Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025:
Abbott signs ‘bathroom bill’ into law
Gov. Greg Abbott has signed Senate Bill 8, the so-called “bathroom bill” that prohibits people in many publicly owned spaces from using restrooms that don’t align with the sex listed on their birth certificate.
Aaron Torres, who covers state politics for The Dallas Morning News, joins us with the details:
Can you get the new COVID booster or not?
This season’s COVID booster shot has recently become available, along with the updated flu shot. But after changes to vaccine guidance by the Trump administration, many folks might be wondering if they can get one.
Cathrine Troisi of UTHealth Houston School of Public Health joins the show to clear up any questions.
Special election for late Houston congressman’s seat nears
A special election will be held in November to fill out the late Congressman Sylvester Turner’s term in Houston’s 18th Congressional District. More than a dozen candidates are running. The election could take until February to resolve if it goes to a runoff – at which point the 2026 primaries will be just around the corner.
Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider has more on where things currently stand.
A look at the legacy of El Paso’s Vikki Carr
A four-time Grammy winner who performed for Queen Elizabeth and five U.S. presidents, Vikki Carr’s career is rooted in her Hispanic heritage.
Amberlyn Negron from the Voces Oral History Center has the story.
Even after July 4 floods, Central Texas NWS office vacancies remain
The National Weather Service office for Austin and San Antonio is not fully staffed – in fact, more than 25% of its positions are vacant, according to a new investigation by KXAN in Austin.
Some of these jobs were unfilled even before the July floods, which killed more than 130 people in Central Texas. KXAN investigative reporter Matt Grant and chief meteorologist Nick Bannin join Texas Standard with the story.
New book looks at new era of billionaire-backed space race
During the heyday of manned spaceflight, the race to space was a contest between two nations: the United States and the Soviet Union. That rivalry still exists, but the modern space race has far more competitors, including two U.S.-based billionaires with dreams of returning to the moon, or even planting a flag on Mars.
Washington Post staff writer Christian Davenport has authored the new book “Rocket Dreams: Musk, Bezos, and the Inside Story of the New, Trillion-Dollar Space Race” and joins the show today.
Whistleblower sounds alarm over organ exchange industry in Texas
Most folks probably don’t think about organ donation until it’s time to re-up their driver’s license. But a recent report by the Washington Post revealed some disturbing whistleblower allegations about how the organ exchange industry works in Texas and beyond.
Peter Whoriskey, investigative reporter for the Washington Post, joins us with the story.
