Good morning. It's Monday, March 1, and the US officially has its third COVID-19 vaccine. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Third Vaccine Approved

The Food and Drug Administration approved for use a single-shot COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson over the weekend. The vaccine becomes the third available in the US, with the company expected to ship 4 million doses this week and 20 million doses by the end of the month. An estimated 100 million doses are expected to ship by the end of June.

The approval bolsters projections of a coming surge in vaccine supply—between the currently available vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, officials project 3 million doses per day being shipped across the country by April. The new drug, which requires just one shot and can be stored at normal refrigeration temperatures, is expected to significantly simplify logistics. 

Clinical trials in the US, South America, and South Africa showed the Johnson & Johnson drug to be 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 cases (72% in US trial alone). While lower than the 95% efficacy reported by the two already available vaccines in preventing symptoms, the Johnson & Johnson shot showed complete protection—zero reported cases out of almost 44,000 volunteers—against hospitalizations and deaths. Preliminary data suggest the vaccine is also robust against emerging coronavirus variants. 

More than 48 million people in the US have received at least one vaccine dose. Alaska currently leads the way in percentage of residents vaccinated—see how your state is doing here. More than 513,000 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the country, while the rolling average of new cases has fallen below 70,000 per day (see data), roughly equal to the peak seen in July.

More Cuomo Allegations

Charlotte Bennett, a former aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), accused her former boss of sexual harassment over the weekend. The 25-year-old executive assistant and health policy adviser becomes the second woman in the past week to lodge such claims against Cuomo. 

Bennett alleged the 63-year-old governor made a number of inappropriate personal remarks, including questioning Bennett about her sex life during meetings ostensibly about the state's COVID-19 response (original reporting here, $$, NYT). Bennett left the Cuomo administration last fall. The claims follow a lengthy post from former economic adviser Lindsey Boylan, in which she recalled similar incidents between 2016 and 2018.

Cuomo has called for an independent investigator and denies the charges—see his statement here.

Nigerian Kidnapping

More than 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped from a government school in northwestern Nigeria Friday, the latest in a string of mass kidnappings by armed gunmen in the region. 

No group has claimed responsibility for the raid; reports suggest bandits from a loose-knit organized crime network may be responsible, with the intent of holding students for ransom. The attack came two weeks after gunmen kidnapped 27 students and 15 staff from a school in a neighboring state, and almost three months since the abduction of 340 students from a school in the northern Katsina State. The victims were released unharmed in the latter case, though the government has denied paying a ransom. 

The kidnappings evoke memories of a 2014 mass kidnapping by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram, in which 276 schoolgirls were taken—more than 100 of which are still unaccounted for. 

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> “Nomadland” and “The Crown” among top winners at 2021 Golden Globes; Nomadland’s Chloé Zhao becomes second woman ever to win best director (More) | See full list of winners (More)

> Lawyer seeking to open criminal investigation into rapper T.I. and his wife singer “Tiny” Harris over sexual assault allegations spanning 15 years (More) | Controversial musician Morgan Wallen’s “Dangerous” becomes first country album ever to spend its first seven weeks at No. 1 on Billboard charts (More)

> Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler sells stake in Atlanta Dream after backlash to her opposition to WNBA’s racial justice initiatives; Renee Montgomery becomes first former player to own a team (More)

Science & Technology

> Federal judge approves $650M Facebook settlement that charges the social media platform's facial recognition algorithms stored user data without consent (More)

> New algorithm predicts the onset of epileptic seizures; approach may be used to alert patient up to one hour before a seizure occurs (More)

> Researchers discover the mechanism used by cancerous tumors to hijack the immune system's protective T cells (More) | What are the different types of immune cells? (More)

Business & Markets

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> US stock markets end mercurial week down (S&P 500 -2.5%, Dow -1.8%, Nasdaq -4.9% weekly figures) on bond yield fears (More) | Bitcoin retreats approximately 25% to $43K from last week’s all-time high (More)

> Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway repurchases a record $25B of its own stock in 2020; Buffett tells investors “don’t bet against America” in annual letter (More)

> US consumer spending jumps 2.4% in January, the highest increase in seven months (More)

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Politics & World Affairs

> Former President Donald Trump makes first public speech since leaving office, rules out forming a new party and teases a 2024 run (More)

> Hong Kong arrests 47 pro-democracy activists in one day under antisubversion law (More) | At least 18 people killed in Myanmar (Burma) anticoup protests, the highest death toll since protests began (More)

> House passes $1.9T economic stimulus bill; package heads to the evenly split Senate, with a number of amendments expected (More) | See what's in the current version (More, $$, WashPo) 

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ETCETERA

It's not just you—Zoom fatigue is real.

Hit play "Some Old Black Man" is back for a streaming encore. (free to register)

The winners of the Sony World Photography Awards.

The 10 best documentaries for 2021. ($$, Esquire)

Two skiers make a death-defying descent of Yosemite's Half Dome.

What band practice looks like during a pandemic.

Tom Cruise deepfakes are going viral. 

Seven-year-old Alabama girl sells lemonade to pay for brain surgery. 

Clickbait: Miracle puppy born with six legs.

Historybook: Articles of Confederation are ratified, go into effect in US (1781); Writer Ralph Ellison born (1914); Peace Corps is established (1961); HBD actress Lupita Nyong'o (1983); HBD Justin Bieber (1994).

"Power doesn't have to show off ... When you have it, you know it."

- Ralph Ellison, "Invisible Man"

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