Vatican ties virus rethink to pope’s environmental appeal
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican is marking the 5th anniversary of Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical by calling for the world to map out a sustainable ...
Online English classes revive ties severed by war in Syria
BEIRUT — Who got married? Who had a baby? Have we lost anyone?
Keith Urban hosts drive-in concert for medical workers
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country star Keith Urban is used to playing massive stages full of lights, speakers and screens in front of tens of thousands of sc...
The Latest: S.Korea: Rules stay relaxed despite virus spike
The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and pe...
Trump ‘not sure we even have a choice’ on reopening states
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was continuing his push to get states reopened as he praised another Republican governor for rolling back state co...
Virginia defends coronavirus restrictions in church lawsuit
RICHMOND, Va. — An attempt by a Virginia church to prevent the state from barring gatherings of more than 10 people “would seriously undermine” the st...
HGTV, Food Network helped by coronavirus stay-at-homes
NEW YORK — Americans stuck at home staring at fading furniture and wondering what to cook for dinner have been a boon for television networks like HGT...
Court overturns Quincy Jones’ win in Michael Jackson lawsuit
LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court on Tuesday overturned most of a 2017 jury verdict awarding Quincy Jones $9.4 million in royalties and fees fr...
HBO doc puts spotlight on Natalie Wood’s life, not her death
LOS ANGELES — The fate of “ Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind ” hung on a Robert Wagner interview. Director Laurent Bouzereau knew that it would be a ...
Asia Today: Japan debuts robots at hotels for virus patients
BANGKOK — Robot staff debuted at a Tokyo hotel used for mildly sick coronavirus patients under a new plan to free up beds at hospitals overburdened wi...
Queen and Adam Lambert honor global COVID-19 ‘Champions’
LONDON — Queen and singer Adam Lambert have a message for workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 fight: “You Are the Champions.”
‘Goonies’ cast, ‘Flintstones’ rescue TV viewers in pandemic
LOS ANGELES — Josh Gad had a notion about what might soothe the kid in him during a scary time and maybe do the same for others. The actor got to work...
Producer’s memoir talks life of hits, magic of Ed Van Halen
SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. — In a life full of magical musical moments, few compare for Ted Templeman to the night he first saw Van Halen in a mostly empt...
Dalla Torre, grand master of Knights of Malta, dies at 75
ROME — Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, an Italian aristocrat who steered the ancient Knights of Malta religious order after an institut...
Religious freedom watchdog pitches adding India to blacklist
NEW YORK — The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is urging that the State Department add India to its list of nations with uniquely p...
Storybooks, radio connect kids isolated in far-flung Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — All it takes is a few words from a storybook to connect kids over the crackle of an AM radio station. It's not 1950s entertainment...
Charlize Theron launches initiative to fight gender violence
LOS ANGELES — Actress Charlize Theron and her foundation are committing $1 million to coronavirus relief efforts, with half of that dedicated to fight...
Virus spread scales down Warsaw Ghetto commemoration events
WARSAW, Poland — Sirens wailed and Jewish prayers were said for the heroes of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto uprising, but the annual memorial observances wer...
Teachers on TV: Classes hit the airwaves during pandemic
TRENTON, N.J. — Using his cat’s blanket as green screen, history teacher Bill Smith recorded himself teaching a lesson on New Jersey’s underground rai...
TV doctors Oz and Phil explaining controversial Fox comments
NEW YORK — Two television doctors — Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil — are finding themselves trying to explain comments they made about coronavirus restrictions d...
NOT REAL NEWS: More falsehoods around the novel coronavirus
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared wid...
Louis Armstrong org starts COVID-19 fund for jazz musicians
NEW YORK — The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation has launched a $1 million emergency fund to support freelance New York City-area jazz musicians ...
Muslims grapple with Ramadan rituals in coronavirus era
WINTER PARK, Fla. — Seattle resident Maggie Mohamed was looking forward to spending the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in her native Egypt.
Amid lockdown, Danes find way to celebrate queen’s birthday
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Observing social distancing, Danes on Thursday sang birthday songs from homes, balconies, parks and public gardens to honor popu...
Feds: Online drug dealer planned to bomb Nebraska pharmacy
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A Maryland man who operated an online drug dealing website engaged in extensive plans to bomb and burn down a competing pharmacy i...
Devin Booker wins NBA 2K20 Players in all-Phoenix Suns final
Devin Booker won the NBA 2K20 Players Tournament on Saturday night, sweeping Phoenix Suns teammate Deandre Ayton in the best-of-three final.
Pope: Easter gives hope in our ‘darkest hour,’ despite fear
VATICAN CITY — Easter offers a message of hope in people’s “darkest hour," Pope Francis said, as he celebrated a late-night vigil Mass Saturday in St....
Church software companies rush to accommodate surge in usage
(RNS) — As in-person worship services and religious gatherings have been shut down around much of the country, faith leaders have been left scrambling...
Mosques, streets quiet as Indonesia’s capital tightens rules
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Mosques usually filled for Friday prayers and streets normally clogged with cars and motorcycles were empty as authorities in Ind...