Debbie Hiott

She emphasized the value of public media, saying PBS is a truly American thing — local communities feeding into the story of the nation. #ProtectMyPublicMedia

Austin PBS CEO Luis Patino and PBS CEO Paula Kerger on stage at the Austin PBS Media Center.

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.

Plane Carrying 6 Members of Congress Is Clipped at Reagan Airport Two American Airlines jets clipped wings on a taxiway, officials said. Representative Grace Meng said that, in 10 years of flying to and from Washington, “This has never happened to me.”

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.

Southern Methodist University names new executive vice president, provost Rachel Davis Mersey will oversee the university's research and overall academic quality.

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 Scientist and the Serial Killer: Cracking the Case of Houston’s ‘Lost Boys’ More than 50 years later, some Houston families still wait for confirmation that their sons and brothers were among the victims of serial killer Dean Corll.

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...

General Services Administration lists several federal buildings to sell — surprising some occupants More than 440 properties nationwide were listed as 'disposable.' Many—from the VA to the federal judiciary—have hundreds of workers. Two dozen in Texas include properties officed in by congressmembers...

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.

Hegseth Orders Pentagon to Stop Offensive Cyberoperations Against Russia The defense secretary’s instructions, which were given before President Trump’s blowup with the Ukrainian president, are apparently part of an effort to draw Russia into talks on the war.

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.

DOGE’s Millions: As Musk and Trump Gut Government, Their Ax-Cutting Agency Gets Cash Infusion The Department of Government Efficiency is funded — and acts — like a federal agency. But the White House has shielded DOGE from the rules that govern such agencies, ProPublica found as it examines…

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.

Voice of America Journalists Face Investigations for Comments About Trump The broadcaster placed a longtime journalist on leave amid growing concerns about its editorial independence.

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

Behind the Curtain: Trump's media-control strategy Trump and his administration are doing this systematically, gleefully and unmistakably. But as we've written before, this unprecedented shift could set the precedent for future Democratic presidents,...

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.

The Associated Press issued this statement on Tuesday from Executive Editor Julie Pace: As a global news organization, The Associated Press informs billions of people around the world every day with factual, nonpartisan journalism. 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. This afternoon AP’s reporter was blocked from attending an executive order signing. It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism. Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.

"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...

How the 1900 Galveston Hurricane warns us about restricting NOAA Officials reportedly told NOAA to pause international communications. Galveston’s past offers a lesson in what can happen by restricting scientific transmission

US weather forecasters were banned from collaborating with international scientists before and it did not end well:

www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/hou...

DOGE Teen Owns ‘Tesla.Sexy LLC’ and Worked at Startup That Has Hired Convicted Hackers Experts question whether Edward Coristine, a DOGE staffer who has gone by “Big Balls” online, would pass the background check typically required for access to sensitive US government systems.

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...

Treasury Sought to Freeze Foreign Aid Payments, Emails Show Trump administration appointees and allies of Elon Musk wanted to use the Treasury’s sensitive payment system to block payments.

"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...

'We want to contribute to the community': The fight over tuition waivers for immigrants As the GOP-controlled legislature considers contentious new immigration laws, in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants appears to be on the line. One previous recipient, now a primary care doctor ...

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.

Here's how Trump's tariffs could impact you and your wallet 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.

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.

Treasury Secretary Bessent, tapped to run CFPB, orders staff to halt work 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.

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

Newsday’s Fight With Trump Ally Bruce Blakeman Heads to Court Newsday plans to sue Bruce Blakeman, the executive of Nassau County, N.Y., after he made The New York Post the government’s official publication.

“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.

Houston man pardoned for Jan. 6 crimes now wanted for online solicitation of a minor Andrew Taake, 36, was released from a federal prison in Colorado on Jan. 20, despite a request from the Harris County DA's Office to hold him on a pending state warrant from 2016.

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.