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While much of the country is gleefully making dinner reservations again and booking long canceled vacations, some are secretly dreading each milestone toward normalcy. Instead, they envision anxiety-inducing crowds and awkward catch-up conversations.  Even small tasks outside the home like a trip to the grocery store and returning to the office feel overwhelming. Psychologists call it re-entry fear, and they’re finding it more common as headlines herald the imminent return to post-pandemic life.  While some felt restricted by the confinement of home “caves,” others found safety, comfort and even enjoyment in the isolation.

The problems with U.S. broadband networks have been obvious for years. Service costs more than in many other rich nations, it still doesn't reach tens of millions of Americans and the companies that provide it don't face much competition. Now…

Compared with most congressional newbies, it didn’t take Rep. Matt Gaetz long. Rides aboard Air Force One. Hundreds of television appearances. A darling in conservative circles. Yet barely four years after arriving in Washington as a little-known Republican state legislator from Florida’s panhandle, the 38-year-old unblushing defender of Donald Trump is facing a possible abrupt end to his once promising career. Gaetz is said to be under federal investigation on accusations of sex trafficking. And so far the overwhelming reaction of his GOP colleagues has been a deafening silence. That reflects the resentments he’s sparked during his breakneck rise as one of the party’s celebrities. 

A historic Houston theater that director Richard Linklater called his “film school” and that for decades was the place to catch hard-to-find independent and foreign films has closed for good. Like many U.S. movie theaters and other businesses, the River Oaks Theatre was a victim of the coronavirus pandemic. After nearly 82 years in business, it turned off its projectors last month, depriving the nation’s fourth-largest city of an institution where everyone from rappers to suburban kids and cinephiles formed friendships, fell in love and found community. Some theater supporters hope it can be preserved as a space where movies can be shown or live events can be held. The “Boyhood” director says it's an important part of Houston's cultural history.

President Joe Biden’s vision of his presidency is quickly taking shape. And it's molded in the fashion of Democratic predecessors who dramatically expanded the reach of government to confront generational crises. Biden is preaching patience and at the same time moving with urgency. In a recent meeting with historians and in conversations with advisers, Biden looked to the examples set by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. Although Biden has only narrow congressional majorities, he's aimed big. He believes there's a pressing need to get the country’s house in order and prove that the future belongs to democracies and not autocracies. 

Air Force veteran Diane Drewes spent months hoping to receive a COVID-19 immunization. But her daughter says the call offering an appointment came only when Drewes was dying of the illness. Drewes is among an unknown number of people who wanted a vaccine but died before they could get it. More than 245,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the United States since vaccines first became available in mid-December. With surveys showing a large percentage of the U.S. population leery of vaccines, it’s impossible to say exactly how many of the dead would have even wanted an immunization. But thousands have died while waiting to receive the inoculation. 

The deadly breach of the Capitol’s perimeter on Friday could delay the gradual reopening of the building’s grounds to the public just as lawmakers were eyeing a return to more normal security measures after the Jan. 6 riot. Only a few weeks ago, Capitol Police removed an outer fence that had cut off a wide swath of the area to cars and pedestrians. But after Friday’s attack, lawmakers say they need to procced with caution. A Capitol Police officer was killed when a man rammed his car into a barrier outside the Senate side of the building. The driver was shot and killed after he got out of his car and lunged at police with a knife.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Germany's president says the country is enduring a “crisis of trust” and urged people to “pull together” as they weather a second Easter amid pandemic restrictions and dissatisfaction over the government’s response. In the text of…

Sophia is a robot of many talents. She speaks, jokes, sings and even makes art. In March, she caused a stir in the art world when a digital work she created as part of a collaboration was sold at an auction. It fetched $688,888 in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT). The sale highlighted a growing frenzy in the NFT market. Sophia collaborated with an Italian artist who drew portraits of Sophia. The robot then processed the artist's work via neural networks and created a digital artwork of her own. Sophia’s creator and CEO of Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics says the robot is now eyeing a music career.

LONDON (AP) — The commission behind a report that concluded that Britain doesn't have a systemic problem with racism has defended itself against critics, some of whom have argued that it downplayed the country's historic role in slavery. In a…

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Security forces in central Myanmar opened fire on anti-coup protesters on Saturday, killing at least two people according to local media. A human rights group said mounting violence since the Feb. 1 military takeover has killed…

Matt Harvey gets another fresh beginning in Boston on Saturday when he’s scheduled to take the mound for the Baltimore Orioles. The 2013 NL All-Star was one of the game’s best pitchers for the New York Mets early in his career but that success was derailed by injuries and ineffectiveness. The 32-year-old right-hander bounced between the Reds, Angels and Royals after leaving the Mets but has mostly struggled. Elsewhere in baseball, the All-Star Game needs a new home after the event was pulled by MLB from Atlanta. The move is a response to Georgia enacting a new law last month that critics say restricts voting rights.

Yermín Mercedes got his first five major league hits and drove in four runs, and José Abreu hit a grand slam for the Chicago White Sox in their 12-8 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Mercedes delivered a two-run single in the fourth and a two-run double in the ninth inning of Chicago’s first victory this season. The 28-year-old catcher playing in his second major league game, went 5 for 5 in an extraordinary performance as Chicago’s designated hitter. Albert Pujols hit a three-run shot for Los Angeles for his 663rd career homer.

The par-3 sixth at Augusta National can make players feel as if they're facing two tests. The back pin is so difficult that par is always a good score. The front left pin allows for birdies because the slopes on the green can feed the ball toward the hole. It was pivotal in Dustin Johnson's Masters victory last year when he hit 8-iron to 6 feet to the top right shelf and made birdie. The hole used to have a pond in front of the green. The club in 1959 filled it in, and the hole hasn't really changed since then.

Trevor Bauer took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning in his Los Angeles debut before allowing a pair of two-run homers, and the Dodgers held on after building a big lead to beat the Colorado Rockies 11-6. The game had a little bit of everything, including a gray cat making a surprise appearance on the field in the eighth inning. The furry feline hung out in center with Cody Bellinger for a moment before being picked up and ushered out by stadium personnel. Bauer was purring along through six innings as the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner baffled the Rockies with a dancing slider and nasty four-seam fastball. 

Aari McDonald scored 26 points and led a smothering defensive effort for Arizona as the Wildcats beat UConn 69-59 to advance to the women’s NCAA Tournament championship game for the first time in school history. The Wildcats never trailed against the favored and fabled Huskies, who had made the Final Four 13 consecutive times. UConn has was 11 national titles but has lost in the semifinals each of the last four tournaments. Christyn Williams led UConn with 20 points. Arizona's win sets up an all Pac-12 final with Stanford.  

A U.S. Capitol Police officer who died after a man rammed his car into him and another officer at a barricade was identified as an 18-year veteran of the force. William “Billy” Evans joined the department in 2003 and was a member of its first responders unit. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hailed Evans as a “martyr for our democracy,” while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was “heartbroken.” The death is the latest moment of sorrow for a department after the loss of Brian Sicknick, who clashed with rioters during the Jan. 6 insurrection and died a day later, and Howard Liebengood, who committed suicide weeks later.

Liberal activists are ratcheting up their calls on corporate America to denounce the GOP campaign to tighten state voting laws. It's putting businesses accustomed to cozy political relationships in middle of a growing partisan fight over voting rights and election laws. Pressure is mounting on leading companies in Texas, Arizona and other states, particularly after Major League Baseball’s decision Friday to move the 2021 All-Star Game out of Atlanta. The move came a week after Georgia Republicans enacted an overhaul of the state’s election law that critics argue is an attempt to suppress Democratic votes.

Haley Jones scored 24 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 32 seconds left, to help Stanford beat South Carolina 66-65 and advance to the national championship game. It’s Stanford’s first trip to the title game since 2010, which was also in San Antonio. The Cardinal lost to UConn in that contest, 53-47. Now they’ll face Pac-12 rival Arizona on Sunday night. The fourth-seeded Wildcats knocked off top-seed UConn 69-59. Coach Tara VanDerveer will be looking for her third national championship at the school and first since 1992.