Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Thursday, November 19, 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.
Abbott COVID-19 Surge Response
There’s a surge in COVID-19 cases in Texas, but there’s no move by Gov. Greg Abbott to issue tighter restrictions on businesses to restrict public gatherings. Patrick Svitek, political reporter for The Texas Tribune talks to the Standard.
Eli Lilly Antibody Treatment
This week, the state has started distributing an antibody therapy recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals. It’s produced by Eli Lilly and is supposed to help the immune system respond to symptoms brought on by COVID-19. Dr. Hana El Sahly, an associate professor of molecular virology and microbiology and medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, talks to the Standard.
New Sex Education Curriculum
The Texas Board of Education will vote tomorrow on sex education standards for the first time in over 20 years. But the proposed curriculum remains silent on LGBTQ health and doesn’t cover concepts like sexual orientation or gender identity. Houston Public Media’s Sara Willa Ernst explains why advocates aren’t giving up.
Holiday Shopping’s New Normal
The day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, kicks off the holiday shopping season. But like everything else in 2020, there are some changes this year. Tech expert Omar Gallaga has been looking into how this year’s Black Friday – and holiday shopping in general – will be very different.
Salineño Birding Preserve and the Border Wall
President-elect Joe Biden says border wall construction will halt under his administration. But the Trump administration continues to build and acquire land to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Texas Public Radio’s Reynaldo Leaños Jr. reports one of those areas is a world famous birding sanctuary in the Rio Grande Valley.
Catholics Going Back to Mass
Church services have gone virtual for many folks during the pandemic. Watching a livestream may not feel quite the same as sitting in a pew, but the risk of transmitting the virus is a lot lower. Even as COVID-19 caseloads grow in Texas though, some Catholics are being told that it’s time to come back into the building. The Texas Standard’s Michael Marks reports.
Commentary: What Unity Looks Like
Lubbock Sanctuary City Ordinance Voted Down
The Lubbock City Council rejected an ordinance to ban local abortions after a six-hour discussion. But to many, that doesn’t mean the matter is settled. Kaysie Ellingson of Texas Tech Public Media describes the scene that unfolded Tuesday evening.
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.
