** U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday announced Washington would issue more than 500 new sanctions targeting Russia as the United States seeks to increase pressure on Moscow to mark the second anniversary of its war in Ukraine.
** AT&T finally restored wireless service to all customers by around 3 pm ET Thursday and the company said it was “sincerely” sorry to customers. An estimated 70,000 lost cell phone ability and the company did not explain what happened.
** Pioneer Natural Resources reported 2023 production that exceeded its prior forecast, as the U.S. shale producer works to close its about $60 billion purchase by oil major Exxon Mobil later this year.
** Rivian Automotive Inc. emerged as a darling of investors — a brand with promise of bringing the “cool” factor to the once-red-hot market for electric vehicles. But the Irvine-based company hit the brakes this week, announcing a 10% cut to its workforce and lower production expectations.
** A nearly two decades-old program to slash climate-warming emissions from transportation could cause California gasoline prices to spike as much as 50 cents a gallon in the next two years. That’s according to staff of the state’s leading air quality regulator.
** The chair of a U.S. House Committee on China and the top Democrat on the panel urged Volkswagen to halt operations in Xinjiang after thousands of vehicles with a small Chinese-made electronic component were held at U.S. ports.
** Vineyard Wind, the wind farm under construction off the coast of Massachusetts, has begun delivering energy to the power grid from five of its planned 62 wind turbines, company and state officials said.
** Ford Motor said on Friday it had halted shipments of all 2024 model year F-150 Lightning electric pickup trucks, so it could perform quality checks for an issue it did not specify. The No. 2 U.S. automaker said the shipment halt began on Feb. 9.
World
** A cargo ship that was struck by a Houthi ballistic missile on Monday has created an 18-mile long oil slick in the Red Sea as it continues to take on water, two US officials said Friday. The M/V Rubymar — a Belize-flagged, UK-registered, Lebanese-owned vessel — was carrying 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it was struck on Monday by one of two ballistic missiles fired from Houthi territory in Yemen.
** Mexico’s outgoing president has taken steps to promote a smooth hand-off for national oil company Pemex, three sources told Reuters, but the latest moves will likely postpone a day of reckoning for the world’s most heavily-indebted oil company.
** Braya Renewable Fuels said Thursday it has begun renewable diesel production at Canada’s Come-by-Chance refinery, completing its conversion of the plant which once had an output of 135,000 barrels per day (bpd) of fuels.
** Sitting on the front line of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is near the brink of a disaster that could imperil the Continent, according to international monitors and Ukrainian officials.