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SpaceX backs out of Boca Chica Beach land swap

A Houston-area nonprofit that helped thousands find a new life in the U.S. disappears. A new investigation reveals surprising answers about what happened to the Alliance.
More international students than ever before are studying in the U.S., and among the top destinations are the University of North Texas and UT Dallas.
How a much-talked-about Department of Government Efficiency could affect the hundreds of thousands of federal workers in Texas.
In a surprise move, SpaceX has pulled out of a land swap deal with Texas Parks and Wildlife.
And: A few months ago, 17-year-old Tobi Haastrup didn’t know what a first down was. Now, the Houston player is one of the hottest prospects in college football.

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.

State stops effort to reclaim Fairfield Lake State Park

Expensive homes owned by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have not been disclosed to the state as required by law. Investigative reporter Lauren McGaughy of the Texas Newsroom has more.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will no longer try to use eminent domain to reclaim Fairfield Lake State Park, ending a months-long struggle between the state and a Dallas developer.

The digital divide has for decades been a concern. Why many in Texas worry things are getting worse.

And: Remember expectations of a blue wave? How are Democrats’ chances for political success in Texas shaping up for 2024?

Senate adopts rules for Ken Paxton impeachment trial

The rules are in: How Texas senators will manage the history-making impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Texas parks officials want to keep nearly 2,000 acres of parkland open to the public using eminent domain. Leaders in the county where Fairfield Lake State Park is located say not so fast.

First Twitter, now Reddit? The details are different, but another information-sharing site is seeing major owner/user conflict.

She has one of the most recognizable names in Texas history, but how much do you really know about Lady Bird Johnson? A new podcast explores.

Plus, the latest on severe weather across the state.

Texas Standard: March 8, 2022

A Houston native and American basketball icon arrested and detained in Russia. What can the U.S. do to secure her release? We’ll have more on WNBA star Brittney Griner and concerns she’s being held as a political prisoner in Russia as western pressure over Ukraine swells. Also, decades after NASA’s big move to Texas, economist Ray Perryman sizes up the space industry’s multi-billion dollar trajectory. And the Rolling Pines Fire reconsidered: a report on what caused the most recent big fire near Bastrop, and what it could mean long term. And the case for the face of the new right in Texas. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: February 14, 2022

Romancing the voters on this valentines day, Texas politicians in local and statewide races try to win over early voters in the nation’s first primaries. We’ll hear from the elections official of the state’s most populous county on a recent court decision in a fight against new voting regulations. Also, a Texas-based expert weighs in with the latest on what the US says is a rapidly advancing danger of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard: