Authorities say a pilot and 11 others were killed when a plane taking people on a skydiving outing in Missouri crashed in a field and caught fire. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says troopers assisted police and sheriff's officials at the crash site Sunday near a local airport in Butler, some 65 miles south of Kansas City. Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Justin Ewing said the plane was taking people up to skydive when it plunged into a field and was engulfed in flames. Teams from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration were en route to the crash site to investigate.

Two helicopters have collided over Rio de Janeiro, crashing in the city’s western zone and killing all six aboard. The crash happened Sunday morning. Rio de Janeiro’s Military Fire Department reports that one helicopter crashed on a car dealership, igniting a fire among several parked electric vehicles. The fire was extinguished. Officials say an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the collision. Police said that American singer and comedian Oliver Tree was on the list of passengers handed to aviation authorities, but have not been able to identify the bodies of those killed in the crash.

At least three tornadoes have battered communities outside Chicago, leveling homes and ripping down trees and power poles. Storms have also grounded flights and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands across the Midwest and Northeast on Thursday. The large column of air swept through Merrillville, Indiana, a town about 33 miles southeast of Chicago. Meanwhile, the nearby manufacturing and farm city of Streator, Illinois, has set up a family reunification center for displaced residents in its city hall as officials took stock of the major damage. The National Weather Service says tornado warnings were also in place in Chicago and in parts of Indiana and Michigan.

A federal judge has agreed to postpone a civil trial over the 2024 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge after a flurry of last-minute settlements resolved most of the remaining claims. U.S. District Judge James Bredar was scheduled to hear attorneys’ opening statements on Monday. Instead, he postponed the proceedings indefinitely to consider legal arguments that could lead to further settlements and possibly end the litigation without a trial. Virtually all of the unresolved claims allege economic losses by businesses and local governments. Last week's settlements resolved the remaining claims over the deaths of six construction workers.

A family of four from Massachusetts who were killed when a bus crashed into multiple vehicles in Virginia were traveling to a wedding at the time. The family wedding will go forward Sunday in South Carolina. But a relative says it also will be a time to mourn the loss of Dmitri and Ecaterina Doncev and their two children, Emily and Mark. A fifth person died in Friday's crash as well: 25-year-old Priscilla Mafalda of Massachusetts. The bus driver is in custody and has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Police and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

Virginia State Police say a bus crashed into vehicles slowing for a work zone on Interstate 95 early Friday, killing five people in two cars and sending dozens to hospitals. The crash happened at about 2:35 a.m. on southbound I-95 in Stafford County. A state police statement says all five of those killed were from Massachusetts. Most of the injured were taken to hospitals in Stafford and Fredericksburg. Three were in critical condition, police said. Police said the crash is under investigation and charges are pending. The southbound lanes were reopened by noon, with traffic backups.