Welcome to a brand new week with Paste BN

Last week was a wake-up call. For the energy industry, at least.

Here's what happened: An online gang known as DarkSide targeted the Colonial Pipeline system with a ransomware attack. The words "gas shortage" started circulating (really it was a disruption in the supply chain) and panic buying set in.

Did the disruption affect you? If not, consider yourself lucky — and brace for the next couple weeks. At one point, the federal agency for consumer product safety had to request that drivers "not fill plastic bags with gasoline." Now, we may experience shortages through Memorial Day.

It's Alex. Welcome. Every week, I'll round up the best stories that your Paste BN subscription unlocks and share them with you here.

Moving to this week, news is moving quickly – domestically and abroad. All eyes are on taxes, a new variant of coronavirus landing in the USA and warnings of a "full-scale war" in Israel.

First, the must-reads

Many of us are allowed to take off our masks. Here's why some of us don't want to.
Are you getting a child tax credit? Families will start receiving monthly advance payments on July 15.
Months before a man was killed in his Indiana home, police in two states were warned that he was in danger. They did nothing.
What's a college degree worth? A massive review of federal earnings data revealed what some graduates have already suspected.
America’s workers are raking in lots of money but they have fewer places to spend it — and it could slow the economy.
Celebrity women are pressured into changing their image. And then they're shamed for it.

Biden has yet to reverse many of Trump's pro-Israel policies he labeled 'destructive'

President Joe Biden never promised a wholesale reversal of his predecessor’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But he blasted many of the Trump administration’s decisions as “destructive” and “short-sighted.”

Four months into his term, what's changed? Some things – but not a lot.

Biden, who has said he supports a "two-state solution," has left many of former President Donald Trump’s pro-Israel policies in place – leading to frustration in Washington and the Middle East, Deirdre Shesgreen and Courtney Subramanian report.

International eyes have a renewed focus on the region as the conflict between the Israeli military and Palestinians gets more violent than it has in years. Biden has maintained a stance of de-escalation.

The Trump-era policies Shesgreen and Subramanian examine include decisions to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Others, like the Abraham Accords, involve Israel's diplomatic relationship with other countries in the Middle East.

The spark that's ignited the current conflict was an effort by Jewish settlers to evict Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem. It has spiraled into a deadly military confrontation between Hamas, the terrorist group that controls Gaza, and Israeli military forces. On Saturday, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a high-rise building that housed The Associated Press office in the Gaza Strip. AP called the strike “shocking and horrifying.”

The best subscriber-only stories

CORONAVIRUS | The B.1.617 coronavirus variant devastating India right now has arrived in the United States. While it's not likely to cause much harm here because of high vaccination rates and a health care system under less stress, researchers are keeping an eye on the variant that continues to infect hundreds of thousands of Indians every day. Here's what we know. By Elizabeth Weise and Karen Weintraub.

TAXES | Wondering how Americans will be spending their tax refunds after this abnormal year of earning and spending? Paste BN's Jessica Menton breaks down the stats. She cites a survey in which more than half of Americans say that receiving their tax refund is crucial for their financial stability – spending on things like medical bills, food, investing and mortgages.

POLITICS | Rep. Liz Cheney, the daughter of a former vice president and the GOP's third most-powerful House leader, was removed from her position as Republican Conference chair. Why? Her continued outspoken criticism of the former president, Donald Trump. Now, Cheney has vowed to ensure that Trump "never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office." But as for the modern-day GOP? This is the Trumplican Party. By Jeanine Santucci and Susan Page.

INVESTIGATIONS | Thousands of Afghans who worked with the U.S. are begging for visas as troop withdrawal looms. They fear that once the last 2,500 American troops are gone, the Taliban will sweep back into power and target them as traitors. "You will see the dead bodies in every street," said Omid Mahmoodi, a linguist for a U.S. Army brigade in Kabul. "They will slaughter us." By Deirdre Shesgreen.

What’s coming

Paste BN will mark one year since the death of George Floyd with a series of articles, videos and graphics about Minneapolis, policing and race in the USA. Watch out for that at the end of this week. We also recommend you watch Boots on the Ground, Paste BN's 22-minute documentary about the Black community in Minneapolis after Floyd's death and the subsequent protests and murder conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin.

Thanks for reading and have a great week. Feel free to respond to this email, or you can reach me directly at alex@usatoday.com.

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