Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
4 board leaders of Texas’ grid operator resign after outages
Four board leaders of Texas’ embattled power grid operator said Tuesday that they will resign following outrage over more than 4 million customers losing power during a deadly winter freeze last week.
All of the board directors stepping down, including Chairwoman Sally Talberg, live outside of Texas, which only intensified criticism of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
The resignations are effective Wednesday, a day before Texas lawmakers are set to begin hearings in the state Capitol over the outages.
The board members acknowledged “concerns about out-of-state board leadership” in a letter to grid members and the state’s Public Utility Commission, which oversees ERCOT.
The other board members are Vice Chairman Peter Cramton, Terry Bulger and Raymond Hepper. Talberg lives in Michigan and Bulger lives in Wheaton, Illinois, according to their biographies on ERCOT’s website. Cramton and Hepper spent their careers working outside Texas.
President Joe Biden will visit Texas on Friday as the state begins its recovery from the devastating winter storm that caused serious damage to homes and businesses across the state and left many without power or clean water for days.
The White House announced Tuesday that Biden and his wife, Jill, will travel to Houston, where he’ll meet with local leaders to discuss the ongoing recovery from the storm.
‘El Chapo’ wife held:
A federal judge has ordered the wife of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo”
Guzman to remain temporarily jailed after she was arrested and accused of helping her husband run his multibillion-dollar cartel and plotting his audacious escape from a Mexican prison in 2015.
Emma Coronel Aispuro, 31, appeared by video conference for an initial court appearance before a federal magistrate judge in Washington. The judge’s order came after Coronel’s attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, said he would consent to her temporary detention after her arrest at Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin Meriweather explained the charges to Coronel, who spoke to the judge through a Spanish interpreter. She said prosecutors had provided sufficient reason to keep Coronel behind bars for now and noted that her attorney had consented to the temporary detention.
Prosecutor Anthony Nardozzi said the U.S. government believed that Coronel should remain jailed, arguing that she “worked closely with the command-and-control structure” of the Sinaloa cartel, particularly with her husband. Nardozzi said she conspired to distribute large quantities of drugs, knowing that they would be illegally smuggled into the U.S.
Iran curbs inspections:
Iran officially started restricting international inspections of its nuclear facilities Tuesday, a bid to pressure European countries and President Joe Biden’s administration to lift crippling economic sanctions and restore the 2015 nuclear deal.
World powers slammed the restrictions as a “dangerous” move.
It came as the International Atomic Energy
Agency reported in a confidential document distributed to member countries and seen by The Associated Press that Iran had added 38.8 pounds of uranium enriched up to 20% to its stockpile as of Feb. 16.
It was the first official confirmation of plans Iran announced in January to enrich to the greater purity, which is just a technical step away from weapons-grade levels and far past the 3.67% purity allowed under the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.
Arbery anniversary:
When white men armed with guns pursued and killed Ahmaud Arbery as he ran through their neighborhood, few outside the Georgia port city of Brunswick paid much attention at first.
A year later, as three men await trial in the Feb. 23, 2020, slaying, those closest to the 25-year-old Black man sought to make sure Arbery’s death isn’t overlooked again.
Arbery’s mother filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday accusing the men charged in her son’s death and local authorities who first responded to the shooting of violating his civil rights. The complaint filed by Wanda Cooper Jones in U.S. District Court seeks $1 million. Attorneys for the men charged with killing Arbery say they suspected he was a burglar and committed no crimes.
Members of Arbery’s family in Brunswick joined a memorial procession Tuesday evening in the Satilla Shores subdivision where he fell bleeding in the street from three close-range shotgun blasts. Other relatives planned a candlelight vigil at a church in Waynesboro, where Arbery is buried in his mother’s hometown.
At the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta, Democratic lawmakers joined civil rights activists to mark the anniversary.
Afghan peace talks:
With violence spiking, Afghanistan’s warring sides have returned to the negotiation table, ending more than a month of delays amid hopes that the two sides can agree on a reduction of violence — and eventually, an outright cease-fire.
Taliban spokesman Dr. Mohammad Naeem tweeted Monday night that talks had resumed in Qatar, where the insurgent movement maintains a political office.
There were no details other than the atmosphere was “cordial,” a commitment that negotiations should continue and an announcement that the first item of business will be setting the agenda.
When talks ended abruptly in January, just days after beginning, both sides submitted their wish lists for agendas. The task now is for the two sides to sift through the respective wish lists, agree on items to negotiate and the order in which they will be tackled.
The priority for the Afghan government, Washington and NATO is a serious reduction in violence
leading to a cease fire. The Taliban have said it is negotiable, but until now have resisted any immediate cease-fire.
Netanyahu trial delayed:
The Jerusalem court overseeing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial has delayed the opening of the dramatic evidentiary stage until after March 23 elections.
The three-judge panel issued a statement late Monday saying the proceedings, which have been repeatedly delayed due to legal wrangling and coronavirus restrictions, would begin April 5 and take place three days a week.
Netanyahu had pushed to delay the witness stage of the trial until after the election, saying that allowing the testimonies before then would amount to “interference” in the political process.
A number of former aides have agreed to testify against him as prosecution witnesses.