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A26 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 4 augusT 2020
Trump fires TVA chair, cites hiring of foreign workers

By ZEKE MILLER TVA from outsourcing much
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- of its information technol-
dent Donald Trump said ogy division.
Monday that he had fired Trump made the an-
the chair of the Tennessee nouncement as he signed
Valley Authority, criticizing an executive order to re-
the federal-owned cor- quire all federal agencies
poration for hiring foreign to complete an internal au-
workers. dit to prove they are not re-
Trump told reporters at the placing qualified American
White House that he was workers with people from
formally removing chair other countries. The White
Skip Thompson and anoth- House said the order will
er member of the board, help prevent federal agen-
and he threatened to re- cies from unfairly replacing
move other board mem- American workers with low-
bers if they continued to er cost foreign labor.
hire foreign labor. The order followed the
The TVA is a federally TVA's announcement that
owned corporation creat- it would outsource 20%
ed in 1933 to provide flood of its technology jobs to
control, electricity genera- companies based in for-
tion, fertilizer manufactur- eign countries. TVA's action
ing and economic devel- President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with U.S. tech workers, before signing an Execu- could cause more than
opment to the Tennessee tive Order on hiring American workers, in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Monday, Aug. 3, 200 highly skilled American
Valley, a region that was 2020, in Washington. tech workers in Tennessee
hard hit by the Great De- Associated Press to lose their jobs to foreign
pression. The region cov- workers hired on temporary
ers most of Tennessee and year," Trump said. "We want As Trump was meeting with issue after seeing a televi- work visas, according to
parts of Alabama, Missis- the TVA to take action on workers who would shortly sion ad produced by U.S. the White House.
sippi and Kentucky as well this immediately. ... Let this be laid off by the authority, Tech Workers, a nonprofit But Republican Sen. La-
as small sections of Geor- serve as a warning to any Trump was passed a note that wants to limit visas giv- mar Alexander of Tennes-
gia, North Carolina and Vir- federally appointed board: from chief of staff Mark en to foreign technology see said the TVA doesn't
ginia. If you betray American Meadows that said Lyash workers, that aired in prime get any taxpayer money.
He also said the TVA board workers, you will hear two had called the White House time on Fox News. Commenting on the issue
must immediately hire a words: 'You're fired.'" and was promising to ad- The group, led by Kevin in April, Alexander said the
new chief executive offi- Trump said the authority dress the labor concerns. Lynn, criticized the TVA for White House was spread-
cer who "puts the interests was replacing many of its Some of the attendees, furloughing its own workers ing misinformation. He said
of Americans first." Accord- in-house technology work- who are set to see their last and replacing them with that TVA chief executive
ing to Trump, the CEO, Jeff ers with contractors who paycheck at the end of the contractors using foreign officers' pay is lower than
Lyash, earns $8 million a rely heavily on foreign month, teared up as Trump workers with H-1B visas. The other large utilities and
year. workers under the H1-B visa read the message. ad, Lynn said, had an "au- that TVA energy rates are
"The new CEO must be paid program for highly skilled Trump acknowledged that dience of one," aiming to among the lowest in the
no more than $500,000 a workers. he was made aware of the persuade Trump to stop the nation.q
1st big Southern California wildfire of 2020 keeps on raging

BANNING, Calif. (AP) — A ing. And that's hard when of downtown Los Angeles.
huge wildfire in mountains you're standing six feet Flames raced along brushy
east of Los Angeles that is away. So that's the biggest ridge tops and came close
Southern California's big- challenge," Medina told to houses while firefighters
gest blaze so far this year KESQ-TV. attacked from the ground
was still raging Monday, Bill Boehm helped his moth- and air.
with thousands of people er evacuate her home One home and two out-
forced to evacuate their with her three horses and buildings were destroyed,
homes. said the pandemic hasn't California fire officials said.
The blaze in Riverside stopped people from com- No injuries were reported.
County, among several ing together to assist each In Northern California,
wildfires across California, other. evacuations were ordered
had consumed more than "Everyone seemed to be after a wildfire that sparked
41 square miles (about 106 Firefighters watch the Apple Fire in Banning, Calif., Sunday, Aug. wearing masks and such, Sunday afternoon spread
square kilometers) of dry 2, 2020. so that type of precaution quickly and burned near
brush and timber since it Associated Press was still going on," Boehm homes near the East Park
broke out Friday evening, told the news station. Reservoir in Colusa County.
according to the California added stress at an evacu- approach during a time of Investigators are trying to Complicating firefighters'
Department of Forestry and ation center, said John social distancing, Medina determine the cause of the efforts were temperatures
Fire Protection. Medina an American Red said. blaze that began as two in the area north of Sacra-
As of Monday morning, it Cross spokesman. "I mean, that's part of the adjacent fires in Cherry Val- mento were expected to
was just 5% contained and Volunteers used to "close recovery of a disaster, is ley, a rural area near the hit the upper 90s (around
the fire along with corona- contact" with evacuees that you have to show city of Beaumont, about 85 36 Celsius) by Monday af-
virus precautions made for have had to adjust their warmth and love and car- miles (137 kilometers) east ternoon. q