Good morning. It's Thursday, March 25, and one of the world's busiest shipping lanes has become a maritime parking lot. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Suez Canal Blocked

One of the world's most heavily trafficked maritime lanes was blocked yesterday after a massive shipping vessel became stuck in Egypt's Suez Canal. The ship—nearly a quarter mile in length, about equal to the height of the Empire State Building—ran aground and turned sideways after encountering poor visibility and strong winds. See a satellite photo of the grounded ship here, along with a ground-level photo. 

The 120-mile-long canal connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas, ultimately allowing ships to travel between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans without having to travel around the southern tip of Africa (see map), saving thousands of miles of travel. The passageway carries about 10% of the world's maritime trade, including a similar fraction of the global oil supply, with $9B in goods passing through each day.

As of this morning, the ship remained stuck. A flotilla of tugboats tried throughout the day to free the vessel; at one point, a relatively tiny bulldozer tried to dig out the stern to no avail. 

Infections After Vaccination

COVID-19 infection in those who have been fully vaccinated is possible but rare, two new studies suggest. Both studies included asymptomatic testing and came at the turn of the year, a period of an upward surge in cases across the country.

In the first study (see here), carried out at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, San Diego, seven unique infections were found in almost 15,000 workers two weeks after receiving their second shot—an incidence rate of about 0.05%. A few hundred infections were recorded in between the first and second doses. 

In the second study (see here), carried out at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, four infections were recorded out of 8,121 healthcare workers—also an incidence rate of about 0.05%.

Both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech are expected to release data in the coming weeks determining how often fully vaccinated people become infected in the general population. Both vaccines showed 95% efficacy in clinical trials. 

Overnight, AstraZeneca released clinical data showing its vaccine was 76% effective in trials, down from 79% in an earlier report. The update followed government criticism that it used outdated results.  

Separately, reports yesterday accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) of prioritizing family members for virus testing early in the pandemic. Cuomo is already under fire for an early policy that required nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients, in addition to a series of recent sexual harassment claims. 

More than 85 million people in the US have received at least one vaccine dose (33% of the adult population). The country has reported 545,281 total COVID-19 deaths, while averaging less than 1,000 deaths per day over the past week. 

Sweet Sixteens

The second round of the women's NCAA tournament wrapped yesterday, locking in the 16 teams advancing to the next round. All of the top eight seeds moved on, including No. 1 seeds Connecticut, Stanford, South Carolina, and North Carolina State. No. 2 Texas A&M overcame No. 7 Iowa State, 84-82, on a last-second basket at the end of overtime (watch video). 

The No. 3 seeds fared much worse, with three of the four falling in the second round—Arizona was the only 3-seed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, their first since 1998. No double-digit seeds made it out of the first weekend. Games resume Saturday—see the updated women's bracket here. 

On the men's side, Sweet Sixteen games have been pushed to Saturday under the COVID-altered schedule—instead of the typical Thursday start—with Elite Eight games running Monday-Tuesday. See matchups here. 

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

Brought to you by Hamama

> Kermit the Frog’s “Rainbow Connection,” “This American Life” podcast among 25 audio recordings added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry (More) | See full list of the 2020 National Recording Registry selections (More)

> Washington Football Team’s largest shareholder Dan Snyder to buy out other owners, giving his family full ownership of the NFL franchise (More)

> The Associated Press journalist Thein Zaw released from custody in Myanmar (Burma) after arrest for covering protest to country’s recent military coup (More)

From our partners: Grow uber-healthy microgreens from home. Veggies like kale, cabbage, and broccoli are super nutritious and flavorful at just 7-10 days old. And growing them from home couldn't be easier, with Hamama's patent-pending Seed Quilts. Just add water once and harvest your own microgreens in a week.

Science & Technology

> Scientists demonstrate control over superconducting quantum computing bits using common optical fiber instead of metal wires; technique could allow millions of qubits into a single computer instead of thousands (More)

> False memories may be reversed without affecting accurate recollection by simply raising a patient's awareness about the possibility of implanted memories; study is the first to show autobiographical false memories can be undone (More)

> Astronomers produce first-ever image showing how light is polarized at the edges of a black hole, a proxy measurement for the black hole's magnetic fields (More)

Business & Markets

> US stock markets fall (S&P 500 -0.6%, Dow -0.01%, Nasdaq -2.0%) as technology stocks continue slide (More)

> CEOs of tech giants Google, Facebook, and Twitter to testify before Congress today on misinformation and Section 230, which protects internet companies from the liability of user behavior (More) | Section 230 overview (More)

> Moncef Slaoui​, former Operation Warp Speed chief adviser, removed as chairman of GlaxoSmithKline-controlled Galvani Bioelectronics after probe substantiates claims of sexual harassment and inappropriate contact (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> Reports say more than 300 unaccompanied minors are in COVID-19 isolation at the US-Mexico border, out of about 11,500 minors currently being housed by the US (More) | Vice President Kamala Harris to lead administration's response to migrant surge (More) | See month-by-month migration data (More)

> Rachel Levine confirmed as assistant health secretary in 52-48 Senate vote; Levine becomes the first openly transgender nominee to win Senate confirmation to any post (More)

> Virginia becomes the 23rd state, and first southern state, to abolish the death penalty; the state has executed 113 people since 1976—when a federal ban was lifted—second only to Texas (More)

IN-DEPTH

Doctor Fentanyl

Toronto Life | Brett Popplewell. Toronto's George Otto was a well-known and trusted physician—wealthy, but with a reputation for providing care to the city's marginalized residents. By night, however, Otto was helping fuel the opioid crisis by pushing illicit fentanyl prescriptions. (Read)

Sovereign Writers and Substack

Stratechery | Ben Thompson. A look at the recent controversy around the upstart newsletter platform Substack and why some critics may be missing the point by framing it as a publisher, rather than a marketplace (and toolset) for independent writers. (Read)

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ETCETERA

The Olympic torch relay begins today—here's the route.

Bald eagle populations are rising across the US.

... and dolphins are swimming up New York City's East River. 

How people from the past imagined the future.