What is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
CBSN
In a move that some economists are calling rare and unprecedented, President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered the release of 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve located along the Gulf of Mexico.
Biden's move is in response to the soaring gas prices Americans have experienced this fall. The Biden administration said it hopes the 50 million barrels from the nation's stockpile will help lower the cost of fuel at a time when people are expected to travel in droves to reunite with family members for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
"Today's announcement reflects the president's commitment to do everything in his power to bring down costs for the American people and continue our strong economic recovery," the White House said in a statement Tuesday.
Authorities made two gruesome discoveries Tuesday after a Missouri woman walked into a police station and told officers that she fatally shot one of her children and drowned the other, officials said. Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak said at a news conference that authorities believe both children were killed Tuesday morning.
Strong storms with damaging winds and baseball-sized hail pummeled Texas on Tuesday, leaving more than one million businesses and homes without power as much of the U.S. recovered from severe weather, including tornadoes, that killed at least 24 people in seven states during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.