Troubled Waters: “By now, the Maryland Transportation Authority Police were aware of the ship’s condition and quickly moved to stop oncoming traffic. They were calm and decisive, but seemed unaware of the impending peril. ‘I need one of you guys on the south side, one of you guys on the north side,’ an officer radioed at 1:27 a.m. ‘Hold all traffic on the Key Bridge. There’s a ship approaching that just lost their steering. So until they get that under control we gotta stop all traffic.'” ‘The whole bridge just fell down.’ The final minutes before the Key Bridge collapsed. And from Vox: The Baltimore bridge collapse is only the latest — and least — of global shipping’s problems. “From drought in the Panama Canal to the Houthis in the Suez to pirates off Somalia, we’re all paying the price.”

+ Plan BB: “He has brought far-right extremists into the mainstream of government and made himself, and the country, beholden to them. His corruption is flamboyant. And he has made terrible security decisions that brought existential danger to the country he pledged to lead and protect. Above all, his selfishness is without parallel: He has put his own interests ahead of Israel’s at every turn.” Anshel Pfeffer in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Benjamin Netanyahu Is Israel’s Worst Prime Minister Ever. “However one views the war in Gaza—as a justified war of defense in which Hamas is responsible for the civilian casualties it has cynically hidden behind, or as an intentional genocide of the Palestinian people, or as anything in between—none of it is Netanyahu’s plan. That’s because Netanyahu has no plan for Gaza, only one for remaining in power.” (You don’t have to be a geopolitical expert to see the parallels between Bibi and Trump.)

+ Mifepristone Deaf: “This case is about a handful of physicians seeking to wield their ‘conscience objections’ to abortion as a cudgel against everyone’s access to safe reproductive care throughout the country. So, it was heartening to see that the majority of the Supreme Court doesn’t have the conscience to take it seriously. It was harrowing, however, to hear at least two justices embrace the plaintiffs’ foundational theory: that a long-defunct federal law already bans medication abortion, and maybe procedural abortion as well—and that the courts can revive this ban once they get their hands on the right case.” Slate: The Current Attack on Abortion Pills Will Fail. The Next One Will Be So Much Worse.

+ You Be Nilin’: “These NIL deals are not for much money. For smaller brand deals, players will sometimes just get the product as payment, with maybe enough to share with their teammates. When you hear about players making six or seven figures per year, they either have major brand partnerships — Caitlin Clark with Nike, Angel Reese with Reebok — or are receiving a de facto salary from the donor-funded NIL collective that supports their school. Still, though, for lesser-known players, it can be important to strike while the March lights are hot.” WaPo (Gift Article) on just how fast today’s college hoops players can cash in on fleeting March Madness fame.

+ Lie-tmus Test: “Those seeking employment at the Republican National Committee after a Trump-backed purge of the committee this month have been asked in job interviews if they believe the 2020 election was stolen, according to people familiar with the interviews, making the false claim a litmus test of sorts for hiring.” (In retrospect, NBC News should have asked the same question.) WaPo (Gift Article): Was the 2020 election stolen? Job interviews at RNC take an unusual turn.

+ Losing My Religion: “Religion’s negative teaching about LGBTQ people are driving younger Americans to leave church. We found that about 60% of Americans who are under the age of 30 who have left religion say they left because of their religious traditions teaching, which is a much higher rate than for older Americans.” NPR: People say they’re leaving religion due to anti-LGBTQ teachings and sexual abuse.

+ Nappy Ending: When do you know you live in a aging society? When adult diapers represent a bigger market than baby diapers. Japan nappy maker shifts from babies to adults.