1. Carlee Russell went missing last Thursday in Hoover, Alabama after she called 911 to report seeing a toddler walking on the interstate. She reappeared two days later. Authorities said they couldn’t verify Russell’s initial statements about being missing. She said she was forced into an 18-wheeler truck and taken to a home where a man and woman made her take naked pictures. Police added that before her disappearance, Russell searched the internet about paying for Amber Alerts, how to steal money from a register without getting caught, and details from the movie Taken. (NBC)
2. Governor Mills signed one of the most expansive reproductive rights laws in the country on Wednesday. It will be legal to terminate a pregnancy after 24 weeks, when a doctor deems it medically necessary. (WMTW)
3. The average price of heating oil in Maine is $3.32 a gallon. The price of heating oil was $5.02 this time last year and last winter, prices ranged from $4 to $6 a gallon. Filling up your tank now could save you hundreds of dollars. (WMTW)
4. Friends and family of the late Kevin Fahrman, aka the Valentine’s Day Bandit, are honoring him on his birthday. They are encouraging Mainers to “be a Kevin.” There will be a boat parade in Kevin’s honor starting at 4:30 p.m. in Portland. It starts near SailMaine and will go by Fort Gorges. (WGME)
5. A winning ticket has been sold in California for the Powerball jackpot worth over an estimated $1 billion, the sixth largest in U.S. history and the 3rd largest in the history of the game. The California Lottery said on Twitter that the winning ticket was sold in Los Angeles at Las Palmitas Mini Market. (WGME)
Made Hot by the Law Offices of Joe Bornstein. Over 25,000 victories for injured Mainers since 1974. 207-CALL-JOE or online at joebornstein.com
