The State of the State and the State of the Union: after speeches by Governor Abbott and President Trump, what happens next? Governor Abbott issues what he calls emergency items for Texas lawmakers and President Trump calls for unity but presses for a hard line on the border, we’ll take a closer look. Also a maquiladora walkout ends with a surprise victory for labor, and a democrat seeking the White House says paychecks aren’t keeping up with inflation: a Politifact check and more today on the Texas Standard:
Donald Trump
Texas Standard: January 17, 2019
A proposal to put off the state of the union: a break with tradition, or perhaps a return to one? We’ll take a look at the history with historian Jeremi Suri. Also, what’s being done to keep guns out of the hands of those convicted of domestic violence? We’ll take a look. And the green new deal: some see it as radical, why the Houston Chronicle claims it’s a natural for Texas. Plus, how much do you like eggs? If you’re Instagram, more than 40 million times, at last count. What a viral sensation tells us about the state of social media. All of that and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 10, 2019
Here’s the good news Texas: an 8% bigger budget. But the state’s top money cruncher has a warning. Even as economic growth means more money for Texas coffers, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar’s raising a yellow flag for state lawmakers, we’ll hear why. Also, President Trump Takes his border wall fight to south Texas today, but will it make a difference? We’ll take a look. And on a lighter note: Done with your resolutions for 2019? Clay Smith and the team at Kirkus reviews weigh in on some trends at the bookstore they’d like to see disappear in the New Year. All that and then some today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 10, 2018
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: September 25, 2018
Proposed changes to legal immigration here in the U.S. that would especially affect the poor. We’ll take a look at the possible impacts. Plus, President Trump has signed the largest VA budget ever. What the money is going towards and where it’s coming from. And we’ll head to Sonora, Texas where unprecedented flooding has damaged hundreds of homes. Also we’ll hear how Texas waterways when not causing the damage like in that city, can provide access to parts of the state that are otherwise off-limits. Plus why Mexico’s new president-elect could change the messaging on birth control, and why Laredo city officials have found themselves in a tough position when it comes to next steps for a border wall. All those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 17, 2018
Less than a month do go before the deadline for registering to vote in the midterms, do you know if you’re registered? We’ll have a Texas primer. Also, a border patrol officer has been arrested and charged with the murders of 4 women. The victims all worked as prostitutes. We’ll tell you what authorities are saying. And with Florence and before that Harvey, the greatest threat: flooding. Has our current hurricane rating system left us twisting in the wind? Plus Texas beat USC this weekend, but once upon a time, USC pushed Texas across the line to desegregate the gridiron. We’ll hear how and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 12, 2018
This time, it’s for real: the National GOP worried that Beto O’Rourke has a real shot at tipping the balance on Capitol Hill. We’ll take a look at the details. Also, Bob Woodward’s book just out this week details chaos in the Trump Administration, but there’s nothing chaotic about the systematic dismantling of environmental regulations. What’s happening, and what it means for Texas. And Harvey dumped 127 billion tons of water on Texas last year: help from FEMA? A mere trickle so far. What’s holding things up? Plus kids at the center of a culture war over remembering the Alamo and so much more, today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 5, 2018
A Texas federal courtroom is once again the stage for a legal challenge that could have enormous, nationwide impact. We’ll explain. Also this week marks a full year since Amazon started the search for a second headquarters. Dallas and Austin are on the shortlist, but what’s next? We’ll check in. And a woman held in slavery makes a new life for herself by posing as a man and signing up to be a soldier. The true story behind a new novel. Plus it’s campaign season and politicians are making claims about their opponents. We’ll fact-check one about holding town hall meetings. And Texans have long been taught to remember the Alamo, but what do we know about the defenders in that battle? We’ll dig in to some demographics. Those stories and a whole lot 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: August 23, 2018
Treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors: how does hush money fit in to the formula for impeachment? We’ll take a look. Also, fears of an upswing of violence on the border. We’ll hear what’s happening and why. And since 2016, law enforcement officials and social media companies have taken steps to curtail fake news and foreign hackers. With the midterms fast approaching, how well is the fight faring? Our Digital Savant Omar Gallaga takes a look. Also, the deer industry up in arms over state efforts to limit where the animals roam. Plus our weekly trip tip takes us to South Padre Island and we’re just getting started. Turn it up! It’s Texas Standard Time!
Texas Standard: August 22, 2018
Guilty: two former top aides to Donald Trump. But what do the convictions mean for the presidency and American politics going forward? We’ll take a look. Also, a felon can’t hold public office in Texas according to state law, but a man convicted of voluntary manslaughter is on the ballot for Austin city council. The how, why, and what it might mean for Texas elections. And the UNT professor try ing to set a Guinness world record for the longest history lecture ever delivered…Texas history, of course. Plus the case for a Texas monument to two heroes in a bass boat. Commentator W.F. Strong explains his rationale. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 17, 2018
After President Trump revokes the security clearance of a critic, a famous Texan makes a request of the white house: take mine too! We’ll have more on former UT chancellor Bill McRaven’s Texas-sized rebuke of President Trump. Meanwhile after stalled talks to renegotiate NAFTA, signs of a surprise breakthrough on a trade deal with Mexico although notably not with Canada. At least not yet. Also as cars fill up the streets of Houston, a push to fill the cars. And mandatory paid sick leave goes viral setting up another battle over state versus local control. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 31, 2018
The devastation was enormous: billions in damage, tens of thousands displaced. But will the anger over Hurricane Harvey impact the mid-terms? We’ll explore. Also, Texas families with children with special needs are finding it harder to access healthcare. It has to do with how and whether providers are getting paid. We’ll explain. And a state park in the Rio Grande Valley beloved by birdwatchers could close if a border wall goes up. What Texas Parks and Wildlife is doing about it. Plus those who tout ideas of racial purity often point back to a time when Europe was white, but a Texas researcher says that just wasn’t the case. And fossils aren’t just old bones. We’ll tell you all about ’em and where you can find ’em in the Lone Star State, today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 25, 2018
12 billion dollars for farmers: the Trump administration trying to offset losses in a trade war smart policy or a band aid on a self-inflicted wound? We’ll have the latest. Also, another effect of zero tolerance: no place for local prisoners to go. We’ll talk with the sheriff of Hidalgo county facing a space crisis. And a prescription for a rural doctor shortage. That’s how a Texas university is pitching its plan for a new medical school. But with around a dozen already, does Texas really need another one? And has Beto O’ Rourke narrowed the gap with ted cruz to just two points? A Politifact check and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 23, 2018
The endangered species act, now on the endangered list? Activists and environmentalist sound alarms, we’ll learn more. And as we fast approach the anniversary of Harvey and plunge further into hurricane season, rescue efforts underway for the National Flood Insurance program. We’ll hear what’s happening, and why they’re underwater. Also, ranchers balk at a plan to brand lab-grown protein “clean meat”…what’s in a name? Some say a multi-billion dollar industry. And journalists abandoning social media does it matter? All this and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 20, 2018
A challenge from a Texas GOP congressman to fellow lawmakers on his own side of the aisle: whatever happened to checks and balances? In what is his strongest condemnation yet of President Trump post-Helsinki, Republican congressman Will Hurd writes an op ed in the New York Times calling on congress to defend the U.S. from Russia, if the president won’t. We’ll explore the political implications. Also the President’s promise to change business as usual when it comes to immigration. Upon closer inspection, just how much has changed down at the border? And the tiny town of Edna Texas loses a Walmart and maybe something less tangible, too. Plus the week in Texas politics and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 18, 2018
Helsinki’s halo effect for the left? If the Texas Senate contest is any indication, it could mean stiffer pushback from Democrat challengers, we’ll have details. Also, we’ll take a closer look at how the President’s remarks at the summit with Russia might already be reflected in the race between Beto O’Rourke and Ted Cruz. Kevin Diaz of the Houston Chronicle joins us from Washington. Plus, what would be whistleblowers are telling us about conditions in immigrant detention centers in the Rio Grande Valley. And the fifth highest paid University administrator in the nation talks about student debt: Texas A&M’s John Sharp joins us and so much more on the National News Show of Texas:
Texas Standard: July 17, 2018
It’s being called by some treasonous; more and more Republicans now breaking with the President. Words matter. We’ll try to decode them. Also, MS-13, a hyper violent gang from Central America at the center of a new litmus test in U.S. politics. How much of a threat does the gang really pose in the Lone Star State? And how the zero-tolerance border backlash has put some San Antonio lawyers in the national spotlight raising 20 million dollars to help separated families. Plus in our spotlight on health: what looks like a psychiatrist shortage in west Texas. And east Texas bugs beware: the mosquito assassins are in the air. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 16, 2018
Testimony gets underway today in a challenge to Texas’ fetal burial law: a law that some believe is really designed to undermine abortion providers, we’ll have details. Also, half the kids under the age of five separated from their families under the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance plan have now been reunite. But with a court-ordered deadline to complete reunifications fast approaching, we’ll take you to El Paso where people are trying to put families back together. And the toll of tariffs on Texas businesses. Plus attracting businesses and creating Texas jobs: how well do incentives really work? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 11, 2018
A tough test for NATO and for the Texan appointed to represent us before the alliance in Brussels. Also, today trial gets underway against the man accused of torching a mosque in Victoria. Federal prosecutors say he wasn’t working alone. And do you know what your middle schooler is learning about energy and the environment? There’s a new curriculum sponsored by the natural gas foundation. A question of balance versus bias in science class. And the rescue of those Thai students trapped in a cave. With so much going on in the world, why does this sort of story command the world’s attention? The baby Jessica effect and much more today on the Texas Standard: