National Lifestyle

NEW ORLEANS — The raucous Mardi Gras parades where riders on elaborate floats toss trinkets to adoring throngs have been cancelled in New Orleans because the close-packed crowds could spread the novel coronavirus.

LOS ANGELES — Bobby Brown Jr., the son of singer Bobby Brown, was found dead at a Los Angeles home Wednesday. He was 28. Los Angeles Police spokesman Officer Jeff Lee said officers were responding to a medical emergency when they found Brown Jr.

NEW YORK — Former President Barack Obama's “A Promised Land” sold nearly 890,000 copies in the U.S. and Canada in its first 24 hours, putting it on track to be the best selling presidential memoir in modern history.

NEW YORK — A rapper who shot off a flamethrower while standing on an occupied New York City bus surrendered to police on Wednesday. Authorities said Dupree G.O.D was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon.

NEW YORK — U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo will serve a third, one-year term and has launched an online project that celebrates Native American poets around the country.

NEW YORK — Charles Yu's “Interior Chinatown,” a satirical, cinematic novel written in the form of a screenplay, has won the National Book Award for fiction.

VENTURA, Calif. — A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed over the drowning of “Glee” actor Naya Rivera, who died this summer while boating with her 4-year-old son on a California lake.

NEW YORK — Al Pacino, Tina Fey and Eli Manning will join a star-studded lineup to celebrate the selfless acts of New Yorkers. Robin Hood and iHeartRadio announced a collaboration Thursday to present “Heroes of New York,” which will air Dec.

LOS ANGELES — José Feliciano is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his bilingual Christmas classic “Feliz Navidad” by releasing a new version featuring Jason Mraz, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Shaggy and more.

Will social distancing weaken my immune system? In short, no. Some worry a lack of contact with others will weaken their immune system by reducing its active contact with germs.