Martial law has now been lifted in South Korea – Texas’ fourth-largest trading partner – but the effects may not be as short-lived. A top Texas expert tells us why.
Ongoing casualties in what was long touted as the war on drugs: Kevin Krause of The Dallas Morning News analyzed a decade of meth sentencing data in North Texas.
Texas is known for its ghost towns, spotlighting shifting population dynamics.
With nearly half of Texas counties lacking maternity care services, rural mothers face daunting hurdles.
And: China has announced a ban on exporting certain rare minerals to the U.S., a move likely to disrupt tech manufacturing and deepen tensions.
Ghost Town
Tommy Taylor: “Ghost Town”
Here in Austin, we like to make a big fuss over our Central Texas music icons, erecting statues and renaming streets in their honor. So while the respective likeness and namesake of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Willie Nelson have become local landmarks, in reality, our city limits have several legends just hiding in plain sight.
Like Tommy Taylor, whose deft drumming on Christopher Cross’ ’79 debut undeniably helped make it the timeless classic it is today. But that’s just scratching the surface; on top of a longtime spot in Eric Johnson’s band, Taylor’s played with the likes of SRV, Charlie Sexton, Jerry Jeff Walker, Shawn Colvin, Ray Benson and many more over what must be an incredibly fulfilling career. Turns out though that Tommy Taylor wasn’t too keen on just letting those records speak for themselves, since after several years of encouragement, he recently put his voice front and center of his own tunes.
Created in collaboration with fellow legend and multi-Grammy winner Michael Omartian, Across the Stars came out last September. Between Omartian’s top notch production techniques and Taylor’s well-seasoned sense of songwriting (fleshed out characters and all), Across the Stars is an astronomical entry for this pair of yacht rock royals. So don’t expect any tumbleweeds or crickets when the silence comes at the end of this nine-song journey, because even early pieces like the album opener “Ghost Town” just sound plain great. Since we’re guessing there’s a galaxy’s worth of other material under Taylor’s belt, here’s hoping Across the Stars won’t be a standalone in Tommy’s discography.
Texas Standard: December 26, 2017
It was the biggest weather disaster in Texas history: this hour we’re exploring how it changed the contours of the lone star state. We’re retracing Hurricane Harvey’s path through southeast Texas, and the long and winding road to recovery. From Port Aransas to Houston and the golden triangle, it’s the story of a storm which the weather service warned would have no precedent, but Texans came together in ways large and small, helping strangers in need, and finding new ways forward. On this day after Christmas, we’re reconsidering an event that changed Texas in countless ways:
Texas Standard: October 31, 2017
You know about the looting as Harvey struck Texas? You sure about that? We’ll explore why the numbers and the narrative don’t match. Also, With Joe Straus not returning as house speaker, social conservatives in the Texas GOP are cheering, but some politics watchers out west wonder if that’s not premature. Why some think a race in the panhandle could reverberate across Texas. And veterans from the fighting in Afghanistan blame military open burn pits for health care issues, but their options for seeking relief are closing. Also, a fix for hackable voting systems developed in Texas and why it may never be deployed. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 30, 2017
The Manafort connection: what does his indictment mean in the search for answers to Russian election influence? We’ll have a Texas take. Also, can you go to jail for being late on a rental payment? Depends. In Texas, the price for missing your furniture bills could be jail. We’ll hear how, and what Texas lawmakers are saying. Also, stem cell treatments: still in their infancy, but some fear they’re being offered without evidence of efficacy. But now Texas has become one of the first states to green light adult stem cell treatment for cancer patients. Also, gulf land for sale, but no takers? Interest has dried up from the oil industry. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 27, 2017
Were the Dallas police behind the JFK assassination? Khrushchev thought so. We’ll explore what we’re learning 54 years later. Also, an undocumented 10 year old with cerebral palsy undergoes surgery in Corpus Christi and is detained by Border Patrol agents waiting outside the hospital. We’ll hear from her attorney. And non disclosure agreements are part of everyday business, but are the enabling the Harvey Weinstein’s of the world? A law professor says Texas lawmakers need to take a closer look. Plus the way we talk about disasters, the week in politics and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 26, 2017
Some see it as the start of a new chapter in Texas politics, but some so-called moderates fear it could turn into a horror story. Joe Straus was seen as a voice of the republican establishment, a defender of business who steered the house chamber clear of some of the most contentious issues raised by social conservatives. In a state where republicans already hold the reigns of power, what happens next? Also, how much do Texans value a college degree? And with education costs rising, is it still a good value? The results of a new statewide survey. And members of the military in a fight for the right to sue Uncle Sam. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 24, 2017
As Washington prepares to declare an opioid emergency, an Amarillo lawmaker is tapped to take on the issue for Texas. We’ll hear his plan on how to fix the crisis. Also, the recriminations between President Trump and gold star families, front and center in the news: but which is the sideshow? That controversy, or the actual events that led the the attack on American forces in Niger? We’ll explore. And Texans may love high school football, but most don’t remember where some of the best games were played, or who played them. The Thursday night lights finally gets some recognition, we’ll meet the man telling the story. And what we might learn this week about what happened in Dallas on that most fateful November day in ’63. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 23, 2017
Today marks the start of early voting across Texas, but for what? Never fear, we’ll have real world explanations of what’s up for grabs at the polls. Grab a pencil and a small piece of paper and play along as we decide how we’re gonna cast our ballots in the constitutional contests now officially underway. Also, Texas may be one of the top states for executions, but it also leads in exonerations. The price the state is paying for wrongful convictions. And the most powerful super computer at any university in the US is in Texas is about to become one of the nation’s fastest too. So why are they planning for its replacement already? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard :