Texas Standard
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You're on Texas Standard time. We're a production of KUT Austin, KERA North Texas, Texas Public Radio San Antonio & Houston Public Media.
The Red Cross says blood donations have fallen to a four-year summer low, triggering only the second national supply crisis in its history. texasstandard.org/stories/bloo...
American Red Cross declares a national blood supply crisis
While summer seems to be speeding to an end, blood donations remain slow.
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A 2025 state law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms was upheld last spring by a federal appeals court. Now it’s being challenged in a state-level court in Harris County. texasstandard.org/stories/ten-...
Three Houston-area moms sue over Ten Commandments in schools. They say it violates Texas’ own laws
A 2025 state law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms was upheld last spring by a federal appeals court. Now it’s being challenged in a state-level court in…
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Two beluga whales rescued from a closed Canadian marine park are settling into their new home in San Antonio. texasstandard.org/stories/resc...
Rescued beluga whales settling into new home at SeaWorld San Antonio after international rescue
Rescued beluga whales Frankie and Bertie Botts are settling into their new home at SeaWorld San Antonio, where trainers say the pair have exceeded expectations.
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Texas A&M professors say new restrictions on teaching race and gender are vague, burdensome and unconstitutional. Their lawsuit could help determine how far universities can go in regulating classroom discussions and speech. texasstandard.org/stories/texa...
Professors sue Texas A&M System over limits on teaching race, gender
This is the second Texas university system sued over teaching restrictions in recent weeks.
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"I was seven on my first day of second grade. My parents told me I could ride my new bike to school, which was only a mile away through a residential neighborhood – not much traffic. It was thrilling to be given that sort of independence." buff.ly/cGUR82h
Commentary: Flying to school on my Western Flyer, in 1962
The ride to the first day of second grade on a brand-new bicycle takes an unexpected turn.
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Cornyn said he will vote to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination after the acting attorney general formally rescinded the fund and clarified the scope of a tax audit shield for President Trump and his circle.
Cornyn reaches deal to scrap DOJ anti-weaponization fund, ending Blanche standoff
Cornyn said he will vote to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination after the acting attorney general formally rescinded the fund and clarified the scope of a tax audit shield for President Trump and his…
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From lunchboxes to No. 2 pencils, the prices are skyrocketing. Here’s how much.
You’re not imagining it: Your kid’s school supplies cost more this year
From lunchboxes to No. 2 pencils, the prices are skyrocketing. Here's how much.
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Immigration agents sped after a vehicle through a residential neighborhood on the same day of the agency’s traffic stop pause, reportedly endangering a mother and son—before pulling a gun on and briefly handcuffing a U.S. citizen.
ICE never stopped chasing people in cars in the Rio Grande Valley
Immigration agents sped after a vehicle through a residential neighborhood on the same day of the agency’s traffic stop pause, reportedly endangering a mother and son—before pulling a gun on and…
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A federal judge on Sunday rejected a Presidio, Texas entity’s request to block construction over claims that the Trump administration violated the Rivers and Harbors Act in pursuing the border wall build near the city’s levee system.
Judge declines to block Big Bend area border wall
A federal judge on Sunday rejected a Presidio, Texas entity’s request to block construction over claims that the Trump administration violated the Rivers and Harbors Act in pursuing the border wall…
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Senate Bill 12, which went into effect in March, restricts “sexually oriented performances” in public spaces or in front of children. Critics say the law is too vague. texasstandard.org/stories/texa...
Laredo’s drag performers, bar owners and allies navigate restrictive new law in Texas
Senate Bill 12, which went into effect in March, restricts "sexually oriented performances" in public spaces or in front of children. Critics say the law is too vague.
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Students are almost headed back to school, but for educators across Texas the work has already begun. What do theyneed to hear as a new school year begins? What are teachers saying about the year ahead? What do you wish state leaders understood? Tell us at texasstandard.org/talk.
President Trump says he is willing to pull Todd Blanche‘s nomination for attorney general. The news comes as two key Republicans are withholding their support over concerns about the Justice Department’s deal with President Trump to end his IRS lawsuit.
Trump says he may pull Blanche AG nomination until Sens. Cornyn, Tillis leave office
The news comes as two key Republicans are withholding their support over concerns about the Justice Department's deal with President Trump.
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Speakers shared their fear over the project’s local impacts, their anger over the proliferation of data centers and their distrust of renewable energy. texasstandard.org/stories/texa...
Big new power lines could prevent blackouts in Texas, but landowner opposition is fierce
A plan to build a network of 765 kV transmission lines to bolster the state's power grid has come under intense opposition from landowners in its path and others.
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In 2016, Texas Standard collected the oral histories of dozens who lived through the UT Tower shooting. Today, we revisit those stories. texasstandard.org/stories/univ...
60 years ago, the University of Texas tower shooting opened a grim chapter of shared tragedy
In 2016, Texas Standard collected the oral histories of dozens who lived through that tragedy. Today, we revisit those stories.
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KUT News requested tours of several data centers in Hays, Travis and Williamson counties. Most companies either declined or did not respond. But the Texas Advanced Computing Center let us peek behind the curtain.
Data centers are being built across Texas every day. Here’s what goes on inside one in Austin
KUT News requested tours of several data centers in Hays, Travis and Williamson counties. Most companies either declined or did not respond. But the Texas Advanced Computing Center let us peek behind…
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As the project’s details came into sharper focus, the bridge turned into one of the most divisive issues in South Texas.
A trucking magnate is pushing for an international bridge in Eagle Pass, touching off a local fight
The project has backing from prominent state and federal officials on both sides of the border. But some residents aren't convinced.
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Three recent rulings are reshaping how the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services handles abuse, neglect and termination-of-rights cases. buff.ly/RTAkATj
TxDOT and Travis County are studying two potential passenger rail routes between San Antonio and Austin, but funding, land, construction and access to existing tracks remain major hurdles.
Passenger rail between San Antonio and Austin? Two routes, major hurdles
TxDOT and Travis County are studying two potential passenger rail routes between San Antonio and Austin, but funding, land, construction and access to existing tracks remain major hurdles.
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Texas Monthly’s Daniel Vaughn discusses how pitmasters can avoid the smoke of rising beef prices.
Is Texas barbecue bigger than brisket?
Texas Monthly’s Daniel Vaughn discusses how pitmasters can avoid the smoke of rising beef prices.
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Preliminary data covering six of Houston’s seven World Cup matches indicates demand fell year over year for hotels, though many visitors were willing to pay a higher rate to stay in Houston.
The World Cup promised an economic bump in Houston. Hoteliers and renters say they overpromised
Preliminary data covering six of Houston’s seven World Cup matches indicates demand fell year over year for hotels, though many visitors were willing to pay a higher rate to stay in Houston.
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The strongest earthquake in the region in at least 100 years raised concerns about the potential impacts to the oil and gas industry, according to local county officials.
The Texas Panhandle was hit by a magnitude 5.0 earthquake
The strongest earthquake in the region in at least 100 years raised concerns about the potential impacts to the oil and gas industry, according to local county officials.
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Questions about what data surveillance cameras collect and how it’s used have led several communities to pause contracts with Flock Security. texasstandard.org/stories/floc...
Communities change course in wake of Flock backlash
Questions about what data surveillance cameras collect and how it's used have led several communities to pause contracts with Flock Security.
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In “The Focus Puller” by Austin-based author Marcos González, the main character Rio Zapata wakes up at the beginning of the novel rattled from a nightmare. Then the story just freely jumps from Zapata’s experience into other people’s lives.
Austin-based author draws on postmodernist storytelling in ‘The Focus Puller’
Marcos González said he has one rule for fiction: It must be entertaining.
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Crystal City is used to drought, not floodwater. For one reporter, seeing her hometown inundated meant the story was no longer just an assignment.
My hometown of Crystal City flooded. Here’s what I hope you know about us
A KERA News reporter heads south to Crystal City in Zavala County to check in on her community.
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“In Deep Water” tells the true story of three men whose fishing trip left them clinging to a cooler in open waters — and the coast guard who found them despite the odds.
New book recounts fishermen’s perilous survival story in the Gulf of Mexico
“In Deep Water” tells the true story of three men whose fishing trip left them clinging to a cooler in open waters — and the coast guard who found them despite the odds.
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Frisco’s Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities say they need more room to worship. Instead, plans for three new religious institutions have drawn intense opposition. texasstandard.org/stories/fris...
Immigrants of three faiths in Frisco seek a place to worship — and face unprecedented hostility
Frisco is getting a new mosque, Hindu temple and Jain temple — and many immigrants say that's led to new hostility from some of their neighbors.
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During Hurricane Harvey, ordinary Texans with bass boats became part of one of the disaster’s most enduring images. Years later, the volunteers who crossed flooded neighborhoods to rescue strangers remain a powerful symbol of how Texans respond in a crisis.
In Praise Of The Bass Boat Heroes
Every destructive hurricane is remembered in a unique way. Katrina is largely remembered for levees breaking and the paralyzing chaos that followed. The Galveston hurricane of 1900, whose anniversary…
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Ken Paxton and James Talarico are taking very different messages to the Rio Grande Valley. What does the region reveal about the race for U.S. Senate?
Talarico and Paxton campaign stops in the RGV highlight different visions for Texas
Talarico did a tour of the border and Paxton made a pit stop in McAllen.
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Electric scooters are affordable and convenient, but they’re also creating new safety and regulatory challenges for Texas cities. Local leaders are trying to decide where scooters belong, who should use them and which rules make streets safer: texasstandard.org/stories/elec...
Electric scooters are here to stay. What are cities doing to keep communities safe?
As electric scooters rise in popularity, North Texas communities are taking varying approaches to rising safety concerns, from passing regulations to launching social media campaigns.
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Last year, when a torrent of rain swept down the Guadalupe River in the early hours of July 4, 2025, the water rose just to the top of the fence line on the edge of her property. This year, when she saw the flash flood warnings on her phone and didn’t go to bed.
Floodwaters reached higher ground in Kerrville this year, flooding homes spared in 2025
Early Thursday morning, the waters of Town Creek flooded a row of homes along its banks in Kerrville, damaging homes that were spared the year before.
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