Bitterly cold temperatures continue to plague the state of Texas even as warmer weather was finally on the horizon. Water shortages have now replaced power outages as the number 1 problem in the state. As of Thursday an estimated 13 million people were being asked to boil water for drinking and untold numbers are wondering how to deal with frozen and damaged pipes. On Friday morning about half the state’s residents were dealing with disrupted water supplies. Food stores are also dwindling as grocery store shelves have emptied out and food pantries were closing. Many residents are dealing with stored refrigerated food that spoiled during days-long power outages. Carbon monoxide poisoning cases are also on the rise as freezing Texans try to warm up by running car engines indoors. The situation inside Texas jails is even worse with horrifying reports of clogged toilets and freezing cells. Jailed people who have not been convicted of crimes are being held in intolerable conditions. There has been a total of at least 30 deaths so far linked to the harsh winter conditions across the state. 

Texas Senator Ted Cruz continues to be under fire for escaping the cold weather by taking his family on a luxury vacation to Cancun. Text messages from his wife to their neighbors were leaked to the New York Times on Thursday and revealed that the family planned a getaway from the inhospitable conditions that have thrown millions of Cruz’s constituents into a life risking situation. The texts undermine Cruz’s claim that he was only going to Cancun to drop his kids off and was trying to be a “good dad.” He has now admitted that his vacation was “obviously a mistake,” but many pointed out his hypocrisy considering that he has often shamed other politicians in the past for vacationing during crises. Many, including the Houston Chronicle have called on him to resign. While Cruz excused his behavior saying he didn’t know how he could help his constituents, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents New York, raised two million dollars for Texas-based aid organizations using her social media platform. Meanwhile President Joe Biden, in stark contrast to his predecessor’s partisan political responses, approved new disaster declarations for Texas and authoriz...