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Today on Texas Standard: Austin to be hit as Tesla announces 14,000 layoffs
Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Tuesday, April 16, 2024. 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.
Supreme Court keeps laws holding protest organizers responsible in place
The Supreme Court has announced it will not hear a case concerning laws restricting the organizers of protests. By declining the case, the court lets stand an appeals court ruling making organizers responsible if any protester commits an illegal act. The lower court ruling covers Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
University of Texas School of Law chair Tara Grove joins the Standard with more.
Racism in the health care system is killing Black pregnant Texans
Texas is among the worst states in the country for maternal mortality – the death of someone during pregnancy or within a year of the end of their pregnancy – and Black Texans die from pregnancy-related causes at two to three times the rate of their white counterparts.
KERA’s Elena Rivera has more.
North Texas performer Cedric Neal was nominated London’s version of the Tony
Dallas actor-singer Cedric Neal gained acclaim for his performances in North Texas musicals. Now he’s acclaimed in England as well.
KERA’s Jerome Weeks reports that, though he didn’t win, Neal was up for London theater’s highest honor, an Olivier Award.
10 years with the Houston Dash
It’s been a decade since the Houston Dash played their first National Women’s Soccer League game. While their record hasn’t always been stellar, the Dash made their first playoff appearance in 2022, marking significant growth for the program.
Theo Lloyd-Hughes recently explored this topic for Squad Depth. He joins the Standard today.
Comedian Jeff Hiller returns to his home state for Moontower Comedy Fest
Jeff Hiller has worked in the entertainment industry for over two decades, helping write shows like “30 Rock,” “Community” and the critically acclaimed HBO series “Somebody Somewhere.”
Hiller was born and raised in South Texas, and he’s returning to his home state for the Moontower Comedy Festival, an annual comedy fest held in Austin. We’re happy to welcome Hiller to the Texas Standard.
Austin to be hit as Tesla announces 14,000 layoffs
Signs of turmoil at Tesla continued yesterday after the company told employees it would lay off more than 10% of the workforce to cut costs. The job cuts amount to about 14,000 people across the company’s global operations.
Those cuts will be felt in Austin, where Tesla is one of the biggest employers. The Austin Business Journal’s Bob Sechler joins the show with more.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
The Texas Longhorns entered the 2025 season with more expectations than any team has had to deal with in recent memory.
Many among the media were ready to crown the team and quarterback Arch Manning before they even played one game. Of course, those unrealistic expectations were never met, even though the team finished with a 10-3 record and a Citrus Bowl win over the Michigan Wolverines.
2026 is heading in the same direction for the Longhorns. Many believe head coach Steve Sarkisian has the most talented team in the country. But in order to fix the issues from this past season, the Longhorns needed to fix one issue that has cost them in the past.
Changing The Narrative
One of the biggest issues the Longhorns had last season was the play of the offensive line. It was apparent in the first game of the season against the Ohio State Buckeyes that Manning didn’t have the pocket time needed to make big plays.
This offseason, Coach Sarkisian went out and found two massive transfer portal additions that should completely change the narrative on this offensive line.
It starts with potential starting right tackle Melvin Siani. Siani has spent time with the Temple Owls and last season with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The Longhorns are set at left tackle with Trevor Goosby, who could play himself into being a top 10 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. If the team can get competent play from Siani, the offense will be able to open up the playbook, and the world may finally see Manning at his college peak.
The Longhorns also went out and found a potential fix at left guard for the 2026 season. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers transfer Laurence Seymore could be another strong patch for the holes in the offensive line.
After spending the first two seasons of his college career with the Miami Hurricanes, Seymore made stops with the Akron Zips and the Hilltoppers.
Of course, the one concern with Seymore is wondering if he can compete at the SEC level coming from the C-USA.
This season for the Longhorns starts and stops with the play of Manning. Coach Sarkisian and the rest of this coaching staff understood that protecting their quarterback was the most important goal when building the 2026 roster.
The Longhorns are going to be leaning on veteran talent to protect their quarterback, and it may very well be the best decision they made this offseason.
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