"NY AG secures $12.5B payout for 'forever chemicals' in contaminated drinking water"

New York's attorney general, Letitia James, has secured an increased settlement of $12.5 billion from industrial manufacturing company 3M for contaminating millions of Americans' drinking water with toxic "forever chemicals" known as PFAS. The revised settlement, up from the initial $10.5 billion proposal, addresses concerns raised by a bipartisan coalition of 22 attorneys general, including provisions that could have left taxpayers liable for future damages. PFAS chemicals have been linked to various health issues, and nearly 40% of public drinking water supplies in New York state have been found to contain PFAS. The settlement agreement includes changes such as removing uncapped indemnity in favor of 3M and extending the deadline for eligible water systems to review the settlement.