The White House Chief of Staff is leaving. The president’s being cagey about the reasons, but there were clear signs this was coming. Earlier this year, NPR’s Texas based correspondent John Burnett landed an exclusive interview with John Kelly, and there were signs of a rupture with his boss even then. Coming up John Burnett joins us to talk about a break long in the making. Also, the Victoria Advocate sues to stop former congressman Blake Farenthold from collecting his paycheck as a lobbyist, we’ll hear why. And the Texas Ag commissioner wants to let farmers grow hemp. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 7, 2018
Over a 10 year period, 90 deaths, 32 hundred incidents of abuse and neglect statewide: Alarming findings about the safety of Texas day care centers in a year long investigation by the Austin American Statesman: one that has led to a legal battle with state officials. We’ll hear from the investigative team behind the report. Also, healing harmonicas? What a Texas researcher discovered to help people with COPD. And the week that was in Texas politics and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 6, 2018
Snow to the north, flooding to the south, storms close in on the Lone Star State, with dangerous implications. We’ll hear the latest on weather warnings statewide. Also a man in a jail cell in Odessa may be one of the most prolific serial killers in history. Why did it take so long for authorities to catch him? Plus, why Texas appears to have become ground zero for a cryptocurrency crackdown. And challenging assumptions: one of the most comprehensive profiles of Latinos: ever. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 4, 2018
A Texas Representative is leaving the state house’s ultra-conservative group. We’ll take a look at what the move could say about the upcoming Texas legislative session. Plus, the Texas Attorney General is accusing San Antonio’s police chief of violating the so-called sanctuary cities law. What happens now? And a Texas-based non-profit has been making big money housing immigrant children. A new investigation explores. Plus we’ll introduce you to U.S. Representative-elect Veronica Escobar. Why she says El Paso is the new Ellis Island. And we’ll take a look at a list of 31 of the most powerful people in Texas. You might be surprised. All of that and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 3, 2018
He wasn’t born in Texas but it became a big part of his identity. We’ll remember 41st President George Herbert Walker Bush today on the Texas Standard. Also, airport security officials have recently found a record number of firearms in carry-on luggage. We’ll take a look at the trend. And oil prices are up a little after a huge drop. What a high-five between two world leaders tells us about what could be next for the industry. Plus an investigation reveals what the State of Texas was trying to keep secret: where it gets execution drugs. All those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 30, 2018
The next version of NAFTA now signed by all three countries, but it’s far from a done deal. On Capitol Hill, the push back’s bipartisan, we’ll hear why and whether it could cause the pact to unravel. Also picture this: you’re pulled over at the side of the road and the trooper asks to see your smartphone: how close are we to digital IDs in Texas? Closer than you might think. Plus the week that was in Lone Star politics and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 29, 2018
An historic new era set to begin in Mexico on Saturday. What does Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador mean for Texas? We’ll explore. Also, it’s been more than a year after Hurricane Harvey. Whatever happened to those long promised fixes to the floodplain maps? We’ll take a look. And in the first Texas city to shift to 100 percent renewable energy, plans to redesign the neighborhoods of the future. Also, the big news this holiday season may not be buying the latest smartphone, but what we’re buying with those smartphones. Our go-to digital guru Omar Gallaga has got your number. All that and then some today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 28, 2018
Here we go again? As the clock ticks down to the end of the year, a top ranking Texas lawmaker poses 300 pages of tax changes – we’ll hear why.
South of the border down Argentina way, President Trump headed to meet with world leaders for a so called G-20 summit. Why that could prove a tipping point for Texans worried about our economy.
Also, how much are you playing for gas? As prices fall, why some in oil country might welcome a bit of a slowdown.
And commentator W.F. Strong offers some tips for Texas time travelers.
Texas Standard: November 27, 2018
As visions of gift shopping danced in our heads, a report on climate released by the Feds. What does it tell us about how Texas may have to adjust? Political recriminations over the timing of the mandatory report on the economic impact of climate change. After having had a chance to review it, what’s it telling Texas? We’ll take a closer look. Also, should the U.S. be worried about a collapse in the housing market? The Wall Street journal singles out a Texas city as a worrisome canary in the coalmine. And who were the first Texans? Why Researchers are rethinking their answers with a discovery near Salado. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 26, 2018
A threat to shut the border permanently after a confrontation involving tear gas and members of a so-called migrant caravan, we’ll have the latest. Also, plans for a school in southeast Texas now on hold after the discovery of scores of unmarked graves, and a history of prison labor seldom discussed. Brooke Lewis of the Houston Chronicle joins us to discuss more. And a scooter hits a car, or maybe it’s the other way around. Whose insurance covers what? And are scooter companies or scooter riders on the hook? Plus old age dementia: researchers think they’ve found a link with mid-life stress. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 23, 2018
On this Black Friday, how marketing created a legacy of pirates in the air over Texas, affecting music culture and politics way beyond. With shopping season officially underway, we often think of hyper-commercialism as a byproduct of Madison Avenue. But one could make the case that America’s hype machine got its start along the border of Texas and Mexico, a million watts of power leading to a revolution of outlaw broadcasters still making a mark today. They’re our focus this hour: the pirates of the airwaves. From coast to coast and line to line, it’s Texas Standard time.
Texas Standard: November 22, 2018
Kids are taught of how they traveled across the sea to escape persecution: what of those making pilgrimages to safety in modern times? We’re reconsidering what many describe as a global refugee crisis. But is it truly a crisis? And just how overwhelming does it have to be? From the UN High Commission for Refugees, to groups here in Texas working directly to help resettled the displaced, to the reasons for the persistent role of religion and faith, refugees are our focus – today on a special Thanksgiving edition of the Texas Standard.
Texas Standard: November 21, 2018
Danger! Slippery road ahead: as Texans hit the holiday highways with cheaper gas at the pumps, falling oil prices could still hit us where it hurts.
The oil and gas sector lose one trillion dollars in value as prices plummet: what’s happening and how it could affect everyday Texans.
Also, thinking about 2020 already? Why Jonathan Tilove of the Austin American Statesman suggests: don’t bet against Beto’s return.
Plus, how the changing of the guard in the U.S. House of Representatives hits home for Texas farmers.
Texas Standard: November 20, 2018
Backing away from the border: the Pentagon plans a drawdown of active duty forces there…mission accomplished or something else?
You’ve heard of the wall of separation between church and state—could the church stop a wall between Mexico and the U.S.?
Also, a death at a North Texas jail turns the spotlight on untrained guards at lockups statewide.
A proposed transition from an Obama era policy stokes fear among transgender Texans. We’ll hear why.
And a large scale attempt to woo migrating monarchs back to the Texas capitol city—did it fly?
Texas Standard: November 19, 2018
Texas may be losing its hold in the US House, but it may play an outsized role in who the next speaker will be. That story and more today on the Texas Standard.
Will Nancy Pelosi remain Speaker of the House? Why Texas democrats in congress are a house divided, and what that means for the leadership contest.
New standrds for public school curriculum in Texas set to change how students are taught about the causes of the Civil War.
And with the start of the Texas legislative session just weeks away now, a warning to Texas republicans–don’t mess with a bluer Texas.
Texas Standard: November 16, 2018
More than just a me too moment: the Texas House holds hearing on how to crack down on sexual harassment at the capitol, we’ll have the story. Also, the face of Texas politics is changing, and both political parties would like to win over the fastest growing ethnic demographic in Texas. Why California might be able to Texas a thing or two about how to get them. And as the Fed considers another interest rate hike, should you buy or rent your next home? Why hurricane Harvey’s made the calculation more complicated for some. Plus the week in politics and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 15, 2018
Troops at the border: a test of mettle for the Military? The defense chief in south Texas defends the use of soldiers at the U.S. Mexico line. Border security is part of national security says James Mattis at a forward operating base in south Texas. But what’s the long term goal for those 23 hundred troops at the Texas border with Mexico? We’ll take a look. And the state of kids in Texas, today we get new data. Also the President set to sign a bill with bipartisan congressional support. Come again? We’ll hear about the issue that’s brought Congress, the White House, Democrats and Republicans together. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 14, 2018
Fighting fire with…Texans. Crews from the Lone Star State travel west to help Californians battling historic blazes on several fronts. Also, some believe it could be both a watershed moment in the so-called drug war and a cultural moment – as the drug kingpin known as El Chapo heads to trial. Plus, are citizen militias really headed to the border to meet a migrant caravan? Politifact checks it out. And spoiler alert: it won’t be the Amarillo Jerky after all. The Panhandle city picks a name for its minor league ball club… and not everyone’s a fan. All that and more, today on the Texas Standard.
Texas Standard: November 13, 2018
Is there a Speaker in the House? Texas lawmakers rally around a replacement for Joe Straus and introduce a raft of new potential laws. More than 400 bills already proposed to kick off the 2019 legislative session, we’ll hear about the big ones. Also, Helen Keller and Hillary Clinton out of the classroom? Proposed new standards for Texas public school history classes. And Historian H.W. Brands on why the generation after the founding fathers matters today. And remembering Stan Lee: the passing of a hero maker hits home for a Texas writer. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 12, 2018
The nation focused on races too close to call in Florida and Georgia, but what about the one in Texas: the largest district in the nation? We’ll have an update on the still unsettled contest between incumbent Will Hurd and his Democratic challenger, Gina Ortiz Jones. Also, a day after Texas is ordered to pay back more than 30 million dollars for violating laws over special education, evidence emerges that may leave Texas on the hook for another 41 million dollar plus federal penalty. We’ll hear why. Plus a view from the border as thousands of active duty troops take positions. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard: