blackout

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After Latest Airstrike, Calls for End to Israeli 'War Crimes'

Arab nations condemn Israeli strike on refugee camp as groups claim use of white phosphorus

(Newser) - Dozens of people entered the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt on Wednesday in what appeared to be the first time foreign passport holders have been allowed to leave the besieged territory since the start of the Israel-Hamas war more than three weeks ago, the AP reports. Egyptian state-run media...

Report: Blackout Challenge Is Killing a Kid Per Month

Bloomberg looks at how TikTok's growth goals conflict with moderation needs

(Newser) - Lawsuits linking TikTok to children's deaths only point to a problem that continues to risk lives behind the headlines, according to Bloomberg , which finds the "blackout challenge" has been linked to the deaths of at least 20 children aged 14 and younger within the last 18 months. Fifteen...

In 'Era of Extremes,' Calif. Asks Residents to Turn Off Lights

Rare emergency alert called for switching off of nonessential power to prevent rolling outages

(Newser) - Grappling with brutal heat this week, Californians were faced with a big ask, and it was a rare one, per KTLA . The state's Office of Emergency Services pushed out an alert Tuesday evening requesting that residents switch off any nonessential power, in an attempt to conserve energy and prevent...

Lights Out, Tokyo—It's Going to Be a Hot One

Government asks 37M residents to use less electricity to avoid power outages amid heat wave

(Newser) - Temps in Japan usually hover below 85 degrees Fahrenheit in the month of June, but a heat wave that's descended upon Tokyo and surrounding areas has led the government to plead with 37 million residents to switch off their lights to avoid power outages. The BBC reports that the...

Puerto Rico's 'Fragile' Grid Sees Major Blackout After Fire

More than 1 million customers are without power across the island

(Newser) - More than a million customers in Puerto Rico remained without electricity on Thursday after a fire at a main power plant caused the biggest blackout so far this year across the US territory, forcing it to cancel classes and shutter government offices. The blackout also left some 160,000 customers...

Winter Storm Was One of the Deadliest Disasters in Texas History

Storm, cold snap killed nearly 200

(Newser) - Texas is no stranger to hurricanes and tornadoes, but the winter storm and cold snap that hit the state in February now counts as one of the deadliest natural disasters in its history. According to a Houston Chronicle analysis, the cold snap and blackouts caused by the storm killed at...

Sky-High Texas Power Bills Will Be Forgiven

Some customers got bills for thousands of dollars after February crisis

(Newser) - Electricity customers in Texas who received astronomically high bills after last month's devastating blackouts won't have to worry about paying them, and those who have already paid all or part of the bills might be getting some money back, officials say. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says electricity...

Another Head Rolls After Texas Blackouts

ERCOT board votes to fire Bill Magness

(Newser) - Another head has rolled following the devastating blackouts blamed for dozens of deaths in Texas. Bill Magness was fired as president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state's independent power grid, after an emergency board meeting Wednesday night, CNN reports. ERCOT says Magness...

In Frigid Texas, a 'Last Resort' Move to Save Power

Utility begins rotating blackouts

(Newser) - A winter storm dropping snow and ice also sent temperatures plunging across the southern Plains, prompting a power emergency in Texas a day after conditions canceled flights and impacted traffic across large swaths of the US. Rotating power outages were initiated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT,...

California Having Worst Heat Wave in Years

Rolling power outages ordered as demand soars

(Newser) - A heat wave baking California in triple-digit temperatures is straining the electrical system, reports the AP . But Saturday afternoon, the California Independent System Operator, which manages the power grid, said that it did not need to order power outages because the grid was able to handle demand. California ISO ordered...

More Blackouts Coming as California Fires Rage

PG&E customers slam 'failure of epic proportions'

(Newser) - Millions of Californians prepared to be in the dark—some for five days, or longer—as the nation's largest utility said it was switching off power again Tuesday to prevent powerful winds from damaging its equipment and sparking more fires. Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. said its latest blackout...

PG&E Warns of 'Extreme Measure' Amid High Winds

Utility may be shutting off power to 2 million people in Northern California on Saturday night

(Newser) - More than 2 million people in Northern California may be without power Saturday night in a planned blackout meant to fend off wildfires. The Los Angeles Times reports that this anticipated move by Pacific Gas and Electric, which would affect 36 counties, is due to high winds forecast for the...

Dorian Hits Caribbean, Builds Toward Category 3
Dorian to America: Here I Come
Aug 28, 2019 7:05 PM CDT

Dorian to America: Here I Come

The hurricane eyes Florida while building toward Category 3

(Newser) - For the Caribbean, it was bad but not crushing. For Florida, it's time to worry. That's the gist of Hurricane Dorian news Wednesday after the Category 1 storm caused flooding and power outages across Caribbean islands—including Puerto Rico—and grew closer to a Category 3 while churning...

Venezuela Blames 'Electromagnetic Attack' for Massive Blackout

Maduro's opponents say corruption is the real culprit

(Newser) - The lights went out across much of Venezuela on Monday, reviving fears of the blackouts that plunged the country into chaos a few months ago as the government once again accused opponents of sabotaging the nation's hydroelectric power system. The power in the capital went out after 4pm and...

48M People Just Lost Power
2 Entire Countries Just
Lost Power
Jun 16, 2019 7:01 AM CDT

2 Entire Countries Just Lost Power

Sweeping blackout hits the 48M people in Argentina, Uruguay

(Newser) - Two entire South American nations are completely in the dark after a massive power failure that cut electricity to the 48 million people who live within their borders, reports the BBC . "A massive failure in the electrical interconnection system left all of Argentina and Uruguay without power," electric...

Power Outages Slam Most of Venezuela

The capital Caracas was a mess during Thursday's rush hour

(Newser) - Venezuela has been plagued by confusion and violence over the past few weeks, and now a new problem is exacerbating things: power outages across most of the country. The AP reports that blackouts have hit 22 of the country's 23 states, slamming the capital of Caracas at rush hour...

After $3.8B Spend, Puerto Rico Power Grid Still 'Highly Fragile'

It's almost certain to collapse in the next hurricane

(Newser) - After an eight-month, $3.8 billion federal effort to try to end the longest blackout in United States history, officials say Puerto Rico's public electrical authority, the nation's largest, is almost certain to collapse again when the next hurricane hits this island of 3.3 million people. "...

Puerto Rico Is Once Again Entirely Without Power

It's the first island-wide blackout since Hurricane Maria

(Newser) - An island-wide blackout has hit Puerto Rico, which is struggling with an increasingly unstable power grid nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria hit the US territory. Electric Power Authority spokeswoman Yohari Molina tells the AP that crews are investigating the cause. Officials said Wednesday it could take 24 to 36...

A New Round of Misery for Puerto Rico

Much of territory's north in darkness after fire, explosion, blackout on an overtaxed power grid

(Newser) - An explosion and fire at an electric substation threw much of northern Puerto Rico into darkness late Sunday in a setback for the US territory's efforts to fully restore power more than five months after Hurricane Maria started the longest blackout in US history. The island's Electric Power...

4 Die in Post-Irma Generator Accidents

Parts of Florida could be without power for weeks

(Newser) - Millions of people in Florida are still without power after Hurricane Irma, and the outage has led to more than one deadly incident. Police say three people in Orlando died from carbon monoxide poisoning Tuesday after running a generator inside their home. Another four family members were hospitalized in serious...

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