Texas Standard For October 23, 2020

News of the first FDA-approved COVID-19 treatment comes at a time when cases in Texas are starting to spike. We’ll explore the details and what’s next. And: Did you get a chance to watch the presidential debate last night? What are your thoughts? We’ll have a recap. Also: A new documentary about the life of Horton Foote who won an Oscar for his screenplay adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Plus: The week in Texas politics with our friends from The Texas Tribune and much more today on the Texas Standard:

By Texas StandardOctober 23, 2020 9:30 am

Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Friday, October 23, 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.

New COVID Projections

A UT report says El Paso is about to run out of intensive care beds because of the soaring rate of coronavirus cases there. The Standard talks to Lauren Ancel Meyers, a professor of integrative biology at UT-Austin. She leads the UT-Austin COVID-19 Modeling Consortium which put together the report. 

Waco COVID Testing

The city of Waco has ramped up access to free coronavirus testing following a spike in hospitalizations. Waco Public Radio’s Sam Cedar has more.   

El Paso COVID-19 Crisis

El Paso officials are issuing dire COVID-19 predictions. The city set a daily record of coronavirus cases with more than 1,160 new cases announced on Thursday. In the last three weeks the city has seen 10,000 cases. KTEP’s Angela Kocherga reports there’s concern about the need for more effective contact tracing.

Latino Voter Case Study

Chuck Rocha knows a lot about how to reach Latino voters. The native Texan served as senior campaign advisor for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential race and helped gain Sanders an unexpected amount of Latino support. Rocha shares that experience in his new book called “Tio Bernie: The Inside Story of How Bernie Sanders Brought Latinos Into the Political Revolution.” KERA’s Alejandra Martinez asked Rocha – and other experts – about what they’d recommend future political campaigns do to attract Latino voters.

 Presidential Debate

There were fewer interruptions and more talk about the issues on voters’ minds at the Thursday night’s debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. The 19th’s Editor At Large, Errin Haines talks about the major takeaways with Standard.

Anne Rapp on Horton Foote

The Asylum Trap, part 4

This week, we’re talking to asylum seekers stuck in legal limbo under the “Remain in Mexico” policy. Formally called the Migrant Protection Protocols or MPP, the Trump administration policy requires people to wait out their asylum proceedings in Mexico. Previously, asylum seekers could pursue their cases inside the U.S. The pandemic has closed immigration courts indefinitely and asylum seekers are getting desperate. KERA’s Mallory Falk reports in her series “The Asylum Trap” how a father is grappling with sending his children alone over the border.

Typewriter Rodeo

This Week in Politics with The Texas Tribune

All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.

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