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Who Was Janie Hunt? Chiefs Owner's Family Confirms 9-Year-Old Camp Mystic Camper Killed in Texas Floods Was Family Member

Who Was Janie Hunt? Chiefs Owner's Family Confirms 9-Year-Old Camp Mystic Camper Killed in Texas Floods Was Family Member

The wife of Kansas City Chiefs' owner, Clark Hunt, has confirmed that a member of their family has sadly passed away in the catastrophic flooding in Texas. Tavia Hunt, Clark's wife, shared that Janie Hunt, a young cousin in the family, was one of the Camp Mystic campers who died in the incident. Janie was just 9 years old.
Janie's body was found by emergency workers on Saturday after being swept by the powerful currents. The death toll has climbed to 82 after the flooding of the Guadalupe River, which rose over 30 feet above its normal level on Friday. Among the 68 bodies recovered so far, 28 are children.
Young Family Member Lost
"Our hearts are broken by the devastation from the floods in Wimberley and the tragic loss of so many lives — including a precious little Hunt cousin, along with several friend's little girls," Tavia Hunt, Clark's wife, wrote on Instagram. "How do we trust a God who is supposed to be good, all knowing and all powerful, but who allows such terrible things to happen — even to children?
"That is a sacred and tender question — and one the Bible doesn't shy away from. Scripture is filled with the cries of those whose hearts have been shattered, who still wrestle to trust the same God they believe allowed the pain."
Janie was the great-granddaughter of the late billionaire William Herbert Hunt, who was also the brother of Lamar Hunt, the late founder of the Kansas City Chiefs. Lamar Hunt was Clark Hunt's father.
Eleven girls are missing from Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, and five other campers have been confirmed dead after powerful floodwaters ripped through the private Christian summer camp for girls.
The camp's beloved director, 70-year-old Richard 'Dick' Eastland, lost his life while heroically trying to save campers as an entire month's worth of rain fell within minutes.
Total Devastation
Just a week before the disaster, the camp had posted videos on social media showing the girls performing cheerfully on stage during their first term's chorus and dance recital. The youngest campers were housed in low-lying "flats" within the cabins, while the older girls stayed in cabins built on higher ground, according to The New York Times.
Most of the missing children are from the younger group, who were sleeping only a few yards from the banks of the Guadalupe River.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated that around 750 girls were present at the camp when the floodwaters struck.
He also vowed that officials would continue their search efforts tirelessly and announced that Sunday would be observed as a day of prayer.
"I urge every Texan to join me in prayer this Sunday — for the lives lost, for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those on the front lines," Abbott said in a statement.
Family members of the missing have begun arriving to the Kerrville region from various parts of Texas to offer DNA samples to assist investigators.
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Women's Euro exit shows once-mighty Germany battling to keep pace
Women's Euro exit shows once-mighty Germany battling to keep pace

CNA

time3 days ago

  • CNA

Women's Euro exit shows once-mighty Germany battling to keep pace

A courageous German performance in their 1-0 Women's Euro semi-final defeat by world champions Spain means they leave Switzerland with heads high, but the once-dominant team need to find a cutting attacking edge to keep up with the best. Spain playmaker Aitana Bonmati proved to be the difference, conjuring up a superb winner in extra time. Though Christian Wueck's young side performed well on the night, they lacked a truly world-class attacking talent to turn a game in their favour at such a high level. "We have to evolve, we have to improve, we had phases of ball possession today that we simply did not exploit well, and those are areas where we need to improve, especially in the youth system, so that we can develop well-trained players for the Bundesliga," Wueck told reporters. "Also (we need to) perform better in those phases of ball possession that were not well-executed today, especially at that level. That is part of being a top team, and of course we are still lacking in comparison to Spain and England." Spain face England in Sunday's final. Eight-time champions Germany have not won the tournament since 2013 in Stockholm, and in the meantime they have been reined in and passed by as other countries pour money into the development of the women's game. The 2013 victory was built on the back of the stunning goalkeeping of Nadine Angerer, who saved two penalties in the final against Norway, and the 2025 squad looked to have a similar net-minding talisman in the shape of Ann-Katrin Berger, who pulled off a miraculous save in their quarter-final against France to prevent an own goal. Berger followed that up with a stellar performance in the penalty shootout win over the French that followed, but on Wednesday she was caught out by Bonmati's lightning shot from a tight angle to her uncovered near post that ended up as the only goal of the game. Though Berger took the blame for the defeat, it was not solely hers to bear. Germany had plenty of chances, with Klara Buehl superb down the left, but they lacked the killer instinct in front of goal that Bonmati displayed. All in all, the Germans displayed plenty of promise as they beat Poland, Denmark and the French in Switzerland, with the only blemish a shock 4-1 defeat by Sweden in which they had a player sent off in the first half. Though some of his choices have been questioned, Wueck says his focus on young players is paying off. "I recently read that the (German Football Association) DFB is miles behind the top nations, and three days later I read that we are in the semi-finals. So maybe the Germans need to learn a little bit that we do everything together, that we want the best for the German nation," he said.

Richard Eastland: Camp Mystic Owner Waited 45 Minutes to Evacuate Young Girls after Receiving 'Life-Threatening' Flash Floods Alert
Richard Eastland: Camp Mystic Owner Waited 45 Minutes to Evacuate Young Girls after Receiving 'Life-Threatening' Flash Floods Alert

International Business Times

time15-07-2025

  • International Business Times

Richard Eastland: Camp Mystic Owner Waited 45 Minutes to Evacuate Young Girls after Receiving 'Life-Threatening' Flash Floods Alert

Camp Mystic's co-owner waited for more than 45 minutes after receiving an emergency warning about the "life-threatening" flash floods before he started to evacuate the campers, it has been revealed. Richard "Dick" Eastland — who died trying to rescue young girls at his Hunt, Texas camp along the Guadalupe River — received the initial National Weather Service alert on his phone around 1:14 a.m., according to a family spokesperson who spoke to ABC News. However, he didn't start moving campers to higher ground at the private Christian camp for girls until around 2:00 a.m., just as conditions were rapidly getting worse. The alert came too late to save the girls from there. Too Late to Survive Richard Eastland Facebook "They had no information that indicated the magnitude of what was coming," the family spokesperson, Jeff Carr, said of the floods that killed 27 children and counselors. "They got a standard run-of-the-mill NWS warning that they've seen dozens of times before," Carr said. Eastland began using a walkie-talkie to coordinate with family members working at the camp right after receiving the alert, which did not include an evacuation warning, according to Carr. He added that they only started moving the campers to higher ground once they noticed the floodwaters rising rapidly. Carr said that the timeline—still considered preliminary—was put together based on conversations with Eastland family members who had worked at the camp and played a key role in the evacuation of the girls and the counselors. He insisted that the family choose to share this timeline publicly to avoid speculation and misinformation, following the tragic flash floods that took the lives of 27 children and camp staff. Died Saving Others Richard Eastland Facebook Eastland had been part of the private Christian girls' camp since purchasing it in 1974 and had served as its director. The camp director's wife, Tweety, was found safe at their home, according to Texas Public Radio. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly told the Washington Post that Eastland, a father of four, died in a helicopter while being rushed to a hospital in Houston. Eastland used to teach fishing to the younger campers, and former attendees remembered him as a warm, grandfather-like presence. Both he and his wife were highly respected by the campers and were often spotted teaching or roaming around the campgrounds. The couple has 11 grandchildren, and several of their children and their spouses are actively involved in running the camp. Their eldest son, Richard, oversees the kitchen operations, while their youngest son, Edward, and his wife serve as directors of Camp Mystic Guadalupe River, as mentioned on the camp's website. Both Eastland and his wife attended the University of Texas at Austin and live on the camp property. Eastland represented the third generation of his family to lead the all-girls Christian summer camp, which was founded in 1926.

Archbishop of Canterbury could scale back global role to avert Anglican schism
Archbishop of Canterbury could scale back global role to avert Anglican schism

Straits Times

time11-07-2025

  • Straits Times

Archbishop of Canterbury could scale back global role to avert Anglican schism

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Anglican priest Charles Baczyk-Bell and his partner, Piotr Baczyk-Bell, walk through St John the Divine church in London, Britain, January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Muvija M/File photo LONDON - The Anglican Communion is exploring diluting the Archbishop of Canterbury's role as its central symbolic leader, in an attempt to prevent internal divisions over ordination of women and inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community from tearing apart the world's third-largest Christian faith. For centuries, the man who crowns British monarchs as the seniormost bishop in the Church of England, which formed after Henry VIII's 16th-century split from Rome, has also been the titular head of 85 million Anglicans across 165 countries. But that headship, stemming from the British empire's role in spreading Christianity to its former colonies, has been pushed to breaking point by splits over LGBTQ+ rights between England's now more progressive church and the more traditional churches in Africa and Asia. Forty-six different Churches make up the global Anglican Communion, with the Church of England considered the "mother church" to reflect its historical role. To avert an all-out split, a representative body within the global Communion, which was asked to review its structure and decision-making processes, has proposed a rotating international figurehead, assuming some of the current organisational duties of the Archbishop of Canterbury, while they would focus on personal and pastoral ministry to the Communion. The position could rotate between the Communion's five global regions of Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and Oceania, with a term of six years. Bishop Graham Tomlin, who led the work for the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO), told Reuters the existing structures needed to change. "We are very different than we were 100 years ago," he said. The recommendations state a rotating figure "would add a welcome and overdue diversification". Tomlin is hopeful that the proposals will be adopted at a 2026 gathering. VACANT SEE OF CANTERBURY The tension between progressive and traditional Christians is not unique to Anglicanism, but the CoE's identity as a national church and Anglican mother church has forced a fundamental reset. Unlike the Pope, who holds ultimate authority over 1.3 billion Catholics, the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, a town considered one of the birthplaces of Christianity in Britain, is loosely defined and rooted in colonial-era deference. "Some people think of the Pope as infallible; no one thinks the Archbishop of Canterbury is infallible," Bishop Nick Baines told Reuters. Sometimes, individual bishops have been heavily criticised, such as when then Archbishop Justin Welby was forced into an unprecedented resignation following calls to resign from within the CoE over a child abuse cover-up. The office, dating back to 597, remains empty. Frontrunner Bishop Martyn Snow said recently he could not unify even the CoE on sexuality and marriage. BATTLE FOR ANGLICAN IDENTITY Divisions erupted in 2003 with the U.S. branch of the Anglican Church consecrating the first openly gay bishop, and deepened 12 years later when it allowed same-sex marriage rites, prompting sanctions from the Communion, whose doctrinal tone is shaped by the CoE. The rift widened in 2023 when the conservative Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon) - claiming to represent 85% of Anglicans worldwide - rejected Welby's leadership over the CoE's own move to bless same-sex unions. It has rejected Tomlin's proposals because it wants those churches willing to bless same-sex unions to leave the Communion. "Gafcon is the Communion," Archbishop Laurent Mbanda, Rwandan church leader and Gafcon Chairman, told Reuters. "Gafcon has never left the Communion and will not leave the Communion, but we let those who choose ... to depart from the orthodox teaching, leave the Communion." Those who oppose same-sex relationships cite scripture as authoritative on sexual ethics, while others argue that ancient texts should not be applied directly to modern understandings of sexuality. SHIFTING GRAVITY The Communion's centre has been shifting from Canterbury for decades, with its churches in Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya together home to a third of all Anglicans, countries where homosexuality remains illegal. While attendance at CoE churches has risen in the last four years, that follows decades of falls, and Linda Woodhead, head of theology at King's College London, said the CoE had hurt its reputation in Britain by trying to preserve its historic global leadership. "It's not keeping the allegiance ... of the population for which it's meant to be the official established Church," she said. The CoE declined to comment on the suggested reforms as the selection of the 106th Archbishop is underway. The Anglican Communion Office said the proposals "would not take away" the Archbishop's historic global role, but explore ways to share some responsibilities. GAY CLERGY The disconnect in the Communion is felt acutely by gay clergy like Charles Bączyk-Bell in London, who had to marry his partner in an Anglican church in New York, as the CoE stands by its teaching that marriage is between a man and woman. He said he sometimes found it very difficult to hold together his identity with that of a CoE priest. "There was a sense of sadness that we couldn't do it around friends and family at home ... it's meant to be the day when you feel most at home," he said. Baines said the next Archbishop shouldn't be fearful, given they will inherit a "broken Communion." Bishop Joanne Grenfell supports a more collegiate model. "I feel passionate about the Anglican Communion, but the role of Archbishop of Canterbury, that's enormous," Grenfell said. "Perhaps a bit too big for one person." REUTERS

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