Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Wednesday, October 14, 2020. Listen on your Texas public radio station, or ask your smart speaker to play Texas Standard. We’ll have full posts for each story, including audio, a little later today.
El Paso COVID-19 Spike
El Paso is seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases. For the first time ever, the number of new weekly COVID-19 cases surpassed 2,800. That’s 13% above the previous record high for weekly new cases. Bob Moore, the chief executive and founder of the non-profit news site El Paso Matters talks to the Standard about what may be behind the sudden rise.
Ways to Cast a Ballot
We’re in the first week of a three-week early voting period. We’ve seen a spike in voter registration and lines already at the polls. But will we see a spike in votes cast, or are we seeing more people choose voting early during early voting? Brandon Rottinghaus, professor or political science at the University of Houston, walks the Texas Standard through what we’re seeing and the different ways to cast a ballot.
Stephen Hahn Profile
The former top doctor at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston is now the head of the Food and Drug Administration. But just a couple of months after moving from Houston to Washington, he found himself in the center of a whirlwind. Texas Public Radio’s Bonnie Petrie talked to Stephen Hahn about running the FDA during a pandemic.
Texas Aviation & Coronavirus Relief Package
Talks over passing another coronavirus relief bill remain at an impasse in Congress. So it’s looking like the airline industry won’t see the kind of aid they received in the first stimulus package, until after the election. Fort Worth-based American Airlines has responded with even more furloughs. While Dallas-based Southwest is asking its workers to take pay cuts for the first time in its 50 years of operating. Kyle Arnold, aviation reporter for The Dallas Morning News talks to the Standard about the pandemic’s impact on the airlines.
Magazine Covers and Women of Color
You may have seen something different in the grocery store check-out lanes recently. Magazine covers have featured more women of color. Rolling Stone recently put Grammy winner Lizzo on its cover. In September, Vanity Fair featured Breonna Taylor, the black Kentuckian killed by police in her home. Jacqueline Lambiase, who teaches a class on diversity in the media, and conducts gender research in the media at Texas Christian University talks about whether this ah-ha moment for magazines.
River Otters
River otters have been making a comeback in Central Texas for the past few years. But this past summer, otters were spotted in a new Central Texas location: the San Marcos River. KUT Austin’s Riane Roldan reports on why the area has had an increase in sightings.
Commentary: Lebron and Voting Rights
You might have seen the LA Lakers win their 17th NBA championship Sunday night. They were led by the virtuoso LeBron James. This win is James’ fourth, and his fourth series as MVP. But Texas Standard commentator Peniel Joseph says it’s important to remember that this NBA finals almost didn’t happen. Joseph is a history professor and the founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at UT-Austin.
PolitiFact: Abbott Property Crime Stats
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.
