Feb. 23, 2021 - a podcast by PSU Vanguard

from 2021-02-23T11:03:12

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Intro: (Cue intro music)

Hey everyone, welcome back to What a week!, I’m your host, Olivia Lee, here to deliver your weekly dose of the news. Let’s get started!

In Local News:
https://www.kgw.com/article/weather/severe-weather/oregon-power-outages-national-guard-deployed-clackamas-county-winter-storm/283-de885420-204d-48d9-b2d0-449d353285e6
https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2021/02/national-guard-deploys-as-52000-still-without-power-in-northwest-oregon.html

Portland General Electric continues to work to restore power after severe weather last week knocked out power across the region. Last friday, Governor Kate Brown called on the Oregon National Guard to go door-to-door in areas hardest hit by the recent ice storm as utility company crews work around the clock to restore power to thousands of residents who have been without electricity for over a week. As of this past Saturday afternoon, a reported 40,000 homes and businesses are still without power in Northwest Oregon.

In-state news:
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/usgs-51-magnitude-earthquake-recorded-off-southern-oregon-coast/283-a204b675-e0cd-4b2a-b020-14321f260ee2

Last saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a 5.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Southern Oregon. According to USGS, the quake occurred about 175 miles (281 kilometers) west of Bandon at a depth of about 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) at 1:15 p.m Saturday. A 4.9 magnitude quake was recorded in the same area minutes later. Shortly after, the National Weather Service in Portland tweeted, quote, "There is NO tsunami danger for the Oregon and Washington coasts."

Speaking about earthquakes, on March 11th, an earthquake warning system called ShakeAlert will be launching in Oregon. The system will be a potentially life-saving tool for people who live on the West Coast when a major earthquake is bound to strike. ShakeAlert is currently active in California.

In National News:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/21/weather/texas-winter-storm-timeline/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/19/climate/texas-storm-power-generation-charts.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/20/biden-declares-major-disaster-in-texas-as-state-struggles-with-fallout-from-power-outages.html

Last week was a tough one for residents of Texas. The state of Texas experienced an unprecedented winter storm that left millions of people without power and put nearly half of all Texans under a boil-water advisory. Some grocery stores were reportedly wiped out of all goods as Texans rushed to buy whatever they could in wake of the storm, and the aftermaths of it. A major part of the problem that is still being criticized on the news is that the state’s deregulated electrical grid was not prepared for the frigid temperatures that accompanied the storm. Natural gas, coal and nuclear plants — which provide the bulk of Texas’ power in the winter — were knocked offline, and wind turbines froze, too.

This past Saturday, President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Texas. The declaration unlocks aid for individuals, grants for temporary housing and home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses.

Texas senator, Ted Cruz, sparked outrage last week when he reportedly took a trip to Cancún, Mexico while millions in Texas were experiencing blackouts, freezing temperatures and disrupted water services from the storm. Cruz reportedly flew back to Texas just 24 hours after photos of him surfaced on social media of him leaving the state. Cruz said to reporters quote "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 in an earlier statement that he flew to Mexico because his daughters had asked to take a trip and he was trying to be a quote "good dad."

In International News:

Last week, Facebook imposed a so-called “newsban” on the country of Australia in response to a proposed Media Bargaining law that would force tech companies to pay for news content. According to Vice news, the code is designed to ensure that Australian media companies are fairly compensated for the use of their content on social media platforms. Facebook struck back by wiping those media companies from their platform altogether. Anyone logging on to Facebook in Australia last Thursday was met by a message at the top of their news feed stating quote, “The way you share news is changing.”“In response to Australian government legislation, Facebook restricts the posting of news links and all posts from news Pages in Australia. Globally, the posting and sharing of news links from Australian publications is restricted,” the update reads.

So who is affected by this ban? The most prominent issue from this ban so far is that a number of government and emergency services accounts have had their content removed from facebook. Facebook accounts from state health, fire and emergency departments, domestic violence hotlines and more have been caught in the net of news blacked out by Facebook. Local Australian publishers are also now unable to promote their own content on Facebook. The newly-enforced restrictions extend to international publications such as the banning of certain news posts from global mastheads like but not limited to BBC, CNN and the New York Times. International users are also now barred from viewing or sharing Australian news content on Facebook. Further developments on this ban are still surfacing but as of now, the ban remains in place. There have been multiple speculations that if Facebook eventually agrees to pay for news, bigger jurisdictions such as the US, UK, and European Union could be expected to follow suit with Australia's proceeding.

NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover safely landed on Mars last Thursday, after a 203-day journey traversing a total of 293 million miles. Packed with groundbreaking technology, the Mars 2020 mission launched July 30, 2020, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Perseverance rover mission marks an ambitious first step in the effort to collect Mars samples and return them to Earth.

Closing: Well that wraps up What a Week! Stay safe and see you guys next week.

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