As immigration returns to center stage in American politics, a curious reversal in messaging in one of the state’s most closely watched races.
It’s happened before: polls show a statewide race tightening up, hopes rising among Texas Democrats, only to be dashed on Election Day. Do you trust polls that suggest Texas turning blue? A guide for optimists and pessimists.
The latest on a lawsuit brought by inmates and their supporters over intense heat in Texas prisons.
And the dedication of a new national historic site to help explain an era when Texas created separate schools for Hispanic children.
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Lawmakers slam Texas Lottery for aiding jackpot scheme, prompting policy change
A new policy blocks transgender Texans from changing the sex on their driver’s licenses, unless it’s to fix a clerical error.
The game is up on a Texas lottery loophole that allowed some to buy up tickets en masse, guaranteeing a win. But the door could still be open for abuse.
A new poll on presidential politics in Texas shows Vice President Kamala Harris cutting into former President Donald Trump’s lead.
Midland officials have pushed to figure out how to address a multimillion-dollar deficit in the city’s firefighter pension, but recently efforts to stabilize the fund have slowed.
Plus: Are you in the market for a fitness tracker or a laptop for your kid? We’re talking to the experts and have some tips you should consider for adding them to your cart.
How Texas is likely undercounting heat-related deaths
Just how dangerous is triple-digit heat in Texas? They say the numbers don’t lie. Last year was the deadliest on record in Texas, but there’s reason to think we don’t know just how bad it really was – or is.
As schools begin welcoming students back to class, data shows nearly 1 in 5 will be chronically absent.
Are you a mosquito magnet, or does it just seem that way? What the science says, and what you can do about it.
Plus, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and poetry from the Typewriter Rodeo.
KUT Morning Newscast for August 13, 2024
Central Texas top stories for August 13, 2024. As the summer heat keeps rolling, worker’s rights advocates and a local congressman are calling for action on proposed rules to limit heat exhaustion. Austin City Council members are considering hiring 16 new full time park employees. A Travis County judge has temporarily blocked the Texas Education Agency from releasing A-through-F accountability ratings. Many districts in central Texas are going back to school today. Texas State University will offer classes in Central Mexico. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is warning people not to dump aquarium pets into local waters.
State of Texas defends lack of prison A/C in federal court
Does the lack of air conditioning in Texas prisons amount to cruel and unusual punishment? A state prison official testifies that heat levels contributed to three deaths last summer.
The Great Springs Project aims to someday create a whole new route between San Antonio and Austin – via hike and bike trail.
Rick Jervis, author of the book “The Devil Behind the Badge,” shares the 2018 story of a string of murders in Laredo by a Border Patrol officer.
And: Is there a connection between West Texas wildfires and unregulated power lines?
Fifth Circuit rules Texas can keep buoys in the Rio Grande for now
Gov. Greg Abbott receives at least a temporary victory in a fight with the Biden administration over border buoys in the Rio Grande.
NPR’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán has the latest on the reduction in the numbers of people crossing the border from Mexico into Texas, and the political spin in a volatile election season.
As Texas senators hold hearings into the response to Hurricane Beryl, we’ll hear about a group of people especially vulnerable in those many days without power.
WF Strong has some ideas for a competition that would be open to all – the Texas Olympics.
And: Meet the two Brits taking Texas by storm on social media.
Investigation finds worker deaths from trench collapses were often preventable
President Biden is in Austin to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act – and is expected to deliver a speech that could have big implications for the future of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The surprise arrests in Texas of two leaders of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel were a major victory for the feds, but now there are hints that the backstory involves a double cross. One of the state’s top experts on Mexico’s drug cartels explains.
A new survey finds that two-thirds of Texans support Gov. Greg Abbott’s school voucher plan.
And: A new investigation from NPR, Texas Public Radio and public radio program 1A finds more than 250 preventable deaths in trench accidents.
What’s next after Biden exits presidential race?
President Biden’s decision yesterday to drop his campaign for re-election and to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee follows weeks of mounting pressure from members of his own party. But it was a Texan who was the first Democrat on Capitol Hill to call for Biden to step aside. We’ll talk with U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett.
What can we expect between now and Election Day? A UT Austin professor takes a look at the logistics of Biden stepping down and what it means for next month’s Democratic National Convention.
Some historical perspective: The last time an incumbent president announced he wouldn’t run for reelection was Texas’ Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1968.
Plus: Remembering the legacy of longtime Houston Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who has died at 74.
KUT Morning Newscast for June 28, 2024
Central Texas top stories for June 28, 2024. Activists are pushing back against a proposal to build a new juvenile detention center in Travis County. Fireworks can have unintended reactions on air quality. Round Rock will expand its on demand, ride-sharing program. Here’s how to take care of your dog during this hot summer.
After devastating tornadoes, Sanderson residents begin to rebuild and recover
The Texas Medical Board has offered guidance to doctors on the emergency medical exception to the state’s abortion ban.
How the small town of Sanderson in West Texas is recovering after a pair of tornadoes.
Shipments of avocados and mangoes from the Mexican state of Michoacán to the U.S. are suspended after two U.S. Department of Agriculture workers in the region were detained by local protesters and later removed from the area, leaving inspections of produce on hold. What will it mean for prices?
Reading, writing and roasting: Texas A&M is hoping to school the next generation of coffee experts by offering a Coffee Processing and Quality Certificate.
And: what Texas architecture of the mid century tells us about the Lone Star State and its complicated aspirations – we’re talking to the author and photographer behind “Home, Heat, Money, God: Texas and Modern Architecture.”
Supreme Court upholds domestic violence gun law in North Texas case
In an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court has issued a major ruling on gun rights, effectively disarming domestic abusers.
A meeting today to consider the exceptions to the state’s near-total abortion ban: It’s an effort to deal with fears about prosecution cited by many Texas doctors.
The latest on what could be upcoming federal rules on heat protection for workers.
Elon Musk gets the green light to reincorporate Tesla in Texas – but he’s far from alone. How the move is a part of a larger shift to reincorporate in the Lone Star State and why.
A conversation with Tara López, whose new book “Chuco Punk: Sonic Insurgency in El Paso” examines the city’s punk scene from its beginning to the turn of the century.
And: the week in politics with The Texas Tribune.
Slap fights could be coming to Texas
Texas leads the nation in deaths of kids left in hot cars. Research explains why it happens and how to prevent it.
A heat dome hovers over parts of Texas, baking the state. What can we expect as summer starts?
Regulators will decide if the sport of slap fighting – in which two people stand across a table and slap each other in the face as hard as they can – should come to the Lone Star State.
Are plans for an oil export terminal 30 miles off the Texas Gulf Coast too ecologically dangerous?
And: A tour of a cavern first discovered in Central Texas the 1960s, known as Hidden Wonders, is unlike any other the state.
Simone Biles sets new records at Olympic qualifier
Mayors from South Texas are in DC today to join President Joe Biden as he announces a plan that would limit the number of people who could request asylum at the southern border. Is it more political, or practical?
It’s getting hot out there – and if you haven’t noticed, your pets certainly have. We’ll hear from an expert about how to keep them cool this summer.
And: Simone Biles’ sweep at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships brings her career U.S. medal count to 41, including 32 golds.
KUT Morning Newscast for October 20, 2023
Central Texas top stories for October 20, 2023. Record temperatures today. Austin Convention Center overhaul. Public education funding plan. Early voting locations. Georgetown bonds. Little Amal.
Why homeschooling is on the rise across the ideological spectrum
Sean Theriault of UT-Austin with a look at why government shutdowns have become so common, and what needs to happen to avoid another come Sunday.
The summer of 2023 was the second hottest on record in Texas. But for renters, air conditioning isn’t legally required — at least not everywhere in the state.
Over the past couple of years, there’s been a shift in the way that many Texans school their kids, with more folks opting for homeschooling – for reasons that span the political spectrum, or lie completely outside it.
Writer Andrew Leland on losing his vision and the struggle to understand the changes, as told in his new memoir, “The Country of the Blind.”
How a UT professor is helping the CDC plan for the next pandemic
The Texas Education Agency is moving forward with plans to monitor problems with Austin ISD’s special education services.
What did we learn from COVID-19? We’ll talk to UT’s Lauren Ancel Meyers, who has been tapped to help the U.S. develop a plan to better tackle the next pandemic.
Texas tops the nation in oil industry deaths – but there’s more to the story once you get into the numbers.
Also: Remembering a pioneer of Tejano music, Lydia Mendoza, who earned the title of “Meadowlark of the Border.”
Migrants’ arrival at Eagle Pass underscores Biden’s challenge on immigration
An emergency is declared in Eagle Pass as more than 6,000 migrants entered the small town in less than two days, and the Biden administration sends active duty troops to the southern border. Gaige Davila of Texas Public Radio with the latest.
With open acrimony between the Texas House and Senate, what’s likely to get done in the next special legislative session?
There’s less competition for homebuyers, but that doesn’t mean it’s getting easier to buy a home. We’ll hear the latest.
A new exhibit celebrates the “Big Bang of Texas music” 50 years after the seminal album “¡Viva Terlingua!”
Also: The week in politics with the Texas Tribune.
Historic heat makes Texas’ ailing water infrastructure even harder to fix
A plan for state officials to take over special education in the Austin Independent School District is being reconsidered. Becky Fogel of KUT in Austin shares more.
Record heat this summer statewide has led to widespread water leaks amid an already pressing need for repairs – but will a fund earmarked for fixes be enough?
With five deaths from fentanyl on average in Texas each day, a growing number of those deaths is among young people. The Dallas Morning news turns a monthlong spotlight on a growing crisis.
In attempts to ban library books, Texas leads the nation
Texas prisons are under a statewide lockdown as officials search for contraband to stem a rise in prison homicides.
More than 700 new state laws took effect in Texas on Sept. 1 out of the almost 3,000 that were filed – meaning the vast majority didn’t become law. Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies tells us more.
Texas had the most book challenges of any state last year, according to the American Library Association.
Outlaw country, born in the 1970s, has long been dominated by men. But female artists have been making noteworthy contributions, especially recently.
Plus the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune.
KUT Morning Newscast for September 1, 2023
Central Texas top stories for September 1, 2023. Updates on North Austin Arboretum shooting. Integral Care prepares for layoffs. New water restrictions for Central Texas.