WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
Highlighting the day’s trending stories:
TEEN SLEEP-RISKS: High school students who get too little sleep — or too much — are also more likely to drive while drunk or take other risks, according to government researchers.
SPACE STATION-INFLATABLE: The International Space Station is getting its first inflatable room, a technology demo meant to pave the way for Mars expeditions.
VENEZUELA-POWER-RATIONING: Venezuelan president orders long weekends to stave off power crisis, asks women not to use hair dryers.
CARACAS, VENEZUELA — Public employees in Venezuela will take long weekends under the government’s latest bid to ease a nationwide power crisis.
President Nicolas Maduro announced late Wednesday that he would sign a decree giving state workers Fridays off for 60 days — and he urged his compatriots to increase other efforts to save power, even recommending that women not use hair dryers to do their hair.
“I always think a woman looks better when she just runs her fingers through her hair and lets it dry naturally,” he said.
Officials have been warning for weeks that the water level behind the nation’s largest dam has fallen to near its minimum operating level. Almost 70 percent of the South American country’s electricity comes from the Guri Dam. If water levels fall too low, the government will have to shut down the dam entirely, crippling electricity supply.
Maduro’s socialist administration blames the crisis on a drought and acts of sabotage by its opponents. But experts say rationing could have been prevented.