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millions of americans in the the state of texas are struggling to find drinking water after deadly winter storms left them without power for days. while the lights have largely come back on, more than half of the state s residents are being told to boil their water if they have any at all. long lines are now the normal mass water distribution sites as store shelves run bare. the damages are adding up as frozen pipes burst and frigid temperatures persist. u.s. president biden says that he will sign a natural disaster declar declaration. omar jimenez has more. you never used your fireplace before this? no. reporter: jen studebaker and her family were burning chairs, pieces of book shelves, before eventually scavaging for bits of wood without even a means to cut it. that hammer is what we were splitting it with. reporter: using their nearly abandoned fireplace now as a means of survival. this is the head of the futon bed so it would be closer to the heat and he ....
the white house approving a major disaster declaration for the state of texas today and new york congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez is actually in texas after raising millions of people to aid people affected by the brutal storms. this is not just an issue for it texans. this is an issue for our entire country. disasters don t strike everyone equally, when you have already have so many families in the state and across the country that are on the brink, that can t even afford an emergency to begin with. if you are documented, undocumented, no matter your income, no matter your housing status, you can get help here. cnn s omar jiminez is in austin. half the people in texas, more than 14 million people were told still need water or under a boil water advisory right now. how are folks getting by? reporter: that s right, erica. water is really the focus over the course of this weekend as maybe electricity was the focus early on. we re at a brewery in austin and wha ....
empty while others are limited purchases of essential supplies. we re also following the coronavirus crisis. president biden touring a pfizer vaccine facility just a little while ago in saying, and i m quoting now, i believe we ll be approaching normalcy by the end of the year but i can t make that commitment to you. let s get straight to texas right now. omar jimenez is joining us in austin. the state is reeling from what critics say is a man made crisis. that is right. we re heading into another potentially final night of freezing temperatures here in texas. and the good news is the electric liability of texas said we re no longer under a power emergency. operations have returned to normal. the bad news is reliable drinking water seems days away. on the tail end of a week where texans were fighting for their lives in their own homes. so you never even used your fireplace before this? no. reporter: jen and her family were burning chairs, pieces of bookshelves b ....
a 9-year-old migrant girl dying while trying to cross the rio grande her mother sharing her grief tonight. the georgia democrat arrested while protesting the new law passed by state republicans restricting voting rights, including a ban on giving food or water to voters in line how president biden is responding if you are booking a rental car for your next vacation, will it be there when you arrive the growing problem and what you can do about it my conversation, the four female navy commanders making history. and celebrating the best-selling author beloved by generations of children announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt good evening, everyone for so many alabama and georgia communities, it s been relentless and traumatizing a parade of tornadoes over the last week, and this time they have proven deadly at least six people killed in a violent outbreak that began yesterday and into overnight. by daylight, a tornado s ragged footprint came cle ....
in other news. president trump suggests he could make a political comeback after he s cleared of his second impeachment trial. the duke and duchess of sussex have announced that they re expecting a second child a spokesperson for harry and meghan says they re overjoyed . hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. there is now a nationwide internet blackout underway in myanmar. there are also troop deployments around the country which has seen mass demonstrations against the military coup which took place two weeks ago. western embassies in myanmar have called on the country s military to refrain from violence against demonstrators and civilians after reports that security forces have opened fire to disperse a protest. armoured vehicles have been seen driving round the streets of central yangon for first time since the coup two weeks ago. many drivers expressed their anger by beeping their horns. i m joined now by our soe win than from the b ....