Like other people today, we’ve spent some time watching this story about Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, whose trip to Cancún, Mexico, was scuttled, but don’t take your eye off the ball. Today, we’ll talk about the crisis brought on by cold weather and infrastructure failures in Texas. Plus, what it takes for a woman to be promoted to general and the Mars rover Perseverance.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Sen. Ted Cruz faces storm of controversy for flying to Cancun as Texas grapples with power outages caused by severe weather” from The Washington Post

• “Texas blackouts during deep freeze highlight grid challenges” from Marketplace

• “How Texas weather disruptions will ripple through oil supply chain” from Marketplace

• “Running an online business … when the power goes out” from Marketplace

• “Deep freeze has Texas ranchers concerned about food, water for cattle” from Marketplace

• “Promotions for Female Generals Were Delayed Over Fears of Trump’s Reaction” from The New York Times

• “A Grim Measure of Covid’s Toll: Life Expectancy Drops Sharply in U.S.” from The New York Times

• Redditors want to know: Where is AOC?

• “NASA Lands the Perseverance Rover on Mars” from Wired

• “New Zealand to Roll Out Free Period Products to All Students” from The New York Times

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