Here are the stories for Texas Standard for Thursday, May 26, 2022:
After another mass shooting, questions over what Texas could have done
After 10 people were killed in a mass shooting at high school in Sante Fe, Texas, legislation was supposed to prevent similar tragedies from happening again. But the shooting this week at an elementary school in Uvalde that left 19 children and two teachers dead raises grave questions about what more could be done. Corbett Smith has been writing about this for the Dallas Morning News, where he covers education.
Despite Republican focus on mental health, resources are hard to access, especially in rural Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott suggested “mental illness” drove a mass killer to gun down students and teachers at Robb Elementary School. It’s a common refrain after mass shootings, but mental health services remain out of reach for many in the U.S. That’s especially true in rural communities like Uvalde, which are less likely to have adequate access to mental health providers. Alejandra Castro, director of rural services at the nonprofit Family Service Association, joins us with more.
A baby formula fact check
Gov. Greg Abbott says the Biden administration is choosing to send baby formula to the border as one of its “out-of-touch priorities.” Is that a fact? To help us sort out this claim, we turn to Nusaiba Mizan with PolitiFact Texas, based at the Austin American-Statesman:
Backups at all the nation’s airports
You’ve probably heard about crowded conditions at many of the nation’s airports. From multi-hour check-in waits, to travelers abandoning rental cars in line so they can make it to their flight on time, it’s a rough time to fly. And with summer travel season about to start, it’s likely to get worse. Omar Gallaga recently looked into what’s causing all the airport headaches for Wired and is here to tell us what he learned from travel experts.
Answering your COVID questions
The number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations from the virus is going up once again. And while there’s still plenty of capacity in Texas hospitals, with summer travel approaching it’s worth checking in on the current status of the pandemic. For that we welcome back Dr. Fred Campbell, associate professor of medicine at the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio.
Line in the Land podcast looks at the making of a humanitarian crisis at the border
A new podcast from Texas Public Radio in San Antonio and the Houston Chronicle examines the long journey of Haitian immigrants to the U.S. border, and the forces that helped create the 2021 humanitarian crisis at the border. The Houston Chronicle’s Elizabeth Trovall and Texas Public Radio’s Joey Palacios host the podcast, and join us to talk about it today.
How Uvalde’s faith community is assisting the city
In smaller communities across Texas, churches help bind the community and serve as a place to come together. How is the faith community reacting to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School? Neftali Barboza, pastor at Iglesia Nueva Jericho in Uvalde, joins us today for a conversation.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
