Why you might see gas prices rise this week – National & International News – MON 10May2021

Pipeline shutdown could affect gas prices. Woman, 78, fostered 81 infants. DNA points to innocence of executed man. Riots, raids and rockets in Jerusalem.

NATIONAL NEWS

Pipeline shutdown could affect gas prices near you

A ransomware attack on the Colonial gas pipeline could see gas prices rise in the Southeastern US if the company can’t get it going again soon. The attack took place over the weekend and forced a shutdown of a major pipeline which serves the Eastern US. Colonial Pipeline said Sunday that it was “developing a system restart plan”.

As of Sunday, nationwide gas prices were still holding steady at an average $2.98 per gallon. But experts say that if the shutdown goes on for 5 days or more, customers in the Southeastern US would be the first to see the impact at the pump. Part of the pipeline runs through Collins, MS, in the southern part of the state

Officials and experts warn against panic buying, as that will only make any supply crisis worse if it arises.

Federal response

The White House has invoked emergency powers to try to head off a fuel shortage should the shutdown continue. This includes relaxing restrictions and regulations on overland fuel transport across 17 states and the District of Columbia.

Private entities are also looking to divert other trans-Atlantic fuel shipments to the area. Part of the plan would have idle tankers serving as temporary storage.

Heading off future crises

Analysts believe this ransomware attack originated in Russia. The impact of a single cyber attack has highlighted the vulnerabilities of US infrastructure to such attacks and the need for urgent upgrades across the system. Fuel demand is currently at a low ebb in the US due to travel restrictions, but experts predict that future attacks could have more devastating consequences. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says that upgrading systems to defend against future attack is a top priority for her department.

Another way of minimizing the effect of such attacks is a switch to electric vehicles. The Biden administration’s infrastructure emphasizes transition to electric power for many nationally important means of transport and shipping. The good news is that by 2027, electric vehicles of all sizes will be cheaper to produce than fossil fuel vehicles.

Woman, 78, looks back on 81 infants she fostered over a lifetime

Linda Owens, 78, never married or had children of her own. Still there are dozens of children who have her to thank for giving them a start in life. Mama Linda, Miss Linda or the Baby Whisperer, as she is sometimes known, says she remembers all 81 (and counting) infants that she has fostered over 34 years.

“They all have a mark in your life,” Owens says. “I have pictures of when I started. I’ve got pictures in drawers and pictures in boxes”. 

Many of the infants Owens has foster had greater than usual needs for her love and care, having been born with drug addictions or developmental disabilities. Owens says her struggles in caring for these infants were worth it the first time she saw them smile or make eye contact with her. The work she does with these infants prepares them for adoption to a loving forever home.

Owens says that for her it is a “very rewarding, heartwarming thing to be able to have sleepless nights”. She says she will carry on her work for “as long as the Lord gives me the health and the strength to do the job that I’m doing”.  

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After man is executed four murder, DNA points to another culprit

Ledell Lee was executed in 2017 for the 1993 murder of Deborah Reese. Now, attorneys from the Innocence Project, representing Lee’s sister, have unearthed evidence that may indicate Lee’s innocence, which he protested up to his death.

Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties and the Innocence Project filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to force the city of Jacksonville, Arkansas, to release DNA and fingerprints from the murder scene. These include prints and DNA evidence from the weapon that killed Reese. The organizations say that the DNA and fingerprints do not match Lee’s.

The DNA rendered only a partial profile, but it belonged to an unknown male, who was definitely not Lee.

Lee’s sister, Patricia Young, says that Lee was with her on the day of the murder. “What happened to Debra Reese is horrible” Young said, “and we keep her family in our prayers. But I was with Ledell the day this murder happened, and I do not see how he could have done this”.

“If Ledell is innocent,” Young continued “then the person who did this has never been caught. All we want is to finally learn the truth”.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Israel: Riots, raids, rockets ahead of nationalist march through Muslim territory

The annual Jerusalem Day Flag march commemorates the 1967 war in which Israel recaptured large parts of the holy city of Jerusalem. The march will take place today amid rising ethnic tensions in the city. For several weeks, Palestianian families in East Jerusalem have been fighting eviction from their homes to make way for Jewish settlers. The anniversary also coincides with the last days of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Israeli police decided to bar Jewish marchers from the Al-Aqsa mosque, which sits atop the Temple Mount. But police then clashed with rock-throwing Palestinian demonstrators, firing stun grenades. More than 300 Palestinians were injured in the clash.

In retaliation, Palestinian militants fired 7 rockets into Jerusalem. It’s unclear what if any death or damage these rockets caused. But Israel responded by firing rockets into Gaza, killing 9.

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