A cyberattack has shut down America's largest fuel pipeline, and this is brought up concerns about everything, from how vulnerable America's infrastructure is to how much this could impact fuel prices.

As far as those are concerned, the national average for 1 gallon of gasoline was 2 dollars and 97 cents on Monday.

That's 60% higher than it was at this time last year when Americans weren't driving as much during COVID related shutdowns.

The Colonial Pipeline Company transports about 45% of all the fuel consumed on the US East Coast.

It found out Friday it had been hit by a cybersecurity attack.

Colonial says the computer virus involves something called ransomware.

What this does is encrypt or lock up important information until a person or organization pays a ransom to get it back again.

This is a growing threat to computer systems and the security company McAfee says it's nearly impossible to get files back without paying the ransom unless the attacker backs off.

So who is the attacker?

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation says it's a criminal group that originated in Russia.

We don't know if Colonial plans to pay the ransom; the federal government says because it's a private company, it's up to Colonial to decide.

We can tell you that in the past year, ransomware victims have paid more than 350 million dollars to get their files back.

The US government's telling infrastructure providers to do all they can to protect themselves from cyberattacks.

Colonial says it was able to shut down its operations before the virus could impact its physical equipment systems, the ones that actually operate the oil pipelines.

It says its smaller systems are now up and running again, but its 4 main lines are still shut down and it may take until the end of the week until it's fully operational.

The government says there's not a shortage of gasoline at the moment and an oil expert says a disruption of a couple days isn't typically a big deal.

However, if Colonial's pipes stay closed through this week or longer, the problems this creates and the price rises it causes could be much greater.

According to the Education Week News Organization, 2 US states currently have orders in effect that some schools must remain closed out of coronavirus concerns, 14 states currently have orders that schools must be open, offering in-person learning.

The remaining states don't have an order in effect, meaning the decision's up to individual school districts.

To be open or not to be open—that has been an ongoing challenge for educators, students, and parents since almost all schools were closed last year after Covid reached America.

Here's a tale of two districts on opposite sides of the country.

What does the G.C.F. stand for?

Since last September, 11-year-old Nivea Bailey has spent every school day here at Charleston Progressive Academy.

It was very important for me to get her back in school.

Equally important was that Nivea's schedule has allowed her mother, Charlene, to maintain hers.

I work as a physician office specialist, so I have to be at work 5 days a week.

Parents in the Charleston County School District in South Carolina have had the option to send their children for five-day-a-week in-person learning since the school year began.

As more parents became more comfortable, they came back—our teaching staff and other personnel.

We're, of course, apprehensive, but they were willing to come back after they saw the conditions, the safety measures we had taken.

Superintendent Gerrita Postlewait says that today, nearly 80 percent of the district's 50,000 students are back in school fulltime.

Nearly 3,000 miles away, things look strikingly different.

April 12 and we reopened our schools.

In San Francisco's public schools, a district roughly the same size as Charleston's, Deputy Superintendent Gentle Blythe says full in-person instruction is only offered for preschool and special needs students across the entire district.

K through 12 students recently started a hybrid plan.

While San Francisco—certainly, I think—has gotten a lot of attention for being a district that hasn't reopened as quickly as many parents would have liked, we're certainly not alone within our state.

More than half of all California public school students are still learning virtually and only 13 percent are in full in-person instruction.

Why is there still this inability to offer in-person learning?

We wish we could have done it sooner, but we are moving in that direction and we have committed to a full in-person return In the Fall.

A majority of school districts across the country find themselves in a position somewhere between Charleston and San Francisco.

According to the Department of Education, more than half of K through 8 public schools have fully reopened for in-person learning, but many also intend to keep a hybrid and online option for those families who want it, even in Charleston, where district officials say nearly 500 families have applied.

There will be families who have really concrete, legitimate reasons to remain virtual in terms of medical fragility.

And so we think it's important to offer a virtual academy option.

But Principal Wanda Wright-Sheats is optimistic that most students will be back in classes.

Academically, the program would work better if they were here with us; socially, for students, being with their peers is better than being isolated.

10-second trivia: What was the name of the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby?

Aristides, Sir Barton, Spokane, or Seabiscuit

With jockey Oliver Lewis on his back, Aristides won the first Kentucky Derby in 1875.

Though Seabiscuit is one of the most famous American horses, he never ran in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, or the Belmont Stakes, the three events that make up the Triple Crown of horse racing.

However, Seabiscuit did once beat a Triple Crown winner named War Admiral in a head-to-head match race.

Every year after the Kentucky Derby, racing fans wonder what kind of chances the winner has of capturing the next two races for the Triple Crown.

13 horses have done this since 1919, but the animal that won on May 1 of this year may not be allowed to compete in the other races.

Here's why.

Medina Spirit's Kentucky Derby win is in doubt after a positive drug test revealed traces of an anti-inflammatory that can mask health issues in horses before a race.

I spoke with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and he unequivocally denied any wrongdoing and said that this drug was not administered to his Kentucky Derby winning horse.

He was, however, emotional after learning the news and speaking with reporters earlier this morning.

Yesterday, I got the biggest gut punch in racing for something that I didn't do, and this is really—it's disturbing, it's an injustice to the horse.

We're now waiting on the results of additional tests that will ultimately determine whether or not the horse is disqualified as a Kentucky Derby winner.

And Bob Baffert also has the right to appeal those results as well, a process that could take a very long time to adjudicate.

Churchill Downs has also suspended Bob Baffert from training or running any horses on their property until the situation is resolved, a result that he told me was incredibly disappointing, as he has a lot of respect for the Kentucky Derby as he put it and would never do anything to jeopardize a result there.

In the meantime, organizers of the Preakness Stakes are gathering their own information as the second leg of the Triple Crown is right around the corner scheduled for next Saturday.

They will ultimately determine whether or not Medina Spirit will be allowed to run there.

Carolyn Manno, CNN, New York.

For our last story today, I'd like to welcome our special guest, random.

This is a roller coaster, it's named Orion, it's part of the Kings Island amusement park in Ohio.

But Carl, what's so random about that?

Well, test riding it are 32-plus dolls made in the likeness of the late painter Bob Ross.

And if one of those is something you just got to have, the park says you can win one by playing one of its midway games in the season ahead.

It'll take skill—not a happy little accident—to win a Bob Ross, but if there's nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend, a plush shouldn't make your skin flush with a blush if you have more fun than most people by experiencing the joy of painting, rollercoaster riding, and generally being Bob Rossome.

I'm Carl Azuz hoping all your trees are happy ones.

Northport High School gets today's shout-out for subscribing and leaving a comment on our YouTube channel.

Hello to everyone watching from North Port, Florida.