Russian attacks: Russia has attacked the electrical system in Ukraine, causing widespread blackouts. The Russians targeted the nation’s largest hydroelectric power plant in addition to numerous other facilities. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said that the Russians used 90 rockets and about 60 drones to attack the power facilities. About 1,000 miners were trapped in an underground mine because there was no electricity to operate the elevator to bring them to the surface. Â
Tap water: A study by the U.S. Geological Survey says that about 45% of the tap water in the U.S. is contaminated with polyflourinated chemicals, better known as PFAS. The chemicals have been linked to a wide range of health issues from cancer to obesity. The Geological Survey said water samples were collected and analyzed from 716 locations including private wells and public water supplies and that the projection of what’s happening nationwide was a result of using that data. The Geological Survey did not have specific recommendations on what to do about the contamination other than for users to install their own water filters.
California insurance: State Farm has announced that it will discontinue insuring 72,000 homeowners and renters in California because of what it calls soaring costs due to the wildfires and extreme weather events. Last June, State Farm announced it would no longer accept applications for all business and personal lines of property and casualty insurance in California. In November, Allstate said it would pause accepting new homeowner, condo and commercial insurance customers in California.
Haiti’s crisis: The U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Haiti says that the situation in that country has become extremely alarming. Ulrika Richardson said hospitals are running out of medical supplies and are having to treat an increasing number of gunshot victims, people are going hungry and gang violence is escalating. She said that 5.5 million Haitians are in need of food and 45% do not have access to clean water. Two young boys, who were gang members, are blamed for opening fire and killing several people in a wealthy suburb of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince.
Apple suit: The Justice Department and 14 states plus the District of Columbia have filed suit against Apple, charging that the company has illegally monopolized the smartphone market. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that Apple is forcing consumers to spend more money because of its business practices. As an example of wrongdoing, it’s alleged that Apple has ensured that photos and videos taken on iPhones can be sent to other iPhones in their original quality, but when sent to other makes of cellphones arrive slowly and are of poor quality.
Jackpot: The jackpot in tonight’s Mega Millions drawing had reached $977 million as of this morning. The drawing is scheduled for 11 p.m. Eastern time tonight A winner would have the option of taking a lump sum payment of about $413 million. The chances of winning the jackpot are estimated at one in 302,575,350. There was no jackpot winner in the past 29 drawings.
