Health experts urge spring Covid caution, FBI intel failures in spotlight, plus latest on Tiger Woods

Petra Cahill
Updated ·4 min read
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Good morning, NBC News readers.

In one piece of good news, Tiger Woods is recovering from what appear to be non-life threatening injuries as a result of his serious car crash.

Here's the latest on that and everything else we're watching this Wednesday morning.

Tiger Woods is 'awake, responsive and recovering' after crash

Golf legend Tiger Woods is "awake, responsive and recovering in his hospital room" following surgery on serious leg injuries suffered during a car crash in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday.

Woods underwent "a long surgical procedure on his lower right leg and ankle," according to a statement posted to his Twitter account overnight.

A rod was inserted into his tibia to stabilize fractures, and screws and pins were used to stabilize injuries to the foot and ankle, according to the statement.

Woods' Genesis GV80 crashed early Tuesday morning on a windy stretch of road on the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes.

The cause of Tuesday's crash is under investigation, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. However, the sheriff did say that accidents in the area are not uncommon because of the downhill slopes and curves on the road.

Sheriff deputies said that they did not see any signs of impairment when they arrived at the scene and that Woods was wearing a seatbelt, which likely helped save his life.

Still, the injuries throw the future of Woods golfing career into question. After a decade of personal and professional struggles, he won the Masters Tournament in 2019 in what was seen as an incredible comeback.

With spring break on the horizon, health experts urge Covid caution

The pandemic outlook in the U.S. continues to improve, with confirmed Covid-19 cases falling for the sixth consecutive week and deaths having declined for the past three weeks.

But with several strains of the coronavirus circulating in the country — including some variants that are thought to be more transmissible — some public health experts fear that spring break and the potential for increased travel could threaten recent progress and lead to another spike in cases and deaths.

"This is exactly what we saw after Thanksgiving and after Christmas," said Amber D'Souza, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "It's an ongoing cycle and an ongoing concern."

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Quote of the day

"I think this also kind of speaks to the marvel of modern automobiles and that they are much safer than they've ever been previously."

— Los Angeles Sheriff Deputy Carlos Gonzalez, one of the first members of law enforcement to arrive at the scene of Tiger Woods car crash.

One fun thing

The first koala joey born in more than a year at Sydney's Taronga Zoo has finally emerged from his mother's pouch and made his public debut Wednesday.

Baby Humphrey spent the first eight months of his life hidden in his mother's pouch.

Now the little fella is starting to move around, but always close to his mother's side.

Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown.

If you have any comments — likes, dislikes — send me an email at: petra@nbcuni.com

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Thanks, Petra