Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Thursday, April 7, 2022.
Oklahoma abortion ban means even fewer options for pregnant Texans
Thousands of Texans have gone out-of-state for abortion care since the state’s near total abortion ban took effect half a year ago, particularly Oklahoma. But now Oklahoma abortion clinics have stopped scheduling appointments past one week, in caution of a bill lawmakers just passed banning almost all abortion in the state. Houston Public Media’s Sara Willa Ernst tells us what’s at stake.
Gov. Abbott’s latest border initiative: sending buses of migrants to D.C.
President Biden is ending an order allowing immigration officials to turn away migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border during the pandemic over COVID-19 concerns. Now, Gov. Greg Abbott says if more migrants start crossing the border, he’ll put them on charter buses headed for Washington, D.C. Gov. Abbott made the election-year announcement at a press conference; for more on what was said, we’ll hear from The Monitor reporter Valerie Gonzalez.
RAICES Texas Workers Union stages ‘sick out’ after appointment of new CEO
Nearly 150 workers at RAICES, the largest immigration legal services provider in Texas, staged a sick out this week in response to the recent appointment of a new CEO. Pablo De La Rosa of Texas Public Radio’s reports.
Thinking about an electric car? Here’s a primer on batteries.
If you drive an electric car or you’re considering one, your thoughts have surely turned to batteries. How long will they last? Which batteries are the best or most reliable? And how can you keep your EV power source in tip top shape? Our tech expert Omar Gallaga has been learning about all things battery tech for an upcoming story in Wired.
Feral hog hunting is huge in Texas, but it may be doing more harm than good
Feral hogs do millions of dollars in damage each year to crops and property – so landowners and the state itself are invested in reducing their population. There’s an entire Texas industry that revolves around feral hog hunting. But the impact of hunting hogs may not be what you’d expect. The Texas Standard’s Michael Marks has more.
New ‘Cruising’ podcast covers the decline of lesbian bars
There are more than 60,000 bars currently operating in the U.S. Out of those tens of thousands, only 22 identify as lesbian bars. There’s been a sharp decline in the number of lesbian bars in the past couple of decades. Producer Sarah Gabrielli explores the reasons why and the impact of the remaining bars in a podcast called “Cruising.” We’ll hear from her today.
What you should know about the avian flu
Zoologists are taking the threat of avian flu very seriously. Millions of chickens and turkeys have already been culled outside of Texas in the hopes of stopping the spread of the disease, but recent tests have shown the disease is present in a population of commercial pheasants in the state. So what happens now? For more we’re talking with Audrey McElroy, interim head and Poultry Science professor at Texas A&M University.
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.
