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1 President Trump Releasing 172-Million Barrels Of Oil From Reserves, International Energy Agency Releasing 400-Million
President Trump has authorized the release of 172 million barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The move is part of a coordinated effort by International Energy Agency members, who together agreed to release 400 million barrels from their emergency stockpiles in the largest such action in the IEA's history. The U.S. release will begin next week and take about 120 days to deliver. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the administration has also arranged to replenish the reserve with about 200 million barrels within the next year at no cost to taxpayers. Oil prices continued to climb after the announcement, with West Texas Intermediate futures up more than 7-percent to around $93 a barrel in after-hours trading.
2 FBI Is Warning That Iran Wanted To Attack West Coast Of US
The FBI warned California law enforcement agencies in late February that Iran had allegedly been planning a drone attack on the West Coast if the U.S. struck Iran, according to an alert reviewed by ABC News. The bulletin said Iran "aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California." The alert gave no specifics on timing, method, or targets. Multiple law enforcement officials told CBS News the threat was not considered credible. Gov. Gavin Newsom confirmed he was aware of the warning, and President Trump told reporters he was not worried about Iran attacking U.S. soil.
3 Pro-Iran Hacking Group Says It's Responsible For Attack On Medical Tech Company
A pro-Iranian hacking group called Handala claimed responsibility for a major cyberattack on medical device giant Stryker yesterday, saying it struck the Michigan-based company in retaliation for the ongoing U.S.-Iran war. Stryker confirmed it was hit, saying its Microsoft systems suffered a global disruption, though it found no evidence of ransomware or malware and believed the attack was contained; Handala claimed it wiped more than 200,000 devices and swiped 50 terabytes of data. The logo of the hacking group reportedly appeared on company login screens. Stryker makes surgical tools, joint implants, hospital beds, and robotic surgery systems, reporting more than $25 billion in revenue last year. The company has contracts with the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.