Sen. Lindsey Graham Dead at 71 as Replacement Scramble Begins, Missouri Camp Rescue： AM Update 7⧸13
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Summary
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina unexpectedly passes away on Saturday night, narrowing the Republican majority in the Senate as South Carolina readies for the fast-moving process to fill his seat. When the waters came up, they just got swept away. More than 200 children and counselors airlifted from a Missouri summer camp as historic flooding triggers hundreds of rescues across the state. And former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem reportedly planning to divorce her cross-dressing husband, according to her mom. All that and more coming up in today s AM Update.
Transcript
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Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Monday, July 13th, 2026, and this is your AM
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Update. He sounded a little tired, but perfect, but a little bit tired. We thought we might even
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meet today. And then that was it. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina unexpectedly passing
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away on Saturday night. Mr. Graham's death narrowing the Republican majority in the Senate
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as South Carolina readies for the fast-moving process to fill his seat.
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When the waters came up, campers, cars, they just got swept away.
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More than 200 children and counselors airlifted from a Missouri summer camp
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as historic flooding triggers hundreds of rescues across the state.
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And former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem reportedly planning to divorce her
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All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.
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to help make everyday purchases much more affordable.
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the Durbin Marshall mandates would let corporate megastores
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routing transactions over cheaper, untested networks
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and consider telling Congress to guard your card.
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U.S. Senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham,
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dying Saturday evening after what his office describes as, quote,
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The longtime Republican politician was just 71 years old.
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Emergency crews responding shortly before 8.30 p.m. Saturday night
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to a report of chest pains at Senator Graham's Washington, D.C., home,
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Dispatch audio indicating crews initially found the door locked, receiving no answer,
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forcing their way inside before reporting a cardiac arrest and beginning CPR.
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Mr. Graham's office releasing a statement last night indicating the senator suffered
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an aortic dissection caused by underlying cardiovascular disease.
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In other words, the senator suffering a tear in the inner layer of his heart's main artery.
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Town Hall reporter Dustin Grage citing a South Carolina source who claims
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Graham struggled with blood pressure problems dating back to his 40s
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and noting the senator's father died from cardiac arrest at 69.
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Senator Graham returning to Washington Saturday after meeting one day earlier with
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during Graham's 10th visit to Ukraine
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since the war with Russia began in February 2022.
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He was scheduled to appear yesterday morning on NBC's Meet the Press,
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President Trump calling into the program instead.
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What makes it even stranger is that I got a call last night sometime in, you know, the early evening,
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maybe in the sevens, and he called and he said, we're all set for the Save America Act. He was
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pushing the Save America Act like crazy. He got back, said he just landed from Ukraine. I said,
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that's a long trip to make. He sounded a little tired, but perfect, but a little bit tired. I had
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a right to be. He was a worker. He was really a worker. But he sounded great, actually. He actually
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said he was tired, but he wanted to pass the Save America Act. And I said, well, we're going to get
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it done, Lindsay. We're going to get it done. I'll see you soon. We thought we might even meet today.
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and then that was it. The two recently becoming close political allies after beginning as bitter
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rivals. Senator Graham turning into one of the president's most enthusiastic defenders,
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frequently playing golf with him and earning a reputation on Capitol Hill as the Trump whisperer.
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Their alliance reaching a defining moment during Brett Kavanaugh's 2018 Supreme Court
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confirmation fight. Christine Blasey Ford accusing Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her
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Kavanaugh categorically denying the allegation,
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Ford unable to identify the precise date or location,
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while the people she placed at the gathering did not corroborate her account.
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Kavanaugh's nomination appearing to hang in the balance
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as several Republican senators remained undecided.
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Senator Graham then unleashing a furious attack on Senate Democrats
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if you wanted an fbi investigation you could have come to us what you want to do is destroy
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this guy's life hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020 this is the most unethical sham
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since i've been in politics and if you really wanted to know the truth you sure as hell wouldn't
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have done what you've done to this guy are you a gang rapist no i cannot imagine what you and
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your family have gone through. Boy, y'all want power. God, I hope you never get it. I hope the
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American people can see through this sham. God, I hate to say it because these have been my friends.
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But let me tell you, when it comes to this, you're looking for a fair process. You came to the wrong
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town at the wrong time, my friend. To my Republican colleagues, if you vote no, you're
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legitimizing the most despicable thing I have seen in my time in politics.
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The fiery defense helping change the political momentum,
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rallying Republicans around Kavanaugh as the confirmation fight reached its final stage.
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Kavanaugh ultimately confirmed by a vote of 50 to 48.
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The senator's foreign policy views creating a much deeper divide between him and the MAGA movement.
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Senator Graham remaining one of Washington's most committed interventionists,
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repeatedly urging President Trump toward greater American involvement in the Middle East,
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that push becoming especially aggressive over Iran.
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The senator spending months pressing President Trump to authorize military strikes,
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dismissing advisers who favored restraint as the, quote,
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non-entanglement crowd in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
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The senator continuing to call for military escalation,
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even as many Trump supporters warned against dragging the U.S.
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into another open-ended conflict in the Middle East.
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Senator Graham, serving more than three decades in Congress,
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tributes pouring in from around the world and across the aisle.
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One of the White House negotiators during that first negotiation
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told me that Lindsey Graham was like an unguided missile.
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That God, you never knew which way he was going to go,
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But when he was aligned, when he would be in the right place at the right time,
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man, he could get things done that other people couldn't
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and bring a lot of light and new possibilities to the efforts.
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but I pray that he is reunited with his friend, John McCain,
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that they both are experiencing God's love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
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My prayers are with his family and all those who loved and cherished him.
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I will miss my perhaps most unexpected friend in the Senate and someone with whom I got some good
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things done. A former Air Force lawyer, Senator Graham remained in the Air Force Reserve while
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holding office before retiring as a colonel in 2015. South Carolina voters first electing him
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to the U.S. House in 1994, then sending him to the Senate in 2002. Mr. Graham winning the Republican
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nomination for a fifth Senate term just last month, defeating five primary challengers.
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The death of Senator Graham leaving South Carolina with an open Senate seat further
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narrowing the already tight Republican majority in Washington. Republicans now hold 52 seats in
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the Senate. Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announcing last night that doctors have
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not yet cleared him to return to the Senate floor following his hospitalization last month,
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although he does intend to return as soon as he's able. His continued absence,
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leaving Republicans with only 51 senators expected to vote when the chamber returns
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from recess this week. The reduced ranks, creating an immediate challenge for several
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parts of President Trump's agenda. Among the first major tests, the nomination of acting
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Attorney General Todd Blanche to permanently lead the DOJ. Blanche's confirmation hearing
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set for Wednesday, with Democrats expected to fiercely oppose him. Senator Graham has been one
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of Blanche's strongest supporters on the Judiciary Committee, making his absence especially significant
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just days before the hearing. Meantime, in South Carolina, Senator Graham had recently won the
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Republican primary and was seeking another full term as senator in November. His death now triggering
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two separate processes, appointing a temporary replacement to his seat and selecting a new
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GOP nominee for the general election. State law allows Republican Governor Henry McMaster to
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appoint an interim senator to serve through the end of Senator Graham's current term,
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which ends in January 2027. Governor McMaster offering no immediate timeline for that decision.
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The race for the next full six-year term moving on a much faster track.
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Republicans interested in replacing Senator Graham will have one week to enter the race
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beginning July 21st. A special Republican primary scheduled for August 11th, followed by an August
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25th runoff if no candidate reaches 50% of the vote. The eventual nominee advancing to the
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November general election as the heavy favorite to keep the seat in GOP hands. Several prominent
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South Carolina Republicans already emerging as possible candidates, including Congressman
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Russell Frye and Congressman Ralph Norman, Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evitt, and Congresswoman
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Nancy Mace, according to The Wall Street Journal. The congresswoman appearing on CBS yesterday,
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leaving the door open to a run. I would be remiss if I didn't at least consider it. But right now,
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my focus is going to be on South Carolina and mourning the loss of, I think, one of the greatest
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sinners we're going to have in our history. And then I'll make some considerations to what I do
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going forward. There may be a lot of people in this. There may not be, but we're talking about
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a three-week race for the United States Senate if we're talking about July 21st to August 11th.
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It's a very short period of time. Ms. Mace considering a Senate bid only weeks after
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finishing fifth in South Carolina's Republican primary for governor, Congressman Joe Wilson
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also emerging early as a possible contender before appearing to take himself out of consideration,
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I was grateful to speak with President Trump today,
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reminiscing about our mutual friend, Senator Lindsey Graham.
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I assured him my goal is to remain in the House
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to keep his two-vote majority for the American people.
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President Trump likely to carry significant influence
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over both the interim appointment and the coming election,
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given his close relationship with Governor McMaster.
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The president speaking with NBC News yesterday,
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hinting that he already has a preferred successor in mind.
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Yet the governor of the great state of South Carolina is going to need to appoint someone on an interim basis.
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Do you have, I know it's only hours, but is there someone you think he should appoint?
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I have somebody that I think would be great, but I don't want to say it now because it's too soon with Lindsay.
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I don't want to even talk about anybody, but I do have somebody that I think is really good.
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But ultimately, it's going to be an election pretty soon.
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As I understand the rules, every state is different.
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But I have somebody that I like, but I'm not going to tell you who now because it's too soon.
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Coming up, more than 200 children and counselors rescued from a Missouri summer camp
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revealing the former DHS secretary's reported divorce plans
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MEGYN. More than 200 children and counselors safely airlifted from a Missouri summer camp
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after historic flooding swallowed roads, cutting off every route out of the camp.
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The dramatic rescue unfolding Friday at Camp Tom Salk in Lesterville, roughly 125 miles south of St. Louis.
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Fox News reporting torrential storms dumping between 6 and 12 inches of rain across central, south-central, and southeastern Missouri.
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The National Weather Service issuing flash flood warnings as thunderstorms repeatedly moved over the same areas,
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producing what officials describe as a one-in-1,000-year rainfall event in some locations.
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Floodwaters washing out the roads surrounding the camp,
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The helicopters carrying the group to a nearby elementary school
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Anne DeField, telling NPR she and her husband spent Friday panicking
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after learning floodwaters had forced their 9- and 11-year-old sons to higher ground.
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Her boys, however, viewing the ordeal as one big adventure.
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Nine-year-old Teddy calling the Blackhawk flight, quote,
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The successful evacuation only won part of a massive rescue effort across Missouri over the weekend.
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Fox News reporting emergency crews conducted at least 351 swiftwater rescues across the region.
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The conditions so dangerous that one of the rescue boats even capsizing during the response.
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The Missouri State Highway Patrol reporting the boat's motor became tangled in a submerged line,
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throwing two troopers into the water, who then swam to safety without injury.
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Amid hundreds of successful rescues, the flooding claiming at least one life.
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The Crawford County Sheriff's Office identifying the victim as 23-year-old Faith Gregory.
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St. Louis Public Radio reporting floodwaters swept Gregory away on Friday morning.
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Searchers finding her body Saturday in a creek nearly two miles from her home.
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The Black River rising to a record 28.73 feet Friday afternoon as floodwaters tore through nearby communities.
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By Sunday, crews turning from emergency rescues
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to the enormous task of searching flood-damaged homes,
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telling local outlet KSDK that crews still have a long way to go.
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they just got swept away, and those have to be checked.
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We're not really sure at what point that's going to end, but we're not going to stop until it's all done.
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Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reportedly planning to divorce her husband of 34 years, at least according to her mom.
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Corinne Arnold telling the Daily Mail last week that Noem informed her during a family gathering in late spring
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that she and Brian Noem intended to end their marriage. No divorce filing publicly surfacing,
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however, leaving it unclear whether Noem followed through with those plans or plans to.
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The apparent slip following the Daily Mail's bizarre March report detailing Brian Noem's
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alleged involvement in an online fetish community centered around women with dramatically enlarged
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breasts. The outlet reporting that Brian exchanged hundreds of messages with at least
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three adult performers over an extended period, allegedly spending more than 25,000 bucks on the
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interactions and making comments about his marriage that were not so great. Ryan reportedly
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praising what he called, quote, huge, huge, ridiculous boobs and sending pictures of himself
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posing with balloons stuffed beneath his own clothing to imitate dramatically oversized breasts,
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Noam's representatives responding at the time that she was, quote,
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devastated, adding that the family had been blindsided and wanted privacy and prayers.
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Arnold telling the Daily Mail that the revelations appeared to mark the end of a marriage already
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under strain, quote, it has been difficult, but we knew this was coming, that they were going to
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get divorced. The Daily Mail reports Brian moved out of the couple's home after its original story
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exposed his alleged extracurricular activities and that he now lives roughly 20 miles away,
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both Christie and Brian declining to comment to the mail. The revelations about her husband
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coming just weeks after a turbulent end to Noem's tenure at the Department of Homeland Security,
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President Trump removing her from the department in early March after a pair of damaging congressional
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hearings, including questions over a 220 million DHS advertising campaign starring Noem
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that she claimed the president had approved, something the White House disputed.
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Administration sources telling the New York Post the final straw came when
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Noem refused to directly deny allegations that she was having a long-term affair with
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special government employee at DHS, Corey Lewandowski. Noem's mother rejecting those
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Christy would never do that. That's not how I brought my kids up.
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and Cory's got his own wonderful family and little kids. The alleged relationship, however,
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has been an open secret in Washington political circles for years,
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with rumors surrounding the pair going back to at least 2021.
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And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megyn Kelly. Join me back here for the MK Show,
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live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel, 111 at noon east,
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on youtube.com slash Megyn Kelly, and on all podcast platforms.