Central Texas top stories for September 3, 2025. he Austin City Council is moving forward with updating its comprehensive plan, known as “Imagine Austin.” The clock is ticking on efforts to ban or regulate THC products in Texas. A trial where a former Williamson County sheriff and a current county employee accused of evidence tampering is being picked up. People in Williamson County have a chance today to comment on the county’s proposed new budget and tax rate.
Hemp
Texas to ban sales of THC vapes starting Monday
State lawmakers are still debating whether to outlaw all THC products in Texas. But on September 1st, one of those products will become illegal, under a lesser-known measure that passed earlier this year.
This podcast is made at KUT Public Media Studios. You may have heard that Congress just took back the money it had allocated for public radio. Our organization stands to lose 1.2 million dollars. We’re asking our listeners now to help us make up this shortfall. If you want to help us out, you can make a donation at supportthispodcast.org.
KUT Morning Newscast for August 29, 2025: Travis County continues to collect debris from July floods. But, where does it all go?
Central Texas top stories for August 29, 2025. Travis County crews have collected more than 160-thousand cubic yards of debris from the floods of July 5th. A new law takes effect in Texas on Monday that bans the sale of vapes and e-cigs containing THC or other cannabinoids derived from hemp. The Texas House of Representatives passed a bill last night aimed at cracking down on out-of-state doctors who prescribe abortion pills. Hopes and stakes are high in tomorrow’s season-opening football game between the Texas Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
KUT Morning Newscast for August 5, 2025: Texas Republicans are pushing for the arrest of Democratic lawmakers who’ve left Texas to prevent the passage of a redistricted congressional map
Central Texas top stories for August 5, 2025. Republicans, under pressure from President Donald Trump, are seeking to pick up as many as five seats in next year’s midterm election. Hundreds of companies across Texas that manufacture hemp products are waiting on pins and needles to see if the state legislature bans their business. Williamson County’s plans to bring a spaceport to the area appear to be temporarily grounded. Austin has a new tallest building in its skyline, according to its developers.
KUT News Now is made at KUT Public Media Studios. You may have heard that Congress just took back the money it had allocated for public media. Our organization stands to lose 1.2 million dollars. We’re asking our listeners now to help us make up this shortfall. If you want to help us out, you can make a donation at supportthispodcast.org.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for June 23, 2025: Governor Greg Abbott has vetoed Senate Bill 3, which would have banned consumable THC products in Texas
Central Texas top stories for June 23, 2025. Governor Greg Abbott vetoed 26 bills and signed more than 11 hundred into law, including the Life of the Mother Act. ACC’s District Board of Trustees plans is joining a lawsuit challenging the end of the Texas Dream Act. Homes in Austin sold for an average of just under $600,000 last month. Austin ISD has two virtual community meetings this week on the school consolidation process to save money.
KUT Morning Newscast for April 11, 2025: Austin requires all homes to have working air conditioning
Central Texas top stories for April 11, 2025. All homes in Austin will require air conditioning starting in July. AISD must tell the Texas Education Agency how it plans to improve Dobie Middle School to avoid it from shutting down. Sunrise Church could be forced to relocate its center that helps homeless Austinites. Green Mesquite was set to shut down, but a man helped save it.
What are current struggles signaling for Texas-based Tesla?
The Legislature is considering bills that would lift restrictions on how Texas’ maternal mortality committee can investigate maternal deaths, including by reviewing abortion-related deaths.
Looking for a Tesla? Or trying to sell one? How politics appears to be reshaping the market for the Texas-based company long considered the leader in the electric vehicle space.
Also: Seismic activity in West Texas prompts regulators to put the brakes on the subsurface injection of wastewater. But one company appears to be flaunting the directive.
Hindu voters in Texas weigh in as political ties grow stronger
New questions about Attorney General Ken Paxton and his properties not disclosed in financial statements. Investigative reporter Lauren McGaughy of The Texas Newsroom with more on what she has found looking into the property disclosures of the state’s top lawyer.
State lawmakers hear testimony about the investigation into what caused the largest wildfire in Texas history earlier this year.
Also, the rising political power of the growing Hindu community in Texas in our series on the intersection of religion and politics, plus the Houston Texans are surprising the doubters, and much more.
The Gulf of Mexico is getting warmer
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán of the Texas Newsroom shares a look ahead at the Texas Legislature as bills make their way to committees this week. Plus, what could be a relatively rare bipartisan agreement: clearing the way for fentanyl testing strips as a harm-reduction measure.
How some Texas schools are dealing with teenagers caught with THC vape pens. Even though those vapes may be technically legal, some young people face felony arrests that can stick to their records.
And the Gulf of Mexico is warming at twice the rate of the world’s oceans.
Texas Standard: April 11, 2022
A woman charged with murder in Texas after an alleged self induced abortion has been released, but that’s far from the end of the story. Many fear the arrest and murder charge in Starr County could be a harbinger of what’s to come amid a rise in abortion restrictions and an expected ruling from the United States Supreme Court. We’ll hear more. Also the hype over hemp: what new data says about the legalization of the hemp industry in Texas and whether it has turned out to be as big an economic boon as advocates had hoped. And the race to save the stories behind a musical movement: reclaiming and preserving San Antonio’s Westside sound. All of that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 10, 2021
Politics as unusual? Republicans not exactly in lockstep as the legislative session races to a conclusion, we’ll hear why and the potential implications. Plus a foster care system so dangerous is was once ruled unconstitutional. A new report finds young Texans still dying from abuse and neglect. Also why quinoa could become Texas’ next big cash crop. And turning hemp into another kind of green…the Texas Rangers asking questions. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 11, 2020
What’s in the President’s proposed budget and what are the many ways in which it affects Texans? Maintenance for the wall in the years to come. Who’ll be paying for that? We’ll take a look. And did you know California banned state-funded travel to Texas? Well, Texas is fighting back. We’ll take a look at what that means for children in state care. Plus, machines that discriminate. Can algorithms be less biased? Also, how well do you know your Civil War History? Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 31, 2020
The wind-down and the takeaways: what if anything has been learned from the impeachment drama on capitol hill? We’ll explore. Other stories were covering, a new database of Catholic priests said to be credibly accused of child abuse, how credible is it that the list is complete? And the end of an era? Two families trying to keep a once robust wool industry in Texas spinning. Plus the week in Texas politics and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 23, 2020
Got your attention yet? We’ll take a look at just how closely Texans are tracking the impeachment story and whether it’ll move the political needle in the Lone Star State. Among the other stories we’re following, the state of solitary confinement in Texas, where more than 1300 prisoners have been held for 6 years or more. We’ll take a closer look. Also a new fight over phone encryption and consumer privacy. Plus, the rediscovery of a Texas baseball team whose story was nearly lost with the end of the era of sports segregation. All of those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 13, 2020
After an executive order from the Trump administration, Texas becomes the first state to opt out of future refugee resettlement. We’ll have the latest. Also, a New York billionaire tours Texas by bus trying to make inroads in his presidential campaign. For Michael Bloomberg, the stakes are high. And a disturbing affair in the world of romance novels. Plus the biography of a Texan who fought his way out of tough times and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 13, 2019
Houston’s police chief blames the boyfriend loophole for the on duty death of an officer. What is the boyfriend loophole? We’ll explore. Plus, the president appears to be hours away from impeachment: where are other presidents getting impeached? Why many western democracies don’t have it. Also, what could be the next boom industry in Texas: rare earth mining. And a new law clears the way for a new crop: what’s holding back hemp? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 5, 2019
The FBI learning more about how the Permian Basin shooter sidestepped Federal background checks. Now they’re focusing on a person in Lubbock. We’ll have details and look at how Texas lawmakers are approaching the question of what two do about gun violence. Also, another retirement in the Texas GOP and what it means for 2020. Plus it’s being called the most important book on football since Friday Night Lights: the story of the man they call the Tyler Rose, Earl Campbell. Also, heart surgery without opening up the chest? A stunning new procedure that could save lives. All of that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 29, 2019
And then there were 10: Houston sets the stage for the third round of Democratic presidential debates. We’ll look at how this time things will be different. Other stories we’re tracking: the path of hurricane Dorian as it bears down on the U.S. mainland, a storm that promised to put the new governor of Puerto Rico to the test. Also a new effort by Texas to test for THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. And the future of the space industry in Texas after another launch this week. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 22, 2019
Students just now returning to school, and report cards already? A-F grades go out statewide rating public schools, but are they fair? We’ll explore. As schools reopen, so do sign ups for sports, and something new in Texas: an effort to track related concussions across the Lone Star State. Also, is Texas an ATM for Democratic politicians? An AP reporter following the money spots another sign of a profound shift in Texas politics in the run up to 2020. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 7, 2019
A presidential visit to El Paso and a rejoinder from a Texas representative: no thank you Mr. President, we don’t want to hear from you. We’ll have more on Mr. Trump’s visit to El Paso and our conversation with Texas state representative from El Paso, César Blanco. Also the latest from a city still in mourning over the loss of 22 people. And psychologists discuss the issues of mental health and guns. And changes to Texas’ laws on hemp and CBD oil creating confusion over pot arrests? Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard: