Authorities in Portland, Ore., clashed with residents who were attempting to salvage discarded groceries from a dumpster on Tuesday after power outages occurred throughout the city due to winter storms. Around a dozen Portland police officers confronted a group of people at a local Fred Meyer, according to The Oregonian . People began to gather around the dumpster around 2:30 p.m., according to the newspaper, and within hours, police officers came to guard the dumpsters. ADVERTISEMENT Morgan Mckniff, an activist and outspoken critic of the Portland police, told The Oregonian that employees had been guarding the dumpsters before the police arrived. According to Mckniff, around 15 people gathered at the store to collect discarded groceries. The store’s manager eventually called the police. “After that, other people started showing up and asking them, ‘Why are you guys guarding a dumpster?’” Mckniff told the newspaper. According to a release from the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), authorities went to the grocery store because employees there “felt the situation was escalating and feared there may be a physical confrontation.” “The position of the employees of the store was that the food was spoiled and required to be disposed of due to lack of refrigeration,” the PPB added. “The food was unfit for consumption or donation. Officers also tried to explain this to the group of people.” According to PPB, the crowd of people eventually left, only to return after the police had departed. The police decided against returning to the scene unless there was an “an imminent threat to life or threat of serious injury.” “The people who were there weren’t there for selfish reasons — they were there to get food to distribute to hungry people around the city,” said Juniper Simonis, an activist and researcher who went to document the scavenging. “There are mutual aid groups that have been helping feed people at warming centers, because ...
Power outages texas
FEMA sending generators, fuel to Texas amid power outages
The Biden administration is sending generators, blankets and other supplies to Texas as the state grapples with widespread power outages amid an extended blast of winter weather. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has supplied generators and is preparing to send diesel fuel to the state "to ensure the continued availability of backup power, which of course is a major issue on the ground, to key critical infrastructure including communications, hospitals and water," White House press secretary Jen Psaki Jen Psaki Cruz puts hold on Biden's CIA nominee US refugee agency sees record number of migrants in February Democrats gear up for PR battle on COVID-19 relief MORE said at a Wednesday briefing. "FEMA is also supplying Texas with water and blankets at their request," she added. "We are preparing to quickly process requests from other states for emergency assistance … and we urge people in the affected states to of course listen to their emergency management officials." ADVERTISEMENT President Biden Joe Biden Biden to sign executive order aimed at increasing voting access Myanmar military conducts violent night raids Confidence in coronavirus vaccines has grown with majority now saying they want it MORE has already approved a disaster declaration for Texas to free up additional resources as many residents have been without power for days. A winter storm has covered swaths of the South in snow and temperatures in the region have plunged. Texas in particular has faced problems as the state's electrical power grid has been overwhelmed in the face of increasing demand. Many of the state's gas-fired power plants were also compromised by the snow and ice. At least 10 people in the state have died as the outages drag on. Biden on Tuesday spoke with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and the leaders of Louisiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Oklahoma to get an update on the situation. ...
Lawmakers gird for spending battle over nuclear weapons
Nuclear weapons are emerging as one of the top political brawls in the brewing battle over next year's defense budget. Democrats have been introducing bills to curtail costly nuclear modernization programs, as well writing letters urging President Biden Joe Biden Biden to sign executive order aimed at increasing voting access Myanmar military conducts violent night raids Confidence in coronavirus vaccines has grown with majority now saying they want it MORE to support their efforts. But Republicans are shooting back with their own letters and op-eds calling on Biden to stay the course on programs that largely originated during the Obama administration. They’re also working to pin down Pentagon nominees on where they stand. ADVERTISEMENT The back-and-forth over nuclear modernization is providing a lens into the larger fight that’s taking shape as the Biden administration prepares to present its first defense budget in the spring. Expectations are that the administration will keep funding flat. In one of the latest salvos, top Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee said Biden should boost defense spending by 3 to 5 percent, in part citing nuclear modernization needs, as well as bolstering cyber and naval capabilities. “As you prepare your administration’s fiscal year 2022 (FY22) budget for submission to Congress, we urge you to reject demands from many on the left to cut or freeze defense spending at current levels,” ranking member Rep. Mike Rogers Michael (Mike) Dennis Rogers Overnight Defense: Tim Kaine moves to claw back war powers authority | Study on sexual harassment and assault in the military Commissioners tasked with scrubbing Confederate base names sworn-in at first meeting China has already infiltrated America's institutions MORE (R-Ala.) and the top Republicans on each of the panel’s subcommittees wrote in a Thursday letter to Biden. “The next four years are going to be ...
