President Joe Biden, 81, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier Wednesday, following his first event in Las Vegas, according to the White House.
President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, according to the White House.
UnidosUS CEO Janet Murguía had also announced the diagnosis from the podium where the president was set to speak at a conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
BBiden, 81, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier Wednesday, following his first event in Las Vegas, according to the White House.
“He is vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms,” the White House said in a statement. “He will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time.”
The White House said it will provide regular updates on the president’s status “as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation.”
President Joe Biden walks up the steps of Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport…Show moreAP Photo/Susan Walsh
The White House also shared a note from Biden’s doctor, who said the president had upper respiratory symptoms — including a running nose and cough — and “general malaise” Wednesday afternoon.
“He felt OK for his first event of the day, but given that he was not feeling better, point of care testing for COVID-19 was conducted, and the results were positive for the COVID-19 virus,” his doctor said, according to the White House.
Biden has received his first dose of Paxlovid, according to his doctor, who noted that the president’s respiratory rate, temperature and pulse oximetry are normal.
The president gave a thumbs-up to reporters as he prepared to depart Las Vegas when asked how he was feeling and responded, “Good. I feel good,” according to the pool.
He was seen maskless boarding Air Force One in Las Vegas on Wednesday afternoon to head to Rehoboth, Delaware.
Biden also shared his COVID-19 diagnosis on X later Wednesday night, writing, “I am feeling good and thank everyone for the well wishes.”
“I will be isolating as I recover, and during this time I will continue to work to get the job done for the American people,” he said.
Biden previously tested positive for COVID-19 in 2022 and took Paxlovid then, the White House said at the time.
The president was slated to deliver remarks Wednesday afternoon at the annual conference for UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, when Murguía announced from the stage that he would no longer be able to appear.
“Regrettably, I was just on the phone with President Biden and he shared his deep disappointment at not being able to join us this afternoon,” Murguía told the crowd. “The president has been at many events as we all know, and he just tested positive for COVID. So, of course, we understand that he needs to take the precautions that have been recommended, and he did not obviously want to put anybody at risk.”
“He said to tell my folks that you’re not going to get rid of him that quickly,” Murguía continued. “We’re going to have a chance to hear from him in the future directly. He’s just really sorry he couldn’t be with us.”
Garrett Walls leans against one of the two trees that fell on the house he rents and on the roof of his neighbor in Northwood Manor after Hurricane Beryl tore through the greater Houston area, Monday, July 8, 2024. (Marie D. De Jesús / Houston Landing)
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — As of Wednesday, at least 13 people have died in Harris County as a result of Hurricane Beryl.
At Houston City Council, members of the dais questioned whether at least some of those deaths could have been prevented.
“This could be so avoidable at this point that the loss of life continues to grow and is so – it didn’t have to happen like this,” District C Houston City Council Member Abbie Kamin said. “This feels more like a man-made disaster than a natural disaster.”
District J Houston City Council Member Edward Pollard apologized to citizens for the city’s response to the storm.
“We have to be transparent with the public and let them know that we did not do all that we could do from a city standpoint,” Pollard said.
Pollard and several colleagues called for changes moving forward. One change council members suggested was passing an ordinance requiring generators for independent living facilities housing vulnerable populations.
After the derecho in May, ABC13 reported on conditions at several such facilities, like Independence Hall. Resident Thomas Wilkin, a double amputee, told ABC13 he was trapped on the second floor of his apartment building for days because he could not charge his electric wheelchair.
“I was wondering how we were gonna survive,” he said.
The owner of Independence Hall told ABC13 that the building was not required to have generators.
“You cannot just accept the money from the people that live there and not give them the total services that they need,” said District D Council Member Carolyn Evans-Shabazz.
Evans-Shabazz is among several council members who told ABC13 their office is pushing the matter. Others include Vice Mayor Pro Tem Amy Peck and District I Council Member Joaquin Martinez.
Most said they were waiting to see if the state would pass legislation before acting. State requirements require generators at some nursing homes and independent living facilities.
However, none of those requirements call for generators to power air conditioning systems. If the state does not act, the above council members pledged to put an ordinance on the agenda, likely leveraging tax credits.
SAN FRANCISCO — Billionaire Elon Musk says he’s moving the headquarters of SpaceX and social media company X to Texas from California.
Musk posted on X Tuesday that he plans on moving SpaceX from Hawthorne, California to Starbase, Texas. X will move to Austin from San Francisco.
He called a new law signed Monday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom that bars school districts from requiring staff to notify parents of their child’s gender identification change the “final straw.”
“I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children,” Musk wrote.
Tesla, where Musk is CEO, moved its corporate headquarters to Austin from Palo Alto, California in 2021.
Musk has also said that he has moved his residence from California to Texas, where there is no state personal income tax.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. offered an apology to former President Trump after a video of their phone call Monday was leaked.
Trump spoke with Kennedy before he announced Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate during Day 1 of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. In the leaked call, Trump could be heard on speakerphone saying he agrees with some of Kennedy’s stances on vaccines.
Trump could also be heard saying he would love for the long-shot candidate to “do something,” adding it would be “so good” for Kennedy. Trump also told him “we’re going to win,” according to the footage.
Kennedy apologized for the leak Tuesday, shortly after it was posted online.
“When President Trump called me I was taping with an in-house videographer. I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately,” he wrote on the social platform X. “I am mortified that this was posted. I apologize to the president.”
Trump could also be heard telling Kennedy that President Biden was “very nice” when he called him following the attempted assassination of him over the weekend. The former president was grazed in the ear by a bullet after a gunman opened fire on his rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. The gunman and one rally attendee were killed, and two others were critically injured.
“It felt like a giant — like the world’s largest mosquito,” he said of the bullet.
He also noted that he was shot with AR-15-style weapon, adding those are “pretty tough guns, right?” in the phone call to Kennedy.
An endorsement from the independent candidate could help boost either Trump or Biden in the race. Kennedy is polling at just 8 percent support, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s national polling average.
Major League Baseball’s Midsummer Classic returned to Arlington, Texas, for the first time since 1995 on Tuesday as the American League defeated the National League 5-3 to win the 2024 All-Star Game.
Pittsburgh Pirates rookie sensation Paul Skenes started the game for the National League, becoming the first rookie pitcher to start in an All-Star game in nearly 30 years. He pitched a scoreless first inning, allowing one batter to reach on a walk and inducing a groundout from MLB home run leader Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees to end the inning.
Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers got the scoring started in the third inning with a three-run homer off Boston Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck to give the NL a 3-0 lead.
But the American League answered right back with a two-run double from the Yankees’ Juan Soto and an RBI single from the Cleveland Guardians’ David Fry to tie the game 3-3 after three innings.
Sam Hodde/Getty Images
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers played for the National League.
The American League took a 5-3 lead in the fifth inning with a two-run blast from Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene. The National League couldn’t muster an answer, and Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase closed the door in the ninth inning to earn the save.
Oakland Athletics fireballer Mason Miller picked up the win for the AL behind a perfect fifth inning that included strikeouts of Ohtani and Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner.
Duran’s game-winning big fly earned him MVP honors, putting the outfielder in stellar company with baseball legends.
According to MLB, Duran said postgame: “I didn’t think about that. That’s a great list of names to be a part of. I think I’m just thankful to be able to play in the All-Star Game and for the Red Sox, and to represent them well. It’s just – I don’t know, it’s a surreal moment. So I’m just thankful to be here.
“I’m definitely not thinking I’m the best of the best. I’m a guy that keeps my head down and just works hard. There’s so many good players in this league. I’m just thankful that I can play against these guys.
“I’m just very thankful. It’s hard to put into words. It won’t hit me until I try to go to sleep tonight. Who knows if I’ll be able to sleep tonight,” he added.
The American League has now won 10 of the last 11 All-Star Games dating back to 2013.
Federal prosecutors in New York alleged the New Jersey Democrat accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, mortgage payments and more in exchange for the senator’s political clout. Three New Jersey businessmen who were also charged, along with the governments of Egypt and Qatar, were the alleged recipients. Two of those co-defendants, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, were also convicted of all counts they faced.
The jury deliberated for about 13 hours over three days.
‘I have never, ever been a foreign agent,’ Menendez says
Menendez pleaded not guilty to 16 federal charges including bribery, fraud, acting as a foreign agent and obstruction. He said he plans to appeal his conviction and is “deeply disappointed” by the jury’s decision.
“I have never violated my oath,” he said outside the courthouse Tuesday. “I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent.”
He added that the jury’s decision would “put at risk every member of the United States Senate in terms of what they think a foreign agent would be.”
Menendez did not respond to questions on whether he will resign.
He will be sentenced on Oct. 29 and faces decades in prison.
Sen. Robert Menendez leaves court afte…Show moreBrendan Mcdermid/Reuters
Calls to resign
Menendez is not required to resign despite his conviction, though could be expelled.
Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for his resignation immediately after the verdict.
“In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” he said.
Sen. Cory Booker, Menendez’s New Jersey counterpart, and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy joined in the calls for his immediate resignation. If the senator refuses to vacate his office, Murphy said he will call on the U.S. Senate to expel him.
Sen. Bob Menendez arrives for his feder…Show moreAdam Gray/Getty Images
The Senate Ethics Committee said it will “promptly” complete the investigation into Menendez’s conduct that it undertook when the allegations against him first surfaced.
The committee said it will consider the “full range of disciplinary actions available under the Rules of Procedure,” which include expulsion and censure.
He is not required to resign despite his conviction, though could be expelled.
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‘Shocking levels of corruption’
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, whose office prosecuted the case, said following the verdict that this “has always been about shocking levels of corruption.”
“Hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes, including gold, cash, and a Mercedes-Benz. This wasn’t politics as usual; this was politics for profit,” Williams said in a statement. “Because Senator Menendez has now been found guilty, his years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end. Corruption isn’t costless: it erodes public trust, and it undermines the rule of law. That’s why we’re so committed to fighting it, regardless of political party.”
Prosecutors claimed Menendez, 70, “put his power up for sale” in exchange for the gold, envelopes stuffed with money, checks to his wife for a no-show job and a Mercedes-Benz convertible. The FBI found gold bars and more than $400,000 in cash stashed in places including jackets and shoes throughout his home, prosecutors said.
“It wasn’t enough for him to be one of the most powerful people in Washington,” federal prosecutor Paul Monteleoni said during his closing argument on July 8. “Robert Menendez wanted all that power and he also wanted to use it to pile up riches for himself and his wife.”
Defense derided DOJ’s case as ‘cherry-picked nonsense’
The defense, meanwhile, maintained that all of the actions in the indictment fell within the scope of Menendez’s position and that prosecutors failed to prove he took any bribes.
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During his closing argument, defense attorney Adam Fee mocked the government’s case as “cherry-picked nonsense” and accused prosecutors of “fudging” the facts.
“The only honest verdict I submit here is to acquit him on each count,” Fee told the jury on July 9. “His actions were lawful, normal and good for the country.”
Menendez declined to testify in his own defense. While leaving court after the defense rested its case on July 3, he told reporters, “From my perspective, the government has failed to prove every aspect of its case.”
He said he expected his lawyers to present a “convincing and powerful summation” and that the jury would find him not guilty.
Sen. Bob Menendez leaves the Manhatt…Show moreStefan Jeremiah/AP
New Jersey businessmen, Menendez’s wife charged in case
Prosecutors told the jury that Menendez promised to use his power to help Egypt. According to the indictment, the arrangement was brokered by Hana, a New Jersey businessman and friend of Menendez’s wife, Nadine, who prosecutors said received the senator’s help preserving a halal meat monopoly.
Menendez was also accused of receiving a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible in exchange for help disrupting a case by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
Prosecutors said that in the spring of 2019, another New Jersey businessman, Jose Uribe, who pleaded guilty in the case, handed Nadine $15,000 in cash that she used as a down payment for the car. She texted Menendez, “Congratulations. We are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes,” according to prosecutors. Uribe kept making the monthly payments, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors claimed the senator promised a third businessman, Daibes, that he would interfere with Daibes’ federal prosecution and help the government of Qatar by supporting a Senate resolution praising the country.
Daibes’ fingerprints were found on the envelopes of cash found at Menendez’s home and serial numbers on the gold bars traced them to Daibes and Hana, according to prosecutors.
During the two months of testimony, jurors heard his sister explain why Menendez was caught with wads of cash stuffed into his embroidered congressional jacket: “It’s a Cuban thing,” Caridad Gonzalez said.
Senator Bob Menendez and his wife Na…Show moreSpencer Platt/Getty Images
The defense also told jurors that Menendez and his wife, who has also been charged in the case, led separate lives and she had financial concerns that she kept from her husband.
Daibes and Hana pleaded not guilty to their charges. Uribe pleaded guilty and testified against the three defendants during the trial.
2nd corruption case against Menendez
Menendez, who has served as senator for New Jersey since 2006, is the first sitting member of Congress to be charged with conspiracy by a public official to act as a foreign agent.
In June, he filed a petition to get on the U.S. Senate ballot in New Jersey as an independent candidate.
He refused to resign, though he did step down as the chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee following the initial indictment in September 2023.
This marked the second time the senator was charged with corruption. A 2015 indictment ended in a mistrial in 2018 after a jury failed to reach a verdict on all counts.
The Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HCOHSEM) continues to support and coordinate recovery efforts following Beryl. As recovery efforts continue, more resources have become available for residents impacted by Beryl.
After Texans apply for disaster assistance, FEMA may call them to schedule an inspection of the damaged home or to obtain more information to process the application. These calls may come from unfamiliar area codes or phone numbers.
It is important to answer the call. A FEMA inspection may be required to determine whether a home is safe, sanitary, functional, and accessible. If an inspection cannot be scheduled, that may cause a delay in FEMA’s review of the application.
There is no charge for an inspection. The inspector will have FEMA photo ID and the application number. FEMA representatives never ask for money.
If you receive a call from someone saying they are a FEMA representative, but you aren’t sure, call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 to verify the caller’s identity.
In collaboration with FEMA and SBA, HCOHSEM has developed a Frequently Asked Questions video to assist residents with their respective recovery processes. For additional information about the FEMA application process, visit the Beryl Resources Recovery page at www.readyharris.org.
Disaster Recovery Center Locations
Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) and Business Recovery Centers (BRC) have opened across Harris County and more will open in the days ahead. For a complete and up-to-date list of DRC and BRC locations and hours of operations, visit the Beryl Recovery Resources page at www.readyharris.org or visit the ReadyHarris Disaster Recovery Centers and Business Recovery Centers map.
If you have applied for FEMA assistance and received an ineligibility letter, residents are encouraged to visit a DRC. FEMA representatives are located at DRC locations and can help answer questions about your application status, apply or reapply for individual assistance, and may provide referrals to agencies that offer other assistance.
Small Business Administration Disaster Assistance Loans
Harris County residents impacted by Beryl are eligible to apply for U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Loans.
The SBA offers disaster assistance in the form of low-interest loans to businesses, nonprofit organizations, homeowners, and renters located in regions affected by declared disasters. SBA also provides eligible small businesses and nonprofit organizations with working capital to help overcome the economic injury of a declared disaster.
Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information, and download applications at disasterloanassistance.sba.gov. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
The deadline to apply for loans to repair property damage is September 10, 2024, and economic injury is April 14, 2025.
Hurricane Beryl Recovery Fund
In partnership with the City of Houston and Harris County leaders, and the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance’s (GHDA) Disaster Recovery Council, a Hurricane Beryl Recovery Fund has opened. Residents can donate to help vulnerable, underinsured, and insured populations in Harris County who were impacted by Beryl. For more information about the Hurricane Beryl Recovery Fund, donation opportunities, and other ways to assist, visit the GHDA website.
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer Houston
If you are interested in volunteer opportunities, many residents are in need of assistance cleaning up their home and their yards. Additionally, food distribution sites across the county are calling for volunteers.
Any individual who would like to volunteer to assist can register by visiting www.volunteerhou.org/disaster or by calling 211.
Crisis Cleanup
If your group (company, school, church, etc.) would like to volunteer, visit www.crisiscleanup.org/register to register your organization.If you need assistance with damage clean up, you can call the home cleanup hotline at 979-217-3791. Crisis Cleanup will connect you with volunteers from local relief organizations that may be able to assist with cutting fallen trees, tarping roofs, and more.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — After beginning Monday with about 240,000 outages, CenterPoint Energy had yet to restore about 132,000 customers during the evening.
The company also gave an update on when all impacted customers would have their lights back on after Hurricane Beryl: Friday, July 19, some 11 days after the Category 1 storm made landfall.
As of 8:30 p.m. Monday, 92% of impacted customers were restored. About 98% should be restored by the end of Wednesday, CenterPoint added.
The company also cautioned about damage to customer-owned, specifically weatherheads, the point where power enters the home through an electric service drop, which is often a pipe located on the side of the residence or building.
“If the weatherhead is damaged, crews cannot safely restore service to the home until a licensed electrician has made the necessary repairs. Customers who are served by an underground service will not have a weatherhead, but there may still be damage to their equipment that could require servicing,” CenterPoint warned.
A weeklong wait continues
It has been the same tune for many families in the seven days since the storm, with households growing impatient that their lights and air conditioning remained off.
ABC13 viewers told Eyewitness News Houston’s Third Ward is one of those neighborhoods.
On the CenterPoint outage tracker,the company labels the area as energized with potential localized outages, otherwise categorized as nested outages.
Just like May’s report, CenterPoint Energy explained what’s happening in a statement Monday:
“There might be several reasons why some customers may have their power restored while others nearby are still without power. One reason could be a ‘nested outage.’ A nested outage occurs when, even after fixing the main issue, other isolated issues, such as damage to fuses, transformers, meters, electric lines, or other electric infrastructure, cause continued outages in specific areas. These secondary issues can arise from unseen damage or overloaded systems.
Another reason could be that customers on the same street or neighborhood might be on different electric circuits. Customers on different circuits can experience varied restoration times because each circuit may have different levels of damage or may be repaired in a different sequence. This means that while one circuit is fully restored, another might still be undergoing repairs.
The restoration map reflects a circuit-level outage. Therefore, a customer who is still out on a circuit showing green might be experiencing a more localized issue. Customers enrolled in Power Alert Service are receiving individual restoration alerts as their power is restored. We continue to assess our system and update the information regularly.
A circuit-level outage generally includes locations with more than 100 customers impacted. If your grocery stores, streetlights and surrounding neighborhoods are without power, the problem may be at the circuit level.”
CenterPoint said it’s directing 14,000 crew members on 16-hour shifts to work on restoration.
“These crews have walked more than 8,500 miles of electric lines, removed nearly 19,000 weakened trees impacting lines, repaired or replaced more than 2,100 poles, and deployed 28 mobile generation units to temporarily restore to cooling centers, hospitals, senior living facilities, and water treatment plants,” the company said.
Despite the effort, some ABC13 viewers said the company told them power would remain off until Friday.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — It could be weeks before we get a complete picture of the deaths caused by Hurricane Beryl.
At least 13 people in the Houston area are believed to have died as a result of the dangerous hurricane, and many are afraid more people will die in the coming days as residents continue to struggle with power outages and damage.
Multiple agencies track storm deaths, but the final number will come from the medical examiner, who will look at several factors.
The Shaw family has been without power since Beryl hit last Monday.
ABC13 was there Saturday as the family surrounded 89-year-old Mary Shaw.
Even under a nurse’s care, Mary died the next morning.
“Her body was so hot. I just started putting wet towels, ice, putting it on her, putting it around her,” her daughter, Monica Shaw, said.
“We called for her to be moved to facilities,” added her other daughter, Lisa Shaw. “Facilities were full, so we couldn’t even take her anywhere.”
Mary had suffered from dementia and heart disease for years.
Her family may never know what impact, if any, the heat had on her health.
All they know for sure is that she died in discomfort, hot, and panicked.
“My mom is gone, but I’m going to live in the strength that she has because that’s what she instilled in her kids,” Lisa said. “Reminds me of the ‘Old Lady and the Shoe.’ She had six kids of her own, she raised six across the street, she has another adopted son down the street and an adopted daughter that’s been in our life for almost 45 years.”
The close-knit family is now worried about the health of other relatives and neighbors as they all go into their second week without power.
“They forgot about us, but they don’t forget to get paid every month,” niece Kimberly Rubit said. “I’ve never missed my bill, so yes, I’m blaming them.”
In the wake of Hurricane Beryl, Houston’s food-and-beverage industry has been significantly impacted by ongoing power outages. Some operators have resorted to parking lot pop-ups and other quick fixes to pay their rent and staff. Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee, who suffered his own Beryl-related loss, is spearheading a class action lawsuit against CenterPoint Energy on behalf of several Houston restaurants.
Buzbee announced on Instagram that his firm is filing the lawsuit due to CenterPoint’s repeated failures to “do what any reasonable and competent electricity provider would do and should do.” He stated that the restaurants involved, some of the most celebrated and revered in the Houston Galveston area, have lost substantial time and money due to “negligence and gross negligence,” including inadequate equipment maintenance, insufficient personnel training, and a lack of a competent storm plan.
“All of the restaurants suing lost power initially as a result of Hurricane Beryl, but that loss inexplicably continued due to the incompetence and utter dereliction of CenterPoint Energy,” Buzbee said. “The problems at CenterPoint continue, and likely will continue, despite the accusations and condemnation from all levels of government. The restaurants filing this case, and the class of plaintiffs they seek to represent, are fed up. None of us in this area has a choice as to who provides us electricity.”
Highlighting CenterPoint’s 2023 profits of $6.54 billion and its monopoly in the Houston area, Buzbee emphasized that the lawsuit aims to compel CenterPoint to improve its services. “This lawsuit is being filed not for the want of money, but to force CenterPoint in court to do what the administrative, legislative, and executive system has failed to require.”
Restaurant owners, such as Ryan Lachaine of Riel Restaurant in Montrose, have voiced their frustration. Lachaine’s business was without power for a week, leaving his 20 employees unable to work. “Restaurants are difficult at the best of times, and when something like this happens, it is absolutely devastating,” Lachaine said. “We all knew this was going to happen, something was going to happen. And it’s kind of frustrating when we’re supposed to be ready all the time, and hunker down or do this or do that, and when it comes time for someone else to do their job, nobody’s ready.”
Robin Wong, owner of Luloo’s in Garden Oaks, echoed this sentiment. “Being a city that’s as large as Houston is, we can’t keep having these problems. It needs to be fixed,” Wong said. “Losing power in these storms just long enough to lose all the food in your walk-in is just enough to where you have to start over.”
Buzbee explained that the lawsuit will focus on restaurants that have been in business for over a year and lost power for at least 48 hours. “CenterPoint doesn’t know their grid,” Buzbee said. “They have clearly not invested in infrastructure to prevent things like this.”
The restaurateurs involved stress that they are not seeking a handout but can no longer endure the status quo without speaking out. “Being a small business owner,” Lachaine added, “we’re kind of sick of being pushed around.”
ABC13 has reached out to CenterPoint for a response to these claims and will update the story once the company responds. Buzbee mentioned that a file-stamped copy of the lawsuit will be distributed publicly once available.
