Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025:
China targets U.S. coal, gas, Google as Trump tariffs take effect
The Trump administration’s tariffs on China have taken effect, while tariffs on Canada and Mexico are currently on pause. What are the implications for Texas and beyond?
Travis Tokar, professor of supply management at TCU’s Neeley School of Business, and William Chittenden, president & CEO of the Southwest Graduate School of Banking at SMU’s Cox School of Business, join the Standard with more:
Why does Keller ISD want to split in two?
Keller ISD serves more than 34,000 students across nine cities. But that could all change under a controversial plan the school board is considering that would split the district in two. It’s prompted impassioned public outcry, as well as the exit of Keller ISD’s superintendent.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram accountability reporter Cody Copeland joins the show with the latest:
Trump, Netanyahu meeting at White House today
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to be to be the first foreign leader to visit the White House since Donald Trump’s second inauguration. But beyond appearances and the diplomatic significance, there’s the highly consequential “next phase” of a three-phase ceasefire deal in Gaza – a deal President Trump has claimed credit for, reached in the final days of the Biden administration.
Joining us to tell us more about why this meeting matters is Jeremy Suri, a historian, author and the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin:
Meet Ernie Mae Miller, pioneering jazz musician and Austin Music Hall of Fame inductee
Ernie Mae Miller was a popular and acclaimed vocalist and musician, playing and singing in the jazz, blues and pop styles. KUT and KUTX producer/host Miles Bloxson shares her story.
There’s a 42-mile conveyor belt in the Texas desert
It looks like an optical illusion in the West Texas desert, stretching for miles northwest from Kermit into New Mexico. But the Dune Express is real. At 42 miles long, it’s believed to be the world’s second-longest conveyor belt, second only to a similar setup in Morocco, and built to haul massive amounts of sand.
How did it get there, and what is it doing? Texas Monthly’s Russell Gold joins the show with some answers.
Texans favor marijuana and gambling legalization, but will lawmakers listen?
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has made banning all THC products a priority, and a 2023 bill to legalize sports betting failed in Patrick’s Texas Senate. But a new survey from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs shows that 62% of Texans support recreational marijuana legalization, and nearly three-quarters want to legalize gambling.
Breaking down the findings is Renée Cross, researcher and senior executive director of the Hobby School.
All this, plus Alexandra Hart with the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that Keller ISD is considering a proposal to split the district in two, but not in half.