.
Many members of a State Department office overseeing the US resettlement of Afghans who worked for the US government during the 20-year war have also been terminated as part of the overhaul.
Cleaning Out The Deep State
Trump in February ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to revamp the foreign service to ensure that the Republican president’s foreign policy is “faithfully” implemented. He has also repeatedly pledged to “clean out the deep state” by firing bureaucrats that he deems disloyal.
The shake-up is part of an unprecedented push by Trump to shrink the federal bureaucracy and cut what he says is wasteful spending of taxpayer money. His administration dismantled the US Agency for International Aid, Washington’s premier aid arm that distributed billions of dollars of assistance worldwide, and folded it under the State Department.
Rubio’s Vision
Rubio announced the plans for the State Department shake-up in April, saying the Department in its current form was “bloated, bureaucratic” and was not able to perform its mission “in this new era of great power competition”.
He envisioned a structure that he said would give back the power to regional bureaus and embassies and get rid of programs and offices that do not align with America’s core interests.
That vision would see the elimination of the role of top official for civilian security, democracy, and human rights and the closure of some offices that monitored war crimes and conflicts around the world.
The reorganization had been expected to be largely concluded by July 1 but did not proceed as planned amid ongoing litigation, as the State Department waited for the US Supreme Court to weigh in on the Trump administration’s bid to halt a judicial order blocking mass job cuts.
On Tuesday, the court cleared the way for the Trump administration to pursue the job cuts and the sweeping downsizing of numerous agencies. Since then, The White House Counsel’s Office and the Office of Personnel Management have been coordinating with federal agencies to ensure their plans comply with the law.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Lavrov Visits North Korea As Russia, DPRK Deepen Strategic Ties
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reached North Korea on Friday, according to state media KCNA on Saturday, marking the latest high-level visit as ties between the two nations continue to strengthen.
Lavrov’s visit, scheduled to Sunday, includes a meeting between the countries’ foreign ministers, KCNA reported.
Lavrov flew out of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur following the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting and arrived in Wonsan, North Korea’s eastern coastal city, which is home to a recently opened resort and known for its missile and naval facilities.
Lavrov’s visit is the latest high-level meeting between the two countries amid a dramatic upgrading of their strategic cooperation that now includes a mutual defence pact.
Additional Troops, Builders
The South Korean intelligence service has said North Korea may be preparing to deploy additional troops in July or August, after sending more than 10,000 soldiers to fight with Russia in the war against Ukraine.
North Korea has agreed to dispatch 6,000 military engineers and builders for reconstruction in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched a mass cross-border incursion nearly a year ago.
Russian news agencies also reported Lavrov’s arrival and said after North Korea he is expected to travel to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting, which is set to take place on Monday and Tuesday.
Several Agenda
Russia’s state TASS news agency said Lavrov and his North Korean counterpart, Choi Son Hui, would discuss the 40-month-old Ukraine conflict and the situation on the Korean peninsula.
TASS said the new coastal resort could boost Russian tourism to North Korea, citing the resumption of direct trains from Moscow to Pyongyang and a project to build a bridge across the Tumen River forming part of the boundary between North Korea, China and Russia.
More Upcoming Visits
TASS quoted Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying more high-level delegations would visit North Korea later this year.
Rudenko said the accord on strategic partnership “clearly meets the changing needs over recent decades and strengthens traditionally friendly, good-neighbourly Russian-Korean relations to a qualitatively new level as allies”.
(With inputs from Reuters)
China’s Bid To Forge New Regional Bloc: India’s Options
China’s quiet push to create a trilateral grouping with Pakistan and Bangladesh is part of a broader attempt to replace the defunct SAARC and reshape South Asia’s strategic map. According to strategic analyst Atul Aneja, this is not about development or cooperation—it’s a geopolitical contest aimed at displacing India from its civilisational sphere of influence.
The US exit from Afghanistan created a vacuum, allowing China to expand its footprint via Pakistan. Now, with the US attempting to re-engage Islamabad, China is doubling down—offering new alternatives like the trilateral arrangement to maintain dominance. For India, this triangulation with Bangladesh and Pakistan is deeply troubling, especially as Chinese and Pakistani influence grows in Dhaka. Aneja is blunt: “We’ve lost the plot there.”
He argues India failed to define and enforce its regional red lines, particularly in Bangladesh, a country born out of Indian military sacrifice. The emergence of a potentially hostile regime in Dhaka jeopardizes connectivity to the Northeast and threatens strategic investments in ports like Chittagong.
With Bangladesh slipping, Myanmar becomes critical. Aneja says India must actively engage the Myanmar military, which still holds decisive power despite plans for elections. Myanmar, historically non-aligned, has leaned on China and Russia due to Western sanctions, but is eager to deepen ties with India—something New Delhi must act on before Beijing fills the space.
India’s power projection has evolved. Military operations like Balakot and the more recent Operation Trident have shown India’s willingness to act. “We must use power judiciously, but unambiguously,” says Aneja. Soft power remains important, but India must rapidly build its economic and military heft to become a $10 trillion economy and secure its interests.
India must embrace its role as the region’s big brother—benign but assertive. The strategic landscape has shifted, and India can no longer afford to be reactive. “We’re in the game now,” says Aneja. “There’s no turning back.”
Trump Visits Flood-Hit Texas, Hails Relief Efforts Amid Rising Criticism
President Donald Trump on Friday came out in support of the state and central authorities’ handling of the devastating flash floods in Texas, as he visited the severely affected Hill Country region, where at least 120 people — including several children — lost their lives last week.
During a roundtable discussion after touring Kerr County, the epicenter of the disaster, Trump praised both Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for their response, saying they both did an “incredible job”.
Trump Trashes Criticism
The Trump administration, as well as local and state officials, has faced mounting questions over whether more could have been done to protect and warn residents ahead of the flooding, which struck with astonishing speed in the pre-dawn hours on July 4, the US Independence Day holiday.
Trump reacted with anger when a reporter said some families affected by the floods had expressed frustration that warnings did not go out sooner.
“I think everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances,” he said. “I don’t know who you are, but only a very evil person would ask a question like that.”
FEMA Cuts Questions Dodged
Some critics have questioned whether the administration’s spending cuts at the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which coordinates the US government’s disaster response efforts, might have exacerbated the calamity.
Trump officials have said that cuts had no impact on the NWS’s ability to forecast the storms, despite some vacancies in local offices.
But the president has largely sidestepped questions about his plans to shrink or abolish FEMA and reassign many of its key functions to state and local governments.
“I’ll tell you some other time,” Trump said on Tuesday, when asked by a reporter about FEMA.
Investigation
Before the most recent flooding, Kerr County declined to install an early-warning system after failing to secure state money to cover the cost.
Lawrence Walker, 67, and a nearly three-decade veteran resident of Kerrville, said the county and state had not spent enough on disaster prevention, including an early-warning system.
Asked about the quality of the government response, he said, “It’s been fine since the water was at 8 feet.”
The Texas state legislature will convene in a special session later this month to investigate the flooding and provide disaster relief funding.
Abbott has dismissed questions about whether anyone was to blame, calling that the word “choice of losers”.
Dozens Still Unaccounted For
Search teams on Friday were still combing through muddy debris littering parts of the Hill Country in central Texas, looking for the dozens still listed as missing, but no survivors have been found since the day of the floods.
Heavy rains sent a wall of water raging down the Guadalupe River early on July 4, causing the deadliest disaster of the Republican president’s nearly six-month term in office.
As sun poked through dark clouds on Friday morning, search crews in hard hats painstakingly walked inch-by-inch along the ruined banks of the river, marking damage and looking through wreckage.
After the president arrived in Kerr County in the early afternoon, Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott drove to an area near the river, where Trump received a briefing from first responders amid debris left in the wake of the flood.
The county is located in what is known as “flash flood alley”, a region that has seen some of the country’s deadliest floods.
More than a foot of rain fell in less than an hour on July 4. Flood gauges showed the river’s height rose from about a foot to 34 feet (10.4 meters) in a matter of hours, cascading over its banks and sweeping away trees and structures in its path.
Numbers
Kerr County officials say more than 160 people remain unaccounted for, although experts say that the number of people reported missing in the wake of disasters is often inflated.
The dead in the county include 67 adults and at least 36 children, many of whom were campers at the nearly century-old Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer retreat on the banks of the river.
Mixed Reactions
Jon Moreno, 71, a longtime Kerrville resident whose property on high ground was spared, praised the government response – local and federal.
He has heard the debate about what more could have been done – including sirens – but said he did not think it would have made much difference, given people’s desire to build along the flood-prone riverbanks.
“It’s unavoidable,” he said. “All those people along the river – I wouldn’t want to live there … It’s too dangerous.”
At Stripes, a gas station in Kerrville, the building was tagged in large white letters, accusing “Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill” of cutting “our emergency funding”.
The president’s massive legislative package, which cut taxes and spending, won approval from the Republican-controlled Congress last week and was signed into law by Trump on the same day that the flooding hit Texas.
(With inputs from Reuters)