Biden surveys damage of severe winter weather in Texas

[DonViejo]

Feb 26, 2021 9:33 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will exercise his empathy skills Friday during a Texas visit with a dual mission: surveying damage caused by severe winter weather and encouraging people to get their coronavirus shots.

Biden and his wife, Jill, were traveling to Houston for the president’s first trip to a major disaster site since he took office a little over a month ago.

Severe winter weather across the South over Valentine’s Day weekend battered multiple states, with Texas bearing the brunt of unseasonably frigid conditions that caused widespread power outages and frozen pipes that burst and flooded homes. Millions of residents lost heat and running water.

At least 40 people in Texas died as a result of the storm and, although the weather has returned to more normal temperatures, more than 1 million residents were still under orders to boil water before drinking it.

more
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/biden-surveys-damage-of-severe-winter-weather-in-texas

[PatSeg]

1. Quite a contrast to when Trump

visited the area in 2017 after Hurricane Harvey. As he was leaving, he told people who had been relocated to a shelter to "have a good time". No paper towels that time though.

[Klaralven]

2. What to expect when Biden visits Houston today

...

The Bidens will land at Ellington Air Force Base around noon, according to KPRC's Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli. The First Lady plans to visit the food bank shortly before 1 p.m. as the president tours the Harris County Emergency Operations Center.

From there, the president will join the First Lady at the food bank to meet volunteers.

Then, President Biden will speak to workers at the vaccination site around 5 p.m.

The short trip ends around 6 p.m., when Air Force One is scheduled to fly back to Washington.

https://www.chron.com/politics/article/biden-visit-houston-abbott-15981658.php

[kimbutgar]

3. That's kind of a snarky opening line from pbs

Exercise his empathy skills?