Associated Press stories, Page 2024

COOPERSBURG — The explosion of two tractor-trailers filled with fireworks, killing one person and injuring another, is under investigation, officials said Wednesday. Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents joined state investigators at the scene in eastern Pennsylvania to comb through the trailers and a building that were destroyed by the...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is rethinking its traditional connection to Confederate Army symbols, mindful of their divisiveness at a time the nation is wrestling with questions of race after the death of George Floyd in police hands. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, both former Army...

The Recording Academy is making changes to several Grammy Awards categories, including the often-debated best new artist title, and having nomination review committee members sign disclosure forms to prevent conflicts of interest. The new rules announced Wednesday will affect the 63rd annual Grammy Awards, which will air live on Jan....

Four cast members are not returning for another season of Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules” — two over their racist social media posts, and the others after they racially profiled a coworker. Bravo released a statement Tuesday confirming that Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni would not return to...

A Republican proposal that aims to force Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf to end the pandemic disaster declaration occupied the Legislature for hours on Tuesday, but its legal impact was disputed. Senate Republicans said the state law that gave Wolf the ability to issue the March 6 declaration also gives lawmakers...

HOUSTON — George Floyd was fondly remembered Tuesday as “Big Floyd” — a father and brother, athlete and neighborhood mentor, and now a catalyst for change — at a funeral for the black man whose death has sparked a global reckoning over police brutality and racial prejudice. More than 500...

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A corrections officer who participated in a counterprotest to a Black Lives Matter demonstration in New Jersey in which people reenacted the death of George Floyd was suspended after the video was widely shared on social media. In the video, protesters march along a street Monday...

AUSTIN, Texas — A black man died in custody last year after sheriff’s deputies in Texas repeatedly used stun guns on him, despite his pleas that he was sick and couldn’t breathe, according to recently released police video and documents. Williamson County deputies attempted to pull 40-year-old Javier Ambler over...

LOS ANGELES — After 33 seasons on the air, “Cops” has been dropped by the Paramount Network as protests against police proliferate around the world. “Cops is not on the Paramount Network and we don’t have any current or future plans for it to return,” a spokesperson for the cable...

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration opposes a Democratic proposal to extend a $600 per week federal unemployment benefit approved in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said Tuesday. The $600 payment, which is in addition to normal unemployment benefits, “was the right thing to do,” Scalia said,...

WASHINGTON — The Veterans Affairs Department on Tuesday defended itself against criticism of past shortages of masks and other medical gear to protect employees from the coronavirus but acknowledged its current supplies may not be enough to handle a second wave. Dr. Richard Stone, the top health official at VA,...

CANTON, Ohio — The Pro Football Hall of Fame will reopen Wednesday after nearly a three-month closure caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The hall closed on March 16, but permission has been granted by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for museums, science centers and zoos to open. “Since its grand opening...

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia woman has been charged with attempted murder after police say she ran over a bicycle officer during the burglaries and vandalism that happened after the first night of protests over the death of George Floyd. Court documents indicate that 41-year-old Angela Hall faces charges of attempted...

Best-selling author Emily Giffin is apologizing for recent negative comments she made about Meghan Markle. The “Something Borrowed” author frequently posts about the British royal family on her social media. When Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, released a video last month for her son Archie’s first birthday. Giffin posted a...