Tired of politics? Had it to here with the slams, slander and sleaze that marked the 2020 presidential campaign?

Long before he arrived in the United States to bring the ancient Indian practice of yoga to the West, Paramahansa Yogananda visited a temple in Kashmir and fell into an ecstatic trance: in his vision he saw the temple transform into a gleaming white mansion. It sat on a hilltop in a distant land.

CHICAGO — A golden frame filled with the cosmos went up on a brick building near the Western Blue Line. Its creator, speckled in paint, finished off glints of light on the stars. In a few clean lines, he wrote, "memorial mural in progress."

California's record wildfire season may not be completely over, but the trauma is ending for some of the state's most vulnerable inhabitants: animals rescued from the blazes.

For some teens, getting a license means offering rides to friends, taking trips to the mall, freedom. For one Evanston, Illinois senior, it was mostly about the birds.

Coronavirus cases have spiked in Pennsylvania and New Jersey over the past month, surpassing the numbers of the pandemic's first wave in April, and yet many people have continued to meet up with friends at indoor gatherings and make plans to see family at Thanksgiving.

If your masks are beginning to feel as old as this pandemic, it's probably time to get yourself some new ones.

Millions of American children are skipping vaccines that protect against potentially deadly or disabling illnesses due to concerns about COVID-19, according to a new Blue Cross Blue Shield Association analysis of millions of medical claims.

LOS ANGELES — It was something like fate, the way artists Cristina Martinez and Al-baseer Holly met almost two years ago.

SAN DIEGO — Mike Cothrine started Mike's Fit Family, a community of health and wellness that serves students and teachers in lower income school districts, eight years ago. With an initial 36 participants, his program has since grown into a nonprofit that began serving 250 people a week with…

My younger sister, Amy, lives in California and we tend to see each other once a year, twice if we're lucky. We both had babies around the same time, and our kids have become close, despite growing up 2,000 miles apart. Amy and I see how much the kids change in the time between our visits, a…

MINNEAPOLIS — A 200-year-old American elm tree stood condemned, finally succumbing, it seemed, to the disease that has killed off hundreds of thousands of other elms in Minnesota.

The audience at the "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" show was definitely jazzed by young magician Daniel Roy's sleight-of-hand skills when he managed to guess the hidden faces of playing cards using just his senses of sight, touch, and hearing. When he then nailed the eight of spades using — all…

CHICAGO — With COVID-19 infections spiking again at an alarming rate, Chicago is scrambling to catch up to other cities forecasting outbreaks by analyzing human waste flushed down thousands of toilets.

LANGLEY, Wash. — Over the course of an hour, the three sisters, their friend and their dad cleared out and deconstructed an entire bean tunnel — chicken wire, hog panel, T-posts, bamboo poles and all.

Determined to travel for Thanksgiving?

Of the more than 500 million Americans who've ever lived, fewer than four dozen have ascended to the presidency.

MIAMI — The moment seemed to capture the super-heated emotions of a summer of national protest: A young Black teenager whacked a Miami police officer over the head with a skateboard during a chaotic demonstration.

MARQUETTE, Mich. – The drivers going past had seen people holding homemade signs and standing on street corners before. But they'd probably never seen a sign like this.

LOS ANGELES — "People are in a good mood today," florist Nemuel DePaula says with a grin.

MINNEAPOLIS — On Nov. 1, Minneapolis photographer Cindi Yang arranged a trio of slim artificial pine trees in her living room.

When COVID-19 came and changed everyone's lives in March, it took down engaged couples' original wedding and honeymoons plans along with everything else, making many soon-to-be newlyweds postpone their nuptials to later in the year, or even into 2021.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill have found that people who use e-cigarettes have significantly altered immune responses to influenza viruses, a worrying discovery as flu season approaches and COVID-19 surges across the U.S.

When my thoughts and feelings are in turmoil, I go up the local mountain to find inner peace.

SEATTLE — When James Abbott pulls at the threads of his childhood memories, he describes one in particular like a scene from a movie.

Election Day has come and gone, and we finally have a president-elect. And even if some counting may remain, it may be time to consider getting rid of at least one reminder of this year's embattled process: campaign signs.

PHILADELPHIA — Traditionally at the holidays, people open their wallets and food cabinets to give to those less fortunate.

As Thanksgiving nears, many families are grappling with how to celebrate the holiday.

DETROIT — There is a tradition in pediatric oncology centers across the country. When a child is done with cancer treatment, they can ring a ceremonious bell, surrounded by friends, family and hospital staff.

ATLANTA — Early this fall, after a widely disparaged spring semester online caused by the coronavirus pandemic, many schools across Georgia decided to return to the classroom while offering a separate online experience to the children of parents who refused.

ST. LOUIS — I might have been vaccinated for the coronavirus last Wednesday morning.

DETROIT — Erica Hill's best friend weighs only 13 pounds, but he can be a terror of a terrier.

People who are addicted to drugs or other substances are more likely to contract COVID-19 and to be hospitalized or die from it, according to a National Institutes of Health study.

If you are in a loving relationship right now, you are fortunate. The same goes for anyone with a loving family around them, but this is also a stressful time, and it can be hard on close relationships. You can also use this time to build your closeness and give yourself the gift of enhancin…

It might not be surprising to learn but people are drinking more than usual during the pandemic.

Thanksgiving is traditionally an intimate gathering of family and friends. And, for college students, the fall break in semester is an opportunity to travel home to see the family for a few days. With COVID-19 cases increasing at a high rate in some parts of the U.S., that trek home might ne…

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, a surge of infections is happening across the U.S. Midwest, including many communities served by Mayo Clinic Health System in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. Some of those locations have activated hospital emergency surge plans to manage the number of patie…

No matter what side of the aisle you're on, this is a hard, news-filled week for American voters.

SAN DIEGO — Every day in the mess hall kitchen at San Diego's Marine Corps Recruit Depot, a culinary team of nearly 30 cooks turns out more than 9,000 meals, making it the Corps' highest-volume mess hall in the nation.

If you wanted to pig out on Election Day, you aren't alone.

PHILADELPHIA — Contact tracing held the promise of giving officials a tool to get ahead of COVID-19's spread, but a new national study found tracers have yet to overcome Americans' suspicion of the process, and the obstacles presented by people's phone habits.

In my bid to buy a Burro, I almost made an ass of myself.

BALTIMORE — On crisp, quiet autumn evenings, Ron Clements heads out to the wood shop he built behind his home in Clarksville, Md. There, the 84-year-old hobbyist putters about, tinkering with projects, mindful of the screaming machine tools that can trim bone as easily as basswood.

Life in lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic has cast the idea of staying in and staying safe as a noble activity. Stick to a virtual life, and you will also be leading a virtuous one.

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My 9-year-old son has been having trouble sleeping ever since we began social distancing more due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While he goes to bed at a reasonable time, he doesn't seem to fall asleep until after midnight and often comes into my room to tell me he cannot sleep…

In your eagerness to add warmth to your interiors during the quarantine gardening boom, don't forget about one humidity-filled haven: the bathroom.

Thanksgiving is usually a time we cozy up around the dinner table and share food and stories with those we love. But given the pandemic, experts are recommending a change in holiday plans this year.