# data[].attributes.body
Oklahoma reports 4.2 magnitude earthquake.  The earthquake was centered a few miles southeast of Manchester.
Though residents in Tulsa, Oklahoma city, and Wichita said that they felt the earthquake.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake was reported Friday morning near the Oklahoma-Kansas border.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake was centered a few miles southeast of the town of Manchester, Okla. -- but residents in Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Wichita, Kan., are reporting to have felt it.

"Just felt an earthquake at the NWS office!" the National Weather Service station in Tulsa tweeted.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
There were no immediate reports of damage.

The USGS reported a magnitude 2.9 earthquake in the same area late last night.
This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Oklahoma reports 4.2 magnitude earthquake near Kansas border

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake was reported Friday morning near the Oklahoma-Kansas border. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake was centered a few miles southeast of the town of Manchester, Okla. -- but residents in Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Wichita, Kan., are reporting to have felt it.

# data[].attributes.body
Texas is having record breaking low temperatures and snow that Texas hasn't seen in decades.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What you need to know

A deadly winter storm severely strained power facilities in Texas and left millions in the cold and dark for days.

The storm was expected to move east today, bringing half an inch of ice to parts of North Carolina and Virginia. More than 100 million people stretching from Texas to Massachusetts were under a winter storm warning or winter weather advisory.

Is your power out? Bookmark CNN's lite site for text-only top stories.

Our live coverage of the storm has ended, but you can track the snow and ice here

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said flying to Cancun while much of his state suffers without power or water was a mistake.

"Look, it was obviously a mistake, and in hindsight I wouldn't have done it," the Republican lawmaker told reporters after returning to his Houston home Thursday night.

"I was trying to be a dad. And all of us have made decisions, when you got two girls who have been cold for two days and haven't had heat or power and they're saying, 'Hey look, we don't have school, why don't we go. Let's get out of here.' I think there are a lot of parents that would be like, 'Alright let me see if I can do this, great!' That's what I wanted to do."

Cruz also said he regretted leaving his home state in the middle of a crisis almost as soon as he boarded the plane for Cancun.

"I started having second thoughts almost the moment I sat down on the plane, because on the one hand, all of us who are parents have a responsibility to take care of our kids, take care of our family, that's something Texans have been doing across the state," Cruz said.

"But I also have a responsibility that I take very seriously of for the state of Texas and frankly, leaving when so many Texans were hurting didn't feel right and so I changed my return flight and flew back on the first available flight I could take," Cruz continued.

"I couldn't take a morning flight because the current restrictions require a Covid test, so I had to get a Covid test this morning, before I could get on a flight back, so I took the first flight I could get after getting the Covid test and testing negative."

With protesters audible outside his home, Cruz said he understands the anger many Texans feel toward his decision.

"Of course, I understand why people are upset. Listen, we're in a strange time where we're Twitter's been going crazy and the media is going crazy and there's a lot of venom and vitriol that I think is unfortunate frankly on both sides," Cruz said. "I think everyone ought to treat each other with respect and decency and try to understand each other more particularly at a time of crisis."

Cruz lauded Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for calling for an investigation into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' activities once power is restored.

The Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency in Texas Thursday, following the brutal winter storms that pounded the state.

The action is retroactive to Feb.11 and provides a wide range of relief, particularly for recipients of various forms of federal aid.

HHS Acting Secretary Norris Cochran said the actions will "protect access to healthcare."

"HHS stands ready to assist the state of Texas to get aid to those individuals and families most impacted by these storms," Cochran said in a statement.

President Biden declared an emergency for the state last week. The HHS declaration gives health care providers more flexibility to help those in need of health services during the disaster, the department said.

Some immigration detention facilities in Texas are experiencing intermittent power outages as well as interruptions in water service as a result of the winter storm, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The facilities, which house adults and families, have back-up generator power.

"ICE staff at each facility is closely monitoring the situation and making adjustments to ensure the health and safety of detainees in our care. Food, water and heat are being provided to all individuals in custody," the agency said in a statement.

"The agency is committed to ensuring that those in our custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments and under appropriate conditions of confinement. We continue to monitor the changing situation and make accommodations that are in the best interest of the individuals in our custody and our staff," the statement concluded.

Customs and Border Protection is similarly experiencing limited issues, such as intermittent power outages, due to the weather.

"Back-up generators are available to most facilities in the event of loss of power or utilities to CBP facilities," CBP said in a statement. "Resources are reallocated in cases where power is lost and back-up generators are not available in order to meet mission requirements."

Six suspected weather-related deaths have been reported in Taylor County, Texas, according to local authorities.

The Abilene Fire Department said in a news release it has been made aware of three separate events "where circumstances due to the recent freezing temperatures may have contributed to the loss of life to Abilene citizens."

A 67-year-old male was found unresponsive outside of a local business on Monday, according to the fire department. The agency added the man "appears to be a transient who spent the night outside and possibly succumbed to the freezing temperatures."

Abilene Fire responded to a medical emergency at a home Wednesday, where they found a 60-year-old male dead. The man's wife told the fire department the residence had been without power for three days.

"AFD crews noted that the temperature inside of the residence felt as cold as the temperature outside," the fire department said in the release.

The wife, 72, was transported to a local hospital after she was found to be experiencing a medical issue.

Also Wednesday, Abilene Fire was informed by a local ambulance provider that a patient had died at a medical facility that was "unable to provide necessary treatment due to the loss of water pressure at that facility." The fire department said in the release the patients was scheduled for transfer to another facility to receive the needed treatment but died before that. The transfer was not delayed due to weather conditions, the fire department noted in the release.

Taylor County Sheriff Ricky Bishop told CNN three men were found dead in their respective homes in two different cities on Wednesday.

One of the men was found on the porch of his Tuscola home, while the other two were found inside their homes in Buffalo Gap. Bishop said two of them did not have power in their homes.

While autopsies have not been conducted yet to determine the cause of death, Bishop told CNN all three deaths are suspected to be weather-related.

GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed optimism in the increased ability to generate power Thursday afternoon, and added that any remaining outages across the state are tied to downed power lines and the need to manually reconnect lines after the storm.

"There will be more cold temperatures in various regions across the state of Texas tonight, ERCOT will continue to work to manage the power to ensure that power will not go down in residential areas across the state, but we still have to deal with the uncertainty of what is going on in the power generation facilities," Abbott said.

"We hope and anticipate no location will be without power tonight. The good news is we are starting the evening with every residence in the state of Texas not lacking a generation of power," the governor continued.

"Also, I am told as it concerns the power companies that do the repair of the power lines and as well as the connection to houses that every available repair truck has been dispatched to repair those downed power lines," Abbott noted.

The governor's comments come as the federal Department of Energy said in a new report Thursday that 4% of customers in Texas are now without power, down from more than 25% in the department's Wednesday update.

As of 5 p.m. ET, more than 365,000 customers in Texas remained without power, according to PowerOutrages.us.

Nearly 800 public drinking water systems across the state of Texas are experiencing issues due to winter weather, according to Toby Baker, executive director for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Out of the 7,000 public drinking water systems in Texas, 797 water systems are reporting issues such as frozen or broken pipes or high usage, Baker said.

There are about 725 systems under boil water advisories, which impacts about 13 million Texans, according to Baker.

Baker said his office is reaching out to systems across the state to identify those experiencing problems.

They are also reaching out to labs to make sure they are prepared to process the samples that will be needed to end boil water notices across the state.

Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief W. Nim Kidd said that the state focuses on three groups of water - emergency drinking water, agricultural water, and industrial water, such as that used in hospitals.

Kidd explained that industrial water replenishment will remain the biggest challenge as typically other areas of the state would be able to help during an emergency like a hurricane. But in this situation, the entire state is experiencing water difficulties.

They are asking that people who have water to conserve it as they work through the emergency.

18 hr 7 min ago
Here's a look at the storm's impact over the past week

The National Weather Service Prediction Center shared striking images today of the winter storm's impact on the country in just over a week.

The image from Feb. 12 shows how little snowfall was impacting the US. By Feb. 18, much of the US was blanketed with heavy snow and ice and dealing with cold temperatures.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pledged to reform the independent organization that operates the state's power grid, saying the events of this week are "absolutely unacceptable and can never be replicated again."

Abbott blasted the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in his news conference Thursday, saying again that an investigation will shortly be underway.

"We have already begun the process to make sure that events like this, never again happen in Texas, and it starts with reforming the agency in charge of electric reliability in Texas, which is not what happened this week," he said.

"Five days before the winter storm hit, the ERCOT CEO assured ERCOT, and I quote, 'We're ready for the cold temperatures coming our way.'"

"ERCOT's annual winter assessment, which is designed to ensure that the state is prepared, assured the public that there would be enough power to meet peak demand this winter," Abbott continued. "ERCOT failed on each of these measures that they said they had undertaken."

Abbott said he has issued an executive order adding emergency items to the upcoming legislative session, and also asked the state legislature to investigate what happened at ERCOT before and during this week's deadly winter storm.

"Texans deserve answers about why the shortfalls occurred, and how they're going to be corrected and Texans will get those answers," he said.

Power has been restored to nearly two million homes since yesterday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

He added that 325,000 Texans remain without power.

Abbott explained that those without power are not without power because of a lack of ability to generate it, but because of different reasons such as downed power lines or a need to manually reconnect premises to power.

Abbott also said he has signed a major disaster declaration that is awaiting approval by President Biden. If the declaration is granted, it will give Texans the ability to apply for individual assistance to restore damage to homes that is not covered by private insurance, he added.

What you need to know

A deadly winter storm severely strained power facilities in Texas and left millions in the cold and dark for days.

The storm was expected to move east today, bringing half an inch of ice to parts of North Carolina and Virginia. More than 100 million people stretching from Texas to Massachusetts were under a winter storm warning or winter weather advisory.

Is your power out? Bookmark CNN's lite site for text-only top stories.

Our live coverage of the storm has ended, but you can track the snow and ice here

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said flying to Cancun while much of his state suffers without power or water was a mistake.

"Look, it was obviously a mistake, and in hindsight I wouldn't have done it," the Republican lawmaker told reporters after returning to his Houston home Thursday night.

"I was trying to be a dad. And all of us have made decisions, when you got two girls who have been cold for two days and haven't had heat or power and they're saying, 'Hey look, we don't have school, why don't we go. Let's get out of here.' I think there are a lot of parents that would be like, 'Alright let me see if I can do this, great!' That's what I wanted to do."

Cruz also said he regretted leaving his home state in the middle of a crisis almost as soon as he boarded the plane for Cancun.

"I started having second thoughts almost the moment I sat down on the plane, because on the one hand, all of us who are parents have a responsibility to take care of our kids, take care of our family, that's something Texans have been doing across the state," Cruz said.

"But I also have a responsibility that I take very seriously of for the state of Texas and frankly, leaving when so many Texans were hurting didn't feel right and so I changed my return flight and flew back on the first available flight I could take," Cruz continued.

"I couldn't take a morning flight because the current restrictions require a Covid test, so I had to get a Covid test this morning, before I could get on a flight back, so I took the first flight I could get after getting the Covid test and testing negative."

With protesters audible outside his home, Cruz said he understands the anger many Texans feel toward his decision.

"Of course, I understand why people are upset. Listen, we're in a strange time where we're Twitter's been going crazy and the media is going crazy and there's a lot of venom and vitriol that I think is unfortunate frankly on both sides," Cruz said. "I think everyone ought to treat each other with respect and decency and try to understand each other more particularly at a time of crisis."

Cruz lauded Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for calling for an investigation into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' activities once power is restored.

The Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency in Texas Thursday, following the brutal winter storms that pounded the state.

The action is retroactive to Feb.11 and provides a wide range of relief, particularly for recipients of various forms of federal aid.

HHS Acting Secretary Norris Cochran said the actions will "protect access to healthcare."

"HHS stands ready to assist the state of Texas to get aid to those individuals and families most impacted by these storms," Cochran said in a statement.

President Biden declared an emergency for the state last week. The HHS declaration gives health care providers more flexibility to help those in need of health services during the disaster, the department said.

Some immigration detention facilities in Texas are experiencing intermittent power outages as well as interruptions in water service as a result of the winter storm, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The facilities, which house adults and families, have back-up generator power.

"ICE staff at each facility is closely monitoring the situation and making adjustments to ensure the health and safety of detainees in our care. Food, water and heat are being provided to all individuals in custody," the agency said in a statement.

"The agency is committed to ensuring that those in our custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments and under appropriate conditions of confinement. We continue to monitor the changing situation and make accommodations that are in the best interest of the individuals in our custody and our staff," the statement concluded.

Customs and Border Protection is similarly experiencing limited issues, such as intermittent power outages, due to the weather.

"Back-up generators are available to most facilities in the event of loss of power or utilities to CBP facilities," CBP said in a statement. "Resources are reallocated in cases where power is lost and back-up generators are not available in order to meet mission requirements."

Six suspected weather-related deaths have been reported in Taylor County, Texas, according to local authorities.

The Abilene Fire Department said in a news release it has been made aware of three separate events "where circumstances due to the recent freezing temperatures may have contributed to the loss of life to Abilene citizens."

A 67-year-old male was found unresponsive outside of a local business on Monday, according to the fire department. The agency added the man "appears to be a transient who spent the night outside and possibly succumbed to the freezing temperatures."

Abilene Fire responded to a medical emergency at a home Wednesday, where they found a 60-year-old male dead. The man's wife told the fire department the residence had been without power for three days.

"AFD crews noted that the temperature inside of the residence felt as cold as the temperature outside," the fire department said in the release.

The wife, 72, was transported to a local hospital after she was found to be experiencing a medical issue.

Also Wednesday, Abilene Fire was informed by a local ambulance provider that a patient had died at a medical facility that was "unable to provide necessary treatment due to the loss of water pressure at that facility." The fire department said in the release the patients was scheduled for transfer to another facility to receive the needed treatment but died before that. The transfer was not delayed due to weather conditions, the fire department noted in the release.

Taylor County Sheriff Ricky Bishop told CNN three men were found dead in their respective homes in two different cities on Wednesday.

One of the men was found on the porch of his Tuscola home, while the other two were found inside their homes in Buffalo Gap. Bishop said two of them did not have power in their homes.

While autopsies have not been conducted yet to determine the cause of death, Bishop told CNN all three deaths are suspected to be weather-related.

GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed optimism in the increased ability to generate power Thursday afternoon, and added that any remaining outages across the state are tied to downed power lines and the need to manually reconnect lines after the storm.

"There will be more cold temperatures in various regions across the state of Texas tonight, ERCOT will continue to work to manage the power to ensure that power will not go down in residential areas across the state, but we still have to deal with the uncertainty of what is going on in the power generation facilities," Abbott said.

"We hope and anticipate no location will be without power tonight. The good news is we are starting the evening with every residence in the state of Texas not lacking a generation of power," the governor continued.

"Also, I am told as it concerns the power companies that do the repair of the power lines and as well as the connection to houses that every available repair truck has been dispatched to repair those downed power lines," Abbott noted.

The governor's comments come as the federal Department of Energy said in a new report Thursday that 4% of customers in Texas are now without power, down from more than 25% in the department's Wednesday update.

As of 5 p.m. ET, more than 365,000 customers in Texas remained without power, according to PowerOutrages.us.

Nearly 800 public drinking water systems across the state of Texas are experiencing issues due to winter weather, according to Toby Baker, executive director for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Out of the 7,000 public drinking water systems in Texas, 797 water systems are reporting issues such as frozen or broken pipes or high usage, Baker said.

There are about 725 systems under boil water advisories, which impacts about 13 million Texans, according to Baker.

Baker said his office is reaching out to systems across the state to identify those experiencing problems.

They are also reaching out to labs to make sure they are prepared to process the samples that will be needed to end boil water notices across the state.

Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief W. Nim Kidd said that the state focuses on three groups of water - emergency drinking water, agricultural water, and industrial water, such as that used in hospitals.

Kidd explained that industrial water replenishment will remain the biggest challenge as typically other areas of the state would be able to help during an emergency like a hurricane. But in this situation, the entire state is experiencing water difficulties.

They are asking that people who have water to conserve it as they work through the emergency.

18 hr 7 min ago
Here's a look at the storm's impact over the past week

The National Weather Service Prediction Center shared striking images today of the winter storm's impact on the country in just over a week.

The image from Feb. 12 shows how little snowfall was impacting the US. By Feb. 18, much of the US was blanketed with heavy snow and ice and dealing with cold temperatures.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pledged to reform the independent organization that operates the state's power grid, saying the events of this week are "absolutely unacceptable and can never be replicated again."

Abbott blasted the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in his news conference Thursday, saying again that an investigation will shortly be underway.

"We have already begun the process to make sure that events like this, never again happen in Texas, and it starts with reforming the agency in charge of electric reliability in Texas, which is not what happened this week," he said.

"Five days before the winter storm hit, the ERCOT CEO assured ERCOT, and I quote, 'We're ready for the cold temperatures coming our way.'"

"ERCOT's annual winter assessment, which is designed to ensure that the state is prepared, assured the public that there would be enough power to meet peak demand this winter," Abbott continued. "ERCOT failed on each of these measures that they said they had undertaken."

Abbott said he has issued an executive order adding emergency items to the upcoming legislative session, and also asked the state legislature to investigate what happened at ERCOT before and during this week's deadly winter storm.

"Texans deserve answers about why the shortfalls occurred, and how they're going to be corrected and Texans will get those answers," he said.

Power has been restored to nearly two million homes since yesterday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

He added that 325,000 Texans remain without power.

Abbott explained that those without power are not without power because of a lack of ability to generate it, but because of different reasons such as downed power lines or a need to manually reconnect premises to power.

Abbott also said he has signed a major disaster declaration that is awaiting approval by President Biden. If the declaration is granted, it will give Texans the ability to apply for individual assistance to restore damage to homes that is not covered by private insurance, he added.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
february 18 winter storm and power outage updates

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
By Judson Jones, Melissa Macaya, Melissa Mahtani, Meg Wagner and Veronica Rocha, CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
February 18 winter storm and power outage updates

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What you need to know A deadly winter storm severely strained power facilities in Texas and left millions in the cold and dark for days. The storm was expected to move east today, bringing half an inch of ice to parts of North Carolina and Virginia.

# data[].attributes.body
Amazon just publicly announced three new products, but they will probably not hit the market. If enough people don't pre-order them, then they wont ship them. They have a new program called Build It, this program gives the customers a say in what it creates. So if enough people don't pre-order these items, they will not be released.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
amazon just teased 3 new products. they may never hit the market - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Amazon just teased 3 new products. They may never hit the market

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Amazon announced three new Alexa-enabled products on Wednesday: a smart sticky note printer, nutrition scale and cuckoo clock. But there's a catch -- the tech giant will only ship these items if enough people pre-order them.

# data[].attributes.body
Investigation of police involved in capitol riot continues. So far, 6 have been suspended with pay while 29 others still face questioning and potential charges.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
capitol police: 6 officers suspended for alleged roles in riot - cnnpolitics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
6 Capitol Police officers suspended, 29 others being investigated for alleged roles in riot

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Six US Capitol Police officers have been suspended with pay, and 29 others have been placed under investigation, for their actions in the January 6 riot, a department spokesman said Thursday.

# data[].attributes.body
Perseverance rover has successfully landed on Mars and sent back its first images

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
nasa mars perseverance rover has successfully landed  - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Perseverance rover has successfully landed on Mars

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
NASA's Perseverance rover has safely landed on Mars after its 292.5 million-mile journey from Earth, the agency confirmed.

# data[].attributes.body
Texas has been experiencing a huge ice storm that has left many people without power, food, or water. They were completely unprepared

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
AUSTIN - The slow-moving winter disaster pummeling Texas that began with snow, ice and widespread blackouts is now moving into a new phase: A dire lack of food and fresh water.

Supermarket chains that remained open in past disasters have shuttered in the face of power outages and impassable roads. Cities like Houston and Austin are on citywide water boil orders, even though many homes don't have power. And stores that are open are often lined with empty shelves, as delivery trucks struggle to reach them over still-icy roads.

Joe Giovannoli, 29, arrived at a Central Market supermarket in Austin at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, an hour-and-a-half before it opened. Minutes later, more than 200 people had lined up behind him in the biting 26-degree weather.
Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.
Giovannoli's wife is three months pregnant and the power in their one-bedroom Austin apartment blinked out Tuesday night. After a water pipe broke, firefighters also turned off the building's water, he said. Giovannoli said he realized he still had it better than many others across Texas, but worried how long things will take to get back to normal.

"This is going to be the next phase after things defrost," he said, looking at the long line forming behind him. "It's been mentally degrading."

One of those waiting in line behind him was Johnny LaTouf, 62, owner of the Skylark Lounge, a well-known blues club in East Austin. LaTouf's home never lost power but his ex-wife, son, two daughters and their families all lost power and moved in with him: 10 people, five dogs and one turtle in total.

LaTouf said he wished local and state leaders had done a better job of warning people about the impending disaster. For now, he hoped to pick up milk and some canned goods to get him and his clan through the next few days.

"It's really important to be connected to your family and your neighbors," he said. "That's what gets you through this."

A few minutes before the store opened its doors, a manager stepped outside and warned those waiting in line that supplies inside were low: No produce, no baked goods, not much canned food.

"We haven't had a delivery in four days," he said.

In Harris County, the largest in Texas with nearly 5 million residents, more than 33,000 homes remained without power Thursday and thousands of people didn't have access to clean water, said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the county's top executive. When the power went out at Harris County Public Health Department and then the generator failed, officials had to rescue more than 8,000 COVID-19 vaccines, she said.

"It's definitely a scramble," Hidalgo said. "And it's something that's going to take us a few days to recover from."

Texas officials have ordered 7 million people across the state to boil tap water before drinking it, following days of record-low temperatures that shuttered water treatment plants and froze pipes. At least two Austin-area hospitals lost water pressure and heat and one was forced to evacuate some patients. More than three dozen deaths across the U.S. over the past few days have been blamed on the extreme weather.

As of early Thursday, more than 450,000 homes and businesses across Texas remained without power, down from a peak of more than 4 million earlier in the week. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced plans to deploy more than 700,000 liters of bottled water, more than 60,000 blankets and industrial-sized generators to help power hospitals and other critical structures.

But the immediate lack of supplies has made a tough situation tougher.

"This storm is stressing our entire community in ways we have never experienced," Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk said at a news conference Thursday.

People throughout Texas pinned down by icy roads and lacking power and water have ventured out to stores only to find long lines snaking around the building or shelves bereft of basic items, like milk, bread and bottled water.

H-E-B supermarkets, known to reliably stay open during most disasters, including Hurricane Harvey in 2017, were forced to close or reduce hours of many of its stores this week due to power outages, according to its website. As of Thursday, 10 stores in the supermarket chain, which includes Central Market stores, in Central Texas remained closed.

Delivering food to those in need has been a struggle throughout the state. Workers and volunteers at the San Antonio Food Bank are used to delivering groceries and prepared meals to evacuees from other disasters, including 2005's Hurricane Katrina in southern Louisiana and evacuees from Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

But they've never been tasked with delivering food while in a disaster themselves, said Eric Cooper, the organization's president and chief executive. Since the winter storm arrived Sunday, volunteers have not been able to come in and delivery trucks have been paralyzed, he said.

"It has been in some ways just crippling," he said. "It's difficult to get our trucks on the road, it's tough to get employees in. We're probably operating at 30% of what we normally do."

The food bank teamed up with San Antonio police and firefighters to bring snacks and meals to residents running out of supplies, Cooper said. As soon as the roads clear, he plans to amp up his grocery-delivery service.

"The next few days are going to be pretty critical for our city and our state," he said.

Even as the ice thaws and power gets restored, water won't immediately return to homes in the Austin area, Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said during a phone call with reporters. Reservoirs, which hold up to 100 million gallons, need to refill, and water samples need to be tested for harmful bacteria before restoring service, he said.

"We have to work this in a methodical, detailed way," Meszaros said.

Meanwhile, county officials across Texas are strategizing on how best to feed and bring water to those devastated by the storm.

Harris County officials included a feature on their official website where residents can click through and see which major food stores are open. Hidalgo, the county executive, said she's most worried about the lack of drinkable water in her community.

County officials have been scouring warehouses for water supplies and emergency response officials will be working to bring water to hospitals and homes well after temperatures warm and lights turn on in homes, she said.

"It's not just a weather emergency," Hidalgo said. "This is a multifaceted disaster."
To help with food donations, visit: www.houstonfoodbank.org, www.safoodbank.org or www.feedingtexas.org. Contributing: Associated Press Follow Jervis on Twitter: @MrRJervis. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Just crippling': Texans devastated by ice storm are now hunting empty shelves for food and water

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Just crippling': Texans devastated by ice storm are now hunting empty shelves for food and water

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
AUSTIN - The slow-moving winter disaster pummeling Texas that began with snow, ice and widespread blackouts is now moving into a new phase: A dire lack of food and fresh water. Supermarket chains that remained open in past disasters have shuttered in the face of power outages and impassable roads.

# data[].attributes.body
Texas was hit by a huge snow and ice storm and now they are starting to lack food and fresh water. They have not been prepared for it because it hasn't snowed that much in a long time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
AUSTIN - The slow-moving winter disaster pummeling Texas that began with snow, ice and widespread blackouts is now moving into a new phase: A dire lack of food and fresh water.

Supermarket chains that remained open in past disasters have shuttered in the face of power outages and impassable roads. Cities like Houston and Austin are on citywide water boil orders, even though many homes don't have power. And stores that are open are often lined with empty shelves, as delivery trucks struggle to reach them over still-icy roads.

Joe Giovannoli, 29, arrived at a Central Market supermarket in Austin at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, an hour-and-a-half before it opened. Minutes later, more than 200 people had lined up behind him in the biting 26-degree weather.
Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.
Giovannoli's wife is three months pregnant and the power in their one-bedroom Austin apartment blinked out Tuesday night. After a water pipe broke, firefighters also turned off the building's water, he said. Giovannoli said he realized he still had it better than many others across Texas, but worried how long things will take to get back to normal.

"This is going to be the next phase after things defrost," he said, looking at the long line forming behind him. "It's been mentally degrading."

One of those waiting in line behind him was Johnny LaTouf, 62, owner of the Skylark Lounge, a well-known blues club in East Austin. LaTouf's home never lost power but his ex-wife, son, two daughters and their families all lost power and moved in with him: 10 people, five dogs and one turtle in total.

LaTouf said he wished local and state leaders had done a better job of warning people about the impending disaster. For now, he hoped to pick up milk and some canned goods to get him and his clan through the next few days.

"It's really important to be connected to your family and your neighbors," he said. "That's what gets you through this."

A few minutes before the store opened its doors, a manager stepped outside and warned those waiting in line that supplies inside were low: No produce, no baked goods, not much canned food.

"We haven't had a delivery in four days," he said.

In Harris County, the largest in Texas with nearly 5 million residents, more than 33,000 homes remained without power Thursday and thousands of people didn't have access to clean water, said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the county's top executive. When the power went out at Harris County Public Health Department and then the generator failed, officials had to rescue more than 8,000 COVID-19 vaccines, she said.

"It's definitely a scramble," Hidalgo said. "And it's something that's going to take us a few days to recover from."

Texas officials have ordered 7 million people across the state to boil tap water before drinking it, following days of record-low temperatures that shuttered water treatment plants and froze pipes. At least two Austin-area hospitals lost water pressure and heat and one was forced to evacuate some patients. More than three dozen deaths across the U.S. over the past few days have been blamed on the extreme weather.

As of early Thursday, more than 450,000 homes and businesses across Texas remained without power, down from a peak of more than 4 million earlier in the week. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced plans to deploy more than 700,000 liters of bottled water, more than 60,000 blankets and industrial-sized generators to help power hospitals and other critical structures.

But the immediate lack of supplies has made a tough situation tougher.

"This storm is stressing our entire community in ways we have never experienced," Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk said at a news conference Thursday.

People throughout Texas pinned down by icy roads and lacking power and water have ventured out to stores only to find long lines snaking around the building or shelves bereft of basic items, like milk, bread and bottled water.

H-E-B supermarkets, known to reliably stay open during most disasters, including Hurricane Harvey in 2017, were forced to close or reduce hours of many of its stores this week due to power outages, according to its website. As of Thursday, 10 stores in the supermarket chain, which includes Central Market stores, in Central Texas remained closed.

Delivering food to those in need has been a struggle throughout the state. Workers and volunteers at the San Antonio Food Bank are used to delivering groceries and prepared meals to evacuees from other disasters, including 2005's Hurricane Katrina in southern Louisiana and evacuees from Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

But they've never been tasked with delivering food while in a disaster themselves, said Eric Cooper, the organization's president and chief executive. Since the winter storm arrived Sunday, volunteers have not been able to come in and delivery trucks have been paralyzed, he said.

"It has been in some ways just crippling," he said. "It's difficult to get our trucks on the road, it's tough to get employees in. We're probably operating at 30% of what we normally do."

The food bank teamed up with San Antonio police and firefighters to bring snacks and meals to residents running out of supplies, Cooper said. As soon as the roads clear, he plans to amp up his grocery-delivery service.

"The next few days are going to be pretty critical for our city and our state," he said.

Even as the ice thaws and power gets restored, water won't immediately return to homes in the Austin area, Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said during a phone call with reporters. Reservoirs, which hold up to 100 million gallons, need to refill, and water samples need to be tested for harmful bacteria before restoring service, he said.

"We have to work this in a methodical, detailed way," Meszaros said.

Meanwhile, county officials across Texas are strategizing on how best to feed and bring water to those devastated by the storm.

Harris County officials included a feature on their official website where residents can click through and see which major food stores are open. Hidalgo, the county executive, said she's most worried about the lack of drinkable water in her community.

County officials have been scouring warehouses for water supplies and emergency response officials will be working to bring water to hospitals and homes well after temperatures warm and lights turn on in homes, she said.

"It's not just a weather emergency," Hidalgo said. "This is a multifaceted disaster."
To help with food donations, visit: www.houstonfoodbank.org, www.safoodbank.org or www.feedingtexas.org. Contributing: Associated Press Follow Jervis on Twitter: @MrRJervis. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Just crippling': Texans devastated by ice storm are now hunting empty shelves for food and water

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Just crippling': Texans devastated by ice storm are now hunting empty shelves for food and water

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
AUSTIN - The slow-moving winter disaster pummeling Texas that began with snow, ice and widespread blackouts is now moving into a new phase: A dire lack of food and fresh water. Supermarket chains that remained open in past disasters have shuttered in the face of power outages and impassable roads.

# data[].attributes.body
The first successful cloning of a United States endangered animal, happened recently. This cloning was of a black footed ferret.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Scientists announced the first successful cloning of a U.S. endangered species: a black-footed ferret.

The animal, named Elizabeth Ann, was born Dec. 10 and announced Thursday. Willa, the ferret who served as the genetic source for Elizabeth Ann, died in 1988 and remained frozen as cloning research was just getting underway.

The success gives conservationists hope to see other species returned to the wild, though the process will require patience. The process required the use of a tame domestic ferret, and a second clone did not survive.

Other species that could benefit from cloning include a Mongolian wild horse, which was cloned and last summer born at a Texas facility, and the extinct passenger pigeon.

"Biotechnology and genomic data can really make a difference on the ground with conservation efforts," said Ben Novak, lead scientist with Revive & Restore, a biotechnology-focused conservation nonprofit that coordinated the ferret and horse clonings.
'BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE EXIST' ON MARS, FORMER NASA ADMINISTRATOR CONFIRMS
Black-footed ferrets are a type of weasel easily recognized by dark eye markings resembling a robber's mask. Charismatic and nocturnal, they feed exclusively on prairie dogs while living in the midst of the rodents' sometimes vast burrow colonies.

The lack of genetic diversity is a concern for scientists, however: Genetic similarity would make the new ferrets potentially susceptible to intestinal parasites and diseases such as sylvatic plague.

When Willa died, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department sent her tissues to a "frozen zoo" run by San Diego Zoo Global that maintains cells from more than 1,100 species and subspecies worldwide. Eventually, scientists may be able to modify those genes to help cloned animals survive.

"With these cloning techniques, you can basically freeze time and regenerate those cells," Gober said. "We're far from it now as far as tinkering with the genome to confer any genetic resistance, but that's a possibility in the future."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
A Fish and Wildlife Service black-footed ferret breeding facility in Fort Collins, Colo., is taking care of Elizabeth Ann.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
First clone of US endangered species announced

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Scientists announced the first successful cloning of a U.S. endangered species: a black-footed ferret. The animal, named Elizabeth Ann, was born Dec. 10 and announced Thursday. Willa, the ferret who served as the genetic source for Elizabeth Ann, died in 1988 and remained frozen as cloning research was just getting underway.

# data[].attributes.body
Scientists have confirmed that the first cloning of an endangered species has been successful, the black footed ferret. also the mongolian wild horse and the extinct passenger pigeon were cloned in texas. But scientists say that there is a problem with genetic variation which could prove dangerous.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Scientists announced the first successful cloning of a U.S. endangered species: a black-footed ferret.

The animal, named Elizabeth Ann, was born Dec. 10 and announced Thursday. Willa, the ferret who served as the genetic source for Elizabeth Ann, died in 1988 and remained frozen as cloning research was just getting underway.

The success gives conservationists hope to see other species returned to the wild, though the process will require patience. The process required the use of a tame domestic ferret, and a second clone did not survive.

Other species that could benefit from cloning include a Mongolian wild horse, which was cloned and last summer born at a Texas facility, and the extinct passenger pigeon.

"Biotechnology and genomic data can really make a difference on the ground with conservation efforts," said Ben Novak, lead scientist with Revive & Restore, a biotechnology-focused conservation nonprofit that coordinated the ferret and horse clonings.
'BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE EXIST' ON MARS, FORMER NASA ADMINISTRATOR CONFIRMS
Black-footed ferrets are a type of weasel easily recognized by dark eye markings resembling a robber's mask. Charismatic and nocturnal, they feed exclusively on prairie dogs while living in the midst of the rodents' sometimes vast burrow colonies.

The lack of genetic diversity is a concern for scientists, however: Genetic similarity would make the new ferrets potentially susceptible to intestinal parasites and diseases such as sylvatic plague.

When Willa died, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department sent her tissues to a "frozen zoo" run by San Diego Zoo Global that maintains cells from more than 1,100 species and subspecies worldwide. Eventually, scientists may be able to modify those genes to help cloned animals survive.

"With these cloning techniques, you can basically freeze time and regenerate those cells," Gober said. "We're far from it now as far as tinkering with the genome to confer any genetic resistance, but that's a possibility in the future."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
A Fish and Wildlife Service black-footed ferret breeding facility in Fort Collins, Colo., is taking care of Elizabeth Ann.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
First clone of US endangered species announced

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Scientists announced the first successful cloning of a U.S. endangered species: a black-footed ferret. The animal, named Elizabeth Ann, was born Dec. 10 and announced Thursday. Willa, the ferret who served as the genetic source for Elizabeth Ann, died in 1988 and remained frozen as cloning research was just getting underway.

# data[].attributes.body
A 50 year-old programmer from San Francisco was found dead in a crawl space above his apartment where it was out of view from the police.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A missing San Francisco computer programmer was found dead in a crawl space of his home last week, police said.

Cops responded to Christopher Woitel's apartment in the Mission District on Friday and found his remains in a three-foot-tall crawl space above his bathroom that was "hidden from plain view," according to the San Francisco Police Department.

Fire officials also arrived at the scene and had to cut a hole in the ceiling so they could retrieve Woitel's body.
CALIFORNIA PARENT OUTRAGED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS' VIRAL COMMENTS: 'WE THOUGHT THEY HAD OUR BACKS'
Police say the 50-year-old likely got into the crawl space from the roof of the building. They don't suspect foul play in his death.

Woitel's mother reported him missing on Jan. 13 after she hadn't heard from him for four days.

Neighbors told the Mission Local Woitel was extremely generous with the homeless by bringing them meals and even allowed them in his home to shower.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
His family says he also suffered from depression. Before his death, he sent family and friends paranoid messages about the Capitol riot and that he wanted to escape to the mountains, according to the outlet.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Missing San Francisco programmer found dead in crawl space

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A missing San Francisco computer programmer was found dead in a crawl space of his home last week, police said. Cops responded to Christopher Woitel's apartment in the Mission District on Friday and found his remains in a three-foot-tall crawl space above his bathroom that was "hidden from plain view," according to the San Francisco Police Department.

# data[].attributes.body
U.S. officials are scrambling to reinforce the nation's cyber security system after a breach that may have revealed government secrets. Some people say that it may have been associated with Russia.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
WASHINGTON -- Jolted by a sweeping hack that may have revealed government and corporate secrets to Russia, U.S. officials are scrambling to reinforce the nation's cyber defenses and recognizing that an agency created two years ago to protect America's networks and infrastructure lacks the money, tools and authority to counter such sophisticated threats.

The breach, which hijacked widely used software from Texas-based SolarWinds Inc., has exposed the profound vulnerability of civilian government networks and the limitations of efforts to detect threats.

It's also likely to unleash a wave of spending on technology modernization and cybersecurity.

"It's really highlighted the investments we need to make in cybersecurity to have the visibility to block these attacks in the future," Anne Neuberger, the newly appointed deputy national security adviser for cyber and emergency technology said Wednesday at a White House briefing.

The reaction reflects the severity of a hack that was disclosed only in December. The hackers, as yet unidentified but described by officials as "likely Russian," had unfettered access to the data and email of at least nine U.S. government agencies and about 100 private companies, with the full extent of the compromise still unknown. And while this incident appeared to be aimed at stealing information, it heightened fears that future hackers could damage critical infrastructure, like electrical grids or water systems.

President Joe Biden plans to release an executive order soon that Neuberger said will include about eight measures intended to address security gaps exposed by the hack. The administration has also proposed expanding by 30% the budget of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, or CISA, a little-known entity now under intense scrutiny because of the SolarWinds breach.

Republicans and Democrats in Congress have called for expanding the size and role of the agency, a component of the Department of Homeland Security. It was created in November 2018 amid a sense that U.S. adversaries were increasingly targeting civilian government and corporate networks as well as the "critical" infrastructure, such as the energy grid that is increasingly vulnerable in a wired world.

Speaking at a recent hearing on cybersecurity, Rep. John Katko, a Republican from New York, urged his colleagues to quickly "find a legislative vehicle to give CISA the resources it needs to fully respond and protect us."

Biden's COVID-19 relief package called for $690 billion more for CISA, as well as providing the agency with $9 billion to modernize IT across the government in partnership with the General Services Administration.

That has been pulled from the latest version of the bill because some members didn't see a connection to the pandemic. But Rep. Jim Langevin, co-chair of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, said additional funding for CISA is likely to reemerge with bipartisan support in upcoming legislation, perhaps an infrastructure bill.

"Our cyber infrastructure is every bit as important as our roads and bridges," Langevin, a Rhode Island Democrat, said in an interview. "It's important to our economy. It's important to protecting human life, and we need to make sure we have a modern and resilient cyber infrastructure."

CISA operates a threat-detection system known as "Einstein" that was unable to detect the SolarWinds breach. Brandon Wales, CISA's acting director, said that was because the breach was hidden in a legitimate software update from SolarWinds to its customers. After it was able to identify the malicious activity, the system was able to scan federal networks and identify some government victims. "It was designed to work in concert with other security programs inside the agencies," he said.

The former head of CISA, Christopher Krebs, told the House Homeland Security Committee this month that the U.S. should increase support to the agency, in part so it can issue grants to state and local governments to improve their cybersecurity and accelerate IT modernization across the federal government, which is part of the Biden proposal.

"Are we going to stop every attack? No. But we can take care of the most common risks and make the bad guys work that much harder and limit their success," said Krebs, who was ousted by then-President Donald Trump after the election and now co-owns a consulting company whose clients include SolarWinds.

The breach was discovered in early December by the private security firm FireEye, a cause of concern for some officials.

"It was pretty alarming that we found out about it through a private company as opposed to our being able to detect it ourselves to begin with," Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, said at her January confirmation hearing.

Right after the hack was announced, the Treasury Department bypassed its normal competitive contracting process to hire the private security firm CrowdStrike, U.S. contract records show. The department declined to comment. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has said that dozens of email accounts of top officials at the agency were hacked.

The Social Security Administration hired FireEye to do an independent forensic analysis of its network logs. The agency had a "backdoor code" installed like other SolarWinds customers, but "there were no indicators suggesting we were targeted or that a future attack occurred beyond the initial software installation," spokesperson Mark Hinkle said.

Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the hack has highlighted several failures at the federal level but not necessarily a lack of expertise by public sector employees. Still, "I doubt we will ever have all the capacity we'd need in-house," he said.

There have been some new cybersecurity measures taken in recent months. In the defense policy bill that passed in January, lawmakers created a national director of cybersecurity, replacing a position at the White House that had been cut under Trump, and granted CISA the power to issue administrative subpoenas as part of its efforts to identify vulnerable systems and notify operators.

The legislation also granted CISA increased authority to hunt for threats across the networks of civilian government agencies, something Langevin said they were only previously able to do when invited.

"In practical terms, what that meant is they weren't invited in because no department or agency wants to look bad," he said. "So you know what was happening? Everyone was sticking their heads in the sand and hoping that cyberthreats were going to go away."

---

Suderman reported from Richmond, Va.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Massive breach fuels calls for US action on cybersecurity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
WASHINGTON -- Jolted by a sweeping hack that may have revealed government and corporate secrets to Russia, U.S. officials are scrambling to reinforce the nation's cyber defenses and recognizing that an agency created two years ago to protect America's networks and infrastructure lacks the money, tools and authority to counter such sophisticated threats.

# data[].attributes.body
Prince Phillip is spending a third night at London hospital. Many are worried that their longest-serving royal consort in British History will pass.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Prince Philip spends third night at London hospital after being admitted for ‘precautionary measure’

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Prince Philip has spent a third night in a London hospital after being admitted earlier this week for feeling unwell.

# data[].attributes.body
Texas is having record breaking cold temperatures and it is causing many national issues. Because it is so cold Texans are using excess power, causing shortages for a large part of the midwest.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What you need to know

A deadly winter storm severely strained power facilities in Texas and left millions in the cold and dark for days.

The storm was expected to move east today, bringing half an inch of ice to parts of North Carolina and Virginia. More than 100 million people stretching from Texas to Massachusetts were under a winter storm warning or winter weather advisory.

Is your power out? Bookmark CNN's lite site for text-only top stories.

Our live coverage of the storm has ended, but you can track the snow and ice here

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said flying to Cancun while much of his state suffers without power or water was a mistake.

"Look, it was obviously a mistake, and in hindsight I wouldn't have done it," the Republican lawmaker told reporters after returning to his Houston home Thursday night.

"I was trying to be a dad. And all of us have made decisions, when you got two girls who have been cold for two days and haven't had heat or power and they're saying, 'Hey look, we don't have school, why don't we go. Let's get out of here.' I think there are a lot of parents that would be like, 'Alright let me see if I can do this, great!' That's what I wanted to do."

Cruz also said he regretted leaving his home state in the middle of a crisis almost as soon as he boarded the plane for Cancun.

"I started having second thoughts almost the moment I sat down on the plane, because on the one hand, all of us who are parents have a responsibility to take care of our kids, take care of our family, that's something Texans have been doing across the state," Cruz said.

"But I also have a responsibility that I take very seriously of for the state of Texas and frankly, leaving when so many Texans were hurting didn't feel right and so I changed my return flight and flew back on the first available flight I could take," Cruz continued.

"I couldn't take a morning flight because the current restrictions require a Covid test, so I had to get a Covid test this morning, before I could get on a flight back, so I took the first flight I could get after getting the Covid test and testing negative."

With protesters audible outside his home, Cruz said he understands the anger many Texans feel toward his decision.

"Of course, I understand why people are upset. Listen, we're in a strange time where we're Twitter's been going crazy and the media is going crazy and there's a lot of venom and vitriol that I think is unfortunate frankly on both sides," Cruz said. "I think everyone ought to treat each other with respect and decency and try to understand each other more particularly at a time of crisis."

Cruz lauded Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for calling for an investigation into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' activities once power is restored.

The Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency in Texas Thursday, following the brutal winter storms that pounded the state.

The action is retroactive to Feb.11 and provides a wide range of relief, particularly for recipients of various forms of federal aid.

HHS Acting Secretary Norris Cochran said the actions will "protect access to healthcare."

"HHS stands ready to assist the state of Texas to get aid to those individuals and families most impacted by these storms," Cochran said in a statement.

President Biden declared an emergency for the state last week. The HHS declaration gives health care providers more flexibility to help those in need of health services during the disaster, the department said.

Some immigration detention facilities in Texas are experiencing intermittent power outages as well as interruptions in water service as a result of the winter storm, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The facilities, which house adults and families, have back-up generator power.

"ICE staff at each facility is closely monitoring the situation and making adjustments to ensure the health and safety of detainees in our care. Food, water and heat are being provided to all individuals in custody," the agency said in a statement.

"The agency is committed to ensuring that those in our custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments and under appropriate conditions of confinement. We continue to monitor the changing situation and make accommodations that are in the best interest of the individuals in our custody and our staff," the statement concluded.

Customs and Border Protection is similarly experiencing limited issues, such as intermittent power outages, due to the weather.

"Back-up generators are available to most facilities in the event of loss of power or utilities to CBP facilities," CBP said in a statement. "Resources are reallocated in cases where power is lost and back-up generators are not available in order to meet mission requirements."

Six suspected weather-related deaths have been reported in Taylor County, Texas, according to local authorities.

The Abilene Fire Department said in a news release it has been made aware of three separate events "where circumstances due to the recent freezing temperatures may have contributed to the loss of life to Abilene citizens."

A 67-year-old male was found unresponsive outside of a local business on Monday, according to the fire department. The agency added the man "appears to be a transient who spent the night outside and possibly succumbed to the freezing temperatures."

Abilene Fire responded to a medical emergency at a home Wednesday, where they found a 60-year-old male dead. The man's wife told the fire department the residence had been without power for three days.

"AFD crews noted that the temperature inside of the residence felt as cold as the temperature outside," the fire department said in the release.

The wife, 72, was transported to a local hospital after she was found to be experiencing a medical issue.

Also Wednesday, Abilene Fire was informed by a local ambulance provider that a patient had died at a medical facility that was "unable to provide necessary treatment due to the loss of water pressure at that facility." The fire department said in the release the patients was scheduled for transfer to another facility to receive the needed treatment but died before that. The transfer was not delayed due to weather conditions, the fire department noted in the release.

Taylor County Sheriff Ricky Bishop told CNN three men were found dead in their respective homes in two different cities on Wednesday.

One of the men was found on the porch of his Tuscola home, while the other two were found inside their homes in Buffalo Gap. Bishop said two of them did not have power in their homes.

While autopsies have not been conducted yet to determine the cause of death, Bishop told CNN all three deaths are suspected to be weather-related.

GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed optimism in the increased ability to generate power Thursday afternoon, and added that any remaining outages across the state are tied to downed power lines and the need to manually reconnect lines after the storm.

"There will be more cold temperatures in various regions across the state of Texas tonight, ERCOT will continue to work to manage the power to ensure that power will not go down in residential areas across the state, but we still have to deal with the uncertainty of what is going on in the power generation facilities," Abbott said.

"We hope and anticipate no location will be without power tonight. The good news is we are starting the evening with every residence in the state of Texas not lacking a generation of power," the governor continued.

"Also, I am told as it concerns the power companies that do the repair of the power lines and as well as the connection to houses that every available repair truck has been dispatched to repair those downed power lines," Abbott noted.

The governor's comments come as the federal Department of Energy said in a new report Thursday that 4% of customers in Texas are now without power, down from more than 25% in the department's Wednesday update.

As of 5 p.m. ET, more than 365,000 customers in Texas remained without power, according to PowerOutrages.us.

Nearly 800 public drinking water systems across the state of Texas are experiencing issues due to winter weather, according to Toby Baker, executive director for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Out of the 7,000 public drinking water systems in Texas, 797 water systems are reporting issues such as frozen or broken pipes or high usage, Baker said.

There are about 725 systems under boil water advisories, which impacts about 13 million Texans, according to Baker.

Baker said his office is reaching out to systems across the state to identify those experiencing problems.

They are also reaching out to labs to make sure they are prepared to process the samples that will be needed to end boil water notices across the state.

Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief W. Nim Kidd said that the state focuses on three groups of water - emergency drinking water, agricultural water, and industrial water, such as that used in hospitals.

Kidd explained that industrial water replenishment will remain the biggest challenge as typically other areas of the state would be able to help during an emergency like a hurricane. But in this situation, the entire state is experiencing water difficulties.

They are asking that people who have water to conserve it as they work through the emergency.

18 hr 7 min ago
Here's a look at the storm's impact over the past week

The National Weather Service Prediction Center shared striking images today of the winter storm's impact on the country in just over a week.

The image from Feb. 12 shows how little snowfall was impacting the US. By Feb. 18, much of the US was blanketed with heavy snow and ice and dealing with cold temperatures.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pledged to reform the independent organization that operates the state's power grid, saying the events of this week are "absolutely unacceptable and can never be replicated again."

Abbott blasted the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in his news conference Thursday, saying again that an investigation will shortly be underway.

"We have already begun the process to make sure that events like this, never again happen in Texas, and it starts with reforming the agency in charge of electric reliability in Texas, which is not what happened this week," he said.

"Five days before the winter storm hit, the ERCOT CEO assured ERCOT, and I quote, 'We're ready for the cold temperatures coming our way.'"

"ERCOT's annual winter assessment, which is designed to ensure that the state is prepared, assured the public that there would be enough power to meet peak demand this winter," Abbott continued. "ERCOT failed on each of these measures that they said they had undertaken."

Abbott said he has issued an executive order adding emergency items to the upcoming legislative session, and also asked the state legislature to investigate what happened at ERCOT before and during this week's deadly winter storm.

"Texans deserve answers about why the shortfalls occurred, and how they're going to be corrected and Texans will get those answers," he said.

Power has been restored to nearly two million homes since yesterday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

He added that 325,000 Texans remain without power.

Abbott explained that those without power are not without power because of a lack of ability to generate it, but because of different reasons such as downed power lines or a need to manually reconnect premises to power.

Abbott also said he has signed a major disaster declaration that is awaiting approval by President Biden. If the declaration is granted, it will give Texans the ability to apply for individual assistance to restore damage to homes that is not covered by private insurance, he added.

What you need to know

A deadly winter storm severely strained power facilities in Texas and left millions in the cold and dark for days.

The storm was expected to move east today, bringing half an inch of ice to parts of North Carolina and Virginia. More than 100 million people stretching from Texas to Massachusetts were under a winter storm warning or winter weather advisory.

Is your power out? Bookmark CNN's lite site for text-only top stories.

Our live coverage of the storm has ended, but you can track the snow and ice here

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said flying to Cancun while much of his state suffers without power or water was a mistake.

"Look, it was obviously a mistake, and in hindsight I wouldn't have done it," the Republican lawmaker told reporters after returning to his Houston home Thursday night.

"I was trying to be a dad. And all of us have made decisions, when you got two girls who have been cold for two days and haven't had heat or power and they're saying, 'Hey look, we don't have school, why don't we go. Let's get out of here.' I think there are a lot of parents that would be like, 'Alright let me see if I can do this, great!' That's what I wanted to do."

Cruz also said he regretted leaving his home state in the middle of a crisis almost as soon as he boarded the plane for Cancun.

"I started having second thoughts almost the moment I sat down on the plane, because on the one hand, all of us who are parents have a responsibility to take care of our kids, take care of our family, that's something Texans have been doing across the state," Cruz said.

"But I also have a responsibility that I take very seriously of for the state of Texas and frankly, leaving when so many Texans were hurting didn't feel right and so I changed my return flight and flew back on the first available flight I could take," Cruz continued.

"I couldn't take a morning flight because the current restrictions require a Covid test, so I had to get a Covid test this morning, before I could get on a flight back, so I took the first flight I could get after getting the Covid test and testing negative."

With protesters audible outside his home, Cruz said he understands the anger many Texans feel toward his decision.

"Of course, I understand why people are upset. Listen, we're in a strange time where we're Twitter's been going crazy and the media is going crazy and there's a lot of venom and vitriol that I think is unfortunate frankly on both sides," Cruz said. "I think everyone ought to treat each other with respect and decency and try to understand each other more particularly at a time of crisis."

Cruz lauded Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for calling for an investigation into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' activities once power is restored.

The Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency in Texas Thursday, following the brutal winter storms that pounded the state.

The action is retroactive to Feb.11 and provides a wide range of relief, particularly for recipients of various forms of federal aid.

HHS Acting Secretary Norris Cochran said the actions will "protect access to healthcare."

"HHS stands ready to assist the state of Texas to get aid to those individuals and families most impacted by these storms," Cochran said in a statement.

President Biden declared an emergency for the state last week. The HHS declaration gives health care providers more flexibility to help those in need of health services during the disaster, the department said.

Some immigration detention facilities in Texas are experiencing intermittent power outages as well as interruptions in water service as a result of the winter storm, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The facilities, which house adults and families, have back-up generator power.

"ICE staff at each facility is closely monitoring the situation and making adjustments to ensure the health and safety of detainees in our care. Food, water and heat are being provided to all individuals in custody," the agency said in a statement.

"The agency is committed to ensuring that those in our custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments and under appropriate conditions of confinement. We continue to monitor the changing situation and make accommodations that are in the best interest of the individuals in our custody and our staff," the statement concluded.

Customs and Border Protection is similarly experiencing limited issues, such as intermittent power outages, due to the weather.

"Back-up generators are available to most facilities in the event of loss of power or utilities to CBP facilities," CBP said in a statement. "Resources are reallocated in cases where power is lost and back-up generators are not available in order to meet mission requirements."

Six suspected weather-related deaths have been reported in Taylor County, Texas, according to local authorities.

The Abilene Fire Department said in a news release it has been made aware of three separate events "where circumstances due to the recent freezing temperatures may have contributed to the loss of life to Abilene citizens."

A 67-year-old male was found unresponsive outside of a local business on Monday, according to the fire department. The agency added the man "appears to be a transient who spent the night outside and possibly succumbed to the freezing temperatures."

Abilene Fire responded to a medical emergency at a home Wednesday, where they found a 60-year-old male dead. The man's wife told the fire department the residence had been without power for three days.

"AFD crews noted that the temperature inside of the residence felt as cold as the temperature outside," the fire department said in the release.

The wife, 72, was transported to a local hospital after she was found to be experiencing a medical issue.

Also Wednesday, Abilene Fire was informed by a local ambulance provider that a patient had died at a medical facility that was "unable to provide necessary treatment due to the loss of water pressure at that facility." The fire department said in the release the patients was scheduled for transfer to another facility to receive the needed treatment but died before that. The transfer was not delayed due to weather conditions, the fire department noted in the release.

Taylor County Sheriff Ricky Bishop told CNN three men were found dead in their respective homes in two different cities on Wednesday.

One of the men was found on the porch of his Tuscola home, while the other two were found inside their homes in Buffalo Gap. Bishop said two of them did not have power in their homes.

While autopsies have not been conducted yet to determine the cause of death, Bishop told CNN all three deaths are suspected to be weather-related.

GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed optimism in the increased ability to generate power Thursday afternoon, and added that any remaining outages across the state are tied to downed power lines and the need to manually reconnect lines after the storm.

"There will be more cold temperatures in various regions across the state of Texas tonight, ERCOT will continue to work to manage the power to ensure that power will not go down in residential areas across the state, but we still have to deal with the uncertainty of what is going on in the power generation facilities," Abbott said.

"We hope and anticipate no location will be without power tonight. The good news is we are starting the evening with every residence in the state of Texas not lacking a generation of power," the governor continued.

"Also, I am told as it concerns the power companies that do the repair of the power lines and as well as the connection to houses that every available repair truck has been dispatched to repair those downed power lines," Abbott noted.

The governor's comments come as the federal Department of Energy said in a new report Thursday that 4% of customers in Texas are now without power, down from more than 25% in the department's Wednesday update.

As of 5 p.m. ET, more than 365,000 customers in Texas remained without power, according to PowerOutrages.us.

Nearly 800 public drinking water systems across the state of Texas are experiencing issues due to winter weather, according to Toby Baker, executive director for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Out of the 7,000 public drinking water systems in Texas, 797 water systems are reporting issues such as frozen or broken pipes or high usage, Baker said.

There are about 725 systems under boil water advisories, which impacts about 13 million Texans, according to Baker.

Baker said his office is reaching out to systems across the state to identify those experiencing problems.

They are also reaching out to labs to make sure they are prepared to process the samples that will be needed to end boil water notices across the state.

Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief W. Nim Kidd said that the state focuses on three groups of water - emergency drinking water, agricultural water, and industrial water, such as that used in hospitals.

Kidd explained that industrial water replenishment will remain the biggest challenge as typically other areas of the state would be able to help during an emergency like a hurricane. But in this situation, the entire state is experiencing water difficulties.

They are asking that people who have water to conserve it as they work through the emergency.

18 hr 7 min ago
Here's a look at the storm's impact over the past week

The National Weather Service Prediction Center shared striking images today of the winter storm's impact on the country in just over a week.

The image from Feb. 12 shows how little snowfall was impacting the US. By Feb. 18, much of the US was blanketed with heavy snow and ice and dealing with cold temperatures.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pledged to reform the independent organization that operates the state's power grid, saying the events of this week are "absolutely unacceptable and can never be replicated again."

Abbott blasted the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in his news conference Thursday, saying again that an investigation will shortly be underway.

"We have already begun the process to make sure that events like this, never again happen in Texas, and it starts with reforming the agency in charge of electric reliability in Texas, which is not what happened this week," he said.

"Five days before the winter storm hit, the ERCOT CEO assured ERCOT, and I quote, 'We're ready for the cold temperatures coming our way.'"

"ERCOT's annual winter assessment, which is designed to ensure that the state is prepared, assured the public that there would be enough power to meet peak demand this winter," Abbott continued. "ERCOT failed on each of these measures that they said they had undertaken."

Abbott said he has issued an executive order adding emergency items to the upcoming legislative session, and also asked the state legislature to investigate what happened at ERCOT before and during this week's deadly winter storm.

"Texans deserve answers about why the shortfalls occurred, and how they're going to be corrected and Texans will get those answers," he said.

Power has been restored to nearly two million homes since yesterday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

He added that 325,000 Texans remain without power.

Abbott explained that those without power are not without power because of a lack of ability to generate it, but because of different reasons such as downed power lines or a need to manually reconnect premises to power.

Abbott also said he has signed a major disaster declaration that is awaiting approval by President Biden. If the declaration is granted, it will give Texans the ability to apply for individual assistance to restore damage to homes that is not covered by private insurance, he added.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
february 18 winter storm and power outage updates

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
By Judson Jones, Melissa Macaya, Melissa Mahtani, Meg Wagner and Veronica Rocha, CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
February 18 winter storm and power outage updates

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What you need to know A deadly winter storm severely strained power facilities in Texas and left millions in the cold and dark for days. The storm was expected to move east today, bringing half an inch of ice to parts of North Carolina and Virginia.

# data[].attributes.body
Nearly 13 million Texans have been told to boil their drinking water. Although power has returned to almost 2 million homes, residents are now limited in water. At the distribution sites each person is limited to 5 gallons of water.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The eyes of Texas turned to an emerging water crisis Thursday evening after electrical power had been restored to nearly 2 million homes -- though hundreds of thousands of residents remained in the dark.

About 13 million Texans -- or nearly half the state's approximately 29 million residents -- were under an advisory to boil drinking water, according to reports.

The water crisis prompted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to ask President Biden to declare a major disaster in the state, FOX 4 of Dallas reported.

"We need to make sure we use every tool possible to get water restored to our fellow Texans," Abbott said, according to the station.

"We need to make sure we use every tool possible to get water restored to our fellow Texans."
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott

Biden approved an emergency declaration for Texas along with Oklahoma and Louisiana that will move resources, supplies and equipment to the states, the Washington Post reported.

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) would be sending 729,000 liters of water to the state and some of the power generators it planned to supply would be sent to water treatment plants, the report said.

The boil-water advisories followed record low temperatures that damaged infrastructure and pipes, FOX 4 reported.

The effects of a brutal winter storm that slammed the Lone Star State this week showed no signs of letting up. The storm caused a massive power grid failure as officials were forced to cut power to stabilize the grid.

The storm has left more than two dozen people dead across the state.

A Houston-area family died earlier this week from carbon monoxide as their car idled in their garage. A woman and her three grandchildren were killed in a fire that authorities said might have been caused by a fireplace they were using.
SAN ANTONIO APARTMENTS CATCH ON FIRE FROM SUSPECTED WATER TANK EXPLOSION AMID DEADLY WINTER STORM

Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) officials, which operates the power grid that covers most of the state, said it has made "significant progress" in getting power turned back on and the remaining blackouts are likely from damage to distribution systems caused by the ice storm and others need to be restored manually, the Texas Tribune reported.

ERCOT officials said Thursday the grid was "seconds and minutes" away from a catastrophic, uncontrolled failure that could have left residents without power for months, according to the Tribune.

"It needed to be addressed immediately," Bill Magness, president of ERCOT, said of the rolling blackouts that have lasted days rather than hours. "It was seconds and minutes [from possible failure] given the amount of generation that was coming off the system."

He added if ERCOT had waited to cut the power "then what happens in that next minute might be that three more [power generation] units come offline, and then you're sunk."
CRUZ ADMITS CANCUN TRIP 'OBVIOUSLY A MISTAKE' AS HE RETURNS TO FIND PROTESTERS OUTSIDE HIS TEXAS HOME
If the grid had completely gone down it could have taken months to repair, The Tribune reported.

"The operators who took those actions to prevent a catastrophic blackout and much worse damage to our system, that was, I would say, the most difficult decision that had to be made throughout this whole event," Magness said.

On Thursday evening, Abbott wrote on Twitter that no remaining residential power outages werower generation.

"If any residence doesn't have power," the governor wrote, "it is due to downed power lines or the need for the power company to manually reconnect."

But the state's water supply was a different story. Water pressure fell after lines froze, and many people left faucets dripping to prevent pipes from icing over. Abbott urged residents to shut off water to their homes, if possible, to prevent more busted pipes and preserve pressure in municipal systems.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he expects that residents will have to boil tap water before drinking it until Sunday or Monday.

In Austin, "tens of thousands" of leaks in the water system, as well as burst pipes inside homes, were hurting that city's water supply, city Water Director Greg Meszaros told the Austin American-Statesman.

Austin saw 325 million gallons of water leak out of its system between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the report said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"That is an incredible amount of water," Meszaros told the newspaper.

Two of Houston Methodist's community hospitals had no running water but still treated patients, with most non-emergency surgeries and procedures canceled for Thursday and possibly Friday, and burst pipes were repaired as they happened, said spokeswoman Gale Smith.

Meanwhile, ERCOT Senior Director of System Operations Dan Woodfin warned that limited rolling blackouts could return if electricity demand rises as people get power and heating back..
Fox News' Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Texas now grapples with water crisis as power returns to nearly 2 million homes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The eyes of Texas turned to an emerging water crisis Thursday evening after electrical power had been restored to nearly 2 million homes -- though hundreds of thousands of residents remained in the dark. About 13 million Texans -- or nearly half the state's approximately 29 million residents -- were under an advisory to boil drinking water, according to reports.

# data[].attributes.body
In texas they are having a water crisis and many people were without power. Power has been restored in nearly 2 million homes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The eyes of Texas turned to an emerging water crisis Thursday evening after electrical power had been restored to nearly 2 million homes -- though hundreds of thousands of residents remained in the dark.

About 13 million Texans -- or nearly half the state's approximately 29 million residents -- were under an advisory to boil drinking water, according to reports.

The water crisis prompted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to ask President Biden to declare a major disaster in the state, FOX 4 of Dallas reported.

"We need to make sure we use every tool possible to get water restored to our fellow Texans," Abbott said, according to the station.

"We need to make sure we use every tool possible to get water restored to our fellow Texans."
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott

Biden approved an emergency declaration for Texas along with Oklahoma and Louisiana that will move resources, supplies and equipment to the states, the Washington Post reported.

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) would be sending 729,000 liters of water to the state and some of the power generators it planned to supply would be sent to water treatment plants, the report said.

The boil-water advisories followed record low temperatures that damaged infrastructure and pipes, FOX 4 reported.

The effects of a brutal winter storm that slammed the Lone Star State this week showed no signs of letting up. The storm caused a massive power grid failure as officials were forced to cut power to stabilize the grid.

The storm has left more than two dozen people dead across the state.

A Houston-area family died earlier this week from carbon monoxide as their car idled in their garage. A woman and her three grandchildren were killed in a fire that authorities said might have been caused by a fireplace they were using.
SAN ANTONIO APARTMENTS CATCH ON FIRE FROM SUSPECTED WATER TANK EXPLOSION AMID DEADLY WINTER STORM

Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) officials, which operates the power grid that covers most of the state, said it has made "significant progress" in getting power turned back on and the remaining blackouts are likely from damage to distribution systems caused by the ice storm and others need to be restored manually, the Texas Tribune reported.

ERCOT officials said Thursday the grid was "seconds and minutes" away from a catastrophic, uncontrolled failure that could have left residents without power for months, according to the Tribune.

"It needed to be addressed immediately," Bill Magness, president of ERCOT, said of the rolling blackouts that have lasted days rather than hours. "It was seconds and minutes [from possible failure] given the amount of generation that was coming off the system."

He added if ERCOT had waited to cut the power "then what happens in that next minute might be that three more [power generation] units come offline, and then you're sunk."
CRUZ ADMITS CANCUN TRIP 'OBVIOUSLY A MISTAKE' AS HE RETURNS TO FIND PROTESTERS OUTSIDE HIS TEXAS HOME
If the grid had completely gone down it could have taken months to repair, The Tribune reported.

"The operators who took those actions to prevent a catastrophic blackout and much worse damage to our system, that was, I would say, the most difficult decision that had to be made throughout this whole event," Magness said.

On Thursday evening, Abbott wrote on Twitter that no remaining residential power outages werower generation.

"If any residence doesn't have power," the governor wrote, "it is due to downed power lines or the need for the power company to manually reconnect."

But the state's water supply was a different story. Water pressure fell after lines froze, and many people left faucets dripping to prevent pipes from icing over. Abbott urged residents to shut off water to their homes, if possible, to prevent more busted pipes and preserve pressure in municipal systems.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he expects that residents will have to boil tap water before drinking it until Sunday or Monday.

In Austin, "tens of thousands" of leaks in the water system, as well as burst pipes inside homes, were hurting that city's water supply, city Water Director Greg Meszaros told the Austin American-Statesman.

Austin saw 325 million gallons of water leak out of its system between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the report said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"That is an incredible amount of water," Meszaros told the newspaper.

Two of Houston Methodist's community hospitals had no running water but still treated patients, with most non-emergency surgeries and procedures canceled for Thursday and possibly Friday, and burst pipes were repaired as they happened, said spokeswoman Gale Smith.

Meanwhile, ERCOT Senior Director of System Operations Dan Woodfin warned that limited rolling blackouts could return if electricity demand rises as people get power and heating back..
Fox News' Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Texas now grapples with water crisis as power returns to nearly 2 million homes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The eyes of Texas turned to an emerging water crisis Thursday evening after electrical power had been restored to nearly 2 million homes -- though hundreds of thousands of residents remained in the dark. About 13 million Texans -- or nearly half the state's approximately 29 million residents -- were under an advisory to boil drinking water, according to reports.

# data[].attributes.body
Texas ice storm leaves Texans unprepared, without power, and are hunting for food through empty shelves for food and water to survive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
AUSTIN - The slow-moving winter disaster pummeling Texas that began with snow, ice and widespread blackouts is now moving into a new phase: A dire lack of food and fresh water.

Supermarket chains that remained open in past disasters have shuttered in the face of power outages and impassable roads. Cities like Houston and Austin are on citywide water boil orders, even though many homes don't have power. And stores that are open are often lined with empty shelves, as delivery trucks struggle to reach them over still-icy roads.

Joe Giovannoli, 29, arrived at a Central Market supermarket in Austin at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, an hour-and-a-half before it opened. Minutes later, more than 200 people had lined up behind him in the biting 26-degree weather.
Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.
Giovannoli's wife is three months pregnant and the power in their one-bedroom Austin apartment blinked out Tuesday night. After a water pipe broke, firefighters also turned off the building's water, he said. Giovannoli said he realized he still had it better than many others across Texas, but worried how long things will take to get back to normal.

"This is going to be the next phase after things defrost," he said, looking at the long line forming behind him. "It's been mentally degrading."

One of those waiting in line behind him was Johnny LaTouf, 62, owner of the Skylark Lounge, a well-known blues club in East Austin. LaTouf's home never lost power but his ex-wife, son, two daughters and their families all lost power and moved in with him: 10 people, five dogs and one turtle in total.

LaTouf said he wished local and state leaders had done a better job of warning people about the impending disaster. For now, he hoped to pick up milk and some canned goods to get him and his clan through the next few days.

"It's really important to be connected to your family and your neighbors," he said. "That's what gets you through this."

A few minutes before the store opened its doors, a manager stepped outside and warned those waiting in line that supplies inside were low: No produce, no baked goods, not much canned food.

"We haven't had a delivery in four days," he said.

In Harris County, the largest in Texas with nearly 5 million residents, more than 33,000 homes remained without power Thursday and thousands of people didn't have access to clean water, said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the county's top executive. When the power went out at Harris County Public Health Department and then the generator failed, officials had to rescue more than 8,000 COVID-19 vaccines, she said.

"It's definitely a scramble," Hidalgo said. "And it's something that's going to take us a few days to recover from."

Texas officials have ordered 7 million people across the state to boil tap water before drinking it, following days of record-low temperatures that shuttered water treatment plants and froze pipes. At least two Austin-area hospitals lost water pressure and heat and one was forced to evacuate some patients. More than three dozen deaths across the U.S. over the past few days have been blamed on the extreme weather.

As of early Thursday, more than 450,000 homes and businesses across Texas remained without power, down from a peak of more than 4 million earlier in the week. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced plans to deploy more than 700,000 liters of bottled water, more than 60,000 blankets and industrial-sized generators to help power hospitals and other critical structures.

But the immediate lack of supplies has made a tough situation tougher.

"This storm is stressing our entire community in ways we have never experienced," Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk said at a news conference Thursday.

People throughout Texas pinned down by icy roads and lacking power and water have ventured out to stores only to find long lines snaking around the building or shelves bereft of basic items, like milk, bread and bottled water.

H-E-B supermarkets, known to reliably stay open during most disasters, including Hurricane Harvey in 2017, were forced to close or reduce hours of many of its stores this week due to power outages, according to its website. As of Thursday, 10 stores in the supermarket chain, which includes Central Market stores, in Central Texas remained closed.

Delivering food to those in need has been a struggle throughout the state. Workers and volunteers at the San Antonio Food Bank are used to delivering groceries and prepared meals to evacuees from other disasters, including 2005's Hurricane Katrina in southern Louisiana and evacuees from Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

But they've never been tasked with delivering food while in a disaster themselves, said Eric Cooper, the organization's president and chief executive. Since the winter storm arrived Sunday, volunteers have not been able to come in and delivery trucks have been paralyzed, he said.

"It has been in some ways just crippling," he said. "It's difficult to get our trucks on the road, it's tough to get employees in. We're probably operating at 30% of what we normally do."

The food bank teamed up with San Antonio police and firefighters to bring snacks and meals to residents running out of supplies, Cooper said. As soon as the roads clear, he plans to amp up his grocery-delivery service.

"The next few days are going to be pretty critical for our city and our state," he said.

Even as the ice thaws and power gets restored, water won't immediately return to homes in the Austin area, Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said during a phone call with reporters. Reservoirs, which hold up to 100 million gallons, need to refill, and water samples need to be tested for harmful bacteria before restoring service, he said.

"We have to work this in a methodical, detailed way," Meszaros said.

Meanwhile, county officials across Texas are strategizing on how best to feed and bring water to those devastated by the storm.

Harris County officials included a feature on their official website where residents can click through and see which major food stores are open. Hidalgo, the county executive, said she's most worried about the lack of drinkable water in her community.

County officials have been scouring warehouses for water supplies and emergency response officials will be working to bring water to hospitals and homes well after temperatures warm and lights turn on in homes, she said.

"It's not just a weather emergency," Hidalgo said. "This is a multifaceted disaster."
To help with food donations, visit: www.houstonfoodbank.org, www.safoodbank.org or www.feedingtexas.org. Contributing: Associated Press Follow Jervis on Twitter: @MrRJervis. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Just crippling': Texans devastated by ice storm are now hunting empty shelves for food and water

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Just crippling': Texans devastated by ice storm are now hunting empty shelves for food and water

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
AUSTIN - The slow-moving winter disaster pummeling Texas that began with snow, ice and widespread blackouts is now moving into a new phase: A dire lack of food and fresh water. Supermarket chains that remained open in past disasters have shuttered in the face of power outages and impassable roads.