Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Monday, April 5, 2021:
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The U.S. did 4 million vaccine doses on Saturday for the first time, bringing the daily average of shots administered up to 3 million, as cases are up double-digits week over week. The White House put Johnson & Johnson in charge of a Baltimore manufacturing plant run by a contractor that spoiled 15 million doses and told AstraZeneca it couldn’t use that facility to make its vaccine. CBS’ 60 Minutes reported last night that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis accepted a $100,000 political donation by the grocery chain Publix weeks before the state partnered with the supermarket on vaccine distribution. Florida and Michigan open up vaccine eligibility to all adults today. AXIOS
CAPITOL ATTACK
The head of the Capitol Police union is asking Congress to ramp up security after an officer was killed on Friday when a man rammed his car into a barricade and attacked officers with a knife. Capitol Police Officer Billy Evans was killed -- the second member of the force to die in the line of duty this year. The suspect was identified as Noah Green, 25, of Indiana; he was shot and killed. A motive for the attack is not known but police said they don’t believe it is related to terrorism or the Jan. 6 riot. NBC NEWS
FL RESERVOIR LEAK
A reservoir holding 300 million gallons of contaminated wastewater is on the verge of collapse in Manatee County, Florida, just south of Tampa, leading to hundreds of evacuations as crews race to shore up a breach in the retaining wall. Gov. DeSantis declared a state of emergency in the area as officials warned that a breach would cause a “20-foot wall of water” to inundate the surrounding neighborhood. The reservoir holds water contaminated with the byproduct of phosphate mining, though the water is not believed to be radioactive. TAMPA BAY TIMES
IRAN NUKE TALKS
The U.S. and Iran will hold indirect talks this week in Vienna, the first bit of progress in reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. Tehran had ruled out direct bilateral negotiations with Washington but agreed to talk through intermediaries. The State Dept. called it a “healthy step forward.” REUTERS
AMAZON WORKING CONDITIONS
Amazon has apologized to a congressman for falsely claiming that its delivery drivers don’t have to urinate in bottles. The company has acknowledged that drivers do sometimes pee in bottles, calling it a “long-standing, industry-wide issue” that it wants to solve. Amazon reps have been defending the e-commerce giant’s business practices on social media as it awaits the tally of a union vote in Alabama. CNET
FACEBOOK DATA BREACH
The personal data of more than 500 million Facebook users has been discovered on a hacking website, including that of CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The information includes people’s full names, phone numbers, email addresses and birthdates and appears to be several years old. Facebook said it “found and fixed” the issue in 2019, though it’s not clear what good that does for the half a billion people whose data was hacked. BI
MARCH MADNESS
MENS: For a tournament that generated some big surprises, the final matchup is between the two most dominant teams all along. Gonzaga and Baylor play tonight for the NCAA championship; tip off at 9:20 p.m. ET on CBS. Gonzaga is coming off a buzzer-beating, perfect-season-saving OT win against UCLA that is already being called one of the greatest college basketball games of all time: WATCH THE FINAL MINUTE
WOMENS: Stanford held off Arizona, 54-53, to win their first national championship since 1992. Arizona had upset UConn in the Final Four to play against Stanford, the first time two Pac-12 teams met in the title game. USA TODAY
MONSTERS RULE BOX OFFICE
Anyone involved in the movie-theater business is breathing a sigh of relief after seeing the weekend receipts for Godzilla vs. Kong. The Warner Bros. tentpole made $32 million over the weekend and $48.5 million in its first five days of release. That’s far and away the best theatrical debut of the pandemic, and is especially strong given that the movie is also streaming on HBO Max. VARIETY
SPOTTED...
...Pope Francis, calling for a “spirit of global responsibility” to ensure poorer nations get access to vaccines, during a scaled-down Easter Mass at St. Peter’s: WATCH
...a cat, running onto the field during the Rockies-Dodgers game. The feline made it all the way to center field, pausing play until a member of the grounds crew scooped it up: WATCH
DMX 'GRAVE' CONDITION
The rapper DMX is on life support in a “vegetative state” in a New York hospital after suffering a heart attack, his manager said, confirming weekend reports that he was in grave condition. TMZ reported that the heart attack was triggered by a drug overdose. BILLBOARD
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