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WASHINGTON (AP) — Reporters traveling with first lady Jill Biden got an April Fools’ Day surprise on their flight back from California to Washington on Thursday. During meal service, a flight attendant with a “Jasmine” nametag passed out Dove ice…

Mathew Barzal had three goals and two assists, Jordan Eberle scored twice, and the New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals 8-4. Brock Nelson, Casey Cizikas and Josh Bailey also scored to help the Islanders improve to 14-1-2 at home and move back into a tie with Washington and Pittsburgh atop the East Division with 50 points. The Capitals have a game in hand on both the Islanders and Penguins. Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves for New York, improving to 8-3-1 in his last 12 decisions while allowing only 30 goals over that span. Varlamov is 15-7-3 overall this season. John Carlson had two goals, and T.J. Oshie and Daniel Sprong also scored for the Capitals. 

Luka Garza of Iowa is The Associated Press men’s college basketball player of the year. The 6-foot-11, 265-pound senior received 50 of 63 votes from a national media panel. Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois was second with six votes. Garza was the runner-up for last year's award behind Dayton's Obi Toppin. He ranked second nationally as a senior by averaging 24.1 points while also improving his shooting percentages. He finished his career as Iowa's all-time leading scorer. Garza credits much of his success to meditation. He says it helped him handle the pressure that came with high expectations this season.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Protesters in Myanmar on Thursday marked two months since the military seized power by again defying the threat of lethal violence and demonstrating against its toppling of the country's democratically elected government. Security forces have escalated…

Astros shortstop Carlos Correa says he hasn’t seriously discussed a long-term deal with Houston and plans to seek a big payday in free agency next offseason. Correa says “there were not really any negotiations" and that Houston intimated it would not consider a long-term commitment. Correa says he turned down an offer of $125 million over five years, paltry compared to the $341 million, 10-year deal shortstop and friend Francisco Lindor agreed to with the New York Mets on Wednesday night. Correa will earn $11.3 million this season.

Show dogs will have their day in Madison Square Garden again when the Westminster Kennel Club show returns in January after coronavirus precautions prompted a shift to the suburbs this spring. The club announced Thursday that next year’s final rounds will be held as usual at the famous arena. But they'll be earlier than normal, on Jan. 25-26. Preliminary rounds will be at a venue to be announced and start Jan. 24, after an agility championship there on Jan. 22. Meanwhile, Westminster is preparing for a very different show this year. It will be outdoors at a riverfront estate about 25 miles (40 km) north of Manhattan in Tarrytown, without any spectators.

The Supreme Court has sided with Facebook in a lawsuit over unwanted text notifications it sent, rejecting a claim the messages violated the federal ban on robocalls. The high court’s ruling for the Menlo Park, California-based social media giant Thursday was unanimous. The case was brought by a man who lacked a Facebook account but said he received text messages from the company notifying him an attempt had been made to log in to his account. The man filed a class action lawsuit when he was unable to stop the notifications. Facebook said it was possible the man's cellphone number previously belonged to a Facebook user who opted to receive notifications.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s political future was in doubt Friday after lawmakers passed a motion of censure against him that was filed by two parties in his own outgoing coalition. The politically damaging…

Guns have fallen silent along the Line of Control, a de facto border that divides the Himalayan region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan after the rivals last month reaffirmed their 2003 cease-fire accord. The somewhat surprising decision has prompted a thaw in the otherwise turbulent relations between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors, raising questions about how long the fragile peace will last. Experts say the cease-fire could be a good beginning to stabilize the lingering conflict. They point to a climbdown by both India and Pakistan from their earlier positions following a decision by India to strip Kashmir of its semi-autonomy and take direct control over the region in 2019, and its monthslong bitter border standoff with China.  

A top Biden administration official says the government is undertaking a new effort to help electric utilities, water districts and other critical industries protect against potentially damaging cyberattacks. Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser, says in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday that the goal is to ensure that control systems serving 50,000 or more Americans have the core technology to detect and block malicious cyber activity. The threat to those systems was laid bare in February after a hacker’s botched attempt to poison the water supply of a small Florida city raised alarms about how vulnerable the nation’s utilities may be to attacks by more sophisticated intruders.  

Colorado lawmakers are considering a proposal to ban Native American mascots in public schools and colleges. The measure cleared the state Senate Education Committee on Thursday. It would impose a $25,000 monthly fine on public schools, colleges and universities that use American Indian-themed mascots after June 1, 2022. A database by the National Congress of American Indians says more than 1,900 schools across the U.S. have Native American-themed mascots. Tribal members testified in support of the bill. The Southern Ute tribal chairman said the “inaccurate and cruel portrayals” of Native Americans as mascots have been used as “strategic tools to marginalize Indigenous communities.”

The California Supreme Court has ruled that sports governing organizations have a duty to protect young athletes from sexual and other abuse. The ruling Thursday against USA Taekwondo insulated the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee from liability because it was not close enough to the coach or athletes involved. The ruling came in a lawsuit by three former aspiring Olympians who were sexually abused by their coach for years. They won a $60 million judgment against the coach but a lower court threw out claims against USA Taekwondo and the USOPC. The ruling revives the lawsuit against the taekwondo governing body.

Francisco Lindor and the New York Mets agreed to a $341 million, 10-year pact on the eve of opening day, terms that could keep the four-time All-Star in Queens for the rest of his career. The deal kicks in for the 2022 season, meaning Lindor will be 38 when the contract expires. Lindor pledged Thursday to make New Yorkers proud, saying he had “341 million reasons" to play the game the right way. The payday will be the largest ever for a shortstop, passing Fernando Tatis Jr.'s recent deal with San Diego by $1 million. Lindor said he'll be rooting for friends Carlos Correa and Javier Báez to beat that next offseason.

The opening day game between the Washington Nationals and New York Mets was postponed hours before it was scheduled to begin because of coronavirus concerns after at least three of the 2019 World Series champions’ players tested positive for COVID-19. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said his team also has a fourth player considered a “likely positive.” He did not identify any of the players involved. He said it was not known when the season-opening game will be made up, other than that it would not be played Friday, which was originally scheduled as an off day.

Dangling tax credits and rebates in his drive to fight climate change, President Joe Biden wants you to trade your gas-burning car, truck or SUV for a zero-emissions electric vehicle. Some buyers would find his offer persuasive. Yet Biden’s goal is a daunting one: Even if Congress approves his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, along with its incentives, it would take many years to replace enough internal combustion vehicles with EVs to make a huge dent in tailpipe emissions. Right now, there are about 279 million vehicles on the road in the United States. Of the 14.5 million new vehicles that were sold last year, 2% were fully electric.

The Nationals and Mets are waiting until at least Saturday to start their season as Washington deals with a COVID-19 outbreak. Three Nats players have tested positive and a fourth is considered a “likely positive,” according to GM Mike Rizzo. Thursday’s opener was postponed and wasn’t immediately rescheduled, even though Friday already had been set up as a day off that could accommodate a game pushed back if there were a rainout, for example. Mets manager Luis Rojas said he was hopeful the teams would play Saturday. Meanwhile, Baltimore and Boston will again try to start the 2021 season at Fenway Park after Thursday’s scheduled opener was postponed by bad weather.

The top GOP contenders for governor in Virginia say “election integrity” is a high priority. The candidates say change is needed to restore credibility to the voting process, whether that involves tightening voter ID laws, making the Department of Elections politically independent, or cleaning up voter rolls. State Sen. Amanda Chase continues to push the false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump. But candidates Kirk Cox, Pete Snyder and Glenn Youngkin discuss the issue more generically. Political analysts say using the phrase “election integrity” gives GOP candidates a talking point that links them to Trump without invoking his name.

After more than two months of living in temporary housing, Vice President Kamala Harris will soon move into her official residence on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington. Harris' spokesperson tweeted that the move will happen next week, but did not give an exact date. Harris and husband Doug Emhoff have been living temporarily at Blair House, across the street from the White House, while repairs were made to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system at the official residence on Massachusetts Avenue. Chimney liners were also replaced and some hardwood floors were refurbished.

UConn’s Paige Bueckers is a freshman who stepped into the job of leading the most successful program in women’s basketball. Arizona’s Aari McDonald is a senior who accepted the call to build one of the worst into one of this season’s best. Together, they are two of the most dynamic scorers in the country heading into their Friday night clash in the women’s NCAA Tournament Final Four. UConn is in its 13th consecutive Final Four. The Wildcats are in their first in five-year rise from the bottom of the Pac-12 under coach Adia Barnes.