Electric power

Texas Governor Greg Abbott once more faces tough questions after the recent power grid failure led to many in the state once again being left without electricity. Some 400,000 homes out of 13 million in Texas had no power last week as a deadly ice storm hit the southern U.S. Temperatures plummeted to as low as 29 degrees in south central Texas and reached lows of 27 degrees in the areas around Austin and San Antonio. According to PowerOutage.us, a website that tracks electric customers without power, 66,788 people in Texas were without power as of Sunday morning. Arkansas and California suffered smaller power outages with 24,114 and 14,561 in each state respective being left without electricity. Abbott issued a disaster declaration in Texas following the storm, acknowledging the power outages. Abbott's declaration includes Denton, Hays, Henderson, Milam, Smith, Travis, and Willamson counties. The governor said: "The State of Texas has provided all assistance … [Read more...] about Texas power grid failure raises questions for Greg Abbott

AUSTIN, Texas — Warmer weather has returned to Austin, Texas, after the winter storm that began to hit the state last Monday. It was a balmy 73 degrees in the city on Sunday. But to many residents in and around the capital who were still dealing with the storm’s fallout, progress in the recovery seemed frozen. More than 30,000 customers in Austin remained without power on Sunday night, according to Austin Energy, down from more than 100,000 last week but still a puzzling total to many residents who lost electricity on Wednesday. Adding to the misery was the continued presence of fallen trees and downed utility poles throughout the area. Life without lights, heat and electricity — and, in many cases, water — was a dominant theme of conversations over breakfast and before and after church services. All of it has tested residents’ patience. “We should have been prepared for something like this,” said Lory Ponce, 58, a South Austin resident whose property was battered by … [Read more...] about In Austin, Recovery From Winter Storm Is Slow and Piecemeal

Southern Democrats attacked the U.S Army at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861. Having ignited the Civil War, Southerners had the chutzpah to call it the War of Northern Aggression. Likewise, Democrats unleashed today’s War on Gas. Inspired by their Confederate ancestors, they then blame their victims who complain that the Left is stealing their natural gas and gas-powered appliances. (RELATED: VIJAY JAYARAJ: The Left’s Climate Imperialism) Democrats shot first. But when everyday Americans fight back, Democrats and their media bodyguards accuse conservatives of letting slip the dogs of culture war. Tucker Carlson recently compiled a panorama of relevant Democrat-Left lies: “This is delusional drivel from the harem of the unhinged over at Fox News,” Democratic Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcom Kenyatta complained. MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan denounced “The imaginary ban on gas stoves they’re all getting mad about over on Fox.” “You have Ron DeSantis saying, ‘I’m … [Read more...] about DEROY MURDOCK: Democrats Want You To Believe Gas Stove Bans Are A Figment Of Your Imagination

Donald Trump, as expected, announced on Tuesday night that he’ll run for president again in 2024, despite being twice impeached, castigated for fomenting the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, investigated for potential fraud at his family’s business and blamed for Republicans’ weak showing in last week’s midterm elections. But while the former president is counting on faithful Republicans to once again flock to him, he appears to be losing supporters — including deep-pocketed conservative donors who are instead looking for alternatives. Just this morning, Stephen A. Schwarzman of Blackstone , a longtime ally of Trump’s, told Axios that he would back someone from a “new generation” of Republicans. And the attendee list for Tuesday night’s announcement was telling: Loyalists like Roger Stone and Mike Lindell, the C.E.O. of MyPillow, were there, but few members of Congress made the trip. Mr. Trump outlined what a second term would look like. In his meandering 63-minute speech, he focused … [Read more...] about Big-Name Donors Are Moving On From Trump

Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov will be replaced by the chief of military intelligence ahead of an expected Russian offensive and following corruption scandals, a senior lawmaker said Sunday. “We are preparing decisions and negotiations that should strengthen our soldiers, give Ukraine more international support and more weapons," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address without elaborating. Zelensky said this week he wanted talks on Ukraine’s membership in the EU to begin this year, stepping up the fight against corruption. A senior lawmaker close to Zelensky said later Sunday that 56-year-old Reznikov, one of the best-known faces of the country’s war effort, would be replaced. “Kyrylo Budanov will head the defence ministry, which is absolutely logical in wartime," said lawmaker David Arakhamia, referring to the 37-year-old chief of the military intelligence. Holding the rank of major general, Budanov has headed the military intelligence since … [Read more...] about Ukraine Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov Loses Job Following Corruption Allegations

The midsize truck market, encompassing the Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado , GMC Canyon , Toyota Tacoma , Jeep Gladiator , Nissan Frontier and Honda Ridgeline took a dip in 2022, dropping 4 percent overall. It might look like the segment is losing steam, but there are plenty of factors that say this is an anomaly and not a trend. "The slight decline in the mid-size pickup segment in 2022 was likely due to a number of factors, including automaker's prioritization of higher margin nameplates like full-size pickups and lower overall sales volume across the industry, but there is still healthy demand and the slight decline in 2022 shouldn't be viewed as the mid-size market drying up," Paul Waatti, manager, industry analysis, told Newsweek . With many midsize trucks now the dimensions that full-size trucks were a few decades ago, and with the prices for full-size models increasing corresponding to their larger size, automakers are seeing the midsize market as a target … [Read more...] about Is the lack of electrification hurting midsize trucks?