Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Friday, September 24, 2021.
Haitian Immigrants
The U.S. special envoy to Haiti resigned yesterday, with a scathing letter condemning the Biden administration’s treatment of Haitian asylum seekers. U.S.-Haitian relations have a rocky history for years. What does this mean for the Biden administration’s diplomacy with Haiti moving forward? For more we’re joined by Raymond Robertson with Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service.
Trump’s Election Audit Request
Last night, the Texas Secretary of State’s office announced it would audit four counties in Texas from the November 2020 elections. The announcement came hours after former President Donald Trump sent a letter demanding Gov. Greg Abbott support a bill that would audit the state’s election results. Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies explains.
Paul Rusesabagina Verdict
Paul Rusesabagina’s name may be familiar. In 1994, during the Rwandan genocide, Rusesabagina used his position as a hotel manager to shelter Rwandan Tutsis, hundreds of thousands of whom were killed as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign. His actions were turned into a major Hollywood movie. He was also an outspoken critic of the country’s president, Paul Kagame – which meant he wasn’t safe in his home country. Rusesabagina moved his family to San Antonio, where he was living at this time last year. He flew to Dubai, planning to catch a connection there to Burundi. But instead, the flight out of the Middle East went to Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. His lawyers say he was essentially kidnapped. Rusesabagina was then arrested on charges including murder and treason. Monday, he was found guilty, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Human rights groups say that the charges and trial were a sham, cooked up by the country’s ruling party to silence a leading detractor. For more, we now bring in Anaise Kanimba, one of Rusesabagina’s daughters.
Elected Republican Leaders Concerned with Big Tech
The Texas Republican party believes conservative views are being silenced by big tech. In response, the Republican-led Legislature passed a bill that prevents “deplatforming,” where users are banned from YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. But if it’s free speech rights that have republicans concerned, Paul Flave of Texas Public Radio reports the legislation advanced by Texas GOP lawmakers have been increasingly at odds with the First Amendment.
“Saving Us”
Katharine Hayhoe is a climate change expert. She’s an endowed professor of public law and public policy at Texas Tech University, and one of the country’s leading voices on climate. She’s the chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy, an advisor to all sorts of climate action groups, and one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. But Hayhoe’s newest book isn’t as much about the climate change itself, as it is about talking about climate change. It’s called “Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World.” Katharine Hayhoe returns to the Standard for this extended Q&A today.
Typewriter Rodeo
The Week in Politics, with The Texas Tribune
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.
