Texas Standard for July 24, 2024: Texas teen Sam Watson sets speed climbing records ahead of Paris Olympics

Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Wednesday, July 24, 2024. Check back later today for updated story links and audio.

Texas Republicans scramble to rethink strategy as Kamala Harris gets Democratic support

The political world is still adjusting to the seismic shift that Vice President Kamala Harris will likely assume the Democratic presidential nomination, instead of incumbent President Joe Biden.

How will Texas Republicans change campaign strategy in a post-Biden election cycle? Public affairs expert and consultant Brendan Steinhauser has worked with several Texas GOP candidates and joins the Standard with more.

Sheila Jackson Lee’s death leaves a void in Texas’ 18th District. Who will fill it?

Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee served Texas’ 18th District from 1995 until her death on Friday. She was a familiar face at community events in Central Houston and northern Harris County and was expected to win another term this November.

Her passing now raises questions about who will take her place. Houston Chronicle state bureau reporter Taylor Goldenstein joins the Standard with more.

Rio Grande Valley faces unprecedented water crisis as drought intensifies

Fresh water is about as scarce as it’s ever been in the Rio Grande Valley, with water levels in the Rio Grande and its reservoirs nearing historic lows.

The RGV has certainly faced droughts before, but this one has taken on a more dire feel. University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley associate professor Jude Benavides joins the Standard with more.

Texas teen Sam Watson sets speed climbing records ahead of Paris Olympics

Speed climbing was introduced to the Olympics at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo and consists of two competitors racing up identical 15-meter walls.

The fastest climbers can do it in under five seconds – including Sam Watson, an 18-year-old from Southlake who holds the three fastest times ever in speed climbing. Ahead of his 2024 appearance in Paris, Watson joins the Standard today.

San Antonio’s Rivercenter to get culinary makeover celebrating local and Mexican flavors

From tequila to tortillas, a new concept coming to downtown San Antonio will revitalize the food court of the iconic Shops at the Rivercenter to honor the culinary history and culture of the city and Mexico.

Texas Public Radio’s Marian Navarro spoke with the San Antonio chef who is leading the new multi-concept shopping experience coming to the mall next year.

Her brother passed away on death row, but Delia Perez Meyer’s continuing her fight against the death penalty

Delia Perez Meyer’s brother Louis Castro Perez was sentenced to death in 1999 for the brutal murders of two women and one girl. He maintained his innocence and died in May on death row.

Although her brother is gone, Delia continues to fight for his exoneration and the end of the death penalty.

Legal battle intensifies over Blaine Milam’s death row case due to intellectual disability claims

Blaine Milam is on Texas’ death row for the 2008 beating death of 13-month-old Amora Carson. His execution, set for 2021, was stayed by a Texas appeals court due to claims of “significant limitations in intellectual functioning.” The U.S. Supreme Court barred executions of individuals with intellectual disabilities in 2002 but allowed states some discretion.

Last week, The Arc of the United States and other groups filed an amicus brief with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Arc legal director Shira Wakschlag joins the Standard with the latest developments.

All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.