MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The Latest on the April Fools' Day storm to hit northern New England. (all times local): 
 
 3:30 p.m. 
 
 The April Fools' Day snowstorm that hit parts of northern New England is winding down, but it's not keeping everyone from enjoying the joke. 
 
 Erik Lustgarten and Tracy Neff were in Portland, Maine, reveling in the snow Saturday during their weekend away from home in Newburyport, Massachusetts. 
 
 Lustgarten said New England residents have to stay on their toes, given the region's weather. Neff said the snow was "fabulous." 
 
 By late afternoon, up to 18 inches of snow had fallen in some locations. 
 
 Utility crews across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine continued to work on restoring power to thousands of customers. 
 
 ____ 
 
 2:30 p.m. 
 
 Saturday's storm that brought heavy, wet snow to much of northern New England is winding down, but not before dumping up to 18 inches of snow, causing traffic accidents on highways across the region and leaving thousands without power. 
 
 Meteorologist Eric Schwibs of the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, called the storm nature's idea of an April Fools' Day joke, although late-season storms aren't that unusual. 
 
 Wintry weather also reached southern New England. Boston accumulations were expected reach 3 to 4 inches. A flood warning was in effect for several Massachusetts counties after many areas received up to 2 inches of rain. 
 
 ___ 
 
 It's April Fools' Day but it's no joke: People across northern New England woke up to a foot of heavy wet snow on parts of the region and expected more throughout the day Saturday. 
 
 Meteorologist Eric Schwibs of the National Weather Service office in Gray, Maine, said Portland got about 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) of snow in the storm that began Friday. He said roads were slippery. 
 
 Electric utilities across the three northern New England states reported a total of about 16,500 power outages Saturday morning: about 6,000 in Vermont, 3,500 in New Hampshire and 7,000 in Maine. 
 
 Schwibs called the storm nature's idea of an April Fools' joke, but it's not unusual to see late-season snow storms. ||||| Democratic Congresswoman Jackie Speier used April Fools’ Day this afternoon to take a shot at President Trump‘s Twitter habits, announcing a bill to stop his “unsupervised tweets”: 
 
 I will be introducing a bill next week which will prohibit @POTUS from posting unsupervised tweets. https://t.co/vNpeVFBj3J — Jackie Speier (@RepSpeier) April 1, 2017 
 
 The president took to Twitter after watching segments on Fox News, on subjects ranging from Chuck Todd to The New York Times to this: 
 
 Wow, @FoxNews just reporting big news. Source: “Official behind unmasking is high up. Known Intel official is responsible. Some unmasked…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2017 
 
 ..not associated with Russia. Trump team spied on before he was nominated.” If this is true, does not get much bigger. Would be sad for U.S. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2017 
 
 [image via Shutterstock] 
 
 —— 
 
 Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac 
 
 Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com ||||| April Fools' Day is the only "fake news" day that's almost welcome. Almost. And one of the longstanding masters of the tech prank, Google, is at it again with a fresh batch of trickery. 
 
 This year, the jokes are more obviously fake this time around in what appears to be an effort to avoid anyone actually thinking these products actually exist. 
 
 Nevertheless, some of these products would be kind of cool, despite how wildly impractical they are. 
 
 Here's the running list of what Google's "rolled out" today so far: 
 
 Google Gnome 
 
 Although the name rhymes with the very real Google Home, this imagined Google digital assistant is instead designed to sit outdoors and help you out with all matters related to weekend backyard lounging and the occasional bit of garden work. 
 
 Delivering information bits about weather, edible plant life and a surprisingly dark array of opinions, Google Gnome is what Google Home would be like if it showed up in an episode of Black Mirror — helpful, but just a tad too ominous with its robot apocalypse leanings. 
 
 Haptic Helpers 
 
 The quickest way to get a tech-centric laugh nowadays is to show some idiot fumbling around while blinded by yet another new VR headset. But Google smartly goes in another direction and actually addresses an issue that has yet to be solved in virtual reality: haptics. 
 
 Haptic Helpers actually brings human Google workers into your home to assist you with your VR experience by providing you with all of the other sensory input that you can't otherwise get on current VR Systems. From smell, to taste, and even touch, Haptic Helpers show us the next best solution for full VR immersion until we actually have holodeck-level sensory input. 
 
 Google Wind 
 
 Stepping up the April Fools' Day game to a new level, Google's team in the Netherlands came up with an imaginary system called Google Wind that links the country's 1,170 windmills together using "machine learning [that] enables all the mills to collaborate." Once those windmills are linked, they are able to literally blow clouds out of the sky to allow the country to have more sun-filled days. 
 
 Somehow, as ridiculous as this one looks, it's reminiscent of the very real weather modification initiatives that have been documented in years past. Nevertheless, the special effects showing people being blown away by the power of the windmill mechanisms adds just the right amount of whimsy to let you know that Google is in fact just playing around with yet another wild "what if" idea. 
 
 Google Puchi Puchi Keyboard 
 
 Also getting in on the international prank fun is Google Japan, whose team came up with perhaps the most ingenious fake gadget in a keyboard made of bubble wrap. The Puchi Puchi keyboard (in Japanese, "puchi puchi" translates as bubble wrap), allows the user to simultaneously enjoy the feeling of popping those tiny plastic bubbles included in packing materials while typing out a message. 
 
 Once the message has been popped out, a Puchi Puchi reader rolls over the popped material to decipher the message. Yes, this is stupid. But for some reason, I actually want this. They even added a special version of the Puchi Puchi Keyboard that releases pleasant fragrances when you pop the bubbles, including air from places like Hawaii. 
 
 Someone please actually make this. 
 
 Google Cloud on Mars 
 
 Definitely one of the biggest pranks on the list is Google's claim that it is launching a data center on Mars in 2018. The data center, named "Ziggy Stardust," is designed as an off-world backup in case Earth experiences some sort of catastrophe. 
 
 Image: google 
 
 "By opening a dedicated extraterrestrial cloud region, we're bringing the power of Google’s compute, network, and storage to the rest of the solar system, unlocking a plethora of possibilities for astronomy research, exploration of Martian natural resources and interplanetary life sciences," reads the very long and detailed blog post accompanying the April Fools' gag. 
 
 They even went as far as creating a data center location on Google Maps that you can explore. 
 
 And while this may be a joke now, it's not unrealistic to imagine a very real Google data center on Mars in the decades ahead as companies like SpaceX work to colonize the red planet. 
 
 Google Maps Ms. Pac-Man 
 
 Finally, Google updated an old Google maps twist from 2015 by re-introducing its Pac-Man Google Maps game. In the current updated version on Android and iOS, you play Ms. Pac-Man using a map from anywhere in the world. 
 
 Image: GOOGLE 
 
 It's obvious why Google decided to rehash this one, it's incredibly addictive and deserves another look. Find your own neighborhood and try playing "just one" game and putting it down. 
 
 So far, this looks like all the April Fools' Day weirdness Google has up its collective sleeve, but we’ll keep our eyes open out for any new ones and add them as we find them. ||||| In a year when every day feels like a cruel joke, it isn't really the time for April Fools' Day. 
 
 Maybe brands subconsciously realize that, because their April Fools' Day pranks this year are pretty tame. At least they're amusing themselves with fake ways to watch TV and hail cars. 
 
 Here are the notable ones so far: 
 
 Amazon Petlexa 
 
 Petlexa: Alexa, for your cat. Petlexa, "allows dogs, cats, and other animals to communicate with Alexa just like you do." Great! 
 
 Netflix Live 
 
 Image: screenshot/netflix 
 
 Netflix uploaded its April Fools' Day prank a day early and then canceled it the day of. 
 
 Netflix Live starred Will Arnett narrating footage of microwaves and copiers. Even though the joke is under the category "Recently Canceled by Netflix," you can still watch it. 
 
 Hulu's Hu 
 
 Hulu went with a commentary on patience this April Fools' Day. Hu: TV Abbreviated shows you "your favorite shows, all in eight seconds or less." 
 
 Click on the banner introducing the service to watch condensed clips of The Mindy Project, Seinfeld, Empire and other shows Hulu has streaming rights to. 
 
 Lyft's Mono 
 
 A few days early, Lyft rolled out Mono — a wearable that hails a Lyft for you when you raise your hand in the air (like raising your hand would do if you were hailing an actual taxi). 
 
 Lyft quickly admitted the wearable was a prank, but the company did get Bella Hadid to try one out. #GetMono 
 
 Learn Emoji with Duolingo 
 
 Duolingo, the app that promises to teach you a language in five minutes a day, has a pretty fun proposition for April Fools. Today, the app will teach you how to speak emoji. 
 
 If you have family members who are all over the place with their emoji usage (or don't use them at all), maybe they should check it out. Take a break from the Japanese lessons! 
 
 Google 
 
 Google has so many April Fools' Day jokes it needs its own list. 
 
 So far, you can play Ms. Pac-Man on Google Maps, get a "Google Gnome" instead of a Google Home, and control the weather with windmills if you're using Google Netherlands. ||||| Live long and prank them. 
 
 "Star Trek" star George Takei had everyone fooled early Saturday morning when he tweeted that he was running for Congress in California against Devin Nunes in 2018. 
 
 "Well, the cat's out of the bag it seems. Let's do this! #Takei2018," the actor wrote, along with a link to a Daily Buzz article announcing his run. 
 
 Hours later, he retweeted a post about April Fools posts before revealing it was in fact all part of an April Fools prank. 
 
 George Takei: Terrorist Trump must resign now 
 
 Celebrities who beamed aboard the 'Star Trek' franchise 
 
 "No, I'm not running for Congress. Happy 4/1! But Jon Ossoff is on 4/18. Help him win ... Let's flip Congress in '18," he wrote Saturday morning. 
 
 Takei, 79, — an outspoken critic of President Trump — had many people fooled and also left a lot of people feeling disappointed. 
 
 California environmental attorney Mike Levin tweeted that he was hopeful when he heard Takei was running for office. 
 
 No, I'm not running for Congress. Happy 4/1! 
 
 
 
 But Jon Ossoff is on 4/18. Help him win at https://t.co/ctCcRiYcdL. Let's flip Congress in '18 pic.twitter.com/41uj6l3yt7 — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 1, 2017 
 
 "I was hoping @GeorgeTakei running against Devin Nunes wasn't an April Fools' joke. It would have been amazing! #Takei2018," he wrote. 
 
 Takei: Muslim registry brings up thoughts of Japanese internment 
 
 "I went to bed realizing I'd been April fooled by George Takei. Because I really wanted him to run for congress. We live in strange times," wrote TV producer and "Lucifer" showrunner Joe Henderson. 
 
 Actress and writer Deanna Russo compared the joke to a cruel parenting tactic. 
 
 "George Takei April-fooling us that he's running 4 congress is like ur parents saying ur going to DisneyWorld but then take u 2 the dentist," Russo tweeted. 
 
 Nunes represents California's 22nd congressional district, which is located in the San Joaquin Valley and includes portions of Tulare and Fresno counties. 
 
 The congressman, who serves as House Intelligence Committee chairman, has made headlines recently for his handling of the investigation into Russia's involvement in the presidential election. 
 
 Many hoped that the "Star Trek" actor would take on Rep. Devin Nunes. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP) 
 
 Nunes was met by nearly 300 angry protesters on Friday when he arrived back in California from Washington, D.C. 
 
 Takei added on Saturday, "We're living in a world where every piece of news about the White House could have qualified as an April Fool's headline in years past." ||||| MOSCOW (AP) — Need some election interference? The Russian Foreign Ministry is ready to help — or so it says on April Fools' Day. 
 
 On Saturday, the ministry posted on its Facebook page an audio file of the purported new automated telephone switchboard message for Russian embassies. 
 
 "To arrange a call from a Russian diplomat to your political opponent, press 1," the recording begins, in Russian and English. Press 2 "to use the services of Russian hackers," and 3 "to request election interference." 
 
 A ministry duty officer, who did not give his name in line with official practice, confirmed to The Associated Press that the post was an official joke. 
 
 Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday emphatically denied allegations of Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election. ||||| Published on Apr 1, 2017 
 
 I TOLD YOU KAZAAM WAS A DIFFERENT MOVIE! 
 
 
 
 See more http://www.collegehumor.com 
 
 LIKE us on: http://www.facebook.com/collegehumor 
 
 FOLLOW us on: http://www.twitter.com/collegehumor 
 
 FOLLOW us on: http://www.collegehumor.tumblr.com 
 
 
 
 CAST 
 
 Sinbad 
 
 James - Bradley Bundlie 
 
 Rachael - Jolie Ledford 
 
 Track Suit Woman - Junie Hoang 
 
 
 
 CREW 
 
 Director - Ryan Anthony Martin & Royce Adkins 
 
 Writer - Mike Trapp & Royce Adkins 
 
 Producer - Shane Crown 
 
 Production Coordinator - Francesca McLafferty 
 
 Director of Photography - Cooper James 
 
 1st AC - Chris MacDonald 
 
 2nd AC/DIT - Loren Azlein 
 
 Gaffer - Brody Anderson 
 
 Key Grip - Saul Cervantes 
 
 Sound Mixer - Ryan Bertolami for BoTown Sound 
 
 HMU - Denise Valentine 
 
 Production Designer - Rick Mader 
 
 Costume Designer - Tiffany Maxwell 
 
 Set Teacher - Amy Stanoszek 
 
 Set Photographer - Kelsey Fugere 
 
 Graphic Designer - Tony Wiley 
 
 President of Original Content - Sam Reich 
 
 Vice President of Production - Spencer Griffin 
 
 Executive in Charge of Production - Sam Sparks 
 
 Supervising Producer - Alex Edge 
 
 Production Legal - Karen Segall 
 
 Production Accountant - Shay Parsons 
 
 Production Accountant - Chetera Bell 
 
 Production Assistant - Caroline Bible 
 
 Production Assistant - Daniel Plagens 
 
 Production Intern - Kristie Lee 
 
 Post Production Supervisor - Melissa Balan 
 
 Post Production Coordinator - Marissa High 
 
 Licensing and Programming Coordinator - Theodora Hart 
 
 Programming Assistant - Caroline Langella 
 
 Editor - Ryan Anthony Martin 
 
 Visual Effects & Graphics - TJ Gonzalez 
 
 Head Assistant Editor, Post Prod. Systems Engineer - Mark Chernausek 
 
 Assistant Editors - Spencer Kombol & Andrew Primavera ||||| Virgin Australia 
 
 
 
 Today is the day you really can’t trust anything you read online as celebrities, news outlets, and companies get in on the game of trying to mark April Fools’ Day. Here are some of the best pranks this year: 
 
 Trump’s new Irish tower. The Irish Times has a blockbuster scoop: Dublin will have its own Trump Tower after the commander in chief bought a 16-story downtown building. Why would Trump be interested in Dublin? He “is known to want a stronger foothold in an English-speaking country in the European Union as Britain begins the process of leaving the Union,” notes the Irish Times. The story could almost be believable if it weren’t for the accompanying tweets reportedly from Trump: “Bought a small tower in Dublin, Ireland. We are going to build an awesome hotel in Dublin. It will be totally great. Love Ireland! Great country! #trumpdublin.” 
 
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 George Takei’s political ambitions. In what may have been the most believable joke of the day, actor and Internet star George Takei announced he was going to run against Rep. Devin Nunes in California’s 22nd congressional district. Many fell for the well-thought-out prank that included a story with the Daily Buzz. But it didn’t take long for Takei to fess up. 
 
 No, I'm not running for Congress. Happy 4/1! 
 
 
 
 But Jon Ossoff is on 4/18. Help him win at https://t.co/ctCcRiYcdL. Let's flip Congress in '18 pic.twitter.com/41uj6l3yt7 — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 1, 2017 
 
 Alexa goes to the dogs. The Amazon Echo will be able to communicate with your pets thanks to Petlexa. “Now your dog, cat or favorite pet can communicate with Alexa just like you do,” says the company’s ad that is actually clever but not believable in the slightest. 
 
 Imagine the lines in Customs. Emirates airline took to Twitter to unveil a “triple-decker” plane that includes a swimming pool, a gym, and even a park. Sure it’s outlandish but a lot of people bought it, perhaps because it was still March 31 for much of the western world when the company sent out the tweet. 
 
 Emirates unveils plans for world’s largest commercial aircraft. The triple-decker APR001 includes a swimming pool, games room, gym & park. pic.twitter.com/VEvTRkXT9O — Emirates airline (@emirates) March 31, 2017 
 
 Friendly skies. In what may be the most clear example of an absolutely amazing idea that should become a reality, Virgin Australia announced it would soon launch the “first team of canine in-flight crew members.” 
 
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 The emoji horns. Honda had a bit of fun with its April Fools’ Day prank, releasing an ad detailing how the company has tried to bring some range to the good old fashioned car horn. 
 
 An outdoor assistant. Google unveiled Google Gnome, an assistant for all your outdoor needs. “Google Gnome is like having a tiny, little meteorologist at your beck and call,” notes the description in the Google store. The little device can also “take charge of your backyard tools” and comes with all sorts of add-ons, including a bird bath attachment. 
 
 Invisible box. Zappos also had fun with a bit of a ridiculous idea tackling a very real problem, thieves who steal boxes from your front door. The company’s solution? Create a box that becomes invisible. The problem is that even the customer might miss it, but, hey, it’s certainly safer. 
 
 For all those Ghostbusters haters. Men who are still getting over their PTSD after seeing women cast as the leads in Ghostbusters surely started hyperventilating when the director of that movie, Paul Feig, sent out a tweet this morning announcing a reboot of Back to the Future with an all-female cast. 
 
 It's OFFICIAL! I'm rebooting Back to the Future with an amazing all-female cast! #MarieMcFly #BTTF18! Thanks, Bob Z., for believing in me. — Paul Feig (@paulfeig) April 1, 2017 
 
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 Retirement fake-out. Michael Phelps sent out a tweet this morning saying he was ready for a comeback to participate in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. 
 
 Some dreams/goals you just can't get rid of...been doing a lot of thinking n I've decided that I'm going 2 make another comeback! #tokyo2020 — Michael Phelps (@MichaelPhelps) April 1, 2017 
 
 Burger breath. For all those who love Burger King’s Whopper, the company claimed to have gotten into the toothpaste market to create a Whopper-flavored toothpaste. 
 
 Honoring Biden. The Washington City Paper claimed Washington would soon see a Joe Biden-themed pop up bar with a drinks menu that would include, “A Bunch of Malarkey” and “Delaware Crush.” 
 
 Trolling where it hurts. In what may just be the best April Fools’ Day prank, Snapchat has a filter that makes snaps look like an Instagram post. That is, of course, a dig at Facebook and how it has been trying to desperately copy several Snapchat features. It even comes with a like from “my_mom,” in what looks to be a dig at how Facebook is becoming increasingly popular with older users. ||||| Sinbad celebrated April Fools' Day by perpetuating one of the internet's greatest myths: The existence of his genie film Shazaam. On Saturday. College Humor shared "lost footage" of the comedian starring in the (fake) film on Saturday. 
 
 Related Watch 'Pokemon Go' Creator Explain Origins of the Game Thanks to years of crowd-sourcing street data via its first game, Niantic's John Hanke was ready when the Pokemon Company came calling 
 
 Based on countless testimonies found on internet message boards, a genie film titled Shazaam that starred Sinbad has been falsely implanted into the memories of thousands of Nineties kids. 
 
 This alternate universe theory, or the Mandela Effect as the phenomena is called, is similar to the Berenstein Bears/Berenstain Bears debate that similarly divided the internet; the common theory is that people are confusing the nonexistent Shazaam with the real film Kazaam, starring Shaquille O'Neal as a genie. 
 
 
 
 Sinbad himself has long denied that he was ever cast as a genie – "Have you noticed no one my age has seen this so called Sinbad Genie movie, only you people who were kids in the 90's. The young mind," he tweeted in September – but that didn't stop the comedian from reviving the Shazaam myth for April Fools' Day. 
 
 "It was my first time directing and the studio wasn’t happy with the project," Sinbad said in a statement after College Humor unearthed an alleged Shazaam VHS from a shuttered Blockbuster. "It was pulled from theatrical release. I would prefer if we all just pretended this never happened." 
 
 College Humor said in a statement, "Like most Americans, we had weird memories of this movie existing, but just thought we were confused. Then, one of our producers found this VHS in a box behind a shut-down Blockbuster. It’s quite damaged, and most of it has been recorded over, but what’s there is classic cinema and movie magic. We're excited to share it with audiences at large."
– Need some election interference? The Russian Foreign Ministry is ready to help—or so it says on April Fools' Day. On Saturday, the ministry posted on its Facebook page an audio file of the purported new automated telephone switchboard message for Russian embassies. "To arrange a call from a Russian diplomat to your political opponent, press 1," the recording begins, in Russian and English. Press 2 "to use the services of Russian hackers," and 3 "to request election interference." A ministry duty officer, who did not give his name in line with official practice, confirmed to the AP that the post was an official joke. More coverage of April Fools' Day gags: Slate lists some of the best pranks of 2017, including the Irish Times claiming President Trump would be building a new Trump Tower in the country. Adweek and Mashable round up hoaxes from brands, including "Whopper cologne" from Burger King and "Petlexa" from Amazon. Mashable has a separate article dedicated to just the pranks from Google. The New York Daily News reports that George Takei fooled a bunch of people when he claimed he would be running for Congress in an attempt to unseat Devin Nunes. E! Online rounds up April Fools' Day pranks from other celebrities. A Democratic representative marked April 1 with a fake bill proposal calling for Trump to be banned from "unsupervised tweeting," Mediaite reports. Rolling Stone declares that the best April Fools' Day prank award goes to College Humor, which teamed up with Sinbad to create fake footage from Shazaam, a 1990s movie in which Sinbad supposedly played a genie that tons of people remember seeing. Trouble is, the movie never actually existed. Until now, kinda. The footage is here. New England got a very real April Fools' Day snowstorm, the AP reports.