TPR News Now: Wednesday, August 12, 2026

You're listening to Texas Public Radio News. I'm Marianne Navarro. San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz-Jay Jones has called for a special meeting of the San Antonio City Council this Monday. TPR's Joy Palacios reports there's one item for consideration, whether or not to add another Spurs Arena vote to the November ballot. Monday is the state deadline for items to be added to the ballot, making this a final attempt against the buzzer. The proposed ballot language asks shall the city issue bonds up to $489 million towards the construction of an NBA arena? It says the funding would come from project finance zones, operating rent from the spurs, leases in the sports and entertainment district, and tax reinvestment zones. In order to go forward, Jay Jones would need at least six votes from the council, and at least six members have expressed opposition so far. Previously, Jay Jones had requested another ballot initiative for the meeting, one that would shift funds from ready to work, the city's voter-approved job training program, to other portions of the city budget, which is in a deficit. However, that issue is not on the meeting's agenda and won't be considered. I'm Joey Palacios in San Antonio. A San Antonio mother who lost her son to suicide following cyberbullying is urging Congress to strengthen protections for children online. TPR's Corey Cook has the details. Maureen Molak has spent nearly a decade advocating for the Kids Online Safety Act, or COSA. The Senate Commerce Committee recently advanced the bipartisan measure unanimously, but there's still a major disagreement between the Senate and House versions. The Senate version of COSA includes a provision known as duty of care. It would give tech companies a legal responsibility to design their platforms with children's safety in mind. Molak says without it, the legislation would lack meaningful accountability. Not having any kind of legal responsibility for designing their platforms without kids' safety and mind is... What we would lack if there was no duty of care in the Kids Online Safety Act. It would lack the taste. It would lack real accountability for these platforms. The House version passed in June without the duty of care provision. COSA also would increase protections for minors' data and give users the option to opt out of personalized algorithms. The Senate passed an earlier version 91 to 3 in 2024, but the legislation stalled in the House. Lawmakers now face the challenge of reconciling the two versions. I'm Corey Cook and San Antonio. Public health experts in Texas are criticizing the Trump administration's changes to federal childhood vaccine recommendations. An executive order signed Monday narrows the list of vaccines recommended for all children and calls for the combined measles, mumps, and rebella vaccine to eventually be offered as three separate shots. Catherine Trewe sees an infectious disease epidemiologist at UT Health Houston. She says separating the MMR vaccine could leave children vulnerable to infection for longer.

The child is unprotected for a longer period of time. We don't have any approved single measles or mumps or rebella vaccines. The new federal guidance marks a significant shift from longstanding childhood vaccine recommendations. The Little League team from Bernie is officially headed to the Little League World Series. A legal battle put their path to the series into question. A championship game in Waco between Bernie and Tulsa, Oklahoma, was never played this week due to a Tulsa player being declared uneligible. That led Bernie to win its regional title by default. A judge then issued a temporary restraining order that reinstated Tulsa, and the championship game was supposed to be played last night. But the judge tossed out the restraining order prior to that game because Bernie had already left Waco when they were declared regional champs. Texas singer-songwriter Robert Earl King may be retired from full-time touring, but he remains active on stage and in his hill country community. T.B.R. Jack Morgan has more. The July 4th, 2025 flooding, had especially close to home for Keen. Both of his daughters had attended Camp Mystic. I have two daughters. They're six years apart. And the oldest one will be 32 soon. And the other one's 26. Both of my daughters love Mystic. Of course, we all mourn the loss of Dick, Eastland. Eastland died in the July 4th flooding. Keene has been involved in fundraising for people affected by the floods. It's hard for me to even think about, and we did that concert. There at Whitewater on the 28th August and, you know, raised a ton of money for the community center for the Hill Country. And our mantra was do as much as you can for as long as you can. His current short tour ends with three nights at Flores Country Store, starting September 5th. I'm Jack Morgan and Bernie. And you're listening to Real Reliable, Texas Public Radio.