United States

No US grid attack or grid-level failure was found for Nov 11-12. That is based on a search of news reports; not finding anything does not prove it was quiet. The grid power cuts in the news on Nov 11 were abroad: Russian strikes on six major substations in Ukraine, and a second substation explosion in Johannesburg. DOE's 2026 emergency-order page (read Nov 12) lists no new order after Nov 6. These are orders under section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, which let DOE tell power plants to keep running during a grid emergency. The newest are the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority orders 202-25-1F and 202-25-2F, in effect from Nov 8 to Feb 5, 2027. The Craig Unit 1 order in Colorado (202-26-49) runs to Dec 25. The F.B. Culley and R.M. Schahfer orders in Indiana (202-26-47 and 202-26-46) run to Dec 18. EO 14421, the executive order on bulk-power equipment: no final DOE rule was found. The rule is still at the request-for-information stage. That request was published Sept 9 and took comments until Oct 9. As of Aug 2026, Morgan Lewis put the rule deadline at Dec 24. DOE's FAQ, updated Oct 6, describes a targeted, risk-based framework, not a ban on all foreign-made equipment. FORTRESS America: no new official step was found. Breaking Defense (Nov 5) reported that the Pentagon is asking governors for proposals for a new US base, with a decision expected by June 2027. It describes FORTRESS America as a separate effort to harden existing bases. As of Oct 7, DefenseScoop reported a memo setting up the program office. As of Nov 9, Snopes said FORTRESS America is a real initiative and that the 90-day standard is not publicly confirmed. NERC's 2026-27 winter reliability assessment was not found. NERC's assessments page did not load its list, and last year's assessment came out Nov 18.

Ukraine: US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi ended their second day Nov 11 after less than two hours, according to TASS and Interfax (dpa). Both sides agreed in principle to a large prisoner exchange; Russia's chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said numbers and procedure would come later, and Russia's General Staff said each side would hand over more than 1,000 people over two to three weeks (dpa, ABC Australia). US envoy Jared Kushner called the talks tough and a good first step, and said he and Steve Witkoff would travel to Moscow on Thursday (Nov 12) to meet Putin (dpa). No territorial agreement was reported. Overnight into Nov 12, Russian strikes killed a woman and injured five in Kyiv, where a drone set a nine-storey apartment building on fire, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said; Deputy Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov said nine regions lost power. Russia's Defence Ministry said it hit a rocket factory in Kyiv, other military plants and substations in Zhytomyr region (Reuters). Iran: no deal and no talks confirmed. As of Nov 10-11, Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei said no negotiations are underway and Hormuz stays closed until the US meets Iran's conditions, including lifting sanctions and the US port blockade (Al Jazeera/Reuters); Secretary of State Rubio said Nov 10 he saw no need to attack Iran again (AFP). The US blockade remains. On Nov 11, UKMTO (the UK navy's maritime reporting office) reported another tanker incident in the Strait of Hormuz, with crew status and damage unknown (Reuters, via Times of Israel). As of Nov 11, maritime monitoring firms counted at least 37 attacks on ships in and near the strait in November, the most of any month in the war (Al Jazeera/Reuters). AP, citing the New York Times, reported Nov 11 that Treasury Secretary Bessent moved from his home to a military base after Iranian threats against him; how serious the threats are is unclear (Times of Israel). Gaza: early Nov 12, an Israeli airstrike hit the surgical wing of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis; Gaza's Health Ministry said six were killed, including a doctor, and at least a dozen wounded. Israel's military said it carried out the strike early Thursday (AP). Health authorities say 1,622 people have been killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire since the October 2025 ceasefire (AP). Yemen/Saudi: not re-checked; as of Nov 10, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted Houthi missiles aimed at Riyadh after reporting damage to the East-West pipeline (Al Jazeera/AFP). Lebanon: no newer report found; as of Nov 9, APA (single outlet) reported Israeli strikes on at least five southern villages. Taiwan: as of Nov 10-11, Defence Minister Wellington Koo said China is running 'area denial' drills in the Western Pacific with the Liaoning carrier group; China has not declared drills and calls the training routine (Taipei Times/Reuters). North Korea: no launch since Nov 3-4 found in a Nov 12 search (absence in search results, not confirmation); as of Nov 4, Seoul reported a multiple-missile launch (NBC).

AAA's national average on Thursday Nov 12 is $3.9081 for regular (yesterday $3.9429, a week ago $4.1003, a month ago $4.3556, a year ago $3.0752) and $6.0977 for diesel (yesterday $6.1306, a week ago $6.2564, a month ago $6.2665, a year ago $3.7568). Both are lower for another day; diesel is still about $2.34 above a year ago. Oil: CNBC (Reuters copy) said Brent rose about 1.4% and WTI about 0.6% on Wednesday Nov 11 after two-month lows Tuesday, then fell more than $1 in early Asian trading: Brent $91.62 (down $1.14) and WTI $85.49 (down $1.04) at 01:41 GMT Thursday. Drivers cited: Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi ended with a prisoner exchange agreed but differences remaining, including on territory; Iran's security chief said Iran will not let enriched nuclear material leave the country and warned of consequences if the US strikes again, while US officials played down the need for more strikes; shipping through Hormuz remains disrupted. An API report showed a 9-million-barrel US crude stock build; EIA's weekly data is due Thursday, a day late because of Veterans Day. CNBC said OPEC+ crude output rose in October, led by Saudi Arabia. As of Nov 1 (The National, not re-checked), OPEC+ core members held December targets; the wider group meets Nov 29. EIA's Nov 9 retail survey (released Nov 10, not re-checked) had regular at $3.995 and diesel at $6.127; next release Nov 17. No confirmed November Gulf Coast refinery outage found.

New in this report: Vanderbilt University in Nashville has been hit by a ransomware attack, found on Monday, Nov 9. Ransomware locks up computer systems and often comes with a ransom demand. On Nov 9 the university told students and staff to shut down university devices and get off campus Wi-Fi. By Tuesday morning, Wi-Fi, email, Okta sign-in, Zoom, Brightspace and the YES registration system were back. Other systems stayed restricted (WSMV; CyberScoop). The Nashville Scene reported on Nov 11 that the attack reached university cloud storage, including OneDrive and Box, which stays off limits. The university says getting back to normal may take 'multiple weeks.' On Wednesday, Vanderbilt said it is working with law enforcement and government agencies. A ransomware group called BYOD claimed the attack. It says it took more than a million Social Security numbers. The university has not confirmed that any data was taken. Vanderbilt Health says it is a separate organization, its IT systems have not been affected so far, and patient care is going on as normal. The Nashville Scene reports that a former employee has filed a class-action lawsuit. Refrigeration open thread, re-checked: no new step since Nov 10. As of Nov 10, Iran's Foreign Ministry had rejected France's accusation as baseless. France said it will propose EU sanctions, and the European Commission said it would coordinate a response with member states (CNBC, AFP). On the US side, Pentagon investigators still treat the August freezer failures at about six military commissaries as a suspected cyberattack. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Iran is a suspect. The Pentagon has made no on-record attribution, and no link between the US and European incidents has been established. No civilian US store has been reported hit. CISA's advisories page (read Nov 12) shows nothing after the Nov 10 addition of six flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (flaws CISA has seen used in real attacks). The Nov 5 refrigeration fact sheet is still the newest federal guidance on that thread. No confirmed new attack on a US hospital, water system or utility was found. Leak-site claims against several health providers were not confirmed by the organizations, so they are left out.

Weather Prediction Center (WPC, 300 AM EST Thu Nov 12): a low-pressure system crossing the East is forecast to grow into a large storm as its center passes east of Cape Cod tonight. Steady rain spreads over southern New England by this evening, possibly heavy at times near the coast, with stronger northeast winds and possible minor coastal flooding at high tide along parts of the coast near New York City. Rain is likely to change to snow tonight into Friday over the higher ground of New York, northeastern Pennsylvania and northern New England, with accumulating snow and slick travel likely at elevation; wet snow could fall in the central and southern Appalachians Friday night into Saturday morning. Behind the storm, polar air spreads over much of the central and eastern US: highs well below normal by Friday, lows in the 20s across much of the central US, and below-freezing temperatures as far south as the Deep South by Saturday morning, setting up a widespread frost and freeze across the South and Southeast this weekend. Lake-effect rain and snow continues through Friday, with significant snow possible over higher ground in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Gusty winds and very dry air raise fire danger in parts of the Southeast today. West: warm and dry through Thursday, with a few daily record highs possible in the Northwest and Great Basin; on Friday a strong Pacific storm brings moderate to heavy rain and strong winds to northern California and the Pacific Northwest, and WPC says heavy snow and strong winds will likely create blizzard conditions in the higher Sierra Nevada Friday night into Saturday morning, making travel dangerous to impossible. A separate system brings showers to southern California Friday and to southern Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas by Saturday morning. Storm Prediction Center (SPC Day 1, issued 11:21 PM CST Nov 11): a Marginal Risk (level 1 of 5) of severe thunderstorms this afternoon over parts of southeastern Pennsylvania, much of Delaware, eastern Maryland and southern to central New Jersey; one or two storms could rotate with some tornado risk, plus small to marginally severe hail and locally strong gusts, weakening by evening. NWS alerts feed (severe and extreme, early Nov 12): Winter Storm Warnings (upgraded from Watches) for the Greater Lake Tahoe area, Mono County, the Sierra Nevada above 5,000 feet including Interstate 80 and Lassen Volcanic National Park, from Friday morning to Saturday morning, and for the eastern Sierra slopes of Inyo County into Saturday afternoon; a Winter Storm Watch for Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia areas from Friday afternoon to Nov 17; High Wind Warnings for the south-central Oregon coast and Curry County coast and central Siskiyou County tonight into Friday; a High Wind Watch for Surprise Valley, Calif., and northern Washoe County, Nev., Friday; Flood Warnings continue for Mason County, Wash.; Seminole, Brevard, Lake, Volusia and DeSoto counties, Fla.; and Maricopa and Yuma counties, Ariz. (through Nov 17); plus Alaska blizzard, freezing-spray and marine storm warnings. No Tornado Warnings in the feed. Tropics (National Hurricane Center, 1 AM EST Nov 12): no Atlantic formation expected in 7 days; NHC is issuing advisories on Tropical Storm Pena, well southwest of Honolulu, and no other formation is expected in the eastern or central Pacific. Space weather (NOAA SWPC, 08:46 UTC Nov 12): SWPC rates three things on 1-to-5 scales: G for geomagnetic storms (which can stress power grids), R for radio blackouts from solar flares (which disrupt high-frequency radio), and S for solar radiation storms (a concern mainly for satellites and polar flights). All three are at 0 now. An R1 (minor) radio blackout was observed Nov 11, the largest at 21:21 UTC. G is forecast to stay at 0 through Nov 14 (highest expected Kp 1.67, below storm level; no storms expected). Chance of R1-R2 blackouts is 45% and R3 or greater 5% per day through Nov 14 (down from 60% and 15% yesterday), from sunspot Region 4566; S1 chance 5% (down from 15%). SWPC's high-energy electron flux alert continues (a satellite-charging concern, not a grid concern; peak 7,897 pfu Nov 11). No G3 or higher and no SWPC grid warning.

No new unrest, curfew, unrest-related emergency declaration or new National Guard deployment was found in Nov 11-12 searches (absence in search results, not confirmation). Carried forward: Washington, D.C.: as of Nov 10, the Secret Service said both men in the Nov 9 Lafayette Park incidents were unarmed; no charges had been reported and authorities had not said whether the two were connected (WJLA). National Guard: as of Nov 5, AP reported Hegseth approved military vehicles, patrol cars and boats for Guard patrols in D.C.; the D.C. Circuit heard arguments on the deployment in October (UPI), and no merits ruling was found in a Nov 12 search. Immigration enforcement: as of Nov 7-8, ABC7 and NBC Los Angeles reported protests after federal agents blocked the emergency entrance of White Memorial hospital in Boyle Heights; as of Nov 9, Oaklandside reported several dozen people protested Nov 8 at Fruitvale Plaza after weekend ICE arrests. Emergency declarations found were for weather and fire recovery (as of Nov 10, California Gov. Newsom's proclamations for Humboldt and Imperial counties). Threatening phone calls put schools in several states on lockdown on Nov. 10-11; police treated them as likely hoaxes and found no weapons or explosives. Metro Atlanta, Wednesday Nov. 11: Marist School in Brookhaven, Midtown High and North Atlanta High (Atlanta Public Schools) and Campbell High (Cobb County) got threatening calls; Marist's described an armed assailant and bombs on campus. All were searched and reopened, and officials called the threats not credible (AJC). Brookhaven Police Chief Brandon Gurley said the other schools got the same threat from the same number, which police believe came from out of state, that it may have been a swatting-type prank call (a false report meant to draw a police response), and that investigators are checking whether AI generated the call; police are working with federal partners (WSB-TV). Tuesday Nov. 10: Blackman Elementary, Middle and High in Murfreesboro, Tenn., locked down after a call the district said initially appeared to be swatting (WSMV); Northville High in Michigan locked down after a call police called likely noncredible, similar to recent hoax threats at other schools in the Detroit tri-county area, and reopened Wednesday with more police (WDIV); Brattleboro, Vt., police traced a call threatening elementary schools to New York state (Magic 96.7). No official has said these calls are connected to one another, or to the email bomb threats that hit thousands of schools in Italy, the UK and Ireland on Nov. 11 (CBS News); APS declined to say whether its threats were related.

Wednesday Nov 11 close (CNBC): Dow up 0.49% to 52,486.49, S&P 500 up 1.31% to 7,619.38, Nasdaq Composite up 1.60% to 25,466.19, recovering Tuesday's losses. Chip and AI stocks led: CoreWeave jumped after its third-quarter results and raised guidance, and Nvidia rebounded about 3%; the VIX volatility index fell 9.66% to 17.58 (Anadolu). The bond market was closed for Veterans Day. Overnight, futures turned lower for tech: at 3:15 a.m. ET Thursday, CNBC had Nasdaq-100 futures down about 0.97%, S&P 500 futures down 0.37% and Dow futures up 0.15%, after Nvidia fell more than 8% in extended trading following reports about CEO Jensen Huang, including a Wall Street Journal report that the board was preparing to remove him. Weekly jobless claims are due at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday; October producer prices on Friday. Fed: CNBC said CME FedWatch showed about a 90% chance of a quarter-point rate increase at the December meeting; that is trader pricing, not a Fed decision. No US bank or payment-system outage found.

LA/Long Beach: the strike deadline for about 250 watchmen (ILWU Local 26) is still Nov 20; talks continue with federal mediators and no deal or strike has been reported. The terminals they staff handle about 85% of Long Beach and a third of Los Angeles cargo, per the employers' group PMA (Reuters via SRN News, Nov 9; no newer report found). Freightos said Nov 10 that a rail backlog is already slowing inland movement of cargo that has arrived. The separate West Coast longshore contract runs through 2028. Air: the FAA's airport status feed at 08:47 GMT Thursday (2:47 a.m. Central) showed no ground stops or ground delay programs, only routine scheduled or overnight closures. As of Nov 6 (NHPR, not re-checked), a Teamsters local was on strike at Associated Grocers' distribution center in Pembroke, N.H. No US airline or freight-rail strike found.

Port deadline Nov 20 (see Transportation). US-China: as of Nov 9-11 (not re-checked), China kept its extra 24% tariff on US goods suspended to Jan 10, 2027, with a 10% tariff staying, and extended some critical-mineral export-control waivers to the same date (Quartz); USTR extended Section 301 exclusions on 178 categories of Chinese goods into early January (ANI via The Tribune). Freightos (Nov 10) said the pause on reciprocal port-call fees was also extended to Jan 10, and that Presidents Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet in China next week; CNBC said traders expect the Iran war not to escalate before that summit. Freight costs (Freightos, week to Nov 10): Asia to US West Coast about $8,200 per 40-foot container (down 1%) and to the East Coast about $9,700 (down 2%), still near peak; China to North America air cargo above $8.00/kg. NRF data cited by Freightos project November US container imports 14% below September. Refrigeration thread (re-checked): the Nov 5 joint CISA-FBI guidance on hardening refrigeration controls is still the newest US action; US cases remain about six military commissaries since late August; French officials blamed hackers linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards for October attacks on about 700 French retail sites (Facilities Dive); no civilian US store attack and no on-record US attribution found. No new chip or auto-parts tariff action found.

No new FDA recall notices since Nov 10; the feed's newest items are still the two from that day. Laub's Feeding & Cubing (Beryl, Utah) recalled about 89 tons of Grade A Mini Hay Cubes (horse feed sold Oct 3-31 at its Paragonah farm and a St. George feed store) for possible Clostridium botulinum, after reports of sick horses (three died on one farm) in southern Utah, Nevada and Arizona; the company says the cause is not yet confirmed and testing is underway. KSL reported samples went to an FDA lab with final results expected within the month; no results were found published yet. Family Farmstead Dairy (Worcester, N.Y.) recalled all its raw mild and raw sharp cheddar for possible Listeria, sold in 12 states from New England to Tennessee. Earlier on the feed: Fresh & Ready Foods biscuit sandwiches (Listeria, Nov 8 posting); Eugia vancomycin injection, one lot (particulate matter, Nov 6, a drug); Brad's kale and veggie chips (thallium, Nov 2). USDA-FSIS: no newer item found; as of Nov 6, per Food Safety News, FSIS issued a public health alert (not a recall) for frozen Betterballen meat and poultry snacks with undeclared sesame and anchovy; no illnesses reported. FDA outbreak page still shows its Nov 4 update (Salmonella Javiana 65 cases; E. coli O157:H7 tied to chicken wraps; Listeria 51 cases). Water, north Georgia and Tennessee line (not re-checked today): as of Nov 10, Local 3 News reported McCaysville, Ga., still under a boil-water advisory with residents asked to conserve water, while Copperhill, Tenn., lifted its advisory Nov 9; FEMA assessed Copperhill damage Nov 10 and was scheduled for McCaysville Nov 11. As of Nov 10, Gov. Kemp's state of emergency for Fannin, Gilmer, Murray and Union counties was reported to run until Nov 12 at 11:59 p.m. unless renewed (WSB Radio).

Ebola (Bundibugyo strain): CDC's situation page is unchanged (dated Nov 10, data as of Nov 8): 11,021 total confirmed cases and 5,358 confirmed deaths across all countries, including DR Congo 10,990 cases and 5,354 deaths, Kenya 9 cases and 2 deaths, Nigeria 1 case, and Uganda's earlier 20 cases and France's 1 (neither has active cases). The European CDC's Nov 10 update gives the same DR Congo figures and says 70 confirmed cases and 31 deaths were added since its previous update. CDC says no cases tied to this outbreak have been reported in the US and the risk to the American public remains low. Travel: anyone in DR Congo in the 21 days before a US-bound flight may not board; since Nov 3 all international passengers to the US must sign a statement that they were not in DR Congo; US citizens coming from Uganda or South Sudan must enter through designated airports for screening. Measles: CDC page unchanged since Nov 6 (5,182 confirmed US cases in 2026 as of Nov 5, 47 jurisdictions, 43 new outbreaks). The PAHO commission reviewing whether the US has had a year of continuous measles spread, which would end its elimination status, adjourns Friday; Al Jazeera (Nov 12) says the official announcement is expected early next week, and PAHO's director makes the final call. No decision has been announced. Flu (not re-checked; CDC's weekly FluView not found): as of Nov 8, NBC (citing CDC) reported 42 states with growing or likely growing flu infections and H1N1 causing most cases. Bird flu: CDC's page (updated Nov 5) counts 74 human H5 cases in the US since February 2024 and says the public health risk is low; no newer CDC figure. As of Nov 2, ABC News (AP) reported a Yakima County, Wash., resident died after exposure to infected dairy cattle (carried forward); as of Nov 2, APHIS confirmed H5N1 in an Indiana dairy herd. Drug shortages (carried forward, quarterly data): per ASHP, 225 active shortages in Q3 2026; Becker's reported chemotherapy shortages rose in Q3. Drug recall: Eugia vancomycin injection lot (see Food & water). FDA (Nov. 9): all GLP-1 drugs, including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound, must add a warning about NAION (non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy), a reduced blood flow to the optic nerve that causes sudden, painless vision loss, sometimes permanent (Reuters). The FDA advises anyone with sudden vision loss in one eye to contact a health care professional right away; Novo Nordisk says the data do not show cause and effect, and Lilly said it is evaluating the update (Reuters; NBC Los Angeles).

Quakes: the USGS significant-earthquake feed for the past week still lists only the M6.4 about 30 km WSW of Lata, Solomon Islands (Nov 9; PAGER impact alert green, the lowest). The M4.5+ past-day feed lists 15 events, the largest M5.4 in the South Sandwich Islands region, with others near Japan, the Kuril Islands, Chile, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Vanuatu, Fiji, India and Saint Helena; the only one near the US is an M4.5 off the coast of Oregon (08:17 UTC Nov 12), with no tsunami flag. Volcanoes (USGS Hazards Notification feed, Nov 12): Great Sitkin, Alaska, remains at Watch / Orange (second of four alert levels; notice Nov 9); Kilauea, Hawaii, remains at Advisory / Yellow. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said Nov 11 that Kilauea's eruption is paused after episode 56 ended Nov 5, the summit is reinflating, and the next fountaining episode (57) is forecast for Nov 16-21. Fire: as of Nov 6 (NIFC, page checked Nov 12, still showing the Nov 6 report; updated Fridays), four large fires were burning with 342 personnel assigned; national preparedness level 1 of 5. WPC flags higher fire danger today in parts of the Southeast from gusty winds and very dry air. Nuclear: the NRC's latest event report is still Nov 10, with no operating power reactor events: an ABB Part 21 notice (a supplier defect report) on relays that skipped a drying step, with customers including Catawba and Oconee; a Minneapolis hospital treatment underdose with no dose delivered; and two small cesium-137 calibration sources considered lost at a Fairview Park, Ohio, cardiology office.