1. Hundreds of thousands of Mainers lost power Thursday as a nor’easter brought heavy snow and strong winds to the region. Outages peaked around midday, affecting nearly 350,000 Central Maine Power customers. As of 7:15 AM this morning more than 260,000 customers were still without power. (PH)

2. With thousands of Mainers without power across the state, many communities are opening warming shelters for those in need. (WGME)

3. The Maine Celtics defeated the Delaware Blue Coats 119-112 yesterday at the Portland Expo. They advance to the Eastern Conference finals Sunday. (WMTW)

4. The tickets for the women’s Final Four matches this week were twice the price of tickets for the men’s semifinals. One women’s game ticket was more than $2,300 on the resale market compared to the men’s $1,000 price. Iowa, UConn, NC State, South Carolina play in the women’s final four tonight. Purdue, NC State, UConn, Alabama play in the men’s final four tomorrow. (ESPN)

5. The estimated Powerball jackpot for Saturday is $1.23 billion. For anyone who wants all of their cash up front, a lump sum payout would be $595.1 million. The jackpot is the fourth largest in Powerball history. (CNN)

Made Hot in Maine by the Law Offices of Joe Bornstein. Accidents happen…to be their specialty. 207-CALL-JOE or online at: joebornstein.com.