Associated Press stories, Page 1895

NEW YORK — In RVs, rental homes and five-star resorts, families untethered by the constraints of physical classrooms for their kids have turned the new school year into an extended summer vacation, some lured by the ailing hotel industry catering to parents with remote learners through “roadschooling” amenities. With the...

It was not a good start to the Major League Baseball postseason for those who don’t believe in curses. The Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics extended their string of postseason futility Tuesday with losses in the openers of their respective best-of-three, wild-card series. If they don’t win Game 2 on...

ROME — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the Vatican on Wednesday to join the U.S. in denouncing violations of religious freedom in China, saying the Catholic Church should be at the forefront in the fight to insist on basic human rights there. Pompeo made the appeal at a...

The NFL has never had a start to a season like this one when it comes to offensive production. Through three weeks, teams have combined for 51 points per game, 738.2 yards per game and a 96.3 passer rating, the most ever at this juncture of an NFL season. Only...

PARIS — Saying she is “struggling to walk,” Serena Williams ended her latest bid for a 24th Grand Slam title and withdrew from the French Open before her second-round match Wednesday because of an injured Achilles heel. Williams hurt herself during her semifinal loss at the U.S. Open three weeks...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy plunged at a record rate in the spring but is poised to swing to a record increase in the quarter that just ended. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the gross domestic product, the economy’s total output of goods and services, fell at a rate...

BERLIN — The United Nations’ atomic watchdog agency said Wednesday its inspectors have been able to visit the second of two disputed sites where Iran is suspected of having stored or used undeclared nuclear material in the past. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in late...

GENEVA — “Chaos, interruptions, personal attacks and insults,” one Chinese newspaper editor said of the U.S. presidential debate. An Australian counterpart said the debate was “swamped” by the “rancor engulfing America.” Denmark’s prime minister bemoaned the quarrelling and interruptions on display. The first debate pitting Republican President Donald Trump against...

ROME — Cardinal George Pell, the former Vatican finance czar who left in 2017 to face child sexual abuse charges in his native Australia, returned to Rome on Wednesday after his acquittal to find a Vatican mired in a corruption scandal. The 79-year-old Pell arrived at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci...

Helen Reddy, who shot to stardom in the 1970s with her rousing feminist anthem “I Am Woman” and recorded a string of other hits, has died. She was 78. Reddy’s children Traci and Jordan announced that the actor-singer died Tuesday in Los Angeles. “She was a wonderful Mother, Grandmother and...

NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase admitted Tuesday to manipulating the markets for precious metals and U.S. Treasuries, agreeing to pay $920 million in fines and penalties for the illegal behavior. U.S. financial regulators and the Department of Justice said traders at JPMorgan used a tactic known as “spoofing” over an...

WASHINGTON — House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said Tuesday he will subpoena the Department of Homeland Security after a department whistleblower wasn’t allowed access to documents and clearance he needs to testify. Brian Murphy said in a whistleblower complaint earlier this month that he was pressured by more senior...

LONDON — The publisher of Britain’s Mail on Sunday newspaper can use the contents of a recent behind-the scenes book about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in its legal defense for an invasion of privacy lawsuit brought by the duchess, a judge ruled Tuesday. Judge Francesca Kaye gave Associated...

ORLANDO, Fla. — Squeezed by limits on attendance at its theme parks and other restrictions due to the pandemic, The Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday it planned to lay off 28,000 workers in its parks division in California and Florida. Two-thirds of the planned layoffs involve part-time workers but they...