Latest Lawsuit Over Redistricting Maps
A Latino voting rights group has filed a lawsuit challenging Texas’ congressional maps Gov. Greg Abbott approved earlier this week. The group Voto Latino says the map created during the redistricting process this last special legislative session dilutes the voting power of communities of color in Texas and violates the Voting Rights Act. Here to tell us more is Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University.
Questions About Kids and Vaccines
An advisory panel for the federal Food and Drug Administration has recommended the agency approve Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of five to 11. Once the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sign off, kids in that age group will finally be eligible to get the vaccine. For more details, we’re bringing in Dr. Tess Barton, a pediatrician who specializes in infectious diseases at UT Health San Antonio.
Antisemitism in Austin and San Antonio
Police in Austin and San Antonio are investigating acts of antisemitism after members of a neo-Nazi group traveled through both cities in recent days. Texas Public Radio’s Dan Katz reports.
Having to Vote Twice in Bexar County
Voters in a special runoff election for a Texas House seat around San Antonio are having to vote twice in order to participate in both the constitutional amendment balloting and the runoff. TPR’s Joey Palacios reports that for the Democratic and Republican candidates, they’re having to first wage an education campaign to explain the unique political process to their voters.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Online Efforts
As the pandemic continues, KERA and The Dallas Morning News are collaborating to document its impact on the arts and culture scene. COVID-19 led The Dallas Symphony Orchestra to dive into making their own concert videos. Those efforts are now attracting national attention. This weekend, KERA TV and PBS stations nationwide will broadcast the Dallas Symphony’s first-of-its-kind collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. KERA’s Jerome Weeks reports the broadcast is only the latest achievement for the DSO’s digital efforts.
We have many ways to connect these days. Too many if you ask some. But it wasn’t all that long ago that the only medium that could bring people together from different places simultaneously was radio. To many, it was like magic. And many magicians and fortune tellers took advantage of this. Texas was ground zero for this type of hustle, John Buescher shows in the new book “Radio Psychics.” He joins us today.
Tackling Poverty in Fort Worth, Part 1
The U.S. has spent trillions of dollars fighting the challenges low income people face. Yet despite vast resources, poverty remains a problem. In 2015, staffers at Catholic Charities Fort Worth started an ambitious program with a new approach. Instead of giving out money to solve an immediate need like a looming electric bill, could they actually pull people out of poverty permanently? KERA North Texas contributor Kavitha Cardoza introduces us to people who were part of this experiment in a new series. It’s part of KERA’s One Crisis Away project, called “Tackling Poverty: A Case Study In Fort Worth.”
All this plus the Texas News Roundup and Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
