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Judy Woodruff:
In the day's other news: AstraZeneca announced a U.S. study shows that its COVID vaccine is 79 percent effective overall. The company said it will soon seek federal approval for the vaccine. That news came as infections are accelerating again in several states.
The head of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, urged Americans today to take heed.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky:
We must act now. And I am worried that if we don't take the right actions now, we will have another avoidable surge, just as we are seeing in Europe right now and just as we are so aggressively scaling up vaccination.
Judy Woodruff:
Walensky also urged caution before traveling. More than 1.5 million people passed through U.S. airport checkpoints on Sunday, the most in a year.
And, in Miami Beach, Florida, thousands of spring break revelers defied mask-wearing and social distancing over the weekend. Officials have now authorized an overnight curfew through April 12.
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider reinstating the death sentence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the convicted Boston Marathon bomber. A lower court threw out the sentence last July, citing possible jury bias. President Biden has pledged to end the federal death penalty, but he has not asked the Justice Department to intervene in this case.
The high court also refused today to hear Facebook's attempt at reducing a $15 billion class-action suit. The plaintiffs claimed that the company illegally tracked users' Internet activities even after they logged off of Facebook.
In Australia, the worst flooding in 60 years left thousands more people facing possible evacuations around Sydney. Three days of rain have sent rivers pouring over large swathes of land and already forced some 18,000 people to flee.
Others are scrambling to save livestock and bracing for more downpours.
Alistair Flower:
You know, we're right here on the water, and we have had a lot of rain. And that obviously led to that huge flow — flood on Friday night. It receded. And, unfortunately, we have had a round two of the high tide coming through. So, at the moment, for us, it's a waiting game.
Judy Woodruff:
The same region suffered catastrophic wildfires just a year ago.
Saudi Arabia today proposed a cease-fire in Yemen between a Sunni coalition and Shiite rebels who are aligned with Iran. The plan also calls for reopening a major airport in Sanaa, the country's capital city. The Saudis are under U.S. pressure to end six years of conflict in Yemen.
Back in this country, the U.S. Senate easily confirmed Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to be secretary of labor. He will be the first head of the Labor Department in nearly 50 years to have been a union member.
On Wall Street, stocks were broadly higher. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 103 points to close at 32731. The Nasdaq rose 162 points. The S&P 500 added 27.
from:pbs