Massive winter storms blanket the central US as far as Texas, where frozen equipment leads to widespread power outages, leaving millions without power. When the state instituted rolling blackouts on Monday, it was minutes away from catastrophic grid failure. Even though most of the outages are at coal, gas, and nuclear plants (which provide more than 80 percent of the state’s electricity), Republican politicians and pundits falsely blame wind and solar.

Tim Boyd, the mayor of Colorado City, Texas, resigns after telling his “lazy” constituents to procure their own power and water, saying that “only the strong will survive.”

Texans are rescuing thousands of cold-stunned sea turtles.

COVID-19 deaths in the United States near half a million. The pandemic has cut average life expectancy by an entire year. Life expectancy for Black Americans dropped by 2.7 years in the first half of 2020 alone. 

After officials in Manatee County, Florida, complain that Governor Ron DeSantis is funneling COVID vaccines to affluent white communities, DeSantis threatens to divert vaccines from Manatee County. 

A record 14 Americans die in seven avalanches in the first week of February. 

Thanks to the continued decline of coal-fired power plants in the United States, emissions from those plants plunged in 2020.

Ford will phase out gasoline-powered cars by 2030—but only in Europe.

Record prices for the precious metals rhodium and palladium have led to a nationwide upsurge in stolen catalytic converters. The soaring price for the converters is also speeding automakers’ transition to electric vehicles. 

After the former president’s second impeachment, New Yorkers are looking to rename Donald J. Trump State Park.

Backyard bird feeders are fueling an outbreak of salmonella among pine siskins and finches in the western United States.

A $1,500 tax credit for e-bike purchases may be on the way.

A new calf is spotted among the Southern Resident orcas in the Salish Sea, bringing their number to 75. 

A black-footed ferret named Elizabeth Ann is the first endangered species to be cloned.