power news stories on Newser

China's 'Princelings' Rolling in Cash, Power

Matt Cantor — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:40:06 CDT

The wealth of Bo Xilai's family members was no anomaly. Known as "princelings," close relatives of many Chinese leaders are on a fast track to fortune and power, the New York Times reports. The president's son used to head a company with a security-scanner monopoly; the prime minister's son runs...

Santa Ana Winds Rip Up West

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:00:00 CST

Winds topping 80mph blew down people and power lines and upended enormous trees that crushed cars and houses in a freak storm that raged through Southern California and the Southwest. The craziest Santa Ana winds in more than a decade left hundreds of thousands of people without power. "In some...

New York Cuts Power in Zuccotti Park

Matt Cantor — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:47:05 CDT

Lights out at Zuccotti Park: New York officials seized generators and gas canisters from Occupy Wall Street protesters today, the New York Daily News reports. Police and firefighters arrived at the site this morning to ask protesters for the items, citing safety concerns. “They made an announcement on a bullhorn...

Worker 'Moving Equipment' Plunged 6M Into Darkness

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 06:07:15 CDT

Power company officials believe a worker moving a piece of monitoring equipment in an Arizona utility substation likely turned off the lights yesterday for a massive 6 million customers stretching through southern California and Mexico. "This was not a deliberate act. The employee was just switching out a piece of...

Michelle Obama: World's Most Powerful Woman

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 07:40:27 CDT

Hillary Clinton is pretty powerful, but she’s still no Oprah Winfrey. The secretary of state does, however, wield more heft than Lady Gaga on Forbes ’ annual list of the world’s 100 most powerful women. This year's list still took wealth into account, but gave more weight to social and...

Phone Dead? Just Add Water

Nick McMaster — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:18:00 CST

A Swedish company has produced a pocket-sized hydrogen fuel cell, which will allow users to charge cell phones and other devices using just water and a little hydrogen fuel. The H 3 charger will be released by myFC in Scandinavia in December, globally in 2011, and will cost about $45....

Obama: I'm No Jimmy Carter

Matt Cantor — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 07:38:00 CDT

President Obama’s speech on health care last night wasn’t just a bid for Congressional support for reform: It was a reassertion of Obama’s political strength, writes Adam Nagourney in the New York Times . He had to “display his authority to a Congress that had begun to question his fortitude,” proving...

Oprah's Mag Puts New Twist on Power List

Kevin Spak — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:53:00 CDT

Nobody’s No. 1 on O, the Oprah Magazine ’s inaugural “Power List.” Indeed, no one’s any other number either. “Power can be so many things,” the editors reason, so they’re honoring women who are powerful in different ways. A sampling: The Power of Loud: Anna Deavere Smith: Her one-woman plays...

Women of the Future: Powerful, Stressed

Matt Cantor — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:48:20 CDT

Women are gaining economic clout, but they’re also feeling overburdened, a survey of 12,000 women in 21 countries finds. Women spend some 70% of consumer dollars globally and are set to produce 70% of household income growth in the next 5 years—meaning entrepreneurs who can help them deal...