1 killed as storm system slashes central U.S.

Pounding rain and swirling, destructive winds raking several Plains states killed a woman in Missouri overnight and injured at least nine people in Kansas, authorities said Wednesday. Lamont Swanson, coroner of Dallas County, Missouri, said the woman died as storms passed through the county, but did not offer details. Kansas was socked Tuesday night and Gov. Sam Brownback declared a state of emergency for a small town hit badly by the severe weather. The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center issued tornado watches through noon for parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Arkansas, Illinois and Missouri.