Deadly storms slash through the South and Midwest

LAKE CITY, Ark. (AP) — Tornadoes and violent winds flattened homes and ripped apart buildings from Oklahoma to Indiana in the first round of storms that are expected to bring record-setting rains and life-threatening flash floods across the nation’s midsection in the coming days.

At least six people were killed in western Tennessee, Missouri and Indiana in the first wave on Wednesday and early Thursday that spun off powerful tornadoes — one launching debris nearly 5 miles (8 kilometers) above the ground in Arkansas.