Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
Just last week, Gov. Greg Abbott directed child protective services to investigate parents who allow gender affirming care for their transgender kids. Taking a cue from a nonbinding legal opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton, Gov. Abbott said such care should be categorized as child abuse. Houston Public Media’s Sara Willa Ernst spoke to a family nervous that they might become targets.
More: How parents of trans kids have fought back for years
For several years now, many parents of trans Texans have been fighting back against Republican-led efforts they say negatively target their families. The 2021 Texas Legislature saw a record number of bills attacking trans rights, and one of those measures became law. Texas Standard’s Jill Ament reports the parents of trans children see new orders from Gov. Abbott and Attorney General Paxton as a sign Republican politicians won’t stop attacking the trans community any time soon.
Houston Rodeo vendors get back to business after two years of COVID-19 shutdown
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is back in business, opening Monday after a nearly two year hiatus due to the pandemic. Houston Public Media’s Matt Harab wanted to know what the wait has been like for the people who depend on the event financially and are hoping to rebound.
Russia’s Ukraine invasion is being felt as far away as outer space
Spaceflight is one of the myriad areas sure to feel the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia and the U.S. lead the group that manages the International Space Station, and U.S. spacecraft have relied on Russian-built rocket engines for years. So how will international tensions change things? Eric Berger, senior space editor at tech site Ars Technica, provides an overview.
New UN climate change report offers most dire warnings to date
Yesterday the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a new report sounding the alarm on rapid global warming. Camille Parmesan, adjunct professor at the University of Texas’ Jackson School of Geosciences and one of the researchers involved in the report, joins us to discuss the findings.
This Texas songwriter – by way of Canada – makes music for the spaces in-between
While songwriter Carson McHone splits her time between Texas and Ontario these days, she still calls Texas home. That sense of place comes through on her new album “Still Life,” despite the LP’s distinct Canadian accent. We’ll talk to McHone about her third album and more in this extended, musically-rich interview.
While many Ukranians have stayed in their country to repel Russian forces, tens of thousands of others crossed the border into Poland to escape the war. A young couple from California were among those escaping, fleeing shortly after their daughter was born in Kyiv last week. Texas Public Radio’s Jerry Clayton has their story.
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.
