Senate Bill 4, which would allow Texas police to arrest people suspected of crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally, is currently on hold after a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Texas Newsroom’s Julián Aguilar has the latest.
Why researchers and teachers are raising red flags over the state’s fully online STAAR tests for public school students.
A one-of-its kind 10K – with half its course in the U.S. and the other half in Mexico – drew hundreds of runners to El Paso.
And: The best U.S. coin design of 2023 features Jovita Idar, a journalist and activist from Laredo.
San Antonio
Why the U.S. Senate’s immigration bill may be ‘dead on arrival’
Supporters say it’s the most significant bill on immigration in a generation, while opponents call it dead on arrival. Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post breaks down the provisions of the Senate’s $118 billion immigration and foreign aid bill: what’s in it and why the prognosis for passage isn’t good.
New insight on how Texas Republicans are leaning and the effect of endorsements as Texans prepare to cast primary ballots.
Houston halts commercial and residential development in a part of the city designated as a cancer cluster.
Also, a new facet in the hunt for Texas blue topaz, and rockhounds aren’t happy.
New Year’s Eve on Houston Street
Champagne toasts, fireworks, making resolutions, fancy meals… those are just some of the many ways Texans chose to to ring in 2024. Texas Standard commentator WF Strong, however, decided to welcome the New Year by reflecting on the past.
Remembering political trailblazer Eddie Bernice Johnson
The death of a giant in Texas politics: reaction to the passing of longtime political trailblazer Eddie Bernice Johnson.
A new year brings a new mayor in Houston. What John Whitmire plans to do to address the most pressing issues facing the city.
What 2024 heralds for one of the busiest thruways in Texas: the north-south corridor of Interstate 35.
An economist with the Dallas Fed shares red flags for Texas employment.
The San Antonio-Havana connection: A new cross-cultural art exchange between the two cities.
Also: Longhorn Nation recovers from a semifinal loss to Washington in the College Football Playoff.
Exploring the difficulties of rural reproductive care in West Texas
Texas leads the nation in executions again, and Harris County sentences more people to die than any other county in the U.S. A new report examines dozens of death penalty cases there.
A new podcast from Marfa Public Radio looks at the challenge of accessing reproductive care in the Big Bend region.
The season started out with great expectations, but now the San Antonio Spurs have lost a record 18 games in a row. What’s gone wrong, and can it be fixed?
Plus, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune’s Ayan Mittra.
Tired of the same Christmas carols? This Texas composer has some rearrangements
A Texas judge grants a Dallas-area woman her request for an abortion, despite the state’s strict ban. It is thought to be one of the first attempts to seek a court-approved abortion since the U.S Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe vs. Wade. Olivia Aldridge of KUT in Austin shares more.
Aid for Ukraine and Israel is blocked for now over border security concerns, and Texas’ two U.S. senators were very much a part of that process. A Texas Tech political science professor breaks it down.
As Texas cities try to rein in traffic, San Antonio revives a plan to be more bicycle-friendly.
And: North Texas-based music writer and conductor Taylor Davis is discovering something new in the Christmas carols we’ve heard for decades on end.
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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The Texas discovery of a new, dog-sized dinosaur
After months of stalemate, are the Texas House and Senate finally making progress on school spending?
For millions of years, the bones of a tiny dinosaur lay undisturbed in what are now the shores of Lake Grapevine. We’ll learn about a new species.
El Paso residents are concerned about the growing number of high-speed chases in their city.
And: Are city parks set to decline? A new law could make it tougher for urban areas to procure parkland.
Why Texans can’t vote on abortion or marijuana anytime soon
The fourth largest earthquake on record in Texas struck Wednesday out west, renewing concerns about fracking and seismic activity. Erin Douglas of the Texas Tribune with more on yesterday’s temblor and what researchers and regulators are saying about it.
The latest on a runoff for mayor in Texas’ biggest city.
In San Antonio, plans to close several public schools getting pushback from communities targeted for closure.
The economics of electric vehicles: Is the race to EVs losing power?
And voters in Ohio approve ballot measures on abortion and marijuana this week. Why such measures aren’t likely to land on Texas ballots anytime soon.
What Texans need to know about the impending government shutdown
In six days, the federal government runs out of money. Can a shutdown be averted? What’s at stake if lawmakers can’t come up with a plan for short-term spending by Oct. 1.
In Fort Worth and Tarrant County, families are falling into homelessness as pandemic relief funding is running out.
Five things to know before federally guaranteed student loan payments resume next month.
A plan to close nearly 20% of San Antonio ISD’s schools is being pushed in the name of equity. Camille Phillips of Texas Public Radio takes a closer look.
Plus, a crisis for Texas Gulf Coast shrimpers.
San Antonio ISD could close as many as 17 schools
San Antonio ISD could close nearly one-fifth of its schools as it deals with aging buildings and falling enrollment. But it’s not just San Antonio – this reflects a larger challenge facing many school districts across Texas.
A mystery at the Tarrant County Appraisal District has led to an office shake-up that may leave some taxpayers holding the bag.
What’s happening to the Texas economy? The Standard’s Sean Saldana’s been getting some clues from the Dallas Fed’s new Beige Book entry.
And: What’s to become of Benito, a giraffe in a Juárez park at the center of a controversy?
Which major city in Texas has the worst weather?
Ken Paxton’s impeachment and Senate trial was the biggest political story in Texas in decades. History will no doubt recall what transpired over the previous two weeks at the Capitol, but how much do most Texans know that anything happened at all?
A state-imposed superintendent for Houston schools rolls out what he calls the New Education System – and it’s getting a lot of pushback.
Remembering Latina scientist Elma Gonzalez.
And with frequent hurricanes in Southeast Texas, and twisters up north … which big city has the worst weather in Texas, and why?
Chronic wasting disease threatens deer and Texas’ hunting economy
With an impeachment trial looming, suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton is facing new scrutiny from the feds in San Antonio, with a federal grand jury convened to hear from witnesses close to him.
Emergency steps are being taken due to a disease threatening the state’s $4 billion deer hunting industry. The Standard’s Michael Marks has more.
In the final month of the hottest season in Texas, DJ Susan Castle weighs in on the question: What’s the ultimate Texas summer song?
Also, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune.
The bipartisan appeal of psychedelic research into treating veteran PTSD
With a big election season looming, Texas withdraws from a national tool designed to prevent voter fraud.
Texas wants to regulate carbon storage on its own. Now two Texas congressmen are pushing to prevent that.
Inflation cooling, good news for many Texas workers but potentially a double edged sword.
With many teachers leaving the profession, a small Texas district sets up its own pipeline for getting new teachers into classrooms.
And a Texas Republican part of a bipartisan attempt to loosen drug restrictions?
How to catch a wave in Waco
The president of Texas A&M has resigned amid turmoil over the botched hiring of a journalism professor. We’ll have the latest.
Amid record heat, Texas prisoners struggle to cool down in facilities that lack air conditioning.
Harris County has sued the state over a new law that will eliminate its elections department – and, officials say, cause problems for voters.
Texas-raised filmmaker Taylor Sheridan is getting kudos for boosting the number of Native Americans on screen.
The Austin Outlaws, a women’s tackle football team, celebrate a historic season.
Some of the state’s best-known towns for surfing include Galveston, Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, South Padre Island and … Waco. Yes, Waco.
And taco expert Mando Rayo with top summer sipping tips.
Workers rally to fight state bill ending water breaks
As Texans brace for another week of extreme heat, there’s pushback against a new state law that nullifies local rules requiring mandatory water breaks for outdoor workers.
Austin has ended its policing partnership with the Department of Public Safety – but Gov. Greg Abbott is sending more troopers to the capital city.
Some legal experts say the Supreme Court’s student debt decision may have scrambled the issue of standing, or whether a plaintiff has enough interest in a particular matter to stand before the court to request legal intervention. UT Law professor Stephen Vladeck explains.
And a new documentary on Jesse Treviño honors the late San Antonio artist, long considered one of the city’s finest.
State policies cause Texas to slip from top business rankings
A lawsuit challenging Texas’ new prohibition on hormone blockers and other treatments for transgender youth.
Lawmakers failed to pass new rules on locating concrete batch plants – what do those pushing for change plan to do next?
A report shows modest economic growth in Texas, we’ll hear more. Plus – Texas slips in the rankings of business-friendly states. Why and what are the implications?
A hit, or a swing and a miss? A certain sport using bats and balls arrives in Texas for summer, but are Texans ready for professional cricket?
Plus the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune.
Is Paycheck Protection Program fraud partly behind the home price spike?
A planned buoy barrier along the Rio Grande designed to prevent migrant crossings faces legal obstacles of its own.
What’s known and what isn’t about the man who had been reported missing in the Houston area for eight years – who had only really been missing for about a day.
Could pandemic-era abuses be partly to blame for rising home prices?
And, how to lose friends and alienate the Legislature: Austin journalist Christopher Hooks on Gov. Greg Abbott’s legislative strategy and why he’s had so much trouble passing some key items on his agenda despite Republican majorities.
Houston sues state over ‘Death Star’ law that will block local ordinances
Houston has sued the state to try and block the “Death Star” law that will block local regulations from being enacted at the city and county level.
Why several homes and businesses flooded during Hurricane Harvey may be passing up a last chance for compensation.
A new documentary, “Every Body,” turns the spotlight on people in the intersex community.
Plus, with digital streaming services upending the old model for making money in music, tech expert Omar Gallaga explores ways to support one’s favorite artists.
How the Legislature’s property tax cut proposals differ
A regular session and now two specials – what will it take to get lawmakers to agree on a property tax cut plan? A closer look at why the two approaches are at the center of a political battle.
Sentencing begins in a federal courtroom this week for the gunman who killed 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in 2019.
How some Houstonians without adequate air conditioning are trying to beat the heat as the thermometer rises.
Plus, what science is revealing about a common bird of prey and frequent defender of many a Texas garden.