1 Colonial Oil Pipeline Restarted

The oil pipeline shut down over a cyberattack is up and running again. Colonial announced the pipeline serving much of the South and East Coast restarted operations yesterday afternoon, days after a ransomware attack on its network. The company says it will take several days for the supply chain to return to normal – and it can’t be soon enough. While the shutdown has led to gas shortages and long lines at service stations across the South, gas prices for many Americans have also spiked because of the shutdown - including reports of price gouging. Lighting up the Internet overnight? A fight breaking out at one gas station when a driver tried to cut the line. Meanwhile, President Biden has signed an executive order (his 43rd since taking office) to improve the governmental response to cyberattacks. Among other things, it mandates private companies "doing business with the federal government" share information with it about security breaches. On a related note, Colonial has posted a job search for a Cyber Security Manager.

2 CDC Adopts Recommendation To Let Kids Get Pfizer Vaccine

The CDC director is signing off on a recommendation to let younger kids get Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine. Earlier, an advisory panel voted to recommend the vaccine for adolescents 12 to 15-years-old. Director Rochelle Walensky noted that about 17-million adolescents are now eligible for the two-dose vaccine. While she said kids usually don't have serious reactions to COVID-19, getting them protected against the virus will allow them to get back to normal activities quickly. Nearly 60% of adults have already been given at least one dose of the three COVID vaccines available. On a related note, the CDC is finding more cases of serious blood clots linked to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The agency says it's identified 28 cases among the nearly nine-million people who have received the shot as of May 7th. Earlier reports of the blood clots led the CDC and FDA to pause the vaccine on April 13th, which was lifted ten days later. The CDC noted all 28 cases involve people who got the shot before the vaccine was paused.

3 Congresswoman Cheney Removed In Secret Vote

Following a secret voice vote – in which the numbers haven’t even been released – Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney is out. She’s also not changing her tune about former President Trump after being stripped of her House leadership post. After the vote, she stepped before cameras and was defiant. "I will do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets near the Oval Office," she told reporters. "We have seen the danger he continues to provoke with his language." She’s expected to say more of the same in an interview airing this morning on NBC’s “Today.” In highlights of the interview already released, Cheney says she'll continue to speak out because she fears it's not just the Republican Party at risk, but the nation as well.

Charlie Parker

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