Lifestyle

MORGANTON, N.C. (AP) — A group of mountain bikers on a North Carolina trail spotted a dog trapped 30 feet (9 meters) down in a sinkhole — and it took a salty snack and some straps to lift him to safety. The group was riding the Sinkhole Trail at Pisgah National Forest, about 50 miles […]

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — No man is an island, the poem says. But amid pandemic quarantine, when my dad started having episodes of feeling faint, he seemed so isolated. Coronavirus protocols meant consulting a doctor by video who told him his symptoms weren’t worrisome, and he only needed to be careful about falling. Then […]

For decades, Roman Catholic voters have been a pivotal swing vote in U.S. presidential elections, with a majority backing the winner — whether Republican or Democrat — nearly every time. How they vote in the battleground states this year could well decide the outcome, and the rival campaigns are targeting them with fervent appeals to […]

PARIS (AP) — For the first time in months, virus infections — and deaths — in French nursing homes are on the rise again. Families fear that French authorities haven’t learned enough lessons from the initial wave of the pandemic, when nursing homes shuttered elderly residents inside and staff were short of protective equipment. Of […]

WALLAND, Tenn. (AP) — The National Park Service is trying to identify who mounted a cardboard sign with a racist message and hung a black bear skin over an entrance sign at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Visitors reported seeing the bear skin and sign on Saturday morning on a welcome sign near a highway […]

If you’re saving for your first home, there’s no shortage of advice out there — some of it questionable, even if you do have an avocado toast habit. Still, it’s true that your down payment may be the biggest check you ever write. But once you move in, it’s also true that the cash tends […]

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union ministers on Tuesday discussed ways to better coordinate travel restrictions in the 27-nation bloc and guarantee the smooth circulation of people and goods as many EU nations see a resurgence of the coronavirus. European affairs ministers gathered in Brussels hoped to define a common ground following the confusion that individual […]

LONDON (AP) — Mobile apps tracing new COVID-19 cases were touted as a key part of Europe’s plan to beat the coronavirus outbreak. Seven months into the pandemic, virus cases are surging again and the apps have not been widely adopted due to privacy concerns, technical problems and lack of interest from the public. Britain, […]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia, the most powerful Arab nation and home to Islam’s holiest sites, has made its official position on the region’s longest-running conflict clear: Full ties between the kingdom and Israel can only happen when peace is reached with the Palestinians. Yet state-backed Saudi media and clerics are signaling […]

Does the coronavirus spread easily among children? It appears the virus can spread among children and teens, but how easily may vary by age. Research is still underway, but children under age 10 seem to be less likely than older kids to transmit the virus to other children and adults. Children generally don’t appear to […]