Midwest
Train hauling hazardous material derails, catches fire in North Dakota
Rail cars carrying hazardous materials derailed in North Dakota on Friday and caught fire, the latest train derailment in the U.S. as concerns over railroads remain high.
Twenty-nine cars of a Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) train derailed around 3:45 a.m. in a marshy area surrounded by farmland that’s about 140 miles northwest of Fargo, according to Andrew Kirking, emergency management director for Foster County.
Video from the scene shows intense flames and thick black smoke rising high into the clear morning sky and the fire burned for at least 12 hours after the initial derailment. Kirking said it appeared that 10 to 15 of the rail cars caught fire.
70-CAR TRAIN DERAILS IN NORTH DAKOTA, SPILLS HAZARDOUS MATERIALS: OFFICIALS
Rail cars carrying hazardous materials derailed in North Dakota on Friday and caught fire, the latest train derailment in the U.S. as concerns over railroads remain high. (Doug Zink/AP)
By late afternoon Friday, responders were able to “go on the offensive” in fighting the flames and have had “some success knocking the fire down,” Kirking said. With water on both sides of the tracks, officials were still working to get equipment close enough.
There were no injuries reported – with the engineer and conductor getting away safely– and the threat to those living nearby appeared to be minimal.
It is unclear what caused the derailment.
The cars were carrying anhydrous ammonia, sulfur and methanol, with ammonia posing the biggest risk, according to Bill Suess, spill investigation program manager for the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. However, wind was carrying the smoke away from the nearby town of Bordulac, which has about 20 residents.
Exposure to high concentrations of ammonia in the air can cause burning of the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory tract, and can result in blindness, lung damage or death, health officials say. Exposure to lower amounts can result in coughing and irritation of the nose and throat.
WASHINGTON TRAIN KNOCKED OFF TRACKS BY SAFETY DEVICE, 3K GALLONS OF DIESEL FUEL SPILLED
A Canadian Pacific Railway locomotive pulls a train in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on Monday, March 22, 2021. (Alex Ramadan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the derailment, per a post on X. CPKC acquired Kansas City Southern for $31 billion in 2021, seeking to create a 20,000-mile rail network linking the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
CPKC said in a statement that it has “initiated its emergency response plan and launched a comprehensive, coordinated response.”
The incident marks the latest train derailment in the U.S. as concerns over railroads remain high.
A freight train derailed in Matteson, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, two weeks ago prompting some residents within a mile of the crash to evacuate their homes as officials examined a leaking train car that contained liquefied petroleum gas.
Train cars are piled up after a derailment on June 27, 2024, in Matteson, Ill. Emergency officials ordered an evacuation after a freight train derailed in suburban Chicago. (WLS via AP)
Last year, on March 26, a 70-car CPKC train hauling hazardous materials also derailed in North Dakota, about a mile southeast of Wyndmere in Richland County. No injuries were reported.
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Officials said 31 of the 70 cars derailed, some carrying hazardous materials, and crews identified a leak of liquid asphalt. No fires were caused by the derailment.
A month earlier, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying 38 cars derailed in East Palestine, Ohio and spilled hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the air, forcing residents to evacuate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Cleveland, OH
Woman killed, several children injured in Ohio Turnpike crash in Lorain County
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A 28-year-old woman is dead, and three children are hospitalized following a one-car rollover accident in Elyria Township in the eastbound lanes of the Ohio Turnpike.
The crash happened around 11:54 a.m. at milepost 146.3.
During the investigation of the crash OSHP learned that the crash happened when the Toyota RAV4, driven by Najalee N. Rivera, drove off the right side of the road, struck a guardrail, and overturned.
The vehicle was also occupied by three children. A 7-year-old boy, a 8-year-old girl, and 4-year-old girl all from Lorain, they all suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were transported by LifeCare Ambulance to University Elyria Hospital.
Rivera was not wearing a safety belt at the time of the crash, according to OSHP.
Two of the lanes were reopened about 4:15 p.m., according to a social media post from the Ohio Turnpike.
Check back with 19 News for the latest on this story.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
Illinois
Illinois has already broken the record for number of tornadoes in a year — and it’s only June
Illinois has seen more tornadoes in 2026 than in any year on record.
Following several more tornadoes confirmed this week across the state, Illinois has recorded 143 tornadoes so far in 2026, beating the previous record of 142 tornadoes set in 2024. With reliable records dating back to 1950, Illinois averages just 54 tornadoes per year. But in recent years, the state has experienced many more:
- 2023: 121
- 2024: 142
- 2025: 126
- 2026: 143 and counting
Unlike 2024, when a record two-day tornado outbreak accounted for a large share of the year’s tornadoes, the activity in 2026 has been spread out across several months.
On Thursday, June 11, a tornado outbreak brought at least 21 confirmed tornadoes to northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, 13 of them in Illinois. Two tornadoes that day — in Streator, Illinois, and Hebron, Indiana — reached rare EF-3 intensity, with winds over 135 miles per hour. Numerous injuries were reported from the storms, but there were no fatalities.
Confirmed tornadoes from June 11:
- Long Point to Streator, IL: EF-3
- Wenona/Osage Township, IL: EF-1
- Graymont to Dwight, IL: EF-1
- Lee, IL: EF-U
- Harpster to Elliott, IL: EF-0
- Pembroke Township (Leesville), IL: EF-U
- St. John to Schererville, IN: EF-0
- Paxton/Loda, IL: EF-1
- Merrillville to Hobart, IN: EF-2
- Ludlow, IL: EF-1
- Cedar Lake, IN: EF-0
- Schneider to Hebron, IN: EF-0
- Watseka, IL: EF-0
- Hebron to Kouts, IN: EF-3
- Wellington/Prairie Green Township, IL: EF-1
- Bartlett, IL: EF-1
- Boswell to Atkinson, IN: EF-1
- Ade to Mount Ayr, IN: EF-0
- Naperville to Lisle, IL: EF-0
- Hickory Hills to Garfield Ridge: EF-2
- Morocco, IN: EF-0
Though most of the Chicago area dodged severe weather from storms this week, the National Weather Service confirmed a brief tornado touchdown Wednesday night in Lake County near Grayslake. The EF-0 tornado had estimated winds of 80 miles per hour and was on the ground for about a quarter-mile. Damage consisted of several downed or split trees and sporadic minor roof damage along a narrow corridor in the Saddlebrook Farms subdivision.
Four more tornadoes were confirmed Wednesday in western and central Illinois. NWS crews are still surveying damage in central Illinois, and more tornadoes may be added to the count in the coming days.
With 143 tornadoes so far this year, Illinois leads the nation in tornado count for the third time in the last four years — a remarkable statistic for a state not typically thought of as being in Tornado Alley.
The recent increase in tornado activity across Illinois and the Midwest fits research showing a shift in tornado-favorable environments away from parts of the traditional Plains Tornado Alley and farther east into the Midwest and South. Climate change is one likely factor, as warming temperatures are expected to make the Plains hotter and drier overall, shifting tornado ingredients eastward toward the Mississippi River.
Indiana
Hamilton County teen is youngest delegate at Indiana Republican convention
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Hamilton County teen on Friday said he’s excited for his first convention as a voting delegate.
Jackson Massillamany, who just turned 18 and graduated from high school in May, is no stranger to politics. His father, Mario, is the chair of the Hamilton County Republican Party and his mother, Amy, serves on the Hamilton County Council.
Jackson said he signed up to be a delegate at this weekend’s Indiana Republican Party convention in Fort Wayne after Mario asked if he was interested.
“It’s kinda cool to see how this is done and what my dad actually does,” he said. “At first, I wasn’t really excited for it, but I’m here now and I’m having a blast.”
Mario Massillamany, who is a contributor to “All INdiana Politics,” said Jackson is the youngest delegate at the convention. He said he has been taking Jackson along to party functions ever since he was an infant.
“It’s a great opportunity for him to get more active and involved in politics, and I think we need to try and get the younger generations involved in our political process,” he said. “I think this is a great opportunity for him to come here, have a good experience and then go back and talk to his friends about why it’s important to get involved.”
Jackson will be one of 1,800 delegates tasked with picking a nominee for secretary of state. It’s a closely watched race. Current Secretary of State Diego Morales, who is seeking a second term, has faced numerous controversies since he took office. Knox County Clerk David Shelton and conservative activist and 2024 gubernatorial candidate Jamie Reitenour have been running against Morales for months. Last month, Max Engling, a staffer for Sen. Jim Banks and a 2024 congressional candidate, joined the race at the last minute with Banks’ backing.
The Republican winner in November will have to face Bayh family scion Beau Bayh, a Democrat, along with Libertarian Lauri Shillings and, potentially, former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, who is running as an independent under the Lincoln Party label.
Mario said he’s telling Jackson to keep his eyes and ears open and to meet with all of the weekend’s candidates.
Both Massillamanys said the key to getting young people to vote and to get politically involved is to, first, encourage them to register to vote and, second, to elevate more young people who are in politics.
“I feel like many people are scared to be involved in politics because nobody else younger does it,” Jackson said. “So, like, me and other people my age, being able to reach out to others to try and get involved, I feel like, is the best way for people my age to get involved.”
Delegates to the 2026 Indiana Republican Party convention will make their selections on Saturday. Besides secretary of state candidates, they will choose nominees for state treasurer and state comptroller. The current occupants of those offices, Daniel Elliott and Elise Nieshalla, respectively, are running for second terms and are unopposed.
Government reporter Garrett Bergquist will be in Fort Wayne on Saturday and will have a full report on the results of the convention at 6, 10 and 11 p.m. on WISH-TV.
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