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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. 

Billy Horschel is back among the top 20 in the world for the first time since the summer of 2015, and all it took was low expectations and the longest week of his career. Horschel had never made it to the weekend of the Dell Technologies Match Play. He had never taken seven days away from golf before a tournament. It all fell into place when he won six matches over 122 holes at Austin Country Club. He beat Scottie Scheffler, 2 and 1, for the title. Now he can dream of more match play in the Ryder Cup.

Stanford was forced to be a band of nomads and was more than ready for neutral-site games at the women's NCAA Tournament. In late November, Santa Clara County established COVID-19 health and safety protocols prohibiting practices and competitions. Those restrictions remained in effect for nine weeks. So the Cardinal hit the road. Stanford spent nearly 10 weeks away from its campus. After playing their season opener Nov. 25 at Maples Pavilion, the Cardinal didn’t play on their home floor again until hosting Colorado on Feb. 5. Now Stanford is headed to Elite Eight, feeling confident after being nomads for two months.

The men's and women's NCAA Tournament regional finals begin Monday. The men's tournament has Houston and Oregon State facing off in the Midwest Region final while Arkansas battles Baylor in the South Region final. The women's regional finals include a star-studded clash between traditional powers UConn and Baylor plus a more surprising matchup between Indiana and Arizona. 

Andre Drummond is joining the Los Angeles Lakers for the playoff push. The defending NBA champs signed the two-time All-Star center before their game against Orlando. Drummond agreed to a buyout Friday from the Cleveland Cavaliers, who acquired him last year after nearly eight seasons in Detroit. He had to clear waivers before he could join a team of his choosing, and Drummond chose to join LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers. When Drummond gets up to playing speed after sitting out the past six weeks, the four-time NBA rebounding leader should be a significant upgrade at center for Los Angeles

Isaiah White scored 22 points and Southern California shut down Oregon’s potent offense to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2001 with an 82-68 win in the West Region semifinals. Pac-12 After Dark Indy style turned into a lights-out performance by USC. The Trojans clipped the high-flying Ducks with their length on the perimeter and 7-footer Evan Mobley in the middle. Offensively, the region’s No. 6 seed bobbed and weaved through the holes in Oregon’s defense, shooting 57% and 10 of 17 from 3. The all-around domination put three Pac-12 teams in the Elite Eight for the first time in 20 years and gives USC a shot at undefeated Gonzaga in the regional final.

Charli Collier scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as No. 6 Texas shut down No. 2 Maryland’s high-powered offense for a 64-61 win that sent the Longhorns to the Elite Eight as the lowest seed still alive in the women’s NCAA Tournament. The Terrapins had the highest-scoring offense in the country during the regular season and averaged 99 points in the first two rounds before running into a Texas defensive wall that slowed the pace to a grinding halt. First-year coach Vic Schaefer has Texas one win away from its first Final Four since 2003. 

The Arizona Diamondbacks are ready to open the season in familiar fashion: with Mad Bum on the mound. Madison Bumgarner was tabbed by manager Torey Lovullo to make his second straight opening day start for the Diamondbacks on Thursday at San Diego. The 31-year-old four-time All-Star struggled in his first season in Arizona going 1-4 with a 6.48 ERA. But Bumgarner will still lead off a Diamondbacks rotation that includes Merrill Kelly, Caleb Smith, Taylor Widener and Luke Weaver. This will be the seventh opening day start in Bumgarner’s career. The Yankees also are setting their rotation, announcing Sunday that Corey Kluber will follow ace Gerrit Cole against Toronto.

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks rose Monday after Wall Street hit a new high and investors were encouraged by government stimulus and the rollout of coronavirus vaccines. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul advanced. Wall Street’s advance Friday was led…

The Atlantic Coast Conference had a regular season that didn't live up to this league's lofty standards. Its postseason was even worse. Florida State and Syracuse were the only ACC teams to make it past the first round. Both lost convincingly in the regional semifinals. ACC teams finished with a 4-7 NCAA Tournament record. That represents the ACC's lowest win total and winning percentage in this event since 1979. Florida State lost 76-58 to Michigan on Sunday. Syracuse fell 62-46 to Houston on Saturday.

The United States missed its third straight Olympic men’s soccer tournament, losing to Honduras 2-1 in a qualification game as Juan Carlos Obregón scored in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time and goalkeeper David Ochoa committed a blunder that gifted Luis Palma a goal two minutes into the second half. U.S. captain Jackson Yueill pulled a goal back with a curling 23-yard shot in the 52nd minute and the Americans had several good chances to tie the score. The U.S. also failed to reach the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and the senior team missed the 2018 World Cup.

Zia Cooke scored 17 points to lead top-seed South Carolina to a 76-65 win over fifth-seeded Georgia Tech and reach the Elite Eight. It’s the third time in the past four women’s NCAA Tournaments that the Gamecocks have at least reached the regional finals. South Carolina won the national championship in 2017. After going scoreless in the first half, Aliyah Boston had the first seven points in the third quarter as South Carolina went on a 14-6 run to start the period. That lengthened a four-point halftime lead to double digits. The Yellow Jackets made a run in the fourth quarter to get within 69-63, but five consecutive points — the last coming on a 3-pointer from Cooke with 3 minutes left — sealed the win.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 points, hitting two big jumpers early in overtime, and No. 11 seed UCLA held to beat No. 2 seed Alabama 88-78 in overtime in a Sweet 16 showdown Sunday night. The Crimson Tide forced the extra session when Alex Reese hit a 3-pointer just before the final buzzer of regulation. The Bruins also got 17 points from Jules Bernard as they advanced to face No. 1 seed Michigan on Tuesday night for a spot in the Final Four. Jahvon Quinerly scored 20 points and John Petty Jr. had 16 for the Crimson Tide.

Hunter Dickinson scored 14 points and top-seeded Michigan took the inside route to the Elite Eight, pounding away in the paint for a 76-58 takedown of surprisingly helpless Florida State. Franz Wagner had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolverines, who scored their first 30 points of the second half from close range to lead coach Juwan Howard's team to victory. Top-seeded Michigan moved to a regional final for the first time since 2018. The Wolverines will play 11th-seeded UCLA for a trip to the Final Four. Malik Osborne led fourth-seeded Florida State with 12 points.

Dana Evans scored 29 points and No. 2 seed Louisville advanced to the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 60-42 win over sixth-seeded Oregon. The Cardinals will face top seed Stanford on Tuesday night in the Alamo Region final. Louisville continued its stellar defensive play, holding Oregon to 14 points in the first half, including six in the second quarter. Evans provided the offense. Nyara Sabally led the Ducks with 14 points but left the game late in the third quarter with a left ankle injury.

Hannah Jump scored 17 points to lead top seed Stanford to an 89-62 romp over No. 5 Missouri State in the women's NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal are back in the Elite Eight for the 21st time. This Sweet 16 rematch from Stanford’s win in 2019 quickly turned into a blowout when the Cardinal led by 23 at halftime. Stanford kept up its postseason barrage of 3-pointers by making 15 against the Lady Bears. Elle Ruffridge scored 18 points to lead Missouri State. Stanford will face second-seeded Louisville for a berth in the Final Four.

Hobbled by cramps, top-ranked Daniil Medvedev limped through the final few games to edge Alexei Popyrin in three sets in the third round at the Miami Open. Medvedev failed to convert three match points in the second set after taking a 5-2 lead. An hour later the Russian was still playing, and on a hot afternoon, he paid the price. He broke in the final set for a 4-3 lead, but by then he could barely walk, much less run. To keep the rallies short, Medvedev began hitting high-risk shots, and made enough of them to close out the match.

Heavy rain across Tennessee has flooded homes and roads, prompting officials to carry out numerous rescues. The flooding is being blamed for at least four deaths. Metropolitan Nashville Police say the body of a man whose car was submerged in a creek was recovered Sunday. Another man’s body was found on a golf course, while two bodies were found near a homeless camp. Nearly 6 inches of rain fell Saturday in Nashville. A portion of Interstate 40 was temporarily shut down due to high water. Some rivers and creeks are at or near their highest level since 2010.

World Cup qualifying in Europe took a quirky turn when the goalposts were removed before a match between Switzerland and Lithuania because they were deemed the incorrect size. It was one of the few things that didn’t go to script. All of the continent’s heavyweight countries secured victories Sunday though Spain left it to the second minute of stoppage time to see off Georgia 2-1 after falling behind. France joined Spain in getting back on track in qualifying after an opening draw by easing to a 2-0 win at Kazakhstan. Italy, England and Germany also won to move onto a maximum six points.