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More than 77 million people from the Midwest to the southern Plains were under some form of tornado warning on Wednesday after multiple apparent twisters caused extensive damage in Illinois and Indiana.

Northern Illinois remains the highest risk, with a "moderate" tornado warning for 2 million people in cities south and east of Chicago, including Joliet, Peoria and Bloomington. A marginal risk extends all the way down to Texas and Tennessee.

A tornado emergency was declared in Knox, Indiana, on Tuesday, with the National Weather Service telling residents, "This is a life-threatening situation. Seek shelter now!"

On Tuesday, the parent thunderstorm that produced tornadoes in northern Illinois and northern Indiana persisted for over 7 hours, along a 200-mile path. According to the National Weather Service, there were eight reports of tornadoes between the two states on Tuesday, and two in Texas.

An elderly couple from Lake Village, Indiana, was killed in one of the tornadoes on Tuesday night, officials said on Wednesday. Several others were hospitalized from the storms, officials added.

Many areas were also hit by strong storms and heavy rain, with strong winds and hail the size of golf balls in the Chicago region. Flood warnings are in place along rivers in Illinois and Indiana.

Much of Indiana, northern Kentucky and western Ohio — including in Indianapolis, Evansville, Louisville and Cincinnati — are under a tornado watch until 12 p.m. ET. Approximately 67 million people are under the threat of severe storms from northern Pennsylvania down to the Gulf Coast.

More than 12,000 energy customers were without power across the Midwest and 23,000 across the Great Lakes region on Wednesday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.

NBC Chicagoreported that there was significant but, so far unquantified, damage across northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, including to homes, other buildings and roads.

Kankakee County, south of Chicago, declared a state of emergency and said local officials and sheriff's deputies were carrying out search and rescue efforts, as well as damage assessments. There have been no confirmed reports of deaths so far.

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A house in the village of Aroma Park had its roof partially blown off and its walls collapsed, NBC Chicago reported. The local school district is shut Wednesday.

The resident, who gave his name as Bob,told NBC Chicagothat the storm "started getting louder and I started hearing stuff breaking and caving in and pretty soon my kitchen fell on top of me from upstairs."

"Everything caved in, the fridge and everything. Luckily, I was in, like, a hole, so I didn't get hurt at all — I was just trapped," he said. Neighbors came to rescue him.

Rob Churchill, the chief of the Lake Township Fire Department, said in a video posted to Facebook that multiple homes in Lake Village, Indiana, were destroyed when the town took a "direct hit" from a tornado. People forced from their homes were being sheltered in a local school. "It's going to be a long night," he added.

In the same video, while standing in front of what appeared to be a destroyed home, Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran said, "Please do not come here. Do not try to help right now."

Separately, Cothran told reporters that "injuries so far have been reported as being minor, but the home damage is pretty significant."

The midweek threat of storms and tornadoes makes this the most "widespread and impactful severe weather outbreak so far this year," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis.

"The overlap of strong winds aloft, abundant moisture from the Gulf and sharp temperature contrasts creates an environment supportive of tornadoes, damaging wind gusts and large hail," he said.

The weather service told peoplein the Chicago area to reduce their water usage ahead of the storm to prevent flooding and protect the limited local water supply.

Parts of the Northeast also experienced extreme weather this week. On Tuesday, New York City's Central Park broke its daily high temperature record, with the temperature soaring to 80 degrees, melting away remaining snow and ice from a recent blizzard.

DUBAI, March 11 (Reuters) - Three more vessels have been hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, maritime security and risk firms said on Wednesday, bringing the number of ships struck in the region since the Iran conflict began ‌to at least 14.

The Thailand-flagged cargo ship Mayuree Naree engulfed in black smoke in the Strait of Hormuz

Shipping along the narrow strait has come to a near standstill since the United States and Israel began ‌strikes on Iran on February 28, preventing exports of around a fifth of the world's oil supply and sending global oil prices surging to highs not seen since 2022.

Iran's ​Revolutionary Guards have warned that any ship passing through the Strait will be targeted. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to ramp up U.S. attacks on Iran if it continues to obstruct the strait.

The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree dry bulk vessel was struck by "two projectiles of unknown origin" while sailing through the Strait on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship's Thai-listed operator Precious Shipping said in a statement.

"Three crew members are reported ‌missing and believed to be trapped in the ⁠engine room," Precious Shipping said.

"The company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three missing crew members," it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.

Images provided ⁠by the Thai navy showed smoke pouring out of the back of the ship.

Iran's Guards said in a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency that the ship was "fired upon by Iranian fighters", suggesting the first direct engagement by the Guards who have previously fired missiles or drones.

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The U.S. Navy has refused ​near-daily ​requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since ​the start of the war on Iran, saying the ‌risk of attacks is too high for now, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Trump has said the U.S. is prepared to provide naval escorts whenever needed.

TWO OTHER SHIPS SUSTAIN MINOR DAMAGE

Earlier on Wednesday, the Japan-flagged container ship ONE Majesty sustained minor damage from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles (46 km) northwest of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, two maritime security firms said.

Its Japanese owner Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and a spokesperson for Ocean Network Express (ONE), its charterer, said that the vessel was struck while at anchor in the Gulf and an inspection of ‌the hull had revealed minor damage above the waterline.

All crew are safe, they ​said, adding that the vessel remains fully operational and seaworthy. The owner said the ​cause of the incident remained unclear and was under investigation.

A third ​vessel, a bulk carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 miles northwest of Dubai, maritime security ‌firms said.

The projectile had damaged the hull of the ​Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, maritime risk management ​company Vanguard said, adding that the vessel's crew were safe. Owner Star Bulk Carriers said the ship was hit in the hold area whilst anchored. There were no crew injuries and no listing.

The Guards' statement included a reference to another ship, which it ​said was hit by projectiles - usually a reference to ‌drones - on Wednesday morning. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm that report.

(Reporting by Jonathan Saul in London, Yannis Souliotis ​and Renee Maltezou in Athens, Panarat Thepgumpanat in Bangkok and Kentaro Okasaka in Tokyo, Tala Ramadan, Nayera Abdallah in Dubai ​and Enes Tunagur in London; Editing by Louise Heavens and Philippa Fletcher)

A humanitarian crisis is looming inLebanonwhere more than 750,000 people have been displaced in the 12 days since the U.S. and Israel began their war with Iran and its proxies in the Middle East, figures released by the Lebanese government show.

The pace of displacement was "unprecedented," along with the "panic, also, that this has all created," Imran Riza, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, told Reuters on Tuesday. More than 100,000 people were registered as displaced between Monday and Tuesday alone, the data showed.

The majority come from Lebanon's south, where the Israeli military has enforcedsweeping evacuation orderswhile launching multiple strikes on the region, a stronghold of the militant group Hezbollah. The U.S. military has not struck Lebanon.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that it was "operating with determination" against Hezbollah after the Tehran-backed group launched missiles at Israel in what it said was retaliation for the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Since the start of the war Feb. 28, more than 570 people have been killed and around 1,400 injured as of Tuesday, according Lebanese government figures. Scores of children are among the dead, according to UNICEF.

Sleeping on streets

The numbers "are really shocking because they really jump so high," Dr. Tania Baban, the Lebanon country director for the Chicago-based nonprofit MedGlobal, told NBC News in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Baban said part of the rapid rise in the number of people identified as being internally displaced was likely due to the recent release of an online platform allowing people to formally register with the government as having been displaced.

The overall total was likely higher than 750,000, given that not everyone will have been able to access the platform, she added.

While the data showed just more than 120,000 people were listed as being housed in shelters set up across the country, Baban said many were sleeping in tents on the streets of Beirut or in parked cars.

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"People who have bigger cars are more fortunate," she said, adding that she had come across one father sleeping out "on a chair on the pavement" while his family, including four children, slept in their car.

Some were deciding not to move to shelters in northern Lebanon and opting to stay in Beirut so they could remain closer to their homes in the south, she said.

Riza, at the United Nations, told Reuters that the majority of the million or so people displaced in Lebanon during the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2024 did not go to collective shelters. That would likely be the case during the current hostilities consuming the region, he added.

"There are about 100,000 people ​that are, as of this morning, in some 477 collective shelters. There are some 57 shelters that still have ‌some ⁠space, but basically the capacity is being reached very, very quickly," he said, with churches and Beirut's Sport's City Stadium converted into shelter sites.

Baban said humanitarian groups on the ground were also hearing of local municipalities seeking to discourage residents from renting homes to displaced people coming from the south over fears their areas could be targeted if suspected Hezbollah members were among them.

The sweeping displacement and growing death toll in Lebanon come as Human Rights Watchissued a report this weekaccusing the Israeli military of illegally using white phosphorous munitions over homes in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor on March 3.

It said it had verified at least eight images appearing to show white phosphorus used over a residential area of the town and civil defense workers responding to fires.

"The incendiary effects of white phosphorus can cause death or cruel injuries that result in lifelong suffering," Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, warned in a statement Tuesday.

The Israeli military said in a statement Wednesday it was "currently unaware and cannot confirm use of shells that contain white phosphorous in Lebanon as claimed." While its primary smoke shells do not contain the substance, it said some of them did contain "a certain amount," which "are lawful under international law." These were used to create smoke screens and were not used for targeting or causing fire, it added.

Theformer Prince Andrewmay not be a working royal anymore, but theshadow of his controversieslooms large.

Several members of the British royal family —Prince William,Princess Kate,King Charles IIIandQueen Camilla— were spotted at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday, March 9, for the 2026 Commonwealth Day Service.

The annual celebration, which traces its roots back to the chiefly British Empire Day, observes the unity of the Commonwealth of Nations, an international association of 56 countries. It's often celebrated through a series of local events, which can include "faith and civic gatherings, debates, school assemblies, flag-raising ceremonies and cultural events," according to the Commonwealth'sofficial website.

The royals' appearance comes nearly a month after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor wasarrested by British policeon suspicion of misconduct in public life. He hassince been released from custody.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, decked out in matching navy-blue ensembles, partook in the festivities as they sat inside the royal church and watched the service, as seen in photos from the event.

In another photo, King Charles, wearing a pinstripe blue suit, and Queen Camilla, clad from head to toe in crimson, stood side by side with William and Kate.

But not everyone was in the mood to celebrate.

Several anti-royalist protesters gathered in London on Monday and Tuesday to voice opposition to both the royal family and the monarchy as a British institution. A group of demonstrators, holding signs that read "down with the crown" and "not my king," stood next to an enlarged dinosaur puppet, which was topped with a crown.

In a more pointed statement aimed at King Charles' brother, the former Prince Andrew, one protester held up a sign that featured aphoto of Andrew from the Epstein files. The image shows the disgraced royal kneeling on all fours over an unidentified woman on the ground. The sign read, "Charles, what did you know?"

The former prince has faced intense scrutiny over his friendship with the late convicted sex offender,Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor, who wasstripped of his royal titles in October, has denied any wrongdoing and said he regrets the friendship; he has not been charged.

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Andrew also has not responded to previous requests for comment following the release of the Epstein files, which were published by the U.S. Justice Department as part of its sweeping investigation of Epstein's past records and communications.

Commonwealth Day is not the first time the royal family has stepped out amid Mountbatten-Windsor's growing scandal.

King Charlesattended the opening of London Fashion Weekon Feb. 19, the same day that the former prince was apprehended by British authorities.

And last week, Princess Katevisited the U.K. city of Leicesterto mark the celebration of Holi alongside members of the British Indian community.

What has the royal family said about former Prince Andrew?

Following Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest in February, King Charles IIIreleased a statementshowing support for the police's investigation.

"I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office," the king said at the time.

"What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities," Charles continued. "In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and cooperation. Let me state clearly: the law must take its course."

Prince William and Princess Kate, who havepreviously shown their support for victims of Epstein, supported King Charles' remarks, USA TODAY learned.

Contributing: Anna Kaufman, Kim Hjelmgaard, Taijuan Moorman, Laura Trujillo and Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Prince William, royal family attend Commonwealth Day amid protests

A Florida woman alleged to have opened fire on Rihanna's Los Angeles home with an AR-15-style rifle was charged Tuesday with attempted murder, prosecutors said.

Ivanna Ortiz, 35, was also charged with 10 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and three felony counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling or camper, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Special allegations that can be used in sentencing were also tacked on to each count. They included personal discharge of a firearm and use of a firearm.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the charges are connected to 10 victims: Rihanna, partner A$AP Rocky, their three children, their three household staff members and two people at home at a neighboring residence also targeted in the attack, Hochman said.

No injuries were reported.

Ortiz's arraignment was scheduled for later this month at a court hearing Tuesday, Hochman said. Her bail was set at $1.875 million, and she faces life in prison if she is convicted, he said.

A motive was still under investigation, Hochman said.

The Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office said in a statement that it has been appointed to represent Ortiz but that it cannot comment because the matter is being weighed in court.

"As in every case, we will work to ensure that our client receives the full protections guaranteed under the Constitution," the office said.

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Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were in an Airstream camping trailer on the property at the time, he said. It counted as one of three inhabited dwellings targeted in the shooting, Hochman said.

"When an individual comes into our community and decides to shoot it up, that individual will be arrested and held fully accountable for her actions," Hochman said Tuesday at a news conference outside the county courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.

The shooting Sunday afternoon outside the home in the Beverly Crest community of Los Angeles was carried out with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle, Los Angeles police said.

Neighbors reported seeing a woman possibly wearing a wig driving a white Tesla up and down the street that leads to Rihanna's residence before they heard gunfire, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Tuesday morning at a meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners.

He said the gate in front of Rihanna's property, the Airstream trailer and the neighbor's home all displayed evidence of having been struck by gunfire.

Automatic license plate recognition helped lead police to Ortiz, whom officers found over the hill in Sherman Oaks behind the wheel of a white Tesla, McDonnell said. She was taken into custody peacefully during a traffic stop, police have said.

Inside the vehicle were an AR-15-style rifle, spent casings and a blond wig, McDonnell said. In the trunk were additional ammunition and a 30-round magazine, he said.

"The suspect invoked a right to counsel and made no statements," he said.

State records in Florida saya woman of the same nameis a licensed speech-language pathologist in good standing.

Her divorce included a 2023 incident of violence, according to an arrest affidavit. She was alleged to have texted her ex-husband "You'll be socked on the nose tonight" when he dropped off their children at Ortiz's apartment, according to the affidavit, and cellphone video of the confrontation was alleged to show Ortiz calling the man a homophobic slur.