Wednesday morning news: June 7, 2023

Ukraine » A major dam in southern Ukraine collapsed Tuesday, sending floodwaters gushing through homes and businesses and turning streets into raging rivers.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

JOHN KIRBY: It’s about 30 yards high about 100 yards or so wide. And the reservoir it protects holds about as much water as the Great Salt Lake in Utah. And that water helps supply southern Ukraine, including the Krimean Peninsula and the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.

Kirby said the flooding has displaced thousands, and that some have died in the floodwaters, but he death toll is unclear.

Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the Kakhovka dam. It sits on the Dnieper River in an area Moscow has controlled for more than a year.

Russia claims Ukrainian forces are to blame for the dam’s failure.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

And Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said—quoting here—"It is physically impossible to somehow blow it up from the outside by shelling. It was mined.

U.S. officials say they cannot say conclusively at this point exactly what happened to the dam.

Christie campaign » Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is in.

CHRIS CHRISTIE: That’s why I came back to New Hampshire to tell all of you that I intend to seek the Republican nomination for president of the United States in 2024 and I want your support.

The campaign will be the second for Christie, who lost to Donald Trump in the 2016 primaries. He went on to become an on-and-off adviser to Trump before breaking with the former president over his response to the 2020 election.

He has cast himself as the only candidate willing to confront Trump directly with the campaign slogan, “Tell it like it is.”

Christie will enter a growing primary field that already includes Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Ambassador Nikki Haley and Vice President Mike Pence, who will kick off his campaign today.

Scott, DeSantis » Another Republican candidate, Sen. Tim Scott, said Tuesday that he’s not concerned about the rapidly expanding GOP field.

TIM SCOTT: I look forward to being on the stage and having a conversation with the American people how you can be optimistic, positive, and yet a strongwilled conservative.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, meantime, is campaigning, in part, on reforms to schools and education. He said his state is

RON DeSANTIS: Number one for education freedom and number one for parental involvement in education which is very important.

DeSantis has signed legislation into law that includes barring the teaching of LGBT gender ideology to young children.

On Tuesday, he signed a new internet safety bill that aims to protect Floridians from some data mining and young social media users from online harassment.

Florida » A federal judge has temporarily blocked portions of a Florida law that protects minors from cross-gender drugs and procedures. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SHUMACHER: District Court Judge Robert Hinkle said—in his words—gender identity is real. He added that three minors who were plaintiffs in the case could face irreparable harm if gender transition procedures are denied to them.

His ruling applies only to the three minors who brought the case.

More than a dozen states have enacted laws protecting children from transgender interventions.

Doctors in some countries such as Sweden and Great Britain will no longer prescribe such treatments, citing a lack of scientific evidence favoring the procedures.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Trans athlete hearing » A federal appeals court in New York is hearing a case that aims to protect high school girls’ sports in Connecticut.

Four female track athletes filed the lawsuit in 2020 against a state policy that allows boys who identify as girls to compete in girls’ sports.

The plaintiffs say they lost state championship titles to male runners.

Plaintiff Selina Soule was a top high school track athlete.

SELINA SOULE: I just want to ensure that no other girl has to experience the pain and heartbreak that I went through in high school.

Plaintiffs appealed after a three-judge appeals court panel in December dismissed the case. Judges said the policy did not prevent the runners from winning competitions.

The case seeks to bar enforcement of the state policy, and to remove records set by transgender athletes between 2017 and 2020.

AM radio » Lawmakers are pushing to preserve a feature that has been built into cars for nearly a century, the AM radio.

Carmakers are beginning to leave AM radios out of plans for new models.

But Democratic Congresswoman Doris Matsui of California argued on Tuesday:

DORIS MATSUI: AM radio provides Americans a crucial local service, whether that’s information during an emergency, local news, or community-specific programming. AM radio delivers for consumers.

That from a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Many Republicans and Democrats are voicing support for the “AM for Every Vehicle Act,” which would require all new cars to include an AM radio at no extra cost to consumers.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Washington Wednesday. Plus, speaking truth to power in youth volleyball.

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