CARY, Ill.—A powerful firework exploded in an Illinois man’s face, critically injuring him, as he was trying to determine why it hadn’t detonated, authorities said Monday. The firework was one of many commercial-grade fireworks possessed by the 58-year-old man at a Sunday night gathering in Cary, the Lake County sheriff’s office said. “He lit a…

FORT PIERRE, S.D.—The South Dakota State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a house explosion that killed a baby and her grandparents and left two young children hospitalized with burns. The house about 11 miles southwest of Fort Pierre exploded around 10:20 a.m. Wednesday, Stanley County Sheriff Brad Rathbun said. The sheriff said 6-month-old Harper Hupp…

Equipment failure caused a transformer at the Hoover Dam to explode, causing a fire that lasted about a half-hour and sending plumes of black smoke swirling through the air. Crews quickly extinguished the fire Tuesday morning. Doug Hendrix, public affairs specialist for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, emphasized that the fire was isolated to the…

WASHINGTON—Hyundai is recalling 239,000 cars in the United States because the seat belt pretensioners can explode and injure vehicle occupants. Three injuries have been reported, two in the United States and one in Singapore. In a letter to the Korean automaker, government regulators said that the driver’s and front passenger’s seat belt pretensioners can explode…