Tuesday morning news: June 25, 2024

SOUND: [Rushing water]

Flooding latest » Rushing water is sweeping over roads and bridges in the Midwest as more than a dozen rivers have crested at record levels.

Amid massive flooding, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem says first responders have rushed to evacuate high-risk areas.

NOEM: I know that we had the Swift Water Rescue team out of Sioux Falls and Game Fish and Parks were going door to door, getting people out of dangerous situations, and we lost some houses as well. So my heart goes out to those families that lost their houses.

Several states have declared emergencies with hundreds of homes still underwater.

The swollen Big Sioux River broke a railroad bridge in two on Sunday. The bridge connected North Sioux City, South Dakota, with Sioux City, Iowa.

And the governor of Iowa, Joni Ernst, said of the flooding …

ERNST:  It is devastating, but Iowans are strong. They are resilient and I know that we will get the assistance necessary. Um, but for right now, we are trying to make sure that all of these individuals are safe.

First responders have been using boats and even dive teams, to get people to safety. The flooding has killed at least one person.

And more rain is expected this week.

State Department human trafficking report » The State Department just released its annual report on human trafficking in nearly 200 countries around the world.

Secretary of State Tony Blinken said the theme of this year’s report examines the challenges posed by digital technologies.

BLINKEN: Around the world, trafficking networks target and recruit victims online, through social media, through dating apps, through gaming platforms.

But Ambassador Cindy Dyer says the report does not focus solely on the dangers.

DYER: It also focuses on how technology can be used by the global anti- trafficking community in prevention and mitigation strategies.

The report also ranks governments according to their efforts to combat trafficking. Those in the lowest tier are deemed to be complicit in the problem. Countries on that list include China, Russia, and Iran.

Supreme Court trans » The Supreme Court says it will hear a case that could impact state laws across the country aimed at protecting children from transgender treatments. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: The case centers on one such law in Tennessee. It prohibits the prescription of puberty blockers and cross-gender hormones for minors.

The Biden administration is asking the Supreme Court to block those protections.

LGBT activists argue that the best way to treat gender dysphoria in children is to reinforce that dysphoria with drugs and hormones.

That’s an approach they refer to as “gender affirming care.”

But supporters of the Tennessee law note that transgender treatments are life altering and have harmful side effects — with questionable benefits.

Twenty-five states now have laws that restrict or prohibit subjecting children to transgender treatments.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Weapons to Ukraine » The United States is reportedly set to announce today that it’s sending another $150 million dollars in critically needed munitions to Ukraine. That’s according to the Associated Press, citing two unnamed officials.

The latest aid package comes as Russia blames the United States for what it said was a Ukrainian attack on Crimea —with American-made missiles that reportedly killed four people and wounded many more.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters:

MILLER:  We lament any civilian loss of life in this war. We provide weapons to Ukraine so it can defend its sovereign territory against armed aggression. Uh, that includes in Crimea, which of course is part of Ukraine.

Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

On Monday, Russia summoned the American ambassador to protest the missile strike.

Russian attacks » Meantime in Russia the death toll from what is believed to have been an Islamist terrorist attack now stands at 20.

Today is day two of three official days of mourning after gunmen opened fire on churches, synagogues, and a police station in Russia’s Dagestan region.

Security analyst Harold Chambers:

Chambers: They were definitely caught off guard by this attack. What you're seeing here is still this disconnect between Russian counterterrorism capability and what the terrorists' capability is inside of Russia.

Authorities suspect an ISIS-affiliated terrorist cell though there’s been no official word from the government.

The largely Muslim Dagestan region has a history of terrorist attacks.

Planned Parenthood » Planned Parenthood is spending $40 million dollars to back its preferred candidates in the upcoming election. WORLD’s Christina Grube has more.

CHRISTINA GRUBE: The abortion business said Monday that its political arm would use the money for advertising and canvassing, among other things.

Planned Parenthood is targeting elections in eight states, including Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Those are all states that Donald Trump won in 2016, but President Biden carried in 2020.

The group will also look to boost Biden’s campaign in North Carolina.

Four years ago, the group spent $45 million dollars to help get the president elected and then another $50 million before the 2022 midterms.

Meanwhile, the pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America has committed to spend $92 million dollars in eight battleground states.

For WORLD, I’m Christina Grube.

Julian Assange deal » WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that will reportedly make him a free man.

He’s set to appear in the U.S. federal court in the Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Western Pacific, to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge.

Prosecutors have agreed to a sentence of the five years Assange has already spent in a high-security British prison while fighting to avoid extradition to the United States.

The U.S. had long sought to force Assange to stand trial in the United States. Prosecutors said he not only published a trove of classified U.S. documents, but also helped steal them.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Opinions from the Supreme Court. Plus, keeping beehives healthy.

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