Gasoline shortages across the U.S. South are spidering north toward New York as panicky motorists race to fill up, fearful that a shutdown of North America’s largest oil pipeline will leave the region without fuel for days. Virginia has been hit the hardest as a result of the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline, while North Carolina and Georgia are also experiencing supply crunches. Without the Colonial system, many cities and airports are being forced to seek alternative supplies, and one Washington, D.C.-area fuel distributor warned of a looming, “catastrophic” shortage. But as bad as things are now, and as bad as they might get until Colonial reopens, even after that happens, weeks of gasoline shortages may await. —David E. Rovella

Bloomberg is tracking the progress of coronavirus vaccines while mapping the pandemic globally and across America. 

Here are today’s top stories  

Under increasing pressure to address the pipeline crisis, the result of yet another cyberattack allegedly originating in Russia, the Biden administration is considering suspending the historic Jones Act to facilitate the shipment of fossil fuels into East Coast ports.

Billionaire Alan Howard is returning money to investors from the secretive hedge fund that he personally runs. Why? Because he wants to make bigger and riskier bets.

Alan Howard, founder of Brevan Howard Asset Management 

Photographer: Shutterstock

With lumber prices at all-time highs, it would make sense for U.S. homebuilders to be looking for alternative materials to meet demand for new houses. But unless supply chains morph drastically, most Americans will be forced to stomach the costs.

U.S. pediatric researchers are investigating whether Covid-19 is becoming more severe for children now that variants are causing flare-ups even as overall cases decline. In Asia, Taiwan announced limits on crowds following Singapore’s move to restrict foreign workers, part of a wave of new limits in countries trying to stamp out fresh outbreaks. Thailand warned local cases may increase over the next few weeks and Vietnam’s capital city banned large gatherings. Indeed, as second, third and even fourth waves of the virus inundate some places and recede in others, many nations that thought they had the pathogen contained are again on the defensive. Here is the latest on the pandemic.

Violence triggered in part by threatened Israeli evictions of Palestinians from their longtime homes escalated as Hamas fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, followed by 130 retaliatory air strikes by Israel. At least 28 Palestinians, including 10 children, and three Israelis have reportedly been killed in the fighting.

The site of an Israeli air strike in Gaza

Photographer: SOPA Images/LightRocket

The National Rifle Association shot itself in the foot when it sought to dodge a massive New York State fraud lawsuit that could threaten its survival. The gun manufacturer lobby’s bankruptcy filing, a federal judge ruled, does not protect it from the New York attorney general.  

The U.S. Justice Department is assessing whether it is well positioned to combat the rise of violent extremism inside the U.S., which the FBI warns now surpasses foreign-linked terrorism as the greatest and most lethal threat facing the country.

White supremacists including neo-Nazis gathered at the violent “Unite the Right” rally on Aug. 12, 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia. One white supremacist murdered a 32-year-old woman who was counter-protesting by running her down with his car.

Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America

What you’ll need to know tomorrow 

• Peter Thiel-backed Block.one pumps billions into a crypto exchange.
• An icy SEC reception may await a listing bid for this Bitcoin ETF.
• India is keeping a lid on global prices with record exports.
• Sandwich sales reveal Londoners aren’t going back to the office. 
• The U.S. inheritance tax is poised for a comeback in post-Covid era.
• Bloomberg Opinion: Trump isn’t the biggest Republican threat.
• Bloomberg Opinion: Make U.S. more livable and babies will arrive.

What you’ll want to read tonight

The Secretive Bank Serving The World’s Richest

In the mythology of private banking, the 215-year-old Banque Pictet & Cie stands apart. For centuries, the Swiss institution has discreetly tended to the assets of the very rich, led by an ultra-exclusive club of partners. This is the story of how this bastion of privilege, which oversees a tremendous $662 billion in assets, is trying to adapt to the modern world.

The headquarters of Pictet & Cie in Geneva, Switzerland

Photographer: Valentin Flauraud

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