Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Monday, March 29, 2021:
SUEZ SHIP UNSTUCK
The Ever Given container ship has been dislodged and refloated in the Suez Canal, though it’s not clear when traffic will start moving again. Crews took advantage of high tide to get the stern off the western bank of the canal as some of the many ships waiting in traffic blew their horns in celebration. The Ever Given’s hull is reportedly heavily damaged and it could take time to get the ship completely out of the canal. Every hour that the Suez is blocked costs the global economy an estimated $400 million, and the six-day pileup has shone a spotlight on the fragile state of global trade, which is highly dependent on building larger and larger container ships to haul all the stuff that we consume. Here’s an explainer: WATCH
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Kansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas open vaccine eligibility to all adults today. All but three states -- Arkansas, Wyoming and New York -- have now announced their plans to expand eligibility to everyone by May 1. New York and New Jersey are now leading the country in new infections. Florida is seeing a rise in cases too -- especially among younger people -- which scientists worry is being fueled by an exponential rise in the UK variant. PALM BEACH POST
SEVERE WEATHER
There’s a state of emergency in Nashville, Tenn. after flash floods killed at least four people over the weekend. The Cumberland River is expected to crest above the flood stage later today. The South has been enduring a dangerous outbreak of early-spring severe weather. The flooding in Nashville follows multiple tornadoes that killed at least six in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. TENNESSEAN
MYANMAR 'DAY OF SHAME'
Myanmar suffered its deadliest day since the Feb. 1 military coup when police and soldiers killed at least 100 civilians, including children, across the country on Saturday during Armed Forces Day. The military broadcast messages on TV to protesters, warning that they’d be shot in the back of the head if they didn’t stop opposing the coup. A photographer for the New York Times captured images from what’s being called Myanmar’s “day of shame”: SEE PICS
AMAZON UNION VOTE
Today is the last day of voting in the closely-watched union election at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama. Employees at Amazon’s fulfillment center in Bessemer, known as BHM1, have until the end of the day today to cast their ballots. If enough of them vote in favor, the Bessemer workers will be the first of Amazon’s U.S. workforce to unionize. Amazon, the second-largest employer in the country, has been aggressively resisting the union drive. THE VERGE
IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED...
WeWork is going public -- for real this time. The company announced on Friday that it was merging with a blank-check firm known as a SPAC, an increasingly popular way for companies to get a listing on the stock market without going through the troubles of the traditional IPO process. Last week, WeWork disclosed that it lost $3.2 billion in 2020, down from $3.5 billion the year before. REUTERS
MARCH MADNESS
MENS: Three No. 1 seeds are still standing as the men’s tournament reaches the halfway point: Gonzaga, Michigan and Baylor. Oral Roberts’ Cinderella run was ended by Arkansas, leaving No. 12 Oregon State as the biggest underdog left. The Beavers tip off against Houston tonight to kick off the Elite Eight. B/R
WOMENS: No. 6 Texas pulled off the biggest upset of the women’s tournament so far, knocking off No. 2 Maryland and ending the Terps’ 15-game winning streak. The two most dominant teams in women’s hoops meet today: No. 1 UConn vs. No. 2 Baylor, tipoff at 7 p.m. ET. HARTFORD COURANT
WOODY SPEAKS
CBS aired an interview with Woody Allen, the first on-camera sitdown the director has done with an American media outlet in 30 years. The interview was conducted last summer and is streaming now on Paramount+ amid the renewed interest in the allegations against Allen after a recent devastating HBO documentary. In the interview, Allen tells CBS that he believes Dylan Farrow “believes” she is telling the truth that he sexually assaulted her when she was a child. He maintained his innocence and has never been charged with a crime. CBS NEWS
SPOTTED...
...the cherry blossoms that line D.C.’s Tidal Basin, in full bloom over the weekend -- days ahead of schedule thanks to the warmer-than-usual weather. Check out the National Mall’s BloomCam: WATCH
…5,000 people at a government-sanctioned, indoor rock concert in Barcelona. In a test to gauge the safety of putting on large-scale events, every concertgoer had to pass a same-day COVID test and wear a high-quality mask for the whole show: SEE PICS
LEFTOVERS: BOOMERS GOT THE VAX
Saturday Night Live offered a musical tribute to all the Baby Boomers getting their vaccines: “Baby boomers, greatest generation, got all the money, now we got the vaccination...Crash the economy three whole times, but when it comes to the vax, we the first in line...Voted for Trump but just for the taxes, don’t believe in COVID, still got the vaxes": WATCH
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