Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Friday, May 8, 2026. Listen on your Texas public radio station, or ask your smart speaker to play Texas Standard. Check back later today for updated story links and audio.
What to know about hantavirus
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say two Texas residents were on a cruise ship that has made headlines globally for an outbreak of hantavirus. Three passengers died from the virus.
But what exactly is hantavirus and how concerned should you be? Dr. Catherine Troisi, a professor of epidemiology at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, joins Texas Standard to discuss.
As early voting looms, a look at the attorney general primary runoffs
Early voting for the Texas primary runoff elections begins in less than two weeks. One of the most important decisions Republican and Democratic voters will make will be to pick their nominees for Texas attorney general.
Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider looks at the candidates vying to succeed outgoing Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Amid water shortage, data centers across Texas stir concerns
Texas has a well-known shortage of water — and now comes a fresh forecast on the impact of data centers sprouting up across the Lone Star State.
KEDT’s Rob Boscamp has more.
Report on remittance services raises red flags over hidden costs and pricing
Consumer Reports just released a new investigation into the fast-growing world of remittance services — the companies and apps millions of people use to send money to family abroad, often Mexico.
The group examined five major platforms and found hidden costs, confusing pricing and concerns about how users’ financial data may be shared with law enforcement. The report lands as immigration enforcement ramps up, and ahead of Mother’s Day, one of the busiest times of year for international money transfers.
Delicia Hand, senior director at Consumer Reports, joins Texas Standard to discuss.
Wind power eclipsed in Texas’ grid connection queue for the first time in years
For a decade, wind power was a big part of the Texas energy story. Now, for the first time since 2016, natural gas has leapfrogged wind in ERCOT’s grid connection queue — that is, the waiting list for power projects that want to plug into the electric grid.
Brandon Mulder, an energy journalism fellow at the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin wrote about this story for the Texas Tribune. He joins us today.
During Jace Tunnell’s beachcombing surveys along the Texas coast, he’s grown used to finding strange things washed ashore — from toothbrushes and action figures to weathered dolls. But one item continues to stand out: plastic piggy banks, now nicknamed “sea pigs.”
Facing school’s closure, Austin track team eyes one more shot at glory
The end of the school year is fast approaching. That means it’s time for last classes, last exams and last trips on the school bus.
For students at Austin ISD’s Bedichek Middle School, it will be the last time that school is open. It’s one of many schools across the state being closed to help districts cut costs.
But one of its last moments is a joyous one. KUT’s Greta Díaz González Vásquez introduces us to the Bedichek Bobcats Track and Field team as they get ready for their final competition.
Typewriter Rodeo
The gang delivers another custom poem.
The week in Texas politics
The Texas Tribune’s Jasper Scherer joins the Standard with a recap of the week that was in Texas politics.
