As of last night, about 35,000 customers in Moore County, North Carolina, were still without power, according to Duke Energy’s outage map, after two substations were attacked with gunfire Saturday night. In addition to residents facing freezing nighttime temps without power this week, schools will stay closed through at least Thursday and there is a countywide 9pm curfew until further notice.

What happened? Starting around 7pm on Saturday, power outages hit 45,000 customers (nearly the entire county). Authorities said one or more people opened fire at two substations about 10 miles apart, damaging some equipment “beyond repair,” according to Duke Energy general manager Jason Hollifield. Some people might not have power back until late tonight.

Authorities haven’t confirmed a suspect or a motive, but did say that this was no accident. One theory that has been swirling around social media is that the attack aimed to disrupt a drag show that was happening in the area at the time of the outage Saturday evening. Authorities said they didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

Physical attacks on electric grids are rare, but serious

The image of walking up to giant electrical equipment and firing away feels like a scene from a National Lampoon movie. But there have been nine physical attacks on the US electrical grid in 2022, according to the Department of Energy.

Officials have linked the attacks to extremist groups, particularly those that have adopted “accelerationism,” or a belief that encourages mass violence to speed up society’s downfall. In February, three white supremacists pleaded guilty to a plan to attack energy facilities around the country in hope of inciting chaos and a race war.

Protecting this infrastructure hasn’t been a high priority. Most security for substations and other parts of the electrical grid is the responsibility of states, whose security plans are essentially: flimsy fence and prayers. In the wake of the attack, experts are encouraging beefed up security, like erecting barriers around circuit breakers and other vital equipment.—MM

Trump Organization convicted of criminal tax fraud. A jury found two corporate entities of Donald Trump’s family business guilty of tax-dodging schemes, including moving some compensation off the books and paying execs through Manhattan apartments and car leases. The former president wasn’t charged, and the organization will likely face only $1.6 million in fines from the verdict. But it could have long-lasting consequences for the Trump Organization’s future business prospects, and may cast another shadow over Trump’s third run for president.

AZ gets one of the largest foreign investments in US history. In front of an audience that included President Biden and Apple CEO Tim Cook, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced a $40 billion investment in chipmaking facilities in Phoenix, AZ. The Taiwanese powerhouse had already planned to invest $12 billion in Arizona, but decided to build a second processing plant in the area, pushing up the total cost by $28 billion. Biden is hyping the project to show he’s a Nick Saban-level recruiter when it comes to luring semiconductor companies to build products in the US.

Morocco makes history. At the first World Cup hosted by an Arab country, Morocco became the first Arab country to ever reach the quarterfinals after a major upset victory over Spain in a penalty shootout yesterday. After Portugal beat Switzerland in the later match, the final eight teams are now set. France will face England, the Netherlands will take on Argentina, Croatia will try to stop Brazil’s seemingly unstoppable squad, and Morocco will play Portugal.

Imagine if the US banned flying from Philly to Washington, DC, and told you to hop on Amtrak instead.

That’s pretty much what France plans to do: Earlier this week, the European Commission allowed the country to chug along with its short-haul domestic flight ban. Only air routes with a reliable train alternative that takes less than 2.5 hours will be cut.

What’s about to happen: Over the objection of the Union of French Airports, there will soon be no commercial flights between Paris Orly and the cities of Nantes, Lyon, and Bordeaux. And if rail options improve, passengers planning to travel between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Lyon or Rennes, or between Lyon and Marseille, will also have to go by train (or shell out for a terribly pricey Uber).

The move, part of the country’s effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions, has been welcomed by environmental groups—though some argue it’s only an airplane snack-sized portion of climate regulation.

But French officials aren’t planning to stop here: Transport Minister Clément Beaune also wants to slap taxes and restrictions on private jets to reduce the use of the infamously gas-guzzling mode of transport. If his plans materialize, perhaps even jet junkie Steven Spielberg will find himself catching a coach to Cannes.—SK

Is Euphoria real? Best printer? How to know chicken done? Deeply personal (and often embarrassing), Google searches expose our collective curiosities, interests, and insecurities. The search giant published its top trending searches of 2022 today.

The top trending “news” stories: election results, Queen Elizabeth passing, and Ukraine. The top trending people searches: Johnny Depp, Will Smith, and Amber Heard. Not too surprising, but things get a little more interesting with the top trending finance-related searches.

People were nervous about their money

Googlers’ 2022 finance questions don’t paint the most economically confident picture. “How to buy I bonds,” “what is a bear market,” “why is gas so expensive,” and “how to get student loan forgiveness” led the list this year (The one we can answer with the fewest words: I bonds, the inflation-linked bonds that at one point returned nearly 10%, are sold on a US Treasury website).

And trending queries that start with “should I” look similarly…uncertain: “Should I buy I bonds now,” “should I stop 401k contributions,” and “should I buy Twitter stock today” all made the top five.

Finally, people looking to make a salary-boosting career shift took inspiration from Tom Cruise and Ace Ventura. The top “how to become” searches featured jobs like: Amazon influencer, fighter pilot, and animal transporter.—MK

Stat: The last Boeing 747 ever rolled out of the company’s assembly plant in Everett, Washington, yesterday. The curvy plane, known as the “Queen of the Skies,” heralded a new age of jumbo jets when it debuted in 1970. But it’s fallen out of favor as airlines have found more success in flying the same long-haul routes with smaller planes that burn less fuel, like Boeing’s 777 and 787 Dreamliner.

Quote: “If I didn’t watch CNBC in the morning...the word ‘recession’ wouldn’t be in my vocabulary, just looking at our data.”

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby suggested that viewers of business news shows may be bludgeoned into thinking that a recession is inevitable, despite no evidence of a slowdown from his perspective (oh, and he said this in an interview on…CNBC). Aviation does seem to be faring better than most industries in 2022; thanks to strong travel demand, the global airline sector is projected to return to profitability next year.

Read: The Fox Sports US World Cup coverage is an unmissable abomination. (The Guardian)

Finance bros are out, rich girls are in. Katie Gatti knows about money, and she’s here to help you manifest your financial freedom. Join Katie and her guests as they talk about spending habits, smart investing, and tax strategies—without putting you to sleep. Check out some of her most recent episodes:

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• Are rich people better than you? Why everything we think we know about good economics might be backward

This editorial content is supported by Vin Social.

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Word Search: You might get some new cookie shape ideas from today’s puzzle. Check it out.

How much do they make?

We recently came across this article (don’t click on it yet; it’ll give away the answer), which reveals how much lifeguards in Los Angeles make.

Here’s the question: If you had to guess, how much did the highest-paid lifeguard in Los Angeles bring home in total compensation in 2021?

We asked readers: How is inflation affecting you? Here are the results.

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Daniel Douglas made $510,283 last year as a “lifeguard captain.”

His salary: $150,054

Perks: $28,661

Benefits: $85,508

Overtime: $246,060