With the presidency and a majority now in the U.S. Senate, Republicans are eyeing a trifecta of power by capturing the seats needed for a slim majority in the House. But several races still need to be called. What’s taking so long?
Elon Musk spent a great deal of his time and money helping Donald Trump win another term this fall. Will Texas’ wealthiest man have a role to play in the Trump administration?
And: More than half a million undocumented immigrants protected from deportation under the DACA program are now worried what the future holds come January. Stella Chávez of The Texas Newsroom has the story.
Healthcare
What’s ahead for U.S. gymnastics at the Olympics
A faculty committee at UT Austin found that university leaders violated their own rules when calling police to respond to protests over the war in Gaza at the end of the spring semester. Audrey McGlinchy of KUT News shares the latest.
Five years after the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, a new memorial is unveiled to honor the 23 people killed.
Serious questions have been raised over a private contractor providing healthcare services to prison inmates in many states, including Texas.
And: Texas was well-represented at the men and women’s gymnastics team and all-around events at the Paris Olympics. A look at what’s ahead for the athletes.
KUT Morning Newscast for July 18, 2024
Central Texas top stories for July 18, 2024. Home prices in Austin are down compared to last year. A federal court in Texas dismissed a lawsuit challenging the admissions process at U-T Austin. A new national study ranks Texas 50th for women’s health outcomes. Austin area school districts are heading into the next school year with a budget deficit. Austin FC lost its chance to win the Copa Tejas for the third time in a row.
Texas’ Jamestown Revival talk Tony-nominated score
The U.S. Supreme Court makes a key decision on abortion access, but is it the final word on the matter? The highest court in the land makes a unanimous decision on the abortion drug mifepristone, in a case that was originally filed in Amarillo.
The producers of the hit Broadway musical “The Outsiders” wanted someone outside the theatre world to score their play. Magnolia’s own Jamestown Revival stop by to talk about their Tony-nominated songs.
We’ve also got the latest intelligence on Apple bringing AI to its phones.
Communities begin cleanup following deadly North Texas tornado
Deadly storms, including a tornado, ripped through North Texas over the weekend, killing at least seven people and injuring 100 others. We’ll have an update on the latest recovery efforts.
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which begins this week, will be “extraordinary,” forecasters warn.
Our monthly deep dive into investigative reporting, The Drill Down, takes a closer look at the federal investigation into Ken Paxton. Could Texas’ attorney general still face charges?
After years of expanding, some pharmacies are closing their doors – what that could mean for the corner drug store.
And: The state’s lowrider culture is on display in a new exhibit at the Bullock Texas State History Museum.
Civics 101: What does Central Health do?
What do you think of when I say, “property taxes?” Maybe what you pay for Austin ISD pops up first. Maybe your city or county tax bill. But also on that list is a smaller portion for Central Health. As part of our “Civics 101” series here at KUT, which is bringing you stories about local institutions that keep everyday life running in Austin, KUT’s Olivia Aldridge tells us about Central Health, an organization that gets your tax dollars and might give you or your neighbor medical care.
Why is Ted Cruz proposing a bill to legislate in vitro fertilization?
There’s infighting among Texas Republicans over the next steps in their efforts to stop abortions in the state.
Canada is Texas’s second-biggest international trade partner, behind Mexico. We’re talking to Mary Ng, Canada’s minister of export, trade and economic development, during her visit to the Lone Star State this week.
After the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are considered children under state law, Democrats raced to pass bills to protect in vitro fertilization. Now, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is pushing a similar bill – but what exactly would it do?
Ahead of Memorial Day on Monday, we’ll hear from a Texas family still working to make sure the legacy of their beloved serviceman is honored.
And: Today marks two years since the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. A survivor’s story.
What’s behind an anti-birth control push on social media?
After an apparent tornado strike in Temple last night, it’s looking to be another day of severe weather across large parts of the Lone Star State.
A ransomware attack on the Ascension hospital network is still having a big impact on staff and patients almost two weeks later.
After online reports and videos of women giving up the birth control pill, The New York Times finds that prescriptions are not actually declining – in fact, the opposite.
And: The latest album from singer-songwriter Susan Werner, “Halfway to Houston,” takes on the wide landscape of Texas.
Texas screening rates for colon cancer are in the toilet. Dell Med experts want to change that.
Colorectal cancers are usually preventable with regular screening. But in Texas, screening rates are dismally low. As KUT’s Olivia Aldridge reports, researchers at UT’s Dell Medical School are trying to fix that.
Remembering renowned ventriloquist Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Estrada
Ready? Or not? As primaries fast approach, an effort to prepare young Texas voters to cast their very first ballots.
A federal complaint filed over Texans being wrongfully kicked off Medicaid rolls.
The latest on a challenge to Texas’ new law prohibiting social media companies from censoring political speech online.
A new TV series on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X inspired by the groundbreaking work of a Texas professor. We’ll talk with him.
Also, the Standard’s Kristen Cabrera on the death of a beloved entertainer: San Antonio-based ventriloquist Ignacio “Nacho” Estrada.
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.
How frontline workers fared during COVID and how best to protect them
A Texas senator wants to reopen impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton – but it’s unlikely to happen.
What have recent heavy rains done for drought conditions in Texas?
A plan to overhaul the way the U.S. Census Bureau counts people with disabilities has received so much pushback that the agency is rethinking the updated questions.
And: lessons learned from the pandemic about the impact on frontline workers.
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.
Rare mushroom sparks excitement in Central Texas and beyond
A GOP junket to Eagle Pass was one of the largest congressional visits to the border in recent memory – but what’s the end goal, and what did lawmakers see?
Eleanor Klibanoff of the Texas Tribune has the details on a ruling by the Fifth Circuit over federal authority to require hospitals to provide abortions, and the implications for Texas.
A rare star-shaped fungus found only in Texas and a few other places worldwide is capturing the attention of mushroom enthusiasts.
Also: Understanding a new trend of cold exposure – does it have the health benefits many claim?
A Tribute to Shirley A. Chisholm (Ep. 5, 2024)
On this week’s In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a 1982 interview with the late Shirley A. Chisholm, a former Congresswoman from New York’s 12 Congressional District who in 1968 became the first African American woman elected to Congress, and, in 1972, the first major-party African American candidate for President of the United States.
Does drone medical help offer hope for rural Texans?
A court rules that Texas power generators do not have a responsibility to provide power in emergencies, like the winter storm of 2021. Mose Buchele of KUT Austin has more on what this means.
Understanding Pope Francis’ decision to permit Catholic church officials to bless same-sex marriages.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, more used to white-collar crime enforcement, wades into Texas cattle country to bust up what it calls a Ponzi scheme.
And: For West Texans far from medical facilities, some help zooms in by way of drones.
New questions over Texas abortion restrictions after court denies
The Texas Supreme Court overruled an order allowing a Dallas-area woman access to an abortion. What does that mean for future cases?
Why a Texas researcher is excited about the federal approval of a gene-editing procedure.
We’ll hear from Texas author Theo Boyd on why she’s writing about a tumultuous period in her life, and what she wants others to take away from her story.
And why some say ramped-up efforts from the Army to find soldiers who fail to report for duty still aren’t enough.
Tired of the same Christmas carols? This Texas composer has some rearrangements
A Texas judge grants a Dallas-area woman her request for an abortion, despite the state’s strict ban. It is thought to be one of the first attempts to seek a court-approved abortion since the U.S Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe vs. Wade. Olivia Aldridge of KUT in Austin shares more.
Aid for Ukraine and Israel is blocked for now over border security concerns, and Texas’ two U.S. senators were very much a part of that process. A Texas Tech political science professor breaks it down.
As Texas cities try to rein in traffic, San Antonio revives a plan to be more bicycle-friendly.
And: North Texas-based music writer and conductor Taylor Davis is discovering something new in the Christmas carols we’ve heard for decades on end.
Rare ‘Cattle Tyrant’ spotting dominates birders’ attention
Traumatic injuries are the leading cause of death in the U.S. for people under 45, and the odds of survival may depend on what part of the state you’re in. Lauren Caruba of the Dallas Morning News joins us to talk about a new investigation.
The Texas Standard’s Sean Saldaña has the latest on what some may see as contradictory signals in new employment numbers in Texas.
Are Texas roads considerably less congested? Why a new state-mandated report may raise some eyebrows.
And why the visit of a Cattle Tyrant to Corpus Christi drew excited fans from far and wide. The Standard’s Raul Alonzo explains.
The State of Disability in Texas – A Texas Standard special rebroadcast
It’s a population that’s often overlooked and underestimated: People living with disabilities play a wide variety of important roles in the life of modern Texas.
They’re living full lives, advocating for better caregiving options, inclusive transportation and voting accessibility. And many participate in the vibrant arts and culture of our state.
Learn more in this special edition of the Texas Standard: The State of Disability in Texas.