Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Wednesday, February 24, 2021:

TIGER WOODS HOSPITALIZED

Tiger Woods is in the hospital recovering from surgery after he was seriously injured in a single-car accident in Los Angeles. His doctors told the media that Woods had multiple “open fractures” to his lower right leg and had screws and pins inserted in his foot and ankle during emergency surgery. Woods had to be extricated from his SUV after it flipped and rolled over on a notoriously dangerous road in an L.A. suburb. Police said there was no evidence that Woods was impaired. LA TIMES

COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

The first shipments of vaccines as part of the global COVAX program, that’s attempting to make vaccine access more equitable, have landed in Ghana, kicking off what will be the largest mass inoculation drive in human history. Global deaths continue to fall, down another 20 percent last week, according to the WHO. In the U.S. infections are still on the way down but some experts are warning that the UK variant is going to create another surge in the coming weeks. Dr. Fauci says he expects the CDC to issue guidance soon for people who have been fully vaccinated. AXIOS

BLAME GAME

The top law enforcement officials in charge of securing the Capitol on Jan. 6 testified that they never got the memo from the FBI warning of the possibility of unrest -- or worse -- that day. The former chief of the Capitol Police and the former sergeants-at-arms of both the House and Senate mostly blamed each other and other agencies for the failure to secure the building amid the violent mob of pro-Trump rioters. The hearing, the first of several scheduled as part of the investigation into the riot, highlighted the confusion and communications breakdown that stemmed from several overlapping jurisdictions not knowing who was in charge. POLITICO

NO CHARGES IN PRUDE CASE

Police officers involved in Daniel Prude’s death will not face criminal charges after a grand jury declined to indict. Prude was the Black man who was killed in a police encounter in Rochester, N.Y. last March. He was in the midst of a mental health crisis when police put a hood over his head and pressed him into the pavement until he stopped breathing. The officers involved say they were following their training. Body cam footage of that incident was suppressed for six months. AP

POWELL ASSURES THE STREET

The Fed chair made clear that the economic recovery is nowhere near over and that the central bank will continue to support the economy for “some time,” downplaying fears that inflation is starting to rise amid all the cheap money. Jerome Powell’s comments sent the stock market roaring back from its lows. Tech stocks have been taking a beating in recent days over concerns they’ve become overvalued. Tesla, for instance, is now negative on the year. CHEDDAR

BITCOIN VOLATILITY

Part of the drop in Tesla has to do with its big bet on Bitcoin, which was on the brink of entering a correction before paring its losses. The skid was at least partially because of comments from Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen, who called Bitcoin an “extremely inefficient” way of conducting transactions, and also Elon Musk, who tweeted that the price has gotten too high. BTC is back above $50,000 this morning. MARKETWATCH

NY BASKETBALL

Basketball is back in NYC. The Brooklyn Nets, playing in front of a few hundred fans for the first time in almost a year, beat the Sacramento Kings for their sixth straight win. A little more than a month since the Nets acquired James Harden, the team is firing on all cylinders and now has the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. Across the river, the Knicks also welcomed back fans at MSG. They lost to the Warriors, but still have a chance at their first winning calendar month since 2017. NY POST

BTS UNPLUGGED

K-pop supergroup BTS made a little history as the first Korean act to get their own MTV Unplugged special. The episode showed off the septuple’s singing skills without the big glossy productions they’re known for. Among the highlights, a stripped-down cover of Coldplay’s Fix You: WATCH

SPOTTED...WONDERS OF THE WORLD...

...Niagara Falls, partially frozen over after weeks of frigid weather: SEE IT

…Lava, flowing down the slopes of Mt. Etna as it erupted for the fourth time in a week. Volcanologists say they’ve never seen Italy’s famed volcano this active: SEE PICS

LEFTOVERS: NAME A PLOW

Minnesota residents were asked by the state DOT for help naming eight snow plows and, as these things typically do, the voting immediately went off the rails. State officials say they are excluding one of the most popular submissions -- Abolish ICE -- for being too political. Some other leading contenders: Plowy McPlowFace, Live, Laugh, Plow and Edward Blizzardhands: SEE FINALISTS

Listen to the N2K Podcast! Looking for more context and analysis on the big stories of the day? Check out our podcast! Hosts Jill and Carlo break down the headlines, every weekday morning Listen on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!

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