Central Texas top stories for June 16, 2025. The “No Kings” protest in Austin on Saturday remained peaceful. The Texas Department of Public Safety made one arrest earlier in the day related to threats against state lawmakers who were expected to speak. AISD will receive millions of dollars in new funding as a result of state legislation passed this year, but officials worry it might not be enough. Starting today Austinites might see Cap Metro’s new Transit Police officers at stations and on board of transit services. Georgetown is considering changes to its rules on where people can sit and lie down in public.
Police
KUT Morning Newscast for June 9, 2025: New Capital Metro police officers will patrol the transit system
Central Texas top stories for June 9, 2025. Immigration rights activists say undocumented college students pay tens of millions of dollars in tuition and fees. Capital Metro has new police officers; they’ll patrol the transit system starting next week. The City of Austin continues with cyanobacteria remediation efforts in Lady Bird Lake.
How one West Texas town built its own broadband lifeline
Texas lawmakers are considering a plan that could help prevent fentanyl overdoses in the state. Why it may not become law.
A decade after the deadly biker shootout in Waco that led to nine deaths and more than 100 arrests, some civil cases against the city are still moving forward.
Some Texas law enforcement agencies are getting rid of a gun they consider too risky for their officers – by selling them to civilians.
State and federal money has been set aside to connect rural Texans to the Internet. When the remote West Texas town of Monahans couldn’t get that help, they did it themselves.
And: Texas cities once again top a list of the fastest-growing in the U.S., led by Princeton, a suburb east of Frisco.
How Texas schools fared in long-awaited TEA accountability grades
After lawsuits and a long delay, the Texas Education Agency releases rankings for schools in the Lone Star State. The school rankings are more than just an indicator of how well students are doing, they can have ripple effects on the schools themselves, as well as on housing prices and more. KERA’s Bill Zeeble joins us with what the report cards tell us.
After record levels of deaths connected to police car chases, what, if anything, do Texas lawmakers plan to do?
A historic theatre, once a hub for Mexican American entertainment, is coming back to life in San Antonio.
Plus, Texas breweries rebrand themselves as public spaces.
KUT Morning Newscast for April 10, 2025: The visa status of multiple UT international students has unexpectedly changed.
Central Texas top stories for April 10, 2025. A few dozen UT students protested on campus yesterday against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. City of Austin leaders are looking to get more data on how the Sixth Street Safety Plan is progressing. Honeybees are dying in high numbers this season. Today is an Ozone Action Day in the Austin area.
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.
KUT Morning Newscast for February 3, 2025
Central Texas top stories for February 3, 2025. Gov. Greg Abbott gave his state of the state address yesterday, here are the details. Texas lawmakers are proposing increasing school safety funding by hundreds of millions of dollars, AISD says it might not be enough to comply with security measures. An abandoned rail line in Austin is being converted into a trail for pedestrians and cyclists. APD is increasing security after vehicle break-ins at parks and greenbelts.
KUT Morning Newscast for November 11, 2024
Central Texas top stories for November 11, 2024. The Austin Mayor race outcome will come down to provisional ballots. Republicans will soon make up nearly 75 percent of intermediate appellate court justices in Texas. Texas lawmakers are looking at ways to further dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within higher education at the request of the Republican lieutenant governor. Here’s how Round Rock is protecting its residents from package theft. The University of Texas soccer team has won its first SEC Championship.
KUT Morning Newscast for October 18, 2024
Central Texas top stories for October 18, 2024. Austin and Travis County are issuing preemptive disaster declarations as dry, windy conditions increase the risk of wildfire. Texas lawmakers are looking at how social media affects children and the impact of a law they passed last year seeking to address this issue. More than a year after Austin voters approved a measure to make them public, the so-called “G-files” of police officers accused of misconduct are published.
KUT Morning Newscast for October 7, 2024
Central Texas top stories for October 7, 2024. Austin Police Officer Christopher Taylor is now facing sentencing after being found guilty of deadly conduct. Austin City Council members will take more time to look over the new labor contract for police officers. Austin City Council will consider a plan this week to help recruit people for public safety jobs.
Blue Chip Program provides mental health resources for law enforcement officers in Texas
The Supreme Court, in the waning hours of this term, issues orders on social media and federal corruption laws. Some of the most contentious cases on the court’s docket remain undecided, though we’re expecting several rulings in the next 48 hours or so.
Sen. Ted Cruz is leading an effort to end tax on tips. Critics call it an election-year move to win over younger voters.
40 acres and a lie: what a new investigative report reveals about a well-known but often misunderstood Civil War-era reparation order.
Also: an effort to help law enforcement personnel in need of mental health support.
Introducing Rhizome, Laredo’s unique art project and community collaboration
The Texas Medical Board has offered a wide definition of emergency medical exemptions to the state’s strict ban on abortion.
Health care is also at the center of a massive cyberattack that’s been crippling insurance payments, but consumer information is very likely involved.
Police high-speed chases can be extremely dangerous for the general public, not just the vehicles involved. What we’ve learned in a deep dive into the data for North Texas chases.
The price at the pump has been going up again and global uncertainties could affect that further.
And we’ll take a trip to Laredo to explore Rhizome, a community art project, and hear from artist Crystal Wagner.
The latest on Senate Bill 4, which puts immigration enforcement in the state’s hands
The on-again, off-again hold on Texas’ controversial SB 4 immigration law is now back on, hours after the Supreme Court’s temporary green light. Stephen Vladeck of UT Law joins with the latest.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments today in a Texas case that has its roots in small-town petty politics. But it could have implications for the future of free speech and what’s known as qualified immunity.
Plus: revelations from an investigation into what really happened the night of a fire that killed 40 people at a migrant detention center in Juárez almost one year ago.
A younger generation is taking over the Texas oil fields
For the first time in centuries, an American-built – and more specifically, Texas-built – spacecraft has touched down on the moon.
Multiple law enforcement officers who responded to the 2022 Uvalde school shooting have been ordered to appear before a grand jury investigating the failed police response.
The folks calling the shots in the Texas oil industry seem to be getting younger. What does this change mean for the industry?
A giant among advocates for people with disabilities in Texas steps down after a quarter century. We’ll talk with Dennis Borel of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities about the challenges ahead.
Plus, the week in politics with The Texas Tribune.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for February 13, 2024
Central Texas top stories for February 13, 2024. Austin ISD’s tricky budget situation. Austin’s police union is trying to prevent a voter-backed city ordinance from going into effect. The City of Austin is still 800 shelter beds short of its goals for 2025. Georgetown ISD trustees voted to call a bond election in May. Prescribed burns in southwest Austin. Gas prices spike overnight. The City of Austin wants to hear from the public on a new plan for historic preservation.
Dr. Phil is back, and he’s broadcasting from the Metroplex
With a trial date fast approaching will securities fraud charges against Ken Paxton ever reach a jury? After years of delays, lawyers for the attorney general now say he’s been denied the right to a speedy trial, and that his prosecution is unconstitutional.
Amid a border security standoff between the Biden administration and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, many residents of Eagle Pass say they feel caught in the middle.
Also: Phil McGraw, aka Dr. Phil, plans to use Dallas as a launchpad for a new TV network.
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.
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.
How this man survived in the West Texas desert for 27 hours
What does Congress’ budget deal to avert a partial government shutdown mean for food and the farmers and ranchers who produce it? We’ll hear more on the Farm Bill extension, and the implications for Texas.
The push for police accountability: An investigative report from the Austin American-Statesman reveals that police indictments rarely lead to convictions.
Last weekend’s destructive rocket launch was a big fail for SpaceX – or was it? What explains radically mixed reviews of the Starship test launch.
Plus the harrowing account of a Texas hiker, lost in Big Bend Ranch State Park in triple-digit heat, and his near-miraculous survival.
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KUT Morning Newscast for October 5, 2023
Central Texas top stories for October 5, 2023. Rain comes to Central Texas with flood advisories. New police oversight chief has questions from Austin City Council. Narcan will be distributed at Austin City Limits.