Police were searching for suspects on Sunday after at least a dozen people were shot near a busy street festival in Ohio. Some people at the event in Toledo scrambled for cover while others rushed to help the victims.

Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan said it appeared that at least two people fired weapons on Saturday near the Old West End Festival and were “probably shooting at each other.”

Hundreds of people were at the festival, an annual two-day celebration in Toledo’s historic district that includes live music, food vendors, home tours and shopping.

The remainder of the festival was canceled Sunday. Organizers said “it would not be compassionate, responsible or possible to continue.”

“We are heartbroken about those that were injured at the Old West End Festival,” the festival said in a statement.

Two of the victims were in critical condition, Heffernan said. The ages of the victims ranged from 14 to 61, with most of them in their early 20s.

“I am deeply concerned about the situation in Toledo tonight,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement. “Summer festivals should be safe spaces for families to spend time together without fear of violence.”

Officials urged people who were at the festival to come forward with any photos or videos.

Multiple videos posted to social media showed people running amid the sound of gunshots and emergency officials tending to others who appeared wounded.

Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said it was difficult to get to the hospital due to closed roads and traffic from people leaving the festival, but emergency responders were able to transport all patients from the scene within an hour.

Kevin Berry was sitting in the neighborhood arboretum listening to live music with friends when he heard a handful of gunshots ring out.

“Everybody hit the deck,” he said.

When Berry looked back up, he saw a gun being tossed to the ground less than 50 feet (15 meters) away from him. Officers who were already on site for the festival responded immediately.

Berry, who has medical training and served in the Navy, walked around looking for anyone who might need help and saw at least five people with gunshot wounds.

“The folks who were hit were spread out around the arboretum area,” he said.

George Kral, the city’s safety director, said the Old West End Festival is one of the most iconic festivals in Toledo.

“And it’s a shame that something like this had to ruin it,” Kral said.

Metropolitan Police Chief Superintendent Kris Wright, who directed the exercise, told the Press Association: “A good example would be 10-second triage, which is the emergency services response to how we would triage, categorise and care for people, of varying different injuries at a catastrophic event.

A woman shared her heartbreak after discovering what her husband was doing during their IVF journey – and she now she fears it’s ruined their family and created countless arguments

A woman is heartbroken after discovering a dark truth about her husband just two years after their IVF journey. The 36-year-old, who has battled fertility problems for much of her adult life, opted for IVF in the hope of having a biological child of her own.

Two years ago, she welcomed a baby boy with the help of a college friend, who agreed to carry the child as a surrogate. However, after dedicating herself wholeheartedly to raising him, she made the heartbreaking discovery that he is not her biological son. She said on Reddit: “I can’t believe my life has come to this. I have been with my husband, 35, for a total of almost 10 years, married for seven.

“We had what I thought was my child by surrogate over two years ago because after four years of trying to conceive with no success despite medical interventions, it turns out I am unable to carry a child to term. I had always wanted to be a mum.”

She reached out to her college friend for support, who already has two children of her own and agreed to act as surrogate without a moment’s hesitation. It took three rounds of IVF before she fell pregnant – and nine months later, she gave birth to a happy, healthy baby boy.

Throughout the journey, the three developed a close bond which continued long after the baby arrived, with her friend and husband spending time together without her present.

She added: “I was so happy and busy after the birth, between being a mum and returning to work after a four week parental leave, so I didn’t notice any warning signs.”

The woman explained how she would return home for the weekend and see her friend and husband relaxing in front of the TV together.

She said: “I chalked it up as innocuous and it’s good for her to know my husband better since she was in the process of hopefully carrying our child for us.”

The devastating truth only emerged when she took her son to a routine doctor’s appointment, where a blood test was carried out.

“He had a blood type that is not biologically possible to have with me as his mother,” she added. “He’s B+, I’m A+, husband is O+.

“I started worrying it was the fertility clinic’s fault and that they’d messed up and implanted a wrong embryo.

“I started lining up lawyer consultations to possibly sue the clinic and looked into having a DNA parentage test done.

“The test results showed that I’m not the mother but my husband still is the father. I was heartbroken and angrier than ever, talked to lawyers about medical malpractice in the fertility clinic we’d used.

“Then my husband confessed that he’d slept with my friend (our surrogate) on a few different occasions during our struggle to have her get pregnant with our embryos.

“This means what I thought was our son conceived by IVF and carried with a surrogate, isn’t my son at all and was in fact conceived the old fashioned way, which I can’t ever do.”

Devastated, the woman admits she is struggling to come to terms with the betrayal and now wants absolutely nothing to do with her husband or his son.

She said: “I had such white hot rage and delirium, I immediately left home and stayed at a hotel for almost a week before asking my parents to let me stay at home for a while.

“I admit I left our son with him. I am now filing divorce because he cheated and betrayed me in the worst possible way.

“I have also cut off my friendship with my ‘friend’ the ‘surrogate’ and feel afraid to trust anyone else now.

“I have seen a divorce lawyer to see about giving up my legal rights to this kid so I don’t have to face such betrayal or owe child support.”

A delay in getting enough electricity to the Port Talbot site means there is currently a 12-month delay to the new electric arc furnace opening but bosses are confident that could come down

The opening of Tata’s new electric arc furnace at the Port Talbot steelworks could be delayed by up to 12 months, bosses have said, although they say they are hopeful that time can be reduced.

The electric arc furnace is a £1.25bn scheme to build one of the largest such furnaces in the world. The project, partly funded by the UK Government, is to replace the historic blast furnaces at the steelworks.

But issues have emerged with getting power to the site which could delay its start date by up to a year.

Tata Steel’s chief financial officer Koushik Chatterjee has said the delay was 18 months but has already reduced to 12 months. The Indian-owned company is hopeful it will reduce further.

He said “securing access to high-power electricity is critical for our planned transition”.

“While we are working with the electricity system operator and the National Grid for new electrical infrastructure National Grid has formally alerted us that their connectivity project is delayed,” said Mr Chatterjee.

“This is critical for Tata Steel UK for the project commissioning. We are in conversation with National Grid and the UK Government on resolution of the issues.”

Asked about how long the delay might be Mr Chatterjee, Tata’s executive director and chief financial officer, said that was being discussed.

He replied: “Somewhat between, say, six months to eight months will certainly be there, maybe higher, after we have built the plant. The initial estimate was around 18 months. It has come down to 12 months and we’re actively working to see if we can reduce it further but there will be some delays imminent.”

He said the company was working with partners including the UK Government, the National Grid, and its electricity supplier to “see if we can mitigate”.

In a call three weeks ago CEO TV Narendran told journalists: “There is a delay of about 12 months in the electricity supply. What we are trying to see is at least some connection, one line, as soon as the plant is ready so we can do some trials, test out some equipment etc so we don’t waste the time that we’re waiting for the full electricity connection.

“Then what we are planning to do is to ramp up that we had scheduled after the commissioning how to compress that to make sure we catch up on the project.

“if we do the preparatory work before the full electricity connection is there we can do a quicker ramp up”.

In the call Mr Chatterjee said fixed costs in the UK in the last two years had fallen by 50%.

Before the delay in power access an operational estimate of late 2027 or early 2028 had been given. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.

In recent days the site has also been hit with a major fire.

Tata said its controversial decision to shut the historic steel plant’s two blast furnaces, signalling the end of steelmaking from raw materials in Wales, was due to a combination of cost-cutting and a move to decarbonising its operations.

On September 30, 2024, blast furnace four – the final one operating at the vast site – was closed ending 100 years of primary steel-making .

The site is being reworked around an electric arc furnace to recycle previously-used steel and when the decision was made Tata announced 2,800 job losses with the majority in Port Talbot. We now know that between September 2024 and the end of July 2025 2,162 people left the business.

Tata says it has lost £4bn in Port Talbot since 2007 and the new furnace would ensure a “financially and environmentally sustainable future” as well as reducing the site’s carbon emissions by 90%.

The UK Government gave £500m to the plans.

A Tata spokesman said: “The electric arc furnace programme is a major industrial project and, like all projects of this scale, timelines continue to evolve as detailed engineering, construction, and infrastructure work progresses.

“While we are still discussing potential adjustments to the commissioning timetable we are working closely with National Grid, our construction partners, and the UK Government to deliver the project safely and as quickly as possible.

“We have already met a series of key milestones in the construction phase and the shipment of major components including the EAF shells, tilting platform, and Consteel conveyor will commence imminently.”

National Grid has been contacted for comment.

Northern Rail has confirmed that trains running between the two stations are not running, with emergency services currently en route.

The incident is affecting stations across the North West, and disruption is expected until 4.15pm today, June 7.

The affected stations are as follows:

–          Corkickle

–          St Bees

–          Nethertown

–          Braystones

–          Sellafield

–          Seascale

–          Drigg

–          Ravenglass For Eskdale

–          Bootle

–          Silecroft

–          Millom

–          Green Road

–          Foxfield 

–          Kirkby-In-Furness

–          Askam

–          Barrow-In-Furness

–          Roose

–          Dalton

–          Ulverston

–          Cark & Cartmel

–          Kents Bank

–          Grange-Over-Sand

–          Arnside

–          Silverdale

–          Carnforth

–          Lancaster

–          Preston

–          Chorley

–          Bolton

–          Manchester Oxford Road

–          Manchester Piccadilly

–          East Didsbury 

–          Heald Green

–          Manchester Airport

Services between Manchester Victoria and Blackburn are not affected by the incident.

Routes between Manchester Airport and Blackpool North are affected, as well as services to Barrow in Furness and Windermere.

Rail replacement buses will be running from Preston and Bolton stations.

The details are as follows:

A coach operated by S Line will depart Preston at 15:10 calling at Leyland, Buckshaw Parkway, Chorley, Adlington, Blackrod, Horwich Parkway and Lostock to Bolton.

A coach operated by Ocean Travel will depart Bolton at 15:10 calling at Lostock, Horwich Parkway, Blackrod, Adlington, Chorley, Buckshaw Parkway and Leyland to Preston.

Commuters are also able to use Transport for Greater Manchester services as follows: 8, V1, V2, 100, 607, 608, 609, 35, 132, 615, 575, 576, 516

The Market Square event drew in hundreds of visitors interested in climate, nature, and environmentally friendly products.

And there were plenty of fun activities to keep children interested, including arts, crafts and go-carts.

Suzanne Thomas, of community interest company, Mud and More, was one of the stall-holders delighted with the interest.

Darlington Eco Fair takes place in the town’s market square. Picture: CHRIS BOOTH (Image: Chris BOOTH)

She said: “We use things like pottery and woodworking to bring people together, especially vulnerable people in the Teesdale area and an event like this is great to raise our profile and let people know what we do.

“I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Hils Harrison of Durham Wildlife Trust said the event was an important fundraiser, as well as an awareness-raising event.

“It’s great to have an event that is specifically devoted to those interested in the environment and we’re grateful for the chance to get the message across about what the Trust does, but also to allow people to buy our merchandise because all the money that we raise in purchases and donations goes directly to the charity and helps support its work.”

Outside the marquee, Friends of the Earth created a pop-up allotment about the size of a terraced house backyard to show the variety and range of vegetables and plants that could be cultivated to provide food for the family.

Darlington Eco Fair takes place in the town’s market square. (Image: Chris BOOTH)

The Fair coincided with the launch of Great Big Green Week, which this year runs from Saturday, June 6th, to Sunday, June 14th and is expected to involve up to two million people in events across the country.

Abbie Rodger, who was exhibiting for the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero hub, said: “It’s really good that the Eco Fair ties in with Great Big Green Week because it’s important to show how much the public cares about the environment and climate change and wants action on looking after nature and tackling environmental issues.”

Alex Nicholson, Darlington Borough Council’s town centre partnership and events manager, who co-ordinated the Eco Fair, said: “It was a great event for highlighting how much is going on in terms of the community working towards sustainability and environmental protection and awareness.

“It was particularly pleasing to see so many people of all ages coming along to enjoy the Eco Fair and there really was something for everyone.

Darlington Eco Fair takes place in the town’s market square. (Image: Chris BOOTH)

“Doing our bit to help the planet is on a lot of people’s minds, and seeing ways that we can live a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle seems to be something that people enjoy and welcome.

“The fashion show organised by Oxfam Darlington and the QE sixth form pupils went down well but people just seemed to enjoy browsing around the stalls and having conversations.

As well as household-name groups like the RSPB, the World Wildlife Fund and Oxfam, there were plenty of local exhibitors like Darlington Beekeepers’ Association, Jamporium and Respect Soaps.

The age of criminal responsibility in the region is currently 10 – the same as in England and Wales. It is 12 in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

Alliance and the DUP have set out opposing positions on the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Northern Ireland ahead of a debate in the Assembly on raising it.

The age of criminal responsibility in the region is currently 10 – the same as in England and Wales. It is 12 in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

The issue will be discussed in the Assembly this week as part of the consideration stage of the proposed new Justice Bill.

Alliance MLA Sian Mulholland has proposed an amendment to the Bill to raise the minimum age to 14, with exceptions for the most serious offences of murder, manslaughter and rape.

The proposal has been backed by Sinn Féin and the SDLP but opposed by the DUP, UUP leader Jon Burrows and the TUV.

The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People Chris Quinn has called for the minimum age to rise to 16.

Justice Committee chairman and DUP MLA Paul Frew said there is consideration of the use of a petition of concern, a cross-community veto mechanism at Stormont, to block the bid.

He argued it is appropriate for “something so fundamental as law and order”.

Appearing on BBC Northern Ireland’s Sunday Politics show, Mr Frew said the status quo should be maintained.

“Victims must come first and they must be heard, it’s going to be very hard if a young person can’t commit a crime, how then do you have a victim, and how do you support that victim,” he said.

“But also the young person committing the crime needs to be supported, and there also has to be a proportionate and appropriate response with regards the criminal justice system, so the police and the courts should be armed with as many tools as they possibly can in order to bring people to justice and make sure that victims receive justice.”

He said the criminal justice system requires reform to make sure it becomes more sensitive to young people, but he argued that can be done within the Youth Justice Agency.

Ms Mulholland, meanwhile, said research backs raising the age of criminal responsibility.

“This is something that has been talked about for quite some time,” she said.

“The raising of the age of criminal responsibility was first recommended in a review of the youth justice system 15 years ago, so this has been a long time coming.

“There are over 70 organisations who have been working on this very thing for nearly 20 years.

“Northern Ireland is an outlier across the world, we have one of the lowest ages of minimum criminal responsibility, and we are the lowest in the Europe.

“What I am saying is not to diminish victims, in fact victims are at the heart, we want to create fewer victims, and when we look at what we now know after decades of research about child brain development, and what actually interrupts offending behaviour cycles is that early criminalisation and bringing a young person into the criminal justice system at an early age does not work.”

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A court heard allegations that on one occasion the accused grabbed the woman by the throat and lifted her off the floor, choking her until she lost consciousness

A Co Down man allegedly subjected his heavily-pregnant former partner to months of assaults and coercive control, a court has heard.

Newtownards Magistrates Court also heard a claim that in one attack, Frazer Pike grabbed the woman by the throat and lifted her off the floor, choking her until she lost consciousness.

“The injured party was six months pregnant when she was strangled,” a detective constable told the court.

Standing handcuffed in the dock on Friday, Pike, with an address at a caravan in Kilmore Village, Crossgar, confirmed his identity and that he understood the 11 charges against him, all alleged to be aggravated by reason of domestic abuse.

On a charge sheet covering the period from December 5 last year to 2 May this year, the 31-year-old faces charges of domestic abuse, non-fatal strangulation, making threats to kill, making threats to damage property, false imprisonment, possessing a weapon, namely a golf club and causing actual bodily harm.

Giving evidence during a contested application for bail, the detective told the court she believed she could connect Pike to each of the offences.

Adding that police were objecting to Pike being released due to concerns about further offending and witness interference, the officer outlined how the complainant reported to police on June 3 that she had allegedly been subjected to domestic abuse by her ex-partner.

The detective said that according to the complainant, the alleged abuse began late last year after she told Pike she was pregnant and he threatened to spray-paint her name around her home town.

The court heard allegations that in January, Pike damaged her window when he punched it and that he “tripped her up, causing an injury to her ankle.”

In February following a hospital visit, Pike is alleged to have spat in her car but later that month, he is alleged to have assaulted her in his caravan.

During that alleged incident, the detective told the court Pike “trailed her about the caravan by the hair” and when she tried to leave, he is alleged to have blocked the door and “pinned her to the bathroom door and bit her hand… shouting that ‘I’m going to kill you’.”

The court heard that in an incident in March, Pike allegedly “threatened to slice her throat and bite the face off her.”

It was during that assault, the officer claimed, that Pike is alleged to have “grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the floor, causing her to lose consciousness and faint.”

“It was witnessed by a neighbour,” the court heard, and further that at the time, “the injured party was six months pregnant when she was strangled.”

Turning to her objections to bail, the officer told the court that Pike has “a domestic violence history, albeit with a different person,” adding that the latest complainant has been deemed as “high risk.”

The detective told District Judge Amanda Brady although it is not a recent complaint, the woman had not alerted police sooner because Pike allegedly “threatened to kill himself or report her to Social Services” if she did.

Defence counsel Conan Rea emphasised that “these are not contemporaneous complaints” and that when Pike was interviewed by police, he denied the allegations.

“He strenuously denies these incidents and there is no domestic violence between them,” the barrister contended.

Mr Rea argued that as Pike’s address is a 45-minute drive away from the complainant’s address, with additional strict conditions, bail could be granted.

Judge Brady said however, despite the barrister “making all of the points that he possibly could,” she was concerned about further offending and Pike not adhering to bail conditions.

She revealed that the 31-year-old has five previous convictions for breaching bail, “so in all the circumstance, I cannot have any confidence that he would not reoffend or breach the conditions.”

Pike was remanded in custody and will appear again on July 1.

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United States gymnast Simone Biles has revealed she suffered a serious health scare, describing the experience as “almost dying”.

The 29-year-old American did not reveal any details about what happened but said it was one of the “scariest experiences” of her life as she updated supporters in a series of Instagram posts.

The seven-time Olympic gold medallist posted pictures on her story which included her wrist covered in hospital bands, flowers and a screenshot of a heart rate monitor, adding she will explain what has happened later.

Biles also replied to a fan on X to say it had been a “health” scare.

In her post on Saturday, she said: “I’m not one to normally share things like this because I value privacy in today’s age.

“But almost dying wasn’t on my bingo card earlier this week.

“This was one of, if not the scariest experience of my life, especially since Jonathan (Owens, her husband and Indianapolis Colts NFL player) was in Indy for his practices.

“I’ve been in bed resting this week. I’ll explain sooner or later, but s/o (shoutout) to my close circle who reached out, checked in, visited & or sent flowers.”

At Paris 2024, Biles won a total of four medals including three golds which took her overall tally to 11 Olympics medals since making her debut at just 19 years of age in Rio in 2016.

She has also previously stated that she is unsure whether she will compete at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

Press Association has contacted Biles’ representatives for comment.