The Homeland Security chief tweets that the U.S. does not have a policy of separating families at the border: is that fact or fiction? Over the weekend, outrage grows over the so-called zero-tolerance policy on illegal immigration, a drama playing out across south Texas. We’ll talk with the Houston Chronicle’s immigration reporter to hear what she’s learned about how families are separated and what is and isn’t done to get them back together. Also an unusual death penalty appeal: not a plea to spare a life, but for a different method of killing, we’ll explore. Plus: does your teenager know what he or she needs to when it comes to Texas law? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Death Penalty
Texas Standard: June 4, 2018
After sexual abuse and other scandals, the agency that oversees juvenile justice in Texas puts out a plan for a major overhaul. But will it be enough? We’ll have details. Also, the highest court in in the state takes a step that effectively forces Texas to reveal something it doesn’t want to: the name of the company that supplies its execution drug. Why the fight, and why isn’t the court buying Texas’s explanation for keeping silent? And after pushback from physicians, the state’s largest health insurer says it will now delay plans to second guess emergency room visits. Plus after countless failed attempts to deal with feral hogs, yet another plan, inspired by bacon. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 5, 2018
President Trump orders troops to the border. Governor abbot says he welcomes the move, but what about residents on the front lines? We’ll explore. Also, the clock is ticking on a new NAFTA deal: with just days to go, where do things stand? We’ll find out. Plus farmers and ranchers get a reprieve from EPA rules. But not everyone’s breathing easier, notably environmental groups concerned about air quality. And despite huge advances in high tech, why is it no one’s come up with a cure for the common conference call? The digital savant checks in. Plus our weekend trip trip, and planning a family camping trip at one of Texas’ military bases? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 22, 2018
A surprise in Texas election year politics: one of the state’s biggest unions turns its back on the democrat hoping to unseat Ted Cruz, we’ll have the latest. Also, he’s supposed to be second in command in the Lone Star state and yet some believe when it comes to power, the number two is number 1. A pre-primary primmer on the powers on the Lt. Governor. And prices of Texas crude, hitting new levels not seen since the market fallout of 2014. Time to sell the gas-guzzler? Plus after losing most of his family to a shooter, a father asks the state for clemency for the convicted killer…his own son. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 21, 2017
Police shootings caught on smartphones grab the headlines…but what about other deaths in custody? The results of a new investigation today on the Texas Standard.
The State of Texas wants its drugs back. The FDA says: not gonna happen. A looming showdown over a deadly cocktail.
State law that says kids need to ‘click it’ en route to school—so why are the buckles missing on most Texas school buses? We’ve got the backstory, fasten your seatbelts.
An American auto factory seized in oil-rich Venezuela. For Texas companies there: get out now, or does it pay to stay?
Plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and much more.
Texas Standard: March 29, 2017
The dismantling of the clean power plan, a catastrophe? A former Obama Administration official says it’s the right thing to do, we’ll explore. Also the US supreme court takes a step that could have a profound impact on who Texas sends to death row. Plus public colleges and universities across Texas bracing for what looks like a perfect storm: a money pinch from all sides: so now what? And the new map being rolled out in schools across the nation, could you find Texas on it? Plus are you hungry for some mudbugs? Believe it or not, there’s app for that, and it’s proving more successful than it’s creators’ wildest dreams. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 26, 2017
Taking the 10th: once a favorite of the Tea Party movement, now embraced by supporters of sanctuary cities? We’ll explore. Also once dubbed the death penalty capitol, Texas also leads the nation in exonerations. What that means for the future of capitol punishment. And a so-called good samaritan with a gun intervenes in a San Antonio Mall robbery. With more than a million Texans licensed to carry, what are the rules of engagement? And what’s in your wallet? With the rise of the smartphone, the Statesman’s digital guru asks, what’s a wallet? Plus the Battle of Dime Box, Texas…our expert says its the pits. Check your watches, its Texas Standard time:
Texas Standard: January 23, 2017
Texas billionaire Ross Perot once warned of a giant sucking sound. Today: a stunning vindication? We’ll explore. Plus, what’s called school choice, set to explode as a front page issue this week. As lawmakers make it a top priority, how’s it supposed to work exactly? We’ll have a crash course. Also, what appears to be the first Texas showdown now set over so-called sanctuary cities. And a stunning shift by the Texas supreme court clears the way for a challenge to gay marriage. Why a nation with some of the toughest gun laws in the world may be having a change of heart. Those stories and a whole lot more, turn it up, cause it’s Texas Standard time:
Texas Standard: November 28, 2016
The president elect has called for extreme vetting of some would-be immigrants. For potential citizens, that future is now. Plus the economic miracle. Still wise to bank on it? What a new economic map of Texas tells us about sustained growth, and where the hot spots are. Plus, mothers milk- they say there’s nothing better for newborns. But where money’s tight, necessity becomes the mother of an alternative. We’ll hear from the Mexican doctor pushing it. And a Texas case before the nation’s highest court tomorrow with national implications for the death penalty. Those stories and lots more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 12, 2016
Kids with special educational needs: in Texas, the numbers are far below the national average. But a new report suggests its a numbers game, we’ll explore. Also in 2016 there have been as many stays of execution in Texas as there have been actual executions, and some experts think we may be looking at a sea change in attitudes over the death penalty, we’ll explain. Plus vive la frack: the French discover deals in the almost abandoned Barnett Shale. Do they know something us companies don’t? And it’s one of the fastest growing careers in Texas. The challenge? Training workers quickly. We’ll hear about what’s behind the rise of the Promotoras. Those stories and lots more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 1, 2016
In parts of the Lone Star State record turnout expected for a contest to pick a president and perhaps shake up a system. We’ll check in with reporters across the state as Texans go to the polls, and get a proper explanation of what’s actually at stake in the crown jewel of Super Tuesday. Also, which politicians are on the rocks? All of them? At least at one north Texas bar… Plus the official witness on Texas’s death row and his public change of heart. And is it really getting harder to find a doctor in Texas? Those stories and lots more on todays Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 26, 2015
A drug seizure with a twist- as the Feds catch Texas trying to import part of its death penalty cocktail from India. The bizarre story today on the Texas Standard. Also- a new report out today upsets the old narrative as Texas climbs to third in the nation on reading and math scores. We’ll explore. And a Texas lawmaker wants capitol hill to ban the word ‘alien’ from use by the government. He says its dehumanizing…what does history say? Also The science behind getting scared and the most boring city in the US….Lubbock or leave it? All of that and much more on todays Texas Standard:
June 3, 2015
As Texas prepares to execute another inmate tonight, we’ll hear how fewer people are being sent to death row. Also – a look at the economic divide in the Texas town of Horseshoe Bay. Plus, the Texas connection to the FIFA scandal, fact-checking Rick Perry before his big announcement, and how to measure like a Texan.