Independent News Drop

KELI From Inkwell, this is the Independent News Drop for midnight. I'm Keli, joined by Hast. Tonight: Texas leads the nation in utility shutoffs as families struggle with rising electric bills, and we'll look at the humanitarian crisis unfolding in a Ukrainian city cut off from supplies.

HAST Thanks, Keli. Good to be with you at the top of the hour. We've got reporting on those issues and more coming up.

KELI Let's start with something hitting home for a lot of people. The Texas Tribune is reporting that Texas accounted for more than 3 million of the 13.4 million utility disconnections that occurred across the U.S. in 2024. That's the highest total of any state in the country.

HAST So we're talking about a federal report finding this. What's driving those numbers in Texas specifically?

KELI The Tribune's coverage points to rising electric bills as a major factor. We're seeing families choosing between paying for power and other necessities. It's a problem that's only gotten worse as demand for electricity has climbed and costs have followed.

HAST That's a staggering snapshot of economic pressure on households. On the international front now, the BBC is reporting on the situation in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky, where civilians say they've been cut off from fresh supplies of food and medicine for months.

KELI Right. The BBC describes it as people being trapped in what amounts to a frontline city, facing a choice that's impossible—stay and endure the isolation, or risk what locals are calling the Road of Death trying to leave.

HAST Devastating situation. Shifting to another international story, Al Jazeera is reporting that U.S. CENTCOM has outlined what it calls Project Freedom, aimed at securing safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and blockading Iran.

KELI CENTCOM spokesman Tim Hawkins laid out those priorities, with the focus on maintaining freedom of navigation through one of the world's most critical shipping chokepoints. That comes as tensions remain high in the region.

HAST And staying with the fallout from regional conflict, NPR is looking at how the broader military situation is affecting everyday Americans. Jet fuel prices have spiked because of the tensions with Iran, and that's the second-largest expense for airlines.

KELI NPR reports that carriers are responding by hiking checked baggage fees for most fliers. So travelers may see those added costs showing up on their next ticket purchase.

HAST In other news, scientists working in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park are on the trail of primates, both past and present. The Christian Science Monitor reports that fieldwork there could reveal important clues about human evolution and adaptation.

KELI Researchers hope studying primate behavior and fossils in that region will help us understand how our ancestors adapted to their environment.

HAST Finally, on this day in history. Keli, what happened?

KELI In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 7034, creating the Works Progress Administration under the newly enacted Federal Emergency Relief Administration—a cornerstone of the New Deal.

HAST A program that put millions to work during the Great Depression. That's the Independent News Drop. We'll be back next hour. From Inkwell.