Always enjoy seeing what my colleagues @austinpbs have in store for the year in their annual Made in Austin event. This year, I appreciated hearing from @PBS CEO Paula Kerger.

Two American Airlines jets, including one carrying at least six members of Congress from New York and New Jersey, clipped wings on a taxiway at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington on Thursday, officials said.

UT-Austin's loss is SMU's gain. So proud of Rachel and all she has accomplished. She's going to do great things in Dallas!

The new book from @liseolsen.bsky.social traces a forensic anthropologist’s decades-long attempt to restore the identities of the victims of one of Texas’ most prolific serial killers—and explores the shocking reasons why so many remained anonymous for so long.

Right-wing YouTuber Tim Pool has made it to the White House pool — someone from his “Timcast” channel will be part of today’s pool duty covering the president. Last year, DOJ revealed Pool was receiving millions of dollars from the Russian gov. Pool says he didn’t know where it was coming from.

BREAKING: A federal judge has issued a restraining order against Kari Lake and the Trump administration barring the cancelation of funding for Radio Free Europe. The decision to terminate, the judge says, appears to violate the law/congressional intent. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25...

ICYMI: DOGE identifies 38 federal offices/buildings to close across Texas. www.keranews.org/government/2...

Thanks to nearby construction, the power is out @kutnews.bsky.social and @kutx.bsky.social . You can stream us at kut.org and kutx.org until we get back on the airwaves.

Breaking News: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Pentagon to halt offensive cyberoperations against Russia, officials said.

Happy 10th to my favorite radio show, @texasstandard.bsky.social. Nothing on the airwaves informs you more about what’s going on in the state of Texas than this daily news hour put on by an incredibly dedicated, talented group of journalists. Wherever I am, I am on Texas Standard time.

If DOGE is a federal agency, it can’t shield its records from the public. If it’s not an agency, then its tens of millions of dollars in funding weren’t legally allocated and should be returned, some contend.

Solidarity with @w7voa.journa.host.ap.brid.gy after @voiceofamerica.bsky.social's parent org put him on leave for doing his job writing about the Trump admin eviscerating USAID. Trump envoy Richard Grenell called him "treasonous." Attacks on the press cannot be tolerated. #JournalismIsNotACrime

Without journalists to tell you about things like this, you wouldn't know where taxpayer-funded work has gone awry. @kutnews.bsky.social is proud to be able to serve the community with this reporting and more. You can help make it happen at donate.kut.org

President Trump is setting a new precedent for tight, punitive government control over a free press.

Much love to our pals @paramountaustin.bsky.social, who understand the value that public media brings to Austin. Thanks for the shout out to @kutnews.bsky.social, @kutx.bsky.social and @texasstandard.bsky.social!

The big takeaway here is that Reuters won this case against the AI company on grounds they violated fair use—the judge found the AI company was guilty because, in using copyrighted works to generate its output, it “meant to compete... by developing a market substitute.” Huge.

"Today we were informed by the White House that if AP did not align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, AP would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office." www.ap.org/the-definiti...

US weather forecasters were banned from collaborating with international scientists before and it did not end well: www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/hou...

A teen DOGE staffer recently given access to government systems worked at a startup known for hiring convicted hackers. Someone using a Telegram handle associated with him also solicited a cyberattack-for-hire service in 2022. All raising questions about his vetting. www.wired.com/story/edward...

"But emails reviewed by [The NY Times] show that the Treasury’s chief of staff originally pushed for Tom Krause, a software executive affiliated with [DOGE], to receive access to the closely held payment system so that the Treasury could freeze [US-AID] payments." www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/u...

A new immigration bill passed in Florida eliminates in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants. Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to veto the measure based on other parts of the bill, but students are wary about future tuition hikes.

LOL at the president expressing sticker shock over the price of corporate media subscriptions.

Tariffs are now in effect on goods from China, and imports from Canada and Mexico could be next (again). Americans are likely to see higher prices on a wide variety of products as a result.

Staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were instructed by email to cease much of their work. Bessent, a wealthy Wall Street investor, replaces Rohit Chopra, who was fired on Saturday.

Giving access to SSNs, other data on government employees to non-employees like Musk is a violation of 5 USC 552a, and carries with it a penalty of $1000 per person whose data was accessed. We are building a case. Govt employees who want to participate should contact me directly

“A legal filing this week by the publication, Newsday, signals that it will sue Nassau County for repeatedly violating its First Amendment rights. It accused the county and its powerful executive, Bruce Blakeman, of retaliating for its coverage” www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/n...

Texas has the second largest federal workforce outside of DC (after California), primarily to provide support and services for military.

A Houston man pardoned by President Donald Trump for crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was released from federal prison but is now wanted in Harris County on a 2016 charge of online solicitation of a minor.

Follow the folks that make the Standard and our partners around the state!

NPR's investigations team analyzed more than 2K hours of comms from LA first responder channels. The audio chronicles how firefighters first noticed hydrants going dry and how they responded w/ depleted resources. Story by @nmcmillan.bsky.social + Chiara Eisner. www.npr.org/2025/01/18/n... @npr.org

NEW: I just got a report UT Austin commissioned about the patio ceiling at the Hackerman Building last year. The cause? "Structurally deficient fasteners." The cost to fix? At least $750K. Also, a loading doc in the same building poses similar collapse risks. www.kut.org/education/20...

My interview w Pulitzer winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes about her resignation from WaPo over killed sketch on tech titans, including Bezos “They own a newspaper and they have an obligation, frankly, to protect the free press.” www.npr.org/2025/01/04/n...

All social media apps need an AI/No AI flip switch in preferences. I can’t even look at my dog videos on Instagram without that cheesy stuff dropping into my algorithm. And every time I accidentally click on one, I’m afraid it will bring me more.

Between 2014-2018, Elon Musk's wealth grew by $13.9 billion but tax records obtained by @propublica.org show that during those same years he repeatedly paid relatively little (or nothing) in federal income tax: 2015: $68,000 in federal income tax paid 2017: $65,000 2018: $0 (published June 2021)

NEW: Texas has never publicly reported where it has built border wall. So @texastribune.org requested records, interviewed landowners and traveled the Rio Grande to compile a first-of-its-kind look of the $3.1 billion in construction. apps.texastribune.org/features/202...

I had a great time talking to Nikki at City Cast Austin about everything going on at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport! The conversation is about a half-hour long. megaphone.link/CC4014174113

“It would do lasting damage to the First Amendment and our democracy if the Supreme Court let the TikTok ban go into effect even temporarily,” @jameeljaffer.bsky.social. Full statement at the link: knightcolumbia.org/content/TikT...

The best kind of feature journalism: the writer disappears entirely, and brings you into the lives of their subjects as you were in the room with them. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/15/u...

In case you missed it, @kutnews.bsky.social transportation reporter @kutnathan.bsky.social revealed yesterday that Austin's airport is running low on air traffic controllers during this peak travel season, with half the recommended staffing.

Nothing makes me feel old, cold and cranky quite like seeing UT students walking around in shorts in 40 degree weather.

We had our first KUT & KUTX Connections social mixer @austinbeerworks.bsky.social tonight. We weren’t sure what to expect in the cold, windy weather but hundreds of folks showed up looking to connect with fellow public radio fans. It was fun. Our listeners are the best!

See video of a patio ceiling collapse on the UT campus. No one injured on this Sunday afternoon, but the 'what could have been' scenarios here are pretty terrifying.

This is one of the most horrifying stories I’ve read in a long time. Great work piecing it together by @davidmcswane.bsky.social

Some fascinating stories in this latest episode of 24 Hours in Austin. This episode demonstrates so well how our mundane routines (navigating the airport) often occur in the midst of someone else’s life dramas. Next time I’m there I’ll be thinking about all the stories going on around me.

New: A 2006 study found undocumented immigrants contributed more to Texas than they cost the state. The state hasn’t updated the analysis since. But a series of reports released by nonprofits and universities since then have reached similar conclusions. www.texastribune.org/2024/12/06/t...

Like to read? Like to hear what your friends and neighbors are reading? Come join your fellow public radio nerds at the @kutnews.bsky.social book swap next Thursday!

Heard anything about Ad Astra, Elon Musk’s new school near Austin? What about #Snailbrook? Neuralink? DM or email me at [email protected] with any tips. #txlege #atx #bastrop #AdAstra #ElonMusk

Your regular reminder that there are plenty of things you can and should be doing to prevent book bans before they start.