The U.S. Justice Department pledging to explore ways to challenge Texas’ abortion law. But many questions as to how. We’ll take a closer look. Also, more than 57.000 Texans killed by COVID-19 so far. With new variants popping up, is this a pandemic or endemic? A Texas virus expert on whether and how the fight against COVID-19 should change. And engineering expertise and hard work. Once the recipe for success in the energy industry, now Texas energy companies say there’s a skills gap with more high tech hires needed for cleaner energy jobs. Also how new voting laws could backfire against the GOP. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
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Texas Standard: September 6, 2021
Texas 2nd special session of the year is over. And a new opinion poll suggests the result is not a necessarily good look for Governor Abbott. If critics were correct that the Governor’s legislative agenda was an effort to win over Texans prior to his reelection campaign, it hasn’t quite worked out as a net positive for him, if a new opinion poll is correct. What’s behind Governor Abbott’s highest ever disapproval numbers? Also, the Pentagon says a Texan was among the last U.S. service members to die in Afghanistan We’ll hear from the widow of another soldier killed in the attack on Kabul airport. Plus a call for a rethink of the American military and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 9, 2021
For some communities in Texas when it rains, it pours. We’ll speak with the mayor of Rockport about the ongoing storms. Plus, a look at how vulnerable Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton may be on his next bid for office. And how proving that major transportation projects do not discriminate against riders can unleash massive amounts of money from the federal government. And how the punishment for a men’s soccer team is affecting a women’s soccer team, today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: June 22, 2021
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has multiple legal challenges and now multiple challengers for his seat within his party. We’ll take a look at who. Also, Texas college sports bring in big money. What’s an unanimous Supreme Court decision yesterday mean for athlete compensation? And Texas has lost more rural hospitals recently than any other state. So what’s that mean in an emergency? Plus dozens of Texas prisoners set for release or parole have died behind bars in the past year or so. A new study gets behind delays. And one Texas prison is cleared out to hold migrants. We’ll examine what issues might arise. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 6, 2021
Do the state’s numbers add up? A Houston Chronicle investigation finds twice as many deaths due to the February storm and blackouts. Other stories we’re tracking, the return of baseball and the absence of the Governor who turned down the opportunity to throw the first pitch. But he may have lobbed an early salvo in a much bigger matter over changes to voting laws in Texas, one with huge implications. Gromer Jeffers of the Dallas Morning News explains. Also the story of the Texas women who led a revolution in voting rights. Plus, trying to buy a home in Texas? You may not believe who you’re competing against. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 29, 2021
As the trial for the murder of George Floyd gets underway, debate heats up on a Texas bill to punish cities that cut police funding. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re covering: a bill to prohibit public school athletes in Texas from participating on sports teams that don’t align with an athlete’s biological birth sex. And new numbers from the winter storm and subsequent power outages in Texas suggest the event was deadlier than Hurricane Harvey. Also, supermarket wars coming to North Texas? And remembering a literary giant. How Larry McMurtry challenged Texas mythology, and changed the way many view the Lone Star State. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 11, 2021
Texas Governor Greg Abbott was once Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. What would the AG think of the Governor?? We’ll explore. Also, the stimulus package and how big Texans and little Texans could benefit from it. Plus ERCOT and the gray area in which it operates. It’s a non-profit but it looks like, works like and functions like a government agency. So why not comply with open records requests? And Twitter is 15 now and 15 year old girls in Texas should have a quinceañera. So we are throwing Twitter one. But we’re also asking is it time to start acting like a grown up? Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 14, 2019
Hundreds gather to protest the Ft. Worth police shooting of an innocent woman inside her own home. Less than two weeks after the Amber Guyger trial, another police shooting inside an innocent person’s home raising profound questions about the use of lethal force by police, we’ll have details. Also, time for a rethink about rebuilding on the coast? How water unites and divides us, our series Drop by Drop begins. And why a Texas state researcher says the War on Drugs has unintentionally become a war on the climate. All of that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 10, 2019
A stern warning from the federal judge overseeing reform of Texas’ foster care system: further resistance will be worse than futile. We’ll have the story. Also, the president makes it clear he won’t be cooperating with the house impeachment process. What’s less clear: what this means for what many have predicted to be a transitional election season in Texas politics. We’ll explore. And skyrocketing heat-related injuries in the military. Now there’s an attempt at a radical ‘about face’. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 21, 2019
A major rule change for migrant families in detention just announced which some say could mean families held in detention indefinitely. We’ll have details. Other stories were tracking, a new spring in the step of Texas Democrats. A closer look at a possible shift in the political psychology of the Lone Star State. Also, water borne toxins blamed for the deaths of 4 dogs in the Austin area, but the same algae blooms linked to those deaths can be found across Texas. Practical tips on keeping pets safe and cool around the water. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 20, 2019
The governor launches a second panel to address immediate safety concerns in the aftermath of the El Paso shooting. What’s different? We’ll take a look. Among the lawmakers assigned to the new Texas safety commission, several from the El Paso area: Democratic representative Mary Gonzales on what she hopes will come out of the newly created Texas Safety Commission. Also, why Dallas is turning to a task force to deal with rising homicide rates. And are national developers driving up college debt? All those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 26, 2019
After an unofficial moratorium, a revival of the federal death penalty. The protocol they plan to use mirrors the Texas model, we’ll have more. And: Texans with ties to Puerto Rico ask what’s next after the resignation of the territorial governor. Many are wondering where the movement that led to his ouster goes from here. Also: UT San Antonio gets tapped to boost research on battlefield trauma care in hopes of helping veterans. Plus: The week in Texas politics and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 20, 2019
Where there’s smoke there’s, a lack of oversight? Calls for greater accountability in the aftermath of fires in the nation’s petrochemical capitol. Plus, a year and a half after the deadly mass shooting at Sutherland Springs a new chapter opens for the church and the community, we’ll take a look. Also, the difficulty of getting closure after the death of a loved one. Why it may be taking longer here in Texas. And at what price Whataburger? 6 billion dollars? The iconic Texas brand explores a possible sale. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 25, 2019
A 3 year old found alone at the border, his name and a phone number written on his shoes. An anomaly? Hardly. This instance turning a spotlight on a tragedy more common than many might imagine. So reports Manny Fernandez of the New York Times, and we’ll talk with him. Also, the Texas based Boy Scouts of America facing growing allegations of sexual abuse, we’ll have the latest. Plus, Texas leads the nation in traffic deaths, so what do lawmakers plan to do about it? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 14, 2019
The 15th democrat and the second Texan has made it official: he’s running for President. But do the numbers add up for Beto ‘O Rourke? We’ll have more on the announcement by a former congressman from El Paso who wants to take on Donald Trump for President. Also, in conservative Midland, a test for the Castle Doctrine following the shooting death of a policeman. And the east Texas mayor who’s banning the STAAR test, and hoping other mayors will follow suit. It looks like some just might. Plus Omar Gallaga with the tech buzz from SXSW, and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 28, 2018
The border remains the top issue in national politics, but in Texas it’s also a local issue. We’ll hear from a state representative on the latest in her district. Plus, Texas is once again one of the deadliest states for law enforcement officers. We’ll break down the numbers including a disturbing trend involving firearm deaths. And if one Texas lawmaker has his way the severance tax could get a bit of a makeover in the next legislative session. What it is and why you should care. Also, the Texan believed to be the country’s oldest man has died at 112. We’ll take a look back at his life. All of that and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 4, 2018
Chaos as the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings kick off on capitol hill. But as the focus falls on the high court, another judicial transformation underway? We’ll take a look. Also, it’s long been called the sleeping giant in Texas politics: the latino vote. Texas Democrats are trying wake that giant and do something that’s been difficult in the past: get them to the polls in bigger numbers. We’ll explore. And labor groups scoring victories in a push for paid leave, but are they wasting time and money? Plus chasing Lightin’ in Houston: a 1959 recording of bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins back in print. We’ll explore his hold on Texas and American music, plus a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 3, 2018
As Texans headed out for the long holiday weekend, a surprise ruling in a Texas courtroom over a Texas challenge to DACA. DACA is the Obama era program protecting young immigrants brought here illegally from being deported. Now a judge in Texas, considered sympathetic to the state’s claims to stop DACA, refuses to pull the plug. Why does Attorney general Ken Paxton think he’s closer to victory? We’ll find out. Also, labor day signals the final sprint in the race to election day. We’ll size up the top races across Texas. And a resurgence of unions? In the Lone Star State? The numbers say yes. All of that and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 24, 2018
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announces millions in grants to address school safety concerns after a recent shooting, but what about mental health? We’ll take a look at the details. Also, Texas headlines have been dominated by the upcoming one-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey. But Harris County voters seem unmotivated to make a trip to the polls to vote on future flood prevention plans. We’ll look at why. And the smallest shrimpers on the Texas Gulf coast may have taken the biggest hit from Harvey. We’ll hear their stories. Also, what was your most uncertain moment during the storm? That’s the question we asked Texans. Plus a top tier college football coach briefly sidelined. What it says about the state of sports leadership. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 15, 2018
the US Supreme Court’s decision on sports betting: what are the odds things will change in the Lone Star State? We’ll explore. Also, what’s the best and worst price for gasoline you’ve seen? Tweet us @TexasStandard because this hour we’re exploring the rise to $3 bucks per gallon, and how that could affect us way beyond the pumps. Also, more and more states moving away from hypnosis as a tool in law enforcement. Some officials calling it junk science, though in Texas, in can be a matter of life and death. Lauren McGauhey of the Dallas Morning News explains. And the attempt to hear what your ears can-not. A new idea to combat killer twisters before they strike. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard: