Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Monday, April 18, 2022.
Greg Abbott calls off state inspections of trucks at El Paso border
Gov. Greg Abbott has announced the Texas Department of Public Safety will stop inspecting each commercial truck at El Paso’s ports of entry. El Paso Matters’ Molly Smith joins us with the latest on the story.
Looks like pork’s back on the menu, boys!
Earmarks – federally funded projects that members of Congress bring home to their districts – are back. The practice of earmarking projects was banned altogether in 2011 because of Republican-led concerns over waste and corruption. But now that they’re back, members of Texas’ congressional delegation are split over whether to pursue them at all. Andrew Zhang, reporting fellow for the Texas Tribune, has a rundown.
How Brownsville residents are managing inflation
With prices rising an average of 8.5% in March over last year, inflation is putting a dent in many Texans’ wallets. Texas Public Radio’s Gaige Davila reports from Brownsville, where residents are doing what they can to manage just about everything being more expensive.
The energy crunch caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left Europe to reconsider their emissions-cutting goals. Meanwhile, the U.S. and its oil producers want nothing more than to help Europe wean itself off Russian oil. So what does this mean for the market? Speaking with us is commodities expert Matt Smith with Kpler.
A group tracking evictions across the U.S. says they’re rising to pre-pandemic levels
Dwindling federal housing relief and rising costs are making it hard for struggling renters in Texas. Princeton University’s Eviction Lab finds that evictions in Texas’ largest cities are getting back to what they were before the the COVID-19 pandemic. Emily Lemmerman, research specialist with Eviction Lab, joins us now.
Getting gorgeous with “Queer Eye’s” Jonathan Van Ness
Hairdresser, reality TV star, podcaster, comedian, author, gymnastics and ice skating enthusiast: They’re just a few of the words that describe “Queer Eye’s” Jonathan Van Ness. In his new book “Love That Story: Observations From a Gorgeously Queer Life,” Van Ness takes on another role: cheerleader. And he’s using his own story to encourage people to discover the beauty of embracing life’s complications, no matter how messy they might seem to others.
Following a concerted firestorm on the right, critical race theory has become a lighting rod in education. Now mental health advocates are now concerned the fracas over CRT could affect another three-word educational practice: social emotional learning. Octavio Martinez Jr., executive director of UT Austin’s Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, joins us with the story.
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.
