Reports: UK family drowned in Spain didn’t know how to swim
MADRID — Spanish news reports said Thursday that a member of the British family whose father and two children died in a swimming pool on Christmas Eve...
To overcome travel ban, some Americans taking cases to court
NEW YORK — Mohammed Hafar paced around the airport terminal — first to the monitor to check flight arrivals, then to the gift shop and lastly to the d...
Thousands mark Christmas in West Bank town of Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Thousands of Christian pilgrims on Tuesday flocked to the West Bank town of Bethlehem, celebrating Christmas Eve in the traditi...
Congress goes on recess without Route 66 preservation funds
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Congress has recessed for the holidays, and it has went another year without passing legislation that would boost funding for Rout...
Busy Philipps says her family likes spontaneous travel
NEW YORK — Busy Philipps and her screenwriter husband, Marc Silverstein, jet around the world a lot with their two daughters, ages 6 and 11, and often...
Holiday blues: French strikes hit Christmas shopping season
PARIS — Last year, it was the yellow vest protests. This year, it’s the strikes that have crippled Paris. The Christmas holidays aren’t proving to be ...
Saudi Arabia cuts loose with bevy of models and a rave
DIRIYAH, Saudi Arabia — Supermodels and social media mavens, their makeup artists and hair stylists in tow, posed at a concert in leather pants, chunk...
Israel to grant holiday travel permits to Gaza Christians
JERUSALEM — Israel announced on Sunday that it will allow Christians in the Gaza Strip to travel to Jerusalem and the West Bank for Christmas.
Notre Dame fire wakes the world up to dangers of lead dust
PARIS — It took a blaze that nearly destroyed Paris’ most famous cathedral to reveal a gap in global safety regulations for lead, a toxic building mat...
Times Square characters head to Rock Center for the holidays
NEW YORK — Visitors headed for Times Square have long been bedazzled by thick crowds, bright lights, and a cadre of costumed characters who sidle up t...
Uber, Lyft to stop Phoenix airport trips over higher fees
PHOENIX — Uber and Lyft said they will make good on their threats to stop taking customers to and from the airport in the nation's fifth-largest city,...
French unions: Keep retirement strikes going through January
PARIS — France’s punishing transportation troubles may ease up slightly over Christmas — but unions plan renewed strikes and protests in January to re...
Slavery museum in Liverpool aims to confront painful legacy
LIVERPOOL, England — Scarlet shackles sit peacefully on display in front of a sad, gray backdrop. The now rusted leg irons once locked human ankles du...
Venice’s endurance symbolized in Royal Gardens re-opening
VENICE, Italy — Venice’s Royal Gardens were first envisioned by Napoleon, flourished under Austrian Empress Sissi and were finally turned over to the ...
France on strike: Power cuts, schools shut, no Eiffel Tower
PARIS — French union activists cut electricity to nearly 100,000 homes or offices. Eiffel Tower staff walked off the job. Even Paris opera workers joi...
French pension reform architect resigns as strikes drag on
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron's government suffered a blow Monday when the key architect of the pension overhaul resigned over alleged conf...
75 years on, Battle of the Bulge memories bond people
THIMISTER-CLERMONT, Belgium — As a schoolboy three quarters of a century ago, Marcel Schmetz would regularly see open trucks rumble past to a makeshif...
Greta Thunberg, German railway company in tweetstorm
BERLIN — Climate activist Greta Thunberg and Germany's national railway company created a tweetstorm Sunday after she posted a photo of herself sittin...
White gold: Cyprus’ halloumi cheese entangled in politics
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Dairy farmers on Cyprus refer to halloumi as “white gold.” The salty, rubbery cheese made from goats' and sheep's milk and prized fo...
Cowboys for Trump group now says sand wasn’t from monument
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Iconic gypsum sand that the group Cowboys for Trump had said was from White Sands National Monument in New Mexico and was sent to ...
Flood at famed Arizona waterfalls sends tourists scrambling
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A popular tourist spot deep in a gorge off the Grand Canyon known for its blue-green waterfalls will make repairs after heavy flood...
Schools, offices close as long-lived storm clobbers US East
ALBANY, N.Y. — A seemingly endless winter storm that hindered travel across most of the country over the long holiday weekend is delivering a last wal...
Winter storm threatens to scramble Thanksgiving travel plans
MINNEAPOLIS — A day after bringing havoc to the Rocky Mountains, a powerful winter storm rolled across the Midwest on Wednesday, threatening to scramb...
Empty stores along NYC’s 5th Avenue dressed for holidays
NEW YORK — Some vacant stores along New York City’s luxury shopping corridor will be dressed for Christmas as if retailers like Tommy Hilfiger and Ral...
One-two punch of storms threatens Thanksgiving travel in US
DENVER — Heavy snow and wind shut down highways Tuesday in Colorado and Wyoming, closed schools in Nebraska and forced more than 1,000 travelers to sl...
The Latest: Greece floods kill 4; hundreds of homes damaged
ROME — The Latest on severe weather in Europe (all times local):
At least 9 dead as heavy rain hits France, Italy, Greece
PARIS — At least nine people have died after heavy rain slammed the Riviera coasts of France and Italy, trapping travelers in their cars, and caused f...
Thieves steal ‘priceless’ jewel sets from Dresden museum
BERLIN — Thieves broke into Dresden’s Green Vault, one of the world’s oldest museums, early Monday morning, making off with three “priceless” sets of ...
Native Americans honor 50th anniversary of Alcatraz takeover
SAN FRANCISCO — For Eloy Martinez, returning to Alcatraz Island meant a joyous reunion with people he hadn’t seen in decades. It also brought a renewe...
Before you travel, take steps to ensure a happy homecoming
People tend to spend a lot of time planning their holiday travel but not a lot preparing for their return home. But returning to a mess — minor bummer...