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Texas frackers are going electric – but can the grid handle it?

With a push from Texas Republicans, the U.S. House moves a step closer toward a vote to impeach the head of Homeland Security.

Amid a shortage of teachers statewide, a move in Dallas to get more men of color in the classroom.

In the Texas oilfields, how a push for greener drilling has some worried about the effects on the power grid.

A browser update for the ages? Why new features in Google Chrome have one tech writer warning of the end of the human internet.

And Temu takeover? Why U.S. giants like Amazon and Walmart are rethinking their strategies as a China-based retailer turns up the heat.

Exploring SpaceX’s potential land swap with Texas

The Texas Supreme Court hears arguments in a case challenging a law banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans minors.

John Whitmire, Houston’s new mayor, campaigned to be “tough-but-smart on crime.” Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider takes a look at some of Whitmire’s plans for law enforcement.

SpaceX wants to give the state 477 acres of land near a national wildlife refuge in exchange for 43 acres from Boca Chica State Park, near its launch site – but the plan is drawing local pushback.

And: West Texas A&M University plans a new institute to advocate what the school’s president calls “Panhandle values.” Critics fear it’s a push to spread conservative values across the university.

Children at Risk’s annual ranking of Texas schools is out

Texas officials say they’re reassigning workers to deal with an ongoing problem of providing care for foster kids without placement.

The 2022-2023 school ratings report from Houston-based nonprofit Children at Risk sheds light on progress and problems that districts are facing statewide.

Former Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo, who also had a short stint in Houston, will soon take on a new position overseeing Austin’s police department.

And a giraffe in a park in Juárez, who made headlines last year, is getting a new home.

Community colleges get a funding boost, but with some changes

Gov. Greg Abbott received a $6 million campaign contribution from an out-of-state mega donor and school voucher advocate. Investigative reporter Lauren McGaughy of the Texas Newsroom shares more.

The Texas Newsroom’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán has the latest on what appear to be endorsement wars among top Texas Republicans.

There’s a new funding formula for community colleges. What could the change add up to?

And commentator W.F. Strong reflects on influencers – both intentional and accidental.

As arctic front looms, how is the electric grid looking?

As Texas braces for a true blast of wintry weather, how much should we be worried about the power grid holding up? Mose Buchele of KUT in Austin is monitoring the power grid and joins us with the latest.

Federal funding cuts for special education could hit Texas hard.

Many Texans who are eligible for Medicaid aren’t signed up. Will Bostwick shares more on his reporting for Texas Monthly.

And: Remembering a musical British invasion of Texas more than a decade after the Beatles.

All about Texas cryptids

Most Texans have heard their names, and quite a few grew up hearing their stories: Bigfoot, jackalope, goatman, La Lechuza, chupacabra, just for starters. Scientists question whether they’re real, but the space they occupy in Texas folklore is very real indeed.

Today we’re sharing the results of a month-long effort to track down the origin stories of Texas cryptids – and discover why they have such a hold on Texas mythology and imagination.

Children’s Grief


Children often have it the hardest in terms of personal loss, and kid gloves can only go so far. In this penultimate episode, Ike interviews Laura Olague and Kathy Revtyak of the Children’s Grief Center of El Paso to discuss ambiguous grief, secondary loss, bereavement, coping processes and more.

How a Texas constitutional amendment would aid childcare centers

With the House of Representatives on hold in the absence of a speaker, a possible vote today could be a turning point.

Texas voters are about to face a big decision: a constitutional amendment aimed at boosting the availability of child care options. Lina Ruiz of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tells us more.

Two games in for the Astros and Rangers, what’s Major League Baseball’s first All-Texas league championship looking like?

More than 100 homes and businesses are on the fast track to demolition as the state moves to expand a portion Interstate 35.

The Legend of La Llorona

All through October, the Texas Standard team is tracking Texas cryptids. As we’ve dug into some of these legends, we’ve noticed a few patterns. First of all, many of the cryptids associated with Texas have roots in Mexico.

And there are also some similarities in the back stories of these creatures or characters. Ayden Castellanos has noticed this especially in the legends involving female haunters. He hosts the “Susto” podcast about latin and hispanic folklore.

“I like to call them ‘the cryptid femmes’ because there are so many entities or creatures or spirits who are women or femmes and I think it’s an interesting trope, I’ll say, because, a lot of them, the commonality is that they are going after cheating men, drunkards, abusive men,” Castellanos said.

The story of La Llorona falls into this category.

(This story first aired in 2018).

How a UT professor is helping the CDC plan for the next pandemic

The Texas Education Agency is moving forward with plans to monitor problems with Austin ISD’s special education services.

What did we learn from COVID-19? We’ll talk to UT’s Lauren Ancel Meyers, who has been tapped to help the U.S. develop a plan to better tackle the next pandemic.

Texas tops the nation in oil industry deaths – but there’s more to the story once you get into the numbers.

Also: Remembering a pioneer of Tejano music, Lydia Mendoza, who earned the title of “Meadowlark of the Border.”

State law banning public drag performances found unconstitutional

Texas foster kids are sleeping in motels and offices, and Child Protective Service workers are leaving their jobs in droves. Sneha Dey of the Texas Tribune joins us with more.

A ban on drag performances in the presence of minors has been ruled unconstitutional. We’ll hear why and what comes next.

Why Mexico has replaced China as the United States’ top trading partner.

And KUT’s Mose Buschele takes us into the Hill Country’s Bracken Cave Preserve alongside millions of bats.

San Antonio ISD could close as many as 17 schools

San Antonio ISD could close nearly one-fifth of its schools as it deals with aging buildings and falling enrollment. But it’s not just San Antonio – this reflects a larger challenge facing many school districts across Texas.

A mystery at the Tarrant County Appraisal District has led to an office shake-up that may leave some taxpayers holding the bag.

What’s happening to the Texas economy? The Standard’s Sean Saldana’s been getting some clues from the Dallas Fed’s new Beige Book entry.

And: What’s to become of Benito, a giraffe in a Juárez park at the center of a controversy?

A budding pipeline fight highlights activists’ changing tactics

What does the first day of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s historic impeachment trial tell us about what remains ahead? The Texas Newsroom’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán joins us from the Capitol with a recap.

We’ll hear the latest on a new fight over a natural gas pipeline in West Texas – and how new strategies by opponents of such development are getting traction.

Among the new laws now in effect in Texas is a requirement for those who want to run for county sheriff.

The sister of Botham Jean, who was killed in Dallas five years ago, has written a new memoir, “After Botham: Healing from my Brother’s Murder by a Police Officer.”

Plus an update on wildfire dangers statewide.

Adoptees fight to gain access to their original birth certificates in Texas

The impeachment trial of Texas’ attorney general is set to begin on the floor of the Senate tomorrow, but supporters in Ken Paxton’s home county, Collin, are standing firmly behind him.

Meanwhile, almost half of Texans think Paxton should be removed from office, according to a new poll from the Texas Policy Project.

Lots of folks from other states are moving to Texas – but numbers suggest Texans are, by and large, staying put.

And there’s a push to change Texas law so that adoptees can access their original birth certificates.

After environmentally destructive launch, will regulators let SpaceX blast off again?

A new law barring transition care for transgender youth has been temporarily blocked by a Texas judge, but it may take effect anyway Sept. 1. We’ll have the latest – plus how doctors are trying to prepare.

Officials were left in disbelief over the scale and scope of environmental damage after the failed test of a SpaceX starship in South Texas earlier this year, according to a new report.

A new book sheds light on the seldom-told tale of conscientious objectors who nonetheless went to the front lines in Vietnam.

An old shipwreck was found in coastal East Texas. What’s in it?

 

Why Will Hurd didn’t make the cut for the first Republican presidential debate

The Feds push back in court over Gov. Greg Abbott’s deployment of buoys in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass.

The City of Dallas has received $1.5 million in federal dollars for a major cleanup of contaminated sites. But will it be enough?

Researchers in El Paso are trying to tap another source of potential alternate energy, inspired by the prickly pear cactus.

There are growing concerns about challenges faced by deaf kids in the Texas foster care system.

Plus, San Antonio native Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post shares the latest on tonight’s GOP primary debate – and why former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd of Texas won’t be there.

Why the film and TV strikes are at an awful time for Texas

A change in leadership in the embattled Texas foster care system is bringing with it some optimism.

Texas doesn’t have enough space in psychiatric hospitals, so some people are staying in jails instead. We’ll explore their legal limbo.

A new investigation from the Dallas Morning News explores the history and impact of excessive use of police force in Dallas.

The film strikes in Hollywood are having more than just ripple effects here in Texas – why the timing was especially bad for the state.

And it’s Friday, so that means the Typewriter Rodeo and a wrap of the week in Texas politics.

What are the weirdest laws in Texas?

At the Capitol, an intraparty rivalry between Republicans explodes into the open. The dueling charges between Attorney General Ken Paxton and House Speaker Dade Phelan are so personal and serious, some longtime Capitol watchers are characterizing the battle as among the most significant in Texas political history. Lauren McGaughey of the Dallas Morning news will have details.

After a scandal at a Bastrop foster care facility, Texas lawmakers pass two new bills to crack down on abuses.

We’ll have more on a vigil last night in Uvalde marking the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary.

The Texas Legislature will finish its session having made lots of new laws. But there are plenty of old laws on the books that seem pretty weird by today’s standards.

And debt collectors get a new high-tech tool.

How the ‘We Buy Ugly Houses’ company preyed on desperate and elderly sellers

Migrant crossings at the border with Mexico are reported to be dramatically down after the end of Title 42.

Adolescent medicine doctors at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin are out amid calls from politicians for an investigation of gender-affirming care at the hospital.

A bill to preempt new local regulations on a variety of issues including labor and the environment moves quickly toward an expected passage in the Texas Senate.

And what’s the story behind those “We Buy Ugly Houses” signs? A ProPublica investigation reveals that the buyers behind the signs took advantage of elderly homeowners.