Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Friday, May 13, 2022:
U.S. COVID deaths near 1 million
The United States is nearing a grim milestone of the coronavirus pandemic: a death toll of more than 1 million Americans. Here in Texas, more than 86,000 people have died from COVID. The pandemic is not over – but where does the public health fight against the virus go from here? We’ll talk to Catherine Troisi, associate professor in the Divisions of Management, Policy, and Community Health and Epidemiology at UTHealth School of Public Health.
Gov. Greg Abbott is making national headlines after suggesting Texas might, in his words, “resurrect” a challenge to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that requires states to educate all children, including students who are undocumented. It is considered one of the Republican incumbent’s most controversial immigration-related proposals to date, and it comes in the heat of election season. The Texas Newsroom’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán has more on Abbott’s campaign rhetoric around immigration, and how some say it could backfire.
National Guard Employment violations at SCOTUS
When National Guard members and reservists are called into military service, a federal law is supposed to preserve their civilian jobs. It’s intended to protect them from being fired or losing benefits while they’re away. And it requires employers to accommodate service-related disabilities. But in some places, veterans who work for state governments can’t access those protections – and that’s the basis for a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. For the American Homefront Project, Carson Frame of Texas Public Radio reports.
Scientists at the Fort Worth Zoo are trying to give the Texas native Houston toad – on the endangered species list since 1970 – a fighting chance at survival by playing matchmaker. Miguel Perez of KERA explains.
From Texas to Mexico in ‘Mi Cocina’
It was supposed to just be a road trip through Mexico. But March of 2020 had other plans, and soon, chef and YouTube host Rick Martínez found a house, a dog and himself in the Mexican city of Mazatlán. His story, along with vibrant photos and recipes from the trip, are all in his book “Mi Cocina: Recipes And Rapture From My Kitchen in Mexico – a Cookbook.”
This week’s poem by the Typewriter Rodeo focuses on the Texas power grid.
The Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek talks about school vouchers, Crystal Mason’s voter fraud case, and a ruling that will affect how social media companies operate in Texas.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Michael Marks with the Talk of Texas.
