Dade Phelan is out, and a bruising battle for speaker of the Texas House is set to begin – unless it’s already over? Over the weekend, GOP members backed David Cook, but Dustin Burrows claimed he had enough votes to override the caucus. What does a House speaker do, anyway?
In a stunning turn of events, a coalition of Syrian rebels has overthrown Bashar al-Assad’s regime, ending decades of dictatorship. A top Texas-based expert weighs in.
Has Texas oil toppled Saudi control of the markets?
And: Medical treatments for trans minors are banned under state law; why some trans adults say they’re affected, too.
Saudi Arabia
Historic heat makes Texas’ ailing water infrastructure even harder to fix
A plan for state officials to take over special education in the Austin Independent School District is being reconsidered. Becky Fogel of KUT in Austin shares more.
Record heat this summer statewide has led to widespread water leaks amid an already pressing need for repairs – but will a fund earmarked for fixes be enough?
With five deaths from fentanyl on average in Texas each day, a growing number of those deaths is among young people. The Dallas Morning news turns a monthlong spotlight on a growing crisis.
Texas Standard: January 11, 2021
From pandemic to political upheaval, a budget shortfall and beyond, what promises to be a Texas legislative session like few in recent memory. We’ll have more on tomorrow’s start of the Lone Star legislative session. Also, after the storming of the U.S. Capitol, the role of Texas’ junior senator under growing scrutiny amid calls for his resignation. And a new strain of the COVID virus found in Texas, what it means for doctors and for Texans at large. And did air pollution make Hurricane Harvey worse than it would have been otherwise? New findings from Texas based researchers. All of those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 16, 2019
It’s a drone attack half a world away, and one that’s likely to be felt deep in the Heart of Texas. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking on this Monday: a deadly attack on a Houston elementary school 60 years ago, there were no efforts to help kids overcome the trauma. Now a survivor, only seven years old at the time of the attack, pieces together the memories. Also, putting the brakes on draining the lakes? A court battle pits property values against concerns over aging floodgates. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 22, 2018
Early voting gets underway across the Lone Star State and more Texans are registered than ever. But are they actually voting? We’ll check in on how early voting is going as Texans begin casting ballots in the much anticipated midterms. Plus a primer on early voting should you plan to cast a ballot. Plus a Texas filmmaker revisits Molly and Ann: what two of the most famous and politically restless Texans could teach us about how to do politics today. And what impact could the Khashoggi affair have on Texas energy? All that and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 17, 2018
Beto O’Rourke borrows from Donald Trump as he comes out swinging in what may be his final debate against Ted Cruz. We’ll have analysis and more. Also, the alleged slaying of a journalist by the Saudi government: given the ties that bind the Saudis to Houston, what could the crisis add up to for Texas? And the country’s first robot brothel getting pushback in Houston: what does the fight add up to? Florian Martin does the numbers. Also, the latest on historic flooding in hill country, and commentator W.F. Strong on the extreme highs and lows of one of the most dangerous jobs in the Lone Star state. All of that and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 12, 2018
Turkey says it has tapes of the murder and torture of a Washington Post columnsit at the hands of the Saudis. How should the U.S. respond? The disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is creating geopolitical ripples, as Turkey works with U.S. officials over the Khashoggi affair, and this morning, orders the release of a U.S. pastor detained there. Also, counting casulaties in the wake of Hurricane Michael: after Hurricanes Harvey and Maria, why the numbers don’t seem to add up. Plus, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and much more. No matter where you are, it’s Texas Standard time.
Journalism and The Middle East
Join KUT’s Rebecca McInroy along with Lawrence Wright, staff writer for The New Yorker and author of “The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11,” and Jamal Khashoggi of The Washington Post, to talk about how identities, relationships, imaginations, and policies are shaped and understood through various media lenses, to illuminate what truths are hidden by the facts.
Special thanks for making this even possible go to The University of Texas Department of Middle Eastern Studies and Karin Wilkins.
Texas Standard: September 8, 2016
After 9/11 she left New York for Galveston. Her mission today: to get permission to sue the Saudis for the death of her husband, we’ll explore. Also voter ID restrictions in Texas. You thought they’d been overturned? Now the state’s back in court over the issue. What it means as election day fast approaches. And there’s oil near them there hills: a surprise find in far west Texas and an 8 Billion dollar would-be windfall that’s got the world talking. Plus nursing homes in Texas: reports of violations on the rise. An embarrassment to be sure, so why’s the industry almost trumpeting the bad news? Those stories and lots more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 10, 2016
No need to wait till the next legislative session, the bathroom wars of 2016 are on in Texas. We’ll explore… So the drug kingpin El Chapo gets moved to a lower security prison, just south of the Texas border. Now a Mexican judge gives the green light to extradition. Are you thinking what we are? Also..a shuffle in Saudi Arabia and what it might or might not mean for the price of Texas tea. And in a nation full of choices…why is it just red or blue when it comes to politics? A duopoly revisited and we’re just getting started. Those stories today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 9, 2015
Strong ties to the US and Texas and a major source of ISIS money. Saudi Arabia: ally or something else? We’ll explore. Plus the first in the nation primary state is traditionally a republican stronghold. Now an influential newspaper’s calling out a Texan as all hat, no cattle. We’ll hear whether his Lone Star roots have anything to do with it. Obamacare insurers: now they’ve done the numbers, and the losses are huge, hitting Texas twice as hard. We’ll hear why. And how to appeal to the Hispanic vote without…what’s the word…hispandering. All of those stories and much more on todays Texas Standard: