Tracy Mumford
๐ค SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
But the record low temperatures are not the only factor driving up bills.
By some estimates, the price of natural gas has risen 50% from last year.
And electricity is also getting more expensive, a trend that's only expected to become a bigger issue as more and more massive data centers pop up across the country.
Even as prices rise, the federal government is offering states less money to help low-income residents through the winter.
The budget for one program that subsidizes heating costs has been cut by about a third.
Americans who rely on firewood for heating aren't immune from the scramble either.
Suppliers across the U.S.
say they've seen a surge in demand, leading to weeks-long delivery delays for wood, or even having to turn customers away altogether.
And finally, a few days ago, a man took to the internet to complain that he'd just ripped into a bag of Valentine's Day Reese's mini hearts and found they were not good.
They weren't covered in milk chocolate, but instead in a chocolate-flavored coating that cannot legally be called milk chocolate.
The man actually threw the bag away.
The first time in his life, he said, that he'd thrown away a Reese's.
It was kind of a big deal because the man's name is Brad Reese.
He's the grandson of the inventor of the Reese's peanut butter cup, though the candies are now manufactured by Hershey's.
The recipe change is part of a recent trend in the candy business.
As prices for cocoa have climbed due to drought, labor shortages, and other factors, companies have been moving away from milk chocolate.
Other Hershey's products, like Rolo's, Mr. Goodbar, Almond Joy, no longer list it in their ingredients.
In response to questions, Hershey said that classic peanut butter cups are still being made the way they always have been, milk chocolate present and accounted for.
But if you check the ingredient list for the seasonal varieties, hearts, Easter eggs, it's gone.
You'll see sugar and vegetable oil listed first.