The rest can be attributed to the humans who run what passes for the texas power grid. Many homes have been without power since the beginning of this week and have no indication of when it will come back on. Now the people there are doing whatever they can do survive. Well, it started i have three cats and a dog, some kids. We lost power, put the kids in a different location with Family Members and then weve just been sleeping in the closet with my pets by candlelight. We put a sheet up other the door. But today its just we got were trying to get out to plano to my parents house. Its just ridiculous. Cant find gas anywhere. I dont even know what city im in right now to be honest. Thats how people are living tonight. This afternoon one texas member of congress painted a dire portrait of the situation, saying member of his district, Husband Constituents are now facing a harsh reality. We are facing a real crisis here in dallas where folks are worried about things like hypothermia, Carbon Monoxide poisoning. We have some folks who have been without power since sunday night. We dont have an accurate idea of when all the power will come back online. These failures are failures of our state government, failures of our regulatory agencies and failures of our Power Generators to prepare for this. As Texas Utility officials struggle to get the power grid back online and explain all this, the states republican governor decided this would be a good time to blame Renewable Energy for the outages. This shows how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for the United States of america. Texas is blast with multiple sources of energy such as natural gas and oil and nuclear as well as solar and wind. But you saw from what trace said, and that is our wind and our solar got shut down. And they were collectively more than 10 of our power grid. It just shows that fossil fuel is necessary for the state of texas as well as other states to make sure that we will be able to heat our homes in the wintertime and cool our homes in the summertime. So, he floated out that theory. The Washington Post points out, quote, the governors arguments were contradicted by his own energy department, which outlined how most of texass Energy Losses come from failure to update the lines. Abbott tried to explain his false claims. The fact is every source of power the state of texas has access to has been compromised because of the ultra Cold Temperature or because of equipment failures. What i made clear was the fact that if we relied solely upon green energy that would be a challenge. But in texas we did not rely solely upon green energy. We have access to all sources of energy. Thats what he made clear. Another texas officials response to his communitys outages appear to have cost him his job. Heres how tim boyd reacted to their inquiries tuesday on a Facebook Post that has since been taken down. Quote, no one owes you or your family anything, nor is it the local governments responsibility to support you during trying times like this. Only the strong will survive and the weak will perish. Theres more where that came from. The mayor has since resigned. Today the white house said its sending generators and diesel fuel to texas as well as water, other emergency supplies. This is all unfolding amid the ongoing effort to control a pandemic, of course, even as new strains of the virus continue to show up around the country. A new study shows the Pfizer Vaccine appears to be somewhat less effective against the various the variant that has emerged from south africa. Weather permitting, the president is going to travel to kalamazoo, michigan, on friday to visit a pfizer plant where the vaccine is being made. The president is allocating 1. 6 billion just for more research into virus mutations, these strains and variants and to expand testing. Meanwhile, as the white house pushing to reopen schools, it is facing growing questions about whether teachers need to be vaccinated before students are allowed to walk back into classrooms. Heres what weve heard on this topic over just these past 24 hours. I think that we should be vaccinating teachers. We should move them up in the hierarchy as well. Needs to be vaccinated before o you get Back To School, thats a nonworkable situation. Were all really clear, teachers should be priority. The states are Making Decisions individually about where they will be on the list of who gets vaccinated. I believe they should be a priority. The president believes they should be a priority. Does the president believe that teachers need to be vaccinated before they go Back To School . No, neither the president nor the Vice President believe that it is a requirement. Its not a requirement to reopen schools, but they believe that teachers should be prioritized. The president s also keeping his relief plan front and center. Today he insisted that he has public support behind him when it comes to passing this nearly 2 trillion package. Learned based on the polling data they want everything thats in the plan. Not a joke. Somewhere between 64 and 69 of the American People think we have to do this. In order to do everything from open schools as we should to make sure that were generating income for people who are in real trouble, the federal government has to chip in, make sure we get this done. And with that, before we get to our lead off guest, we want to begin tonight with the very latest on what is for millions of people a desperate situation in texas. Correspondent morgan chess key in dallas tonight. The Power Grid Company there in texas where i would like to begin with you, local news. On your family, your mom, your grand mom, whats going on with them . And how has this affected your family in texas . Reporter its been very personal, brian. Weve seen this crisis play out in real time as weve had day after day of subzero temperatures sink in. In fact just a few minutes before arriving here, i called my mother. She is sitting next to my grandmother in houston, texas. And the good news is that today for the first time in a long time, they had power that actually lasted. Each of them endured an outage that lasted about 24 hours. The temperatures dipped inside their homes to where they had to bundle up as much as possible. They dont have fireplaces so they had to light candles and wait it out. Thats what made it so uncomfortable is not knowing when that power was going to come back on. My grandmother told me that never in her lifetime, always in texas, has she seen anything leek this, and frankly she hopes she doesnt ever again, brian. Morgan, its been hard enough over the pandemic watching the lines of people showing up at texas food banks. Most of them have to be shot from the air just to take in the size of the effort, the size of the need. Now seeing people standing in blankets in the cold with water containers, empty propane tanks, people waiting for food, forget about pharmacies that have no power. Its really all you can take to see these pictures out of that great state. Reporter its absolutely heartbreaking. If you look at the numbers tonight, brian, it really feels like weve traded one crisis for another. At last check upwards of 2 million households without power tonight. As it stands right now, theres several million more than that that are under a boil water notice due to the fact that these pipes have been compromised from the freezing weather. We know that more than a Million People in the houston area now and the Denton Community just north of dallas are being told to boil their water. But whats so absolutely tragic about that is that the majority of those people dont even have the power to boil the water. And thats why youre seeing the frustration only rise with every night spent below freezing and no clear timetable as to when the lights are going to come back on, brian. Morgan, take care of you and yours. Thank you very much for your reporting for us and staying up late to join us from texas tonight. With that, lets bring in our lead off guest on this wednesday night starting with peter baker, chief White House Correspondent for the new york times, victoria defrancesco soto, Assistant Dean at the lbj school of public affairs. And dr. Irwin redliner, advises us on Public Health. Professor, id like to come to you in texas, and we cant, in these jobs, pretend we dont have personal lives with crises hit, when tragedy strikes. How are you and yours doing, your home, your family, your friends, your circle of coworkers at the university . Brian, thankfully we are safe. We are warm. However, we did lose power for over 36 hours. Were lucky. We had a fireplace. So, my husband, the kiddos, the cat and i just huddled in front of the fireplace for close to two days. My folks live up the street. Luckily they did not lose power with my 88yearold dad. But we couldnt get there because the roads are so icy and we live in a hilly area. So, its its if not the loss of energy, its the inability to go to safer places. Its now ive got a notice via text an hour ago that austin is under a boil notice. And i would not be surprised if we just lose water like other parts of the city. You said this earlier, brian. We are in the midst of a disaster. The university is closed for the full week. Im very worried about my students. Im very worried about my community, especially the most vulnerable ones. Luckily im healthy. I have resources. I have that fireplace. But thousands, millions, of folks across the state dont. And i think that is something that we need to impress upon our texas elected official and our National Ones that something has to be done. Peter baker, thats where we come to you. And already tonight republicans in our world and our nation where everything gets divided up red and blue, when we look around texas, when people look for folks to blame, all you can see is rs after peoples names. But a lot of the republicans are trying to stay on brand. This came out of minority leader mccarthys house, those watching on the left may see the situation in texas as an opportunity to expand their topdown radical proposals. Dont mess with texas and dont let a crisis go to waste. He subtweeted texans would be without electricity for longer than three days to keep the federal government out of their business. Governor perry said, Partly Rhetorically. I would love it if all of us could use that Partly Rhetorically in comments we make in the public sphere. Im just wondering when there comes recriminations for this, what will happen . Because the list is long. Well, thats right. Look, you know, what we see here unfortunately during a crisis is in addition to actually trying to tackle the substance of the issue and put power back on and get people some warmth and power back in their homes, we see immediately both sides running rampant. Democrats see an Opportunityin Texas where republicans have been in charge for a number of years. Republicans of course trying to say this is a sign of why the Green New Deal wouldnt work when in fact the natural Gas Infrastructure as much as anything else thats in trouble because of the cold. So, you know, its very typical, i hate to say, of todays political environment. Rather than deal with the crisis first and then come to a rational debate later as to what caused it and what can be done to make it better. People immediately are heading straight to the ideological bunkers and shooting each other across the terrain. Dr. Redliner, you and i have now survived a Hurricane Season in the middle of a pandemic where you warned about the intersection of infrastructure and illness. And now here we are in just the most unbelievable circumstance for this great state. Here we are again at the intersection, part of your lifes work, of infrastructure and illness. Yeah, brian. So, you know, weve talked almost exclusively about covid since all the months and months that weve been speaking about the pandemic. But the fact is that the my work with the National Center for Disaster Preparedness has spanned the entire spectrum of disasters. And a couple of points i would make about this. Number one is almost every disaster you can think of is a Public Health crisis. And certainly this horrendous situation in texas people will not survive. Peoples healths are at stake. And the vulnerable are really going to be in trouble over these next few days. And the second point, of course, is that the best treatment for a disaster is prevention. And weve been warning about how failing infrastructure poses a Public Health hazard for people that live anywhere near the failure, whether its an electrical grid going down or whether its a dam bursting or this failure to protect a coastal area from a major hurricane. All this comes into a point, and the point being the health and well being of human beings who live in communities. And i really wish this was a wake up call for really thinking hard about convention. But, you know, these things we call wakeup calls turn out to be snooze alarm. Well get a rouz now for a few days, itll get coverage, and then well hit that button and drift back off into complacency. Hopefully the Bidenharris Administration will wake up to the wakeup call and invest in Fixing Infrastructure and figuring out were going to prevent the disasters that are putting all of us at risk, brian. What a sad but great point you make. And professor, we go back out to you. You have to be hard wired without empathy to look at some of these pictures. And you look at people in line with empty propane tanks. Think about their lives over the past year. These are people who have probably seen their livelihoods go away, no fault of their own. Many folks who never ever imagined themselves looking for Food Assistance from a food bank, never imagined themselves standing outside in public in the elements in the blanket they grabbed off their bed in a 40degree house to get propane maybe to run a grill that they can huddle around. So, lets talk about the reckoning that will no doubt come from this. And you can take us, perhaps, to the intersection between infrastructure and politics. Right, brian. So, it comes down to the fact that the Power Companies here in texas were given the option to weatherize their systems. They werent told to do so. They werent forced to do so. So, these Power Companies when they have the choice to do so or not are going to take the cheaper option. And that is exactly what happened. We were here not too long ago exactly a decade ago, brian. Texas saw a brutal winter storm, not quite to the degree that were seeing now. And we saw a whole host of studies and recommendations come out and tell the texas that we needed to upgrade our system. The recommendation was made, but without any teeth behind that that policy does not stick. And layering on top of that is the fact that we are an island unto ourselves in terms of being a selfcontained power grid. When we lose power, we cant look to other grids to grab from. So, it was a perfect storm in terms of not having the regulation up to snuff. And then when that failed, not being able to turn to other power grids. And it comes down to policy. It comes down to understanding that when you do not incentivize or force companies to do something that is in the public interest, that is for Public Health reasons, theyre not going to do it. Texas hates big government, but what do they hate more . The loss of lives . Big messes . A complete disruption and disaster . Or having regulations that actually help people . You raise good points there. Peter baker, indeed, were coming off four years of a president reacting to every public utterance at a molecular level 24 7, constantly. This president s m. O. Seems to be talk amongst yourselves, i have huge problems to solve. Yet i think youre going to potentially tell me in how he in assigning fema and the like handles this situation in texas. Well, there always is brian. Of course you and i have seen this so many times over the years, how a president responds to a Natural Disaster or a disaster thats man made in this case because of the poor infrastructure is usually one of the ways we judge our president s. I was on Air Force One with president bush when he flew over new orleans during hurricane katrina. That was a permanent scar on his legacy. So, i think this is the first challenge, really, of this sort of the biden presidency. Well see how he responds and how fema is able to help on the ground. But youre right that president s are expected now to be the disaster in chief, Disaster Responders in chief basically in moments when people are in trouble like in texas. And your point i think earlier was exactly right. Its not that this is just a terrible few days for texans. This has been a terrible year for all americans. And for texans who have had to ensure so much through covid and so much through the economic dislocation weve seen, the lockdowns and the struggles for jobs, to have all of this on top of what theyve already endured is just an extra blow and one that will be a challenge, i think, for this new white house to show that its on top of. Ive got about 45 seconds remaining. Are we in a foot race with the new variants . And are you confident to bet on the home team . Im betting on the home team, but were definitely in a foot race, brian. And the outcome is not yet determined, but were going to have to watch this very carefully. I am confident and happy that we have a team that has confidence, is honest and is transparent. And i think were going to give it a fight. And hopefully well be celebrating a victory a year from now, brian. Were much obliged to these guests. Many thanks for coming on. Coming up for us, a texassized disaster leaving millions of our fellow citizens without power and water. Our next guest has been going door to door to help in the hardhit houston area. And later donald trump back in his natural habitat appearing on three Friendly Cable networks that push the big lie. We watched so you dont have to. All of it has The 11th Hour is just getting underway on this wednesday night. Is just getting underway on this wednesday night. Ir of goggles that helps with your backhand. Then you should be able to get a bank account that helps with your budget. Yeah laughs virtual wallet® for digital banking. One way were helping to make a difference at pnc bank. sam gamers verizon 5g Ultra Wideband is here, with ultra. Low. Lag so start becoming the best gamers in the ga avatars oohh sam 5g Ultra Wideband, now in parts of many cities. 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We need to maintain a Power Balance, and if that Power Balance has supply and demand too far out of balance, it risks cascading catastrophic blackout. Thats the ceo of the Organization Called ir cot, an acronym for the electric Reliability Council in texas. They may have to lose the word reliability after this debacle. The company says the rolling outages will continue to prevent more severe prolongs blackouts of the texas power grid. Morgan chesky met one of the many, many families struggling without heated home. Wednesday morning when we woke up the they are mom administer registered 50 degrees outside. It was really hard, really, really hard. We dont have any other mean to heat the house. And its just so much clothing you can wear but still you are cold. I want to welcome to the broadcast willy rios. Hes a councilman in southeastern texas, houston is the fourth largest city in these United States. Thank you for coming on. I want to hear about your life, your home, your family, your friends. How is everyone holding up . Man, thank you for having us today. Yeah, man, its been a mess. Its been a roller coaster. The rolling outages really put us put a lot of strain on the city and our citizens. Weve been encountering a lot of obstacles here the past three days. One of them being the buggest obstacle is of course energy, electricity. With the lack of it, we havent been automobile to function and operate like we should. And people are at first panicking and chaos hits. I know far from being a fancy politician, youre in the Building Trades business. And i know you are awfully proud of some work you did to fire up a geny yesterday i believe. Can you tell us that story . Yes, sir, so, the city obviously we got our sewer and water plant, our Water Treatment facility and our Mainframe Generator went out. And i called some of my im pretty mechanically inclined. I called sochl my mechanics, and they showed up to try to help us. And you know, we got the generator going after about three hours and we were able to get about 20,000 people to, you know, portable well, water so they can shower and then, you know, so they can flush the toilet and the sewage and everything. So, it was pretty hard, but, you know, being a councilman here is just the title. Everything else goes out the window when disaster strikes. We kind of roll our sleeves up and get to work. Thats what we do. Weve got to hold our own. Were a small city, so we rely on ourselves and were selfsustained so we try to make things work. And yeah, we got the generator working thanks to private technician friends of mine, caesar. Without them 20,000 people couldnt flush their toilets today. That was the big Mainframe Generator. Of course the day before this my city guys, my crew of seven, they were working in 18 degree weather getting the Lift Stations to try to go. I was there helping them. We were able to get two generators to pump the waste out to get it to the station. And of course we had patchy oil come down and help us out. Its a big deal. It was, you know, times like this diesel cars, its hard to get. This was a lifesaver that they were able to service us. What are people doing for insulin, dialysis, oxygen. They go to the drugstore, theres no power there. Hospitals are probably turning away people. Were still in a pandemic. Vaccine efforts have been suspended. How do you get the Body And Soul together . Man, we were trying the hardest to tend to everyone first come first serve kind of basis. But we get the police department, the ems, theyre overloaded. And i think its supposed to ice today and rain. Its going to be hard to transport people if theres somewhere to transport them to. Its just hard. The majority of our citizens, theyre low to mediumincome based. Most of them just have one car, so its hard if that car doesnt work to get them from point a to point b. But if we have to dispatch ambulance, fire, police, its even harder with icy conditions and the amount of people we have on dialysis, on oxygen. Just with the covid and all that, i guess if everyone if we had to tend to everyone at the same time, we couldnt do it. Were doing the best we can with mutual aid from the City Of Houston and pasadena. The hospitals, some of them are running on back up generators as well and its hard to get them admitted. Its chaos in the making. Were still going through it little by little and were trying to make it work, but my most honest opinion here is that we dont get light restored soon its going to were going to start losing more people. Were going to have to be doing more Welfare Checks with our Police Officers and theyre not going to be pleasant. All right. You take care of yourself too because we need you to help lead the effort. To members of our audience, this is a guy just trying to help people who are just trying to survive this. And thank you for the work you do. Councilman willy rios, thank you for taking time to take our questions today. Were thinking of you, your family, friends, all yor constituents tonight. Turning up for us we turn our focus to politics. Its inevitable. And the Republican Party firmly under control of one donald trump and trumpism. But will it remain that way . And if not, whos going to tell him . Him . deborah i was hesitant to get the hearing aids because of my short hair, but nobody even sees them. vo discover the exclusive, new miracleearmini a nearly invisible hearing aid from the brand leader in hearing aids. New miracleearmini. So small and comfortable that no one will see them, but youll notice the difference. Call today to start your 30day riskfree trial. Start the year with better hearing and big savings. Call miracleear today. 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Fail to provide masks or class sizes that allow for social distancing, and classrooms close back down. A successful reopening requires real safety and accountability measures. Including prioritizing vaccines for educators. Parents and educators agree reopen schools. Putting safety first. The republicans are soft. They only hit their own, like mitch. They hit their own. The former president making the rounds on the friendly far right networks today. Its the first time weve heard from him since the Impeachment Vote to acquit. On trumps grip on the gop, larry hogan, the republican governor of maryland and frequent critic of donald trump said this today. Weve given up long ago trying to control what donald trump says or what he thinks. And, you know, found natalie hes not going to go away queue yetly. I dont think many of us expected that he would. But i believe theres going to be a Real Battle For The Soul of the Republican Party thats going to last for years. This is not an easy thing. Back with us tonight for an important conversation, Eugene Robinson, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the Washington Post. Now chairman notably of the serve america movement. Imagine that, a group of current and former democrats, republicans and independents working to fix the nations broken politics. Goes without saying we good citizens wish them all luck. So, eugene, im going to read you a quote by a fellow journal in the new york times, outside of a rump faction of Ocaution Nal Disdense there is no truly meaningful antitrump opposition within the party. If theres a conflict, its less a war and more a small squirmish with an outmatched and outnumbered opponent. Eugene, the other meaning of this is trump may have weaponized mcconnell, but when mcconnell looks out trying to gather his forces all he might see is a whole sea of red hats. Well, thats true. Thats what he sees. But, you know, i dont underestimate mitch mcconnell. He always plays a long game. So, you know, look, donald trump has the support of the Republican Party base, no question about that. Mitch mcconnell rarely says anything unless he means to say it and unless he has some idea where hes trying to go. So, i assume he does. But hes not going to, you know, Martial An Army and take back the Republican Party next month. You know, it would have been great if somebody had warned all these republicans about donald trump at some point. Yeah, just came out of nowhere. Hes really not such a great guy and you might actually regret falling in line behind him. I wish somebody had told them. Yeah, this came absolutely out of nowhere. Were still getting over the shock here. Hey, david, new gallup polling tonight has a lot of interesting numbers and data points in it. Here is just one. Support for a third party, way easier to express to a pollster who has interrupted dinner than it is to do, as im sure you are finding out. But 62 , a rise of a couple of ticks just since september. Also notably this same poll, a new modern day record, now identify as independent. Given your new effort though, this is all interesting fodder for the challenge ahead of you, finding goodhearted people who are willing to put country ahead of specific party. Yeah, brian. And history says that independent politics and the new party faces insurmountable odds. We have a system of federalism where all 50 states set the rules, and those rules are often set by the major parties who dont want new party competition. But we know voters continue to suggest that they have a more independent form of politics. As you mentioned, nearly 50 of the country. And i think so much of the focus around the new Party Conversation has been on republicans because were seeing the republicans fracture. But among those polled by gallup, the interesting thing is your interest in a new party depends on what you believe ails our politics. If its not progressive enough, you might want a more progressive party. If its not conservative enough or not trump enough, you may want a different party. But there is a Large Population out there that just wants a government that can come together solving problems recognizing that sometimes the best answers are on the left, the right or the middle. Thats what trying to do. Were trying to build a new coalition, a new party around the core value of accountability and transparency, not on the left right axis where your dogma is better than my dogma. The heart beat of the movement is growing. It faces some really tough odds. I see what you did there, the sand party. I had an uncle sam once. Both of these gentlemen have agreed to stay with us. From relic to rubble, the end of the trump era in one American City that has seen better days. S managing Type 2 Diabetes . Youre on it. Staying fit and snacking light . Yup, on it there too. You may think youre doing all you can to manage Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease. 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As carla thinks about retirement, shell wonder, what if i could retire sooner . And so shell get some advice from fidelity, and fidelity will help her explore some different scenarios, like saving more every month. And that has carla feeling so confident that she can enjoy her dream. Right now. Thats the planning effect, from fidelity. Right now. Upbeat music transitions™ light under control. Upbeat music transitions™ Signature Gen 8™ available now, in 4 vibrant style colors. Transitions™ and harrahs his latest 250 million project in Atlantic City that its creator says without question, the largest and the finest gambling casino Hotel Complex anywhere in the world. And thats the way i want it. It took seconds, roughly 3,000 pieces of dynamite to destroy the last vestige of trumps presence in Atlantic City. The Trump Plaza Hotel and casino is no more. Still with us Eugene Robinson, david jolly. Eugene, you cant be a columnist without two things, a keyboard and a good metaphor. I have just handed you the latter. Consider us your keyboard. What do you make of it . Well, i mean, brian, that should have come with a big flashing metaphor alert. You know, i actually do think you could make that into a metaphor for the trump era. Hes not president anymore. I dont think hes ever going to be president again. His influence in the country will wane. The problem is his influence in the Republican Party is not waning. And so maybe thats not a metaphor for trump. Maybe its a metaphor for the gop. All right. Well take that. And, you know, i always ask you to write a column on the fly. And its grossly unfair. Hey, david, where do you come down on the need fair onesix commission, the need to find out exactly what happened . And increasingly this need to find out just how high up the chain was the level of involvement with the leaders and the insurrectionists themselves . I think its absolutely necessary. Our government almost fell that day and in part because of the domestic threat of Conspiracy Theory organizations that the fbi has identified as a great threat. The question to me is under whose jurisdiction will we get the best answers . Under a commission appointed by the congress or under one run by the Department Of Justice . And i think it would be the latter. I think as much as you would try to create independence around a politically committed it would be impossible to ignore partisanship. They could deploy resources to get to the bottom of it and ensure it doesnt happen again. Eugene, i can offer you all of 30 seconds. Do you think the commission will happen and doesnt it come down to the care in selecting members and staff . It does. And you can be careful and you can come up with a commission that will do good work. But i agree with david actually. I think the Department Of Justice is the right place to have a full and fair and thorough investigation. Thats what they do. And i think you know, and theres potential criminal liability that needs to be explored and potential charges that could be filed. So, i hope prosecutors and courts do their work in addition to whatever commission may have. David jolly with us from florida tonight, Eugene Robinson remains at home. So many of our viewers have admired that artwork behind eugenes shoulder. I happen to know hes married to the artist. Coming up the demand for covid vaccinations was challenging. Then along came this wasnter were having in a big bad way. Youve got the looks lets make lots of money youve got the brawn ive got the brains lets make lots of. Uh uh uh oohhh theres a lot of opportunities with Allstate Drivers who switched saved over 700 saving is easy when youre in good hands. Allstate. Click or call to switch today. This is what Community Looks like. Caring for each other, protecting each other. And as the Covid Vaccine rolls out, well be ready to administer it. Want to save hundreds on your wireless bill . With Xfinity Mobile you can. Administer it. How about saving hundreds on the new Samsung Galaxy s21 ultra 5g . You can do that too. All on the most reliable network. Sure thing and with fast nationwide 5g included at no extra cost. Weve got you covered. So join the carrier rated 1 in customer satisfaction. And get a new Samsung Galaxy starting at 17 a month. Learn more at xfinitymobile. Com or visit your local xfinity store today. I made this point last night. It seems like all of the news we report on the coronavirus is a balance between good news and bad. The white house says were now averaging about 1. 7 million vaccinations a day. Thats many more than the initial goal of a million shots per day. But as the rollout gets better, in some cases, its been stopped cold by our severe Winter Weather. That brings the danger of prolonging this pandemic. Nbc news correspondent Miguel Almaguer looks at how weather is, indeed, slowing down this vital process. Reporter as one crisis triggers another, tonight, frigid weather in some 30 states has frozen many Vaccine Distribution centers to a standstill with delays and cancellations. The snowstorm in chicago preventing more than 100 providers from getting shipments. Weather also causing rippling shipping delays in florida, leading to cancellations at grocery stores. Complicating an already confusing system rescheduling appointments that were nearly impossible to get. I would certainly tell people to be their own best advocate and assume that they need to reschedule themselves. Reporter while no agency is reporting the total number of missed vaccinations, but its not just the storm, but supply compounding problems. In new york city, Tens Of Thousands of appointments will be delayed because of their shortage. And another storm is moving in. Were going to run out today, tomorrow, were going to run out of what we have now. Reporter with the u. S. Vaccinating 1. 7 million americans a day, the white house says Vaccine Supply to states will increase to 13. 5 million doses per week. At Gillette Stadium outside boston, 65,000 have been inoculated. Almost enough people to fill every seat in the stands. For americans who can get a vaccine, scientists are getting close to answering a lingering question. If you are vaccinated and become infected, can you still pass the virus to others . Early research looks promising. There have been some studies that are pointing into a very favorable direction that will have to be verified by other studies. Reporter but help cant come soon enough. But mid march, the cdc says 559,000 americans could lose their lives to the virus. A dark reminder that every day and every delay, can cost lives. Miguel almaguer, nbc news. 559,000 of our fellow citizens. Coming up for us, nature has ignored the warning on the bumper sticker. Nature has, in fact, messed with texas. Tonight, well show you how texans are fighting back on behalf of those who cant help themselves. My body is truly powerful. I have the power to lower my a1c. Because my body can still make its own insulin. And trulicity activates my body to release it, lowering my blood sugar from the first dose. Onceweekly trulicity responds when my body needs it, 24 7. Trulicity is for Type 2 Diabetes. Its not insulin. It isnt for people with type 1 diabetes. Dont take trulicity if youre allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. Stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, changes in vision, or diabetic retinopathy. Serious side effects may include pancreatitis. 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Lag so start becoming the best gamers in the ga avatars oohh sam 5g Ultra Wideband, now in parts of many cities. This is 5g built right. Last thing before we go tonight is where we started tonight, texas is in big trouble. So many people in serious distress. Millions under a boil water advisory, except some have no water, others have no electricity to heat it if they had. Some families are busting up and burning their own furniture to stay warm. Thats not an urban myth, thats happening. Hopefully people will pay for this. And texans will demand better. Lets not forget, however, there is no one to blame for the severe, once in a lifetime Winter Weather event that triggered all of this. As we mentioned, for a time this week, it was colder in houston than it was in anchorage. And not all of the suffering is falling on humans. Down in south padre island, the Spring Break Haven known for its beautiful beaches, its the sea turtles that need help. And texans have stepped up, rescuing the hopeless sea turtles that have been physically stunned by the cold. Their physical movement stops and their Body Functions begin to shut down, they can no longer swim or eat or even hold their heads up. And at that point, they can drown in a half inch of water. People have been bringing them, truckloads of them, to the Convention Center on the island and without power to the Convention Center, volunteers are trying their very best to keep them all warm while admitting, they will lose some of them, if they were brought in while already too far gone. About 3,500 sea turtles have been brought in so far. Their Population Stocks are already in danger. The texas coast is their home, but Mother Nature left us No Instructions about how to help them in this kind of cold. Tonight, some goodhearted texans, many with no power or heat in their own homes, are doing the very best they can. And that is our broadcast for this wednesday night, with our thanks for being here with us. On behalf of all my colleagues at the networks of nbc news, good night. Another frigid night for tens of millions of americans. I will tell you tonight, as i got in my pickup truck and went to leave the driveway and get onto the road, my driveway gave me an assist in pushing me out onto the road as soon as i put my truck in neutral, not even in gear, it just spat me right onto the road. In dozens of states tonight, it is frigid and there are icy and wintry conditions