Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Monday, Feb. 24, 2025:
Constitutional amendment among the items on state Senate committee’s agenda
Every Monday this session, Blaise Gainey of The Texas Newsroom joins us for a look ahead at the Legislature. This week: a proposed constitutional amendment and an update on the governor’s emergency items.
Legal case over updated rules surrounding disability rights on hold
A legal case that has had people with disabilities on edge for months is now on hold – for now. Texas v. Becerra began in September when Ken Paxton, along with 16 other state attorneys general, sued the Biden administration over updates to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which is considered a foundational law to those who advocate for the rights of disabled Americans.
Paxton and the other AGs objected to a portion of updated rules adopted last year that they say could classify gender dysphoria as a disability, extending Section 504’s protections to transgender people. The Standard’s Shelly Brisbin has been following developments and joins the show with an update.
Measles outbreak spreads to Central Texas
The measles outbreak continues across Texas. State and local health officials are currently working to contain possible exposures that happened at the San Antonio Riverwalk and at San Marcos’ Texas State University.
Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies reports.
Texas Ballet Theater to debut new commissions from women choreographers
Girls outnumber boys in ballet classes by about 20 to 1. They may dominate on stage, but women rarely create the dances we see them perform. For example, Texas Ballet Theater will soon debut new commissions from women for the first time in about 20 years.
KERA’s Marcheta Fornoff looks at why there are so few women choreographers in ballet.
Major airlines target rule setting standard for disability accommodations
Texas-based Southwest and American Airlines are joining with Delta, JetBlue and United to ask a court to overturn a rule requiring them to meet higher standards for accommodating passengers with disabilities.
The airlines say the Biden-era rule exceeds the U.S. Department of Transportation’s authority. Then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg described it as a way to hold airlines accountable for not treating passengers with disabilities fairly.
Madlin Mekelburg has been following this story for Bloomberg and joins us with the details.
This week in Texas music history
Jason Mellard with The Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University has the story of Texas rock band Bloodrock’s debut album.
How much of your personal information is your Peloton tracking?
Smart exercise equipment and health tracking apps promise to make getting to your health goals and monitoring your gains easier. But a Consumer Reports investigation found popular exercise equipment like Peloton or Bowflex have privacy policies allowing them to track everything from your reproductive health to how you smell.
Catherine Roberts, a health science journalist at Consumer Reports, joins us with more.
Data shows Texas abortion law is deterring doctors from treating pregnancy complications
In 2021, Texas made it a civil offense to terminate a pregnancy with a heartbeat, and in 2022, the state criminalized abortion with very few exceptions. Last week, a group of ProPublica journalists reported pregnancy-related infections have spiked in Texas since the ban.
Lizzie Presser, one of the reporters who broke the story, joins us to discuss.
All this, plus Alexandra Hart with the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Raul Alonzo with the Talk of Texas.
