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Texas Standard: January 25, 2021

And so it begins: the Attorney General of Texas files a lawsuit against the Biden administration over immigration enforcement changes. The story today on the Texas Standard.

Coming up- new findings on pregnancy and COVID-19. We’ll talk with a Texas-based maternal-fetal medicine specialist.

Also, should funding for Texas public schools be based on attendance, or enrollment? A democratic lawmaker calls for a shift from the former to the latter.

And, though the push for racial justice has brought down statues across the U.S., a new one is going up in College Station. We’ll hear from the student leading the push to honor a founding figure at Texas A&M.

Texas Standard: January 21, 2021

The executive transition-from pardons to new executive orders President Joe Biden takes action to undo much of his predecessor’s legacy. The story today on the Texas Standard.

In all some 17 executive acts, orders, and directives in the first 24 hours of the Biden Administration. We’ll explore some of the top line changes, many of which stand to affect Texas and Texans in a big way.

Also, a top Texas expert in political rhetoric decodes the many messages of a Made-for-TV inauguration.

A sense of home: a new book explores the quest for belonging among ethnic Mexicans.

The new millennial millionaires powered by snapchat and much more.

Texas Standard: November 26, 2019

Mergers. Layoffs. Cuts to coverage. We’ll take a hard look at challenges to the newspaper industry and how it’s affecting Texas- today on the Texas Standard.
Hemp to eat, hemp to wear, hemp as medicine. The agricultural product seems to offer unlimited possibilities. But the hype may be moving faster than the infrastructure.
Plus, a new book about Texas politics in the late 20s and early 30s just might offer some parallels to today. What we can learn from “The Biscuits, the Dole and Nodding Donkeys.”

And, a look at the real impacts of deportation.

Texas Standard: September 27, 2019

A changing of the guard in Texas? Talk amongst yourselves… As we come to you live from the site of the Texas Tribune Festival. It’s a special edition of the Texas Standard.

Broadcasting live from the main artery of Texas politics – Congress Avenue in Austin. Where for the next couple of days, politicians, politics watchers and everyday folks leading conversations on issues from immigration to homelessness, the environment, voting rights and a shifting political map in one of the fastest growing states in the union.

Texas Standard: September 18, 2019

The news media has called it a tipping point in the national conversation over gun violence. But, it means so much more here in West Texas. Live from Midland, this is the Texas Standard.

After mass shootings in El Paso and here in the Permian Basin, politicians on the left and the right are talking about beefing up background checks and more. But something else that may be shifting: Texans relationship to firearms. Also, Texas Representative Brooks Landgraf helps us explore the growing political footprint of this region. It’s West Texas untapped.
As we come to you live from the Petroleum Museum in Midland.

Texas Standard: September 17, 2019

OK. I’ll tell you what we’ll do – we’ll spring board from Texas into the rest of the world on this Tuesday edition of the Texas Standard.
I’m Joy Diaz in for David Brown
Why Dallas revamped its Holocaust museum for the modern world
Still in Dallas, the murder trial that’s sure to attract the nation’s attention. You may remember of the off duty police officer who is white and killed a young black man in his own apartment.
Cities in the Lone Star State and the 2020 Census
Plus, the world from Mexico to the UK – the news that connects with you.

Texas Standard: August 12, 2019

There’s another legal challenge to the state’s voting procedures. And it looks like this one could have some success in court. We’ll break it down, on today’s Texas Standard.

The national makeup of asylum seekers at the Southern U.S. border has been changing. We’ll explore why.

And we’ll take you to El Paso- where a community continues to mourn and search for healing after a deadly attack.

We’ll also hear voices from other parts of Texas- reacting to the targeted nature of that El Paso shooting.

And we’ll remember a songwriter’s songwriter. Someone, who at least according to one person, penned the best song about Dallas.

Texas Standard: August 9, 2019

Understanding El Paso… Nearly a week after the shooting tragedy, a sense of outrage and grief persists. Could this be a tipping point? A discussion today on the Texas Standard.

Though many fear Americans have grown numb to mass shootings like the one in El Paso last weekend, some journalists covering the tragedy feel this time its different. We’ll take a closer look.

Also reverse mortgages. Many see them as a way to stay in their homes in older age, others consider them a trap.

Plus, the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and more.

Texas Standard: August 8, 2019

Is it doxxing, fake outrage, or something else? Why the publication of Trump donor names has Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro facing controversy. Details on the Texas Standard.

As President Trump visits El Paso, so do top Texas officials. More on what happens next after a meeting between Governor Abbott and state lawmakers from El Paso.
Also, understanding the scourge of anthrax in West Texas as ranchers fight to protect livestock.
Plus- laptop, desktop, tablet? A tech guide for parents helping students gear up for school.

Texas Standard: July 1, 2019

Texas lawmakers passed a bill making it harder for their emails to go public. Why that could impact what we know about why district lines are drawn today on the Texas Standard.

The Supreme Court made a decision about the citizenship question on the US census. But there’s still an outstanding legal challenge. We’ll explain.
Plus, oil is abundant in Texas. One historian says it’s intertwined with religion in the state, namely Christianity.
And why cows might help in the fight against HIV or breast cancer.

Those stories- news from the World Cup, the NBA, and more…

Texas Standard: June 28, 2019

Round two of the first Democratic Presidential debates is in the books. So what did we learn and how do the Texans stack up? Today on the Texas Standard.
So you want a raise, or you want a new job? How can you actually do that. We’ll talk with a psychologist who says it’s as simple as using your brain. Is it really?
The system of state-run in-patient psychiatric hospitals across Texas is way overdue for some updates. There’s money to do it, but what’s being done and is it enough?
Plus, we’ll take a look at two competing bills in Washington aimed at bringing some relief to the border.

Texas Standard: June 27, 2019

The Supreme Court issues rulings on gerrymandering and a citizenship question on the census. Details plus the impact for the Lone Star State, today on the Texas Standard.

In addition to breaking news from the nation’s highest court, analysis of the first of two democratic presidential debates this week. The two Texans in last night’s nationally broadcast event. Beto O’Rourke and Julian Castro: at least one appears to have gotten serious traction.

Plus, a former Speaker of the House jumps back into the political ring, the return of Joe Straus and more.

Texas Standard: June 26, 2019

Another fight over state versus local control. This time the battle line is drawn over homelessness, sleeping in public spaces and soliciting.
The city of Austin loosens laws some say criminalize homelessness, the Governor promises to override. A closer look coming up.
Also, as enforcement operations at the border tighten, more migrants turn to more treacherous places to try to pass through.
Plus, a Texas senators claim that the Lone Star State is one of the most heavily affected by drug trafficking. True? A Politifact check and more.

Texas Standard: June 14, 2019

The prelude to war with Iran? Concerns about attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf region, and what this could add up to on the home front.
A long scary slide for a famous Texas-based waterpark company- now a rescue of sorts may be in the works for Schlitterbahn. We’ll hear details.

Where the rubber meets the road in the West Texas oil boom: tires tires everywhere, raising the risk for disaster.

Also, the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and a whole lot more.

Texas Standard: June 13, 2019

Environmental concerns in Midland and in Brownsville. How are they different and how are they the same? The story today on the Texas Standard.

We explore the California to Texas migration. Why are so many looking for opportunity in the Lone Star State?

Another group in search of opportunity – this one detained under a bridge in El Paso. An eyewitness calls the enclosure “a human dog pound”.

A son remembers his father – on the days leading up to Father’s Day

And In other news: the E3 Trade Show. Games, consoles and hours of entertainment

Texas Standard: June 12, 2019

Ruffled feathers: the so called Chick-fil-A bill signed into law, which some say guarantees religious liberty, others say licenses discrimination. The implications today on the Texas Standard.

Eat it or pitch it? The FDA in a new push to get food companies to standardize expiration dates. Also, you’ve heard about boom times in the Permian Basin. But how do West Texans balance the benefits with an explosion in trash. Plus, remembering Lonesome Dove screenwriter Bill Wittliff.

Texas Standard: June 11, 2019

With Twitter flourishes and media fanfare the Governor signs new legislation declaring Texas Republicans the party of results. Why that could be fear talking. Today on the Texas Standard.
With Texas Democrats promising a record setting turnout in the 2020 election cycle, Governor Abbott’s pulling out the stops to pitch GOP unity over ideological purity.

Also, two years since the controversial Trans-Pecos pipeline went into service. Now many more projects in the pipeline- we’ll hear what’s at stake.

And, not just Central Americans but an increasing number of central Africans crossing the southern border.

Texas Standard: June 10, 2019

Mayors selected by voters into two of Texas’ largest cities. Who they are, and what the outcomes say about the state of the Lone Star State. More on this weekends mayoral runoffs in San Antonio and Dallas.

A Fort Worth family fighting a federal law that sets adoption priorities for Native American children. The family says it’s racial discrimination, tribes say its not about race.

Also, sexual assault evidence kits gathering dust in police evidence closets for decades. Why that’s about to change.

Plus, the possible return of Wendy Davis and a whole lot more.

Texas Standard: May 21, 2019

First it was a Republican Congressman from Michigan. Are there other Republicans on Capitol Hill ready to turn on the President? We’ll explore today on the Texas Standard.
The White House claims Congress is vastly overstating its oversight power. A closer look at the political implications.
Also, some claim recent court decisions have undermined Texas’s once robust transparency laws. Guess who seems to be coming to their rescue? We’ll hear from David McSwain of the Dallas Morning News.
And 50 years after the first moon landing, getting a new generation interested in space.

Texas Standard: April 22, 2019

T-minus 35 days and counting as the Texas Legislature approaches the end of the regular session. Will we be going into overtime? A closer look today on the Standard.

From property tax and school finance reform to child welfare and the environment -a whole lot of unfinished business and just five weeks to get it all done. We’ll have an update.

New numbers on Texas agriculture. What do they add up to? A shifting landscape in rural Texas, for starters–we’ll have more.

Also, the brand that planted the Texas flag in high tech history is breaking new ground and adding hundreds of jobs. All those stories and more as the Texas Standard gets started.