Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Thursday, August 5, 2021.
We’ve been hearing for the past couple of weeks that COVID-19 is now spreading more among kids than it did earlier in the pandemic, due in part to the delta variant. As we draw closer to the start of the school year, we’re checking back in with Texas Children’s Hospital pathologist-in-chief and interim pediatrician-in-chief Dr. Jim Versalovic – the doctor who told us some two weeks ago that he was seeing “rapid spread” of the variant in children.
It’s been over three weeks since Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session of the Legislature, and Democrats broke quorum in response. But now, the special session is about to come to an end – and that’s posing a lot of questions about what happens next. Joining us now to tell us more is Cayla Harris, politics reporter for the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express News.
Mexico Sues U.S. Gun Manufacturers
The Mexican government is suing several leading gun manufacturers in the United States, alleging their business practices lead to weapons’ smuggling across the border and deaths in Mexico. Angela Kocherga of KTEP reports from El Paso.
Traveling through Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is taking longer than it did before the pandemic, even with fewer people flying. As KUT’s Nathan Bernier reports, the longer lines are blamed on a shortage of employees and a surge in leisure travelers.
Texas-Based Match Group and the Pandemic
We can add one more to the list of life’s activities transformed by the pandemic: online dating. Our tech expert Omar Gallaga wrote in Texas Monthly recently about how the undisputed powerhouse of online dating – Dallas-based Match Group – pivoted during lockdown to give daters new ways to connect. He tells us more today.
Sounds of Texas: Stuart Gibbs on Fun Jungle
We’ll hear about this middle school-age book series from author Stuart Gibbs in this show ID.
The Atlantic hurricane season for Texas started in June and ends in November. While most people do their best to take cover when severe weather and tornadoes are headed their way, there’s a group of people who run toward the storms. They are storm chasers. Texas Public Radio’s Jerry Clayton takes a peek into the world of storm chasing.
When you put in hours at work, you expect to get paid. That’s the law – you are supposed to be paid for work performed, end of story. But in June, Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed much of the state’s legislative budget to punish lawmakers for not passing his priority voting legislation. The veto means that starting September 1, not only will lawmakers not get paid, but neither will their staff members or employees at the Capitol. Is this even possible from a legal perspective? We’re asking Michael Green. He’s a professor of law and the director of the Workplace Law Program at Texas A&M School of Law.
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.
