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Laurie Metcalf is just as amused by her character Jackie on “The Conners” (and before that, “Roseanne,") as viewers. She says when she first landed the role in 1988, she came from theater and had no TV experience. The character, with her varying career ventures, strong opinions, meddling and failed relationships keeps her entertained. Metcalf is content with Jackie being “the weirdo B storyline” in an episode, because she's good in small doses. “The Conners” just wrapped its third season and the cast is waiting to learn whether they will be renewed for a fourth. Metcalf is getting ready to head to New York to film a movie co-starring and directed by Ray Romano. 

The Biden administration is extending a federal moratorium on evictions of tenants who've fallen behind on rent during the coronavirus pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday moved to continue the pandemic-related protection, which had been scheduled to expire on Wednesday. The moratorium is extended through the end of June. The moratorium initially was put in place last year. It provides protection for renters out of concern that having families lose their homes and move into shelters or share crowded conditions with relatives or friends during the pandemic would further spread the virus. In February, President Joe Biden extended a ban on housing foreclosures to June 30.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is making an impassioned plea to Americans not to let their guard down in the fight against COVID-19. She warned on Monday of a potential “fourth wave” of the virus. She's speaking of a “recurring feeling ... of impending doom.” During a White House briefing, Walensky grew emotional as she reflected on her experience treating COVID-19 patients who are alone at the end of their lives. Walensky spoke hours before President Joe Biden was to address the nation on the vaccination effort. She spoke of hope but added, "Right now, I’m scared.” 

Final Four appearances are up for grabs Tuesday as the NCAA Tournament holds its remaining regional finals in the men's and women's divisions. The men's regional finals have unbeaten Gonzaga facing Southern California and UCLA taking on Michigan. UCLA is seeking to become the first team to go from the First Four to the Final Four since VCU in 2011. The women's regional final matchups have Stanford battling Louisville and South Carolina meeting Texas.

A graphic novel for children that was a spin-off of the wildly popular “Captain Underpants” series is being pulled from library and book store shelves after its publisher said it “perpetuates passive racism.” The book under scrutiny is 2010′s “The Adventures of Ook and Gluk” by Dav Pilkey, who has apologized, saying it “contains harmful racial stereotypes” and is “wrong and harmful to my Asian readers.” The book follows about a pair of friends who travel from 500,001 B.C. to 2222, where they meet a martial arts instructor who teaches them kung fu and they learn principles found in Chinese philosophy.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The European Union’s home affairs commissioner on Monday stressed the need for solidarity among the bloc’s member states in tackling migration, and called on Turkey to resume accepting the return of people whose asylum applications are…

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has blamed her country's difficulties during the coronavirus pandemic — from the slow vaccine rollout to the back-and-forth over lockdown rules — partly on “a tendency toward perfectionism” and called for greater flexibility…

A new strategy for women's soccer in Europe says independent teams should have a place beside storied names from men’s soccer that are fueling rapid development. Clubs such as Fortuna Hjørring and Glasgow City don't have men’s teams and are currently a fixture in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. The competition figures to get only tougher for the independents after Juventus and Real Madrid bought into women’s soccer in recent years. Creating new women's clubs is one of six key goals in a strategy published Monday by the European Club Association. 

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 4-10: April 4: Actor Craig T. Nelson is 77. Actor Christine Lahti (“Chicago Hope”) is 71. Singer Steve Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers is 70. Actor Mary-Margaret Humes (“Dawson’s Creek,” ″History of the…

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary has vaccinated more of its population than any other country in the European Union, according to figures from an EU agency, but it continues to be one of the world's worst in the number of…

HONG KONG (AP) — Decisions in Hong Kong not to display a politically sensitive photograph in a museum exhibition and not broadcast the annual Academy Awards for the first time in decades have prompted concerns that Beijing’s crackdown on dissent…

BEIJING (AP) — China stepped up pressure Monday on foreign shoe and clothing brands to reject reports of abuses in Xinjiang, telling companies that are targeted by Beijing for boycotts to look more closely and pointing to a statement by…

Thai authorities along the country’s border with Myanmar are bracing for a possible influx of more ethnic Karen villagers fleeing new airstrikes by the Myanmar military. Myanmar aircraft carried out three strikes overnight Sunday, according to Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian relief agency that delivers medical and other assistance to villagers. A member of the agency says no one was believed to have been killed but one child was severely injured. On Sunday, about 2,500 people crossed the river dividing the two countries after two days of aerial attacks. The airstrikes mark an escalation in the increasingly violent crackdown by the Myanmar government against opponents of the Feb. 1 military takeover. 

The longing for “normalcy” keeps coming up throughout the pandemic as people yearn for control, but is normal really what we want? As one writer says, going back to normal seems like turning away from all the valuable life lessons and reorganized priorities that people have discovered during the pandemic. And in that time, a previously unimaginable human adaptability has been on display. Now, as vaccines roll out, the question of whether going back to a normal that might not have been that great in the first place is more relevant than ever.

The NCAA Tournament still looks like the field versus Gonzaga. The Bulldogs crushed Creighton, and Michigan manhandled Florida State, putting three No. 1 seeds into the Elite Eight. But joining them were two teams — No. 6 USC and No. 11 UCLA — from the underappreciated Pac-12 Conference, suggesting few selection committee members stayed up late enough to judge the caliber of basketball being played on the West Coast. In Monday's games, No. 1 Baylor — the last of seven entries from the Big 12 Conference — plays No. 3 Arkansas, and No. 2 Houston meets 12th seed Oregon State.