Tropical Storm Harvey: As Waters Continue to Rise, Health Risks Swell

Coming up on today’s show:

• As floodwaters remain high in Houston, The Takeaway explores the health risks that people face both during and after a storm of such magnitude with Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine.

• Tropical Storm Harvey has made landfall in the state of Louisiana, nearly 12 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina. Some parts of the state have already received 15 inches of rain. Sue Lincoln, news director at WRKF in Baton Rouge, looks at how The Pelican State is coping. 

• Early Tuesday, North Korea fired a provocative missile over Japan. It’s being called the most serious missile test launched to date by the North Koreans. Joshua Pollack, senior research associate at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and an editor of the Nonproliferation Review, explains. 

• It’s monsoon season, and the death toll from floods across India, Bangladesh, and Nepal has climbed above 1,200, and millions of people across these three countries have been displaced. Annie Gowen, India bureau chief for The Washington Post, brings us the latest. 

• A Texas bill to ban so-called “sanctuary cities” goes into effect this Friday. Several Texas cities and counties have filed a lawsuit questioning the bill’s constitutionality, and are seeking a preliminary injunction from a judge while the case makes its way through court. Julián Aguilar, border and immigration reporter for the Texas Tribune, has the details. 

• Last week, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced the city was joining a lawsuit filed by San Francisco that challenges the Department of Justice’s crackdown on so-called “sanctuary cities.” Feuer explains why his city is joining the suit. 

• What age is the right age for children to begin school? We continue our look at early childhood education with a conversation about timing and what kids should know when they enter a school setting with Suzanne Bouffard, a child development specialist and author of “The Most Important Year: Pre-Kindergarten and the Future of Our Children.”

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich.