Biden Signs Package of Spending Bills Passed by Congress Just Hours Before Shutdown Deadline

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a $460 billion package of spending bills approved by the Senate in time to avoid a shutdown of many key federal agencies. The legislation’s success gets lawmakers about halfway home in wrapping up their appropriations work for the 2024 budget year.

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The measure contains six annual spending bills and had already passed the House. In signing it into law, Biden thanked leaders and negotiators from both parties in both chambers for their work, which the White House said will mean that agencies “may continue their normal operations.”

Meanwhile, lawmakers are negotiating a second package of six bills, including defense, in an effort to have all federal agencies fully funded by a March 22 deadline.

“To folks who worry that divided government means nothing ever gets done, this bipartisan package says otherwise,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said after lawmakers passed the measure Friday night just hours before a deadline.

He said the bill’s passage would allow for the hiring of more air traffic controllers and rail safety inspectors, give federal firefighters a raise and boost support for homeless veterans, among other things.

The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 75-22. Lawmakers sought votes on several amendments and wanted to have their say on the bill and other priorities during debate on the floor. It had been unclear midday if senators would be able to avert a short shutdown, though eventual passage was never really in doubt.

“I would urge my colleagues to stop playing with fire here,” said Sen. Susan Collins, the top-ranking Republican member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “It would be irresponsible for us not to clear these bills and do the fundamental job that we have of funding government. What is more important?”

The votes came more than five months into the current budget year after congressional leaders relied on a series of stopgap bills to keep federal agencies funded for a few more weeks or months at a time while they struggled to reach agreement on full-year spending.

In the end, total discretionary spending set by Congress is expected to come in at about $1.66 trillion for the full budget year ending Sept. 30.

Republicans were able to keep non-defense spending relatively flat compared with the previous year. Supporters say that’s progress in an era when annual federal deficits exceeding $1 trillion have become the norm. But many Republican lawmakers were seeking much steeper cuts and more policy victories.

The House Freedom Caucus, which contains dozens of the GOP’s most conservative members, urged Republicans to vote against the first spending package and the second one still being negotiated.

Democrats staved off most of the policy riders that Republicans sought to include in the package. For example, they beat back an effort to block new rules that expand access to the abortion pill mifepristone. They were also able to fully fund a nutrition program for low-income women, infants and children, providing about $7 billion for what is known as the WIC program. That’s a $1 billion increase from the previous year.

Republicans were able to achieve some policy wins, however. One provision will prevent the sale of oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China. Another policy mandate prohibits the Justice Department from investigating parents who exercise free speech at local school board meetings.

Another provision strengthens gun rights for certain veterans, though opponents of the move said it could make it easier for those with very serious mental health conditions like dementia to obtain a firearm.

”This isn’t the package I would have written on my own,” said Sen. Patty Murray, the Democratic chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “But I am proud that we have protected absolutely vital funding that the American people rely on in their daily lives.”

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said one problem he sees with the bill is that there was too much compromise, and that led to too much spending.

“A lot of people don’t understand this,” he said. “They think there is no cooperation in Washington and the opposite is true. There is compromise every day on every spending bill.”

“It’s compromise between big-government Democrats and big-government Republicans,” he added.

Still, with a divided Congress and a Democratic-led White House, any bill that doesn’t have buy-in from members of both political parties stands no chance of passage.

The bill also includes more than 6,600 projects requested by individual lawmakers with a price tag of about $12.7 billion. The projects attracted criticism from some Republican members, though members from both parties broadly participated in requesting them on behalf of their states and congressional districts. Paul called the spending “sort of the grease that eases in billions and trillions of other dollars, because you get people to buy into the total package by giving them a little bit of pork for their town, a little bit of pork for their donors.”

But an effort by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla, to strip out the projects mustered only 32 votes with 64 against. Murray said Scott’s effort would overrule “all the hard work, all the input we asked everyone to provide us about projects that would help their constituents.”

Even though lawmakers find themselves passing spending bills five months into the budget year, Republicans are framing the process as improved nonetheless because they broke the cycle of passing all the spending bills in one massive package that lawmakers have little time to study before being asked to vote on it or risk a government shutdown. Still, others said that breaking up funding into two chunks of legislation war hardly a breakthrough.

The first package covers the departments of Justice, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Interior and Transportation, among others.

source https://time.com/6899274/biden-signs-spending-bills-package-congress-shutdown-deadline/

Ireland’s Leader Concedes Defeat in Vote Over Constitutional Amendments About Family

DUBLIN — Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar conceded defeat Saturday as two constitutional amendments he supported that would have broadened the definition of family and removed language about a woman’s role at home were headed toward rejection in early vote tallies.

Varadkar, who pushed the vote to enshrine gender equality in the constitution by removing “very old-fashioned language” and trying to recognize the realities of modern family life, said it was clear the amendments were “defeated comprehensively on a respectable turnout.”

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“It was our responsibility to convince the majority of people to vote ‘yes’ and we clearly failed to do so,” Varadkar said.

Opponents argued that the wording of the changes was poorly thought out — an argument that appeared to have gained traction in the final days of the campaign. Voters said they were confused by the questions and others said they feared changes would lead to unintended consequences.

The election was viewed as part of Ireland’s evolution from a conservative, overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country in which divorce and abortion were illegal, to an increasingly diverse and socially liberal society. The proportion of residents who are Catholic fell from 94.9% in 1961 to 69% in 2022, according to the Central Statistics Office.

The social transformation has been reflected in a series of changes to Ireland’s Constitution, which dates from 1937, though the country was not formally known as the Republic of Ireland until 1949. Irish voters legalized divorce in a 1995 referendum, backed same-sex marriage in a 2015 vote and repealed a ban on abortions in 2018.

The first question dealt with a part of the constitution that pledges to protect the family as the primary unit of society. Voters were asked to remove a reference to marriage as the basis “on which the family is founded” and replace it with a clause that said families can be founded “on marriage or on other durable relationships.” If passed, it would have been the constitution’s 39th amendment.

A proposed 40th amendment would have removed a reference that a woman’s place in the home offered a common good that could not be provided by the state and delete a statement that said mothers shouldn’t be obligated to work out of economic necessity if it would neglect their duties at home. It would have added a clause saying the state will strive to support “the provision of care by members of a family to one another.”

The debate was less charged than the arguments over abortion and gay marriage. Ireland’s main political parties all supported the changes, including centrist government coalition partners Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and the biggest opposition party, Sinn Fein.

One political party that called for “no” votes was Aontú, a traditionalist group that split from Sinn Fein over the larger party’s backing for legal abortion. Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said the government’s wording was so vague it will lead to legal wrangles and most people “do not know what the meaning of a durable relationship is.”

The Free Legal Advice Centers, a legal charity, expressed concern the change to the section on care contained “harmful stereotypes such as the concept that the provision of care … is the private responsibility of unpaid family members without any guarantee of state support.”

Some disability rights campaigners argued the emphasis on care treats disabled people as a burden, rather than as individuals with rights that should be guaranteed by the state.

Opinion polls had suggested support for the “yes” side on both votes, but many voters remained undecided as Friday’s polling — held on International Women’s Day — neared and some said they found the issue too confusing or too hurried to change the constitution.

“I thought it was too rushed,” said Una Ui Dhuinn, a nurse in Dublin. “I felt we didn’t get enough time to think about it and read up on it. So I felt, to be on the safe side, ‘no, no’ — no change.”

Caoimhe Doyle, a doctoral student, said she voted yes to changing the definition of family but no to the care amendment because “I don’t think it was explained very well.”

“There’s a worry there that they’re removing the burden on the state to take care of families,” she said.

source https://time.com/6899256/ireland-leo-varadkar-concedes-defeat-vote-constitutional-amendments/

Pakistan’s Lawmakers Pick Asif Ali Zardari as the Country’s President For a Second Time

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s lawmakers elected Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday as the country’s president for the second time.

He is the widower of assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto and the father of former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

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Zardari secured 411 votes from national and provincial lawmakers. His opponent, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, who is backed by the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, received 181 votes.

The Pakistani presidency is a largely ceremonial role. Zardari was previously in the job between 2008 and 2013. Zardari was the joint candidate of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, or PML-N, party of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his other political allies.

He was the favorite to win on Saturday because of his alliance with Pakistan’s other political dynasty, the Sharifs, and his key role in talks to form a coalition government after the disputed national parliamentary election on Feb. 8.

Sharif congratulated Zardari on becoming the country’s new president with a majority vote.

Zardari “will be a symbol of the strength of the federation,” Sharif said in a statement.

He said that he hoped that Zardari would fulfill his constitutional responsibilities in an efficient manner.

Zardari’s rival Achakzai also congratulated him on his victory, saying the vote was held in a free and fair manner. Zardari is known for handling complicated political and other issues in a cool manner.

Last month’s poll was overshadowed by militant violence, an unprecedented cellphone shutdown and vehement claims of vote-rigging from Khan’s party.

Khan was kicked out of office in 2022 and has faced a number of legal challenges since then. He’s currently serving multiple prison terms.

Zardari also has been dogged by criminal cases. He spent 11 years behind bars before becoming president, but was never convicted and has denied any wrongdoing. He has been arrested and indicted on various charges in recent years.

He will take the oath of office on Sunday.

source https://time.com/6899244/pakistan-asif-ali-zardari-president-second-time/

President Biden Pokes Fun at His Age and Calls Out Trump in New Campaign Ad

In a new presidential election campaign ad, President Joe Biden stares straight into the camera and immediately addresses the elephant in the room: his age.

“Look I’m not a young guy, that’s no secret,” the 81-year-old says. “But here’s the deal, I understand how to get things done for the American people.” 

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The ad is the first in a six-week, $30 million advertising spree by the Biden campaign ahead of the November election. The President’s age has become a major talking point—even more so than that of the Republican frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, who is 77. In 2021, Biden was the oldest President to be sworn in—breaking the record set by Trump before him.

Along with addressing his age, Biden in the rest of the ad touts his record on health, the economy, infrastructure, climate change, and abortion rights. 

The President says he led the country through the COVID crisis (the pandemic started under Trump’s presidency and the first vaccine was approved for emergency use in December 2020, after Biden’s election but before his inauguration).

Biden proclaims that the U.S. has the strongest economy in the world (it has held the top spot from 1960 to 2023, according to Forbes). He points out he signed a law that includes provisions to lower prescription drug prices and capped insulin prices for seniors with diabetes (that was for patients on Medicare, some pharmaceutical companies have also followed suit).

He adds that during his presidency, Congress passed a major infrastructure bill after Trump failed to do so, and also mentions passing the “biggest law in history to combat climate change.”

Finally, Biden accuses Trump of taking away “the freedom of women to choose.” It was the U.S. Supreme Court, which includes three conservative justices appointed by Trump, who did that in 2022 by overturning the previous Roe v. Wade ruling. Trump took credit in 2023, saying on his social media platform, Truth Social: “I was able to kill Roe v. Wade.”

Biden in his ad says: “I am determined to make Roe v. Wade the law of the land again.” 

“Donald Trump believes the job of the President is to take care of Donald Trump. I believe the job of the President is to fight for you, the American people, and that’s what I’m doing,” Biden continues. 

Biden also ends the ad poking fun at his age. In an outtake, he quips with a laugh: “Look, I’m very young, energetic, and handsome. What the hell am I doing this for?”

The Trump campaign has released its own ads, with one in April 2023 painting a fearful picture of immigration, wars, violent crime, inflation, and more under “Joe Biden’s America.”

“Put America, the middle class, first, and put the globalists, the elitists, and the corrupt in their place. Bring back pride in the American dream, to let the world know—don’t mess with us,” the Trump campaign ad said. “Make America great for us again.”

Another pro-Trump ad this week, released by the super PAC MAGA Inc. supporting him, questions Biden’s age and abilities, asking if the President can “even survive until 2029.” A Biden campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa told NBC News in a statement the ad was “a sick and deranged stunt from a broke and struggling campaign.”

source https://time.com/6899221/biden-age-joke-new-ad-campaign-presidential-election/

Let’s Talk About Ariana Grande’s Bad Girl Anthem ‘The Boy Is Mine’

Ariana Grande has described her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, as “kind of a concept record” inspired by her own life but also the events of the Michel Gondry film it’s named after. 

In 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Joel (played by Jim Carrey, Grande’s favorite actor) chooses to erase his ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) from his memory, only to find himself still drawn to her. Grande’s introspective new record, like the film, which turns 20 later this month, asks how we know if we’re with the right person. By the final track, “Ordinary Things,” Grande comes close to answering that complicated question—with help from her Nonna. 

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Grande’s long-awaited follow-up to 2020’s Positions is a vulnerable reflection on a love lost that comes after the singer’s own 2023 divorce from her husband of nearly two years, Dalton Gomez. But if you’re looking for the tea on her breakup, Grande isn’t spilling it here. Last month, the 30-year-old singer explained on The Zach Sang Show that she combed through the lyrics of each song to make sure there was nothing that could be sensationalized by her fans or the media. “I say everything and nothing at the same time,” she said. “It’s very vague and very specific all at once.”

Grande’s commitment to plausible deniability makes it hard for fans to know what or even who she is referring to on these 13 tracks—and that was the point. As Eternal Sunshine’s lead single “Yes, And?” made clear, Grande is not interested in hearing your opinion on her life. And specifically her love life, which has been garnering headlines as of late. (ICYMI, she’s dating her Wicked costar Ethan Slater, who was still married when they reportedly first started seeing each other. Sources close to both Grande and Slater have claimed that they didn’t get together until after they were both single.)

But Grande’s evasiveness is no match for her fans’ curiosity; they already have theories about this album, which Grande says is her favorite one she’s ever made. The Arianators are particularly interested in getting to the bottom of Eternal Sunshine’s bad girl anthem, “The Boy Is Mine.”

Here’s everything to know about the breakout hit of Grande’s new album.

The Brandy & Monica connection

Grande used Brandy and Monica’s 1998 duet “The Boy Is Mine” as a starting point for her track of the same name that derives inspiration from both house music and ‘90s R&B. The original hit has the two singers fighting over the same man, but Grande’s version alters the conceit to be about a messy love triangle in which she plays the other woman who will do whatever it takes to have this boy all to herself. 

In an interview with Apple Music DJ Zane Lowe, Grande revealed that the provocative track was one of the first she worked on with her longtime producer Max Martin. She admitted that she was worried about how people would interpret this song, which is by far the spiciest on her new album. “This is a very bad idea, I think, but … there is a large group of my fans that really do love a bad girl anthem,” she said. “And this is kind of an elevated version of that.”

The leaked track that inspired it

Brandy and Monica may have been the starting point for “The Boy Is Mine,” but it was a leaked track of Grande’s own that inspired this Eternal Sunshine bop. In 2023, a song by Grande that fans nicknamed “Fantasize” went viral on TikTok. But, as she revealed to podcaster Zach Sang last month, the slinky track “wasn’t my song, it wasn’t for me.” She said she had written that track and others that would later leak for an unnamed TV show as “a parody of this girl group vibe,” but fans liked “Fantasize” so much, she decided to revisit it here.

“I kind of gave them Ariana’s version of that on the album,” she said. “They’re completely different now. So although you’ve heard [those leaked tracks]—because you stole them—they’re very different now.” The energy, which is very Jessica Rabbit coded, is the same though.

Ariana (kind of) plays the villain

“The Boy is Mine” allows Grande to play with the public perception of her as being boy crazy. More recently, she’s had to contend with critics accusing her of being a so-called homewrecker after it was reported that her newest relationship came at the expense of a marriage. (It didn’t help that others pointed out this wasn’t the first time she got involved with someone who may have still been in a relationship with someone else. Meanwhile, many of those critics were relatively mum on the men’s part in all of this.)

While Grande has chosen not to speak directly to those comments (as she sings on “Yes, And,” “Your business is yours and mine is mine”), she leans into playing the provocateur on this track. “I can’t wait to try him/ Let’s get intertwined,” she sings on the song’s chorus, before nodding to Eternal Sunshine’s astrological ties: “The stars, they aligned.” (Track four, “Saturn Returns (Interlude)” features audio, as Rolling Stone noted in their review, of an astrologer named Diana Garland explaining the horoscopic phenomenon of the planet Saturn returning to the same place it was at the time of someone’s birth.)

“The Boy Is Mine” ends with Grande admitting her wrongdoing: “I take full accountability for all these tears,” but the song isn’t an apology. On the final line of the song’s bridge, she sings, “I can’t ignore my heart, boy,” implying their love affair was destined from the start. As The Guardian points out, this line is emphasized by six exclamation points in the official lyrics. 

That may seem like overkill, but Grande has always been one of the most intuitive pop stars—sometimes to her own detriment. “I wear my heart outside of my body and I love what I do so much,” she told Sang. “I don’t have that robotic tough cookie exterior … I am a Cancer, and a person who is very sensitive.” Making this album, she continued, was “the most emotional writing process, for sure. Even some of the bops I cried writing.” 

Is this about her new relationship?

It’s the question everyone is asking, especially knowing that her current boyfriend Ethan Slater’s ex-wife Lilly Jay referred to Grande as “not a girl’s girl” last year in an interview with Page Six. (Jay reportedly regrets the statement.) Still, knowing all of this, it’s hard not to see parallels between Grande’s own life and this song. On “The Boy Is Mine,” Grande even shouts out her “girls” who “always come through in a sticky situation/ Say, ‘It’s fine’ (It’s fine)/ Happens all the time.”

Yet Grande has asked fans not to read too closely into any possible connections to her life. When Lowe asked her for the story behind the track “True Story,” which segues into “The Boy Is Mine,” she was quick to say that it was “an untrue story based on untrue events” much like the rest of Eternal Sunshine. This was basically her very nice way of saying, “Mind your business.”

What do fans think of “The Boy Is Mine”?

They’re here for the song and whatever drama it may bring. Many fans, including Megan Thee Stallion, took to X (formerly Twitter) to acknowledge how fire the track was. “Ariana Grande leaving the studio after recording ‘The Boy Is Mine,’” one fan tweeted alongside an image of a person strutting in stiletto boots that are on fire. Others used it to soundtrack clips of choreographed dance numbers by the Bratz or the chicks from the 2004 comedy White Chicks.

Ariana Grande leaving the studio after recording the boy is mine pic.twitter.com/cfqhaO46gJ

— Brandon B (@LifeOfBrn) March 8, 2024

the boy is mine by ariana grande pic.twitter.com/D8qdMWqzjv

— b ☀️ (@sheeshgwws) March 8, 2024

how listening to “the boy is mine” by ariana grande got me feeling like pic.twitter.com/WQtntiga4A

— olivier 👺 (@olwestside) March 8, 2024

For many, “The Boy Is Mine” is a small part of a bigger whole. One excited fan went so far as to call Eternal Sunshine Grande’s “magnum opus.” Another made an early prediction for the heights this album might hit: “Eternal Sunshine by Ariana Grande is currently being engraved onto a Grammy rn.”

Grande has had her fair share of issues with the Recording Academy in the past, but if this fan is right, she might want to keep her calendar open for the biggest night in music.

source https://time.com/6898851/ariana-grande-the-boy-is-mine-meaning/

The Internet Made Romantic Betrayal Even More Devastating

The viral series “Who TF Did I Marry?” set the internet on fire recently when TikTok user Tareasa “Reesa Teesa” Johnson revealed what happened when she married a man who turned out to be nothing like what he presented himself to be. The 50-part series details the lies her ex-husband, who she calls “Legion,” told her over the course of their year and a half pandemic relationship.

Johnson and Legion met online, and she recalled matching with him on Facebook Dating and Hinge. Each of his profiles had a different name, which was perhaps the very first lie in their relationship. What Johnson shares is at times staggering, but she was able to confirm that not only was she duped, she was also one of a string of Legion’s victims. And with so many ways to create an entirely fabricated persona online and perpetuate the lie throughout a relationship, it’s clear we’ve entered a new era of romantic betrayal with even higher emotional stakes.

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Read More: Reesa Teesa Is a Born Storyteller

Online dating has long been a place of cautionary tales when it comes to romantic betrayal and scams. There are so many personal stories and documentaries sharing how people gave false information on dating sites to lure in unsuspecting, hopeful targets. I’ve worked with clients who have experienced scamming and fraud through dating apps, and it’s shocking to hear what they went through. These experiences have unfortunately become a new normal, with dating apps scrambling to identify and remove fake accounts, improve account blocking features, and add user verification procedures. But perhaps more pressing, these types of elaborate scams can have long-lasting effects on not just someone’s financial wellness, but also their mental health.

Anyone who has suffered romantic betrayal knows how painful and life-altering it can be. In the aftermath of their love saga, Johnson reflected on the “United Nations of red flags” Legion showed along the way. She blames herself for not paying closer attention, but she’s not alone. We’re all vulnerable when we start getting to know someone. Many people ignore or minimize questionable behaviors in the beginning of relationships that may come to haunt them later on. People are more likely to overlook annoying habits, ignore story inconsistencies, or not ask enough questions to maintain positive perceptions of prospective partners. What makes this new type of romantic betrayal so devastating is that after opening yourself up on dating apps, when you finally meet someone you think you can trust with your heart (who doesn’t ghost you or seem to care about superficial things), your world is upended by their deception—which makes you question both your relationships—and yourself.

Romantic betrayal has grown so much since online communication became the norm in dating, and everything from online affairs to romantic scams have been on the rise. Research on the psychological effects of certain types of digital romantic scams show that the effects of this type of betrayal range from embarrassment and shame to stress and suicidal ideation. Johnson has admitted that she experienced severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) because of the systematic and persistent lies that Legion told. And the intensity and consistency of those lies was aided by Legion’s use of technology.

It would have been hard to obscure the fact that Legion was never really talking to his brother every morning, had they only had a landline, for instance. It would have also been difficult to convince Johnson of his alleged financial wealth without falsified bank documents and images stolen from the internet. And it would be near impossible for him to engage in multiple illicit affairs with other women at the same time without his smartphone allowing him to spin his lies over multiple dating sites. Taken together, all of this adds up to betrayal on a scale unparalleled in the past. It would make sense that the emotional impact of this on victims would be larger as well, leaving people unable to trust online dating or people in general. 

One piece of advice Johnson offers to hopeful daters is “trust, but verify.” That means going into dating with an open mind and heart, while not letting things slide. If you’re dating someone who seems too good to be true, it may be hard to come down to earth and think that they might not be as good as they present themselves to be. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, do a reverse Google image search, or some social media sleuthing to help verify someone. It’s worth it to do some interrogation now rather than getting into a relationship with someone who doesn’t have your best interests in mind.

In this age of digital dating, there are so many ways to mislead someone, which means there’s an increased risk of running into people who are taking advantage of technologies that were meant to connect us. It’s important that the technologies we use catch up and build more secure environments for people to find love. But until they do, it’s good to remember that this doesn’t mean you can’t trust anyone. It means that daters have to be more realistic when assessing their matches and more proactive in making sure that the person they’re falling for is real.

source https://time.com/6696787/romantic-betrayal-internet-devastating-essay/

Xcel Energy Says Its Facilities Appeared to Have Role in Igniting Texas Wildfire

The utility provider Xcel Energy said Thursday that its facilities appeared to have played a role in igniting a massive wildfire in the Texas Panhandle that grew to the largest blaze in state history.

The Smokehouse Creek fire burned nearly 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers) and destroyed hundreds of structures. The Minnesota-based company said in a statement that it disputes claims that “it acted negligently” in maintaining and operating infrastructure.

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“Based on currently available information, Xcel Energy acknowledges that its facilities appear to have been involved in an ignition of the Smokehouse Creek fire,” the company said in a statement.

Also Thursday, The Texas A&M Forest Service said that its investigators have concluded that the Smokehouse Creek fire was ignited by power lines, as was the nearby Windy Deuce fire.

Xcel Energy said it did not believe its facilities were responsible for the Windy Deuce fire.

Electric utilities have taken responsibility for wildfires around the U.S., including fallen power lines that started a blaze in Maui last year. Transmission lines also sparked a massive California wildfire in 2019.

The Smokehouse Creek fire was among a cluster of fires that ignited in the rural Panhandle last week and prompted evacuation orders in a handful of small communities. That wildfire, which also spilled into neighboring Oklahoma, was about 44% contained as of Wednesday.

Officials save said that as many as 500 structures may have been destroyed in the fires.

A lawsuit filed Friday in Hemphill County had alleged that a downed power line near the town of Stinnett on Feb. 26 sparked the blaze. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Stinnett homeowner Melanie McQuiddy against Xcel Energy Services Inc. and two other utilities, alleged the blaze started “when a wooden pole defendants failed to properly inspect, maintain and replace, splintered and snapped off at its base.”

Dale Smith, who operates a large cattle Ranch east of Stinnett said he lost an estimated 30 to 50 head of cattle out of the 3,000 that graze on his property.

“We’re still trying to tally up the cattle losses,” Smith said. “It burned probably 70-80% of the ranch.”

Smith said much of the grazing land will grow back quickly with the proper rain and moisture, but he said they also lost several 100-year-old Cottonwood trees that dotted the ranch. Firefighters were able to save three camps on the ranch that included barns and other structures.

Smith said he believes a faulty power line sparked the blaze which quickly spread because of high winds.

“These fires are becoming a regular occurrence. Lives are being lost. Livestock are being lost. Livelihoods are being lost. It’s a sad story that repeats itself again and again, because public utility companies and oil companies responsible for these power lines aren’t keeping them maintained.”

source https://time.com/6898471/xcel-energy-igniting-texas-wildfire-involvement/