Thursday morning news: April 6, 2023

Tornadoes / weather » Rescuers with chainsaws cut through toppled trees and brush in rural Missouri, searching for survivors of another tornado.

At least 5 people are dead and more are injured after the storm swept through the southeastern part of the state on Wednesday. It pulverized buildings and ripped trees from the ground along a path up to 20 miles long.

RESIDENT: Me and them got down in the bathtub and then he put the mattress over us, and it was just awful. In the bathroom a blue like the shampoo hit her in the back of the head.

A spate of severe weather has spawned numerous tornadoes across the Midwest and the South over the past week. At least 32 people died from the storms last weekend.

Taiwan » The president of Tawain was in California yesterday for a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in his home state.

KEVIN MCCARTHY: We take our support for the people of Taiwan seriously and are determined to speak with one voice.

As the threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan looms, McCarthy said the United States must continue to sell arms to Taiwan, and strengthening economic ties, especially on trade and technology.

The meeting drew threats of retaliation from China.

International cybercrime bust » The FBI teamed up with European agencies to take down a major network of cybercriminals. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: Law enforcement agencies arrested more than 100 people as part of a global crackdown on identity theft.

The so-called Genesis Market provided users with access to data taken from more than 1.5 million computers infected with malicious software.

Criminals could purchase software code from Genesis that track a user’s online activity.

The market advertised on several mostly Russian-speaking underground forums. It billed itself as a—quote—“one-stop shop for account takeovers.”

Officials say the people who actually ran the site are unlikely to be arrested because they are in Russia.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Russia defector » A Russian communications engineer says he defected after Vladimir Putin sent some of his colleagues to fight in Ukraine.

GLEB KARAKULOV: Putin’s criminal affairs

Gleb Karakulov is speaking out after fleeing to Turkey with his wife and daughter.

He told independent investigators that he couldn’t stay in Russia and carry out Putin’s criminal orders, and did not want his daughter to learn propaganda in preschool.

Very few ranking Russian officers have spoken publicly after fleeing the country.

Zelenskyy Poland, fighter jets »

SOUND: [Zelenskyy in Poland]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received a warm welcome in Poland on Wednesday.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

Speaking after closed-door meetings with Polish leaders, Zelenskyy said “Every time the Ukrainian flag returns to its rightful place on Ukrainian land, and the Russian occupier flees, the Polish flag also grows stronger.”

Hours earlier, Poland pledged renewed military and economic support.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said Warsaw has provided four Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine with 10 more on the way.

Trans study » A new study finds that parents who take their children to so-called gender clinics for treatment of gender dysphoria are often pressured to agree to medical procedures and ultimately find that their children are worse off. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown has that story.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN: The study of more than 1,600 possible cases was published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

The findings suggest that transgenderism has become a social contagion fueled by media and gender treatment facilities.

Of nearly 400 parents in the study, roughly 52% said they had felt pressured by professionals to support transgender interventions for their child. Only 25% said they were not pressured. Others were unsure.

And the study finds that according to the parents—quote—“children’s mental health deteriorated considerably after social transition.”

It also found that “youths with a history of mental health issues were especially likely to have taken steps to socially and medically transition.”

And it said that is “concerning because youth with mental health issues may be especially likely to lack the judgment necessary to make these important” and often “permanent, decisions.”

For WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

I’m Kent Covington.

Tech titans are calling for a timeout on developing AI tools. Plus, migrant deaths are on the rise near the US southern border.

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