Pompeo Says He Will Not Run for US President

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. (AFP file photo)
Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. (AFP file photo)
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Pompeo Says He Will Not Run for US President

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. (AFP file photo)
Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. (AFP file photo)

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said he would not seek to run for president in 2024.

"(My wife) Susan and I have concluded, after much consideration and prayer, that I will not present myself as a candidate to become President of the United States in the 2024 election," Pompeo wrote on Twitter.

The Republican cited personal reasons, saying "the time is not right for me and my family."

The former soldier and CIA director hinted, however, at a potential future bid for the presidency.

"To those of you this (news) thrilled, know that I'm 59 years old. There remain many more opportunities for which the timing might be more fitting as presidential leadership becomes even more necessary."

Seen as brusque in public and curt with the media, Pompeo vowed to give the US State Department back its "swagger" after being appointed its secretary by then-president Donald Trump.

He managed to stay consistently in Trump's good graces, loyally defending his boss on camera and to foreign allies.

Despite his elite education at West Point and Harvard Law, Pompeo emerged from obscurity as a businessman in Kansas when he was elected to Congress in the right-wing Tea Party wave of 2010.

Trump himself and his former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley have also entered the Republican contest for the nomination.

US President Joe Biden inched closer to formally launching his 2024 bid on Friday, saying to reporters "I told you my plan is to run again."

"I've already made that calculus. We'll announce it relatively soon," Biden said at the end of his visit to Ireland.



Texas Flood Toll Rises to 24 as Rescuers Search for Missing Children

Members of Task Force 1 deploy boats along the Guadalupe River in the wake of a destructive flooding event in Kerrville on Friday July 4, 2025. (Christopher Lee/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)
Members of Task Force 1 deploy boats along the Guadalupe River in the wake of a destructive flooding event in Kerrville on Friday July 4, 2025. (Christopher Lee/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)
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Texas Flood Toll Rises to 24 as Rescuers Search for Missing Children

Members of Task Force 1 deploy boats along the Guadalupe River in the wake of a destructive flooding event in Kerrville on Friday July 4, 2025. (Christopher Lee/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)
Members of Task Force 1 deploy boats along the Guadalupe River in the wake of a destructive flooding event in Kerrville on Friday July 4, 2025. (Christopher Lee/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

Rescuers were desperately searching for at least 20 girls missing from a riverside summer camp, officials said Friday, after torrential rains caused a "catastrophic" flash flood that killed at least 24 people as it swept through south-central Texas.

"At this point we're at about 24 fatalities," Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha told an evening press conference as rescue teams scrambled to locate stranded residents in the region northwest of San Antonio, reported AFP.

Some of the dead were children, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said at a previous news conference.

The county sheriff said there were "kids that are still missing", adding that between 23 and 25 people were unaccounted for.

Lieutenant Governor Patrick previously said "about 23" girls attending a summer camp in the flooded Kerr County were missing.

They were part of a group of around 750 children at Camp Mystic, a girls summer camp along the banks of the Guadalupe River which rose 26 feet (eight meters) in 45 minutes with heavy rainfall overnight.

"That does not mean they've been lost, they could be in a tree, they could be out of communication," he said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he was signing a "disaster declaration" to boost resources in counties in the region.

"It's terrible, the floods," US President Donald Trump told reporters Friday night. "It's shocking."

Asked if Texas would receive federal aid, he said: "Oh yeah, sure, we'll take care of it. We're working with the governor."

- Rescue efforts -

A massive rescue operation was underway in the region, with around 500 personnel and 14 helicopters helping in the search for survivors.

Texas military official Major General Thomas Suelzer told reporters at least 237 people had been rescued or evacuated by emergency personnel, with 167 rescues performed using helicopters.

Freeman Martin, director of the state's public safety department, told the evening conference: "We had a hard time getting in this morning with the weather the way it was."

"As the day went on, it picked up and we were able to rescue more and recover more, that will continue tomorrow," Martin said, calling the disaster a "mass casualty event."

US media reported that trucks had arrived at Camp Mystic to transport stranded people.

State and local officials warned against residents traveling to the area which includes camp grounds dotted along the river, with dozens of roads "impassable."

Videos on social media showed houses and trees swept away by the flash flood caused by heavy overnight rain of up to 12 inches -- one-third of Kerr County's average annual rainfall.

Governor Abbott shared a video on X of a victim being plucked from the top of a tree by a rescuer dangling from a helicopter, as floodwaters raged below.

"Air rescue missions like this are being done around the clock. We will not stop until everyone is accounted for," he said.

The Texas National Guard sent rescue teams and the US Coast Guard joined efforts as well.

- 'Another wave' -

Public safety official Martin warned of "another wave" that could impact other counties in the state, adding that "this is not going to end today".

Kerr County officials have repeatedly said they were unaware of an impending flood overnight from Thursday to Friday.

"We didn't know this flood was coming," Kerr County judge Rob Kelly said earlier on Friday, adding that the region has "floods all the time."

"This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States," he added, referring to the Guadalupe River.

Soila Reyna, 55, a Kerrville resident who works at a local church helping people who lost their belongings, witnessed the devastation unfold.

"It has been years since we had a flood, but nothing like this," Reyna said.

"Nothing like as catastrophic as this, where it involved children, people and just the loss of people's houses and you know, it's just crazy," she added.

Forecasters issued a flood warning for Kerr County, urging those living near the river to "move to higher ground."

Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual.

But scientists say in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events like floods, droughts and heatwaves more frequent and intense.

In mid-June, at least 10 people were killed by flash flooding in San Antonio following torrential rains.

In the northeastern state of New Jersey, at least two people were killed when a tree fell on their vehicle during a "severe storm," local police confirmed on Friday.