1 dead, 1 injured in blast at Chicago area petroleum plant

LEMONT, Ill. (AP) — An explosion and fire at a suburban Chicago petroleum refinery killed one person and injured a second Tuesday morning, authorities said. The Will County Sheriff’s Office said one person was confirmed dead and a second was transported to a hospital in Joliet with injuries following the explosion at Seneca Petroleum in Lemont, Illinois. Dan Tasso, chief of the Lemont Fire Protection District, said that aside from the fatality, one person suffered a minor injury.

Changes planned for College Board’s Black history class

(AP) — The College Board is revamping its Advanced Placement African American studies course again, vowing to give students an “unflinching encounter with the facts” following criticism that it watered down curriculum on slavery reparations and the Black Lives Matter movement after pressure from conservative lawmakers. The company did not say what the changes will be or when they will be made public. In a statement Monday, it said a development committee and experts charged with developing the course will “determine the details of those changes” over the next few months.

Feds: Man tried to firebomb Ohio church to stop drag show

(AP) — An eastern Ohio man told investigators that he tried to burn down an Ohio church because he wanted to prevent a drag show that was scheduled to take place there, federal prosecutors allege in newly unsealed charges. Aimenn Penny, a 20-year-old from Alliance who is a member of a “white lives matter” group that espouses racist and neo-Nazi views, tried to burn down the Community Church of Chesterland early on March 25, authorities allege in court documents unsealed Monday. Chesterland is a small community east of Cleveland.

‘Joint’ venture: Ben from Ben & Jerry’s starts pot nonprofit

WILLISTON, Vt. (AP) — One of the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s has gone from ice cream to ‘blunts,’ promising a line of marijuana products with a social mission. Ben Cohen has started Ben’s Best Blnz, a nonprofit cannabis line with a stated mission of helping to right the wrongs of the war on drugs. The company says on its website that 80% of its profits will go to grants for Black cannabis entrepreneurs while the rest will be equally divided between the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance and the national Last Prisoner Project, which is working to free people incarcerated for cannabis offenses.

Drug for rare form of Lou Gehrig’s disease OK’d by FDA

WASHINGTON (AP) — Food and Drug Administration regulators on Tuesday approved a first-of-a-kind drug for a rare form of Lou Gehrig’s disease, though they are requiring further research to confirm it truly helps patients. The FDA approved Biogen’s injectable drug for patients with a rare genetic mutation that’s estimated to affect less than 500 people in the U.S. It’s the first drug for an inherited form of ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a deadly disease that destroys nerve cells needed for basic functions like walking, talking and swallowing.