$29,000 for an average used car? Would-be buyers are aghast

The days when just about anyone with a steady income could wander onto an auto lot and snag a reliable late-model car or buy their kid’s first vehicle for a few thousand dollars have essentially vanished. “I’ve never seen anything remotely close to this — it’s craziness.”

Schools adapt for return from break as COVID-19 cases surge

Mask requirements are returning in some school districts that had dropped them. Some are planning to vastly ramp up virus testing among students and staff. And a small number of school systems are switching to remote learning — for just a short while, educators hope.