New top story from Time: Hundreds of Thousands Still Lack Power Amid Snow, Subzero Temperatures Across Texas. Here’s How To Help

https://ift.tt/3bbNGXW

Amid freezing temperatures, nearly half a million Texans remained without power Thursday morning after a record-breaking winter storm pummeled the state’s power grid and left millions without access to heat and electricity.. Houston’s Fire Chief Samuel Peña said on Thursday that carbon monoxide poisoning is at an “all-time high” as people attempt to warm themselves with generators, gas heating devices or cars in their garage.

Millions also face water disruption as numerous cities—including Houston, Austin, and San Antonio—are under boil water advisories, and some areas have lost access to running water entirely. Roads remained frozen, making travel dangerous and access to essential services difficult. The New York Times reports that at least 31 people have died since the cold front arrived earlier this week.

As Texans struggle against the bitter cold, many organizations are calling for donations to help address the crisis. Others are calling for volunteers to help distribute critical supplies and transport those in need to warming stations if you feel safe doing so.

Here are some ways to help people suffering from the Texas power outages. (This list will continue to be updated.)

Where to donate money

Mutual aid organizations

Austin Mutual Aid: Austin’s mutual aid fund is raising money to help book hotel rooms—the price of which have skyrocketed in some areas—for city residents stranded without power or shelter amid freezing temperatures.

Feed The People Dallas: The Dalla-Fort Worth-based mutual aid organization is asking for both monetary donations and donations of critical supplies to help support those in need in marginalized communities. They’re also accepting volunteers if you’re nearby.

Para Mi Gente: This San Antonio-based mutual aid fund is accepting donations to help pay for health care needs, groceries, emergency housing and other supplies.

Rice Mutual Aid: This mutual aid fund organized by Rice students in Houston is accepting donations to help Rice community members in need.

Other local groups

The Austin Area Urban League: The local Austin area Urban League is accepting donations to help provide shelter and critical supplies to the housing insecure in the city.

Crowdsource Rescue: Founded amid the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, this volunteer-based nonprofit helps rescue Texans during national disasters and is currently working to help transport vulnerable people to safer locations and deliver needed supplies. The group accepts donations and well as volunteers.

Austin Disaster Relief: The Austin-area network of nearly 200 churches is accepting monetary donations to help provide supplies and shelter to those in need, and is asking for volunteers to help run and transport people to 24-hour Cold Weather Shelters.

Texas Jail Project: Aiming to “empower incarcerated people in county jails by lifting their voices through stories, testimonies, and community building.,” the Texas Jail Project has received reports from detainees in county jails allegedly without power or running water and is accepting donations to help pay for detainee’s phone calls and commissary purchases.

Free Lunch: This Austin-area group works to provide meals within the city’s Esperanza’s Community and is accepting monetary donations.

National organizations

The American Red Cross: The Red Cross of Central and South Texas is running shelters and warming centers across the state and accepts donations.

The Salvation Army: The religious organization is helping provide food, shelter and transportation to Texans and is asking for monetary donations as well as critical supplies like blankets and toiletries.

World Central Kitchen: Chef José Andrés’ organization World Central Kitchen is working to provide meals to those in need throughout Texas, including in Austin and Houston, and is accepting monetary donations and volunteers.

Where to donate food and water

Food banks

Feeding Texas: The network of Texas-based hunger relief organizations has a searchable database of local food banks you can donate to. Check to see what’s nearby.

Central Texas Food Bank: This food bank accepts food donations at one of its facilities or at one of its partner agencies. It also accepts monetary donations and volunteers.

Houston Food Bank: This Houston-area organization accepts monetary and food donations.

Community fridges

Funkytown Fridge: This organization runs three community fridges across Fort Worth and accepts food and cash donations.

Cloverleaf: This community fridge in Houston is also accepting monetary donations.

For even more options, Eater Austin, Eater Dallas and Eater Houston have compiled in-depth lists of local groups working to help feed people.

Where to donate supplies

Houseless Organizing Coalition: The coalition works with Houston’s houseless community and is asking for supply donations including tents, blankets, sleeping bags, water and food to distribute among the city’s houseless community.

Austin Pets Alive: This Austin-based animal shelter is asking for donations of supplies including water, diesel fuel, gloves, hand warmers and flashlights be delivered its Town Lake Shelter. They also accept monetary donations.

Lucha Dallas: This Dallas-based organization is asking for donations of winter gear including jackets, hats, gloves, scarfs, and blankets. It’s also accepting monetary donations to help pay for hotel rooms for those in need.

Cooperation Denton: The Denton-area advocacy group is asking for material donations including batteries, flashlights, clothing and warm weather gear. It’s also accepting volunteers to help distribute supplies.

Front Steps:This Austin-area nonprofit is holding a drive to help provide blankets for the city’s houseless community.

Know of an organization that should be on this list? Email madeleine.carlisle@time.com.

Comments

DU's academic, executive council members ask VC to scrap online open book exams https://ift.tt/2YubRfc

The academic and executive council members of the Delhi University on Thursday wrote to the vice-chancellor asking him to scrap the online open-book exams. Their letter to DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi comes in the wake of Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' asking the University Grants Commission (UGC) to revisit the guidelines issued earlier for intermediate and terminal semester examination, and the academic calendar. from IndiaTV: Google News Feed https://ift.tt/2YByOxg

New top story from Time: China Calls U.S. Policy ‘Misguided’ in High-Level Talks

https://ift.tt/3iPgwS0 TIANJIN, China — China came out swinging at high-level face-to-face talks with the United States on Monday, blaming the U.S. for a “stalemate” in bilateral relations and calling on America to change “its highly misguided mindset and dangerous policy.” Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng accused the administration of President Joe Biden of trying to contain and suppress China’s development, according to an official summary of his remarks in talks with visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman. The fundamental reason why relations between the two face serious difficulties is because some Americans portray China as an “imagined enemy,” the Foreign Ministry quoted Xie as saying. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Sherman, America’s No. 2 diplomat, is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit China since Biden took office six months ago. She was having separate meetings with Xie, who is in charge of U.S.-China relations, and Foreign Minister Wang Y...

New top story from Time: DOJ Reportedly Investigating Whether New York Gov. Cuomo Manipulated Data on COVID-19 Nursing Home Deaths

https://ift.tt/3u8AJab (ALBANY, N.Y.) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced mounting challenges to his leadership on the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday as state lawmakers threatened to strip him of the power to issue emergency orders and federal investigators scrutinized his administration’s handling of nursing home data. The U.S. Justice Department has been examining the governor’s coronavirus task force and trying to determine whether the state intentionally manipulated data regarding deaths in nursing homes, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The people, who weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Cuomo administration had not been cooperative with prosecutors, especially in the early stages of the probe, and for months had not produced documents and other data the Justice Department had requested. The inquiry began months ago in the Justice Department’s civil division, and parts of it have ...

New top story from Time: To Vaccinate U.S. Veterans, Health Care Workers Must Cross Mountains, Plains and Tundra

https://ift.tt/3uavmaw A Learjet 31 took off before daybreak from Helena Regional Airport in Montana in late January, carrying six Veterans Affairs medical providers and 250 doses of historic cargo cradled in a plug-in cooler designed to minimize breakage. Even in a state where 80-mph speed limits are normal, ground transportation across long distances is risky for the Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine, which must be used within 12 hours of thawing. The group’s destination was Havre, Mont., 30 miles from the Canadian border. About 500 military veterans live in and around this small town of roughly 9,800, and millions more reside in similarly rural, hard-to-reach areas across the United States. About 2.7 million veterans who use the VA health system are classified as “rural” or “highly rural” patients, residing in communities or on land with fewer services and less access to health care than those in densely populated towns and cities. An additional 2 million veterans live in remote ...

Coronavirus Vaccine in China Shows Promising Results on People, Immune Cells Developed in 2 Weeks “This is promising data, but it’s early data,” said Dr. Daniel Barouch, director of vaccine research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who was not involved in the work. “Overall, I would say this is good news.” “This is promising data, but it’s early data,” said Dr. Daniel Barouch, director of vaccine research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who was not involved in the work. “Overall, I would say this is good news.”

“This is promising data, but it’s early data,” said Dr. Daniel Barouch, director of vaccine research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who was not involved in the work. “Overall, I would say this is good news.” from Top World News- News18.com https://ift.tt/2LRebpt https://ift.tt/3aYjmyk “This is promising data, but it’s early data,” said Dr. Daniel Barouch, director of vaccine research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who was not involved in the work. “Overall, I would say this is good news.”

New top story from Time: The Green Knight Is an Extravagant Unicorn Tapestry of a Movie

https://ift.tt/2UHqxst In a guttural growl, as if possessed by a demon, a medieval queen reads aloud a threatening letter that has just been delivered by a gargantuan bark-covered warrior on an equally imposing steed. She faints as she reaches the letter’s final line; the paper drops to the floor and bursts into flames. Cinema! There’s nothing more ridiculous, or more awesome. There is no lettre flambée, specifically, in the late 14th century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. But it’s part of the embroidery writer-director David Lowery uses to fill out his extravagant unicorn tapestry of a movie, The Green Knight, a detail that makes this ambitious adaptation feel both lived-in and magickal, with all the self-aware grandiosity that superfluous ancient k implies. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Dev Patel stars as the aimless yet mildly arrogant young knight-to-be Gawain, who, as the movie opens, still lives with his mother (Sarita Choudhury) and isn’t quite sure h...

US proposes giving H1-B to those with top salary offers, scrapping lottery https://ift.tt/35N2MjY

The administration of US President Donald Trump has announced plans to scrap the lottery for awarding H1-B professional visas and replacing it with a system that ranks applicants by the salaries they are offered. Making the announcement on Wednesday, just six days before the November 3 presidential election, Acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli said: "With this proposed rule, the Trump administration is continuing to deliver on its promise to protect the American worker while strengthening the economy."

New top story from Time: Millions of Tenants Behind on Rent, Small Landlords Struggling, Eviction Moratoriums Expiring Soon: Inside the Next Housing Crisis

https://ift.tt/2NAbOvm In late November, Rian de Laat reached the end of her rope. Over the past year, her mom had received a cancer diagnosis, her dad had undergone major surgery, and de Laat, 44, had been laid off from her job at a biotech startup. But her chief concern was the fact that she was now responsible for the mortgage not only on her own home–a quaint one-story bungalow just south of Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood–but also on an investment property, an unassuming two-bedroom condo eight miles north in Shoreline. Her tenant, Ollie Aldama, had lost his job at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, began struggling to make his utility payments and ultimately stopped paying his monthly rent of $1,800. By Thanksgiving, he owed de Laat more than $20,000. State and national eviction moratoriums prevented de Laat from kicking Aldama out amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet her own financial situation wasn’t flush enough to float him indefinitely. After mont...

New top story from Time: How Joe Biden Became the Stay-Out-of-It President

https://ift.tt/2RCHQJx President Joe Biden wanted to feel for himself the jolting torque delivered by the Ford F-150 Lightning electric motor. On May 18, as Biden’s staff back in Washington frantically worked behind the scenes to push Israel and Hamas to nail down a ceasefire, the self-described “car guy” had kept his scheduled trip to Dearborn, Michigan to see Ford’s electric truck plant and highlight the green technologies and manufacturing jobs that are part of his economic recovery effort. Just as Biden was about to jam the accelerator, a reporter on the test track interrupted him. “Mr. President, can I ask you a quick question on Israel before you drive away since it’s so important?” Biden shut it down . “No, you can’t. Not unless you step in front of the car as I step on it. I’m only teasing,” he said, shooting a smile at the gaggle of press from under his aviator glasses. “Ok here we go, ready?” Biden hit the pedal and sped away. That moment in Michigan was emblema...

Biking by the Numbers: San Francisco’s 2019 Biking Statistics

Biking by the Numbers: San Francisco’s 2019 Biking Statistics By Maia Moran Bicycling moves people around San Francisco using less space per person than when people go by driving. The SFMTA encourages bicycling and makes yearly ridership and trend data public. While Bike-to-Work day has moved to September this year due to the ongoing pandemic, we are excited to share San Francisco’s 2019 citywide bicycling data that we usually release in May. The SFMTA uses a variety of bicycle infrastructure and data metrics as indicators of a healthy and growing bicycle network. In 2019, the Agency prioritized the development of a robust data management system, improving high-quality bikeway infrastructure to make bicycling less stressful and more appealing, and expanding access to bikeshare services across the city. As in past years, 2019 data is pulled from the SFMTA’s automated bike counters, annual manual count data, operator-provided bikeshare data, and the US Census. Here are some key findi...

My precise view

Search This Blog