Authorities and residents searched tornado-ravaged areas and assessed damage Friday after a strong line of storms barreled through communities south of Chicago, leaving several hundred thousand customers without power in Illinois and Indiana and disrupting air travel in the region.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or life-threatening injuries from Thursday’s storms, although several people were treated for minor injuries, officials said.

Officials in Merrillville, Indiana, about 33 miles (53 kilometers) southeast of Chicago, reported extensive damage. Homes and other buildings were torn apart, downed trees and power lines blocked streets and part of a high school’s roof was ripped off.

Multiple agencies from the region helped local first responders search and assessed damaged areas, town officials said on social media. Crews worked into the night clearing roads.

Marsha Smith was in her Merrillville apartment building when the tornado struck the complex, tearing roofs off three buildings, knocking down trees and breaking car windshields before heavy rain caused more damage. She and some neighbors huddled under an indoor stairwell holding hands and praying.

“The louder the tornado got, the louder I started praying,” said Smith, 54, a CPR instructor. “I said, ’Oh God it’s here.’ I said, ‘Lord Jesus make it pass, let it pass, let it pass over. I said, ’God give us the strength to make it through this.’ And it just started wrecking.”

Smith said there was an eerie calm just before the tornado struck. Then it sounded like a freight train smashing into her building, she said. She thanked God no one was hurt. Friday morning, she surveyed her neighborhood and described it as a catastrophe.

At least two other tornadoes battered communities in and around Streator, Illinois, and Hebron, Indiana, the National Weather Service reported. Photos and video posted on social media showed damage in those areas similar to that in Merrillville. The weather service said it will be surveying the damage over the next several days to determine how many tornadoes touched down in the region.

In Streator, a manufacturing and farm city about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, emergency crews were also inspecting the damage. A reunification center for displaced residents was set up in its city hall and the Red Cross opened a shelter.

Sky has launched new-and-improved FIFA World Cup coverage for certain viewers as Scotland prepare for their opening game in the USA

The 2026 FIFA World Cup has arrived and there’s been some significant changes to this year’s coverage. Ahead of Scotland’s first game of the tournament against Haiti on Sunday (June 14), Sky has launched a way for football fans to watch every match shown on BBC and STV with improved coverage at no additional cost.

As many households now stream live TV over an internet connection, there can be a delay to the broadcast compared with traditional terrestrial channels. This can be irritating when watching football, as goals are ruined by mobile notifications or cheering from neighbours.

To address this, Sky has introduced new ‘Real Time’ channels, which reduce the lag between the live action and what appears on screen. It’s described as Sky’s ‘lowest latency streaming experience’ and enables viewers to see what’s unfolding almost immediately and dodge spoilers.

READ MORE:

Sky hasn’t confirmed exactly how short the lag is through Real Time, only stating viewers can watch what’s happening on the pitch ‘within seconds’. To access the new channels, Sky customers can choose the Real Time option on screen during supported live sports, via the opt-in button and dedicated channels across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland:

• BBC One HD RT – EPG number 926-944 (depending on region)
• ITV1/STV/UKT HD RT – EPG number 945
• ITV4 HD RT – EPG channel 946

Upgrade your World Cup TV setup with the Sky Glass ‘designed for football’

from £4.50

Sky

Get the deal here

Sky is knocking 20% off its entire range of Glass TVs to mark the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Until June 17, shoppers can upgrade to the Sky smart TV that’s ‘designed for football’ from £4.50 per month when taken alongside a Sky TV and Netflix package.

However, Real Time channels will need a reliable broadband connection to operate smoothly, with Sky recommending speeds of 40Mbps. The new service is available on selected live sports, including the World Cup, on BBC and ITV, but only certain customers can take advantage, reports the Mirror.

The channels have been made available at no additional cost to Sky Stream and Sky Glass customers, meaning anyone else hoping to watch will need to take out a new package. This coincides with a special World Cup sale that has seen the entire Sky Glass range reduced by 20% until June 17, with monthly prices beginning at £4.50 (was £6) for the slim and stylish Sky Glass Air.

The more advanced Sky Glass Gen 2 starts at £11 (was £14). Sky touts its Glass range as ‘the TV designed for football’, with both models boasting a 4K HDR Quantum Dot screen and a dedicated sports mode, which delivers ‘a crisp, cooler look, vivid colours and an electrifying burst of sound’.

The Gen 2 also delivers outstanding Dolby Atmos audio through its seven-speaker system and built-in soundbar. Both models come with Sky channels and streaming apps built in, eliminating the need for additional hardware, and connect via WiFi following a straightforward plug-and-play setup.

New Sky customers will, however, need to pair their Sky Glass TV with a Sky package, with choices including the £15 Essential TV bundle and the £24 Ultimate TV bundle. Both offer free-to-air and premium channels such as Sky Atlantic along with free Netflix access, while the Ultimate TV package also includes free HBO Max and Disney+ subscriptions.

It is worth bearing in mind these packages are tied to 24-month contracts, while Sky Glass comes on a 48-month loan with £20 upfront. Sky also states its prices ‘may change’ throughout the contract period.

Meanwhile, football supporters can enhance their TV experience without purchasing outright through Raylo, which provides a selection of 4K LG TVs on monthly subscription plans. Options include the 55″ LG QNED70 AI (2026) MiniLED 4K Smart TV from £19.85 per month over 36 months and no upfront cost.

Alternatively, EE is providing substantial price reductions on various TVs, including the Hisense A7QTUK QLED AI Smart TV. Prices now begin at £289 (was £310) for the 43″ model, which customers have praised as ‘outstanding quality for the price’.

As for Sky Glass, Technology Editor at The Mirror, Dave Snelling, tested the Gen 2 at last year’s launch and noted it delivers ‘decent improvements’ over the original model. He said: “Sky Glass Gen 2 offers some decent improvements over Sky’s original television. The first Sky Glass was already getting better thanks to endless software updates that added new features and a boost to the visuals, but Gen 2 feels like a significant step up.

“The refreshed Quantum Dot 4K screen is so much better, with content looking bright, rich and colourful. This QLED panel still can’t match full OLED technology from the likes of Samsung and LG, but those screens are very expensive and made for the more premium end of the market.

“Sky Glass Gen 2 is perfectly watchable, and most consumers will genuinely enjoy bingeing on boxsets, watching sporting action and tuning into a blockbuster – it just won’t suit those wanting the ultimate OLED experience. Along with the screen, the built-in sound system has also had a boost.

“There’s still a soundbar under the display, and it gets an up-firing boombox and dual subwoofer as well. Plus, there is enhanced Dolby Atmos thrown in for good measure. Once again, Sky can’t beat full surround sound systems or speakers such as the Sonos Arc, but it does offer decent audio without paying anything for extra accessories or having endless cables all over the room.”

Magic mushrooms are better known for producing hallucinations and altering people’s sense of reality than for treating brain diseases. Most people associate them with tripping, rather than Alzheimer’s disease.

But a report on an individual patient has prompted scientists to ask whether psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms, could have unexpected effects on the ageing brain.

The report describes changes observed in a Japanese-American woman in her 80s with advanced Alzheimer’s disease after she received psilocybin-containing mushrooms. Dementia is a broad term for symptoms that affect memory, thinking and everyday independence. Alzheimer’s disease is its most common cause.

The woman had experienced progressive decline for a decade. For the previous five years, she had largely communicated using single words and relied heavily on others for everyday care. She also had difficulty walking and dressing herself and experienced chronic urinary incontinence.

She received 5g of psilocybin-containing mushrooms. The exact amount of psilocybin is unclear because mushroom potency varies. During the experience, she sweated heavily and entered a prolonged sleep-like state. Around 19 hours later, she began speaking spontaneously and recalling memories from her own life.

Over the following days and weeks, caregivers reported that she seemed more alert, recognised family members, walked more independently, began dressing herself and regained urinary continence. One month later, she received a second supervised session involving 3g of mushrooms and again appeared more expressive and agile.

The case has drawn comparisons with neurologist Oliver Sacks’s 1973 book Awakenings, which described patients who unexpectedly regained lost abilities after treatment with the Parkinson’s drug L-dopa, also known as levodopa. The diseases and drugs are entirely different. Both raise questions about how much function may remain hidden within a damaged brain.

However, the report does not show that psychedelics reverse Alzheimer’s disease.

It involved one person, rather than a controlled clinical trial. Her diagnosis was based on her clinical history, rather than confirmed using biomarkers: biological signs of Alzheimer’s disease that can be detected using tests such as brain scans or analysis of spinal fluid. There was no comparison group and no standardised testing of memory and thinking before and after treatment. Observations were largely based on reports from caregivers and family members.

Alzheimer’s disease involves abnormal proteins, inflammation, damage to connections between brain cells and, ultimately, the death of neurons, or nerve cells. There is no evidence that psilocybin reversed these underlying disease processes.

The authors suggest that psilocybin may temporarily have altered communication between surviving brain networks: groups of brain regions that work together. This could have made some abilities more accessible for a limited period. Because the report did not include brain scans, this remains an untested hypothesis.

Scientists are interested in this possibility partly because of the brain’s ability to adapt.

For much of the 20th century, scientists believed that the adult brain was relatively fixed. It is now known that the brain can reorganise itself throughout life. New connections can form and networks can change in response to experience.

This process, known as neuroplasticity, supports learning, memory and recovery from injury. It generally becomes less efficient with ageing and dementia.

Psilocybin acts mainly through a serotonin receptor called 5-HT2A. Serotonin is a chemical messenger involved in mood, perception and other functions. Receptors are proteins that allow cells to respond to chemical signals.

Studies in animals suggest that psilocybin can encourage the formation of dendritic spines: tiny protrusions on nerve cells that help them communicate. Psychedelics may also affect signalling pathways involving brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, a protein involved in maintaining nerve-cell connections.

Brain-imaging studies suggest that psilocybin temporarily changes communication between large-scale brain networks. Some networks become less rigidly separated, while familiar patterns of activity are disrupted.

Over the past decade, clinical trials have produced promising results in depression. Smaller studies have also examined psilocybin-assisted therapy for anxiety and some forms of addiction.

Other research has explored possible anti-inflammatory effects. This is relevant because chronic inflammation is thought to contribute to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders: conditions in which nerve cells gradually become damaged or die.

Laboratory and animal research therefore suggests that psychedelics may influence nerve-cell growth, inflammation and brain-network activity. Whether these effects occur in people with Alzheimer’s disease remains unknown.

Separate research at the University of California, Berkeley, is examining how psilocybin affects cognitively healthy adults aged 60 to 85. The study is not testing a dementia treatment. Participants will receive synthetic psilocybin and undergo brain scans and tests of memory and thinking.

There are important reasons for caution.

Psilocybin is not risk-free. Psychedelic experiences can be frightening and disorienting, particularly for vulnerable people. Older adults may face increased risks of falls, heart and circulation problems and interactions with medications.

The woman experienced heavy sweating, suspected high body temperature and a prolonged sleep-like state. The absence of lasting complications does not establish that the approach is safe.

It would be dangerous to interpret the report as a reason to experiment with psychedelic mushrooms outside a closely supervised research or clinical setting.

The case raises a possibility: even after years of severe cognitive decline, some abilities may remain temporarily accessible. Whether psilocybin played a direct role, how it might have done so and whether similar effects could be reproduced in other people remain unknown. Answering those questions will require controlled research.

As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our
articles.

Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local
services.

These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local
community.

It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need
as much support as possible during these challenging times.

Officers are at the scene and a diversion is in place

The M11 will be closed for “some time” after a “serious” lorry crash on the M11 on Friday, June 12. Cambridgeshire Police are at the scene of a crash near to the A505 at Duxford.

The crash happened just after 12pm involving a lorry and two other vehicles. The southbound carriageway will remain closed for some time, according to the force.

Police have warned motorists to avoid the area and seek alternative routes. Anyone with information, including dash cam footage, is urged to report this online quoting incident 219 of June 12. Alternatively, call 101.

Traffic monitoring site Inrix, said: “M11 Southbound closed, queueing traffic for three miles due to serious accident, two lorries and a van involved from J10 A505 (Duxford) to J9 A11 (Saffron Walden). Congestion to onlookers opposite, and the A505 across the M11 towards Pampisford.”

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police said: “Officers are currently at the scene of a serious collision on the M11, near to A505 at Duxford. The collision involves a HGV and two other vehicles and took place at just after midday.

“The southbound carriageway is closed, and is likely to be so for some time. Motorists are advised to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.”

National Highways has advised drivers to follow the following diversion signposted by the hollow square symbol:

• Exit the M11 at J10 and take the 1st exit on to the A505;
• At the roundabout with the A1301, take the 3rd exit on to the A1301;
• Travel on the A1301 heading towards Stumps Cross;
• At Stumps Cross continue over 2 mini roundabouts and follow the entry slip to rejoin the M11 at J9A;
• Continue on the M11 to merge onto J9.

A spokesperson said: “If this closure impacts on your planned route, please allow extra journey time. Plan ahead, you may wish to re-route or even delay your journey.”

During the first evidence session this week, Thomas Ableman, former Director of Strategy and Innovation at Transport for London (TfL), told Assembly Members that autonomous passenger vehicles can make a “valuable contribution” to the MTS – but only if the correct regulation is in place, in time.

Of course, Soho first comes to mind. Not just a hub for queer life, but also once a destination within the nightlife industry. Every single day of the week was jam-packed with people and excitement. Funny thing is maybe only 20-odd years ago, it wasn’t a desirable residential area. It was debauched. It was where you went to let off some steam, whether on the dancefloor, at the bar or… a number of other activities that I dare not mention here.

In a statement, the South African government commended Bafana Bafana for their “spirited performance”, adding that while the final score was not what the nation had hoped for, the team “represented South Africa with unity, determination, and a sense of pride on the world’s biggest stage”.

Today, the art world paid tribute to David Hockney after his death aged 88.

Hockney, who was one of the UK’s most important and influential artists, passed away peacefully in his home yesterday.

Following the announcement, there was an outpouring of grief from friends and fans alike.

However, the BBC has been criticised for making a huge mistake while reporting the artist’s death.

During the 1 pm news bulletin, a graphic was displayed on screen which read ‘David Hockney resigns’.

The mistake was almost immediately noticed by viewers who questioned how the news organisation had allowed such a silly error to be broadcast.

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LA LAGUNA, Spain (AP) — Pope Leo XIV warned people smugglers on Friday that they will face God’s wrath for exploiting the desperation of migrants, demanding they stop and repent during his final day in this epicenter of the African migration route to Europe.

For the second day in a row in the Canary Islands, the American pope insisted on the inherent dignity and rights of migrants and demanded they be welcomed and integrated into society, in some of his strongest comments on the politically divisive issue.

“Break those chains and free those you hold in bondage,” Leo said in a message to human traffickers that he delivered during a meeting with humanitarian aid organizations that help migrants on the island of Tenerife.

Leo wrapped up his weeklong trip to Spain in the Spanish archipelago, which is closer to Africa than the Iberian Peninsula and is a key point of entry for migrants who make the perilous Atlantic crossing from West Africa.

He is fulfilling a wish of Pope Francis to visit the islands to commemorate the thousands of lives lost at sea. He is also drawing attention to the Catholic Church’s biblically-mandated mantra to “welcome the stranger,” amid anti-migrant sentiment in Europe and the Trump administration’s mass deportation program in his native United States.

The Canary Islands have long been a stepping stone for migrants trying to reach Europe from West Africa and Morocco.

While people smugglers and human traffickers operate the Atlantic route, there are also many self-organized boats of migrants, including many former fishermen from Senegal who were left without income due to overfishing in recent years.

Migrant arrivals in the Canary Islands peaked in 2024 at nearly 47,000. They have fallen dramatically, with over 3,000 people landing there in the first five months of 2026.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Leo’s gesture mimicked the one Francis made in 2013 when he visited Lampedusa, Sicily, another flashpoint in Europe’s migration drama, and denounced the “globalization of indifference” that the world showed asylum seekers.

But in a sign Leo is making the papacy his own, the 70-year-old pope has added a new gesture to his repertoire: After a onetime migrant offered his testimony during Leo’s encounter Friday, the pope did the viral “6-7” hand gesture that’s popular with young people as he joked alongside him. That earned the pope cheers and applause from the crowd.

Leo meets with migrants at reception center

In the Canary Islands and in remarks on the Spanish mainland, Leo reaffirmed the right of migrants to flee but also to stay home, demanding their countries of origin provide the necessary economic and security conditions. He shamed European countries that turn their back on migrants’ plights, and said Christian cannot remain indifferent.

On Friday, he noted that for the Catholic Church, the process of integrating migrants into a community can become a chance at spreading the faith, “without imposing” it and in respect of the migrants’ own beliefs.

Leo opened the final day of his trip by visiting the Las Raíces migrant camp. Leo drew a round of applause when he went off-script to tell migrants that he would speak in French and English, the language spoken by many of the people living in the camp.

One woman told him of the desperation that drove her to leave her homeland and family, the trauma of the crossings, and her gratitude at finding safety and a new life.

“We aren’t asking for privileges. We aren’t asking for compassion. We just want respect, humanity and the chance to live with dignity,” said the woman, identified as Bousso Diouf.

Next month, on July 4, the American pope will spend U.S. Independence Day on the island of Lampedusa, where Francis in 2013 first denounced the “globalization of indifference” the world shows migrants.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.