Winter Storms, Secret Trial in Myanmar, and a $500M Mistake
Deadly winter storms sweep across the US, a secret trial begins in Myanmar, and Citibank makes one of the biggest blunders in banking history.
Good morning. It's Wednesday, Feb. 17, and winter storms continue to leave much of the United States in a deep freeze. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected]. First time reading? Sign up here. NEED TO KNOW
Winter Storm Wreaks Havoc At least 20 people are dead and millions without power as a massive winter storm continued to cause chaos across the US yesterday. The system brought rare subfreezing temperatures to the southern Great Plain states and the Deep South, while spawning a deadly tornado in North Carolina. The expansive weather pattern managed to drop multiple inches of snow in Texas (see photos) while dumping an estimated 18 inches in Chicago. Nearly 75% of the contiguous US is currently covered in snow. The low temperatures crippled the Texas power system—a reported 60% of Texas homes use electric heat—with 3 million people without power as of this morning. Early reports attributed the failure to frozen wind turbines, though officials later said the situation was more complex, with renewable energy sources accounting for one-third of the 46 gigawatts of lost capacity, with the rest largely coming from natural gas power plants. Separately, about 250,000 people also lost power in Appalachia. Residents in the south will have to wait until Thursday for a reprieve—a second storm is already making its way through the region today. In the Pacific Northwest, Oregon is recovering from an ice storm that knocked out power to more than 330,000 people, the worst blackout in state history. New Charges for Suu KyiOfficials in Myanmar (Burma) filed a new charge against Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday, accusing the deposed leader of violating COVID-19 restrictions. While Suu Kyi was originally accused of importing illegal walkie-talkies into the country, her supporters say the new charge is intended to allow the military to detain her indefinitely without a court trial. The 75-year-old Nobel laureate was ousted from office, along with nearly the entire civilian government, during a Feb. 1 military coup (see background). Suu Kyi has been held incommunicado since—her lawyer has reportedly not met with her, and only became aware of the new charges when initial trial proceedings were broadcast from a secret location. Hundreds of thousands of protestors have marched against the takeover, with security forces increasingly using force to break up crowds. Here's why the US government still refers to the country as Burma. India's Mysterious FallThe rate of new COVID-19 cases reported in India has fallen by 90% since mid-September, with the number of new cases reported across the country averaging just over 11,000. With more than 1.3 billion people and inconsistent healthcare access for rural citizens, India was on pace to surpass the US as the world's epicenter heading into the winter. Instead, hospital critical care capacity has dropped from 90% to 16% over the same time frame. Experts speculate a mix of herd immunity in urban centers, under-reporting, and possibly some type of preexisting resistance to SARS-CoV-2 may be among the factors. Demographics may also play a role—65% of India's population is under age 35, and less susceptible to severe COVID-19 cases. In the US, the number of vaccines shipped to states this week will be increased to 13.6 million in total, up from 11 million last week, while almost 40 million people have received at least one vaccine dose. The US has reported 488,801 total COVID-19 deaths, with 1,756 deaths reported yesterday (see data). Enjoy reading? Share 1440 with your three closest friends. GIFT SIMPLY, SHOP SAFELY
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