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It’s cold outside, but politics are heating up in Austin

As cold as it is in some parts of the state, politics are heating up in Austin. As the next legislative session nears, there’s intense infighting over who will hold one of the top spots.
Abortion access in this country has changed, especially in states like Texas, since the effective overturn of Roe v. Wade. But pregnancy terminations are actually up across the U.S.
Meta will no longer fact-check. What’s that mean for the user experience on platforms like Facebook and Instagram?
And the semifinal round is here in the College Football Playoff. Texas will face Ohio State. Can the Longhorns win it all?

Officials renew push for Texas-Mexico rail project

What to do with the waste generated by nuclear power plants? The Supreme Court will review a plan to store it in West Texas.
The latest financial reports are in for campaign fundraising throughout the state, and Republicans are focusing heavily on South Texas.
Meta is doubling down on efforts to appeal to Gen-Z and recently reached out to young influencers at an event in Austin called “Facebook IRL.”
The late Texas singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith is the subject of a new book. We’ll talk with author Brian T. Atkinson about her legacy and what he learned about her while writing.
And: Politicians on both sides of the border are advocating for a train connecting Austin with Monterrey, Mexico. What needs to happen for the plan to move forward.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for July 30, 2024

Central Texas top stories for July 30, 2024. Austin ISD is looking for ways to cut its spending. Travis County is putting together its next budget. The Austin Fire Department is calling for 25 new cadets and a shorter work schedule to improve firefighters’ mental health. Advanced manufacturing is dominating economic development in Williamson County. Facebook parent company Meta has agreed to a 1.4 billion dollar settlement of a lawsuit filed by the State of Texas. This week we’re paying for the rain and below-normal temperatures of last week.

Heat and the next Great Migration

An exemption to Texas’ abortion ban is on hold after an appeal by the state attorney general. What comes next?

Just how powerful are social media algorithms? Texas researchers test whether changes could help defuse political polarization.

Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies got in a kayak to take an up-close look at Gov. Greg Abbott’s floating wall in the Rio Grande.

And a warning that climate change could reverse demographic trends showing major population growth in places like Texas: Could there be a great migration northward?

Texas Standard: February 17, 2022

Looking back at the winter storm of last February and why one year later disparities in the death toll persist; Mose Buschele, of KUT Austin, has more on that story. Also, efforts to secure federal recognition for Texas’ emancipation trail. And, the state’s legal challenge to the company formerly known as Facebook. These stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: December 9, 2021

Survey says: Governor Abbott with a double digit lead against his best-known democratic challenger in the governor’s race. We’ll take a look behind the numbers with the Houston Chronicle’s Jeremy Wallace. Also, allegations of sexual abuse and assault against federal judges and what investigative reporter and author Lise Olson discovered about a code of silence that has protected them. Plus a huge body of water in the desert…though it’s no mirage, you don’t want to swim in it, either. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard: