Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024:
Trump taps Texan John Ratcliffe for CIA director
The growing list of planned Trump appointees includes a Texan who also served in the president-elect’s first administration. John Ratcliffe served as director of national intelligence and now, if confirmed, will lead the Central Intelligence Agency when Trump takes office in January.
Ratcliffe was previously a U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, the mayor of Heath, and then a congressman representing parts of Northeast Texas. For more, we’ll speak with John Sakellariadis, a cybersecurity reporter for Politico who covered Ratcliffe’s nomination:
Texas lawmakers set to take up fight over Ten Commandments in public schools
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has pledged to pass legislation in 2025 that would mandate the placement of the Ten Commandments in every public-school classroom in Texas. Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider reports the future of any such policy in Texas could be affected by a Louisiana case where courts ruled against the state’s requirement. Louisiana is likely to appeal, setting up a potential Supreme Court fight.
Many people adopted indoor gardening as a hobby during the pandemic. AeroGarden, which made it possible to grow plants hydroponically, using tech to take care of them, is now calling it quits.
Tech expert Omar Gallaga joins the Standard with the details.
A snapshot of 24 hours in Austin
At any given moment in the day, people are awake – things are happening – even in the wee hours when most of the city seems to be asleep. What are we missing when our eyes are shut? And what can it tell us about our world?
A new podcast from KUT News, “24 Hours in Austin,” will answer some of those questions – and the first episode is out now. Matt Largey, the podcast’s executive producer, joins us with more.
An Appalachian-style trail for Texas?
Hiking the Appalachian Trail is a bucket list goal for many adventurers. Whether you travel the full 2,000+ miles or only a fraction, the trail offers a challenging and scenic tour of the southern and eastern U.S.
Now, some folks have dreams of creating a trail to rival the original, right here in Texas: the xTx, or cross-Texas Trail. We’ll speak with Charlie Gandy, the man leading the charge.
Princeton family welcomes Highway 380 expansion — but it’s costing them their home
Residents in the small Collin County city of Princeton are anxious to get a new highway built. The Highway 380 bypass will cut down on congestion through the town, which has more than doubled in population since 2020.
But not all residents are benefitting from the project. KERA’s Pablo Arauz Peña spoke with one family that’s being directly impacted.
All this, plus Alexandra Hart with the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Shelly Brisbin with the Talk of Texas.
