Texas Standard for Jan. 3, 2023: Unpacking the Southwest Airlines holiday meltdown

After last week’s historic meltdown of homegrown Southwest Airlines, hundreds of thousands of holiday travelers were left stranded and strewn across the country. KERA’s Bill Zeeble talked to veteran industry watchers who said this was a long time coming.

By Texas StandardJanuary 3, 2023 8:44 am,

Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023:

Texas’ high court won’t intervene in $20 million tax break case

The Texas Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a request from two renewable energy firms that say an overwhelmed state agency failed to process their tax break applications in time, costing them over $20 million in savings. Will the Legislature intervene? To learn more we’re joined by Brian Lopez, who covers public education for the Texas Tribune. 

Did poll site issues prevent Harris County residents from voting on Election Day?

Harris County election officials still don’t know whether paper shortages and late polling site openings kept people from voting in November’s elections. With more, we’re joined by Natalia Contreras, who covers election administration and voting access in Texas for Votebeat and The Texas Tribune. 

Unpacking the Southwest Airlines holiday meltdown

After last week’s historic meltdown of homegrown Southwest Airlines, hundreds of thousands of holiday travelers were left stranded and strewn across the country. KERA’s Bill Zeeble talked to veteran industry watchers who said this was a long time coming.

Questions still haunt death of Texas civil rights hero

In 1976, a Texas civil rights leader died under mysterious circumstances that baffle the residents of Palestine, Texas, to this day. The death of Frank J. Robinson is remembered by many as a miscarriage of justice that needs to be rectified. In the first part of a series, Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies investigates.

The bloody Juárez prison escape that left 17 dead

A violent prison break in Ciudad Juárez left 17 dead and 13 injured, and led to the escape of 27 prisoners – all of whom are still at large. For the latest on this story, we’re joined by El Paso Matters journalist Corrie Boudreaux. 

The unlikely community cheering on Bitcoin’s fall

A collapsing cryptocurrency exchange has sent prices tumbling, scaring off big money. And Bitcoin’s plummet is being applauded by some in the crypto community. Slate associate writer Nitish Pahwa wrote about the divide between Bitcoin and other parts of the crypto world, and he joins us today. 

Research concludes low serotonin does not cause depression. What does that mean for SSRIs?

An evaluation of years of research into whether low serotonin in the brain causes depression has concluded that it doesn’t. What does that mean for the millions of Americans who take antidepressants that increase serotonin? Texas Public Radio’s Bonnie Petrie has more. 

All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.

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