Michael Phelps wondered if watching others compete at the world championships would pique his desire for another comeback. Nope. Phelps said Tuesday he has “no desire” to return to competitive swimming, but he is eager to stay involved with the sport and cheer on those who follow in his enormous wake. In an interview with The Associated Press while promoting a healthy pet food campaign, Phelps said he is excited about having his second child and building a life beyond swimming. “For me, it’s about being happy where I am …

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis will reprise her role as the resilient protagonist in 2018’s Halloween, Universal Pictures says, 40 years after she made her movie debut in the original horror movie of the same name and became Hollywood’s “scream queen.” The studio said Friday that Curtis, 58, will again play Laurie Strode, the baby sitter who faced the deadly masked serial killer Michael Myers in John Carpenter’s 1978 horror Halloween. The 2018 film will see Curtis’ Strode face “her final confrontation” with Myers, Comcast Corp.-owned Universal said. Carpenter will return …

Employing an array of giant telescopes positioned in the New Mexico desert, astronomers have started a massive surveying project aimed at producing the most detailed view ever made of such a large portion of space using radio waves emitted from throughout the Milky Way and beyond. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory announced the project this week, saying the Very Large Array will make three scans of the sky that’s visible from the scrubland of the San Augustin Plains. It is one of the best spots on the planet to scan …

Two of Italy’s biggest coffee houses are reinforcing their brands with flagship cafes in Milan near the spot where U.S. rival Starbucks is set to begin operations next year. Lavazza opens its first flagship cafe in the coffee-obsessed city on Tuesday, not far from the renovated 19th century palazzo where Starbucks will open its first Italian store, a ‘Reserve Roasteries’ outlet offering specialty blends and fine food. Another top Italian brand, illycaffe, opened its own luxury cafe close to the Starbucks site in May, in a cozy courtyard in Milan’s …

Mexico’s economy minister said on Monday a successful retool of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would hinge on two or three complex areas that he called “elephants in the room,” just days before the next round of treaty talks in Canada. Speaking at an event in Mexico City, Ildefonso Guajardo said four chapters in the agreement could be renegotiated in the third round of talks, due to take place Sept. 23-27 in Ottawa. The areas cover smaller companies, transparency and food safety. The “elephants,” such as the U.S. …

The WTO dispute settlement system is “deficient” and has often ruled in favor of free trade that overlooks details of a trade agreement, U.S. trade envoy Robert Lighthizer said on Monday. Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Lighthizer, a trade lawyer, made clear that the administration was poised to push for major changes to the global trade system during upcoming meetings of the Geneva-based trade body. WTO member countries will meet in Buenos Aires on Dec 10. U.S. President Donald Trump called the World Trade Organization a …

Lady Gaga on Monday called off the European leg of her world tour, saying she was suffering from severe physical pain and was seeking medical treatment. The “Born This Way” singer, 31, who says she suffers from fibromyalgia, also canceled an appearance at a music festival in Rio de Janeiro last week and posted pictures of herself in a hospital with a drip on her arm. She said on her social media accounts on Monday she was disappointed at comments from people online that “suggest that I’m being dramatic, making …